The Laconia Survey Project

Between 1983 and 1989 a joint team from the British School at Athens and the Universities of Amsterdam and Nottingham carried out an intensive survey of a 70 sq. km. area of Laconia across the Eurotas river to the east of the ancient site of Sparta. In the course of the survey new and previously-known inscriptions were recorded. This archive, along with the project website, is intended to serve as a complement to G. Shipley's catalogue of epigraphical finds in the survey publication by offering digitised images of squeezes and published photographs of the inscriptions

Advances in Thiopurine Drug Delivery: The Current State-of-the-Art

Thiopurines (mercaptopurine, azathioprine and thioguanine) are well-established maintenance treatments for a wide range of diseases such as leukemia, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and other inflammatory and autoimmune diseases in general. Worldwide, millions of patients are treated with thiopurines. The use of thiopurines has been limited because of off-target effects such as myelotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. Therefore, seeking methods to enhance target-based thiopurine-based treatment is relevant, combined with pharmacogenetic testing. Controlled-release formulations for thiopurines have been clinically tested and have shown promising outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease. Latest developments in nano-formulations for thiopurines have shown encouraging pre-clinical results, but further research and development are needed. This review provides an overview of novel drug delivery strategies for thiopurines, reviewing modified release formulations and with a focus on nano-based formulations

The Late Bronze Age hoard from Bækkedal, Denmark – new evidence for the use of two-horse teams and bridles

In late summer 2014, two metal detectorists located 40 bronze objects on a small hillock west of Gammel Skørping in Himmerland. Eastern Himmerland in particular is renowned for its many Late Bronze Age hoards and the Bækkedal hoard, as the discovery is now known, underlines this trend as it represents a multi-type hoard from Late Bronze Age period V. The hoard, which was undergoing progressive plough disturbance, contains both male and female items and, astonishingly, also several metres of well-preserved leather straps that had once formed parts of bridles and harness. Moreover, several bronze fittings, including cheek pieces and phalerae, were in situ on the leather straps, thereby enabling parts of the bridles to be reconstructed. The many bronze harness-related objects show that the hoard represents the components of bridles for a twohorse team. This article gives a preliminary presentation of the hoard, with a particular focus on the metal objects and horse harness, which are then placed in a broader northwest European context

Exposure to thioguanine during 117 pregnancies in women with inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND: Safety of thioguanine in pregnant patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is sparsely recorded. This study was aimed to document the safety of thioguanine during pregnancy and in birth. METHODS: In this multicenter case series, IBD patients treated with thioguanine during pregnancy were included. Data regarding disease and medication history, pregnancy course, obstetric complications and neonatal outcomes were collected. RESULTS: Data on 117 thioguanine-exposed pregnancies in 99 women were collected. Most (78%) had Crohn's disease and the mean age at delivery was 31 years. In eighteen pregnancies (15%) IBD flared. Obstetric and infectious complications were seen in 15% (n=17) and 7% (n=8) of pregnancies, respectively. Ten pregnancies (8.5%) resulted in a first trimester miscarriage and one in a stillbirth at 22 weeks gestational age. Congenital abnormalities were observed in one induced abortion (trisomy 21) and in one of the live-born children (cleft palate) . In total 109 neonates were born from 101 singleton pregnancies and 4 twin pregnancies. In the singleton pregnancies, ten children were born prematurely and ten were born small for gestational age. Screening for myelosuppresion was performed in sixteen neonates (14.7%); two had anemia in umbilical cord blood. All outcomes were comparable to either the general Dutch population or to data from 3 Dutch cohort studies on the use of conventional thiopurines in pregnant IBD patients. CONCLUSION: In this large case series the use of thioguanine during pregnancy is not associated in excess with adverse maternal or neonatal outcomes