bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Comitia
and
concilia
Authors: Sandberg Kaj
Published: December 2018

It is clear that popular sovereignty was the ideological foundation of the “constitution” of republican Rome (Cic.
Har
.
resp
. 11). Exactly to what extent the ordinary citizenry was a true actor in the political system, usually seen as dominated by the senatorial aristocracy, is a matter for debate. Yet, whatever stance one takes, it is an unarguable fact that formal popular participation was indispensable for the operation of the republican system. None but the people were entitled to bestow magistracies, make law, and pass judgment on capital crimes.
Contio
Authors: Tracy Catherine
Published: December 2018

The
contio
(plural:
contiones
) could be civil or military. The civil
contio
was a non‐voting public meeting convened, during the republic, usually by a consul or tribune of the plebs, and, during the imperial period, usually by the emperor. Republican
contiones
were often held in connection with elections or criminal trials. They were a means of imparting news to the assembled crowd, and of testing the popularity of the speaker and his stance. The
contio
audience could verbally express assent or dissent but normally only those invited by the presiding magistrate could give a speech. Military
contiones
were convened by those with military authority for an audience of soldiers on topics relating to army life. The shouted support for a general by the soldiers at a military
contio
could count as an acclamation.
Scipio Aemilianus (Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus)
Authors: Stevenson Tom
Published: December 2018

A survey of the career of Scipio Aemilianus (cos. 147, 134 BC), concentrating on political and military events and his legacy for later political divisions at Rome.
Fulvius Nobilior, Marcus
Authors: Nice Alex
Published: December 2018

M. Fulvius Nobilior (ca. 231 to post‐178
bce
), a member of the plebeian gens Fulvia, was a Roman general and statesman. He is most notable for his association with the epic poet Ennius and for the dedication of the temple of Hercules Musarum in Rome's Circus Flaminius.
Public health, Greece and Rome
Authors: Koloski‐Ostrow Ann Olga
Published: December 2018

Public health today involves political officials working hard to make sure that diseases are contained or eliminated, fresh water is available, and sanitation is in place for the well‐being of citizens. Finding evidence for similar concerns in Greece and Rome is not so easy, and may not even be the correct approach. Nevertheless, as the control and management of water and waste have been vital to all societies since the very beginnings of agriculture and urbanization, perhaps water management and waste control are good starting places for investigating public‐health issues.
Retrospective diagnosis
Authors: Moog Ferdinand Peter
Published: December 2018

Retrospective diagnosis aims at identifying the illnesses of people who died long ago, mostly of well‐known historical persons, on the basis of available information. Laymen wrongly regard this procedure – which among experts is a highly contentious issue – as the chief task of medical history. However, most publications of this kind are written not by medical historians, but by clinical physicians with ambitions to be historians or by historians interested in medicine.
Metallurgy, ancient Near East
Authors: de Lapérouse Jean‐François
Published: December 2018

The development of metallurgy in Mesopotamia and the surrounding lands from the late fourth millennium
bce
until the end of the Neo‐Babylonian period represented an unprecedented technological achievement that strongly influenced the evolution of agriculture, transportation, tool and weapon production, as well as the visual arts across the ancient world. This achievement was made possible by an exchange of raw materials and expertise over a wide region.
Tishpak
Authors: Sommerfeld Walter
Published: December 2018

Tishpak was the city‐god of Eshnunna in northern Babylonia, where his cult and veneration are documented for about 500 years (ca. 2250–1750
bce
). In visual representations as well as in literary compositions he is provided with particular attributes as god of snakes and dragons.
Murder
Authors: Gaughan Judy E.
Published: December 2018

Regulations regarding murder and unintentional homicide can appear in the laws of ancient Israel, the Hittite Empire, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. Homicide can bring with it both religious and secular dangers that must be addressed. Sometimes the state, sometimes family members of the victim, and sometimes both play roles in the punishment of killers.
South Arabic and Geʿez
Authors: Gorea Maria
Published: December 2018

It is generally admitted that South Arabic and Ethiopic languages are closely related and form a dialectal unity within the Semitic languages. The South Arabic presence in the North of Ethiopia is well attested and vice‐versa. The later Axumite dominance in Yemen is evidenced by reliable sources. Even though South Arabia and Ethiopia were connected from a political point of view, Ethiopic is not an offshoot of the South Arabic. Geʿez, the classical Ethiopic, shares some phonological and morphological characteristics with a part of the South Arabic languages, mostly with the Epigraphic South Arabic, but there are significant differences between them.
Teshub
Authors: Trémouille Marie Claude
Published: December 2018

Teshub was a weather god and chief deity of the
H
urrian pantheon. He was worshipped in Anatolia and northern Syria during the second and early first millennia
bce
.
Landsberger, Benno (1890–1968)
Authors: Crisostomo Jay
Published: December 2018

Benno Landsberger (1890–1968) was a prominent Assyriologist and lexicographer. He taught at the University of Leipzig, the University of Marburg, Ankara University, and the University of Chicago. He was the first editor of the series
Materialien zum Sumerischen Lexikon
. His work on the history, lexicography, and culture of ancient Mesopotamia established him as perhaps the most influential Assyriologist of the twentieth century.
Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne)
Authors: Eck Werner
Published: December 2018

