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In the timespan between the end of the 3rd and the first half of the 2nd century B.C., a fortress overlapped the remains of the well-known settlement of the Patela hill, near Prinias. It was not isolated. A massive wall barred the pass between the Patela and the opposite hill. A barren and almost inaccessible rocky spur, around 3 km far from the fortress, had the function of monitoring and countering any threats coming from the south. Another defensive building in the opposite side of the valley had the same function. For the moment, the archaeological evidence is not enough to say exactly when the fortress and the related territorial defensive system were created and in relation to which historical moment: many events occurred in the long span of time between 220 and 150 B.C. However, the whole defensive system seems to have been designed to prevent a potential threat from the south, i.e. from Gortina. The inscriptions under discussion come mainly from the surface or from surface layers and can be dated in a period from the beginning of 3rd to the end of 2nd century B.C. The epigraphic material, albeit small and fragmentary, is quite representative of the epigraphic habits both in public and in private life and attests a wide range of activities in the area during the Hellenistic period.

Background: Measles is a highly contagious viral disease with serious complications. Currently, in Italy, measles vaccination is not mandatory for health care workers (HCWs) and medical students, and the free offer of the Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) vaccine is the only national prevention measure to increase the coverage rate among these subjects. Aims: The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact on vaccination rate of the National Plan of Vaccine Prevention (NPVP) implemented in 2017. Material and Methods: This is a retrospective observational study that evaluated the measles-specific IgG immunity status of medical students at the University Tor Vergata of Rome, which underwent occupational health surveillance from 1 January to 31 December 2018. Results: In 2018, 84 of 319 students (26.30%) were serologically non-immune to measles, among these, 16 (19%) had previously been vaccinated, and 35 of the remaining 68 students accepted the MMR vaccine. Therefore, 33 out of 319 students did not undergo vaccination in 2018. These data are similar to those obtained in the previous year. In the 2017 screening, 84/314 (26.75%) students tested negative at the serological screening, whereas 15/85 (17.8%) among them documented a previous vaccination with two doses of the MMR vaccine, 69 students tested as unprotected. Vaccine compliance was 51.44%. Conclusions: No change in vaccination coverage occurred after the introduction of the last NPVP. Further efforts are needed to sensitize target populations about the relevance of vaccination, providing pre-employment screening for measles and free vaccine might be useful for this purpose.

The chemical characterization of the black gloss on ancient pottery is, since several years, the object of different scientific investigations. Among the different typologies of black gloss, the Attic one is the most refined, because it is prepared by using a fine suspension of an illitic clay applied on the surface of the clay body so that, after an oxiding-reducing-oxiding firing cycle at high temperature (800-950 degrees C), it reaches the typical shiny black aspect. Red figure vases were largely produced in South Italy often reaching a high artistic level. This is the case of the Sicilian red figure vases, sometimes called Sicelioti', whose production began in Sicily around the end of the fifth century BC and continued until the beginning of the third century BC. The aim of this work is to submit and compare a selection of data related to the chemical composition of the surface black gloss of some Attic and Sicilian red figure vases: This has been investigated, and a chemical-based discrimination has been proposed. The non-destructive particle-induced X-ray emission-alpha portable spectrometer was used. The results, carried out in situ at the Paolo Orsi' Archaeological Museum in Syracuse (Sicily), together with the ones recently obtained in similar analyses at the Archaeological Museum of Catania University, confirmed the compositional stability of Attic vase black gloss and indicated that in a well-defined time period, the chemical composition of the Sicilian black gloss decorations is very stable and superimposable with that of the contemporary Attic artifacts. Copyright (c) 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Summary - The animal and plant biodiversity of the Italian territory is known to be one of the richest in the Mediterranean basin and Europe as a whole, but does the genetic diversity of extant human populations show a comparable pattern? According to a number of studies, the genetic structure of Italian populations retains the signatures of complex peopling processes which took place from the Paleolithic to modern era. Although the observed patterns highlight a remarkable degree of genetic heterogeneity, they do not, however, take into account an important source of variation. In fact, Italy is home to numerous ethnolinguistic minorities which have yet to be studied systematically. Due to their difference in geographical origin and demographic history, such groups not only signal the cultural and social diversity of our country, but they are also potential contributors to its bio-anthropological heterogeneity. To fill this gap, research groups from four Italian Universities (Bologna, Cagliari, Pisa and Roma Sapienza) started a collaborative study in 2007, which was funded by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research and received partial support by the Istituto Italiano di Antropologia. In this paper, we present an account of the results obtained in the course of this initiative. Four case-studies relative to linguistic minorities from the Eastern Alps, Sardinia, Apennines and Southern Italy are first described and discussed, focusing on their micro-evolutionary and anthropological implications. Thereafter, we present the results of a systematic analysis of the relations between linguistic, geographic and genetic isolation. Integrating the data obtained in the course of the long-term study with literature and unpublished results on Italian populations, we show that a combination of linguistic and geographic factors is probably responsible for the presence of the most robust signatures of genetic isolation. Finally, we evaluate the magnitude of the diversity of Italian populations in the European context. The human genetic diversity of our country was found to be greater than observed throughout the continent at short (0-200 km) and intermediate (700-800km) distances, and accounted for most of the highest values of genetic distances observed at all geographic ranges. Interestingly, an important contribution to this pattern comes from the “linguistic islands” (e.g. German speaking groups of Sappada and Luserna from the Eastern Italian Alps), further proof of the importance of considering social and cultural factors when studying human genetic variation.

