BACKGROUND A critical analysis was made of cucurbit descriptions in Dioscorides' De Materia Medica, Columella's De Re Rustica and Pliny's Historia Naturalis, works on medicine, agriculture and natural science of the 1st century ce, as well as the Mishna and Tosefta, compilations of rabbinic law derived from the same time period together with cucurbit images dating from antiquity including paint...

A function f : V (G) → {0, 1, 2} is a Roman dominating function if for every vertex with f(v) = 0, there exists a vertex w ∈ N(v) with f(w) = 2. We introduce two fractional Roman domination parameters, γR ◦ f and γRf , from relaxations of two equivalent integer programming formulations of Roman domination (the former using open neighborhoods and the later using closed neighborhoods in the Roman...

A Roman dominating function on a graph G = (V,E) is a function f : V → {0, 1, 2} satisfying the condition that every vertex u with f(u) = 0 is adjacent to at least one vertex v with f(v) = 2. The weight of a Roman dominating function is the value f(G) = ∑ u∈V f(u). The Roman domination number of G is the minimum weight of a Roman dominating function on G. The Roman bondage number of a nonempty ...

Abstract At the turn of sixteenth century, Habsburgs formulated a distinct dynastic identity that centered around their claims ancient ancestry. They promoted this through an elaborate symbolic apparatus extensively evoked historical and mythological figures from antiquity. This article identifies one such strand in Habsburgs’ repertoires upon identification with Scipio Africanus (236/235–183 B...

A Roman dominating function of a graph G is a labeling f : V (G) −→ {0, 1, 2} such that every vertex with label 0 has a neighbor with label 2. The Roman domination number γR(G) of G is the minimum of ∑ v∈V (G) f(v) over such functions. The Roman domination subdivision number sdγR(G) is the minimum number of edges that must be subdivided (each edge in G can be subdivided at most once) in order t...

In his article published in 1999, Ian Stewart discussed a strategy of Emperor Constantine for defending the Roman Empire. Motivated by this article, Cockayne et al.(2004) introduced the notion of Roman domination in graphs. Let G = (V,E) be a graph. A Roman dominating function of G is a function f : V → {0, 1, 2} such that every vertex v for which f(v) = 0 has a neighbor u with f(u) = 2. The we...

This article addresses whether Ebola may have been present in an urban setting in Athens in 430 bce and explores the historical importance of the ancient outbreak. New knowledge from today's West African epidemic allows a more accurate assessment of whether Ebola may have caused the Athenian outbreak than was once possible. The Athenian disease, whose etiology remains unknown, developed abruptl...

Dracontiasis is an infestation of man by the guineaworm, Dracunculus medinensis; a similar infestation also occurs in animals,' and a related species, Dracunculus insignis, is known to infect racoons, mink, and dogs.2 The disease, at the present time, has a wide distribution throughout tropical and subtropical regions ofthe world. The rate of human infestation varies with the possibility of the...

INTODUCF1ON SCHISTOSOMES that infect domestic animals are of great economic importance, and may even cause death in cattle and sheep.' These parasites may also at times infest man, the most important of the several species being Schistosoma haematobium and Schistosoma mansoni. They are the subject of the present discussion. Both these parasites have a complicated, but similar, life cycle. Matur...