The Germanic tribe of the Ubii settled in Caesar's time on the right bank of the Rhine, around the river Lahn, with their center at the Dünsberg. Then, in 19/18
bc,
Agrippa, Augustus’ son‐in‐law, settled a major part of the Ubii on the left bank of the Rhine bend at Cologne. This settlement would be given the status of
colonia
in
ad
50. Its manifest prosperity was based on cereal production and the manufacture of glass and pottery. With the increasing instability of the region from the mid‐third century, its fortunes fluctuated until it finally fell to the Germans some time in the first half of the fifth century.
Derveni Papyrus
Authors: Betegh Gábor
Published: December 2018

The Derveni papyrus, dated to 340–320
bce
, is the oldest Greek literary papyrus. It was found in 1962, in a burial ground 12 km from Thessaloniki. The fragmentary text contains rationalizing interpretations of ritual practices and eschatological figures, as well as a verse‐by‐verse allegorical commentary to a poem attributed to Orpheus. The commentary, which shows the influence of various Presocratic theories, focuses on the way in which a divine cosmic Mind created the present world order. The text is a major addition to our knowledge of the interaction between philosophy and religion, early Orphism, and the intellectual life of Macedonia at the end of the Classical period.
Philon of Larissa
Authors: Fleischer Kilian
Published: December 2018

Philon of Larissa (prob. 159/8–84/83
bce
) was the last known head of the New Academy in Athens and Cicero's teacher for a while in Rome. Although he did not completely abandon skepticism, he weakened and altered the radical skepticism of his predecessors in certain respects. His philosophical changes might have even indirectly led to the dogmatic turn his pupil Antiochus had taken.
Timon of Phleious
Authors: Svavarsson Svavar Hrafn
Published: December 2018

Timon of Phleious (ca. 325/20–235/30
bce
), philosopher and poet, is our primary source for the philosophy of Pyrrho, whose views he presented both by positive explication and by mocking criticism of other philosophers. While his presentation of Pyrrho's views may not reflect Pyrrho's own style, most agree that he is first and foremost an explicator of Pyrrho, even if the extent of his own philosophical contribution remains a matter of debate.
Kalokairinos, Minos (1843–1907)
Authors: Karadimas Nektarios
Published: December 2018

Minos Kalokairinos (1843–1907) was a businessman, an interpreter, and a lawyer. In 1878, probably influenced by the recent discoveries of Heinrich Schliemann's excavations at Mycenae, he started excavations on the Kephala hill of Knossos, where he brought to light parts of a prehistoric palace, thus pioneering Cretan archaeology. The excavations were stopped in April 1879 and were continued by Sir Arthur Evans, mainly during 1900–5.
Kinyras
Authors: Georgiou Artemis
Published: December 2018

Kinyras is a mythological figure presented as the founder of Paphos (Cyprus) and of the town's sanctuary and he is credited with the invention of tools associated with the processing of copper.
Tremblers (
tresantes
) at Sparta
Authors: Lupi Marcello
Published: December 2018

“Tremblers” (
tresantes
) were those Spartans who had fled from the enemy. Since the Spartan code of values required them to remain in their ranks until victory or death, those who survived a defeat were socially humiliated and marginalized. While the term is already attested in Tyrtaios, the formalization of their status is elusive: the episodes that refer to some kind of social degradation and/or legal punishment of one or more Spartan tremblers are rare, limited to the years between 480 and 331
bce
, and not reducible to a common pattern.
Bellum iustum
Authors: Santangelo Federico
Published: December 2018

The notion of
bellum iustum
pertains to the Roman debate on the causes of, and justification for, war. “Just wars” can only be waged if some legal conditions are met, including a number of preliminary steps and a formal declaration. The ancient discussions of
bellum iustum
had considerable impact on medieval and early modern reflections on war and imperialism.
Dilectus
Authors: Wintjes Jorit
Published: December 2018

The
dilectus
(“selection”) was the Roman levying of soldiers for military service among the Roman citizenry. It took place on the Capitolium, where the initial mustering took place, and on the Campus Martius, where the new recruits’ weapons were inspected. It was one of the most important duties of the consuls, to whom it fell to preside over it.
Lucretia
Authors: Chaplin Jane D.
Published: December 2018

The story of Lucretia is intimately connected with the fall of the Roman monarchy and the establishment of the republic. The canonical version is found in the Roman historian Livy (1.57–60). The story is more legend than fact, and Lucretia's sexual purity, and its violation by Sextus Tarquinius, are more important for their cultural resonances than for the supposed historical consequences.
Pompeius Strabo, Cn. (cos. 89
bce
)
Authors: Kendall Seth L.
Published: December 2018

Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo was a Roman general and consul of the Roman Republic (89
bce
). He is principally known for his military successes during the Roman‐Allied war, for his activity (or, rather, the lack of it) during Sulla's March on Rome, and for his role in the fight against L. Cornelius Cinna and C. Marius, in which conflict he was killed. He was the father of Cn. Pompeius Magnus, better known as Pompey the Great.
Proscriptions
Authors: Thein Alexander
Published: December 2018

