Hippocratic Diagnosis, Solomonic Therapy, Roman Amulets: Epilepsy, Exorcism, and the Diffusion of a Jewish Tradition in the Roman World

Two contrasting portraits of exorcism in the Roman period for patients with symptoms consistent with epilepsy, drawn by Josephus (A.J. 8.45–47) and Lucian (Philops. §16), illustrate a substantial albeit contested diffusion of that ancient technique from the Jewish tradition to a wider Mediterranean public. The process is reflected in a similarly complex traditional background and textual composition of a group of inscribed Greek amulets for epilepsy. A sidelight on attitudes towards the practice of exorcism, on its way to wider popularity, and the conception of epilepsy is cast by these amulets, which have not yet been studied as a group. Their texts witness the application of precise Greek medical terminology, yet to an end, and in a compositional company, that authors in the Hippocratic tradition would have rejected. More generally, the artifacts offer a cross-section of amuletic practice and its diversity in the Roman and late ancient periods

An Assemblage of Coptic Magical Texts on Leather and Their Traditional Context (P.Brit.Mus. inv. no. EA 10122, 10376, 10391, 10434, 10414)

Report on the re-edition of an assemblage of Coptic magical texts on leather manuscripts from Byzantine or early Islamic Egypt, possibly from the Theban region, now in the British Museum. Select new readings and proposals for interpretative context, in the history of pre-modern religion and magic and in the practice of the ancient collector(s) of the manuscripts, are presented

The Chronokratores in Greek Astrology, in Light of a New Papyrus Text: Oxford, Bodl. MS Gr. Class. B 24 (P) 1–2

This article is a study of the system of “time-lords” (χρονοκράτορες) in Greek astrology, by which forecasts were given on the basis of the division of the lifespan into periods of 129 months, ruled by the planets in succession. The origins of the system, which probably lie in ancient Egyptian astrology, remain obscure, but a more detailed picture of its development and use in the Greco-Roman period can be gained from literary sources alongside applications in the papyrological record, including a substantial new text of the second century CE published here with translation and commentary

Notes on Magical Papyri: Part I

This article collects new proposals for the reading and understanding of two Greek magical formularies developed in work on the Greek and Egyptian Magical Formularies: Text and Translation (GEMF): a narrative incantation motif involving Zeus and, as argued here, a personified part of the human body to be healed by the procedure (“Conduit”) in PGM IV (GEMF 57), and a witness to a complex of invocations of the god Bes in SM II 90 (GEMF 62)

A Practical Guide to Implementing Off-Axis Stereo Projection Using Existing Ray Tracing Libraries

Virtual reality (VR) renderers driving CAVEs and similar immersive environments use the off-axis stereo camera model so that a tracked user can move freely in front of the projection plane. Geometrically, off-axis projection results in asymmetric viewing frusta and generalizes the ubiquitous perspective camera model to support positioning off the center of the projection plane. VR renderers often integrate with larger visualization systems that rely on libraries for position tracking and pose estimates, for ray tracing-based rendering, and for user interaction. We demonstrate different strategies to implement off-axis stereo projection within the constraints of given VR applications and ray tracing libraries. We aim for minimal to no adjustments required to the internal camera representation of such libraries. We include host and shader code with the article that can be directly integrated in custom applications

Optical probes of intradiskal processes in rod photoreceptors I: Light-scattering study of ATP-dependent dark reactions.

ATP can cause dramatic structural changes in the outer segment of rod photoreceptors. These changes can be visualized by means of a concomitant light-scattering signal AD, a decrease in scattered light intensity of over 20%. The large size of the signal suggests that the major structural changes occur. The underlying molecular events may reflect an important, yet still unknown, part of the photoreceptor machinery. AD signals reflect ATPase-driven transmembrane events which occur in and at the disk membrane. Their only structural prerequisite is the structural integrity of the disk compartment. The angular dependence of AD, which can be mimicked by an osmotically-induced disk-swelling, suggests that the disk compartment swells during the production of the AD signal. AD signals proceed with first-order kinetics (half-life = 1 min at 20 °C and ATP concentrations of greater than 100 /gmM) and are accompanied by the hydrolysis of approximately 4 mol ATP (mol rhodopsin)−1. The AD signal is inhibited by a number of transport ATPase inhibitors (quercetin, NBD·Cl, vanadate, DCCD), but not by oligomycin, azide and ouabain. The sensitivity to DCCD, together with the fact that except magnesium no other cation has to be present, points to a proton translocation. This proton transport appears to be electrogenic, since AD signals require the presence of a permeant anion. In physiological saline this is chloride, and the chloride flux is facilitated by a DIDS-sensitive anion transport unit in the disk membrane

Immersive ExaBrick: Visualizing Large AMR Data in the CAVE

Rendering large adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) data in real-time in virtual reality (VR) environments is a complex challenge that demands sophisticated techniques and tools. The proposed solution harnesses the ExaBrick framework and integrates it as a plugin in COVISE, a robust visualization system equipped with the VR-centric OpenCOVER render module. This setup enables direct navigation and interaction within the rendered volume in a VR environment. The user interface incorporates rendering options and functions, ensuring a smooth and interactive experience. We show that high-quality volume rendering of AMR data in VR environments at interactive rates is possible using GPUs