Ascalona spoliata. The dismantling of the Roman city and the reuse in Late and post-classical eras through archaeological and literary evidence

The city of Ashqelon lies on the southern part of the Israeli coast, 50 km south of Jaffa, and 13 km north of Gaza. It was a relevant port city during Antiquity, until the Crusaders and the Arab conquest in the 13th century when it was destroyed and abandoned. The continuity of the settlement resulted in a rich archaeological deposit, spanning from the Bronze Age to the Medieval period. Still, at the same time, it also caused the dismantling of several buildings and the reuse of architectural debris in the city itself or elsewhere, mostly in other sites along the coast. This paper deals with the spolia of the Roman town, and aims to evaluate the management of the dismantling process in the post-Classical era, the purposes and dynamics of the reuse as well as its geographical spread.

Modelling the geographical spread of HIV among MSM in Guangdong, China: a metapopulation model considering the impact of pre-exposure prophylaxis

Men who have sex with men (MSM) make up the majority of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnoses among young people in China. Understanding HIV transmission dynamics among the MSM population is, therefore, crucial for the control and prevention of HIV infections, especially for some newly reported genotypes of HIV. This study presents a metapopulation model considering the impact of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to investigate the geographical spread of a hypothetically new genotype of HIV among MSM in Guangdong, China. We use multiple data sources to construct this model to characterize the behavioural dynamics underlying the spread of HIV within and between 21 prefecture-level cities (i.e. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, etc.) in Guangdong province: the online social network via a gay social networking app, the offline human mobility network via the Baidu mobility website, and self-reported sexual behaviours among MSM. Results show that PrEP initiation exponentially delays the occurrence of the virus for the rest of the cities transmitted from the initial outbreak city; hubs on the movement network, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Foshan are at a higher risk of ‘earliest’ exposure to the new HIV genotype; most cities acquire the virus directly from the initial outbreak city while others acquire the virus from cities that are not initial outbreak locations and have relatively high betweenness centralities, such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shantou. This study provides insights in predicting the geographical spread of a new genotype of HIV among an MSM population from different regions and assessing the importance of prefecture-level cities in the control and prevention of HIV in Guangdong province. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Data science approach to infectious disease surveillance’.

Rules on tech firms will tighten across South Asia

Significance Policy convergence is visible across the region's four largest markets -- India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, success varies and, counter-intuitively, policy momentum seems unrelated to geographical spread, population size or economic heft of the national market. Impacts Data localisation laws may soon become a South Asian norm. Anti-misinformation rules will likely be used to facilitate surveillance. Tech firms will face new taxation obligations in the region.

Interrogation in Nigerian Police-suspect Discourse

Police-suspect interrogation is a peculiar discourse genre where there is interplay of power and dominance. This study examines the process by which linguistic coercion by the police is being actualized. The data for the study were interrogations between the police and some suspects that were selected within Ondo and Ekiti State Police Commands. The towns were purposively chosen based on their geographical spread across the Ondo Area Command as well as their population and commercial advantages. The data gathered were transcribed and analysed using Gibbons’ Forensic Questioning model. Since police-suspect interaction is based on questions and answers, questions in police-suspect interaction were classified according to the degree of power embedded in them. The result indicated that assault, abduction, affray and robbery were the common themes in Police-Suspect Discourse. The findings of the study reveal that in Police-Suspect Discourse there are such questions as declarative, choice, restricted and non-restricted WH-questions, special formulas and projected questions. The study further reveals that the questioning strategies of the police afford them the opportunity of controlling the interrogation. The more frequently the police use questions, the more they are coercive.

Detection of the Japanese encephalitis vector mosquito Culex tritaeniorhynchus in Australia using molecular diagnostics and morphology

Background Culex (Culex) tritaeniorhynchus is an important vector of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) affecting feral pigs, native mammals and humans. The mosquito species is widely distributed throughout Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe, and thought to be absent in Australia. Methods In February and May, 2020 the Medical Entomology unit of the Northern Territory (NT) Top End Health Service collected Cx. tritaeniorhynchus female specimens (n = 19) from the Darwin and Katherine regions. Specimens were preliminarily identified morphologically as the Vishnui subgroup in subgenus Culex. Molecular identification was performed using cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) barcoding, including sequence percentage identity using BLAST and tree-based identification using maximum likelihood analysis in the IQ-TREE software package. Once identified using COI, specimens were reanalysed for diagnostic morphological characters to inform a new taxonomic key to related species from the NT. Results Sequence percentage analysis of COI revealed that specimens from the NT shared 99.7% nucleotide identity to a haplotype of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus from Dili, Timor-Leste. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the NT specimens formed a monophyletic clade with other Cx. tritaeniorhynchus from Southeast Asia and the Middle East. We provide COI barcodes for most NT species from the Vishnui subgroup to aid future identifications, including the first genetic sequences for Culex (Culex) crinicauda and the undescribed species Culex (Culex) sp. No. 32 of Marks. Useful diagnostic morphological characters were identified and are presented in a taxonomic key to adult females to separate Cx. tritaeniorhynchus from other members of the Vishnui subgroup from the NT. Conclusions We report the detection of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in Australia from the Darwin and Katherine regions of the NT. The vector is likely to be already established in northern Australia, given the wide geographical spread throughout the Top End of the NT. The establishment of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus in Australia is a concern to health officials as the species is an important vector of JEV and is now the sixth species from the subgenus Culex capable of vectoring JEV in Australia. We suggest that the species must now be continuously monitored during routine mosquito surveillance programmes to determine its current geographical spread and prevent the potential transmission of exotic JEV throughout Australia. Graphical abstract

