Scripture and Its Readers: Readings of Israel’s Story in Nehemiah 9:6 – 37, Ezekiel 20:5 – 31 and Acts 7:2 – 60

How may a reader who wishes to read the Christian Bible as scripture well today be formed; and how may interpretations of scripture inform such concern? The present work is an exploration of this under-considered question in the field of contemporary biblical scholarship via sustained exegetical engagement with three biblical texts, namely Nehemiah 9:6 – 37, Ezekiel 20:5 – 32 and Acts 7:2 – 60, which offer three different inner-canonical readings of scripture in the form of three distinctive recitals of Israel’s story. The purpose is to consider how these retellings read scriptural traditions in relation to the wider context of the Christian canon; and to reflect on their enduring and formative significance as scripture for readers seeking to appropriate the scripture faithfully today. Chapter one will indicate that the concern of the present work is not a recent one, but rather one that is integral to a Christian practice of reading scripture. This chapter will also consider how such a concern once under-explored in biblical scholarship is now receiving some renewed attention in the field of theological interpretation of scripture. An overview of selected works pertaining to such concern will be considered in chapter two as a means to set a context for articulating the approach and rationale of the present work. In chapters three through to five, each chapter will be devoted to each of the three biblical texts, Nehemiah 9:6 – 37, Ezekiel 20:5 – 31 and Acts 7:2 – 60, to consider how scriptural traditions are interpreted in these three texts in relation to the wider context of the Christian canon. The next step is to reflect on the implications of these three biblical texts as Christian scripture for readers seeking to interpret scripture faithfully today. For such concern, the three texts will be considered individually at the end of chapters three, four and five respectively and then in concert in chapter six

Serum Alpha-fetoprotein in Rabbits Experimentally Infected with Rabbit Haemorrhagic Disease Virus

To investigate the change in serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and its correlation with liver enzymes in hepatitis caused by rabbit haemorrhagic disease virus (RHDV), 15-week-old rabbits were experimentally infected with a Taiwan field isolate of the virus. After RHDV inoculation, it was observed that serum AFP increased significantly (p = 0.0082) together with significant elevation in serum aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), γ-glutamyl transferase (γ-GT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP). Rabbits that died tended to have high AFP values prior to death, the mean value being 4.22 ± 1.61 ng/ml (n = 6). By correlation analysis, AFP significantly correlated more strongly to ALP than γ-GT, but non-significantly with AST and ALT. This is the first report of serum AFP elevation being associated with RHDV infection. Thus, measurement of serum AFP might be a useful complementary index for RHDV infectivity and prognosis

Detection of Salmonella on Chicken Meat Using Immunomagnetic Separation and Conventional Methods from Traditional Market in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

The purpose of this study was to compare the detection of Salmonella in chicken meat from traditional market Surabaya using immunomagnetic separation and conventional methods. Total of 12 samples each from chicken meat were isolated from five traditional market in Surabaya. There are Keputran, Wonokromo, Gubeng, Wiyung and Pabean. Each sample was tested by immunomagnetic separation and conventional methods. The results showed that the immunomagnetic separation methods positive for Salmonella (35%), higher than the conventional methods (18,3%). Keywords : Chicken meat, Conventional methods, Immunomagnetic separationSalmonell

Light scattering in discrete random media and related materials

By modelling white paint materials as discrete random media, a variety of methods can be employed to study the physics of their optical properties. The white paint model consists of an assembly of identical non-overlapping titanium dioxide (TiO2) spheres as scatters dispersed in a homogeneous medium with liquid-like correlations described by the Percus-Yevick hard sphere radial distribution function. From this model, the correlation effects and the crowding effects, or multiple scattering effects are regarded to the two dominant mechanisms which govern the scattering efficiency of TiO2 in white paint.By considering the weak scattering limit where the multiple scattering effects can be neglected it is possible to show that structural consideration is important in the understanding of the optical performance of white paint. The correlation and multiple scattering effects are combined in the Quasi-Crystalline Approximation (QCA) to demonstrate the inseparability of the two mechanisms in strongly scattering one component systems. The QCA is then extended to consider the effects of coating the scatterers, adding extenders and air voids. The results can be used to aid and gauge industrial attempts to maximise the scattering efficiency of TiO2.Finally, the Coherent Potential Approximation (CPA) is employed in the paint context. The CPA results are compared with the QCA results to consider the applicability of the CPA since it is comparatively easier to implement and apply.</p

CROSS RESISTANCE AGAINST CHALLENGE INFECTION IN MICE INFECTED WITH TRICHINELLA SPIRALIS OR T. PSEUDOSPIRALIS

Worm recovery from the small intestine was carried out in ICR mice infected with either Trichinella spiralis or T. pseudospiralis and then homologously or heterologously challenged 14 or 42 days after the primary infection. Significantly less worms were recovered from challenge infections as compared to the naive positive controls. Less worms were expelled from mice challenged on day 42 than on day 14 after the primary infection. Significantly more worms were retained in the groups of mice primarily infected with T. spiralis and then challenged with T. pseudospiralis as compared to the other three challenged groups. This was observed in both the groups of mice challenged on days 14 and 42 after the primary infection. A correlation between the number of worms retained in each mouse and the number of intestinal mucosal mast cells in the individual mouse was observed. No significant difference was observed in the number of muscle larvae recovered by digestion from among the challenge and the control groups of infected mice. However, in histopathological examination of T. spiralis infected mice challenged with T. pseudospiralis on day 42 after primary infection, almost no T. pseudospiralis larvae were observed in the muscle but when the infection protocol was reversed, the muscle section showed about 40% T. spiralis larvae and 60% T. pseudospiralis larvae

Excystation of Haplorchis taichui metacercariae could be elicited by change in pH

The effect of different component of the intestinal fluid on the excystation of Haplorchis taichui metacercariae was examined in vitro. Encysted metacercariae obtained by pepsin digestion of fish muscle showed that the highest percentage of metacercariae excystation could be obtained after being treated with trypsin at pH 7.5. However, it was also observed that excystation of the metacercariae could also be effected by changing the pH to the basic condition. The most optimum pH for the metacercariae excystation was found to be 7.5. This method of obtaining the excysted metacercariae could prove to be useful for taxonomical study of trematode in general

INNATE RESISTANCE OF CHICKENS TO TRICHINELLA SPIRALIS AT THE MUSCULAR PHASE OF THE PARASITE

Experimental infection of Trichinella spiralis in 1-day-old chickens showed that most worms were rapidly expelled from the intestine but those that remained developed to maturity and produced newborn larvae. These newborn larvae were found in the chicken muscles between days 9-21 postinfection (PI) but they showed little or no development. No larvae were detected in the muscles at day 25 PI and thereafter. Although the newborn larvae were able to penetrate the chicken muscle fibers, they were unable to grow normally, which resulted in their death and degeneration. The fact that the newborn larvae, which were shed in vitro by female worms retrieved from the chicken intestine, were able to develop into mature larvae when injected intravenously into mice indicated that the death of the newborn larvae in the chicken muscles was not due to any inherent defect of the larvae