Origins and distribution of hellenistic and late republican transport amphorae in the dalmatian region and its implications for adriatic trade and economy

The presence of Hellenistic and Late Republican transport amphorae at numerous sites along the Adriatic and within shipwrecks off the coast indicates that intense trade and/or exchange in commodities such as olive oil and wine took place in this region from the fourth until the first century BC. The details of this commercial activity are nevertheless unclear in terms of the sources, destinations, and routes via which transport containers and their contents were circulated. The present study brings compositional data to bear on this topic by analysing petrographically and geochemically 248 amphorae sherds from 15 sites along the Dalmatian coast of present-day Croatia, including production sites, places of consumption, and shipwrecks. This revealed the existence of several larger amphora workshops whose amphorae were used to export goods to Dalmatia during the fourth and third centuries BC. They were involved in direct trade or through intermediaries in the redistribution centres. In the second and first centuries BC, only one workshop supplied amphorae in the region, which is probably the Dalmatian town of Issa. Aspects of the regional and inter-regional distribution and redistribution of amphorae from these workshops have been reconstructed, as well as changes within the trading system over time

Lost at sea: Identifying the post-depositional alteration of amphorae in ancient shipwrecks

The present paper sheds new light on the alteration of archaeological ceramics buried in marine environments by analysing in detail a large dataset of Hellenistic and Late Roman Republican transport amphorae from 15 sites along the well-known ancient maritime trade route off the Dalmatian coast in southern Croatia. These include amphorae from shipwrecks, kiln sites and settlements. Ceramic petrography and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) have been used to compare sherds of amphorae made in the same workshop, of the same fabric and origin, but recovered from both shipwrecks and terrestrial sites and were therefore exposed to different burial environments over two millennia. The integration of both methods permitted the identification of differential microstructural and geochemical alteration of the amphorae under the sea relative to those found on land. By applying principal components analysis and test statistics, we have detected enrichment of As, Ca, Na, Sb, Sr and U and depletion of Ba, Cs, K and Rb in amphorae from the marine environment, relative to those buried on land. The implications of the study are discussed in terms of the provenance determination of amphorae from submerged environments and the reconstruction of ancient maritime trade routes

Banquet among the stars: Gnathia and West Slope ware from the Diomedes sanctuary on the island of Palagruža

Numerous sherds of fine Greek and Hellenistic ware found at the Diomedes sanctuary on Palagruža - a small island in the middle of the Adriatic - already attracted the attention of scholars in the field of ceramic studies. However, most of the fine ware was published in the field reports as a result of preliminary analysis. The study of the Gnathia and West Slope ware presents the first details analyses of two types of fine ware found on this island sanctuary. Comparative typological and stylistically analyses of Gnathia ware have shown that the most common shapes of vessels were cups and jugs of the late 4thand 3rdc. BC of Apulian provenance, while some sherds can be attributed to Issaean production. These testify that sailors from both Adriatic coasts visited the sanctuary. The rare sherds of the contemporaneous West Slope ware found on Palagruža could belong to the Attic provenance and one Medusa plate belongs to Cretan production. Most sherds of both types of ware belong to wine drinking sets, attesting that drinking was main activity on the sanctuary during the Hellenistic times. // Brojni ulomci fine grčke i helenističke keramike nađeni u Diomedovu svetištu na Palagruži - otočiću usred Jadrana - već su privukli pozornost znanstvenika na području istraživanja keramike. No veći dio fine keramike objavljen je u terenskim izvješćima slijedom preliminarnih analiza. Studija keramike tipa Gnathia i West Slope predstavlja prvu detaljnu analizu ovih dvaju tipova fine keramike nađene u tom otočnom svetištu. Komparativne tipološke i stilske analize keramike tipa Gnathia pokazale su da se najveći dio najzastupljenijih tipova posuda odnosi na čaše i vrčeve iz kasnog 4. i 3. st. pr. Kr., poglavito apulskog podrijetla, dok se neki ulomci mogu pripisati isejskoj proizvodnji. To svjedoči o tome da su svetište pohodili pomorci s obje obale Jadrana. Rijetki ulomci onovremene keramike tipa West Slope pronađeni na Palagruži mogli bi biti atičkog podrijetla, a jedan tanjur s glavom Meduze pripada kretskoj produkciji. Većina ulomaka obaju tipova keramike pripada posuđu za konzumaciju vina, što potvrđuje da je pijenje bilo glavna aktivnost u svetištu tijekom helenističkog razdoblja

