Thou Shalt Not Kill?

Very little has been said about the homicide law of the Decalogue. Upon reading the sixth commandment, it is often assumed that the prohibition of killing is absolute. If this is so, then serious problems are raised, not only for an act of killing itself, but also for things like self-defense, punishment by death, abortion, and suicide. It is the purpose of this paper to deal in the following manner with the issue of killing: The first task is to begin with the obvious starting point, the sixth commandment itself. After noting the language used, as well as Hebrew expressions not used, presumably on purpose, it will be seen that the prohibition of killing applies only to the shedding of the innocent blood of a human being within the covenant community. The second chapter will explore an additional aspect of killing, that is, abortion. There is some discussion as to whether or not Moses directly addressed the issue and if, in fact, abortion is considered to be the taking of innocent life. It is the position of this paper that abortion is not, according to Mosaic law, an act of murder. The third chapter, in an attempt to deal with the question of suicide, will have to go outside of the Pentateuch for evidence since Moses is silent on this point. Indeed, information in the entire Old Testament is scant and it appears that no completely satisfactory answer can be provided. Chapter four will examine several cases in which the lawcode is applied, and then the paper will summarize the conclusions reached. The conclusions of this paper are that (1) all life is from God and belongs to him, (2) the shedding of the innocent blood of a covenant community member is illegal, (3) other types of killing, such as vengeance or punishment, rather than going contrary to the lawcode, are required by it, (4) the killing of a non-human or a non-covenant community member was accepted as sometimes being necessary and thus carried out with prudence

Granzyme K mediates IL-23-dependent inflammation and keratinocyte proliferation in psoriasis

Psoriasis is an inflammatory disease with systemic manifestations that most commonly presents as itchy, erythematous, scaly plaques on extensor surfaces. Activation of the IL-23/IL-17 pro-inflammatory signaling pathway is a hallmark of psoriasis and its inhibition is key to clinical management. Granzyme K (GzmK) is an immune cell-secreted serine protease elevated in inflammatory and proliferative skin conditions. In the present study, human psoriasis lesions exhibited elevated GzmK levels compared to non-lesional psoriasis and healthy control skin. In an established murine model of imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis, genetic loss of GzmK significantly reduced disease severity, as determined by delayed plaque formation, decreased erythema and desquamation, reduced epidermal thickness, and inflammatory infiltrate. Molecular characterization in vitro revealed that GzmK contributed to macrophage secretion of IL-23 as well as PAR-1-dependent keratinocyte proliferation. These findings demonstrate that GzmK enhances IL-23-driven inflammation as well as keratinocyte proliferation to exacerbate psoriasis severity

Novel phages of healthy skin metaviromes from South Africa

Recent skin metagenomic studies have investigated the harbored viral diversity and its possible influence on healthy skin microbial populations, and tried to establish global patterns of skin-phage evolution. However, the detail associated with the phages that potentially play a role in skin health has not been investigated. While skin metagenome and -metavirome studies have indicated that the skin virome is highly site specific and shows marked interpersonal variation, they have not assessed the presence/absence of individual phages. Here, we took a semi-culture independent approach (metaviromic) to better understand the composition of phage communities on skin from South African study participants. Our data set adds over 130 new phage species of the skin to existing databases. We demonstrated that identical phages were present on different individuals and in different body sites, and we conducted a detailed analysis of the structural organization of these phages. We further found that a bacteriophage related to the Staphylococcus capitis phage Stb20 may be a common skin commensal virus potentially regulating its host and its activities on the ski

CRISPR-Cas orthologues and variants: optimizing the repertoire, specificity and delivery of genome engineering tools

Robust and cost-effective genome editing in a diverse array of cells and model organisms is now possible thanks to the discovery of the RNA-guided endonucleases of the CRISPR-Cas system. The commonly used Cas9 of Streptococcus pyogenes shows high levels of activity but, depending on the application, has been associated with some shortcomings. Firstly, the enzyme has been shown to cause mutagenesis at genomic sequences resembling the target sequence. Secondly, the stringent requirement for a specific motif adjacent to the selected target site can limit the target range of this enzyme. Lastly, the physical size of Cas9 challenges the efficient delivery of genomic engineering tools based on this enzyme as viral particles for potential therapeutic applications. Related and parallel strategies have been employed to address these issues. Taking advantage of the wealth of structural information that is becoming available for CRISPR-Cas effector proteins, Cas9 has been redesigned by mutagenizing key residues contributing to activity and target recognition. The protein has also been shortened and redesigned into component subunits in an attempt to facilitate its efficient delivery. Furthermore, the CRISPR-Cas toolbox has been expanded by exploring the properties of Cas9 orthologues and other related effector proteins from diverse bacterial species, some of which exhibit different target site specificities and reduced molecular size. It is hoped that the improvements in accuracy, target range and efficiency of delivery will facilitate the therapeutic application of these site-specific nucleases

