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Wetlands are among the most important ecosystems in the world in terms of endemic biodiversity, carbon storage and hydrological process. Veredas wetlands are distributed across the Brazilian savanna (i.e. Cerrado biome) and are permanently protected areas. Veredas wetlands have a hydromorphic soil, providing water to the main rivers of central Brazil and allowing the occurrence of several endemic species of plants and animals. Although recent studies on biotic and abiotic characteristics have been conducted in several areas of Veredas, the studies are local and there is a lack of information about large-scale patterns. Here we used remote sensing data to explore the role of climate, soil, topography and surrounding matrix explaining Veredas occurrence in the Triângulo Mineiro and Alto Paranaíba (TMAP), a mesoregion of the State of Minas Gerais, Southeastern Brazil. Veredas were more frequent in the western region of TMAP, in areas with lower altitudes, temperature and precipitation seasonality, soil cation exchange capacity, silt and sand content, and slope. Moreover, farming was the most frequent land use in areas surrounding Veredas. Veredas are associated with recharging of the water table and water flow that maintains rivers in the Upper Paraná River water basin. We trust the present assessment will be of help for the development of conservation strategies and biodiversity studies. Graphical abstract Research questions, data processing, statistical analysis and illustration of the outputs generated.

No âmbito do projecto OMEGA, encontram-se em estudo os núcleos megalíticos das Herdades do Deserto e Barrocal das Freiras, correspondendo ao agrupamento de vários monumentos, maioritariamente sepulcros ditos «proto-megalíticos», com utilizações muito provavelmente centradas em meados do 4.º milénio a.n.e., ou mesmo um pouco anteriores. Monumentos evoluídos, de média ou grande dimensão, de Câmara e Corredor bem diferenciados, de finais do 4.º e primeiro quartel do 3.º milénio a.n.e., encontram-se em áreas periféricas ao núcleo central. Tal permite considerar uma evolução centro-periferia na construção deste espaço, com os monumentos mais antigos localizados na área central e os monumentos mais recentes localizados no seu entorno imediato. O estudo do conjunto do Deserto e Barrocal das Freiras, aliando as características arquitectónicas dos monumentos às particularidades dos depósitos votivos, permite seriar os patamares crono-culturais de construção e utilização de estes monumentos, definindo os diagramas de construção dos espaços sagrados e das paisagens megalíticas durante os 4.º e 3.º milénios a.n.e. na área do Alentejo médio.

Changes in the vegetation of Brazilian Cerrado may occur over time. However, long-term dynamics are not fully understood yet, especially woody plant encroachment (WPE). The objective of this study was to examine changes in vegetation structure in a preserved area in Triângulo Mineiro region, within the southern Brazilian Cerrado domain, over 32 years (1987, 2005, and 2019). We based the study on field and literature surveys, as well as satellite imagery, and hypothesized that, due to the absence of periodic fires or grazing, Cerrado open formations (i.e., grassland or savanna) tend to become denser due to WPE. Shrubby grassland cover assessed in 1987 disappeared in the following periods (from 30.0 % to 0.0 % in 2019) while forest formations increased (from 7.0 % in 1987 to 11.0 % in 2019). Changes between 2005 and 2019 occurred within the stricto sensu cerrado subdivisions, with reduction of sparse cerrado (from 34.2 % to 7.7 %) and an increase in dense cerrado (from 6.9 % to 39.8 %). Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) applied for similar periods indicates a progressive increase of values over time (from 1986 (0.61±0.10) to 2004 (0.65±0.06) and 2018 (0.78±0.05)) and corroborates the WPE process. These patterns imply the loss of biodiversity in open plant formation. Another major consequence was the reduction of wetlands and possible impact on water supply. Such patterns are important to support plant management plans for the threatened Cerrado open plant formations.

