The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant c. 8000–332bce , edited by Margreet L. Steiner & Ann E. Killebrew, 2014. Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 978-0-19-921297-2 hardback £110, $175; xxiv+886 pp., 160 figs., 18 tables

There has never been a unified or holistic approach to study of the ancient Levant. Within Syria-Palestine (and indeed the East Mediterranean and Near East more broadly) a wealth of academic traditions, disciplinary boundaries, ideologies and agendas have combined with potent modern political divisions to create a scholarship which can often feel fragmented. One of the stated aims of this weighty handbook is to bridge such divisions and be ‘a comprehensive volume on the archaeology of the whole Levant spanning the time from the Neolithic to the Persian period’ (p.2). This ambitious scope is further broadened by the decision to include Cyprus within the volume’s definition of the Levant, reflecting the island’s close cultural, economic and often political links with the mainland. This bold move goes some way towards softening one of the most potent boundaries in the region’s scholarship – that between Syro-Palestinian and Mediterranean/Classical archaeology – and in that respect it is a welcome one

Emotional reactivity and perseveration: Independent dimensions of trait positive and negative affectivity and differential associations with psychological distress

Background: Theoretically, two types of emotional responding could underlie individual differences in trait affect: 1) a disposition reflecting increased probability of experiencing positive or negative emotions (emotional reactivity), and 2) a disposition to experience prolonged emotional reactions once elicited (emotional perseveration). We developed a measure of these dimensions and investigated whether emotional reactivity and perseveration 1) account for unique variance in trait affect, and 2) are differentially associated with symptoms of psychological distress. Method: In Study 1, participants (T1: n = 90; T2: n = 51) completed the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Emotional Reactivity and Perseveration Scale (ERPS, adapted from the PANAS). In study 2, participants (n = 228) completed the PANAS, ERPS, and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales. Results: Study 1 established the basic psychometric properties of the ERPS and demonstrated that emotional reactivity and perseveration accounted for unique variance in trait positive and negative effect. Study 2 confirmed these findings and established that emotional reactivity and perseveration are differentially associated with depression, anxiety, and stress scores. Conclusion: Emotional reactivity and perseveration represent independent dimensions of trait affect. Considering these dimension in future research could further the understanding of both normal emotional responding and emotional vulnerability

Trustworthy Software : lessons from `goto fail' & Heartbleed bugs

In the first four months of 2014, two major vulnerabilities were announced affecting operation of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol, which is used by applications to secure Internet communications. The `goto fail' bug affected Apple's iOS and OS X software and the `Heartbleed' bug affected versions of the OpenSSL software. Whilst the Apple bug was serious because it affected a wide range of Apple products, the Heartbleed bug was of greater significance due to widespread use of the OpenSSL library. This paper considers the lessons to be learned from these incidents. It examines how the use of the Trustworthy Software Framework (TSF) developed by the authors could have helped to reduce the risk of a major bugs like `goto fail' and Heartbleed. It also examines the responsibilities of developers where they use third party libraries and the need for appropriate due diligence. The paper also makes recommendations about how incidents like this should be handled to avoid confusing and contradictory messages being given

Transcription-coupled eviction of histones H2A/H2B governs V(D)J recombination.

Initiation of V(D)J recombination critically relies on the formation of an accessible chromatin structure at recombination signal sequences (RSSs) but how this accessibility is generated is poorly understood. Immunoglobulin light-chain loci normally undergo recombination in pre-B cells. We show here that equipping (earlier) pro-B cells with the increased pre-B-cell levels of just one transcription factor, IRF4, triggers the entire cascade of events leading to premature light-chain recombination. We then used this finding to dissect the critical events that generate RSS accessibility and show that the chromatin modifications previously associated with recombination are insufficient. Instead, we establish that non-coding transcription triggers IgL RSS accessibility and find that the accessibility is transient. Transcription transiently evicts H2A/H2B dimers, releasing 35-40 bp of nucleosomal DNA, and we demonstrate that H2A/H2B loss can explain the RSS accessibility observed in vivo. We therefore propose that the transcription-mediated eviction of H2A/H2B dimers is an important mechanism that makes RSSs accessible for the initiation of recombination

Linking tree growth rate, damage repair, and susceptibility to a genus-specific pest infestation

Pest preference and subsequent susceptibility of a host individual is likely related to previous growth patterns in that host. Emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire) is a pestiferous beetle introduced to North America from Asia. While all species of ash are susceptible to attack, some individual trees appear to survive infestation. We selected ash trees in southeastern Michigan, collected cores and categorized trees as high tolerance to emerald ash borer attack (high overall health, low crown dieback), low tolerance (low overall health, high crown dieback) and intermediate tolerance (in-between the other categories). We artificially wounded trees and measured wound closure after 3 years. Ring width indices were not correlated between high and low tolerance trees. Regression slopes comparing growth and years were significantly different between the three tolerance categories, with high tolerance trees having the steepest slope. Wound closure was greatest in high tolerance trees. High tolerance trees demonstrating more rapid (steeper regression slope), consistent (lower variance), and effective (greater wound closure) growth. Those vigorously growing trees likely had more capacity to repair damage caused by emerald ash borer, leading to healthier trees in our categorization. Linking previous host growth patterns to health may have implications related to identifying individual trees potentially tolerant to attack

Nazi Punks Folk Off: Leisure, Nationalism, Cultural Identity and the Consumption of Metal and Folk Music

Far-right activists have attempted to infiltrate and use popular music scenes to propagate their racialised ideologies. This paper explores attempts by the far right to co-opt two particular music scenes: black metal and English folk. Discourse tracing is used to explore online debates about boundaries, belonging and exclusion in the two scenes, and to compare such online debates with ethnographic work and previous research. It is argued that both scenes have differently resisted the far right through the policing of boundaries and communicative choices, but both scenes are compromised by their relationship to myths of whiteness and the instrumentality of the pop music industry

Tale proteins bind to both active and inactive chromatin

TALE (transcription activator-like effector) proteins can be tailored to bind to any DNA sequence of choice and thus are of immense utility for genome editing and the specific delivery of transcription activators. However, to perform these functions, they need to occupy their sites in chromatin. In the present study, we have systematically assessed TALE binding to chromatin substrates and find that in vitro TALEs bind to their target site on nucleosomes at the more accessible entry/exit sites, but not at the nucleosome dyad. We show further that in vivo TALEs bind to transcriptionally repressed chromatin and that transcription increases binding by only 2-fold. These data therefore imply that TALEs are likely to bind to their target in vivo even at inactive loci