Excavations at Gournia, 2010-2012

This article presents previous research at Gournia, the overall goals of our project, a new plan of the settlement, and our 2010-2012 excavations in eight areas: the Pit House, the Northwest Area, the North Cemetery, North Trench, the Northeast Area, House Aa, several rooms in the palace, and House He. Analytical sections discuss the textual evidence; the painted plasters; and the botanical remains. Our excavations indicate that Gournia was first settled in the Final Neolithic period and grew into an industrial town by the Protopalatial period. Following a Middle Minoan II destruction, the town was reorganized in Middle Minoan IIIA to include the palace, which in Late Minoan IB employed Linear A

Examining the Ritual Landscape of Bronze Age Crete through the Lens of Archaeobotany

This paper investigates plant remains at three ritual sites from Bronze Age Crete: Kophinas, Knossos Anetaki and Petras. To date, ritual contexts on the island have been little investigated from an archaeobotanical standpoint. Analysis of the plant material from these three sites provides new data for the use of plants in ritual activities in both mortuary and non-mortuary contexts. The results are discussed from a semiotic and emotive perspective, allowing for a better grasp of the potential plant-related rituals responsible for the creation of these archaeobotanical assemblages, including instances of plant sacrifice, symbolic plant sacrifice and the ritual deposition of intentionally charred plant remains. These findings are then integrated with previously published data from Crete and Mainland Greece in order to provide a broader picture of ritual plant use for the island, as well as the Aegean region. The recurrent evidence for the intentional charring of plant material and the presence of taxa commonly associated with everyday contexts indicates that fire was an important aspect of ritual activities involving plants and that the same suite of plant remains was engaged in the social activities of both the domestic and ritual spheres

Enlightening the darkness: The potential of charcoal analysis for the study of vegetation dynamics and relative exploitation at Krania during the Iron Age Greece

In the framework of the NWO project “What went into the melting pot? Land-use, agriculture, and craft production as indicators for the contributions of Greek migrants and local inhabitants to the so-called Greek colonization in Italy (ca. 850–550 BC)”, science-based methods are employed to analyze and compare the organization of subsistence strategies in the Greek motherland and in the indigenous and colonial milieus of Italy (Crielaard et al. 2020). As a part of the subproject ‘Flora & Fauna’, which focuses on farming practices, subsistence strategies and surplus production, Iron Age material from the settlement of Krania in the Pieria region of Greece was analyzed. The site was excavated in 2001 and revealed occupation phases from the 3rd millennium BC to the Hellenistic period. The amount of ceramics recovered demonstrates the importance of trade with the rest of Greece, in particular Corinth, providing evidence for long-standing contacts and networks. Two pit structures contained a high concentration of material, notably charcoal and ceramics dating to the 9th-8th centuries BC. This material constitutes an interesting case study in itself but also as a regional comparandum with other Greek assemblages. This paper discusses how anthracological analysis can contribute to our understanding of human-environment interactions, anthropogenic practices and environmental management

L’Aspis

Philippa-Touchais Anna, Touchais Gilles, Fachard Sylvian, Hapiot Laurence, Margaritis Evi. L’Aspis. In: Bulletin de correspondance hellénique. Volume 136-137, livraison 2, 2012. pp. 593-611

Branched Poly(<i>ε</i>-caprolactone)-Based Copolyesters of Different Architectures and Their Use in the Preparation of Anticancer Drug-Loaded Nanoparticles

Limitations associated with the use of linear biodegradable polyesters in the preparation of anticancer nano-based drug delivery systems (nanoDDS) have turned scientific attention to the utilization of branched-chain (co-)polymers. In this context, the present study evaluates the use of novel branched poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based copolymers of different architectures for the preparation of anticancer nanoparticle (NP)-based formulations, using paclitaxel (PTX) as a model drug. Specifically, three PCL-polyol branched polyesters, namely, a three-arm copolymer based on glycerol (PCL-GLY), a four-arm copolymer based on pentaerythritol (PCL-PE), and a five-arm copolymer based on xylitol (PCL-XYL), were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization and characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), intrinsic viscosity, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and cytotoxicity. Then, PTX-loaded NPs were prepared by an oil-in-water emulsion. The size of the obtained NPs varied from 200 to 300 nm, while the drug was dispersed in crystalline form in all formulations. High encapsulation efficiency and high yields were obtained in all cases, while FTIR analysis showed no molecular drug polymer. Finally, in vitro drug release studies showed that the studied nanocarriers significantly enhanced the dissolution rate and extent of the drug

Development of olive cultivation at the site of Sikyon, Greece: evidence from the charred olive remains from the late Classical/Early Hellenisitic to Roman period

International audienc

Risperidone Controlled Release Microspheres Based on Poly(Lactic Acid)-Poly(Propylene Adipate) Novel Polymer Blends Appropriate for Long Acting Injectable Formulations

The present study evaluates the preparation of risperidone controlled release microspheres as appropriate long-acting injectable formulations based on a series of novel biodegradable and biocompatible poly(lactic acid)&ndash;poly(propylene adipate) (PLA/PPAd) polymer blends. Initially, PPAd was synthesized using a two-stage melt polycondensation method (esterification and polycondensation) and characterized by 1H-NMR, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. DSC and XRD results for PLA/PPAd blends (prepared by the solvent evaporation method) showed that these are immiscible, while enzymatic hydrolysis studies performed at 37 &deg;C showed increased mass loss for PPAd compared to PLA. Risperidone-polyester microparticles prepared by the oil&ndash;water emulsification/solvent evaporation method showed smooth spherical surface with particle sizes from 1 to 15 &mu;m. DSC, XRD, and Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) analyses showed that the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was dispersed in the amorphous phase within the polymer matrices, whereas in vitro drug release studies showed risperidone controlled release rates in all PLA/PPAd blend formulations. Finally, statistical moment analysis showed that polyester hydrolysis had a major impact on API release kinetics, while in PLA/PPAd blends with high PLA content, drug release was mainly controlled by diffusion

Thiolated Chitosan Masked Polymeric Microspheres with Incorporated Mesocellular Silica Foam (MCF) for Intranasal Delivery of Paliperidone

In this study, mesocellular silica foam (MCF) was used to encapsulate paliperidone, an antipsychotic drug used in patients suffering from bipolar disorder. MCF with the drug adsorbed was further encapsulated into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) 75/25 w/w microspheres and these have been coated with thiolated chitosan. As found by TEM analysis, thiolated chitosan formed a thin layer on the polymeric microspheres’ surface and was used in order to enhance their mucoadhesiveness. These microspheres aimed at the intranasal delivery of paliperidone. The DSC and XRD studies showed that paliperidone was encapsulated in amorphous form inside the MCF silica and for this reason its dissolution profile was enhanced compared to the neat drug. In coated microspheres, thiolated chitosan reduced the initial burst effect of the paliperidone dissolution profile and in all cases sustained release formulations have been prepared. The release mechanism was also theoretically studied and three kinetic models were proposed and successfully fitted for a dissolution profile of prepared formulations to be found