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Abstract We present here the earliest evidence for large-scale table olive production from the mid-7th millennium BP inundated site of Hishuley Carmel on the northern Mediterranean coast of Israel. Olive pit size and fragmentation patterns, pollen as well as the architecture of installations associated with pits from this site, were compared to finds from the nearby and slightly earlier submerged Kfar Samir site. Results indicate that at Kfar Samir olive oil was extracted, while at Hishuley Carmel the data showed that large quantities of table olives, the oldest reported to date, were prepared. This process was most probably facilitated by the site’s proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, which served as a source of both sea water and salt required for debittering/pickling/salting the fruit, as experimentally demonstrated in this study. Comparison of pit morphometry from modern cultivars, wild-growing trees and the archaeological sites, intimates that in pit morphology the ancient pits resemble wild olives, but we cannot totally exclude the possibility that they derive from early cultivated trees. Our findings demonstrate that in this region, olive oil production may have predated table olive preparation, with each development serving as a milestone in the early exploitation of the olive.

Abstract: The virulence-associated effector protein AvrA of Salmonella enterica is an ubiquitin-like acetyltransferase/cysteine protease, which interferes with the first line of immune response of the target organism. In contrast to translation of the AvrA protein in S. enterica strains, which takes place either constitutively (class 1 strains), or after acid induction (class 2 strains), or not at all (class 3 strains); the constitutive transcription of the respective avrA genes occurs regardless of these defined expression classes. When the number of avrA genes and mRNA molecules is raised experimentally using plasmids carrying the respective cloned avrA genes together with their promoter regions, the translation of avrA mRNA takes place very strongly in all respective AvrA expression classes. This kind of copy-dependent, post-transcriptional control of AvrA was shown to be dependent on the regulatory action of the CsrA/CsrB system since the deletion of both genes completely abolished the translation in the tested S. enterica strains, whereas the transcription remained unaffected. Moreover, AvrA production in strains carrying the cloned avrA genes on plasmids remained dependent on the presence of CsrA but unaffected in csrB mutant strains. On the other hand, overproduction of the regulatory molecules CsrA and CsrB in S. enterica strains carrying cloned csrA and csrB genes on plasmids ceased the expression of AvrA again. Therefore, the expression of avrA is suggested to be regulated in a post-transcriptional manner by critical and effective concentrations of CsrA (see-saw regulation), which is achieved through the sequestering activity of CsrB. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Loop ileostomy to establish fecal diversion has been used in 79 patients as the initial surgical procedure in severe, debilitating Crohn's colitis or ileocolitis. Clinical improvement, as measured by subjective and objective criteria and length of hospitalization, occurred in 72 of 79 patients (91%). Definitive surgery was then undertaken at a later stage under more ideal circumstances without mortality. The high relapse rate of 33% in this series would lead us to recommend definitive surgery electively at an early stage after initial clinical improvement. Four of the 79 patients in this series died; three deaths were related to Crohn's disease, for a total mortality of 5.1%. It is believed that loop ileostomy to establish fecal diversion has a definite role in the initial surgical management of the severely ill patient with Crohn's colitis.

A technique of intraoperative angiography involving the use of metallic clips and a comparison with preoperative vascular anatomy has proved quite useful in localizing the site of bleeding from the small intestine. This safe, relatively simple technique, can be a valuable adjunct to the diagnosis of the source of obscure, major bleeding from the small intestine.