Lacerated Lips and Lush Landscapes: Constructing This-Worldly Theological Identities in the Otherworld

When Irenaeus juxtaposed tradition and heresy, he moved away from the Pauline usage, which centered primarily upon incorrect behavior (See 1 Cor 11: 19, Gal 5 :20). lrenaeus\u27 definition of heresy, however, does not indicate that all early Christians prioritized belief over behavior, or even maintained orthodoxy and orthopraxis as separate categories. In the otherworldly spaces of the apocryphal apocalypses doxa and praxis seem to be intertwined, and little or no distinction is made between belief and behavior. Instead, in the Otherworld the categories of primary importance are righteous/unrighteous, good/evil, Christian/Other. The Otherworld is a place in which sins can be sorted and the identity markers which might have been overlooked or are difficult to see in this world can be seen more clearly. And yet, we are left to wonder how that otherworldly clarity maps onto the lived experience of the ancient audiences of these apocalypses. Thus, we will begin by reflecting upon the ability of these apocalyptic texts to create (and recreate) Christian identity by either describing real categories of people, or by creating the categories themselves, and so prescribing reality. In each of the apocalypses that we will discuss the reader learns that his or her identity is determined for all of eternity by the choices that are made in this world. In this regard, each depiction of the otherworld establishes its own identity markers, isolating certain beliefs and behaviors as distinctively Christian. What is startling about the definitions of Christian belief and practice that emerge from each text is that they are rather expansive, covering far more territory than any creed or council. Our discussion will demonstrate that while creedal definitions of orthodoxy ( as well as the apocalyptic definitions of correct belief that mirror them) were often aimed at labeling specific groups as other, the apocalyptic depictions of the otherworld were attempting to be either exhaustive or open-ended, imagining a host of practices that could be used to frame Christian identity. In these imaginary spaces, the theological identities that were crafted could not simply be summarized by simple binaries like orthodoxy/heterodoxy, oppressed/oppressor, or even sinner/sinless. Instead, the apocalyptic visions, which on the surface seem to deal in dichotomies, paradoxically proliferate a range of Christian practices

Physico- Chemical characteristics of compost (Cotonou, Benin, West Africa)

This work was led the town of Cotonou in Benin and particularly on the vegetable garden site of Hou\ue9yiho. It involved the valorization of the waste of this site by proceeding the aerobic composting of the biodegradable fraction of municipal solid waste collected in the markets. This consists among other rotten fruits of various plant debris and garbage obtained by initial sorting. After three months of biological decomposition, 48,531.78 kg of biodegradable waste was composted with a yield of 40,443.33 kg of fresh compost or approximately 83.33% compost. The moisture content of the biodegradable fraction is 65%. The physico-chemical characteristics of compost produced are as follow: 12.7594 \ub1 0.1006 mg / kg of heavy metals, the C / N ratio is 13% and the rate of total phosphorus is 0.34% and 61.18 meq/100 g of Dry Weight exchangeable bases. The humus of our compost has a high capacity of cationic exchange (CCE) and fixed mineral nutrient ions such as K+ and Ca2+ and phosphate in order to make them available for plant growth and development and proving the poverty of the soil of this site and their increased need of organic amendment

Effect of pre-contraction on β-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of rat urinary bladder

Purpose The human physiological bladder contraction is largely mediated by acetylcholine acting on muscarinic receptors, but in pathophysiological settings the relative role of non-cholinergic stimuli gains importance. beta-Adrenoceptor agonists are currently in clinical development as treatments for the overactive bladder syndrome. Therefore, we have explored the ability of the beta-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline to induce rat isolated bladder strip relaxation on pre-contraction with the muscarinic agonist carbachol as compared to bladder tone induced by several non-cholinergic stimuli. Methods Bladder tone was induced by passive tension, receptor independently by KCl, carbachol, bradykinin or serotonin. Concentration-response curves were generated for relaxation by isoprenaline, and a single concentration of the receptor-independent relaxant forskolin was also tested. Results The various contractile stimuli induced different degrees of bladder tone, but the ability of isoprenaline or forskolin to relax rat bladder was not correlated with the degree of tone. Isoprenaline was significantly less potent and effective in causing relaxation against carbachol-induced tone than against any other stimulus, whereas no such relationship was observed for forskolin. Conclusions We conclude that beta-adrenoceptor agonists can induce rat bladder relaxation against a wide range of contractile stimuli and are more potent and/or effective against non-cholinergic stimuli than against muscarinic agonism. This profile appears desirable for agents intended for the treatment of overactive bladde

Monitoring Cognitive and Emotional Processes Through Pupil and Cardiac Response During Dynamic Versus Logical Task

The paper deals with the links between physiological measurements and cognitive and emotional functioning. As long as the operator is a key agent in charge of complex systems, the definition of metrics able to predict his performance is a great challenge. The measurement of the physiological state is a very promising way but a very acute comprehension is required; in particular few studies compare autonomous nervous system reactivity according to specific cognitive processes during task performance and task related psychological stress is often ignored. We compared physiological parameters recorded on 24 healthy subjects facing two neuropsychological tasks: a dynamic task that require problem solving in a world that continually evolves over time and a logical task representative of cognitive processes performed by operators facing everyday problem solving. Results showed that the mean pupil diameter change was higher during the dynamic task; conversely, the heart rate was more elevated during the logical task. Finally, the systolic blood pressure seemed to be strongly sensitive to psychological stress. A better taking into account of the precise influence of a given cognitive activity and both workload and related task-induced psychological stress during task performance is a promising way to better monitor operators in complex working situations to detect mental overload or pejorative stress factor of error

