Crafting Curses in Classical Athens

2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-117
Author(s):  
Jessica Lamont
Keyword(s):  
Fifth Century ◽  
Full Line ◽  
The Creation ◽  
First Time

This article presents a remarkable cache of five Attic curse tablets, four of which are published here for the first time. Excavated in situ in a pyre-grave outside the Athenian Long Walls, the texts employ very similar versions of a single binding curse. After situating the cache in its archaeological context, all texts are edited with a full epigraphic commentary. A discussion then follows, in which the most striking features of the texts are highlighted: in addition to the peculiar “first four-year period” (πρώτη πενθετηρίς) that the curses were meant to outlast, and the unparalleled term κυνωτόν, these texts are unusual in that they preserve over a full line of dactylic hexameter. The metrical formulae, combined with the presence of deictic language, may suggest that parts of the archetype curse underpinning these texts once circulated orally, in performative ritual contexts. The cache affords a singular glimpse into the process of curse-creation around 400 BCE, especially the ways in which a curse-writer could customize a fixed template spell to suit a client’s needs and circumstances. These tablets illuminate the shadowy process behind the creation of Athenian curse tablets, and the growing traffic in “magic” by the end of the fifth century BCE.

Probing the Dynamic Self-Assembly Behaviour of Photoswitchable Wormlike Micelles in Real Time

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine A. Kelly ◽  
Judith E. Houston ◽  
Rachel Evans
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Self Assembly ◽  
Uv Light ◽  
Wormlike Micelles ◽  
Tetraethylene Glycol ◽  
Light Illumination ◽  
First Time ◽  
Dependent Processes

Understanding the dynamic self-assembly behaviour of azobenzene photosurfactants (AzoPS) is crucial to advance their use in controlled release applications such as<i></i>drug delivery and micellar catalysis. Currently, their behaviour in the equilibrium <i>cis-</i>and <i>trans</i>-photostationary states is more widely understood than during the photoisomerisation process itself. Here, we investigate the time-dependent self-assembly of the different photoisomers of a model neutral AzoPS, <a>tetraethylene glycol mono(4′,4-octyloxy,octyl-azobenzene) </a>(C<sub>8</sub>AzoOC<sub>8</sub>E<sub>4</sub>) using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS). We show that the incorporation of <i>in-situ</i>UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy with SANS allows the scattering profile, and hence micelle shape, to be correlated with the extent of photoisomerisation in real-time. It was observed that C<sub>8</sub>AzoOC<sub>8</sub>E<sub>4</sub>could switch between wormlike micelles (<i>trans</i>native state) and fractal aggregates (under UV light), with changes in the self-assembled structure arising concurrently with changes in the absorption spectrum. Wormlike micelles could be recovered within 60 seconds of blue light illumination. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the degree of AzoPS photoisomerisation has been tracked <i>in</i><i>-situ</i>through combined UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy-SANS measurements. This technique could be widely used to gain mechanistic and kinetic insights into light-dependent processes that are reliant on self-assembly.

The Total Synthesis of Rhabdastrellic Acid A

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaroslav Boyko ◽  
Christopher Huck ◽  
David Sarlah
Keyword(s):  
Total Synthesis ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
Cross Coupling ◽  
Side Chains ◽  
General Strategy ◽  
Modular Approach ◽  
Linear Sequence ◽  
Generating Sequence ◽  
First Time

<div>The first total synthesis of rhabdastrellic acid A, a highly cytotoxic isomalabaricane triterpenoid, has been accomplished in a linear sequence of 14 steps from commercial geranylacetone. The prominently strained <i>trans-syn-trans</i>-perhydrobenz[<i>e</i>]indene core characteristic of the isomalabaricanes is efficiently accessed in a selective manner for the first time through a rapid, complexity-generating sequence incorporating a reductive radical polyene cyclization, an unprecedented oxidative Rautenstrauch cycloisomerization, and umpolung 𝛼-substitution of a <i>p</i>-toluenesulfonylhydrazone with in situ reductive transposition. A late-stage cross-coupling in concert with a modular approach to polyunsaturated side chains renders this a general strategy for the synthesis of numerous family members of these synthetically challenging and hitherto inaccessible marine triterpenoids.</div>

scholarly journals Engineered Phage Endolysin Eliminates Gardnerella Biofilm without Damaging Beneficial Bacteria in Bacterial Vaginosis Ex Vivo

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Christine Landlinger ◽  
Lenka Tisakova ◽  
Vera Oberbauer ◽  
Timo Schwebs ◽  
Abbas Muhammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacterial Vaginosis ◽  
Bactericidal Activity ◽  
High Selectivity ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Vaginal Microbiome ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Wild Type Enzyme ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
First Time