Proscription was a system of state‐sponsored political violence attested twice in the civil wars of the Late Roman Republic: it was invented by Sulla after the civil war of 83–82
bce
and revived by Antony, Octavian, and Lepidus after the formation of the Second Triumvirate in 43
bce
. The distinctive feature of proscription was the mass condemnation of political enemies, without trial or judicial process, and the publication of their names on death lists posted in the forum at Rome. The property of the proscribed was confiscated and sold at public auction, and the death sentence was enforced by the proclamation of penalties and rewards for assisting or killing the proscribed. The original meaning of the Latin word
proscriptio
was “publication,” often the advertisement of items for sale at auction. After Sulla it also acquired the meaning of “death list.”
Hyakinthia at Sparta
Authors: Nafissi Massimo
Published: December 2018

The Spartan Hyakinthia were held at Amyklai, in the local sanctuary of Apollo, in honor of Apollo and Hyakinthos. A well‐known myth told that Hyakinthos underwent metamorphosis into a flower, but according to Spartan tradition he acquired immortality through apotheosis. Hyakinthia, supposedly a vegetation cult and a youth initiation ceremony, were one of the major religious festivals in Sparta and Lakonia, and they are relatively well known, thanks to the allusions of the classical sources and the more systematic – although fragmentary – descriptions from authors of Hellenistic and Roman age.
Skirmishing, Greek and Roman
Authors: Anders Adam O.
Published: December 2018

Skirmishing in Greek and Roman armies may be defined as free‐flowing, uncontrolled troop movements. They took place on battlefields where two armies met, but also in other conditions. They were a regular and important feature of military campaigns. Both Greek and Roman armies had specially designated troops for this purpose, but various other types of troops could also engage in skirmishing. These “light infantrymen” tended to carry out a variety of roles, all of which could have had a significant effect on overall strategy.
Army, Roman Republic
Authors: Kent Patrick Alan
Published: December 2018

The Roman army was a central institution of the Roman Republic and key to the expansion of Roman power. It was made up of legions of mostly heavy infantry armed with short swords arranged in a flexible formation. Roman armies were capable of impressive battlefield victories as well as absorbing devastating losses. Military service was an important part of the social lives of upper‐ and lower‐class Romans. Over time, the armies of the Republic were transformed into personal armies of Roman generals and contributed to the collapse of the state.
Albinus
Authors: Tarrant Harold
Published: December 2018

Albinus was an influential Platonist teacher eminent enough to have been sought out by Galen ca. 150
ce
. One short work and a title suggesting he was a pupil of the Platonist Gaius are preserved. Albinus seems to have approached Plato through the dialogues, read in a fairly literal fashion. Fragments in Proclus supplement our knowledge of his approach to Platonic exegesis.
Blossius of Cumae (Kyme)
Authors: Vesperini Pierre
Published: December 2018

Blossius of Cumae (Kyme), a disciple of the Stoic Antipater of Tarsos, was a Stoic philosopher who lived in Rome in the middle of the second century
bce
. He is mostly known for his relationship with Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, the famous tribune of the plebs, who proposed an agrarian reform in 133
bce
. After Tiberius’ murder, Blossius fled to Asia, where he joined Aristonikos’ forces against Rome before committing suicide in 129
bce
.
Lucius Annaeus Cornutus
Authors: Ramelli Ilaria L. E.
Published: December 2018

The Stoic and polymath Cornutus flourished in Rome in the 60s
ce
, although we do not know for sure the date of his birth and death. He was banished by Nero and was the teacher of the poet Persius. He stood in the tradition of ancient Stoic allegorical exegesis which he applied to all aspects of religion: literary myths, cultic epithets and attributes, and iconographical representations.
Crone, Patricia (1945–2015)
Authors: Tor D. G.
Published: December 2018

Patricia Crone (1945–2015) was one of the most important scholars of early Islamic history. Her work changed the field in several major areas: first, by introducing the use of source‐critical methodology into the study of Islamic historical narratives, especially those regarding the earliest Islamic beliefs and practices of the seventh century; second, in demonstrating that the central political institution of Islam, the caliphate, in contrast to the historical narrative put forward by later generations of Sunni religious scholars, began with full command of all religious authority, which was by the ninth century usurped by that same class of religious clerics; and, finally, toward the end of her career, and based entirely on the internal evidence of the Qur’ān itself, a revision of our understanding of the context in which Muḥammad preached, and how this differed from the traditional account of Islamic salvation history.
Djeme/Western Thebes
Authors: Cromwell Jennifer
Published: December 2018

The village of Djeme was the principal settlement site in western Thebes, after which the local region was referred to as the Holy Mount of Djeme. The large body of Coptic textual evidence from the site, together with what survived of its archaeology, makes it one of the best‐known sites in Late Antique and early Islamic Egypt and its evidence is invaluable for reconstructing the daily life of Egypt's village population at this time.
Alchemy, Late Antiquity
Authors: Richter Tonio Sebastian
Published: December 2018

Late Antiquity saw the first blossom of an endeavor which, drawing upon techniques such as dyework, metallurgy, gold work, glass, painting, or pharmacopoeia, and integrating such knowledge with Greek traditions of natural philosophy and contemporary religious thought, led to the emergence of a new science. Its early adherents enquired into the nature of matter, its qualities, and their changeability, sought to replicate natural processes, and attempted to create imitations of precious materials such as purple, gems, silver, and gold. Their approach was twofold: theoretical modeling and experimental work. The newborn science, called θεῖα or ἱερὰ τέχνη
theia / hiera tekhnê
(“divine / sacred art”) or χυμεῖα
chymeia
(“art of melting”) by contemporaries, would enjoy a rich history of appropriation and advancement first in the Byzantine and Islamic world and eventually in the Latin west.
Chronicle of Seert
Authors: Wood Philip
Published: December 2018

