John\u27s Gospel in Current Literature

Who wrote the Fourth Gospel? For centuries there had been almost unanimous agreement on this point. Tradition, based on very ancient authorities, as well as the book itself all seemed to agree that it was the work of John, the Beloved Disciple, son of Zebedee. But about the turn of the eighteenth century, students of the Bible were shaken by voices which dared to question this supposedly impregnable claim. In England a man by the name of Evanson ( ca. 1790) attributed the Gospel to some Platonic philosopher of the second century. Six years later a German named Eckermann took up the refrain, with more and more voices joining the chorus

Numerical simulations of a prechamber autoignition cogeneration engine operating on natural gas

A numerical simulation of a prechamber autoignition gas engine has been performed based on an experimental test case. With a simplified finite-rate/eddy-dissipation model for the combustion of natural gas, it was possible to properly reproduce the experiment considering the combustion duration, ignition timing and overall energy balance. However the predefined empiric constant of the eddy-dissipation model had to be increased by a factor of 10. A modification of the original cylindrical-conical prechamber geometry to a simpler cylindrical one was tested with the simulation model. The influence of burnt gases inside the prechamber was assessed simulating the mixture formation inside the prechamber. The simulations showed little effect of taking into account the non-homogeneities in the gas phase on the combustion duration. The simulation showed that the new and cylindrical geometry envisaged did not show any improvement in the combustion homogeneity inside the prechamber and its volume (limited by the real engine geometry) is in fact not sufficient to properly ignite the main chamber. The model can be used to further guide design modifications of the prechamber engine to improve performance

Age and Intrinsic Fitness Affect the Female Rotator Cuff Tendon Tissue

The risk of the development of tendon disorders or ruptures increases with age, but it is unclear whether intrinsic fitness during lifetime might also affect tendon properties. To investigate this, a contrasting rat model of high-capacity runners (HCR with high intrinsic fitness) and low-capacity runners (LCR with low intrinsic fitness) was employed. Histological and molecular changes in rotator cuff (RC) tendons from 10 weeks old (young; HCR-10 and LCR-10) and 100 weeks old (old; HCR-100 and LCR-100) female rats were investigated. Age-dependent changes of RC tendons observed in HCR and LCR were increase of weight, decrease of tenocytes and RNA content, reduction of the wavy pattern of collagen and elastic fibers, repressed expression of Col1a1 , Eln , Postn , Tnmd , Tgfb3 and Egr1 and reduction of the Col1 : Col3 and Col1 : Eln ratio. The LCR rats showed less physical activity, increased body weight, signs of metabolic disease and a reduced life expectancy. Their RC tendons revealed increased weight (more than age-dependent) and enlargement of the tenocyte nuclei (consistent with degenerative tendons). Low intrinsic fitness led to repressed expression of a further nine genes ( Col3a1 , Fbn1 , Dcn , Tnc , Scx , Mkx , Bmp1 , Tgfb1 , Esr1 ) as well as the rise of the Col1 : Col3 and Col1:Eln ratios (related to the lesser expression of Col3a1 and Eln ). The intrinsic fitness influences the female RC tendons at least as much as age. Lower intrinsic fitness accelerates aging of RC tendons and leads to further impairment; this could result in decreased healing potential and elasticity and increased stiffness

Purification and Reconstitution of the Glutamate Carrier GltT of the Thermophilic Bacterium Bacillus stearothermophilus

An affinity tag consisting of six adjacent histidine residues followed by an enterokinase cleavage site was genetically engineered at the N-terminus of the glutamate transport protein GltT of the thermophilic bacterium Bacillus stearothermophilus. The fusion protein was expressed in Escherichia coli and shown to transport glutamate. The highest levels of expression were observed in E. coli strain DH5α grown on rich medium. The protein could be purified in a single step by Ni2+-NTA affinity chromatography after solubilization of the cytoplasmic membranes with the detergent Triton X100. Purified GltT was reconstituted in an active state in liposomes prepared from E. coli phospholipids. The protein was reconstituted in detergent-treated preformed liposomes, followed by removal of the detergent with polystyrene beads. Active reconstitution was realized with a wide range of Triton X100 concentrations. Neither the presence of glycerol, phospholipids, nor substrates of the transporter was necessary during the purification and reconstitution procedure to keep the enzyme in an active state. In B. stearothermophilus, GltT translocates glutamate in symport with protons or sodium ions. In membrane vesicles derived from E. coli cells expressing GltT, the Na+ ion dependency seems to be lost, suggesting a role for the lipid environment in the cation specificity. In agreement with the last observation, glutamate transport catalyzed by purified GltT reconstituted in E. coli phospholipid is driven by an electrochemical gradient of H+ but not of Na+.

AEGIS at CERN: Measuring Antihydrogen Fall

The main goal of the AEGIS experiment at the CERN Antiproton Decelerator is the test of fundamental laws such as the Weak Equivalence Principle (WEP) and CPT symmetry. In the first phase of AEGIS, a beam of antihydrogen will be formed whose fall in the gravitational field is measured in a Moire' deflectometer; this will constitute the first test of the WEP with antimatter.Comment: Presented at the Fifth Meeting on CPT and Lorentz Symmetry, Bloomington, Indiana, June 28-July 2, 201

The New IR FEL Facility at the Fritz-Haber-Institut in Berlin

A mid-infrared oscillator FEL has been commissioned at the Fritz-Haber-Institut. The accelerator consists of a thermionic gridded gun, a subharmonic buncher and two S-band standing-wave copper structures [1,2]. It provides a final electron energy adjustable from 15 to 50 MeV, low longitudinal (<50 keV-ps) and transverse emittance (<20 π mm-mrad), at more than 200 pC bunch charge with a micro-pulse repetition rate of 1 GHz and a macro-pulse length of up to 15 μs. Regular user operation started in Nov. 2013 with 6 user stations. Pulsed radiation with up to 100 mJ macro-pulse energy at about 0.5% FWHM bandwidth is routinely produced in the wavelength range from 4 to 48 μm. We will describe the FEL design and its performance as determined by IR power, bandwidth, and micro-pulse length measurements. Further, an overview of the new FHI FEL facility and first user results will be given. The latter include, for instance, spectroscopy of bio-molecules (peptides and small proteins) conformer selected or embedded in superfluid helium nano-droplets at 0.4 K, as well as vibrational spectroscopy of mass-selected metal-oxide clusters and protonated water clusters in the gas phase

LRRK2 is a negative regulator of Mycobacterium tuberculosis phagosome maturation in macrophages

Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are associ- ated with Parkinson’s disease, chronic inflammation and mycobac- terial infections. Although there is evidence supporting the idea that LRRK2 has an immune function, the cellular function of this kinase is still largely unknown. By using genetic, pharmacological and proteomics approaches, we show that LRRK2 kinase activity negatively regulates phagosome maturation via the recruitment of the Class III phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase complex and Rubicon to the phagosome in macrophages. Moreover, inhibition of LRRK2 kinase activity in mouse and human macrophages enhanced Mycobacterium tuberculosis phagosome maturation and mycobac- terial control independently of autophagy. In vivo, LRRK2 defi- ciency in mice resulted in a significant decrease in M. tuberculosis burdens early during the infection. Collectively, our findings provide a molecular mechanism explaining genetic evidence linking LRRK2 to mycobacterial diseases and establish an LRRK2- dependent cellular pathway that controls M. tuberculosis replica- tion by regulating phagosome maturation