The Cultural and Economic Composition of Late Hellenistic Upper Galilee: A Case Study of the Squatters at Tel Kedesh.

In 1999 a large building was discovered at Tel Kedesh that had been the administrative center for northern Upper Galilee in the Persian, Ptolemaic, and Seleucid periods. The building had been partially destroyed and abandoned around 143 BCE, a date that corresponds remarkably well with 1 Maccabees’ account of the defeat of the Seleucid army by the Hasmonaeans (1 Maccabees 11:62-74). Approximately 5 years later it was repurposed for domestic use and inhabited by an otherwise unknown group of people (“the Squatters”) whose material culture was very different from both that of the Persian/Hellenistic Administrative Building (PHAB) and that of the Late Hellenistic Stuccoed Building, a villa at Tel Anafa, ca. 12 km northeast of Kedesh that was being built at the same time that the Squatters were living in the administrative building. Many of the Squatter vessels came from Lower Galilee and represent shapes that have parallels at Jerusalem, Shechem, Pella, Gamla, and Khirbet esh-Shuhara; they also suggest southern potting traditions. This dissertation explores the possibility that the Squatters at Tel Kedesh could have been Jews settled by Jonathan after his defeat of Demetrius II (or Galileans who migrated northward) within the context of academic debates over early Hasmonaean annexation of and Jewish expansion into Galilee (i.e., prior to 103 BCE). It uses the data from Kedesh to explore important questions about social changes brought about by the decline of Seleucid power and the consequent rise of autonomous “states” on the eve of Roman annexation of the Eastern Mediterranean. On a more theoretical level it raises questions about the degree to which we can equate material remains with actual cultures in history (“Do pots equal people?”), issues of identity in antiquity (individual, group, ethnic, religious, and cultural), and intercultural relations and economic transactions in border regions. In synthesizing the above analyses it concludes that the Squatters were most likely the dispossessed urban poor of the city of Kedesh and exposes the ubiquitous but previously unstudied phenomenon of people making homes in abandoned urban buildings in antiquity.Ph.D.Near Eastern StudiesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/91463/4/Winger-Diss_final.pd

International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutritional recommendations for single-stage ultra-marathon; training and racing

Background. In this Position Statement, the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) provides an objective and critical review of the literature pertinent to nutritional considerations for training and racing in single-stage ultra-marathon. Recommendations for Training. i) Ultra-marathon runners should aim to meet the caloric demands of training by following an individualized and periodized strategy, comprising a varied, food-first approach; ii) Athletes should plan and implement their nutrition strategy with sufficient time to permit adaptations that enhance fat oxidative capacity; iii) The evidence overwhelmingly supports the inclusion of a moderate-to-high carbohydrate diet (i.e., ~60% of energy intake, 5 – 8 g⸱kg−1·d−1) to mitigate the negative effects of chronic, training-induced glycogen depletion; iv) Limiting carbohydrate intake before selected low-intensity sessions, and/or moderating daily carbohydrate intake, may enhance mitochondrial function and fat oxidative capacity. Nevertheless, this approach may compromise performance during high-intensity efforts; v) Protein intakes of ~1.6 g·kg−1·d−1 are necessary to maintain lean mass and support recovery from training, but amounts up to 2.5 g⸱kg−1·d−1 may be warranted during demanding training when calorie requirements are greater; Recommendations for Racing. vi) To attenuate caloric deficits, runners should aim to consume 150 - 400 kcal⸱h−1 (carbohydrate, 30 – 50 g⸱h−1; protein, 5 – 10 g⸱h−1) from a variety of calorie-dense foods. Consideration must be given to food palatability, individual tolerance, and the increased preference for savory foods in longer races; vii) Fluid volumes of 450 – 750 mL⸱h−1 (~150 – 250 mL every 20 min) are recommended during racing. To minimize the likelihood of hyponatraemia, electrolytes (mainly sodium) may be needed in concentrations greater than that provided by most commercial products (i.e., >575 mg·L−1 sodium). Fluid and electrolyte requirements will be elevated when running in hot and/or humid conditions; viii) Evidence supports progressive gut-training and/or low-FODMAP diets (fermentable oligosaccharide, disaccharide, monosaccharide and polyol) to alleviate symptoms of gastrointestinal distress during racing; ix) The evidence in support of ketogenic diets and/or ketone esters to improve ultra-marathon performance is lacking, with further research warranted; x) Evidence supports the strategic use of caffeine to sustain performance in the latter stages of racing, particularly when sleep deprivation may compromise athlete safety

Treatment of West Nile Virus-Infected Mice with Reactive Immunoglobulin Reduces Fetal Titers and Increases Dam Survival

The objectives of this study were to determine if injection of West Nile virus (WNV) into timed-pregnant mice would result in fetal infection and if administration of WNV-reactive immunoglobulin would increase dam survival and reduce fetal viral titers. Dams injected on 7.5 days post-coitus (dpc) had detectable viral titers in the placenta 10.5 dpc with a mean titer of 10^4.9 50% cell-culture infectious doses per gram of tissue (CCID50/g tissue). The mean placental titer increased to 10^8.6 CCID50/g tissue at 12.5 dpc. Infectious virus was detectable 12.5 dpc in 10 of 10 fetuses with a mean titer of 10^7.5 CCID50/g tissue. Treatment of dams (challenged with WNV on 7.5 dpc) with WNV-reactive human immunoglobulin (Ig) on 8.5 and 9.5 dpc resulted in a significant reduction of virus in fetuses as compared with non-reactive human Ig-treated females on 12.5 dpc (P ≤ 0.001). Treatment also resulted in survival of dams to term. Treatment of dams with WNV-reactive human Ig on 12.5 and 13.5 dpc also resulted in reduction of viral titer on 14.5 dpc, indicating that later treatment may also be efficacious. This suggests that Ig treatment may be useful in treating fetal WNV infection in women

West Nile Virus Infection of the Placenta

Intrauterine infection of fetuses with West Nile virus (WNV) has been implicated in cases of women infected during pregnancy. Infection of timed-pregnant mice on 5.5, 7.5, and 9.5 days post-coitus (dpc) resulted in fetal infection. Infection of dams on 11.5 and 14.5 dpc resulted in little and no fetal infection, respectively. Pre-implantation embryos in culture were also infected with WNV after the blastocyst stage and the formation of trophectoderm. Green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression was observed in a trophoblast stem (TS) cell line after infection with a GFP-expressing WNV construct. However, no fluorescence was observed in differentiated trophoblast giant cell (TGC) cultures. GFP fluorescence was present in TGC cultures if infected TS cells were induced to differentiate. These results suggest that embryos are susceptible to WNV infection after the formation of the trophectoderm around 3.5 dpc through the formation of the functional placenta around 10.5 dpc

From the Atomistic to the Macromolecular Scale: Distinct Simulation Approaches for Polyelectrolyte Solutions

Polyelectrolytes reveal interesting properties in solution. At short length scales,the dissociation of counterions is heavily affected by the chemical structure of thepolyelectrolyte, the properties of the solution, and specific ion effects. At largerlength scales, the structure of polyelectrolyte solutions is dominated by long-range interactions. In the special case of dissolved polyanions and polycations,polyelectrolyte complexes or multilayers can form. In this review we presentdistinct simulation approaches to study the corresponding effects at differentlength scales in more detail. Whereas at short length scales, atomistic moleculardynamics simulation is often the method of choice, semi-coarse-grained and coarse-grained models with a lower level of details reveal their benefits at largerlength scales