Where to find Christian philosophy?: Spatiality in John Chrysostom’s counter to Greek Paideia

This article examines the use of the concept philosophia in the writings and homilies of John Chrysostom. Although Chrysostom in his discussion of intellectual achievements draws on a long-standing tradition of Christian apologetics, he lends a new direction to the debate by highlighting the spatiality of philosophy. He not only counters Hellenic paideia with Christian wisdom, but locates these two types of philosophy in the city and the countryside, respectively. The article argues that the spatial dimension is vital to Chrysostom’s view of philosophy as he aims to extend the rural ideal of asceticism to the polis to create a healthy Christian community within the city

‘Other’ spaces in ancient civilization – Christian asceticism as heterotopia

This article discusses how classical studies can use the concept of heterotopia to analyze both physical and imagined spaces in ancient civilizations. Michel Foucault has adopted the notion of heterotopia to refer to spaces and places that exist in reality, but are strikingly different from the surrounding space and reflect, negate and invert it. First, Foucault’s criteria for such other spaces are presented, and the concept of heterotopia is critically discussed before applications in ancient studies are outlined. Finally it is shown, as an example, how Foucault’s approach can help to understand the ideology and practice of ascetic monasticism in the Greek East in Late Antiquity

Automated equilibrium tension lysimeters for measuring water fluxes through a layered, volcanic vadose profile in New Zealand

In this technical note we present the design, installation, and evaluation of a field monitoring system to directly measure water fluxes through a vadose zone. The system is based on use of relatively new measurement technology-automated equilibrium tension lysimeters (AETLs). An AETL uses a porous sintered stainless-steel plate to provide a comparatively large sampling area (0.20 m(2)) with a continuously controlled vacuum applied under the plate. This vacuum is in "equilibrium" with the surrounding vadose zone tension to ensure measured fluxes represent those under undisturbed conditions. Fifteen of these AETLs have been installed at five depths through a layered volcanic vadose zone to study the impact of land use changes on water quality in Lake Taupo, New Zealand. We describe the development and testing of the AETLs, the methods used for installing these devices, a condensed data set of the measured physical properties of the vadose zone, and the initial results from the in situ operation of the AETLs, including the preliminary results from a bromide tracer test. For an AETL installed at the 0.4-m depth, where soil pressure heads are most dynamic, the average deviation between the target reference pressure head, as measured in the undisturbed vadose zone and the pressure head measured above the sampling plate was only 5.4 hPa over a 180-d period. The bromide recovered in an AETL at the same depth was equivalent to 96% of the bromide pulse applied onto the surface area directly above the AETL. We conclude that this measurement technique provides an accurate and robust method of measuring vadose zone fluxes. These measurements can ultimately contribute to better understanding of the water transport and contaminant transformation processes through vadose zones

The role of Toll-like receptor-4 in pertussis vaccine-induced immunity

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The gram-negative bacterium <it>Bordetella pertussis </it>is an important causative agent of pertussis, an infectious disease of the respiratory tract. After introduction of whole-cell vaccines (wP) in the 1950's, pertussis incidence has decreased significantly. Because wP were found to be reactogenic, in most developed countries they have been replaced by acellular vaccines (aP). We have previously shown a role for Toll-like receptor 4 (Tlr4) in pertussis-infected mice and the pertussis toxin (Ptx)-IgG response in wP-vaccinated children, raising the issue of the relative importance of Tlr4 in wP vaccination of mice. Here we analyze the effects of wP and aP vaccination and <it>B. pertussis </it>challenge, in <it>Tlr4</it>-deficient C3H/HeJ and wild-type C3H/HeOuJ mice. aP consists of Ptx, filamentous hemagglutinin (FHA), and pertactin (Prn).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show an important role of Tlr4 in wP and (to a lesser extent) aP vaccination, induction of Th1 and Th17 cells by wP but not aP vaccination, and induction of Th17 cells by infection, confirming data by Higgins et al. (<it>J Immunol </it>2006, <b>177:</b>7980–9). Furthermore, in <it>Tlr4</it>-deficient mice, compared to wild-type controls (i) after vaccination only, Ptx-IgG (that was induced by aP but not wP vaccination), FHA-IgG, and Prn-IgG levels were similar, (ii) after infection (only), lung IL-1α and IL-1β expression were lower, (iii) after wP vaccination and challenge, Prn-IgG level and lung IL-5 expression were higher, while lung IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, IL-17, and IL-23 expression were lower, and lung pathology was absent, and (iv) after aP vaccination and challenge, Prn-IgG level and lung IL-5 expression were higher, while Ptx-IgG level was lower.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Tlr4 does not influence the humoral response to vaccination (without challenge), plays an important role in natural immunity, wP and aP efficacy, and induction of Th1 and Th17 responses, is critical for lung pathology and enhances pro-inflammatory cytokine production after wP vaccination and challenge, and diminishes Th2 responses after both wP and aP vaccination and challenge. wP vaccination does not induce Ptx-IgG. A role for LPS in the efficacy of wP underlines the usefulness of LPS analogs to improve bacterial subunit vaccines such as aP.</p