The
Chronicle of Seert
is an Arabic chronicle composed in Iraq in the tenth or eleventh century. It survives in a single manuscript, of which only sections covering the years ca. 251–423
ce
and ca. 483–650
ce
are extant.
Court, Rabbinic
Authors: Hezser Catherine
Published: December 2018

The ways in which rabbinic courts are presented in rabbinic literary sources cannot be considered historically reliable. The literary sources are keen on presenting post‐70
ce
rabbis as leaders of a monolithic court system that replicated the priestly monarchy from before the destruction of the Temple. In reality, rabbis seem to have functioned as informal adjudicators who gave individual legal advice alongside a range of other Jewish and Roman judicial bodies. Only in the early Middle Ages did rabbinic courts/academies become more institutionalized in the Near Middle East.
Yu Hong, sarcophagus
Authors: Cao Yin
Published: December 2018

Yu Hong's sarcophagus, discovered at Taiyuan in Shanxi province in 1999, was the first of its kind to be excavated scientifically in China. Its importance lies in how it reveals the interactions between the East and West along the Silk Road by the sixth century. This is shown by its combination of traditional Chinese architecture, iconographic decorations in the style of Persian and Buddhist art, and motifs reflecting Zoroastrianism.
Frontiers, Hittite
Authors: İlgi Gerçek N.
Published: December 2018

The Late Bronze Age Hittite polity had a flexible territorial structure. It was separated from its neighbors by fluid and fluctuating frontiers rather than clear and uniform boundaries. Starting with the Early Empire period (ca. 1450
bce
), frontiers of the Hittite heartland constituted a special category in Hittite territorial organization and provincial administration. These regions were subject to special regulations closely monitored by the Hittite king.
Hoffner, Harry A., Jr. (1934–2015)
Authors: Beal Richard
Published: December 2018

An overview of the career of the Hittitologist Harry A. Hoffner, Jr.
Kramer, Samuel Noah (1897–1990)
Authors: Foster Benjamin R.
Published: December 2018

Samuel Noah Kramer was a leading figure in the creation of the modern discipline of Sumerology. He was the first to piece together, decipher, and edit major works of Sumerian mythology and literature. He also wrote extensively for a popular audience; it is largely thanks to him that the Sumerians became widely known outside of the small domain of cuneiform studies.
Marcian
Authors: Chevreau Emmanuelle
Published: December 2018

Aelius Marcianus was a Severan jurist of the early third century. He is the author of nine works:
Appeals
in two books, a monograph on
Informers
, another monograph on the
Action on Mortgage
,
Institutes
in sixteen books, two books on criminal trials,
Notes on Papinian's adultery
in three books,
Rules
in five books, a monograph on the
Senatus Consultum Turpillianum
, and (possibly)
Digests
. There are 283 extracts from Marcian in the
Digest
of Justinian.
Capito (Gaius Ateius Capito)
Authors: Buongiorno Pierangelo
Published: December 2018

Gaius Ateius Capito (ca. 50
bce
–22
ce
) was one of the most important jurists during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius. He owed his prominence to his political and ideological contributions to the Augustan principate, of which he was the main theoretician, and to his scholarly work, which was especially influential with regard to the
ius sacrum
and the
ius publicum
.
Africanus (Sextus Caecilius Africanus)
Authors: Doria Carla Masi
Published: December 2018

Sextus Caecilius Africanus was a Roman jurist active in the mid‐second century
ce
. He was a student of Salvius Iulianus, a member of the Sabinian school, and author of
Quaestiones
in nine books heavily influenced by his teacher's thought, as well as of
Epistulae
in at least twenty books. Africanus is praised by Aulus Gellius for his vast legal learning.
Sardinia, Nuragic Iron Age
Authors: Hayne Jeremy
Published: December 2018

The Sardinian Nuragic Iron Age marks a new phase in the prehistory of Sardinia. The Iron Age was a period of transformation and reorganization of the Nuragic communities who no longer lived in the Bronze Age towers but whose life and sociopolitical organization were centered around compact villages and large sanctuaries. The period also signals greater contact with Levantine traders and settlers whose presence also led to the fragmentation of the Bronze Age culture and the creation of the Iron Age.
Nuraghe Su Nuraxi of Barumini
Authors: Perra Mauro
Published: December 2018

Nuraghe
Su Nuraxi
at Barumini is the nuraghe
par excellence
for a number of reasons: it is famous even among non‐specialists; it is the only prehistoric monument of Sardinia to be officially recognized by UNESCO; it has a four‐towered structure, which is the standard architectural form of complex towered Nuragic constructions. Its story, painstakingly reconstructed by the discoverer of the site, Giovanni Lilliu, signaled the revival of Nuragic archaeology around the mid‐twentieth century, and its grounding in stratigraphic methodology. Su Nuraxi was first built towards the end of the Middle Bronze Age (early fourteenth century
bce
) and remained occupied until the Early Iron Age (ninth century
bce
), after which came several phases of reuse in the Punic and Roman periods and the Early Middle Ages.
Pithekoussai (Ischia), Phoenician
Authors: Marín‐Aguilera Beatriz
Published: December 2018

