📰
347.Fleece - овечья шерсть, руно
348.Mundane - повседневный, земной
349.Domestication - одомашнивание
350.Posterity - потомство, последующие поколения
@ege_multiple_choice
347.Fleece - овечья шерсть, руно
348.Mundane - повседневный, земной
349.Domestication - одомашнивание
350.Posterity - потомство, последующие поколения
@ege_multiple_choice
Осадные ramps and breached walls: Ancient способы ведения войныand the Assyrian conquest of Lachish
The Assyrians were one of the Near East's biggest superpowers, controlling a land mass that stretched from Iran to Egypt. They accomplished this feat with military technologies that helped them win any open-air battle or прорваться any укреплённый city.
While today, air power and bunker busters help win the war, back in the ninth to the seventh centuries BCE, it was all about the siege ramp, an elevated structure that подтаскивала battering ramps up to the enemy's city walls and let the Neo-Assyrians soldiers wreak havoc on their enemies.
Constructed in Israel, the Assyrian siege ramp at Lachish is the only surviving physical example of their military мастерство in the entire Near East. Now, for the first time, a team of archaeologists has reconstructed how the Assyrian army may have built the ramp and used it to conquer the city of Lachish.
The team, led by Professor Yosef Garfinkel and Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU), and Professors Jon W. Carroll and Michael Pytlik of Oakland University, U.S., drew on a rich number of sources about this historical event to provide this complete picture. The outstanding amount of data includes biblical texts (2 Kings 18:9–19:37; 2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 36–37), iconography (stone reliefs depicting Assyrian battle scenes) and Akkadian inscriptions, archeological excavations, and 21st century drone photographs. They published their findings in Oxford Journal of Archaeology.
@quiz_articles
The Assyrians were one of the Near East's biggest superpowers, controlling a land mass that stretched from Iran to Egypt. They accomplished this feat with military technologies that helped them win any open-air battle or прорваться any укреплённый city.
While today, air power and bunker busters help win the war, back in the ninth to the seventh centuries BCE, it was all about the siege ramp, an elevated structure that подтаскивала battering ramps up to the enemy's city walls and let the Neo-Assyrians soldiers wreak havoc on their enemies.
Constructed in Israel, the Assyrian siege ramp at Lachish is the only surviving physical example of their military мастерство in the entire Near East. Now, for the first time, a team of archaeologists has reconstructed how the Assyrian army may have built the ramp and used it to conquer the city of Lachish.
The team, led by Professor Yosef Garfinkel and Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu of the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU), and Professors Jon W. Carroll and Michael Pytlik of Oakland University, U.S., drew on a rich number of sources about this historical event to provide this complete picture. The outstanding amount of data includes biblical texts (2 Kings 18:9–19:37; 2 Chronicles 32; Isaiah 36–37), iconography (stone reliefs depicting Assyrian battle scenes) and Akkadian inscriptions, archeological excavations, and 21st century drone photographs. They published their findings in Oxford Journal of Archaeology.
@quiz_articles
📰
351.Siege - осада
352.Warfare - война, боевые действия, способы ведения войны
353.To penetrate - вторгаться, прорываться, проникать
354.To fortify - укреплять, строить укрепления
355.To haul - тянуть, волочить, тащить
356.Prowess - мастерство, совершенство
@ege_multiple_choice
351.Siege - осада
352.Warfare - война, боевые действия, способы ведения войны
353.To penetrate - вторгаться, прорываться, проникать
354.To fortify - укреплять, строить укрепления
355.To haul - тянуть, волочить, тащить
356.Prowess - мастерство, совершенство
@ege_multiple_choice
Lachish was a flourishing Canaanite city in the second millennium BCE and had been the second most important city in the Kingdom of Judah. In 701 BCE Lachish was attacked by the Assyrian army, led by King Sennacherib.
Garfinkel's analysis provides a vivid account of the construction of the massive ramp that was built by the Assyrians so that they could haul battering rams up to hilltop city of Lachish, breach its walls, and totally захватить the city.