Bacterial vaginosis is characterized by an imbalance of the vaginal microbiome and a characteristic biofilm formed on the vaginal epithelium, which is initiated and dominated by Gardnerella bacteria, and is frequently refractory to antibiotic treatment. We investigated endolysins of the type 1,4-beta-N-acetylmuramidase encoded on Gardnerella prophages as an alternative treatment. When recombinantly expressed, these proteins demonstrated strong bactericidal activity against four different Gardnerella species. By domain shuffling, we generated several engineered endolysins with 10-fold higher bactericidal activity than any wild-type enzyme. When tested against a panel of 20 Gardnerella strains, the most active endolysin, called PM-477, showed minimum inhibitory concentrations of 0.13–8 µg/mL. PM-477 had no effect on beneficial lactobacilli or other species of vaginal bacteria. Furthermore, the efficacy of PM-477 was tested by fluorescence in situ hybridization on vaginal samples of fifteen patients with either first time or recurring bacterial vaginosis. In thirteen cases, PM-477 killed the Gardnerella bacteria and physically dissolved the biofilms without affecting the remaining vaginal microbiome. The high selectivity and effectiveness in eliminating Gardnerella, both in cultures of isolated strains as well as in clinically derived samples of natural polymicrobial biofilms, makes PM-477 a promising alternative to antibiotics for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, especially in patients with frequent recurrence.

scholarly journals Chromosomal painting of the sandpiper (Actitis macularius) detects several fissions for the Scolopacidae family (Charadriiformes)

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melquizedec Luiz Silva Pinheiro ◽  
Cleusa Yoshiko Nagamachi ◽  
Talita Fernanda Augusto Ribas ◽  
Cristovam Guerreiro Diniz ◽  
Patricia Caroline Mary O´Brien ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chromosome Painting ◽  
Diploid Number ◽  
Chromosomal Evolution ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Chromosomal Painting ◽  
Cytogenetic Studies ◽  
Burhinus Oedicnemus ◽  
Clear Idea ◽  
First Time

Abstract Background The Scolopacidae family (Suborder Scolopaci, Charadriiformes) is composed of sandpipers and snipes; these birds are long-distance migrants that show great diversity in their behavior and habitat use. Cytogenetic studies in the Scolopacidae family show the highest diploid numbers for order Charadriiformes. This work analyzes for the first time the karyotype of Actitis macularius by classic cytogenetics and chromosome painting. Results The species has a diploid number of 92, composed mostly of telocentric pairs. This high 2n is greater than the proposed 80 for the avian ancestral putative karyotype (a common feature among Scolopaci), suggesting that fission rearrangements have formed smaller macrochromosomes and microchromosomes. Fluorescence in situ hybridization using Burhinus oedicnemus whole chromosome probes confirmed the fissions in pairs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 of macrochromosomes. Conclusion Comparative analysis with other species of Charadriiformes studied by chromosome painting together with the molecular phylogenies for the order allowed us to raise hypotheses about the chromosomal evolution in suborder Scolopaci. From this, we can establish a clear idea of how chromosomal evolution occurred in this suborder.

Stretchable supercapacitor at −30 °C

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuting Jin ◽  
Li Song ◽  
Hongsheng Yang ◽  
Chunlong Dai ◽  
Yukun Xiao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
First Time

A stretchable supercapacitor at −30 °C was developed for the first time by in situ growth of polyaniline onto the newly-designed anti-freezing organohydrogel polyelectrolyte.

scholarly journals Direct TEM observation of the “acanthite α-Ag2S–argentite β-Ag2S” phase transition in a silver sulfide nanoparticle

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 1581-1588 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. I. Sadovnikov ◽  
E. Yu. Gerasimov
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Phase Transition ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Silver Sulfide ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Silver Sulfide Nanoparticles ◽  
Microscopy Method ◽  
Electron Microscopy Method ◽  
First Time

For the first time, the α-Ag2S (acanthite)–β-Ag2S (argentite) phase transition in a single silver sulfide nanoparticles has been observed in situ using a high-resolution transmission electron microscopy method in real time.

scholarly journals Microbial N2O consumption in and above marine N2O production hotspots

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin Sun ◽  
Amal Jayakumar ◽  
John C. Tracey ◽  
Elizabeth Wallace ◽  
Colette L. Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Parameters ◽  
Substrate Affinity ◽  
N2o Production ◽  
Anoxic Waters ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
Anoxic Zones ◽  
First Time ◽  
Microbial N

