The Hasmonean dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE the dynasty ruled Judea semi-autonomously from the Seleucids. From 110 BCE, with the Seleucid Empire disintegrating, the dynasty became independent, expanded into the neighbouring regions of Samaria, Iturea and Idumea, took the title "basileus"; some modern scholars refer to this period as an independent kingdom of Israel. The dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Thassi, two decades after his brother Judas Maccabeus defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt. According to 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, the first book of The Jewish War by Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Antiochus IV moved to assert strict control over the Seleucid satrapy of Coele Syria and Phoenicia after his successful invasion of Ptolemaic Egypt was turned back by the intervention of the Roman Republic, he sacked Jerusalem and its Temple, suppressing Jewish and Samaritan religious and cultural observances, imposed Hellenistic practices.

The ensuing revolt by the Jews began a period of Jewish independence potentiated by the steady collapse of the Seleucid Empire under attacks from the rising powers of the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire. In 63 BCE, the kingdom was invaded by the Roman Republic, broken up and set up as a Roman client state. However, the same power vacuum that enabled the Jewish state to be recognized by the Roman Senate c. 139 BCE was exploited by the Romans themselves. Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, Simon's great-grandsons, became pawns in a proxy war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great; the deaths of Pompey and Caesar, the related Roman civil wars temporarily relaxed Rome's grip on the Hasmonean kingdom, allowing a brief reassertion of autonomy backed by the Parthian Empire. This short independence was crushed by the Romans under Mark Antony and Octavian; the dynasty had survived for 103 years before yielding to the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE. The installation of Herod the Great as king in 37 BCE made Judea a Roman client state and marked the end of the Hasmonean dynasty.

Herod tried to bolster the legitimacy of his reign by marrying a Hasmonean princess and planning to drown the last male Hasmonean heir at his Jericho palace. In 6 CE, Rome joined Judea proper and Idumea into the Roman province of Judaea. In 44 CE, Rome installed the rule of a procurator side by side with the rule of the Herodian kings; the family name of the Hasmonean dynasty originates with the ancestor of the house, called by the Hellenized form Asmoneus or Asamoneus by Josephus Flavius, said to have been the great-grandfather of Mattathias, but about whom nothing more is known. The name appears to come from the Hebrew name Hashmonay. An alternative view posits that the Hebrew name Hashmona'i is linked with the village of Heshbon, mentioned in Joshua 15:27. Gott and Licht attribute the name to "Ha Simeon," a veiled reference to the Simeonite Tribe; the lands of the former Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judah, had been occupied in turn by Assyria, the Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great's Hellenic Macedonian empire, although Jewish religious practice and culture had persisted and flourished during certain periods.

The entire region was contested between the successor states of Alexander's empire, the Seleucid Empire and Ptolemaic Egypt, during the six Syrian Wars of the 3rd–1st centuries BCE: "After two centuries of peace under the Persians, the Hebrew state found itself once more caught in the middle of power struggles between two great empires: the Seleucid state with its capital in Syria to the north and the Ptolemaic state, with its capital in Egypt to the south... Between 319 and 302 BC, Jerusalem changed hands seven times."Under Antiochus III, the Seleucids wrested control of Israel from the Ptolemies for the final time, defeating Ptolemy V Epiphanes at the Battle of Panium in 200 BCE. Seleucid rule over the Jewish parts of the region resulted in the rise of Hellenistic cultural and religious practices: "In addition to the turmoil of war, there arose in the Jewish nation pro-Seleucid and pro-Ptolemaic parties, it was in Antioch that the Jews first made the acquaintance of Hellenism and of the more corrupt sides of Greek culture.