There are clear signs of a Phoenician presence within the Greek community in Pithekoussai. Phoenician graffiti on amphorae, and several vessels and plates have been found in Greek sites on Ischia, and it is therefore very likely that a group of Phoenicians lived among Greek settlers on the island.
Tunisia, Iron Age
Authors: Sanmartí Joan
Published: December 2018

The indigenous societies of Tunisia during the Iron Age are still poorly known, due to a research tradition that has privileged other periods and civilizations. However, some recent work indicates the existence from the early first millennium
bce
of a fully sedentary society, which used iron at least since the ninth century
bce
and experienced quick demographic growth. From the middle of the first millennium
bce
there are signs of urbanization and the creation of a progressively hierarchical and unequal society. Carthaginian pressure on the local population from the fifth century
bce
may have favored the formation of the historically known Libyan monarchies in Numidia and Mauritania.
Malta, Iron Age
Authors: Tanasi Davide
Published: December 2018

The Iron Age in the Maltese archipelago is in part represented by the Borġ in‐Nadur culture, which extends without substantial changes from the sixteenth to the eighth century
bce
. The only indicator for an internal chronological structure is given by a progressive series of pottery styles. On the basis of the evidence provided by main sites such as Borġ in‐Nadur, Tas‐Silġ, Għar Mirdum, Baħrija in Malta and In‐Nuffara in Gozo, the major indicators of the Borġ in‐Nadur culture are the emergence of fortified settlements and the occupation of highlands, the continuation of the funerary practice of inhumation, the participation in a Mediterranean network of exchanges with Sicily and the Mycenaean world, the development of metalworking, and a substantial increase in the scale of textile production.
Sicily, Monte Polizzo
Authors: Mühlenbock Christian
Published: December 2018

Monte Polizzo was one of the major indigenous settlement in western Sicily during the sixth century
bce
. The site was most extensively inhabited, covering approximately 20 hectares, from 625 to 550
bce,
when it was destroyed and subsequently abandoned. Excavated houses reveal a complex architecture with a very rich repertoire of objects mostly relating to local culture, including household cult, production, consumption, craftwork, and commerce. The local religion was equally complex and focused around an open‐air sanctuary related worship of deer.
Sicily, Pantalica
Authors: Leighton Robert
Published: December 2018

Pantalica is a large limestone promontory in southeast Sicily known chiefly for a series of extensive cemeteries comprising chamber tombs cut out of the rock, dating mainly between the thirteenth and seventh centuries
bce
. Evidence of subsequent occupation includes a defensive ditch and wall, a Late Antique residential building, rock‐cut dwellings of variable date, and three medieval oratories. The site gives its name to the Late Bronze and Iron Age “Pantalica culture,” typical of southern Sicily in the period before Greek colonization.
Monte Iato, Sicily
Authors: Kistler Erich
Published: December 2018

Monte Iato lies in the heart of the mountainous hinterland of western Sicily. Owing to the advantages of this central position also in terms of transport, Monte Iato was settled during the early seventh century
bce
at the latest; by the early fifth century
bce
, the settlement had become one of the most important indigenous centers of the west‐Sicilian interior. After a period of decline, it flourished once again in the early third century, the indigenous settlement acquiring the appearance of a Hellenistic polis together with the name Iaitas. After various phases of political and ethnic upheaval, the ancient city developed into medieval Giato, which, as the last refuge of the west‐Sicilian caliphate, was destroyed in 1246
ce
by Frederick II.
Mithradates I of Parthia
Authors: Gregoratti Leonardo
Published: December 2018

Mithradates I was the king of Parthia from 171 to 139/138
bce
. Through a series of successful military campaigns, he managed to expand considerably the Parthian kingdom from Central Asia to the Euphrates river. Under his rule, the Arsacids became one of the major powers in western Asia.
Mithradates
II
of Parthia
Authors: Gregoratti Leonardo
Published: December 2018

Mithradates II was the King of Parthia from 123 to 87
bce
. He managed to bring the kingdom out of a period of deep crisis and to consolidate its basic structure on a new basis.
Vologases I of Parthia
Authors: Gregoratti Leonardo
Published: December 2018

Vologases I (51–77/79
ce
) was an Arsacid monarch who ruled Parthia after a period of major crisis. Through realizing some of the ideas Artabanos II and other predecessors had conceived in order to strengthen the role of the king and the state structure, he managed to grant to the empire a period of stability and prosperity.
Tributum
Authors: Tan James
Published: December 2018

Tributum
was a levy paid by Roman citizens of property in order to fund military pay. It was only levied in years when military demands necessitated it, and could be repaid if a commander chose. The sources generally claim that it was instituted in 406
bce
, and was permanently suspended in 167
bce
thanks to the abundance of other revenue. Though the evidence is problematic, the usual reconstruction holds that
tribuni aerarii
collected it from fellow tribesmen and paid the soldiers directly. As the only “tax” on property, it was a cornerstone of the Roman republican fiscal base.
Aulus Persius Flaccus
Authors: Bartsch Shadi
Published: December 2018

Aulus Persius Flaccus was a Roman satirist of the Neronian period. His extant work, six short satires and a prologue, advocate Stoic self‐constraint by means of unsettling medical and digestive metaphors that emphasize the consequences of bad morals (as well as bad diet and bad poetic taste) upon the health of the individual.
Sleep restriction alters reactive aggressive behavior and its relationship with sex hormones
Authors: MacDonald Kevin J. , Lustig Kari A. , Geniole Shawn N. , McCormick Cheryl M. , Cote Kimberly A.
Published: December 2018

