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

The γδTCR combines innate immunity with adaptive immunity by utilizing spatially distinct regions for agonist selection and antigen responsiveness

T lymphocytes expressing γδ T cell antigen receptors (TCRs) comprise evolutionarily conserved cells with paradoxical features. On the one hand, clonally expanded γδ T cells with unique specificities typify adaptive immunity. Conversely, large compartments of γδTCR+ intraepithelial lymphocytes (γδ IELs) exhibit limited TCR diversity and effect rapid, innate-like tissue surveillance. The development of several γδ IEL compartments depends on epithelial expression of genes encoding butyrophilin-like (Btnl (mouse) or BTNL (human)) members of the B7 superfamily of T cell co-stimulators. Here we found that responsiveness to Btnl or BTNL proteins was mediated by germline-encoded motifs within the cognate TCR variable γ-chains (Vγ chains) of mouse and human γδ IELs. This was in contrast to diverse antigen recognition by clonally restricted complementarity-determining regions CDR1-CDR3 of the same γδTCRs. Hence, the γδTCR intrinsically combines innate immunity and adaptive immunity by using spatially distinct regions to discriminate non-clonal agonist-selecting elements from clone-specific ligands. The broader implications for antigen-receptor biology are considered.</p

The pre-eruptive magma plumbing system of the 2007–2008 dome-forming eruption of Kelut volcano, East Java, Indonesia

Kelut volcano, East Java, is an active volcanic complex hosting a summit crater lake that has been the source of some of Indonesia’s most destructive lahars. In November 2007, an effusive eruption lasting approximately 7 months led to the formation of a 260-m-high and 400-m-wide lava dome that displaced most of the crater lake. The 2007–2008 Kelut dome comprises crystal-rich basaltic andesite with a texturally complex crystal cargo of strongly zoned and in part resorbed plagioclase (An47–94), orthopyroxene (En64–72, Fs24–32, Wo2–4), clinopyroxene (En40–48, Fs14–19, Wo34–46), Ti-magnetite (Usp16–34) and trace amounts of apatite, as well as ubiquitous glomerocrysts of varying magmatic mineral assemblages. In addition, the notable occurrence of magmatic and crustal xenoliths (meta-basalts, amphibole-bearing cumulates, and skarn-type calc-silicates and meta-volcaniclastic rocks) is a distinct feature of the dome. New petrographical, whole rock major and trace element data, mineral chemistry as well as oxygen isotope data for both whole rocks and minerals indicate a complex regime of magma-mixing, decompression-driven resorption, degassing and crystallisation and crustal assimilation within the Kelut plumbing system prior to extrusion of the dome. Detailed investigation of plagioclase textures alongside crystal size distribution analyses provide evidence for magma mixing as a major pre-eruptive process that blends multiple crystal cargoes together. Distinct magma storage zones are postulated, with a deeper zone at lower crustal levels or near the crust-mantle boundary (>15 km depth), a second zone at mid-crustal levels (~10 km depth) and several magma storage zones distributed throughout the uppermost crust (&lt;10 km depth). Plagioclase-melt and amphibole hygrometry indicate magmatic H2O contents ranging from ~8.1 to 8.6 wt.% in the lower crustal system to ~1.5 to 3.3 wt.% in the mid to upper crust. Pyroxene and plagioclase δ18O values range from 5.4 to 6.7 ‰, and 6.5 to 7.6 ‰, respectively. A single whole rock analysis of the 2007–2008 dome lava gave a δ18O value of 7.6 ‰, whereas meta-basaltic and calc-silicate xenoliths are characterised by δ18O values of 6.2 and 10.3 ‰, respectively. Magmatic δ18O values calculated from individual pyroxene and plagioclase analyses range from 5.7 to 7.0 ‰, and 6.2 to 7.4 ‰, respectively. This range in O-isotopic compositions is explained by crystallisation of pyroxenes in the lower to mid-crust, where crustal contamination is either absent or masked by assimilation of material having similar δ18O values to the ascending melts. This population is mixed with isotopically distinct plagioclase and pyroxenes that crystallised from a more contaminated magma in the upper crustal system. Binary bulk mixing models suggest that shallow-level, recycled volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks together with calc-silicates and/or limestones are the most likely contaminants of the 2007–2008 Kelut magma, with the volcaniclastic sediments being dominant