There have been several conflicting views on how the трудновыполнимую task of constructing the ramp was achieved. However, the rigorous method employed by Garfinkel and his team, including photogrammetric analysis of aerial photographs and creating a detailed digitally map of the relevant landscape, produced a practical model that accounts for all available information about that battle.
The Assyrians had a mighty and well-equipped army that, in the early eighth century BCE, rapidly подавили growing rebellion in the Southern Levant. In 721 BCE the Kingdom of Israel was conquered. Twenty years later, the Assyrian army attacked the Kingdom of Judah, laying siege to its most important city, Jerusalem, and launching a direct assault on its second most important city, Lachish. King Sennacherib himself went to Lachish to oversee its destruction, which began with his army building a ramp to reach the walls of the hilltop city.
According to Garfinkel, evidence at the site makes it clear that the ramp was made of small валунов, about 6.5 kg each. A major problem faced by the Assyrian army was the supply of such stones: about three million stones were needed. Where did these stones come from? Collecting natural field stones from the fields around the site would require a great deal of time and would slow the construction of the ramp. A better solution would be добывать the stones as close as possible to the far end of the ramp.
"At Lachish there is indeed an exposed cliff of the local bedrock exactly at the point where one would expect it to be," Garfinkel shared.
@quiz_articles
Garfinkel's analysis provides a vivid account of the construction of the massive ramp that was built by the Assyrians so that they could haul battering rams up to hilltop city of Lachish, breach its walls, and totally захватить the city.
There have been several conflicting views on how the трудновыполнимую task of constructing the ramp was achieved. However, the rigorous method employed by Garfinkel and his team, including photogrammetric analysis of aerial photographs and creating a detailed digitally map of the relevant landscape, produced a practical model that accounts for all available information about that battle.
The Assyrians had a mighty and well-equipped army that, in the early eighth century BCE, rapidly подавили growing rebellion in the Southern Levant. In 721 BCE the Kingdom of Israel was conquered. Twenty years later, the Assyrian army attacked the Kingdom of Judah, laying siege to its most important city, Jerusalem, and launching a direct assault on its second most important city, Lachish. King Sennacherib himself went to Lachish to oversee its destruction, which began with his army building a ramp to reach the walls of the hilltop city.
According to Garfinkel, evidence at the site makes it clear that the ramp was made of small валунов, about 6.5 kg each. A major problem faced by the Assyrian army was the supply of such stones: about three million stones were needed. Where did these stones come from? Collecting natural field stones from the fields around the site would require a great deal of time and would slow the construction of the ramp. A better solution would be добывать the stones as close as possible to the far end of the ramp.
"At Lachish there is indeed an exposed cliff of the local bedrock exactly at the point where one would expect it to be," Garfinkel shared.
@quiz_articles
📰
357.To overrun - захватывать, занимать (страну, город)
358.Formidable - трудновыполнимый, труднопреодолимый, очень трудный
359.To quell - подавлять, уничтожать
360.Boulder - валун
361.To quarry - добывать камень (из карьера, открытым способом)
@ege_multiple_choice
357.To overrun - захватывать, занимать (страну, город)
358.Formidable - трудновыполнимый, труднопреодолимый, очень трудный
359.To quell - подавлять, уничтожать
360.Boulder - валун
361.To quarry - добывать камень (из карьера, открытым способом)
@ege_multiple_choice
The research suggests that its construction began about 80 meters away from the walls of the city of Lachish, close to where stones required for the ramp could be quarried. The stones would have been transported along human chains –passed from man-to-man by hand. With four human chains working in parallel on the ramp each working round-the clock смены, Garfinkel calculated that about 160 000 stones were moved each day.
"Time was the main concern of the Assyrian army. Hundreds of laborers worked day and night carrying stones, possibly in two shifts of 12 hours each. The manpower was probably supplied by prisoners of war and forced labor of the local population. The laborers were protected by massive shields placed at the northern end of the ramp. These shields were advanced towards the city by a few meters each day," described Garfinkel.
In about 25 days, the ramp, which was the shape of a giant triangular клин, could have reached the city walls. "This model assumes the Assyrians were very efficient, otherwise, it would have taken months to complete," said Garfinkel.
