Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

Tomatoes

IPM has been developed and successfully applied in greenhouse tomatoes in several regions of the world since the 1970s. As an alternative to the exclusive application of pesticides, the cornerstone of this strategy is to use Natural Enemies (NE) to control some of the crop’s key pests (whiteflies, tomato leafminer) and other pests (spider mites, dipteran leafminers, thrips, aphids and noctuid moths). Along with the development of varieties with reduced susceptibility to viral diseases transmitted by insects, such as TYLCV, TICV, ToCV and ToTV (by whiteflies), TSWV (by thrips) and PVY (by aphids), management of these problems in many affected areas has been enhanced by the use of screens in greenhouses and the use of NE to reduce vector populations region-wide (both inside and outside greenhouses). Until recently, fungicides were the only available solution for control of airborne diseases (Botrytis, Oidium, Phytophtora and Alternaria) and soilborne diseases (Verticillium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia). A number of biological products and biostimulants now available offer a more sustainable solution, but there is yet no effective solution to some pest problems, such as russet mites, and their presence limits wider application of the programme

The effect of intermittent alcohol vapor or pulsatile heroin on somatic and negative affective indices during spontaneous withdrawal in Wistar rats

RATIONALE: Once dependent on alcohol or opioids, negative affect may accompany withdrawal. Dependent individuals are hypothesized to “self-medicate” in order to cope with withdrawal, which promotes escalated drug or alcohol use. OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to develop a reliable animal model to assess symptoms that occur during spontaneous alcohol and opioid withdrawal. METHODS: Dependence was induced using intermittent alcohol exposure or pulsatile heroin delivery and assessed for the presence of withdrawal symptoms during acute withdrawal by measuring somatic signs, behavior in the forced swim test (FST) and air-puff induced 22-kHz ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs). Additional animals subjected to eight weeks of alcohol vapor exposure were evaluated for altered somatic signs, operant alcohol self-administration and 22-kHz USV production, as well as performance in the elevated plus-maze (EPM). RESULTS: During spontaneous withdrawal from pulsatile heroin or intermittent alcohol vapor, animals displayed increased somatic withdrawal signs, FST immobility and 22-kHz USV production, but did not show any behavioral change in the EPM unless the duration of exposure was extended to four weeks. Following eight weeks of alcohol vapor exposure, animals displayed somatic withdrawal signs, escalated alcohol self-administration and increased 22-kHz USVs. CONCLUSIONS: These paradigms provide consistent methods to evaluate the behavioral ramifications, and neurobiological substrates, of alcohol and opioid dependence during spontaneous withdrawal. As immobility in the FST and percent open-arm time in the EPM were dissociable, with 22-kHz USVs paralleling immobility in the FST, assessment of air-puff induced 22-kHz USVs could provide an ethologically-valid alternative to the FST