217 research outputs found
Omero, Maratona e Atene dalle ampie strade (Od. VII, 78-81). Una nota sulla rappresentazione dell’Atene micenea sotto i Pisistratidi
No full textIn commenting the celebrated passage of the Odyssey (VII 78-81) that describes the visit of the goddess Athena to the “well-built house of Erechtheus” on the Acropolis of Athens, scholars have focused on isolated features, such as the hapax legomenon name of the city in the singular accusative, or the attribute euryagyia. Other elements have been overlooked, such as the seemingly inconsistent route of the goddess from Scheria to Athens and the obscure mention of Marathon. This paper reappraises these elements to put forward a new interpretation of the passage. Rather than hinting at a Late Bronze Age origin, the unparalleled form of the city-name was necessary for metrical reasons, as it was modified by an attribute exclusively recurring in the singular to realize the fifth dactyl of the hexameter. The adjective euryagyia is used to equate Athens to both Mycenae and Troy in urban splendor and political importance. The reference to Marathon seems to imply that the goddess landed on the northeast coast of Attica, as if she were coming from Euboea or some other North Aegean island. This is entirely inconsistent with all the ancient traditions, which located the mythical island of Scheria at the westernmost limits of the world, but seems to hint at Peisistratus’ march in 547/6 BC, which started from Marathon and ledto his victory in the battle of Pallene. The author argues that Marathon is mentioned in this passage to acknowledge itsconnection with Peisistratus, and that the goddess Athena is accordingly represented as retracing Peisistratus’ route. This suggests that the passage is an interpolation of the 6th century BC
La corona di Damarete (Diod. XI 26,3): per una storia della tradizione
No full textThe article deals with a celebrated passage of Diodorus Siculus, where the gift of a golden crown to queen Damarete of Syracuse is mentioned. The author considers this passage in the light of other references to golden crowns, concluding that Diodorus makes reference to an amount of gold and not a jewel
I due pithoi globulari di Haghia Triada e la cronologia della "Casa dei vani aggiunti progressivamente"
No full textTwo globular pithoi were discovered inside Casa VAP at Haghia Triada. In the light of recent discoveries of similar vessels at other Cretan sites, the author proposes to date them to middle of LM IIIB and considers them part of the layer of abandonment of the settlement
HtpG—A Major Virulence Factor and a Promising Vaccine Antigen against Mycobacterium tuberculosis
No full textTuberculosis (TB) is the leading global cause of death f rom an infectious bacterial agent. Therefore, limiting its epidemic spread is a pressing global health priority. The chaperone-like protein HtpG of M. tuberculosis (Mtb) is a large dimeric and multi-domain protein with a key role in Mtb pathogenesis and promising antigenic properties. This dual role, likely associated with the ability of Heat Shock proteins to act both intra- and extra-cellularly, makes HtpG highly exploitable both for drug and vaccine development. This review aims to gather the latest updates in HtpG structure and biological function, with HtpG operating in conjunction with a large number of chaperone molecules of Mtb. Altogether, these molecules help Mtb recovery after exposure to host-like stress by assisting the whole path of protein folding rescue, from the solubilisation of aggregated proteins to their refolding. Also, we highlight the role of structural biology in the development of safer and more effective subunit antigens. The larger availability of structural information on Mtb antigens and a better understanding of the host immune response to TB infection will aid the acceleration of TB vaccine development
Vivere dopo la catastrofe. La fine dei palazzi micenei e il lessico archeologico della "crisi"
No full textThe destruction of the Mycenaean citadels has been a focus of scholarly debate since
Schliemann’s discoveries at Mycenae and Tiryns. After succinctly reviewing the most recent studies
on this topic, the author makes reference to the material evidence that supports competition
and conflicts among Mycenaean states and within the territories depending on the latter. He
concludes that words such as “collapse” and “resilience” fail to describe the dynamic history of
state formation in the Aegean world, while stressing the usefulness of the notion of “fragility”
recently advocated by N. Yoffee
Solide case per tempi di crisi. Immagazzinamento e attività cerimoniali a Festòs nel periodo tra il primo e il secondo palazzo: le Case della Rampa e di Chalara a confronto
No full textThis paper deals with two domestic buildings located in the proximity of the palace at Phaistos, namely the House to the South of the Ramp (end of MM IIB-MM IIIA) and the LM IB House of Chalara. Both were built at a time when the palace was not in function, having been destroyed at the end of MM IIB, temporarily and partially reoccupied in MM IIIA, and eventually rebuilt as late as LM IB. The two houses can be usefully compared, as they show both storage facilities, comprising large storage jars and doorless spaces, that outnumber the needs of a purely domestic household, and boast ritual and cultic features, such as specialized vessels and/or dedicated ritual spaces (the so-called “lustral basin”). By analyzing the composition of the ceramic assemblages retrieved on the floors and nearby dumps and drawing on comparison with two ceramic deposits recently unearthed at Gournia, the author eventually argues that the House to the South of the Ramp was involved in the organization of empowering or entrepreneurial feasts, aimed at asserting the continuity between the local household and the former palace; conversely, the House of Chalara hosted patron-role feasts, that functioned within a more stable political framework, centred upon the nearby administrative site of Hagia Triada