Indeed, the prophet Isaiah, who lived at the end of the eighth century BCE and was an eyewitness to the events, mentioned the Assyrian army in some of his пророчествах. He relates to the Assyrians as a mighty, supernatural power, "None of them tired, none of them stumbling, none of them asleep or сонные, none of them with belt unfastened, none of them with broken sandal-strap." (Isaiah 5:27).
As the workers built the final stages of the ramp and approached the walls of Lachish, the inhabitants would try to defend their city by shooting arrows and throwing down stones on their enemy. Garfinkel suggests that the workers used massive L-shaped плетёные shields, similar to those shown protecting soldiers on Assyrian reliefs. In the final stage, wooden beams were laid on top of the stones, where the battering тараны within their massive siege machines, weighing up to 1 ton, would be securely positioned.
The ram, a large, heavy wooden beam with a metal tip, battered the walls via swinging backwards and forwards. Garfinkel suggests that the ram was suspended within the siege engine on metal chains, as ropes would quickly wear out. Indeed, an iron chain was found on the top of the ramp at Lachish.
To get further confirmation, Garfinkel explains that he is "planning excavations in Lachish, at the far edge of the ramp in the quarry area—this might give additional evidence of Assyrian army activity and how the ramp was constructed."
@quiz_articles
"Time was the main concern of the Assyrian army. Hundreds of laborers worked day and night carrying stones, possibly in two shifts of 12 hours each. The manpower was probably supplied by prisoners of war and forced labor of the local population. The laborers were protected by massive shields placed at the northern end of the ramp. These shields were advanced towards the city by a few meters each day," described Garfinkel.
In about 25 days, the ramp, which was the shape of a giant triangular клин, could have reached the city walls. "This model assumes the Assyrians were very efficient, otherwise, it would have taken months to complete," said Garfinkel.
Indeed, the prophet Isaiah, who lived at the end of the eighth century BCE and was an eyewitness to the events, mentioned the Assyrian army in some of his пророчествах. He relates to the Assyrians as a mighty, supernatural power, "None of them tired, none of them stumbling, none of them asleep or сонные, none of them with belt unfastened, none of them with broken sandal-strap." (Isaiah 5:27).
As the workers built the final stages of the ramp and approached the walls of Lachish, the inhabitants would try to defend their city by shooting arrows and throwing down stones on their enemy. Garfinkel suggests that the workers used massive L-shaped плетёные shields, similar to those shown protecting soldiers on Assyrian reliefs. In the final stage, wooden beams were laid on top of the stones, where the battering тараны within their massive siege machines, weighing up to 1 ton, would be securely positioned.
The ram, a large, heavy wooden beam with a metal tip, battered the walls via swinging backwards and forwards. Garfinkel suggests that the ram was suspended within the siege engine on metal chains, as ropes would quickly wear out. Indeed, an iron chain was found on the top of the ramp at Lachish.
To get further confirmation, Garfinkel explains that he is "planning excavations in Lachish, at the far edge of the ramp in the quarry area—this might give additional evidence of Assyrian army activity and how the ramp was constructed."
@quiz_articles
📰
362.Shift - смена
363.Wedge - клин
364.Prophecy - пророчество
365.Drowsy - сонный
366.Wicker - плетёный
367.Ram - таран
@ege_multiple_choice
362.Shift - смена
363.Wedge - клин
364.Prophecy - пророчество
365.Drowsy - сонный
366.Wicker - плетёный
367.Ram - таран
@ege_multiple_choice
A canine coronavirus передающийся от животных к человеку распостранение and tropism shift
The majority of human infectious diseases are caused by pathogens that first spread in non-human animal species. "Zoonotic spillover" refers to the spread of infections from wild animals to humans.
Increased risk of spillover occurrences is linked to activities and variables that increase human connection with various animal species and the pathogens that they might дать убежище.
Over the last two decades, the непрерывное, продолжающиеся coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the third reported animal-to-human CoV spillover to have resulted in a severe epidemic. Coronavirus (CoV) zoonotic transmissions pose a significant threat to human health, with a large number of unknown инфицированных животных, являющихся переносчиками заболевания для других животных.