Isolated Grauer's gorilla populations differ in diet and gut microbiome

The animal gut microbiome has been implicated in a number of key biological processes, ranging from digestion to behavior, and has also been suggested to facilitate local adaptation. Yet studies in wild animals rarely compare multiple populations that differ ecologically, which is the level at which local adaptation may occur. Further, few studies simultaneously characterize diet and gut microbiome from the same sample, despite their likely interdependence. Here, we investigate the interplay between diet and gut microbiome in three geographically isolated populations of the critically endangered Grauer's gorilla, which we show to be genetically differentiated. We find population- and social group-specific dietary and gut microbial profiles and co-variation between diet and gut microbiome, despite the presence of core microbial taxa. There was no detectable effect of age, and only marginal effects of sex and genetic relatedness on the microbiome. Diet differed considerably across populations, with the high-altitude population consuming a lower diversity of plants compared to low-altitude populations, consistent with plant availability constraining diet. The observed pattern of covariation between diet and gut microbiome is likely a result of long-term social and environmental factors. Our study suggests that the gut microbiome is sufficiently plastic to support flexible food selection and hence contribute to local adaptation

MHD models of Pulsar Wind Nebulae

Pulsar Wind Nebulae (PWNe) are bubbles or relativistic plasma that form when the pulsar wind is confined by the SNR or the ISM. Recent observations have shown a richness of emission features that has driven a renewed interest in the theoretical modeling of these objects. In recent years a MHD paradigm has been developed, capable of reproducing almost all of the observed properties of PWNe, shedding new light on many old issues. Given that PWNe are perhaps the nearest systems where processes related to relativistic dynamics can be investigated with high accuracy, a reliable model of their behavior is paramount for a correct understanding of high energy astrophysics in general. I will review the present status of MHD models: what are the key ingredients, their successes, and open questions that still need further investigation.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, Invited Review, Proceedings of the "ICREA Workshop on The High-Energy Emission from Pulsars and their Systems", Sant Cugat, Spain, April 12-16, 201

Hepatitis C virus cell-cell transmission and resistance to direct-acting antiviral agents

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted between hepatocytes via classical cell entry but also uses direct cell-cell transfer to infect neighboring hepatocytes. Viral cell-cell transmission has been shown to play an important role in viral persistence allowing evasion from neutralizing antibodies. In contrast, the role of HCV cell-cell transmission for antiviral resistance is unknown. Aiming to address this question we investigated the phenotype of HCV strains exhibiting resistance to direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) in state-of-the-art model systems for cell-cell transmission and spread. Using HCV genotype 2 as a model virus, we show that cell-cell transmission is the main route of viral spread of DAA-resistant HCV. Cell-cell transmission of DAA-resistant viruses results in viral persistence and thus hampers viral eradication. We also show that blocking cell-cell transmission using host-targeting entry inhibitors (HTEIs) was highly effective in inhibiting viral dissemination of resistant genotype 2 viruses. Combining HTEIs with DAAs prevented antiviral resistance and led to rapid elimination of the virus in cell culture model. In conclusion, our work provides evidence that cell-cell transmission plays an important role in dissemination and maintenance of resistant variants in cell culture models. Blocking virus cell-cell transmission prevents emergence of drug resistance in persistent viral infection including resistance to HCV DAAs

Muscarinic receptor subtypes and signalling involved in the attenuation of isoprenaline-induced rat urinary bladder relaxation

β-Adrenoceptors are important mediators of smooth muscle relaxation in the urinary bladder, but the concomitant presence of a muscarinic agonist, e.g., carbachol, can attenuate relaxation responses by reducing potency and/or efficacy of β-adrenoceptor agonists such as isoprenaline. Therefore, the present study was designed to explore the subtypes and signalling pathways of muscarinic receptors involved in the attenuation of isoprenaline-induced isolated rat detrusor preparations using novel subtype-selective receptor ligands. In radioligand binding studies, we characterized BZI to be a M3-sparing muscarinic agonist, providing selective M2 stimulation in rat bladder, and THRX-182087 as a highly M2-selective antagonist. The use of BZI and of THRX-182087 in the presence of carbachol enabled experimental conditions with a selective stimulation of only M2 or M3 receptors, respectively. Confirming previous findings, carbachol attenuated isoprenaline-induced detrusor relaxation. M2-selective stimulation partly mimicked this attenuation, indicating that both M2 and M3 receptors are involved. During M3-selective stimulation, the attenuation of isoprenaline responses was reduced by the phospholipase C inhibitor U 73,122 but not by the protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine. We conclude that both M2 and M3 receptors contribute to attenuation of β-adrenoceptor-mediated relaxation of rat urinary bladder; the signal transduction pathway involved in the M3 component of this attenuation differs from that mediating direct contractile effects of M3 receptors