Las guerras de Ebla

Pubblicato e stampato nel 200

La città de 'Arugu e la geografia del culto del regno di Ebla (Siria, XXIV sec. A. C. )

La geografia del culto del regno di Ebla comprende centri di diversa grandezza e importanza. Oltre ai grandi centri di culto quali Aleppo, Arugadu, Luban, Zuramu, Uguaš, MaNE, dedicati ad alcune delle maggiori divinità del pantheon, e venerati probabilmente da tutte le genti di Siria, vi erano sul territorio del regno molti luoghi santi minori, di cui alcuni legati al culto degli antenati regali defunti della dinastia eblaita. In questo articolo si propone di annoverare, tra i luoghi santi del regno di Ebla, il centro di ’Arugu dal quale proviene l’uomo che recita la benedizione in entrambi i rituali di riconferma della regalità; sono inoltre persone da ’Arugu a consegnare tessuti per la cerimonia di purificazione del re Išar-damu e della regina Tabur-damu dopo la morte della regina madre Dusigu e di due principesse della corteCultic geography of the Ebla kingdom includes sanctuaries and cultic centers of different importance. Some major sanctuaries, such as Aleppo, Arugadu, Luban, Zuramu, Uguaš, MaNE, dedicated to some deities of the Eblaite and Syrian pantheon, are often quoted in the texts. Other minor cultic centers are attested too and some of them are places where a cult of ancestors is documented. The author proposes to insert among these cultic centers the city of ’Arugu from which comes the man who has a role in both the rituals of renewal of royalty; people from ’Arugu offer gifts of purification to king Išar-damu and to queenTabur-damu on occasion of the death of queen mother Dusigu and of the death of two princesses, Darib-damu and Tište-dam

Human pluripotent stem cells as tools for high-throughput and high-content screening in drug discovery

A significant bottleneck in drug discovery is the lack of suitable models for sensitive, reliable, and rapid assessment of lead molecules in preclinical stages of drug discovery. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) derived either from early human blastocysts (human embryonic stem cells) or by reprogramming somatic cells to a pluripotent state (human-induced pluripotent stem cells) can be propagated extensively in vitro while retaining the ability to differentiate into any specialized cell type within the body. In this review, we discuss how these unique features of hPSCs could offer a way of producing relevant in vitro models amenable to high-throughput testing for drug discovery. We summarize recent progress in inducing differentiation of hPSCs to specific cell types, and describe the ongoing efforts in applying hPSCs and their differentiated derivatives in disease modeling, drug discovery, and developmental toxicology. Moreover, we review the applications of high-content imaging assays in detecting the changes in the phenotype of hPSCs and their differentiated progeny. Finally, we highlight challenges that need to be overcome in order for the application of hPSC technology to fully benefit drug discovery

Identification and single-cell functional characterization of an endodermally biased pluripotent substate in human embryonic stem cells

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) display substantial heterogeneity in gene expression, implying the existence of discrete substates within the stem cell compartment. To determine whether these substates impact fate decisions of hESCs we used a GFP reporter line to investigate the properties of fractions of putative undifferentiated cells defined by their differential expression of the endoderm transcription factor, GATA6, together with the hESC surface marker, SSEA3. By single-cell cloning, we confirmed that substates characterized by expression of GATA6 and SSEA3 include pluripotent stem cells capable of long-term self-renewal. When clonal stem cell colonies were formed from GATA6-positive and GATA6-negative cells, more of those derived from GATA6-positive cells contained spontaneously differentiated endoderm cells than similar colonies derived from the GATA6-negative cells. We characterized these discrete cellular states using single-cell transcriptomic analysis, identifying a potential role for SOX17 in the establishment of the endoderm-biased stem cell state

Characterization of Restart Pressure in Production Pipeline for Waxy Crude Oil as A Result of Injection of Non-Reacting Gas

Wax deposition within the walls of production pipeline of crude oil causes flow assurance issue due to reduction in flow rate. In the event of planned maintenance or an emergency shutdown due to bad weather condition, the crude oil will stop flowing in the pipeline, in which the temperature of the crude oil may drop below the Pour Point Temperature (PPT). As the crude oil is under a quiescent condition, wax crude oil may precipitate out of its liquid phase and becomes a wax-gel oil like substance, which may cause blockage in the pipeline. A high pumping pressure is needed in order to restart the pipeline and disintegrate the wax-oil gel. A recent study on gas voids in cured oil showed that the presence of gas voids within the pipeline could reduce the restart pressure needed to restart a crude oil production pipeline. It was anticipated that the volume of the gas voids could be increased through the injection of non-reacting gas in order to reduce the restart pressure needed. However, there was no previous attempt to study if the proposal would be practical in practice. The present study is aimed at studying the effects and effectiveness of gas bubbles intrusion through injection of external gas with respect to the restart pressure. A waxy crude oil flow loop was used in order to simulate the condition of a gelled waxy crude oil within the crude oil production line

Trokosi’ - Slave of a Fetish: An Empirical Study

Published ArticleTrokosi meaning ‘slave of a fetish’ is an ancient cultural practice still in vogue among some tribes in parts of West Africa. It requires parents to offer their virgin daughters to serve as sex-slaves to fetish shrines in atonement for earlier sins committed by family members. Considered by opponents as outdated, apocalyptic, and outright human rights abuse, it is revered by adherents of the fetish system. In Ghana, the Trokosi law has officially abolished the practice but this has not deterred adherents. Combining literature study, participant observation and in-depth interviews with three key stakeholders in a southern part of Ghana, the study investigated the abusive nature of Trokosism, its effects on the ‘liberated’, and how to effectively combat it. The results suggest that the ‘liberated’ Trokosi were subjected to both physical and emotional abuse and denial of basic needs and rights. It however seems that the practice is abating. Since Trokosism (the Trokosi system) is based upon deep-seated beliefs, the most realistic strategy to combat it would be to educate practitioners and communities on human rights as well as through negotiation