Few studies have experimentally manipulated sleep to study its effect on aggressive behavior. The current study examined how reactive aggression was affected by having sleep restricted to 4‐hours on a single night, a level of disruption commonly experienced. Both rested and sleep‐restricted participants completed the Point Subtraction Aggression Paradigm (PSAP), a laboratory task in which participants seek to earn points, are provoked by a fictitious opponent stealing their points, and may choose to steal points in response. Logistic mixed‐effect models were used to investigate the effect of sleep restriction and the role of sex hormones on the odds of choosing to steal. For men, and women in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle, sleep restriction did not result in significant changes reactive aggression, although the patterns of aggressive behavior appeared less reactive and retaliatory in nature. For women in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, sleep restriction was associated with higher levels of reactive aggression. For both men and women in the luteal phase, sleep restriction disrupted an association between hormone change over the task (testosterone and estradiol, respectively) and reactive aggression that was observed in their control participants. In addition, higher testosterone before the PSAP in men was associated with maintaining a high level of stealing over the task. These results indicate a complex dynamic in which sex hormones and sleep interact to predict aggressive behavior in response to provocation.
Remote dosimetric auditing of clinical trials: The need for vendor specific models to convert images to dose
Authors: Miri Narges , Vial Philip , Greer Peter B.
Published: December 2018

Introduction

A previous pilot study has demonstrated the feasibility of a novel image‐based approach for remote dosimetric auditing of clinical trials. The approach uses a model to convert in‐air acquired intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) images to delivered dose inside a virtual phantom. The model was developed using images from an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) on a Varian linear accelerator. It was tuned using beam profiles and field size factors (FSFs) of a series of square fields measured in water tank. This work investigates the need for vendor specific conversion models for image‐based auditing. The EPID measured profile and FSF data for Varian (vendor 1) and Elekta (vendor 2) systems are compared along with the performance of the existing Varian model (VM) and a new Elekta model (EM) for a series of audit IMRT fields measured on vendor 2 systems.

Materials and methods

The EPID measured beam profile and FSF data were studied for the two vendors to quantify and understand their relevant dosimetric differences. Then, an EM was developed converting EPID to dose in the virtual water phantom using a vendor 2 water tank data and images from corresponding EPID. The VM and EM were compared for predicting vendor 2 measured dose in water tank. Then, the performance of the new EM was compared to the VM for auditing of 54 IMRT fields from four vendor 2 facilities. Statistical significance of using vendor specific models was determined.

Results

Observed dosimetry differences between the two vendors suggested developing an EM would be beneficial. The EM performed better than VM for vendor 2 square and IMRT fields. The IMRT audit gamma pass rates were (99.8 ± 0.5)%, (98.6 ± 2.3)% and (97.0 ± 3.0)% at respectively 3%/3 mm, 3%/2 mm and 2%/2 mm with improvements at most fields compared with using the VM. For the pilot audit, the difference between gamma results of the two vendors was reduced when using vendor specific models (VM: P < 0.0001, vendor specific models: P = 0.0025).

Conclusion

A new model was derived to convert images from vendor 2 EPIDs to dose for remote auditing vendor 2 deliveries. Using vendor specific models is recommended to remotely audit systems from different vendors, however, the improvements found were not major.
An additional tilted‐scan‐based CT metal‐artifact‐reduction method for radiation therapy planning
Authors: Kim Changhwan , Pua Rizza , Lee Chung‐Hwan , Choi Da‐in , Cho Byungchul , Lee Sang‐wook , Cho Seungryong , Kwak Jungwon
Published: December 2018

Purpose

As computed tomography (CT) imaging is the most commonly used modality for treatment planning in radiation therapy, metal artifacts in the planning CT images may complicate the target delineation and reduce the dose calculation accuracy. Although current CT scanners do provide certain correction steps, it is a common understanding that there is not a universal solution yet to the metal artifact reduction (MAR) in general. Particularly noting the importance of MAR for radiation treatment planning, we propose a novel MAR method in this work that recruits an additional tilted CT scan and synthesizes nearly metal‐artifact‐free CT images.

Methods

The proposed method is based on the facts that the most pronounced metal artifacts in CT images show up along the x‐ray beam direction traversing multiple metallic objects and that a tilted CT scan can provide complementary information free of such metal artifacts in the earlier scan. Although the tilted CT scan would contain its own metal artifacts in the images, the artifacts may manifest in a different fashion leaving a chance to concatenate the two CT images with the metal artifacts much suppressed. We developed an image processing technique that uses the structural similarity (SSIM) for suppressing the metal artifacts. On top of the additional scan, we proposed to use an existing MAR method for each scan if necessary to further suppress the metal artifacts.

Results

The proposed method was validated by a simulation study using the pelvic region of an XCAT numerical phantom and also by an experimental study using the head part of the Rando phantom. The proposed method was found to effectively reduce the metal artifacts. Quantitative analyses revealed that the proposed method reduced the mean absolute percentages of the error by up to 86% and 89% in the simulation and experimental studies, respectively.