Recent genetic studies of the Tuareg have begun to uncover the origin of this semi-nomadic northwest African people and their relationship with African populations. For centuries they were caravan traders plying the trade routes between the Mediterranean coast and south-Saharan Africa. Their origin most likely coincides with the fall of the Garamantes who inhabited the Fezzan (Libya) between the 1st millennium BC and the 5th century AD. In this study we report novel data on the Y-chromosome variation in the Libyan Tuareg from Al Awaynat and Tahala, two villages in Fezzan, whose maternal genetic pool was previously characterized. High-resolution investigation of 37 Y-chromosome STR loci and analysis of 35 bi-allelic markers in 47 individuals revealed a predominant northwest African component (E-M81, haplogroup E1b1b1b) which likely originated in the second half of the Holocene in the same ancestral population that contributed to the maternal pool of the Libyan Tuareg. A significant paternal contribution from south-Saharan Africa (E-U175, haplogroup E1b1a8) was also detected, which may likely be due to recent secondary introduction, possibly through slavery practices or fusion between different tribal groups. The difference in haplogroup composition between the villages of Al Awaynat and Tahala suggests that founder effects and drift played a significant role in shaping the genetic pool of the Libyan Tuareg.

Submitted by Guilherme Lemeszenski (guilherme@nead.unesp.br) on 2014-02-26T17:17:18Z No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000186877600012.pdf: 90061 bytes, checksum: e1abd7ff3e965c49b57c9a75f86a1e66 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-02-26T17:17:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000186877600012.pdf: 90061 bytes, checksum: e1abd7ff3e965c49b57c9a75f86a1e66 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003-12-01 Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-20T15:24:14Z No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000186877600012.pdf: 90061 bytes, checksum: e1abd7ff3e965c49b57c9a75f86a1e66 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-20T15:24:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 WOS000186877600012.pdf: 90061 bytes, checksum: e1abd7ff3e965c49b57c9a75f86a1e66 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003-12-01 We tested the possible diagnostic utility of five Taenia saginata oncosphere-derived synthetic peptides in T. solium neurocysticercosis (NC). The five peptides correspond to protein sequences with high antigenic indexes that were cloned from a T. saginata oncosphere cDNA library. The test samples consisted of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples randomly collected from patients referred from Mexican and Brazilian neurological institutes. Indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were carried out with the peptides either unconjugated or coupled to carrier proteins, and were compared with results obtained using T. solium cyst fluid as a positive control. For active inflammatory NC, the higher sensibility (93%) and specificity (85%) was obtained with peptides HP6-2 and Ts45W-1, respectively, coupled to ovalbumin, in both Mexican and Brazilian patients. Examining the results of the individual peptide assays in combination, in some instances, improved the sensitivity to 100%. Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Invest Biomed, Mexico City 04510, DF, Mexico Inst Nacl Neurol & Neurocirurg, Mexico City 14269, DF, Mexico Inst Epidemiol Neurol & Neurol Trop, Limoges, France Inst Salud Carlos III, Madrid 28220, Spain Univ Edinburgh, Dept Trop Anim Hlth, Sir Alexander Robertson Ctr Trop Vet Med, Easter Bush Vet Ctr, Roslin EH25 9RG, Midlothian, Scotland Inst Gulbenkian Ciências, Oeiras, Portugal Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU), Parasitol Lab, BR-3840090Z Uberlandia, MG, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Med Vet & Zootecn, BR-18618000 Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Med, BR-18618000 Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Med Vet & Zootecn, BR-18618000 Botucatu, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Med, BR-18618000 Botucatu, SP, Brazil

Viral drug susceptibility is associated with virologic response to new treatments. Standardized drug resistance tests are now available, and data from some clinical trials suggest that the use of drug resistance testing may be associated with improved virologic outcome. However, drug resistance testing is complex in terms of performance, interpretation and clinical application. HIV-1 drug resistance testing is used across Europe in patient management, but not in a consistent manner. This is due to differences in the national approaches to treatment, treatment management and reimbursement, as well as availability of tests. National guidelines only exist in some countries. In addition, the laboratory quality assurance and quality control standards are not applied uniformly. The EuroGuidelines Group was established to formulate clinical as well as laboratory guidelines for the use of HIV-1 drug resistance testing that are specific for the European setting. The group is comprised of academic clinicians and virologists, scientist from the industry and representatives of the patient community. The panel of experts will review these guidelines and update them on a yearly basis as new scientific evidence becomes available. (C) 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.