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This article offers an edition and an attempt at an interpretation of text BM 40757, which records a ritual related to the New Year Festival (NYF), or Akītu, of Marduk in Babylon. The text contains information on the festival’s structure, setting, and organization. It clarifies aspects related to the arrival of the river procession at the Akītu temple, the participants and deities involved, their spatial and ritual arrangements, the offerings and rites performed, the ceremonial elements involved, and the specific spaces in which the rites were carried out. It also illustrates aspects of urban cultic topography and, more importantly, features of the Akītu temple’s layout.

The aim of this article is to discuss several groups of sources which are of special interest regarding the question of Mesopotamian identities after 539 bce, towards the end of the use of cuneiform writing. In this late period, several languages and scripts were in use in Mesopotamia; therefore, groups of Akkadian, Aramaic, Greek, and Sumerian texts are discussed. The scripts used are Aramaic letters, cuneiform, and the Greek alphabet. A scholar who is interested in late Mesopotamian identities needs to take all these documents into account. This article aims at giving a brief overview on available textual material and where to find it. The topics of these texts vary from administrative documents to highly literary texts. The authors discuss Aramaic inscriptions, legal and administrative cuneiform texts, the astronomical diaries, the Seleucid Uruk scholarly texts, the late Babylonian priestly literature, Emesal cult-songs from the Hellenistic period, the Graeco-Babyloniaca (clay tablets containing cuneiform and Greek), and finally Greek inscriptions from Mesopotamia.

King Nabonidus’ (556–539 BCE) military campaigns in the Levant and his long sojourn in Arabia are well known, and evidence of his activities in the area of Udummu (Edom) is found in the impressive cuneiform inscription and relief carved at the site of al-Sila‛ (Sela) in Jordan. The study of the inscription presented here comprises the documentation of the monument, the digital treatment of the data obtained, and the epigraphic, textual and historical analysis of the cuneiform inscription.

Due to the low availability of herbicide active ingredients, the chemical weed management in lettuce crop is a challenge. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of lettuce to the pre-planting application of the herbicides flumioxazin and trifluralin alone or in tank-mixture in lettuce, Lucy Brown cultivar. Two experiments were conducted. In experiment A, the soil was tilled before the herbicide application and it was tilled again before seedling transplanting. In experiment B, the soil was tilled just once before the herbicide application. The experimental design was in randomized blocks in a factorial scheme (3x3) +1 (2 factors with 3 levels and an additional control) with 4 replicates. We applied flumioxazin (120 g ha-1), trifluralin (450 g ha-1) and flumioxazin + trifluralin (120 + 450 g ha-1) in three different seasons before transplanting (0, 7 and 14 days). Lettuce productivity after trifluralin application (48.4 t ha-1) was higher than after flumioxazin application (16.8 t ha-1) in experiment A. In experiment B, flumioxazin decreased the number of lettuce leaves (25.6) at 14 DAT; no differences in lettuce productivity were verified, though. The herbicide trifluralin caused lower levels of phytotoxicity and was the most selective between the treatments when applied in the three seasons in both experiments. RESUMO Devido à baixa disponibilidade de ingredientes ativos de herbicidas, o manejo químico de plantas daninhas na cultura da alface é um desafio. Objetivou-se avaliar a sensibilidade da alface à aplicação dos herbicidas flumioxazin e trifluralin, isolados ou em mistura em pré-plantio de mudas de alface cultivar Lucy Brown. Dois experimentos foram realizados. O experimento A recebeu uma operação de revolvimento no solo antes da aplicação dos herbicidas e outra antes do transplantio das mudas; o experimento B recebeu apenas um revolvimento do solo anterior à aplicação do herbicida. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial (3x3) + 1 (2 fatores com 3 níveis e uma testemunha adicional) com 4 repetições. Ambos experimentos receberam os tratamentos herbicidas flumioxazin (120 g ha-1), trifluralin (450 g ha-1) e a associação flumioxazin + trifluralin (120 + 450 g ha-1) aplicados em três épocas distintas antecedendo o transplantio (0, 7 e 14 dias). A produtividade de alface após aplicação de trifluralin (48,4 t ha-1) foi maior do que sob aplicação de flumioxazin (16,8 t ha-1) no experimento A. No experimento B flumioxazin aos 14 DAT reduziu o número de folhas de alface (25,6), todavia não houve diferenças de produtividade. O herbicida trifluralin causou menores níveis de fitointoxicação na alface e foi o mais seletivo dentre os tratamentos quando aplicado nas três épocas nos dois experimentos.