@quiz_articles
The majority of human infectious diseases are caused by pathogens that first spread in non-human animal species. "Zoonotic spillover" refers to the spread of infections from wild animals to humans.
Increased risk of spillover occurrences is linked to activities and variables that increase human connection with various animal species and the pathogens that they might дать убежище.
Over the last two decades, the непрерывное, продолжающиеся coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the third reported animal-to-human CoV spillover to have resulted in a severe epidemic. Coronavirus (CoV) zoonotic transmissions pose a significant threat to human health, with a large number of unknown инфицированных животных, являющихся переносчиками заболевания для других животных.
@quiz_articles
📰
368.Zoonotic - передающийся от животных к человеку
369.Spillover - переливание через край, распостранение
370.To harbor - дать убежище, приютить
371.Ongoing - непрерывный, постоянный, продолжающийся
372.Reservoir host - инфицированное животное, являющееся переносчиком заболевания для остальных животных
@ege_multiple_choice
368.Zoonotic - передающийся от животных к человеку
369.Spillover - переливание через край, распостранение
370.To harbor - дать убежище, приютить
371.Ongoing - непрерывный, постоянный, продолжающийся
372.Reservoir host - инфицированное животное, являющееся переносчиком заболевания для остальных животных
@ege_multiple_choice
Alphacoronavirus (α) and betacoronavirus (β) are two serologic groups of coronaviruses that infect млекопитающих.
Notably, the Alphacoronavirus 1 infects dogs, cats, and pigs. Thus, the spike protein of these viruses plays a crucial role in the клеточный entry.
Recently, a new study found Canine Coronavirus (CCoV) in nasopharyngeal мазки from a limited group of patients hospitalized with pneumonia in Sarawak, Malaysia, between 2017 and 2018. It was reported that CCoV-HuPn-2018 spike protein's N-terminus subdomain (0-domain) shares sequence similarities with Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus (TGEV) and CCoV2b strains, but not with other members of type II Alphacoronaviruses.
The Study
A new research paper published on the bioRxiv* preprint server describes selection pressures across the spike gene, concentrating on where such events are in connection to spike functional domains, and provides a new точка зрения on the recombination history involving the spike gene of CCoV-HuPn-2018 with other members of the Alphacoronavirus 1 type II species.
In this study, a genetic algorithm for recombination detection (GARD) was utilized to identify recombinant partitions in the N –terminal subdomains. The extensive analysis has led the authors to propose that CCoV-HuPn-2018 had an кишечную origin but has since lost that tropism caused by mutations in the 0-domain's sialic acid binding site, resulting in lower selection pressure for this subdomain.
These have evolved a respiratory tropism, similar to other Alphacoronaviruses 1 that have lost this area totally.
It was speculated that the virus might eventually lose this 0-domain region entirely and currently, we are experiencing the onset of this process.
@quiz_articles
Notably, the Alphacoronavirus 1 infects dogs, cats, and pigs. Thus, the spike protein of these viruses plays a crucial role in the клеточный entry.
Recently, a new study found Canine Coronavirus (CCoV) in nasopharyngeal мазки from a limited group of patients hospitalized with pneumonia in Sarawak, Malaysia, between 2017 and 2018. It was reported that CCoV-HuPn-2018 spike protein's N-terminus subdomain (0-domain) shares sequence similarities with Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus (TGEV) and CCoV2b strains, but not with other members of type II Alphacoronaviruses.
The Study
A new research paper published on the bioRxiv* preprint server describes selection pressures across the spike gene, concentrating on where such events are in connection to spike functional domains, and provides a new точка зрения on the recombination history involving the spike gene of CCoV-HuPn-2018 with other members of the Alphacoronavirus 1 type II species.
In this study, a genetic algorithm for recombination detection (GARD) was utilized to identify recombinant partitions in the N –terminal subdomains. The extensive analysis has led the authors to propose that CCoV-HuPn-2018 had an кишечную origin but has since lost that tropism caused by mutations in the 0-domain's sialic acid binding site, resulting in lower selection pressure for this subdomain.