Mastering operational limitations of LEO satellites – The GOMX-3 approach

When working with space systems the keyword is resources. For a satellite in orbit all resources are sparse and the most critical resource of all is power. It is therefore crucial to have detailed knowledge on how much power is available for an energy harvesting satellite in orbit at every time – especially when in eclipse, where it draws its power from onboard batteries. This paper addresses this problem by a two-step procedure to perform task scheduling for low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellites exploiting formal methods. It combines cost-optimal reachability analyses of priced timed automata networks with a realistic kinetic battery model capable of capturing capacity limits as well as stochastic fluctuations. The procedure is in use for the automatic and resource-optimal day-ahead scheduling of GOMX-3, a power-hungry nanosatellite currently orbiting the earth. We explain how this approach has overcome existing problems, has led to improved designs, and has provided new insights

Analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-Specific CD8 T-Cells in Patients with Active Tuberculosis and in Individuals with Latent Infection

CD8 T-cells contribute to control of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, but little is known about the quality of the CD8 T-cell response in subjects with latent infection and in patients with active tuberculosis disease. CD8 T-cells recognizing epitopes from 6 different proteins of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were detected by tetramer staining. Intracellular cytokines staining for specific production of IFN-γ and IL-2 was performed, complemented by phenotyping of memory markers on antigen-specific CD8 T-cells. The ex-vivo frequencies of tetramer-specific CD8 T-cells in tuberculous patients before therapy were lower than in subjects with latent infection, but increased at four months after therapy to comparable percentages detected in subjects with latent infection. The majority of CD8 T-cells from subjects with latent infection expressed a terminally-differentiated phenotype (CD45RA+CCR7−). In contrast, tuberculous patients had only 35% of antigen-specific CD8 T-cells expressing this phenotype, while containing higher proportions of cells with an effector memory- and a central memory-like phenotype, and which did not change significantly after therapy. CD8 T-cells from subjects with latent infection showed a codominance of IL-2+/IFN-γ+ and IL-2−/IFN-γ+ T-cell populations; interestingly, only the IL-2+/IFN-γ+ population was reduced or absent in tuberculous patients, highly suggestive of a restricted functional profile of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-specific CD8 T-cells during active disease. These results suggest distinct Mycobacterium tuberculosis specific CD8 T-cell phenotypic and functional signatures between subjects which control infection (subjects with latent infection) and those who do not (patients with active disease)

"For to Have Fallen Is Not a Grievous Thing, but toRemain Prostrate ater Falling, and Not to Get upAgain." The Persuasive Force of Spatial Metaphors inChrysostom’s Exhortation to Theodore

Metaphern, insbesondere solche, die auf den Raum als Bildspender zurückgreifen, sind ein Hauptcharakteristikum der Redekunst des Kirchenvaters Johannes Chrysostomos (ca. 349–407). Da er ein versierter Redner mit einer Vorliebe für bildliche Sprache war, untersucht der vorliegende Beitrag, wie räumliche Metaphern zum Erreichen der persuasiven Ziele des Chrysostomos beitragen. Im Rückgriff auf die kognitive Metaphertheorie wird der Traktat An Theodor analysiert, wobei die erkenntnistheoretischen und paränetischen Funktionen, die konzeptuelle Metaphern erfüllen, in den Blick genommen werden. Die Besonderheit des Metaphergebrauchs des Chrysostomos besteht darin, dass er sein Publikum in metaphorische Szenarien, die er in seiner visuellen Rhetorik entwirt, einbezieht, um seine Leser dazu zu bringen, ihre Einstellungen und Verhalten zu überprüfen. Damit versucht er, eine praktische Reaktion auf die gegenwärtige Situation hervorzurufen.Metaphors, in particular those with spatial source domains, are a frequent feature of the oratory of the Greek Church Father John Chrysostom (c. 349–407). Given that he was an accomplished religious orator with an eye for imagistic language, this article explores how spatial metaphors contribute to Chrysostom’s achieving his persuasive goals. Adopting the approach of cognitive metaphor theory, it examines the treatise To Theodore with a focus on the epistemic and paraenetic functions fulfilled by conceptual metaphors. What is peculiar to Chrysostom’s metaphor use is that he involves his audience in metaphorical scenarios created by his visual rhetoric, in order to make his readers reappraise their attitudes and behaviour and, at once, elicit from them a specific response to the present situation

Text worlds and imagination in Chrysostom's pedagogy

John Chrysostom in his preaching creates and develops a vast number of graphic scenarios featuring various objects and actors. His elevated rhetoric depicts everyday situations, social interactions, but often also biblical stories in such lively colours that the audience can almost watch them in imagination. Scholarship, largely inattentive to Chrysostom’s literary technique, has failed to recognise the textual creation of scenarios as a key tool in his ethical teaching within the setting of the church service. This chapter proposes that the approach of Text World Theory, an offspring of recent Cognitive Poetics, can open a new avenue for research into Chrysostom’s anthropology and pedagogy. The close analysis of the rhetorical techniques that build and develop textual worlds reveals how the preacher stimulates his audience to form mental representations of situations and actions, which are loaded with evaluations and require an ethical judgement. By doing so, Chrysostom invites his congregation to immerse themselves in the text worlds, and simulate feelings and sensations there in order to elicit from them a change in behaviour. Examining his homilies in terms of text worlds augments our knowledge of his skilful manipulation of the believers’ emotions for educational purposes. It also demonstrates the extent to which the regular church service is a social construct and a co-operative endeavour of both homilist and congregation

Consensus versus Diktat: two models of cultural leadership in Gaza

No abstract available

Staging laughter and tears: Libanius, Chrysostom and the Riot of the Statues

No abstract available