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The purpose of this study was to identify the chemical components in root extracts of Saponaria cypria, an endemic species of Cyprus. Subsequently, the synergistic bioactivity of its root extracts through different extraction procedures was also investigated for the first time. A total of nine saponins, along with six phenolic compounds, were identified and quantified using the UHPLC/Q-TOF-MS method. Additionally, S. cypria root extracts demonstrated antibacterial potential against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis and Salmonella enteritidis. S. aureus presented the highest susceptibility among all bacteria tested. These findings provide the first phytochemical data regarding the saponin, phenolic content and antimicrobial activity of S. cypria extracts, indicating that the Cyprus saponaria species is a rich natural source for bioactive compounds with a potentially wider bioactivity spectrum.

Sideritis species are recognized as important medicinal plants and their commercial demand is continuously on the rise both in the European and in the global market. Consequently, the cultivation of Sideritis species has been occurred to successfully meet the need for mass production of high-quality plant material. The present study was undertaken in order to investigate the chemical composition of cultivated S. cypria . Infusions of flowers and leaves were prepared separately, according to the European Medicine Agency (EMA) monograph. The infusion of the flowers revealed the presence of four flavones, isoscutellarein-7-O-[6′″-O-acetyl-β-D-allopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside, its 4′-O-methyl-derivative, 4′-O-methyl-hypolaetin-7-O-[6′″-O-acetyl-β-D-allopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside, and isoscutellarein-7-O-[6′″-O-acetyl-β-D-allopyranosyl-(1→2)]-6″-O-acetyl-β-D-glucopyranoside; four phenylethanoid glucosides, acteoside, leucosceptoside A, lamalboside, and leonoside A; one iridoid, melittoside, and one phenolic acid, chlorogenic acid, while the infusion of the leaves of the same population afforded the same first two flavones; five phenylethanoid glucosides, acteoside, leucosceptoside A, lavandulifolioside, leonoside A, and lamalboside; melittoside and chlorogenic acid. The structural elucidation of the isolated compounds was undertaken by high-field NMR spectroscopy. Moreover, the essential oils of the flowers and leaves were studied by GC-MS, separately. In addition, the mineral, bioactive compounds, protein and carbohydrate contents were evaluated for both plant materials.

Abstract The present study focuses on an episode attested only in Proclus' summary of the now-lost epic poem Cypria, a suggestively erotic 'rendezvous' between Achilles and Helen that appears to heighten the hero's appreciation of her as a driving force, convincing him to persist in the war for her sake. This most prominently contradicts Homer's portrayal of an Achilles whose choices are fundamentally motivated by his quest for personal honour. As this paper argues, however, the story, though probably post-Homeric in itself, still has a traditional basis in the way it depicts Achilles' susceptibility to eros. On the other hand, and more importantly, Homer does seem to tacitly acknowledge this less standardised aspect but at the same time agonistically suppresses it, thus achieving an advantageously idiosyncratic coalescence between tradition and individuality.

The utilization of organic fertilizers for the cultivation of wild edible and medicinal plants offers agronomic and ecological benefits, given their suitability to low-input and sustainable production systems. Under such conditions, these species may also benefit from targeted foliar applications of micronutrients to enhance their nutritional quality. This study examined the effects of a vinasse-based organic fertilizer and conventional fertilization regime, in combination with foliar applications of iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), on the biomass, leaf photochemistry, and plant stress-related responses of Sideritis cypria and Origanum dubium. In S. cypria, organic fertilization resulted in a similar yield compared to conventional fertilization, while O. dubium showed a significant decrease in yield when using organic fertilizers. The impact of spraying with Zn on S. cypria dry matter content was related to the availability of nutrients, particularly nitrogen, while in O. dubium Zn spraying induced a decrease in dry matter. The total phenols content and antioxidant activity of S. cypria were elevated by conventional fertilization and foliar application of Fe, while the combination of organic fertilization and foliar application of Fe and Zn reduced lipid peroxidation. In O. dubium, foliar application of Fe and Zn led to a reduction in total phenols content, antioxidant capacity, and hydrogen peroxide content under adequate nutrition. In general, foliar spraying with Zn tended to improve water use efficiency under specific fertilization practices on both species, while the positive effect of conventional fertilization on nutrient use efficiency still requires further validation. Ultimately, the efficiency of organic fertilization was related to the examined species, inducing variations in leaf chlorophyll content. In addition, foliar application of Fe and Zn affected the antioxidant capacity and mineral content of the examined species. Thus, appropriate fertilization management is vital to fully realize the specific benefits of foliar micronutrient addition.