The Neolithic site of Casas Novas (Coruche, Portugal) has provided the earliest evidence of Neolithic occupation currently known on the left bank of the Tagus River. The material culture and the radiocarbon date show an occupation that fits in the earliest moments of the regional Neolithic. The typological and decorative characteristics of the ceramic assemblage show contacts and influences both from Mediterranean and the Iberian Meseta. In order to determine the origins of the raw materials and to reconstruct the manufacture sequence, 26 ceramic samples were selected for petrographic analysis. The archaeometric analysis shows local and regional procurement strategies, which can be related to seasonal settlement patterns and exploitation of estuarine resources. The data provided by the research offers the possibility to analyze ceramic technology within a community which is still in the process of consolidating a new way of life, and how these circumstances may have influenced technological choices and potter’s practice., Le site néolithique de Casas Novas (Coruche, Portugal) a fourni les premières traces d'occupation néolithiques actuellement connues sur la rive gauche du Tage. La culture matérielle et la datation au radiocarbone montrent une occupation qui correspond aux premiers moments du néolithique régional. Les caractéristiques typologiques et décoratives de l'assemblage céramique montrent des contacts et des influences de la Méditerranée et de la Meseta ibérique. Pour déterminer l'origine des matières premières et la reconstruction de la séquence de fabrication, 26 échantillons céramiques ont été sélectionnés pour l'analyse pétrographique. L'analyse archéométrique montre des stratégies d'approvisionnement locales et régionales, qui peuvent être liées aux modes de peuplement saisonniers et à l'exploitation des ressources estuariennes. Les données fournies par la recherche offrent la possibilité d'analyser la technologie céramique dans une communauté qui est encore en train de consolider un nouveau mode de vie, et comment ces circonstances peuvent avoir influencé les choix technologiques et la pratique du potier.

Fluorite ornaments have been recorded in different sites of Europe since Upper Paleolithic. Due to its visual appearance and physical properties, some translucent or transparent mineralogies like fluorite were searched for or casually acquired by late prehistory’s human communities. After intensive research on archaeological contexts from the Iberian Peninsula with personal ornaments from 4th to 2nd millennia BCE, we have recently identified and characterized for the first time an important number of fluorite ornaments, confronting a previous background where little attention was paid. Our work has been carried out in different archaeological collections and museums from the whole Iberian Peninsula by non-destructive techniques (Raman spectroscopy, portable X-ray fluorescence (p-XRF) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD), that revealed the nature of fluorite ornaments and points to its consideration as scarce and highly symbolic items during late prehistory. A total of 36 fluorite beads from 23 sites are here recorded and studied, many of them inedits or wrong catalogued as other mineralogies. These adornments could have important roles in trade and use among the communities of Iberia from the 4th millennium BCE onwards, because of their scarcity and its recurrent association with important funerary complex and exotic materials. Fluorite ornaments could have been significant and special symbols in the development of new and exclusive raw materials in the context of increasing social complexity and inequality. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

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We assembled genome-wide data from 271 ancient Iberians, of whom 176 are from the largely unsampled period after 2000 BCE, thereby providing a high-resolution time transect of the Iberian Peninsula. We document high genetic substructure between northwestern and southeastern hunter-gatherers before the spread of farming. We reveal sporadic contacts between Iberia and North Africa by ~2500 BCE and, by ~2000 BCE, the replacement of 40% of Iberia's ancestry and nearly 100% of its Y-chromosomes by people with Steppe ancestry. We show that, in the Iron Age, Steppe ancestry had spread not only into Indo-European-speaking regions but also into non-Indo-European-speaking ones, and we reveal that present-day Basques are best described as a typical Iron Age population without the admixture events that later affected the rest of Iberia. Additionally, we document how, beginning at least in the Roman period, the ancestry of the peninsula was transformed by gene flow from North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean., J.M.F., F.J.L.-C., J.I.M., F.X.O., J.D., and M.S.B. were supported by HAR2017-86509-P, HAR2017-87695-P, and SGR2017-11 from the Generalitat de Catalunya, AGAUR agency. C.L.-F. was supported by Obra Social La Caixa and by FEDER-MINECO (BFU2015- 64699-P). L.B.d.L.E. was supported by REDISCO-HAR2017-88035-P (Plan Nacional I+D+I, MINECO). C.L., P.R., and C.Bl. were supported by MINECO (HAR2016-77600-P). A.Esp., J.V.-V., G.D., and D.C.S.-G. were supported by MINECO (HAR2009-10105 and HAR2013-43851-P). D.J.K. and B.J.C. were supported by NSF BCS-1460367. K.T.L., A.W., and J.M. were supported by NSF BCS-1153568. J.F.-E. and J.A.M.-A. were supported by IT622-13 Gobierno Vasco, Diputación Foral de Álava, and Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa. We acknowledge support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/EPH-ARQ/4164/2014) and the FEDER-COMPETE 2020 project 016899. P.S. was supported by the FCT Investigator Program (IF/01641/2013), FCT IP, and ERDF (COMPETE2020 – POCI). M.Si. and K.D. were supported by a Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarship awarded to M.B.R. and M.P. D.R. was supported by an Allen Discovery Center grant from the Paul Allen Foundation, NIH grant GM100233, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. V.V.-M. and W.H. were supported by the Max Planck Society.

