Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography

This volume provides an ambitious synopsis of the complex, colourful world of textiles in ancient Mediterranean iconography. A wealth of information on ancient textiles is available from depictions such as sculpture, vase painting, figurines, reliefs and mosaics. Commonly represented in clothing, textiles are also present in furnishings and through the processes of textile production. The challenge for anyone analysing ancient iconography is determining how we interpret what we see. As preserved textiles rarely survive in comparable forms, we must consider the extent to which representations of textiles reflect reality, and critically evaluate the sources. Images are not simple replicas or photographs of reality. Instead, iconography draws on select elements from the surrounding world that were recognisable to the ancient audience, and reveal the perceptions, ideologies, and ideas of the society in which they were produced. Through examining the durable evidence, this anthology reveals the ephemeral world of textiles and their integral role in the daily life, cult and economy of the ancient Mediterranean

Textiles in Ancient Mediterranean Iconography

This volume provides an ambitious synopsis of the complex, colourful world of textiles in ancient Mediterranean iconography. A wealth of information on ancient textiles is available from depictions such as sculpture, vase painting, figurines, reliefs and mosaics. Commonly represented in clothing, textiles are also present in furnishings and through the processes of textile production. The challenge for anyone analysing ancient iconography is determining how we interpret what we see. As preserved textiles rarely survive in comparable forms, we must consider the extent to which representations of textiles reflect reality, and critically evaluate the sources. Images are not simple replicas or photographs of reality. Instead, iconography draws on select elements from the surrounding world that were recognisable to the ancient audience, and reveal the perceptions, ideologies, and ideas of the society in which they were produced. Through examining the durable evidence, this anthology reveals the ephemeral world of textiles and their integral role in the daily life, cult and economy of the ancient Mediterranean

Trans fatty acids in food – current legal regulations as protections for consumers and food manufacturers

It was the goal of this paper to introduce selected regulatory models concerning the legal status of trans fatty acids in connection with the consumer’s position and to propose some de lege ferenda conclusions. Legislation, treatises, periodicals, and bulletins have been analysed. Information from portals associated with the European Union and posted on official websites of organizations like the WHO is presented. As comprehensive descriptions of individual states’ approaches to trans fats’ presence in the human diet are not available, an attempt was undertaken to obtain as broad a range of positions as possible, of states willing to take part in the study. Alongside research based on responses from Health Ministries of the EU member countries and three states from outside the EU, its conclusions, observable trends, and solutions proposed to minimize content of trans fatty acids are an essential part of this study. Analysis of legislation and positions on trans fatty acids presence in food submitted by the states demonstrated the need for a consistent, overall regulation of the issue. The authors relied on the information generated to outline such solutions

Tracing the Evolution of the Angiosperm Genome from the Cytogenetic Point of View

Cytogenetics constitutes a branch of genetics that is focused on the cellular components, especially chromosomes, in relation to heredity and genome structure, function and evolution. The use of modern cytogenetic approaches and the latest microscopes with image acquisition and processing systems enables the simultaneous two- or three-dimensional, multicolour visualisation of both single-copy and highly-repetitive sequences in the plant genome. The data that is gathered using the cytogenetic methods in the phylogenetic background enable tracing the evolution of the plant genome that involve changes in: (i) genome sizes; (ii) chromosome numbers and morphology; (iii) the content of repetitive sequences and (iv) ploidy level. Modern cytogenetic approaches such as FISH using chromosome- and genome-specific probes have been widely used in studies of the evolution of diploids and the consequences of polyploidy. Nowadays, modern cytogenetics complements analyses in other fields of cell biology and constitutes the linkage between genetics, molecular biology and genomics

Corrigendum: To Be or Not to Be Expressed: The First Evidence of a Nucleolar Dominance Tissue-Specificity in Brachypodium hybridum

This corrects the article "To Be or Not to Be Expressed: The First Evidence of a Nucleolar Dominance Tissue-Specificity in Brachypodium hybridum" in volume 12, 768347

To Be or Not to Be Expressed: The First Evidence of a Nucleolar Dominance Tissue-Specificity in Brachypodium hybridum