Global optimization of 8-10 atom palladium-iridium nanoalloys at the DFT level

The global optimization of PdnIr(N–n) N = 8–10 clusters has been performed using the Birmingham Cluster Genetic Algorithm (BCGA). Structures were evaluated directly using density functional theory (DFT), which has allowed the identification of Ir and Ir-rich PdIr cubic global minima, displaying a strong tendency to segregate. The ability of the searches to find the putative global minimum has been assessed using a homotop search method, which shows a high degree of success. The role of spin in the system has been considered through a series of spin-restricted reoptimizations of BCGA-DFT minima. The preferred spin of the clusters is found to vary widely with composition, showing no overall trend in lowest-energy multiplicities

Paediatric schistosomiasis:What we know and what we need to know

Schistosomiasis affects over 200 million people worldwide, most of whom are children. Research and control strategies directed at preschool-aged children (PSAC), i.e., ≤5 years old, have lagged behind those in older children and adults. With the recent WHO revision of the schistosomiasis treatment guidelines to include PSAC, and the recognition of gaps in our current knowledge on the disease and its treatment in this age group, there is now a concerted effort to address these shortcomings. Global and national schistosome control strategies are yet to include PSAC in treatment schedules. Maximum impact of schistosome treatment programmes will be realised through effective treatment of PSAC. In this review, we (i) discuss the current knowledge on the dynamics and consequences of paediatric schistosomiasis and (ii) identify knowledge and policy gaps relevant to these areas and to the successful control of schistosome infection and disease in this age group. Herein, we highlight risk factors, immune mechanisms, pathology, and optimal timing for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of paediatric schistosomiasis. We also discuss the tools required for treating schistosomiasis in PSAC and strategies for accessing them for treatment

Determination of limiting currents synchronous machines with surface mounted permanent magnets

Ocena zagrożenia utraty własności magnetycznych przez magnesy trwałe w maszynach synchronicznych jest szczególnie ważna w stanach dynamicznych, przy stosunkowo znacznych wartościach prądów. Istnieje potrzeba wyznaczenia granicznych wartości prądów, przy których nie wystąpi jeszcze zagrożenie demagnetyzacji w żadnej części magnesów trwałych. W pracy przedstawiono sposób wyznaczania strefy bezpiecznej pracy maszyn synchronicznych z magnesami umieszczonymi powierzchniowo na wirniku, na podstawie bardzo uproszczonych analiz pola w obszarze magnesów trwałych. Pokazano także, że rozkład pola magnetycznego w maszynie może być efektywnie obliczany metodą całek brzegowych, co może stanowić istotne uzupełnienie metodyki obliczeń projektowych.A risk of loss the magnetic feature of permanent magnets in synchronous machines should be evaluated. It is very important at dynamic state that is characterized by relatively important armature currents. It is need to determine the limiting currents for which the demagnetization does not occur at any part of magnet body. A method of delimiting the special safety zone is presented in the paper. The synchronous machines with permanent magnets being fixed externally upon a rotor yoke are concerned. The first attempt is performed on basis of rather simple one-directional field analysis. It is also shown that it may be improved by the boundary-integral approach to determine the magnetic field within an air-gap as well as in the magnet pieces

Design of a “Cobot Tactile Display” for Accessing Virtual Diagrams by Blind and Visually Impaired Users

Access to graphical information plays a very significant role in today’s world. Access to this information can be particularly limiting for individuals who are blind or visually impaired (BVIs). In this work, we present the design of a low-cost, mobile tactile display that also provides robotic assistance/guidance using haptic virtual fixtures in a shared control paradigm to aid in tactile diagram exploration. This work is part of a larger project intended to improve the ability of BVI users to explore tactile graphics on refreshable displays (particularly exploration time and cognitive load) through the use of robotic assistance/guidance. The particular focus of this paper is to share information related to the design and development of an affordable and compact device that may serve as a solution towards this overall goal. The proposed system uses a small omni-wheeled robot base to allow for smooth and unlimited movements in the 2D plane. Sufficient position and orientation accuracy is obtained by using a low-cost dead reckoning approach that combines data from an optical mouse sensor and inertial measurement unit. A low-cost force-sensing system and an admittance control model are used to allow shared control between the Cobot and the user, with the addition of guidance/virtual fixtures to aid in diagram exploration. Preliminary semi-structured interviews, with four blind or visually impaired participants who were allowed to use the Cobot, found that the system was easy to use and potentially useful for exploring virtual diagrams tactually