UN FRAMMENTO CON RAPPRESENTAZIONE DI FELIDE DA CHALARA (FESTÒS)?

This paper focuses on a MM IIIA ceramic fragment (F 7586) found in the southern sector of the Chalara quarter (located on the eastern slopes of the Phaistos palace hill). The vessel, of which only two joining sherds from a medium-large closed shape survive, comes from a rich homogenous fill created in an operation to fill MM III structures and construct a LM I house on top of them

UN PITHARAKI MM III DAL NUOVO «SETTORE NORD-EST» DI HAGHIA TRIADA

During the excavations in the NE sector of Haghia Triada in 1993, a MM III pitharaki (HTR 2475) was found in the northern part of the «Complesso della mazza di breccia». The vase comes from a MM III ceramic dump (Trench M/4), one of the largest in Haghia Triada, which is still in the process of being studied. Comparison with similar vases found in funeral contexts (from Apesokari and Vorou) show that the pitharaki was probably a cult vase, and this article suggests that it should connected with room z (which is situated close to the MM III ceramic dump) and for which a ceremonial function has been assumed. Furthermore, a general interpretation of the area is advanced: it is proposed that the ceramic complex of Trench M/4 is part of the largest archaeological evidence connected with ceremonies for the cult of the dead, from the prepalatial to the postpalatial period

A WALL-BRACKET FROM PHAISTOS

The article discusses the wall bracket found at Phaistos by Luigi Pernier. The object was dated to historical time and published by the excavator without proper description together with other prehistoric vessels. Wall brackets are extremely rare in Greece; however, the increasing number of wall brackets in the Aegean and Greek mainland (especially at Tiryns) allows speculating on the chronology and the function of this isolated item. It is argued that the Phaistian wall bracket arrived in Crete between the end of Late Minoan IIIB and the beginning of IIIC, when wall brackets spread in the Mycenaean world. Finally, the paper discusses the hypotheses that the object reached southern Crete directly via Cyprus or through a Greek mainland intermediate

PROBLEMS OF ROOFING OF EARLY MINOAN THOLOS TOMBS: THE CASE OF KAMILARI A THOLOS TOMB IN THE WESTERN MESARA PLAIN

Due to their reduced state of preservations, the argument of a stone vault for Minoan tholos tombs has been discussed in the past years with open or not unanimous conclusions.Thanks to a special survey carried out during summer 2009 on Kamilari A tholos tombs and the good state of preservation of many architectural parts, the present article wants to explore under a new perspective the issue of the vault system. After the presentation of the problem of roofing of Minoan tholos tombs through archaeological and ethnographical examples, the second part of the paper deals with the discussion of the false and the true vault systems and the analysis of possible roof profiles and collapse mechanisms of the vault. It will be argued that: 1) the true vault behaviour cannot be excluded for Kamilari tholos A; 2) among the possible causes inducing this structure to collapse there is an earthquake hitting the structure along the South East-North West alignment.Finally, further considerations about the relation between Minoan and Mycenaean tholos tombs are stressed

γ-PGA production through Consolidated Bioprocessing in engineered B. subtilis lab strains

Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is a nontoxic, biodegradable, highly anionic homo-polyamide formed by multiple repetitions of D-/L- glutamic acid units polymerized by amide linkages between the α-NH2 and γ-COOH groups. The polymer is endowed with several favorable characteristics and has been exploited in a growing number of biotechnological applications. Moreover, ground-breaking γ-PGA applications in the biomedical field, as drug carrier, gene delivery and scaffold for tissue engineering are currently under investigation. The RiVaRIO project is focused on reducing γ-PGA fermentation costs through the exploitation of one of the most abundant biomass resources - rice straw - as unique feedstock in aerobic fermentation. First, a cheap and scalable straw pretreatment was identified that dramatically improves the saccharification efficiency of the lignocellulose matrix. Next, the cellulolytic capabilities of a B. subtilis JH642 were maximized by self-cloning procedures. The efficient growth of B. subtilis on treated straw will be presented. Furthermore, by transferring the cellulolytic modifications in a high-yield γ-PGA producer strain, direct production of γ-PGA from biomass fermentation could be obtained, proving the applicability of Consolidated Bioprocessing concepts to B. subtilis

Regulation of oxytocin receptor gene expression in obsessive-compulsive disorder: a possible role for the microbiota-host epigenetic axis

Background Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a prevalent and severe clinical condition. Robust evidence suggests a gene-environment interplay in its etiopathogenesis, yet the underlying molecular clues remain only partially understood. In order to further deepen our understanding of OCD, it is essential to ascertain how genes interact with environmental risk factors, a cross-talk that is thought to be mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. The human microbiota may be a key player, because bacterial metabolites can act as epigenetic modulators. We analyzed, in the blood and saliva of OCD subjects and healthy controls, the transcriptional regulation of the oxytocin receptor gene and, in saliva, also the different levels of major phyla. We also investigated the same molecular mechanisms in specific brain regions of socially isolated rats showing stereotyped behaviors reminiscent of OCD as well as short chain fatty acid levels in the feces of rats. Results Higher levels of oxytocin receptor gene DNA methylation, inversely correlated with gene expression, were observed in the blood as well as saliva of OCD subjects when compared to controls. Moreover, Actinobacteria also resulted higher in OCD and directly correlated with oxytocin receptor gene epigenetic alterations. The same pattern of changes was present in the prefrontal cortex of socially-isolated rats, where also altered levels of fecal butyrate were observed at the beginning of the isolation procedure. Conclusions This is the first demonstration of an interplay between microbiota modulation and epigenetic regulation of gene expression in OCD, opening new avenues for the understanding of disease trajectories and for the development of new therapeutic strategies