Nucleolar dominance (ND) is an epigenetic, developmentally regulated phenomenon that describes the selective inactivation of 35S rDNA loci derived from one progenitor of a hybrid or allopolyploid. The presence of ND was documented in an allotetraploid grass, Brachypodium hybridum (genome composition DDSS), which is a polyphyletic species that arose from crosses between two putative ancestors that resembled the modern B. distachyon (DD) and B. stacei (SS). In this work, we investigated the developmental stability of ND in B. hybridum genotype 3-7-2 and compared it with the reference genotype ABR113. We addressed the question of whether the ND is established in generative tissues such as pollen mother cells (PMC). We examined condensation of rDNA chromatin by fluorescence in situ hybridization employing stateof- art confocal microscopy. The transcription of rDNA homeologs was determined by reverse-transcription cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence analysis. In ABR113, the ND was stable in all tissues analyzed (primary and adventitious root, leaf, and spikes). In contrast, the 3-7-2 individuals showed a strong upregulation of the S-genome units in adventitious roots but not in other tissues. Microscopic analysis of the 3-7-2 PMCs revealed extensive decondensation of the D-genome loci and their association with the nucleolus in meiosis. As opposed, the S-genome loci were always highly condensed and localized outside the nucleolus. These results indicate that genotype-specific loss of ND in B. hybridum occurs probably after fertilization during developmental processes. This finding supports our view that B. hybridum is an attractive model to study ND in grasses

The critical parameters in in-situ MgB2 wires and tapes with ex-situ MgB2 barrier after hot isostatic pressure, cold drawing, cold rolling and doping

MgB precursor wires were prepared using powder in tube technique by Institute of High Pressure PAS in Warsaw. All samples were annealed under isostatic pressure generated by liquid Argon in the range from 0.3 GPa to 1 GPa. In this paper, we show the effects of different processing routes, namely, cold drawing (CD), cold rolling (CR), hot isostatic pressure (HIP) and doping on critical current density (J), pinning force (F), irreversible magnetic-field (B), critical temperature (T), n value, and dominant pinning mechanism in MgB/Fe wires with ex situ MgB barrier. The results show that medium pressures (∼0.35 GPa) lead to high J in low and medium magnetic fields (0 T - 9 T). On the other hand, higher pressures (∼1 GPa) lead to enhanced J in high magnetic fields (above 9 T). Transport measurements show that CD, CR, and HIP have small effects on B and T, but CD, CR, HIP, and doping enhance J and F in in situ MgB wires with ex situ MgB barrier. Transport measurements on in situ undoped MgB wire with ex situ MgB barrier yield a J of about 100 A/mm at 4.2 K in 6 T, at 10 K in 4 T and at 20 K in 2 T. The results also show that cold drawing causes increase of n value

Improving biomass production and saccharification in Brachypodium distachyon through overexpression of a sucrose-phosphate synthase from sugarcane

The substitution of fossil by renewable energy sources is a major strategy in reducing CO2 emission and mitigating climate change. In the transport sector, which is still mainly dependent on liquid fuels, the production of second generation ethanol from lignocellulosic feedstock is a promising strategy to substitute fossil fuels. The main prerequisites on designated crops for increased biomass production are high biomass yield and optimized saccharification for subsequent use in fermentation processes. We tried to address these traits by the overexpression of a sucrose-phosphate synthase gene (SoSPS) from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) in the model grass Brachypodium distachyon. The resulting transgenic B. distachyon lines not only revealed increased plant height at early growth stages but also higher biomass yield from fully senesced plants, which was increased up to 52 % compared to wild-type. Additionally, we determined higher sucrose content in senesced leaf biomass from the transgenic lines, which correlated with improved biomass saccharification after conventional thermo-chemical pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis. Combining increased biomass production and saccharification efficiency in the generated B. distachyon SoSPS overexpression lines, we obtained a maximum of 74 % increase in glucose release per plant compared to wild-type. Therefore, we consider SoSPS overexpression as a promising approach in molecular breeding of energy crops for optimizing yields of biomass and its utilization in second generation biofuel production