The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the books 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, covering the period from 175 to 134 BCE during which time the Hasmonean dynasty became semi-independent from the Seleucid empire but had not yet expanded far outside of Judea. The books are considered part of the Biblical canon by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and apocryphal by most Protestants, but are not a part of the Hebrew Bible, they are written from the point of view that the salvation of the Jewish people in a crisis came from God through the family of Mattathias his sons Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Apphus, Simon Thassi, his grandson John Hyrcanus. The books include historical and religious material from the Septuagint, codified by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians; the other primary source for the Hasmonean dynasty is the first book of The Wars of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus. Josephus' account is the only primary source covering the history of the Hasmonean dynasty during the period of its expansion and independence between 110 to 63 BCE

Mucinous cystadenoma is a benign cystic tumor lined by a mucinous epithelium. It is a type of cystic adenoma. Mucinous cystadenomata may arise in a number of locations. Mucinous cystadenomas may be found in the: Ovary—ovarian mucinous cystadenoma Pancreas—pancreatic mucinous cystadenoma Peritoneum—peritoneal mucinous cystadenoma Liver—mucinous cystadenoma of the liver Vermiform appendix—appendiceal mucinous cystadenoma Mucinous cystadenomas make up 15–20% of all ovarian tumors, they become large and can extend up into the abdomen. These tumors are evaluated using ultrasound, CT scan, or MRI. Findings on imaging studies are nonspecific; these ovarian tumors are multi-septated, cystic masses with thin walls. They contain varying amounts of solid tissue which consists of proliferating stromal tissue, papillae, or malignant tumor cells. Benign mucinous cystadenomas compose 80% of mucinous ovarian tumors and 20–25% of benign ovarian tumors overall; the peak incidence occurs between 50 years of age. Benign tumors are bilateral in 5–10% of cases.

Pancreatic Mucinous Cystadenoma or Mucinous Cystadenoma of the pancreas are a type of mucinous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas. The cure rate is high in cases on benign cystic lesions, but the case changes if malignant changes ensue. Benign cystadenomas are the most common cystic tumors of the pancreas accounting for 75% of the cases. On an average, mucinous accounts for 40%-50% of cystic tumors, serous cytadenoma accounts for 30% of it. Mucinous cystadenomas are in the dital pancreas in about 80% of the cases and distal pancreatectomy is needed for resection. In 20% of the cases it is in the head of the pancreas. Earlier it was believed that MCN occurs in females who are middle aged. However, occasional occurrence in men have been reported those who are 45 years of age or above. Cases of primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystadenoma are rare. However, they are observed more in women, with only 4 cases having been found in men. Though mucinous cystadenoma are common ovarian tumor, what makes PRMC so rare is their retroperitoneal location.

PRMC and benign mucinous cystadenoma of the ovary are microscopically similar. Both are multiloculated cystic neoplasms and are lined by a single layer of tall columnar cells with a clear basal nucleus and cytoplasm. Both of them have identical ultrastructural features. Flat to low cuboidal cells, resembling mesothelial cells, in the lining interspersed between columnar cells in the same area is the only histological difference between the two tumors. A rare neoplasm, 95% cases occur in women at the mean age of 45. Biliary cystadenoma and cystadenocarcinoma constitute less than 5% of intrahepatic cysts originating from the bile duct. Cystadenomas in liver are confused with hydatid cyst as their appearance on various imaging techniques is nearly same. Treating cystadenomas as hydatid cyst has resulted in recurrence of the cyst. Mucinous adenocarcinoma

India: From Midnight to the Millennium is a book written by Shashi Tharoor in 1997. It discusses a wide range of topics like caste, democracy in India, Indira Gandhi, the partition of India, its transition from a socialist economy to a free market economy. Shashi Tharoor argues compellingly that India stands at the intersection of the most significant questions facing the world at the end of the twentieth century. If democracy leads to inefficient political infighting, should it be sacrificed in the interest of economic well-being? Does religious fundamentalism provide a way for countries in the developing world to assert their identity in the face of western hegemony, or is there a case for pluralism and diversity amid cultural and religious traditions? Does the entry of Western consumer goods threaten a country's economic self-sufficiency, is protectionism the only guarantee of independence? The answers to such questions will determine what kind of world the next century will bring, since Indians will soon account for a sixth of the world's population, their choices will have repercussions throughout the globe