AbstractThe ocean is a net source of N2O, a potent greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting agent. However, the removal of N2O via microbial N2O consumption is poorly constrained and rate measurements have been restricted to anoxic waters. Here we expand N2O consumption measurements from anoxic zones to the sharp oxygen gradient above them, and experimentally determine kinetic parameters in both oxic and anoxic seawater for the first time. We find that the substrate affinity, O2 tolerance, and community composition of N2O-consuming microbes in oxic waters differ from those in the underlying anoxic layers. Kinetic parameters determined here are used to model in situ N2O production and consumption rates. Estimated in situ rates differ from measured rates, confirming the necessity to consider kinetics when predicting N2O cycling. Microbes from the oxic layer consume N2O under anoxic conditions at a much faster rate than microbes from anoxic zones. These experimental results are in keeping with model results which indicate that N2O consumption likely takes place above the oxygen deficient zone (ODZ). Thus, the dynamic layer with steep O2 and N2O gradients right above the ODZ is a previously ignored potential gatekeeper of N2O and should be accounted for in the marine N2O budget.

The abolition of the liturgical chorēgia and the creation of the agōnothesia in Athens: new considerations on a debated issue

2020 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 34-68
Author(s):  
Delphine Ackermann ◽  
Clément Sarrazanas
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Century ◽  
Democratic Government ◽  
Ancient Source ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Government ◽  
First Time ◽  
New Look

Abstract:No ancient source indicates when the agōnothesia, attested for the first time in 307/6 BC, was introduced in Athens. Scholars have long attributed its creation, along with the abolition of the liturgical chorēgia, to the government of Demetrius of Phalerum (317–307 BC), motivated by oligarchic ideology and a desire to preserve the wealth of rich citizens. This traditional thesis has recently been challenged, with some scholars attributing the creation of the agōnothesia to the restored democratic government of 307 BC and others to the government of Phocion (322–318 BC). A new look at epigraphical and literary documents hitherto neglected or imperfectly understood (especially from the Attic demes) allows the authors to establish that the liturgical chorēgia disappeared at the beginning of the government of Demetrius of Phalerum, around 316 BC. The institution of the agōnothesia had a precedent (hitherto overlooked) in Lycurgan Athens with the new festival of the Amphiaraia of 331 BC. Both measures were in fact consensual and must not be interpreted as strictly oligarchic in inspiration. The creation of the agōnothesia was above all a pragmatic response on Athens’ part to the major changes that occurred in the agonistic world in the late fourth century.

Some Palaeoliths from South Arabia

1954 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Caton-Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Society ◽  
South Arabia ◽  
First Time ◽  
Do So

The material here described was found in the Hadhramaut by Elinor Gardner and myself between November 1937 and March 1938. My personal investigation of the Palaeolithic Age was limited by pre-Islamic excavations, and I am therefore indebted to her for the gathering of most of the specimens in situ in terrace gravels, and to her detailed study of their positions.The collection consists mainly of groups from four fairly widely separated localities; the physiography of these has already been outlined in a comprehensive paper published in the Geographical Journal. Whenever appropriate to the purpose of this account, which is to place for the first time on illustrated record all we observed about the palaeoliths, I have reused in this different context illustrations of Quaternary environment which appeared in that Journal. With thanks I acknowledge the permission of the Royal Geographical Society to do so.

FC14-01 - Internal losses and the creation of “Nowhere land”: psychodynamic themes of adults with ADHD discovered during drama-therapy

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1893-1893
Author(s):  
I. Manor ◽  
G. Yazpan
Keyword(s):  
Drama Therapy ◽  
Transitional Space ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
The Past ◽  
Chronic Disorder ◽  
Pharmacological Aspect ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
Socioeconomic Strata ◽  
The Creation ◽  
First Time

ADHD is a well-known, chronic disorder that persists in adulthood. During the past 20 years its existence in adults is becoming clearer, yet its dynamic aspects are rarely discussed. The treatment of adults is vital, as much as that of children; however the literature discussing it, especially its non-pharmacological aspect, is scarce.We describe the results of our treatment with drama-therapy of two groups of adults with ADHD. These groups included 11 adults (from both groups), men and women, from most socioeconomic strata, aged ≥ 60 yrs., who were diagnosed as suffering from ADHD and were treated for it for the first time in their life. Drama-therapy was selected as we believed it to be a useful method with associative, distracted ADHD patients, since it enabled the use of transitional space through non-verbal images and acts.This presentation discusses the basic themes with which patients began therapy. Interestingly, all patients, however different, shared the same themes that were built on self doubt and the pre-presumption of disappointment. The impairment related to ADHD, that was felt, but not understood, led to a strong experience of heavy losses, which we tried to define separately: of a clear path, of control, of the inner perception of borders and of the loss of an integrative inner self. All these losses were accumulated in the transitional space in a place we named “Nowhere land”.We would like to present these themes of losses and of becoming lost and to discuss their meaning.

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