Agriculture first reached the Iberian Peninsula around 5700 BCE. However, little is known about the genetic structure and changes of prehistoric populations in different geographic areas of Iberia. In our study, we focus on the maternal genetic makeup of the Neolithic (~ 5500–3000 BCE), Chalcolithic (~ 3000–2200 BCE) and Early Bronze Age (~ 2200–1500 BCE). We report ancient mitochondrial DNA results of 213 individuals (151 HVS-I sequences) from the northeast, central, southeast and southwest regions and thus on the largest archaeogenetic dataset from the Peninsula to date. Similar to other parts of Europe, we observe a discontinuity between hunter-gatherers and the first farmers of the Neolithic. During the subsequent periods, we detect regional continuity of Early Neolithic lineages across Iberia, however the genetic contribution of hunter-gatherers is generally higher than in other parts of Europe and varies regionally. In contrast to ancient DNA findings from Central Europe, we do not observe a major turnover in the mtDNA record of the Iberian Late Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age, suggesting that the population history of the Iberian Peninsula is distinct in character. Concerning research in the Alto Ribatejo, authors wish to thank Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia the support of research on the dawn of farming in the Tagus valley (project “Moving Tasks Accross Shapes” – PTDC/EPH-ARQ/4356/2014), as well as the Geosciences Centre of Coimbra University (strategic project UID/Multi/00073/2013). This study was funded by the German Research Foundation (Grant no. Al 287/14–1).

Submitted by André Pereira (andrepereira@letras.ulisboa.pt) on 2018-01-16T09:04:11Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Ophiussa1_5_15.pdf: 9774484 bytes, checksum: 0dba9e7b93a3f4fa3658a1694dc99121 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-17T11:44:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ophiussa1_5_15.pdf: 9774484 bytes, checksum: 0dba9e7b93a3f4fa3658a1694dc99121 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017 info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

A publicação do vigésimo segundo volume de Estudos Arqueológicos de Oeiras (na verdade o vigésimo terceiro, uma vez que há um volume sem número em 1994) é, ao mesmo tempo, uma garantia e um motivo de regozijo. Uma garantia porque permite criar esperanças sobre a continuidade das publicações arqueológicas em Portugal. Um motivo de regozijo porque o feito de José Leite de Vasconcellos pode ser igualado e, assim se deseja, ultrapassado. Ao publicar os 30 volumes da primeira série de O Archeologo Português o sábio do Restelo marcava a solidez de um projecto e a própria determinação, que sempre foi a dele, de garantir um abrigo para autores perdidos, jovens e menos jovens. E para ele próprio. O sábio do Funchalinho segue-lhe as pisadas...

The functionality of Cova da Baleia (Mafra, Portugal) is hereby presented and discussed in this paper. In an excavated area of 500 m2 was identified a large concentration of structures (128), of which 104 were in clay, with two phases of occupation. The absolute chronology indicates a majority occupation of the second half of the 8th millennium cal BCE (Early Mesolithic) and a second phase towards the end of the 7th millennium (Late Mesolithic). Despite the excellent state of conservation of the site, the osteological remains are practically absent, possibly due to taphonomic factors. Cova da Baleia is clearly a distinctive site of the reference framework known of the Early Mesolithic times in Portugal, given the large size of the site (about 1 ha) and its structural complexity. It was clear that an interdisciplinary approach was mandatory in order to fully guarantee the site interpretation, namely regarding its functionality. The results of the use-wear and archaeobotanical studies show the relevance of wood and other hard materials, whereas the need for fire for these activities remains to be understood.