Uloga testova otpuštanja interferona gama u nadzoru nad tuberkulozom

Tuberculosis is still one of the major global public health threats. Countries with low incidence must focus on exhausting the reservoir of future cases by preventing reactivation. Therefore, it is important to identify and effectively treat those individuals who have latent tuberculosis infection and who may develop active disease. The tuberculin skin test has been the standard for detection of immune response against M. tuberculosis since the beginning of the 20th century. The new millennium has brought advancement in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection. The name of the new blood test is interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). Croatia is a middle-incidence country with a long decreasing trend and developed tuberculosis control. To reach low incidence and finally eliminate tuberculosis, its tuberculosis programme needs a more aggressive approach that would include intensive contact investigation and treatment of persons with latent tuberculosis infection. This article discusses the current uses of IGRA and its role in tuberculosis control.Tuberkuloza je i danas jedan od vodećih javnozdravstvenih problema. Zemlje s niskom incidencijom fokusiraju se na iscrpljivanje rezervoara budućih slučajeva sprječavanjem reaktivacije bolesti. To se odnosi na traženje i učinkovito liječenje infi ciranih osoba, primarno onih koje su u riziku od obolijevanja nakon infekcije. Tuberkulinski test je od početka 20. stoljeća bio standard u otkrivanju imunosnog odgovora na kontakt s Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Novo tisućljeće donijelo je određeni napredak u obliku novih testova za dijagnozu latentne tuberkulozne infekcije, krvne testove otpuštanja interferona gama. Hrvatska je zemlja srednje incidencije tuberkuloze s dugogodišnjim silaznim trendom i razvijenim protutuberkuloznim aktivnostima. U težnji prema niskoj incidenciji i u konačnici eliminaciji tuberkuloze potrebne su opsežnije aktivnosti unutar državnog programa nadzora nad tuberkulozom, uključujući intenzivnu obradu kontakata i probir na postojanje latentne tuberkulozne infekcije. Ovaj rad razmatra trenutačnu uporabu IGRE (engl. interferon - gamma release assay) i njezinu ulogu u nadzoru nad tuberkulozom

Interopservacijske razlike u dijagnosticiranju azbestoze prema klasifikaciji ILO

Inhalation of asbestos fibres leads to asbestosis of the pleura and the lung, with possible progression to lung cancer and malignant pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma. Asbestosis remains difficult to diagnose, especially in its early stages. The most important role in its diagnosis is that of chest radiographs. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to address interobserver variations in interpreting chest radiographs in asbestos workers, which remain to be an issue, despite improvements in the International Labour Office (ILO) classification system. In our ten-year study, we investigated 318 workers occupationally exposed to asbestos, and in 210 workers with diagnosed asbestos-related changes we compared interpretations of chest radiographs according to ILO by two independent radiologists. The apparent degree of interobserver variation in classifying lung fibrosis was 26.66 % for the diameter of changes and 42.2 % for the profusion of the changes. In cases with diffuse pleural thickening, the interobserver variation using ILO procedures was 34.93 %. This investigation raises the issue of standardisation and objectivity of interpretation of asbestosis according to the ILO classification system. This study has revealed a significant disagreement in the estimated degree of pleural and parenchymal asbestos pulmonary disease. This is why we believe highresolution computed tomography (HRCT) should also be used as a part of international classification.Azbestoza je bolest koja nastaje kao posljedica inhalacije azbestnih vlakana. Zahvaća pluća i pleuru, a ponekad može dovesti do karcinoma pluća, pleure i peritoneuma. Azbestozu je teško dijagnosticirati, osobito u početnom stadiju bolesti. U dijagnostici azbestoze presudna je radiološka obrada. Cilj ovog rada je utvrditi interopservacijske razlike u analizi radiograma prema kriterijima klasifikacije ILO kod profesjonalne azbestoze. U istraživanje je bilo uključeno 318 ispitanika profesionalno izloženih azbestnim česticama. U 210 ispitanika kojima je postavljena dijagnoza azbestoze usporedili smo radiološke nalaze analizirane od dvaju neovisnih radiologa eksperata u skladu s važećom klasifikacijom ILO. Uspoređujući rezultate analize malih zasjenjenja parenhima pluća prema njihovoj veličini, našli smo da se rezultati razlikuju u 26,66 % slučajeva, dok je prema prožetosti intersticija neslaganje bilo još učestalije, tj. zabilježeno je u 42,22 % slučajeva. U ispitanika s pleuralnim promjenama usporedili smo rezultate analize difuznih pleuralnih zadebljanja i našli neslaganje u debljini i/ili širini pleuralnih zadebljanja u 34,93 % slučajeva. Uočili smo značajno neslaganje u procjeni stupnja azbestne bolesti na pleuri i na parenhimu pluća. Zbog toga smatramo da je u kvantificiranju promjena izazvanih azbestom i u procjeni stupnja tjelesnog oštećenja nužno rabiti kompjutoriziranu tomografiju visoke rezolucije kao znatno osjetljiviju i pouzdaniju slikovnu tehniku

The late Hellenistic and Early Roman fine pottery from the sanctuaries of Diomedes in Dalmatia

Archaeological research on the island of Palagruža and at cape Ploča has given extensive material evidence of the cult of Diomedes in the Adriatic (fig. 1). The excavations revealed a large quantity of pottery fragments. The majority of the pottery fragments belong to fine votive pots. Some pots are bea incised graffiti with the name of Diomedes, attested about 40 times