These have evolved a respiratory tropism, similar to other Alphacoronaviruses 1 that have lost this area totally.
It was speculated that the virus might eventually lose this 0-domain region entirely and currently, we are experiencing the onset of this process.
@quiz_articles
📰
373.Mammal - млекопитающее
374.Cellular - клеточный
375.Swab - мазок
376.Outlook - точка зрения, взгляд, мировоззрение
377.Enteric - кишечный, брюшной
@ege_multiple_choice
373.Mammal - млекопитающее
374.Cellular - клеточный
375.Swab - мазок
376.Outlook - точка зрения, взгляд, мировоззрение
377.Enteric - кишечный, брюшной
@ege_multiple_choice
Findings
Four positively chosen sites were found within the мнимый, предполагаемый receptor-binding domain (RBD) of CCoV-HuPn-2018. One of these positively selected sites is in a putative RBD extended петля, specifically near the end of extended loop 2, based on the feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) spike structure and the сопутствующее CoV выравнивание.
In other Alphacoronaviruses, RBD extended loops establish contact locations with the aminopeptidase N (APN) receptor, and the specifics of the interaction between these loops and APN. Further, positive selection in CCoV-signal HuPn-2018's peptide could represent an adaptive role in this novel host, and the unique amino acid alterations in the signal peptide of CCoV-signal HuPn-2018's peptide compared to CCoV2b and TGEV could play a role in this strain's N-linked glycan repertoire.
It was hypothesized that the 0-domain of CCoV-spike HuPn-2018's protein might have lost its functional importance at some point in its history. Viruses such as свинной respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) have followed a similar evolutionary path, with the deletion of this portion of the protein being linked to a shift from enteric to respiratory tropism.
The high prevalence of Feline CoV2 (FCoV2) detected in Malaysian cats, concomitant with their primer construction strategy, suggests the possibility that an FCoV2 recombinant (WSU 79-1683)-like virus could be the prevalent FCoV2 strain in Malaysia. Previous experiments have demonstrated that feline APN can serve as a functional receptor of type II CCoV, TGEV and HCoV-229E. Hence, the infection in cats may be instrumental in generating recombinant Alphacoronavirus 1 CoVs. In conclusion, WSU 395 79-1683 or its close relative, has had a prominent role in the evolution of CCoV-HuPn-2018. These viruses have repeatedly coinfected hosts, leading to the development of recombinant потомство.
The molecular details of how the loss of this domain contributes to tropic shifts of this type, as well as the reason(s) why zoonotic host shifts in CoVs are generally associated with respiratory infection, remain unexplored mysteries.
The origins of CCoV-HuPn-2018, which date back to around 1957 suggest that this virus may have been circulating unnoticed for decades among humans, dogs, cats, and undiscovered intermediate hosts.
Therefore, the researchers entirely agree that a systematic survey for the prevalence of CCoV-HuPn-2018 in the host species — that make up the virus's complex history — should be conducted.
@quiz_articles
Four positively chosen sites were found within the мнимый, предполагаемый receptor-binding domain (RBD) of CCoV-HuPn-2018. One of these positively selected sites is in a putative RBD extended петля, specifically near the end of extended loop 2, based on the feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV) spike structure and the сопутствующее CoV выравнивание.
In other Alphacoronaviruses, RBD extended loops establish contact locations with the aminopeptidase N (APN) receptor, and the specifics of the interaction between these loops and APN. Further, positive selection in CCoV-signal HuPn-2018's peptide could represent an adaptive role in this novel host, and the unique amino acid alterations in the signal peptide of CCoV-signal HuPn-2018's peptide compared to CCoV2b and TGEV could play a role in this strain's N-linked glycan repertoire.
It was hypothesized that the 0-domain of CCoV-spike HuPn-2018's protein might have lost its functional importance at some point in its history. Viruses such as свинной respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) have followed a similar evolutionary path, with the deletion of this portion of the protein being linked to a shift from enteric to respiratory tropism.