BM 32482 + is a Late Babylonian tablet with descriptions of rites and ceremonies held in the Eturkalamma temple of Bēlet-Bābili (Ištar of Babylon). The text refers to prayers and recitations to appease the goddess. Cult personnel from her temple (išippupriest) are also mentioned, as is music, anigûtuperformed by anadītupriestess, a ritual involving asakkikuddītu,a cultic commentary, omens involving birds, and astrological observations. Despite the fragmentary condition of the tablet, it seems that the performance of thenigûtuwas in one way or another related to the preservation of the temple rituals, which would otherwise have been forgotten.

Objectives A prospective cohort study was conducted in Italy in order to describe the microbiologic aspects of colonization/infection by carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in donors and recipients of lung and liver transplants and the possible CPE transmission from donors to recipients. Methods Between 15 January 2014 and 14 January 2015, all recipients of solid organ transplants (SOT) at ten lung and eight liver transplantation centres and the corresponding donors were enrolled. Screening cultures to detect CPE were performed in donors, and screening and clinical cultures in recipients with a 28-day microbiologic follow-up after receipt of SOT. Detection of carbapenemase genes by PCR, genotyping by multilocus sequence typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and whole-genome sequencing were performed. Results Of 588 screened donors, 3.4% were colonized with CPE. Of the liver first transplant recipients (n = 521), 2.5% were colonized before receipt of SOT and 5% acquired CPE during follow-up. CPE colonization was higher in lung first transplant recipients (n = 111, 2.7% before SOT and 14.4% after SOT). CPE infections occurred in 1.9% and 5.3% of liver or lung recipients, respectively. CPE isolates were mostly Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae belonging to CG258. Three events of donor–recipient CPE transmission, confirmed by whole-genome sequencing and/or pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, occurred in lung recipients: two involving K. pneumoniae sequence type 512 and one Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamase (VIM)-producing Enterobacter aerogenes. Conclusions This study showed a low risk of donor–recipient CPE transmission, indicating that donor CPE colonization does not necessarily represent a contraindication for donation unless colonization regards the organ to be transplanted. Donor and recipient screening remains essential to prevent CPE transmission and cross-infection in transplantation centres.

One of the aims of the 2016 campaign in as-Sila was to conduct a survey in order to identify cisterns, channels and structures related to water use at the top of the settlement, using the 2015 survey map of the site as a base. The investigations have revealed a complex and sophisticated hydrological network with a great diversity of water structures (carved in the sandstone and designed for the collection, storage, transport and distribution of rainwater). All the structures have been identified and described using a total station, their location associated with the general topography of the site, and the contexts photographed. This study presents the results of recent analyses of lime-based mortars from rock-cut hydraulic structures collected during the 2016 archaeological campaign at the site of as-Sila/Sela, in the governorate of Tafilah in southern Jordan. Mineralogical and petrographic analyses were performed on 16 samples of mortars by means of x ray diffraction (XRD) and thin-section petrography (OM), and 12 AMS radiocarbon dates were taken from them. In spite of the difficulties in dating lime-based mortars and the problems inherent in the interpretation of the data, here we present the most complete analysis currently available of mortars from an archaeological site in southern Transjordan., The Sela Archaeological Project, led by R. Da Riva of the University of Barcelona (UB) in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Jordan (DoAJ), has been funded by the ICREA Academia Research Award, the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture, the Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, AGAUR, of the Autonomous Government of Catalonia, and the PALARQ Foundation. The project also has the support of the Spanish Embassy in Amman. Except where otherwise noted, all photographs and materials published here are ©Sela Archaeological Project. The authors would especially like to thank Bob Bewley and Matthew Dalton of The Aerial Archaeology in Jordan Project for allowing us to use the aerial images taken in Sela in October 2018 (©APAAME). We would also like to thank María Soto and Josep Vallverdú who made the petrographic and mineralogical analyses at the IPHES and who most kindly put this information at our disposal. These analyses, as well as the 14C analysis at the CNA were financed by research grants of the PALARQ Foundation to which the authors express their most sincere gratitude.

