Heresies in the early Byzantine Empire: Imperial policies and the Arab conquest of the Near East

On the eve of the Arab conquest, the eastern provinces of the Byzantine Empire were riddled by numerous heresies which were considered by a number of modern scholars as disguised nationalistic movements expressed by the local peoples against the central authority of Constantinople. Our aim in the present article is to offer new evidences to demonstrate that those heretic movements contributed little to the easy Moslem conquest of the Near East. This conquest was due, in essence, to several military and social factors.Algunos estudiosos modernos han considerado que las numerosas herejías que invadieron las provincias orientales del Imperio bizantino, al comienzo de la conquista islámica, fueron movimientos nacionalistas encubiertos generados por los nativos contra la autoridad bizantina. Nuestro propósito en el presente artículo es ofrecer nuevas evidencias que demuestren que dichos movimientos heréticos contribuyeron en escasa medida a la de por sí fácil conquista islámica de Oriente Medio, que se debió, esencialmente, a factores militares y sociales de diversa índole

Cytogenetic analysis of primary breast tumors and MCF10A cells to determine early steps of breast carcinoma

Breast cancers are characterized by genomic instability, abnormal chromosomal counts and multiple translocations. There is a heavy burden on tumor cells to acquire as many mutations as possible in a short time. Tumors seem to achieve that through genomic instability. The role of homologous recombinational repair loss has been well established as a mechanism of chromosomal instability. A researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Jean Latimer, was able to demonstrate the loss of nucleotide excision repair (NER), in adjacent non tumor tissue. NER functions in bulky adducts repair, following UV radiation. These lesions introduce a bend in the DNA molecule blocking replication and transcription; therefore causing genomic instability. Some of the 30 polypeptides of NER were shown to be lost during different stages of breast cancer development. The aim of the study was to cytogenetically analyze primary breast tumors and MCF10A cells and to check for chromosomal abnormalities in these cultures with a special focus on early events

Herejías en los comienzos del Imperio bizantino: políticas imperiales y la conquista árabe del Oriente Próximo

On the eve of the Arab conquest, the eastern provinces of the Byzantine Empire were riddled by numerous heresies which were considered by a number of modern scholars as disguised nationalistic movements expressed by the local peoples against the central authority of Constantinople. Our aim in the present article is to offer new evidences to demonstrate that those heretic movements contributed little to the easy Moslem conquest of the Near East. This conquest was due, in essence, to several military and social factors.Algunos estudiosos modernos han considerado que las numerosas herejías que invadieron las provincias orientales del Imperio bizantino, al comienzo de la conquista islámica, fueron movimientos nacionalistas encubiertos generados por los nativos contra la autoridad bizantina. Nuestro propósito en el presente artículo es ofrecer nuevas evidencias que demuestren que dichos movimientos heréticos contribuyeron en escasa medida a la de por sí fácil conquista islámica de Oriente Medio, que se debió, esencialmente, a factores militares y sociales de diversa índole

Effect of dietary β-mannanase supplementation on broiler performance

ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of graded levels of β-mannanase supplementation in broiler diets on growth performance, energy digestibility, and lesion scores in d-old birds fed mash, corn-soybean meal-based diets and raised to 42 d. Five dietary treatments were investigated: 1) positive control diet (PC) containing standard energy; 2) negative control (NC) with 100 kcal/kg diet reduction in AME compared to PC; 3) NC supplemented with 30 U/g β-mannanase (NC + 30 U); 4) NC supplemented with 60 U/g β-mannanase (NC + 60 U); and 5) NC supplemented with 90 U/g β-mannanase (NC + 90 U). Each treatment had 6 replicate pens with 52 chicks per replicate. Data was analyzed using 1-way ANOVA, and means were separated by LSMEANS. Reduction of 100 kcal/kg feed (NC) resulted in an overall body weight gain reduction of 51 g (P < 0.05) and feed conversion loss of approximately 4 points (P < 0.05) compared to PC at 42 d of age. At the same time, supplementing β-mannanase at 60 and 90 U/g improved growth performance parameters compared to NC, while 30 U/g did not result in significant improvements beyond NC; body weight gain was improved (P < 0.05) by 87, and 106 g when β-mannanase was supplemented at 60 and 90 U/g, respectively, compared to NC. This corresponded to an improvement by 6 and 7 points in feed conversion for 60 and 90 U/g supplementation, respectively, compared to NC. Furthermore, AMEn was improved (P < 0.05) by 15, 97, and 116 kcal/kg at 42 d when β-mannanase was added to NC at 30, 60, and 90 U/g, respectively. Digesta viscosity measured at 42 d was decreased (P < 0.05) by β-mannanase supplementation of 60 and 90 U/g, compared to NC, while 42 d lesion scores were improved (P < 0.05) by β-mannanase supplementation compared to NC. Data demonstrated that dietary supplementation of β-mannanase improved growth performance, energy digestibility, and reduced viscosity and lesion scores when supplemented with diets with a reduced energy content of 100 kcal/kg compared to a standard energy diet

Identification and characterisation of a Bacillus licheniformis strain with profound keratinase activity for degradation of melanised feather

Significant amount of keratins in the form of feather, hair, hoof and horn are generated annually by the livestock industry. Keratinases are increasingly important in the reprocessing and environmental pollution control of keratin wastes. The aim of this study is to isolate a microbial strain of high keratinase activity and to evaluate its feather degrading potential. Thirty-two keratin degrading microbial strains from farmyard wastes and primary effluent were isolated using a selective medium containing feather meal at 30, 37 and 50 °C. One of the isolates, which demonstrated the highest keratinolytic activity (11.00 ± 0.71 Uml-1) was identified as a species of Bacillus licheniformis based on the 16S rDNA analysis, designated as strain N22 and deposited in a culture collection. Optimum keratinase production by this bacterium was achieved in 32 h using a minimum growth medium containing 1.1% (w/v) feather meal at 50 °C and pH 8.5. The molecular weight of the keratinase was ≈ 28 KDa as determined sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis and confirmed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The keratinase reported here significantly degraded melanised feather in 48 h in the absence of reducing agents. There are few reports on the evaluation of feather degrading ability of keratinases using highly resistant melanised feather. The efficient degradation of melanised feathers by this keratinase may offer an environmentally friendly solution to the degradation of feather waste and other organic matter of similar molecular composition