Copyright: © 2014 Gonçalves MV.This is an open‑access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited., Background: Cavernous malformations arising in a single optic nerves paring the chiasm (intracranial prechiasmatic optic nerve) and expanding into the optic canal are extremely rare lesions. Published series or case reports regarding the surgical removal of these vascular malformations within this specific location are scarce. Case description: We present the first case to be published, of an intracranial optic nerve cavernous malformation with a contiguous canalicular component that was totally and successfully removed through a microsurgical pterional approach with excellent clinical outcome. Conclusion: This pathology should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of optic neuropathy and visual loss. Early detection and surgical proposal are mandatory, warranting the prevention of permanent damage to visual pathways. Radical resection is challenging, but usually curative and associated with favorable visual outcomes.

The neurogenic pulmonary edema is a rare clinical situation caused by an imbalance characterized by an excessive sympathetic outflow. It is observed mostly in young patients, is associated with brain or spinal cord haemorrhage, trauma, tumours or infections and is usually fatal. A case of neurogenic pulmonary edema in a 27-year-old woman is presented, caused by a cerebellar haemorrhage due to a vermian and paravermian arteriovenous malformation rupture. The vermian and hemispheric haemorrhage injuring the sub-lobule IX-b of the uvula induced a disruption of both carotid baroreceptor and chemoreceptor reflexes control mechanisms. Medical treatment with controlled ventilation, PEEP, diuretics and morphine reverted the pulmonary edema. After surgical treatment of the haemorrhage and cerebellar AVM the patient recovered to an almost normal social and professional life. The cerebellar lesion induced a temporary vermian sub lobule IX-b dysfunction that was responsible for the sympathetic storm that evoked the neurogenic pulmonary edema.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of electrical and chemical stimulation of the sub-lobule IX-b of the cerebellar uvula on the cardiorespiratory responses evoked on stimulation of the carotid chemoreceptors in the anaesthetised and paralysed rabbit. Recordings of arterial blood pressure, ECG, heart rate and phrenic nerve activity were evaluated. Sub-lobule IX-b was activated electrically (1 ms, 20 μA, 100 Hz, 4-s train) and stimulated chemically with sodium glutamate microinjections (2 mM, pH=7.4±0.1) using bipolar concentric or multibarrelled microelectrodes. Carotid body chemoreflexes were evoked by the retrograde injection of sodium cyanide (0.1%, 0.1 ml) into the blood supply of the carotid body through a cannula inserted in the external carotid artery. The interaction of uvula stimulation and the carotid chemoreceptor reflex was studied by following the chemoreceptor stimulus with a stimulus to the uvula. Electrical and chemical stimulation of the uvula evoked a characteristic bradycardia and a depressor response together with a decrease in phrenic nerve activity. Carotid body stimulation evoked a decrease in heart rate accompanied by an increase of both arterial blood pressure and phrenic nerve activity. However, simultaneous delivery of the two stimuli resulted in a depressor response together with a decrease of phrenic nerve activity and an increased bradycardia. These data suggest that stimulation of the cerebellar uvula exerts an inhibitory control of the chemoreflex efficacy as far as respiratory activity and blood pressure is concerned.

Epidemiological and clinical aspects of 50 consecutive patients, 47 adults and three children, hospitalized between 1977 and 1987 for human leptospirosis, were reviewed. 45 (90%) of the patients were from rural regions. 32 (64%) cases occurred in individuals at occupational risk for the infection. 35 (70%) cases were registered in the warm season. The source of infection was known in 34 (68%) cases. Weil's disease was diagnosed in 31 (62%) patients, aseptic meningitis in 12 (24%) and acute unexplained fever in seven (14%). Haemodialysis was required for 11 (35%) patients with Weil's disease. Three (6%) patients died. Cause of death was massive gastrointestinal haemorrhage in two and renal failure in one. Leptospira icterohaemorrhagiae was responsible for 39 (78%) cases, Leptospira canicola for six (12%), Leptospira grippotyphosa for two (4%), and Leptospira australis, Leptospira ballum and Leptospira sejroe, for one case each. A muscle biopsy was performed in six patients and a renal biopsy in three. Focal necrotic muscular changes, with mild mononuclear infiltrate, were found. Pigmented casts in distal convoluted tubules, mild interstitial inflammatory infiltrate and mesangial enlargement of some glomeruli were observed in kidney biopsies. A good knowledge of the protean clinical manifestations of leptospirosis and an accurate laboratory study are required for a correct diagnosis.

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