A los cien años de la constitución de la Pontificia Comisión Bíblica

En el 2003, a los cien años de la creación de la Pontificia Comisión Bíblica, Joseph Ratzinger, que entonces era su presidente, reflexionaba sobre la trayectoria de la Comisión. Contemplaba, primeramente, no sólo las dificultades que los exegetas católicos hubieron de pasar por no serles permitida la exégesis histórico-crítica (antes de 1943), sino también las dificultades de los exegetas protestantes, en esos mismo años, por la exageración del método crítico; e invitaba a tomar en consideración los documentos magisteriales sobre temas bíblicos del segundo medio siglo de la Comisión, es decir, de 1943 a 1993. En segundo lugar, valoraba con prudencia los cincuenta primeros años de la Comisión. Aunque hubo restricciones excesivas, es innegable que la fe y el Magisterio tenían (y tienen) algo que decir con relación a un libro tan particular como es la Sagrada Biblia. En esos primeros años de la Comisión, hacía falta revisar la relación fundamental entre fe e historia. Entretanto, no sólo se han corregido las decisiones de la Comisión Bíblica que habían entrado demasiado en el ámbito de las cuestiones meramente históricas; sino que también se ha aprendido algo nuevo sobre las modalidades y los límites del conocimiento histórico

An acoustically-driven biochip: particle-cell interactions under physiological flow conditions [Abstract]

Introduction: The interaction of particulate drug carriers with cells has generally been assessed in stationary microplate assays. These setups fail to reflect the flow conditions in vivo which generate substantial hydrodynamic drag forces [1]. In order to address this shortcoming, a microfluidic biochip with the capability of imitating a wide range of shear rates and pulsation modes has been developed. This device, which is based on an incorporated surface acoustic wave pump, was used to study the interaction of targeted microparticles with epithelial cells under flow conditions

HITRAP: A facility at GSI for highly charged ions

An overview and status report of the new trapping facility for highly charged ions at the Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung is presented. The construction of this facility started in 2005 and is expected to be completed in 2008. Once operational, highly charged ions will be loaded from the experimental storage ring ESR into the HITRAP facility, where they are decelerated and cooled. The kinetic energy of the initially fast ions is reduced by more than fourteen orders of magnitude and their thermal energy is cooled to cryogenic temperatures. The cold ions are then delivered to a broad range of atomic physics experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figure

End-to-end simulations for the EBIS preinjector

The EBIS Project at Brookhaven National Laboratory is in the second year of a four-year project. It will replace the Tandem Van de Graaff accelerators with an Electron Beam Ion Source, an RFQ, and one IH Linac cavity, as the heavy ion preinjector for the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), and for the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL). The preinjector will provide all ions species, He to U, (Q/m >0.16) at 2 MeV/amu at a repetition rate of 5 Hz, pulse length of 10-40 {micro}s, and intensities of {approx}2.0 mA. End-to-end simulations (from EBIS to the Booster injection) as well as error sensitivity studies will be presented and physics issues will be discussed

Rapid Diagnostic Algorithms as a Screening Tool for Tuberculosis: An Assessor Blinded Cross-Sectional Study

Background: A major obstacle to effectively treat and control tuberculosis is the absence of an accurate, rapid, and low-cost diagnostic tool. A new approach for the screening of patients for tuberculosis is the use of rapid diagnostic classification algorithms. Methods: We tested a previously published diagnostic algorithm based on four biomarkers as a screening tool for tuberculosis in a Central European patient population using an assessor-blinded cross-sectional study design. In addition, we developed an improved diagnostic classification algorithm based on a study population at a tertiary hospital in Vienna, Austria, by supervised computational statistics. Results: The diagnostic accuracy of the previously published diagnostic algorithm for our patient population consisting of 206 patients was 54% (CI: 47%–61%). An improved model was constructed using inflammation parameters and clinical information. A diagnostic accuracy of 86% (CI: 80%–90%) was demonstrated by 10-fold cross validation. An alternative model relying solely on clinical parameters exhibited a diagnostic accuracy of 85% (CI: 79%–89%). Conclusion: Here we show that a rapid diagnostic algorithm based on clinical parameters is only slightly improved by inclusion of inflammation markers in our cohort. Our results also emphasize the need for validation of new diagnostic algorithms in different settings and patient populations