Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

The Johannine Community as a Constructed, Imagined Community

The article takes issue with recent attempts to deny that the New Testament Gospels were addressed to distinct early Christian communities and argues that it is still meaningful to trace how these writings construct distinct early Christian identities. The author applies the social identity approach and concepts related to the symbolic construction of communities and imagined communities to explain how an ideal portrait of the community of Jesus’ followers is created in the Gospel of John. The article argues that this portrait constructs social reality rather than reflects it in any transparent way. The author demonstrates how John anchors his story of Jesus to mythical beginnings and uses various dualistic polarities to express a clear demarcation between Jesus’ followers and the rest of world. In the Gospel, the knowledge of God communicated only by Jesus and the mutual love between Jesus’ disciples function as strong symbols of belonging for Jesus’ followers but also create an imagined boundary between them and those who have not received Jesus’ revelation. The author argues that the Gospel writer has embedded his story of Jesus in a mythical framework in order to naturalize and essentialize a distinct early Christian social identity that was actually blurred and in the making.Peer reviewe

Mediterranean Diet and Cardiovascular Risk - Are We There Yet?

A Mediterranean-style diet has long been propounded to confer substantial health-promoting effects, particularly those relating to cardiovascular disease. The diet itself represents a concept that varies across the Mediterranean region but is characterized by relatively high intakes of olive oil, legumes, fruits and vegetables, unrefined cereals, fish, and red wine-all of which are purported to be beneficial at reducing cardiometabolic risk. Most of the evidence to date on the effects of the Mediterranean diet has come from large prospective cohort studies, clinical feeding studies, and small randomized trials of the effects of different components of the diet on cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors. In recent years there have been several meta-analyses published that have attempted to aggregate the large amounts of data on the topic and the first randomized trial of the effects of the Mediterranean diet on cardiovascular outcomes in a primary care setting. The findings from these studies will be discussed as so will the most recent evidence as to the biological mechanisms that may underpin the association between the Mediterranean diet and cardiovascular risk