Tasting the Little Scroll: A Sensory Analysis of Divine Interaction in Revelation 10:8–10

The ingestion of the scroll in Rev. 10:8–10 is a key element of how John experiences God’s revelation and transmits it to others. Using sensory analysis, I propose that the scroll’s ingestion represents a shared understanding of how the consumption of otherworldly food in narrative grants access to the divine realm and thereby transmits divine knowledge. The privacy of taste (as opposed to the shared senses of sight or hearing) suggests that participants in this kind of eating experience God in the most intimate way. The special way that John accesses these divine revelations—through consuming the little scroll— shows that he is granted privileged access to God’s knowledge, which, when translated into visions, allows others to participate in this intimacy

Human and divine justice in the testament of Abraham

Published in The Embroidered Bible: Studies in Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha in Honour of Michael E. Stone. Edited by Lorenzo DiTommaso, Matthias Henze, and William Adler (Studia in Veteris Testamenti Pseudepigrapha; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 201

Synthesis of empty bacterial microcompartments, directed organelle protein incorporation, and evidence of filament-associated organelle movement

Compartmentalization is an important process, since it allows the segregation of metabolic activities and, in the era of synthetic biology, represents an important tool by which defined microenvironments can be created for specific metabolic functions. Indeed, some bacteria make specialized proteinaceous metabolic compartments called bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) or metabolosomes. Here we demonstrate that the shell of the metabolosome (representing an empty BMC) can be produced within E. coil cells by the coordinated expression of genes encoding structural proteins. A plethora of diverse structures can be generated by changing the expression profile of these genes, including the formation of large axial filaments that interfere with septation. Fusing GFP to PduC, PduD, or PduV, none of which are shell proteins, allows regiospecific targeting of the reporter group to the empty BMC. Live cell imaging provides unexpected evidence of filament-associated BMC movement within the cell in the presence of Pdu

Teaching with Technology: Using Digital Humanities to Engage Student Learning

In this article, I address the challenge of fostering better student engagement with ancient material, and discuss my experience with designing a course around creative use of technology. In my recent course, The Ancient Christian Church: 54–604 CE, I employed several tactics to encourage student engagement with ancient and modern sources, which also promoted active participation at the level of pedagogy. By designing the classroom experience to allow for student-centered technology use, students were enabled to explore the ancient world in creative ways. In the end, I noticed greater student participation and higher-quality understanding of the ancient church when compared with lecture or seminar focused classroom experiences

‘When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?’ (John 7:31): Signs and the Messiah in the Gospel of John

The Gospel of John is not unique in representing Jesus as performing miracles, but the way that John uses signs to point to Jesus’s Christological identity stands out among the canonical gospels. In John, when Jesus is called χριστός—Christ, messiah—it is often in the context of a sign being performed. However, the relationship between Jesus’s signs in John and his depiction as messiah is curious, since most early Jewish texts that describe messiahs focus on other characteristics: their ability to defeat enemies, their royal lineage, or their priestly characteristics, for example. Nonetheless, there are brief references to other examples of ancient Jews considered to be messiahs who are likewise associated with miraculous events, for example, Theudas and “the Egyptian.” Given that signs are also used to point to false prophets and evil beings in other texts that depict Jesus as Christ, this paper explores the connection between the signs in John and the Gospel’s messianic Christology

The cup of God’s wrath: Libation and early Christian meal practice in Revelation

This article examines how the use of libation imagery, such as bowls (phialai) and wine, in the Book of Revelation to showcase the ways in which early Christians negotiated the language of sacrifice into their own praxis. As opposed to embracing libation imagery, as occurs in other New Testament texts (e.g., Luke’s cup in 22:20; Philippians 2:17), Revelation uses such imagery to point to wrong religious practice. Libation practice is used as a metaphor for God’s wrath (e.g., “wine poured … unmixed into the cup of [God’s] anger” in Revelation 14:10); the libations that are poured out in the vision of the Bowls of Wrath, in chapter 16, pour out plagues. The implications of this judgmental imagery for early Christian hearers of this text in Asia Minor, and for their own meal practices, are significant. I argue that the edicts against the Thyatirans and the Pergamians in the letters of Revelation refer to their use of wine in Eucharistic practice—a practice which John condemns

The departmental impact of magnetic resonance imaging in the management of cervical cancer brachytherapy: a discussion paper

This discussion paper will explore the impact of using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the treatment of cervical cancer with brachytherapy. It is written from the perspective of current departmental practice in the UK and aims to highlight the issues associated with using MRI as a tool for image guided brachytherapy planning. To support the discussion, a literature review was undertaken focussing specifically on the use of MRI in brachytherapy treatment planning for cervical cancer. Results from planning case studies and clinical series were analysed, and the literature showed that image guided brachytherapy treatment planning is a promising development. MRI assisted planning could theoretically be implemented in centres that have access to a MRI scanner. Alternative brachytherapy technologies (e.g. Computed Tomography (CT) assisted planning), and alternative radiotherapy modalities (e.g. an external beam radiotherapy boost), were not found to be superior in effect or of implementation. Although MRI shows great promise, the evidence base for MRI in brachytherapy planning for cervical cancer is currently limited and therefore careful implementation and evaluation is required. It is suggested by the authors that new methods of working are devised to ensure consistency and quality in implementation and delivery, and that outcomes are measured and audited to evaluate efficacy

H2O2 Enables Convenient Removal of RAFT End-Groups from Block Copolymer Nano-Objects Prepared via Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly in Water

RAFT-synthesized polymers are typically colored and malodorous due to the presence of the sulfur-based RAFT end-group(s). In principle, RAFT end-groups can be removed by treating molecularly dissolved copolymer chains with excess free radical initiators, amines, or oxidants. Herein we report a convenient method for the removal of RAFT end-groups from aqueous dispersions of diblock copolymer nano-objects using H2O2. This oxidant is relatively cheap, has minimal impact on the copolymer morphology, and produces benign side products that can be readily removed via dialysis. We investigate the efficiency of end-group removal for various diblock copolymer nano-objects prepared with either dithiobenzoate- or trithiocarbonate-based RAFT chain transfer agents. The advantage of using UV GPC rather than UV spectroscopy is demonstrated for assessing both the kinetics and extent of end-group removal