Mother or womb? The portrayal of women as mothers in ancient near eastern texts

Many assumptions are made about the portrayal of women in the Bible, but what does the text actually portray them as, and how does this portrayal compare to the portrayal of women in other contemporary texts? This project shows that women in Ancient Near Eastern texts do not have personage until they bear a child, and even when they have borne a child, they don’t have any characteristics besides “wife” or “mother” and have no agency. In contrast, women in the Bible are portrayed as fully developed characters even before they have a child, and they have emotions, goals, and agency.Lew Wentz FoundationPhilosoph

Role of oS in stress response in E. coli O157:H7 during exponential growth phase

INTRODUCTION: Escherichia coli O157:H7, also known as enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), is a serious food borne pathogen. EHEC causes hemorrhagic colitis in 90% of cases, which then leads to the life threatening hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in ~15% of cases.EHEC is a zoonotic pathogen and humans are an accidental host. A key factor to EHEC being a successful pathogen is due its ability to survive various stress environments in the zoonotic and human hosts.It is known that the transcription factor oS is an important activator of stress response during stationary growth phase in EHEC. In this study, we attempted to determine the role of oS during exponential growth phase in EHEC.RESULTS: oS is required for survival in the presence of 1M NaCl and high temperatures during exponential growth of E. coli O157:H7.oS is partially dispensable for survival in peroxide during exponential growth of E. coli O157:H7.Lew Wentz FoundationMicrobiology and Molecular Genetic

Limits On Planets Around Pulsating White Dwarf Stars

We present limits on planetary companions to pulsating white dwarf stars. A subset of these stars exhibit extreme stability in the period and phase of some of their pulsation modes; a planet can be detected around such a star by searching for periodic variations in the arrival time of these pulsations. We present limits on companions greater than a few Jupiter masses around a sample of 15 white dwarf stars as part of an ongoing survey. One star shows a variation in arrival time consistent with a 2M(J) planet in a 4.5 yr orbit. We discuss other possible explanations for the observed signal and conclude that a planet is the most plausible explanation based on the data available.NASA Origins NAG5-13094Astronom

The cysteine proteome

AbstractThe cysteine (Cys) proteome is a major component of the adaptive interface between the genome and the exposome. The thiol moiety of Cys undergoes a range of biologic modifications enabling biological switching of structure and reactivity. These biological modifications include sulfenylation and disulfide formation, formation of higher oxidation states, S-nitrosylation, persulfidation, metalation, and other modifications. Extensive knowledge about these systems and their compartmentalization now provides a foundation to develop advanced integrative models of Cys proteome regulation. In particular, detailed understanding of redox signaling pathways and sensing networks is becoming available to allow the discrimination of network structures. This research focuses attention on the need for atlases of Cys modifications to develop systems biology models. Such atlases will be especially useful for integrative studies linking the Cys proteome to imaging and other omics platforms, providing a basis for improved redox-based therapeutics. Thus, a framework is emerging to place the Cys proteome as a complement to the quantitative proteome in the omics continuum connecting the genome to the exposome

An observational cohort study to evaluate the use of serum Raman spectroscopy in a rapid diagnosis center setting

Cancer presenting with non-specific vague symptoms remains a clinical challenge. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of serum Raman spectroscopy for cancer detection in a rapid diagnosis center (RDC) setting. The primary aim was to identify significant spectral peaks of change in sera from cancer patients and the secondary aim was to assign molecular species at Raman peaks.In this prospective observation study of a secondary care RDC, patients referred with vague cancer-related symptoms were recruited. Raman spectra of blood sera of 54 patients was obtained. Of these, 10 patients were diagnosed with cancer, and 44 no significant pathology (control). Common spectral increase/decrease between control and cancer was seen in spectral peaks 830 cm−1, 878 cm−1, 1031 cm−1, 1174 cm−1, 1397 cm−1 tentatively attributed to amino acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and proteins. Individual differences between cancer and control via statistical analysis identifies 3 peaks with significance for all 10 of the cancer patients. The peaks are 878 cm−1, 1449 cm−1 and 1519 cm−1, tentatively attributed to proteins, amino acids, lipids, fatty acids, glycoproteins, carbohydrates, and carotenoids. Differences are also seen for at least 9 of the cancers in the peaks at 830 cm−1, 851 cm−1, 1127 cm−1, 1174 cm−1, 1270 cm−1, and 1656 cm−1, tentatively attributed to amino acids, lactate, lipids, triglycerides, carbohydrates, and proteins.Raman spectroscopy has the potential to enhance RDC referral criteria through the detection of peak differences seen commonly with different cancer types. Development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) based models could enable rapid detection and discrimination of different cancer types with more data availability