Conclusions

It was confirmed that the proposed method, using complementary information acquired from an additional tilted CT scan, can provide nearly metal‐artifact‐free images for the treatment planning.
Assessing key factors influencing orange juice demand in the current US market
Authors: Heng Yan , Ward Ronald W. , House Lisa A. , Zansler Marisa
Published: December 2018

The US orange juice (OJ) industry has experienced dramatic changes and pressure from both the supply and demand side in the past decade. It is critical for the industry to understand and enhance consumer's demand to sustain the higher prices associated with decreased production and maintain demand for the point in time where production can recover. This study utilized both Nielsen scanner data and a unique consumer tracker database to explore the impact of key factors on OJ consumption to estimate the return on investment. The usage of two datasets and multiple methods increases the reliability of results. Our results identified several demand drivers including demographics, health conditions, promotion awareness, and consumer's positive perceptions. Moreover, this study implies that a larger positive impact can be obtained by focusing on the positive aspects over responding to negative news. Therefore, we suggest the industry enhance generic promotion and advertising awareness and develop marketing programs that emphasize the positive attributes and benefits of OJ.
Evaluating demand response opportunities for power systems resilience using MILP and MINLP Formulations
Authors: Bynum Michael , Castillo Anya , Watson Jean‐Paul , Laird Carl D.
Published: December 2018

While peak shaving is commonly used to reduce power costs, chemical process facilities that can reduce power consumption on demand during emergencies (e.g., extreme weather events) bring additional value through improved resilience. For process facilities to effectively negotiate demand response (DR) contracts and make investment decisions regarding flexibility, they need to quantify their additional value to the grid. We present a grid‐centric mixed‐integer stochastic programming framework to determine the value of DR for improving grid resilience in place of capital investments that can be cost prohibitive for system operators. We formulate problems using both a linear approximation and a nonlinear alternating current power flow model. Our numerical results with both models demonstrate that DR can be used to reduce the capital investment necessary for resilience, increasing the value that chemical process facilities bring through DR. However, the linearized model often underestimates the amount of DR needed in our case studies. Published 2018. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA. AIChE J, 65: e16508, 2019
Semaphorin 3A inhibits allergic inflammation by regulating immune responses in a mouse model of allergic rhinitis
Authors: Xiang Rong , Xu Yu , Zhang Wei , Kong Yong‐Gang , Tan Lu , Chen Shi‐Ming , Deng Yu‐Qin , Tao Ze‐Zhang
Published: December 2018

Background

It has been reported that semaphorin 3A (sema3A) could improve allergic symptoms in allergic rhinitis (AR) mice. However, the immunomodulatory roles of sema3A in AR remain unclear. This study was performed to determine the immunoregulatory effects of sema3A on airway inflammation in an AR mice model.

Methods

First, sema3A expression was measured in the serum of AR patients and also in a mice model. Then, nasal symptoms, ovalbumin (OVA)‐specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) production, cytokine levels, and histologic structure were analyzed in OVA‐sensitized mice, sema3A mice, mice given saline, and controls. The percentages of CD4+IL‐4+IFN‐γ‐ Th2 cells, CD4+IFN‐γ+IL‐4‐ Th1 cells, CD4+IL‐17+ Th17 cells, and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells in the spleen were also analyzed.

Results

Serum sema3A levels in both AR patients and OVA‐sensitized mice decreased significantly compared with controls. The intranasal administration of sema3A reduced allergic symptom scores, eosinophil infiltration, and OVA‐specific IgE production in OVA‐sensitized mice. In addition, levels of IL‐4 and IL‐17 as well as percentages of CD4+IL‐17+Th17 cells were suppressed by sema3A administration. Levels of IFN‐γ and IL‐10 and ratios of CD4+ IFN‐γ+IL‐4‐ Th1/CD4+IL‐4+IFN‐γ‐ Th2 cells, as well as percentages of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells, were increased by administration of sema3A.

Conclusion

Our results demonstrate that sema3A suppressed allergic inflammation in AR via inhibition of Th2/Th17 responses and enhancement of Th1/Treg responses.
Final Offer/Baseball Arbitration: The History, The Practice, and Future Design
Authors: Gleason Erin , Sussman Edna
Published: December 2018

It is nearly impossible to have a dialogue about arbitration that does not harken back to the problems so often decried by its users: It is expensive and it takes longer than anticipated.
Gamma‐aminobutyric acidergic transmission underlies interictal epileptogenicity in pediatric focal cortical dysplasia
Authors: Blauwblomme Thomas , Dossi Elena , Pellegrino Christophe , Goubert Emmanuelle , Iglesias Beatriz Gal , Sainte‐Rose Christian , Rouach Nathalie , Nabbout Rima , Huberfeld Gilles
Published: December 2018

Objective

Dysregulation of γ‐aminobutyric acidergic (GABAergic) transmission has been reported in lesional acquired epilepsies (gliomas, hippocampal sclerosis). We investigated its involvement in a developmental disorder, human focal cortical dysplasia (FCD), focusing on chloride regulation driving GABAergic signals.

Methods

In vitro recordings of 47 human cortical acute slices from 11 pediatric patients who received operations for FCD were performed on multielectrode arrays. GABAergic receptors and chloride regulators were pharmacologically modulated. Immunostaining for chloride cotransporter KCC2 and interneurons were performed on recorded slices to correlate electrophysiology and expression patterns.

