Eteocypriot in the Bronze Age? The Cypro- Minoan cylinder from Enkomi as an accounting document

The terracotta cylinder from Enkomi is the longest extant text in Cypro-Minoan 1, but its content is completely unknown. Scholars have held that it uses two different signs for word-dividers. However, it is here argued that one set of these signs is actually numerals, and that this is an accounting-document which uses single-sign abbreviations as on the classical Idalion tablet. Analysis of the resulting ‘entries’ on the cylinder yields sign-groups with terminations in -o-ti resembling those in the corpus of classical Eteocypriot texts; this similarity suggests linguistic continuity from the Bronze Age to the classical period.

Acute adrenal failure: a potentially fatal consequence of an adulterated herbal remedy

Herbal remedies adulterated with glucocorticoids can cause Cushing’s syndrome. We report a severe presentation of a ‘herbal remedy’ adulterated with glucocorticoids; causing a potentially fatal adrenal crisis precipitated by acute illness. Investigations were consistent with adrenal suppression and confirmed, after tablet analysis, to be due to a ‘herbal remedy’ containing synthetic betamethasone/dexamethasone. This case highlights the need for clinical vigilance and patient education about the potential risks associated with the use of unlicensed treatments and the role of tablet analysis in routine biochemistry.