Soybean (Glycine max) is a species of legume native to East Asia and used in childhood diet for over 2,000 years in the East. Soy protein formulas have been available for almost a century. Nowadays, the increase in cow's milk allergy and vegetarian dietary preferences are driving consumers toward cow's milk alternatives. In this paper, we reviewed the nutritional composition of soy-based infant formula and discussed their possible use in pediatric age, mainly focusing on prevention and treatment of cow's milk allergy. Protein quality is determined by digestibility and amino acid content. Purified or concentrated vegetable proteins (e.g., soy protein and gluten) have high digestibility (>95%), similar to those of animal ones. For some intact vegetable products (e.g., whole cereals and pulses), protein digestibility is lower (80–90%). Food processing and heat treatment also influence protein digestibility. Considering these data, we tried to evaluate the possible use of soybean and derivatives in pediatric age, including the nutritional composition of soy formulas and the clinical indications for their use. Moreover, since plant-based beverages are being perceived as healthy by consumers and their use is growing on the market, we recommend that soy drink should not be used as a substitute for infant formulas or cow's milk in children younger than 24 months.

To compare the impact of different formulas on the occurrence of other atopic manifestations and the time of immune tolerance acquisition.In a 36-month prospective cohort study, the occurrence of other atopic manifestations (eczema, urticaria, asthma, and rhinoconjunctivitis) and the time of immune tolerance acquisition were comparatively evaluated in immunoglobulin E-mediated children with cow's milk allergy (CMA) treated with extensively hydrolyzed casein formula containing the probiotic L. rhamnosus GG (EHCF + LGG), rice hydrolyzed formula, soy formula, extensively hydrolyzed whey formula (EHWF), or amino acid-based formula.In total, 365 subjects were enrolled into the study, 73 per formula cohort. The incidence of atopic manifestations was 0.22 (Bonferroni-corrected 95% CI 0.09-0.34) in the EHCF + LGG cohort; 0.52 (0.37-0.67) in the rice hydrolyzed formula cohort; 0.58 (0.43-0.72) in the soy formula cohort; 0.51 (0.36-0.66) in the EHWF cohort; and 0.77 (0.64-0.89) in the amino acid-based formula cohort. The incidence of atopic manifestations in the rice hydrolyzed formula, soy formula, EHWF, and amino acid-based formula cohorts vs the EHCF + LGG cohort was always greater than the prespecified absolute difference of 0.25 at an alpha-level of 0.0125, with corresponding risk ratios of 2.37 (1.46-3.86, P .001) for rice hydrolyzed formula vs EHCF + LGG; 2.62 (1.63-4.22, P .001) for soy formula vs EHCF + LGG; 2.31 (1.42-3.77, P .001) for EHWF vs EHCF + LGG; and 3.50 (2.23-5.49, P .001) for amino acid-based formula vs EHCF + LGG. The 36-month immune tolerance acquisition rate was greater in the EHCF + LGG cohort.The use of EHCF + LGG for CMA treatment is associated with lower incidence of atopic manifestations and greater rate of immune tolerance acquisition.