The Samaria Region During the Israelite Period: An Urban Study

From the Biblical accounts relating the activities of prophets such as Elijah, Elisha, Amos and Hosea, it has long been known that the period after the death of Solomon (ca. 922 B.C.) was one of the great political, social, economic and ideational upheaval in Palestine. This situation was especially true within the Northern Kingdom of Israel. In conjunction with an following the accession of the Omride dynasty (ca. 876-842/841 B.C.), a number of phenomena occurred which caused a profound transformation of the situation that existed there. The first of these involved the consolidation of the royal power base so that the monarchy became a virtually autocratic institution which was independent of traditional sources of authority (e.g. the Amphictyonic Council at Schehem). The second involved the rise of the “royal interest group” (a social group consisting of those households which benefitted mostly from royal power) and the development of a hierarchical social order. The third involved the emergence of an economic structure that integrated much of northern Palestine. The fourth involved the formation of a pluralistic ideational pattern which caused considerable alienation amongst the traditional sectors of the Israelite population. One of the aspects of Israelite life that was greatly affected by these developments was the urban system. Throughout the north, a host of centres representing a variety of orders were incorporated into a new, more integrated system which encompassed the entire realm and which was designed to serve the needs of the monarchy and its interest group. Under this new arrangement, urban units were given specialized functions so that some became chariot-cities, while others served as store-cities or administrative centers. The present enquiry will focus upon the urban system that prevailed within the seat of North Israelite power, namely the Samaria region. With the aid of a model that accounts for six factors, it will attempt to show that during the ca. 870-722/721 B.C. period, the dynamics of the cities, towns and villages of this area were governed largely by the above-mentioned political, social, economic and ideational phenomena as well as the technological and physiographical resources that were available. Specifically, it will elucidate the process by which the new city of Samaria became the dominant center of the region and by which the old cities of Sechem and Tirzah became integrated into the northern urban systems as centers of secondary importance

Influence of peanut matrix on stability of allergens in gastric-simulated digesta: 2S albumins are main contributors to the IgE reactivity of short digestion-resistant peptides

Background: Most food allergens sensitizing via the gastrointestinal tract are stable proteins that are resistant to pepsin digestion, in particular major peanut allergens, Ara h 2 and Ara h 6. Survival of their large fragments is essential for sensitizing capacity. However, the immunoreactive proteins/peptides to which the immune system of the gastrointestinal tract is exposed during digestion of peanut proteins are unknown. Particularly, the IgE reactivity of short digestion-resistant peptides (SDRPs; lt 10 kDa) released by gastric digestion under standardized and physiologically relevant in vitro conditions has not been investigated. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate and identify digestion products of major peanut allergens and in particular to examine IgE reactivity of SDRPs released by pepsin digestion of whole peanut grains. Methods: Two-dimensional gel-based proteomics and shotgun peptidomics, immunoblotting with allergen-specific antibodies from peanut-sensitized patients, enzyme-linked immunosorbent inhibition assay and ImmunoCAP tests, including far ultraviolet-circular dichroism spectroscopy were used to identify and characterize peanut digesta. Results: Ara h 2 and Ara h 6 remained mostly intact, and SDRPs from Ara h 2 were more potent in inhibiting IgE binding than Ara h 1 and Ara 3. Ara h 1 and Ara h 3 exhibited sequential digestion into a series of digestion-resistant peptides with preserved allergenic capacity. A high number of identified SDRPs from Ara h 1, Ara h 2 and Ara h 3 were part of short continuous epitope sequences and possessed substantial allergenic potential. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: Peanut grain digestion by oral and gastric phase enzymes generates mixture of products, where the major peanut allergens remain intact and their digested peptides have preserved allergenic capacity highlighting their important roles in allergic reactions to peanut.This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article: Prodić, I.; Stanić-Vučinić, D.; Apostolović, D.; Mihailović, J.; Radibratović, M.; Radosavljević, J.; Burazer, L.; Milcić, M.; Smiljanić, K.; van Hage, M.; Ćirković-Veličković, T. Influence of Peanut Matrix on Stability of Allergens in Gastric-Simulated Digesta: 2S Albumins Are Main Contributors to the IgE Reactivity of Short Digestion-Resistant Peptides. Clinical and Experimental Allergy 2018, 48 (6), 731–740. [https://doi.org/10.1111/cea.13113]

G254 undergraduate experiment

This paper describes the experiments on payload G254. Each experiment is accommodated in a spacepak and six experiments fly in a full canister. One of the experiments will be housed in a new Isospacepak structure, which will be described briefly. Five of the six experiments have dedicated controllers. The objective of each experiment is discussed. In addition, the operational scenario is provided

Ecohydrology of Surface and Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems: Concepts, Methods and Recent Developments

Proceedings of Symposium JS.1 at the Join Convention of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) and the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) held in Hyderabad, India, 6-12 September 2009. IAHS Publication 328 ISSN 0144-7815 Book published in the UK. Go to: http://iahs.info/ And follow the instructions: Publications / Red Books / 328 You can see the titles of the papers published in the book and you can even buy it there. Contact of one of the authors: António Chambel: [email protected]