Ancient and High Crosses of Cornwall

An illustrated guide to one hundred of the finest early Cornish stone crosses, dating from around AD 900 to 1300. These characteristic features of the Cornish landscape are splendid examples of their type, exhibiting a wide geographical spread and a certain weather-beaten beauty. The medieval stone crosses of Cornwall have long been objects of curiosity both for residents and visitors. This is the first ever accessible volume on the subject, combining detailed description and discussion of the crosses with information on access, colour images and suggestions for further reading. An approachable but academically rigorous work, it includes analysis of the decorative designs and sculptural techniques, accompanied by high-quality photographs which illustrate the subtleties of each cross, often hard to discern in situ. Ancient and High Crosses of Cornwall offers an ideal introduction for the general reader but will also prove essential to local historians, landscape historians, archaeologists and anyone working in the area of Cornish studies or connected with the Cornish diaspora.

Insular Pharmacopoeias: Ethnobotanical Characteristics of Medicinal Plants Used on the Adriatic Islands

The Adriatic islands in Croatia, usually divided into two archipelagos – the Kvarner and Dalmatian islands – is one of the largest groups of islands in Europe. Over 40 islands are still inhabited. Unfortunately the traditional use of medicinal plants was never properly documented there. Our data comes from 343 interviews carried out in 36 islands, including the 15 largest islands of the archipelago. The medicinal plants are mainly used to make herbal infusions or decoctions, occasionally medicinal liqueurs, syrups, compresses, or juices squeezed out of raw plants. We recorded the use of 146 taxa, among them 131 with at least one medicinal purpose and 15 only for tea. The frequency curve of use is relatively steep – several plants are used very frequently and most are reported only by one or two informants, which can be explained both by the large geographical spread of the area, and even more so by the devolution of local knowledge and disappearance of gathering practices due to specialization in tourism, modernization and depopulation. Most of the gathered plants already occur in ancient and medieval herbals and are a part of the pan-Mediterranean pharmacopoeia.

Understanding the Geographical Spread of COVID-19 in Relation with Goods Regional Routes and Governmental Decrees: The Lombardy Region Case Study

In this paper, a preliminary data analytics study on the spread of COVID-19 in Italy and Lombardy Region is reported to understand how the COVID-19 spread from a geographical point-of-view. Understanding the rules followed by the virus in its spread in Italy and Lombardy Region is fundamental to act properly to reduce and isolate the contagious promptly. The paper investigates the possible correlation between the goods and transport routes and the citizen travels with the spread of the COVID-19 from a geographical perspective. Moreover, in the paper, an empirical discussion is reported on how the actions and decrees, which have been imposed by the Italian Government over time, impacted actually on the spread of COVID-19. This discussion can highlight important aspects that can be taken into account in future pandemic waves, to better balance the policies and actions imposed by the Government and by the Regions.

Liana Plants of the Natural Flora of Azerbaijan, Their Botanical-Geographical Spread and Use

Liane-type plants of natural flora of Azerbaijan were studied, their distribution areas were partially identified, and also taxonomic composition and application areas were given in the paper. Lianas are a minority in the flora and mainly in grasses and shrubs forms as have shown results of studies. 25 species of lianas of 11 families and 14 genera are spread in the natural flora of Azerbaijan. This is consist only 0.5% of the total natural flora of Azerbaijan (4,500 species). Many perennial and annual lianas belonging to the Convolvulaceae family (Bingweed), especially Convolvulus cantabrica L., Convolvulus commutatus Boiss., Convolvulus erinaceus Ledeb. etc. species are very rare in nature. This group of plants is most widespread in the Kur-Araz lowland and the Greater Caucasus, and the least were found in the Caspian lowlands, Nakhchivan mountains and Gobustan as shown result of the study of the distribution areas of lianas. The use of lianas of natural flora in urban landscaping has been studied, and many species can be used for landscaping due to their bioecological properties. Some species (i. e., Hedera helix L., Lonicera caprifolium L., etc.) are currently used in vertical landscaping should be noted. However, research has shown that the flora also contains many species of ornamental lianas that can be involved in vertical landscaping.