Ostracod assemblages from Lake Trasimeno (Umbria, central Italy), the largest endorheic lake in Italy, were investigated relating their species distribution and ecology to modern physical, chemical and biological parameters. Nineteen living species were collected in the lake (Darwinula stevensoni, Candona (Candona) candida, Candona (Neglecandona) angulata, Fabaeformiscandona fabaeformis, Pseudocandona marchica, Cypria ophtalmica, Ilyocypris gibba, I. salebrosa, I. getica, Cypridopsis vidua, Eucypris virens, Trajancypris clavata, Herpetocypris helenae, Heterocypris salina, H. incongruens, Isocypris beauchampi, Cyprideis torosa, Limnocythere inopinata, and L. stationis). All the identified species belong to the fresh-water Italian ostracod fauna but Cyprideis torosa is documented in an oligohaline athalassic lacustrine environment in Italy for the first time. The occurrence of Ilyocypris salebrosa represents the southernmost record in Italy and the westernmost in Eurasia. The recovery of Limnocythere stationis represents the westernmost record in Eurasia. The distribution of the different ostracods recovered in Lake Trasimeno is linked to the dominant physical and chemical parameters for each ecological niche. Physical and chemical data along with substratum type, grain-size and presence of aquatic macrophytes have been related to different ostracods using a multivariate analyses approach (NMDS, CCA, Spearman’s rank correlation test). These results allow to differentiate several ecological niches within the lake and indicate that the main parameters affecting the ostracod assemblages are the aquatic macrophyte coverage, the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and, to a lesser extent, temperature and type of substrate. Cyprideis torosa and Candona (Neglecandona) angulata have been recovered both in the distal part of the lake and in the lakeshore area. In both cases they are associated with scarce or absent aquatic macrophytes and low amounts of TOC. The alternate dominance of these two species in the distal deeper assemblages seems to be mainly linked with the bottom oxygen availability, being C.(N.) angulata dominant in the most oxygen-depleted sediments and C. torosa dominant in higher oxygen conditions. Along the lakeshore area they are often discovered together with other prevailing species, such as Cypridopsis vidua that is common in very shallow to shallow (20-140 cm) sites with high TOC content, abundant macrophytes and algae, and Limnocythere inopinata, which dominates slightly deeper areas (around 150-210 cm) where the previous species are almost absent. The Spearman’s rank correlation test showed significant positive correlation between some ostracods and macrophyte species.

We examined the variation of stygofauna composition collected in wells, along a gradient in groundwater salinity/conductivity in a coastal aquifer from southern Portugal. The studied coastal aquifer is considered vulnerable to salinization due to seawater intrusion, caused by overexploitation of the aquifer. Knowing the response of the stygofauna species to present levels of groundwater salinity makes it possible to understand and measure the effects of saltwater intrusion on stygofauna, rendering them potential bioindicators of this environmental pressure. Biotic and abiotic sampling was conducted in six shallow wells located in the fresh–saltwater interface of the Arade estuary along the salinity gradient established in the groundwater from the estuary to inland locations (microSiemens/cm). Groundwater salinity was highly correlated with taxa distribution. The stygobites Eucyclops hadjebensis and Acanthocyclops sensitivus, the cosmopolitan Megacyclops viridis and Cypria ophtalmica were particularly associated with low-salinity conditions, whereas Eucyclops graeteri, Megacyclops brachypus and Daphnia pulicaria were related to high-salinity waters. Multivariate analyses indicated that stygofauna assemblages varied significantly with location. We suggest that stygofauna composition and structure can be a useful complementing tool for monitoring seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers, where reduction or deterioration in groundwater resources is predicted.