Results

FCD slices retain intrinsic epileptogenicity. Thirty‐six of 47 slices displayed spontaneous interictal discharges, along with a pattern specific to the histological subtypes. Ictal discharges were induced in proepileptic conditions in 6 of 8 slices in the areas generating spontaneous interictal discharges, with a transition to seizure involving the emergence of preictal discharges. Interictal discharges were sustained by GABAergic signaling, as a GABAA receptor blocker stopped them in 2 of 3 slices. Blockade of NKCC1 Cl− cotransporters further controlled interictal discharges in 9 of 12 cases, revealing a Cl− dysregulation affecting actions of GABA. Immunohistochemistry highlighted decreased expression and changes in KCC2 subcellular localization and a decrease in the number of GAD67‐positive interneurons in regions generating interictal discharges.

Interpretation

Altered chloride cotransporter expression and changes in interneuron density in FCD may lead to paradoxical depolarization of pyramidal cells. Spontaneous interictal discharges are consequently mediated by GABAergic signals, and targeting chloride regulation in neurons may be considered for the development of new antiepileptic drugs. Ann Neurol 2019; 1–14 ANN NEUROL 2019;85:204–217.
Longitudinal tau accumulation and atrophy in aging and alzheimer disease
Authors: Harrison Theresa M. , La Joie Renaud , Maass Anne , Baker Suzanne L. , Swinnerton Kaitlin , Fenton Laura , Mellinger Taylor J. , Edwards Lauren , Pham Julie , Miller Bruce L. , Rabinovici Gil D. , Jagust William J.
Published: December 2018

Objective

To determine the rate of tau accumulation in healthy older adults (OA) and patients with Alzheimer disease (AD), as well as the relationship of tau accumulation to cortical atrophy.

Methods

Two longitudinal flortaucipir (FTP) positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired from 42 OA (21 Pittsburg compound B [PiB]+, age = 77.6 ± 4.6 years, 25 female [F]/17 male [M]) and 19 PiB+ patients with AD (age = 63.1 ± 10.3 years, 12 F/7 M) over 1 to 3 years of follow‐up. FTP change, structural MRI measures of atrophy, and cross‐modal correlations were examined on a voxelwise level. Regional annual percentage change in FTP was also calculated.

Results

Voxelwise FTP change in AD showed the greatest increases in lateral and medial frontal lobes. Atrophy over the same interval was more widespread and included posteromedial cortical areas, where tau accumulation rates were lower. In OA, FTP binding increased in bilateral temporal lobe and retrosplenial cortex, accompanied by atrophy in the same regions. There were no associations between voxelwise change in FTP and sex, PiB, or APOE. Regional FTP significantly increased at follow‐up in OA and patients with AD. Mixed effects models showed greater FTP increases in AD compared to OA, and no differences within OA based on PiB status.

Interpretation

Our findings indicate that tau accumulates even in amyloid‐negative healthy OA and this process can be measured with in vivo tau‐PET. In OA, tau accumulation and atrophy share a similar topography. In AD, tau increases more rapidly and accumulation occurs in frontal regions that are not yet undergoing significant atrophy. Ann Neurol 2019; 1–12 ANN NEUROL 2019;85:229–240.
Early onset cerebral amyloid angiopathy following childhood exposure to cadaveric dura
Authors: Banerjee Gargi , Adams Matthew E. , Jaunmuktane Zane , Alistair Lammie G. , Turner Ben , Wani Mushtaq , Sawhney Inder M. S. , Houlden Henry , Mead Simon , Brandner Sebastian , Werring David J.
Published: December 2018

Amyloid‐β transmission has been described in patients both with and without iatrogenic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease; however, there is little information regarding the clinical impact of this acquired amyloid‐β pathology during life. Here, for the first time, we describe in detail the clinical and neuroimaging findings in 3 patients with early onset symptomatic amyloid‐β cerebral amyloid angiopathy following childhood exposure to cadaveric dura (by neurosurgical grafting in 2 patients and tumor embolization in a third). Our observations provide further in vivo evidence that cerebral amyloid angiopathy might be caused by transmission of amyloid‐β seeds (prions) present in cadaveric dura and have diagnostic relevance for younger patients presenting with suspected cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Ann Neurol 2019; 1–7 ANN NEUROL 2019;85:284–290.
Comparative study of adsorption for m‐phenylenediamine in aqueous solution onto chemically modified resins
Authors: Wang Tao , Wang Nan , Liu Zongtang , Dai Jianjun , Fei Zhenghao
Published: December 2018

Four kinds of hypercrosslinked resins (acidic resins labeled SAMR and TAMR and heterocyclic resins IDLMR and PRLMR) were synthesized as adsorbents to remove m‐phenylenediamine (MPD) from aqueous solution comparably. The Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area and pore size distribution of the two types of resins have been compared, and the infrared spectra of the resins confirm the presence of the modified groups. The adsorption isotherms illustrate that the Freundlich equation fits more appropriately than the Langmuir equation or the Temkin equation. In addition, the kinetic curves indicate that the pseudo‐second‐order model is a better fit than the pseudo‐first‐order model. The thermodynamic studies show that the isosteric adsorption enthalpy changes (ΔH) and the Gibbs free energy change (ΔG) are both negative, revealing that all of the adsorption processes are spontaneous and exothermic. All of the modified resins exhibit the best adsorption capacity at pH = 6.24. The results show that the acidic resins have better adsorption of MPD. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47378.