The high prevalence of Feline CoV2 (FCoV2) detected in Malaysian cats, concomitant with their primer construction strategy, suggests the possibility that an FCoV2 recombinant (WSU 79-1683)-like virus could be the prevalent FCoV2 strain in Malaysia. Previous experiments have demonstrated that feline APN can serve as a functional receptor of type II CCoV, TGEV and HCoV-229E. Hence, the infection in cats may be instrumental in generating recombinant Alphacoronavirus 1 CoVs. In conclusion, WSU 395 79-1683 or its close relative, has had a prominent role in the evolution of CCoV-HuPn-2018. These viruses have repeatedly coinfected hosts, leading to the development of recombinant потомство.
The molecular details of how the loss of this domain contributes to tropic shifts of this type, as well as the reason(s) why zoonotic host shifts in CoVs are generally associated with respiratory infection, remain unexplored mysteries.
The origins of CCoV-HuPn-2018, which date back to around 1957 suggest that this virus may have been circulating unnoticed for decades among humans, dogs, cats, and undiscovered intermediate hosts.
Therefore, the researchers entirely agree that a systematic survey for the prevalence of CCoV-HuPn-2018 in the host species — that make up the virus's complex history — should be conducted.
@quiz_articles
📰
378.Putative - мнимый, предполагаемый
379.Loop - петля
380.Concomitant - сопутствующий
381.Alignment - выравнивание
382.Porcine - [ ˈpɔsaɪn ] - свинной
383.Progeny - потомство
@ege_multiple_choice
378.Putative - мнимый, предполагаемый
379.Loop - петля
380.Concomitant - сопутствующий
381.Alignment - выравнивание
382.Porcine - [ ˈpɔsaɪn ] - свинной
383.Progeny - потомство
@ege_multiple_choice
The World's Largest Organism Is Slowly Being Eaten, Scientist Says
In the Wasatch Mountains of the western US on the slopes above a питаемым родниками lake, there обитает a single giant organism that provides an entire ecosystem on which plants and animals have relied for thousands of years.
Found in my home state of Utah, "Pando" is a 106-acre stand of quaking осина clones.
Although it looks like a лесной массив of individual trees with striking white bark and small leaves that дрожат in the slightest breeze, Pando (Latin for "I spread") is actually 47,000 genetically identical stems that arise from an interconnected root network.
This single genetic individual weighs around 6,000 metric tons. By mass, it is the largest single organism on Earth.
Aspen trees do tend to form clonal stands elsewhere, but what makes Pando interesting is its enormous size. Most clonal aspen stands in North America are much smaller, with those in western US averaging just 3 acres.
Pando has been around for thousands of years, potentially up to 14,000 years, despite most stems only living for about 130 years. Its долголетие and remoteness mean a whole ecosystem of 68 plant species and many animals have evolved and been supported under its shade.
This entire ecosystem relies on the aspen remaining healthy and upright. But, although Pando is protected by the US National Forest Service and is not in danger of being cut down, it is in danger of disappearing due to several other factors.
@quiz_articles
In the Wasatch Mountains of the western US on the slopes above a питаемым родниками lake, there обитает a single giant organism that provides an entire ecosystem on which plants and animals have relied for thousands of years.
Found in my home state of Utah, "Pando" is a 106-acre stand of quaking осина clones.
Although it looks like a лесной массив of individual trees with striking white bark and small leaves that дрожат in the slightest breeze, Pando (Latin for "I spread") is actually 47,000 genetically identical stems that arise from an interconnected root network.
This single genetic individual weighs around 6,000 metric tons. By mass, it is the largest single organism on Earth.
Aspen trees do tend to form clonal stands elsewhere, but what makes Pando interesting is its enormous size. Most clonal aspen stands in North America are much smaller, with those in western US averaging just 3 acres.
Pando has been around for thousands of years, potentially up to 14,000 years, despite most stems only living for about 130 years. Its долголетие and remoteness mean a whole ecosystem of 68 plant species and many animals have evolved and been supported under its shade.
This entire ecosystem relies on the aspen remaining healthy and upright. But, although Pando is protected by the US National Forest Service and is not in danger of being cut down, it is in danger of disappearing due to several other factors.
@quiz_articles