Anna Curtis Chandler Correspondence

Entries include a typed letter from Fish on Fred A. Stokes Company Publishers, Canada, stationery, correspondence from the Maine State Library to Chandler at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Library, and handwritten letters from Chandler on personal stationery

Concert recording 2017-11-27

[Track 1]. Concert prelude / Derek Bourgeois -- [Track 2]. Tuba concerto / Edward Gregson -- [Track 3]. Cyberspace / Peter Graham -- [Track 4]. Concert piece no. 1 / Rodger Vaughan -- [Track 5]. Rhapsody for euphonium / Jerry Brubaker -- [Track 6]. Concerto, K. 191. I. Allegro / W.A. Mozart -- [Track 7]. The green hill / Bert Appermont -- [Track 8]. Suite / Vaclav Nelhybel -- [Track 9]. Brides of the waves / Herbert L. Clarke -- [Track 10]. Fantasy / Philip Sparke -- [Track 11]. Concerto for euphonium. I. Allegro moderato / Philip Wilby

Measuring The Evolutionary Rate Of Cooling Of ZZ Ceti

We have finally measured the evolutionary rate of cooling of the pulsating hydrogen atmosphere (DA) white dwarf ZZ Ceti (Ross 548), as reflected by the drift rate of the 213.13260694 s period. Using 41 yr of time-series photometry from 1970 November to 2012 January, we determine the rate of change of this period with time to be dP/dt = (5.2 +/- 1.4) x 10(-15) s s(-1) employing the O - C method and (5.45 +/- 0.79) x 10(-15) s s(-1) using a direct nonlinear least squares fit to the entire lightcurve. We adopt the dP/dt obtained from the nonlinear least squares program as our final determination, but augment the corresponding uncertainty to a more realistic value, ultimately arriving at the measurement of dP/dt = (5.5 +/- 1.0) x 10(-15) s s(-1). After correcting for proper motion, the evolutionary rate of cooling of ZZ Ceti is computed to be (3.3 +/- 1.1) x 10(-15) s s(-1). This value is consistent within uncertainties with the measurement of (4.19 +/- 0.73) x 10(-15) s s(-1) for another similar pulsating DA white dwarf, G 117-B15A. Measuring the cooling rate of ZZ Ceti helps us refine our stellar structure and evolutionary models, as cooling depends mainly on the core composition and stellar mass. Calibrating white dwarf cooling curves with this measurement will reduce the theoretical uncertainties involved in white dwarf cosmochronometry. Should the 213.13 s period be trapped in the hydrogen envelope, then our determination of its drift rate compared to the expected evolutionary rate suggests an additional source of stellar cooling. Attributing the excess cooling to the emission of axions imposes a constraint on the mass of the hypothetical axion particle.NSF AST-1008734, AST-0909107Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program 003658-0252-2009Astronom

Concert recording 2018-04-24b

[Track 1]. Six studies in English folksong. I. Adagio [Track 2]. II. Andante sostenuto [Track 3]. III. Andante tranquillo [Track 4]. IV. Allegro vivace / Ralph Vaughan Williams -- [Track 5]. Sonata in F minor. I. Andante [Track 6]. II. Allegro / G.F. Teleman -- [Track 7]. Allerseelen / Richard Strauss arranged by Stuckemeyer/Bottorf -- [Track 8]. Bride of the waves / Herbert L. Clarke -- [Track 9]. Suite. I. Allegor marcato [Track 10]. III. Allegretto [Track 11]. IV. Slow / Vaclav Nelhybel -- [Track 12]. A walk in the woods / Jiro Censhu -- [Track 13]. Concerto in one movement / Alexy Lebedev -- [Track 14]. By gaslight / Tadeusz Kassatti -- [Track 15]. Child\u27s play. I. ♩=132 / Barbara York