"Makrolithische Stein- und Feuersteinfunde aus der Umgebung von Sławno und Lednica"

Der vorliegende Aufsatz präsentiert 18 Stein- und Feuersteinfunde unter dem chronologisch-kulturellen, typologischen, technologischen und Rohstoffaspekt, auf dem Hintergrund der Relikte der urgeschichtlichen und frühmittelalterlichen Besiedlung, die aus der Sammlung von P. Robakowski stammen und im nördlichen Teil des Landschaftsparks Lednica freigelegt wurden. Eine Bestimmung der taxonomischen Angehörigkeit war nur bei einem Teil der Funde, d.h. bei einer Feuersteinaxt einer Axt aus Granodiorit und drei Beilen aus Felsenstoff, möglich. Die typologischtechnologischen Eigenschaften von vier anderen Funden lassen die Bestimmung deren chronologischer Position nur mit einer gewissen Wahrscheinlichkeit zu. Für die fünf nächsten Funde, d.h. für zwei Beilfragmente, einen Axthammer, eine Feuersteinaxt und einen Schleifstein, wurde der Zeitraum, mit dem sie verbunden sein konnten, nur allgemein bestimmt. Eine Zuordnung von zwei Funden den konkreten Kulturen oder Kulturzeiträumen war dagegen wegen des Mangels an charakteristischen typologischtechnologischen Eigenschaften unmöglich. Die besprochenen Funde können mit der Besiedlung der neolithischen Kulturen, der Kulturen aus der Bronzezeit und mit dem Frühmittelalter verbunden werden

Marina el-Alamein : conservation work in 2009 season

In 2009 the Polish-Egyptian Restoration Mission to Marina el-Alamein proceeded with another season of conservation work in heavily constrained circumstances. Architectural studies preceding building conservation work were carried out in House H1, where the Mission has been active over the past few seasons. It was established that the house had an inner peristyle consisting of two tiers corresponding to building floors: pseudo-Corinthian of the Marina type on the ground floor and pseudo-Corinthian or pseudo-Ionic of the Marina type on the upper floor. A similar tiered architectural decoration was noted in the incomplete peristyle (unit 4) of the Southern Baths just off the presumed Main Town Square. Work continued on clearing the chambers of the baths and accomplishing preservation, conservation and subsequently building restoration works. A marble plaque with an inscription, found previously, was subjected to conservation treatment once standard condition monitoring demonstrated progressive deterioration of the state of this object

Polish excavations at Tell el-Farkha (Ghazala) in the Nile Delta : preliminary report 2008-2010

The main aim of the 2008-10 campaigns was to excavate the deepest layers in the western part of the Western Kom, to jlnish excavations in a trench marked out in 2000 at the Central Kom, as well as examination of the settlement and further graves discovered at the Eastern Kom. At the Western Kom, new architectural remains were discovered. Analyses of tools used to stone vessels production, as well as animal remains suggest that the area, also in the Proto-Dynastic period, was connected with a local elite. At the Central Kom, relicts of a Lower Egyptian settlement, evidently divided into different zones, were recognized. There, the most valuable artefacts connected with this culture were /bund, many of them imported from the south. It is evident that the contacts between the Delta and Upper Egypt must have been far more developed than it had been previously suggested. At the Eastern Kom, 48 graves were excavated. They are dated to a period from Naąada MB to the Old Kingdom and represent three distinct cemeteries. Undoubtedly, some of them were freestanding mastabas from the Proto-Dynastic period. In other graves, a few new serekhs of the kings of Dynasty O were discovered

Decreased severity of experimental autoimmune arthritis in peptidylarginine deiminase type 4 knockout mice

[Background]Peptidylarginine deiminase type 4 (PADI4) has been identified as a susceptibility gene for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) by genome-wide association studies. PADI4 is highly expressed in the bone marrow, macrophages, neutrophils, and monocytes. Peptidyl citrulline is an interesting molecule in RA because it is a target antigen for anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies, and only PADs (translated proteins from PADI genes) can provide peptidyl citrulline via the modification of protein substrates. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of the PADI4 gene in the progression of RA. [Methods]We generated Padi4 knockout (Padi4−/−) DBA1J mice. The Padi4−/− DBA1J and wild-type mice were immunized with bovine type II collagen (CII) to develop collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). The expression of various inflammatory cytokines and Padi genes in immune cells was detected by the real-time TaqMan assay. Cytokine concentrations in sera were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Localization of the PAD4 and PAD2 proteins was indicated by immunohistochemistry. [Results]We demonstrated that the clinical disease score was significantly decreased in the Padi4−/− mice and Padi4 expression was induced by CII immunization. In the Padi4−/−mice, serum anti-type II collagen (CII) immunoglobulin M (IgM), IgG, and inflammatory cytokine levels were significantly decreased compared with those in the wild-type mice. Padi2 expression was induced in the immune cells of the Padi4−/− mice as a compensation for the defect in Padi4. [Conclusions]Padi4 affected disease severity in the CIA mice and was involved in the enhancement of the collagen-initiated inflammatory responses