“Nelle tasche dei marinai. Le monete siciliane da Anticitera e il commercio di opere d’arte in età tardo-repubblicana
No full textThis paper focuses on the bronze coins of Catana and Panormus retrieved from the Antikythera shipwreck, which were recently published in the catalogue of the exhibition held at the National Archaeological Museum at Athens in 2012. They belong to a group of about forty coins, most of which were too worn to be conclusively identified. Unlike the silver hoard of Cistophori found onboard, which seems to attest to the presence of a passenger originating in Asia Minor, such bronze coins no doubt represent the argent de poche that a member of the crew accepted as small change at the harbour–towns that the ship had called at on its previous journeys. Therefore, the light they can shed on the Antikythera shipwreck is twofold. On the one hand, since the Catana coins are only attested one more time in the Aegean area, namely at the island of Delos, their presence onboard can be considered a further clue of a connection between the ship and Delos. That the former journeys of the ship included the harbours of East Sicily is hinted at by the local discovery of several ceramic classes retrieved onboard (e.g., Eastern Sigillata Ware). On the other hand, both the Catana coins carry the representation of two mythic figures on one side, named eusebeis or pii
fratres, who became a popular symbol of piety comparable to Aeneas during the 2nd and 1st century BC. Scholars put forward different dating for such coins, ranging from as early as the beginning of the 2nd century BC to as late as the mid–1st century BC. The Antikythera wreck safely attests to their circulation in ca. 70–60 BC. By drawing on the economical, religious, and political connotations of the representation of Dionysus on the other side of the Catana coins, the author contends that they were minted in the last quarter of the 2nd century BC
Non-Specific Epileptic Activity, EEG, and Brain Imaging in Loss of Function Variants in SATB1: A New Case Report and Review of the Literature
No full textSATB1 (MIM #602075) is a relatively new gene reported only in recent years in association with neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by variable facial dysmorphisms, global developmental delay, poor or absent speech, altered electroencephalogram (EEG), and brain abnormalities on imaging. To date about thirty variants in forty-four patients/children have been described, with a heterogeneous spectrum of clinical manifestations. In the present study, we describe a new patient affected by mild intellectual disability, speech disorder, and non-specific abnormalities on EEG and neuroimaging. Family studies identified a new de novo frameshift variant c.1818delG (p.(Gln606Hisfs*101)) in SATB1. To better define genotype–phenotype associations in the different types of reported SATB1 variants, we reviewed clinical data from our patient and from the literature and compared manifestations (epileptic activity, EEG abnormalities and abnormal brain imaging) due to missense variants versus those attributable to loss-of-function/premature termination variants. Our analyses showed that the latter variants are associated with less severe, non-specific clinical features when compared with the more severe phenotypes due to missense variants. These findings provide new insights into SATB1-related disorders
In Vitro Viability Tests of New Ecofriendly Nanosystems Incorporating Essential Oils for Long-Lasting Conservation of Stone Artworks
No full textThe study explores the application of natural biocides (oregano essential oil and eugenol, directly applied in solutions or encapsulated within silica nanocapsules) for safeguarding stone cultural heritage from biodeterioration, using green algae (Chlorococcum sp.) and cyanobacteria (Leptolyngbya sp.) as common pioneer biodeteriogens. Core-shell nanocontainers were built for a controlled release of microbicidal agents, a safe application of chemicals and a prolonged efficacy. The qualitative and quantitative evaluations of biocide efficiency at different doses were periodically performed in vitro, after six scheduled intervals of time (until 100 days). The release kinetics of composite biocide-embedding silica nanocapsules were characterized by the UV-Vis spectroscopy technique. Data showed both promising potential and some limitations. The comparative tests of different biocidal systems shed light on their variable efficacy against microorganisms, highlighting how encapsulation influences the release dynamics and the overall effectiveness. Both the essential oils showed a potential efficacy in protective antifouling coatings for stone artifacts. Ensuring compatibility with materials, understanding their differences in biocidal activity and their release rates becomes essential in tailoring gel, microemulsion or coating products for direct on-site application
Un graffito su uno skyphos attico da Monte Iudica (CT)
No full textThe author examines a graffito found on the foot of a black-glazed Attic skyphos. The vase was part of the burial
assemblage of a chamber tomb datable to the first half of the fifth century BC. After a brief description of the find context, a
Sikel-Greek necropolis in eastern Sicily, the author goes into a morphological and typological study of the skyphos and a
paleographical analysis of the graffito. He finally discusses possible readings and interpretations of the inscription
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