The symbolic value of grafting in ancient Rome

Some scholars have read Virgil’s grafted tree (G. 2.78–82) as a sinister image, symptomatic of man’s perversion of nature. However, when it is placed within the long tradition of Roman accounts of grafting (in both prose and verse), it seems to reinforce a consistently positive view of the technique, its results, and its possibilities. Virgil’s treatment does represent a significant change from Republican to Imperial literature, whereby grafting went from mundane reality to utopian fantasy. This is reflected in responses to Virgil from Ovid, Columella, Calpurnius, Pliny the Elder, and Palladius (with Republican context from Cato, Varro, and Lucretius), and even in the postclassical transformation of Virgil’s biography into a magical folktale.

Nest spacing and breeding performance in Short-toed Eagle Circaetus gallicus in northeast Greece

Aims: To describe the phenology and breeding success of one of the densest populations of Short-toed Eagle in Europe. Methods All nests in the Dadia-Lefkimi-Soufli forest in northeast Greece were located and visited regularly throughout the 1996-98 breeding seasons. Data on every stage of the breeding cycle were collected and related to among-year variation in the weather conditions during March to June. Results: A total of 58 pairs were located during the three-year study spread across 22 territories (the same territories are usually occupied each year). The nests were evenly spaced (mean of 2.7 km between nests). Adults arrived between mid-March and mid-April. Only one egg per nest was laid. Nestlings fledged on average after 68.9 days. Eagles departed between 8 September and 2 October. Conclusions: Arrival date determines laying date. The population size appears to be stable but the species has a relatively low reproductive rate and takes three to four years to mature, consequently it may be susceptible to stochastic or human-mediated factors.

Human evolution, nutritional ecology and prebiotics in ancient diet

Modern studies of prebiotic non digestible carbohydrates continue to expand and demonstrate their colonic and systemic benefits. However, virtually nothing is known of their use among ancient populations. In this paper we discuss evidence for prebiotic use in the archaeological record from select areas of the world. It is suggested that members of our genus Homo would have had sufficient ecological opportunity to include prebiotic-bearing plants in diet as early as ~ 2 million years ago, but that significant dietary intake would not have taken place until the advent of technological advances that characterized the Upper Paleolithic of ~40,000 years ago. Throughout human evolution, hominid populations that diversified their diet to include prebiotic-bearing plants would have had a selective advantage over competitors.

Exposure to fine particulate matter in ten night clubs in Athens Greece: studying the effect of ventilation, cigarette smoking and resuspension

The aim of the present work is to study the occupants' exposure to fine particulate concentrations in ten nightclubs (NCs) in Athens, Greece. Measurements of PM1 and PM 2.5 were made in the outdoor and indoor environment of each NC. The average indoorPM1 andPM 2.5 concentrations were found to be 181.77 μgm−3 and 454.08 μg m−3 respectively, while the corresponding outdoor values were 11.04 μg m−3 and 32.19 μg m−3. Ventilation and resuspension rates were estimated through consecutive numerical experiments with an indoor air quality model and were found to be remarkably lower than the minimum values recommended by national standards. The relative effects of the ventilation and smoking on the occupants' exposures were examined using multiple regression techniques. Itwas found that given the low ventilation rates, the effect of smoking as well as the occupancy is of the highest importance. Numerical evaluations showed that if the ventilation rates were at the minimum values set by national standards, then the indoor exposures would be reduced at the 70% of the present exposure values.

'Youth language' in ancient Rome

This article presents some of the findings of a UROP project, collecting the evidence for youth language phenomena in the ancient world (with a focus on the Roman Empire).

Analysis of DNA polymorphism in ancient barley herbarium material: validation of the KASP SNP genotyping platform

The availability of crop specimens archived in herbaria and old seed collections represent valuable resources for the analysis of plant genetic diversity and crop domestication. The ability to extract ancient DNA (aDNA) from such samples has recently allowed molecular genetic investigations to be undertaken in ancient materials. While analyses of aDNA initially focused on the use of markers which occur in multiple copies such as the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) within ribosomal DNA and those requiring amplification of short DNA regions of variable length such as simple sequence repeats (SSRs), emphasis is now moving towards the genotyping of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), traditionally undertaken in aDNA by Sanger sequencing. Here, using a panel of barley aDNA samples previously surveyed by Sanger sequencing for putative causative SNPs within the flowering-time gene PPD-H1, we assess the utility of the Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR (KASP) genotyping platform for aDNA analysis. We find KASP to out-perform Sanger sequencing in the genotyping of aDNA samples (78% versus 61% success, respectively), as well as being robust to contamination. The small template size (≥46 bp) and one-step, closed-tube amplification/genotyping process make this platform ideally suited to the genotypic analysis of aDNA, a process which is often hampered by template DNA degradation and sample cross-contamination. Such attributes, as well as its flexibility of use and relatively low cost, make KASP particularly relevant to the genetic analysis of aDNA samples. Furthermore, KASP provides a common platform for the genotyping and analysis of corresponding SNPs in ancient, landrace and modern plant materials. The extended haplotype analysis of PPD-H1 undertaken here (allelic variation at which is thought to be important for the spread of domestication and local adaptation) provides further resolution to the previously identified geographic cline of flowering-time allele distribution, illustrating how KASP can be used to aid genetic analyses of aDNA from plant species. We further demonstrate the utility of KASP by genotyping ten additional genetic markers diagnostic for morphological traits in barley, shedding light on the phenotypic traits, alleles and allele combinations present in these unviable ancient specimens, as well as their geographic distributions.