Many (palaeo-)environmental parameters can be deduced from ecological and chemical analyses of ostracods. However, the specific ecology of each taxon has a great impact on its reaction to changing environmental conditions. As a consequence, each taxon records these changes differently. The mean penetration depth (MPD) and relative individual abundances have been documented along sediment depth profiles for the dominant sub-littoral to profundal species of ostracods in western Lake Geneva, Switzerland, and this data can be used to estimate their preferential habitat in terms of sediment depths. Isocypris beauchampi , Limnocytherina sanctipatricii , Cypria ophtalmica forma lacustris at 13-m water depths, Limnocythere inopinata , and a winter generation of Herpetocypris reptans have the shallowest habitat preferences at the study sites (MPDs of 0.45, 0.48, 0.49, 0.60, and 0.81 cm, respectively). These results suggest that these populations may be regarded as being preferentially epifaunal forms. Populations of Cytherissa lacustris (MPDs of 0.61, 0.73, and 0.82 cm at 13-, 33-, and 70-m water depths, respectively), Cypria ophtalmica forma lacustris at 70 m (MPD = 0.96 cm), Fabaeformiscandona caudata (MPD = 0.99 cm), and a summer generation of Herpetocypris reptans (MPD = 1.03 cm) were identified as being infaunal. Candona neglecta is the species that was found the deepest in the sediment of Lake Geneva, with MPDs of 0.65, 1.22, and 1.30 cm at 13-, 33-, and 70-m water depths, respectively. Information on the sediment texture and oxygen concentrations inferred from the analyses of sediment pore water suggest that the oxygen content of the sediment pore water is not the only dominant parameter controlling the differences in ostracod sediment penetration depths observed among the different sites, but that they might also be influenced by the sediment ‘softness,’ which itself depends on grain size, water content, and the abundance of organic matter in sediment.

Honey bee populations from the island of Cyprus were analyzed using microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA markers. A total of 268 colonies were sampled in Cyprus, at six different locations-Kyrenia, Katydata, Flassou, Alabra, Troulloi, and Alassa-covering a wide area of the island. Results showed that the Cyprian honey bee Apis mellifera cypria could be distinguished from other Apis mellifera subspecies based on a „double pattern“ of mitochondrial DNA belonging to the C1 lineage and microsatellite DNA belonging to the O lineage. All populations were homogeneous, except the population from Kyrenia, probably due to the introduction of queens or colonies belonging to the C2, C6, and M7 lineages.

Low dissolved oxygen during the summer and early fall controls profundal continental ostracode distribution in Crystal Lake (McHenry County), Illinois, favoring Cypria ophthalmica and Physocypria globula at water depths from 6 to 13 m. These species also thrived in the lake's profundal zone from 14,165 to 9600 calendar year before present (cal yr B.P.) during the late Bøiling, Allerød, and Younger Dryas chronozones, and early Holocene. Characterized by sand, cemented tubules, large aquatic gastropod shells, and littoral ostracode valves, thin (1-6 cm) tempestite deposits punctuate thicker deposits of organic gyttja from 16,080 to 11,900 cal yr B.P. The succeeding 2300 yr (11,900-9600 cal yr B.P.) lack tempestites, and reconstructed water depths were at their maximum. Deposition of marl under relatively well-oxygenated conditions occurred during the remainder of the Holocene until the arrival of Europeans, when the lake returned to a pattern of seasonally low dissolved oxygen. Such conditions are also indicated in the lake sediment by the speciation of phosphorus, high concentrations of organic carbon, and abundant iron and manganese occluded to mineral grains. Initial low dissolved oxygen was probably caused by the delivery of dissolved P and Fe in shallow groundwater, the chemistry of which was influenced by Spodosol pedogenesis under a spruce forest. The triggering may have been regionally warm and wet conditions associated with retreat of the Lake Michigan lobe (south-central Laurentide Ice Sheet).

By \"literary criticism\" we usually mean a self-conscious act involving the technical and aesthetic appraisal, by individuals, of autonomous works of art. Aristotle and Plato come to mind. The word \"social\" does not. Yet, as this book shows, it should--if, that is, we wish to understand where literary criticism as we think of it today came from. Andrew Ford offers a new understanding of the development of criticism, demonstrating that its roots stretch back long before the sophists to public commentary on the performance of songs and poems in the preliterary era of ancient Greece. He pinpoints when and how, later in the Greek tradition than is usually assumed, poetry was studied as a discipline with its own principles and methods. The Origins of Criticism complements the usual, history-of-ideas approach to the topic precisely by treating criticism as a social as well as a theoretical activity. With unprecedented and penetrating detail, Ford considers varying scholarly interpretations of the key texts discussed. Examining Greek discussions of poetry from the late sixth century B.C. through the rise of poetics in the late fourth, he asks when we first can recognize anything like the modern notions of literature as imaginative writing and of literary criticism as a special knowledge of such writing.