892 research outputs found
Putting Women's Health Care Disparities on the Map: Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities at the State Level
Assesses the racial/ethnic disparities in women's health status, access to and utilization of health care, and social factors such as poverty and gender wage gap by state. Examines how healthcare payment and worker shortages affect access to care
A multiscale approach to environment and its influence on the colour distribution of galaxies
We present a multiscale approach to measurements of galaxy density, applied
to a volume-limited sample constructed from SDSS DR5. We populate a rich
parameter space by obtaining independent measurements of density on different
scales for each galaxy, avoiding the implicit assumptions involved, e.g., in
the construction of group catalogues. As the first application of this method,
we study how the bimodality in galaxy colour distribution (u-r) depends on
multiscale density. The u-r galaxy colour distribution is described as the sum
of two gaussians (red and blue) with five parameters: the fraction of red
galaxies (f_r) and the position and width of the red and blue peaks (mu_r,
mu_b, sigma_r and sigma_b). Galaxies mostly react to their smallest scale (<
0.5 Mpc) environments: in denser environments red galaxies are more common
(larger f_r), redder (larger mu_r) and with a narrower distribution (smaller
sigma_r), while blue galaxies are redder (larger mu_b) but with a broader
distribution (larger sigma_b). There are residual correlations of f_r and mu_b
with 0.5 - 1 Mpc scale density, which imply that total or partial truncation of
star formation can relate to a galaxy's environment on these scales. Beyond 1
Mpc (0.5 Mpc for mu_r) there are no positive correlations with density. However
f_r (mu_r) anti-correlates with density on >2 (1) Mpc scales at fixed density
on smaller scales. We examine these trends qualitatively in the context of the
halo model, utilizing the properties of haloes within which the galaxies are
embedded, derived by Yang et al, 2007 and applied to a group catalogue. This
yields an excellent description of the trends with multiscale density,
including the anti-correlations on large scales, which map the region of
accretion onto massive haloes. Thus we conclude that galaxies become red only
once they have been accreted onto haloes of a certain mass.Comment: 22 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS
Apotropaic Humor: The Fresco of Priapus in the House of the Vettii
A fresco at the entrance of the House of the Vettii in Pompeii that depicts the god Priapus weighing his semiturgid phallus against a bag of coins has plausibly been interpreted as an apotropaic image, protecting the domus against the baneful influence of the evil eye. This article points to humorous elements of the fresco that have been largely overlooked in previous scholarship and suggests that these elements were understood to enhance the apotropaic effectiveness of the image. Humorous elements in the fresco discussed include artistic disproportionality (i.e., the grossly enlarged phallus), the use of inversion (a semiturgid rather than fully erect phallus), partial gender reversal (Priapus is dressed in matronly garb), and the transformation of the function of Priapus’s member from penality to mensuration
The Expressive Prepuce: Philo’s Defense of Judaic Circumcision in Greek and Roman Contexts
This article examines Philo of Alexandria's discussions of the practice of circumcision in light of conventions in Greek and Roman art and literature associating the ritual practice with unrestrained lust and barbarity. Philo interprets circumcision as a metaphor for the excision of the passions through the contemplation of scriptural texts in a philosophical mode, and supplies environmental and medical rationales to justify the practice
Economics and Early Christianity
Review essay covering eleven books published from 2012 to 2016 in the area of early Christianity and its relation to economic issues
A Relational Account of Structure and Agency via ‘Lived Ancient Religion’ and the ‘Processing Approach,’ with a Case Study of Circumcision in Ancient Judaism
Addressing studies of the concepts of structure and agency, in 2008 sociologist François Dépelteau called for a ‘relational approach’ that compared the ‘trans-actions’ of actors, but notably left open the question of how such a study should be conducted. The present article attempts to operationalise Dépelteau’s call, albeit in a manner tailored specifically to meet the needs of researchers in the area of ‘lived ancient religion’. The study of ‘trans-action’ is operationalised here by employing key terms drawn from Staf Hellemans’s ‘processing approach’ to the study of religion, in which agents ‘process’ their environments through selection, modification, assembly, performance, integration, and resonance. In the study of the religions of Mediterranean antiquity, questions of structure and agency can be addressed relationally by comparing the performances of specific actors, to the extent that such performances are accessible in the material evidence; for example, in the form of texts, statuary, art, and architecture. In an attempt to demonstrate the utility of this approach, a case study
of the ritual of circumcision in ancient Judaism is offered
Review of Jennifer A. Quigley, Divine Accounting: Theo-Economics in Early Christianity, Yale University Press, 2021.
Review of Jennifer A. Quigley, Divine Accounting: Theo-Economics in Early Christianity, Yale University Press, 2021
Grain rotation and lattice deformation during photoinduced chemical reactions revealed by in-situ X-ray nanodiffraction
In-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
have been used to investigate many physical science phenomena, ranging from
phase transitions, chemical reaction and crystal growth to grain boundary
dynamics. A major limitation of in-situ XRD and TEM is a compromise that has to
be made between spatial and temporal resolution. Here, we report the
development of in-situ X-ray nanodiffraction to measure atomic-resolution
diffraction patterns from single grains with up to 5 millisecond temporal
resolution, and make the first real-time observation of grain rotation and
lattice deformation during photoinduced chemical reactions. The grain rotation
and lattice deformation associated with the chemical reactions are quantified
to be as fast as 3.25 rad./sec. and as large as 0.5 Angstroms, respectively.
The ability to measure atomic-resolution diffraction patterns from individual
grains with several millisecond temporal resolution is expected to find broad
applications in materials science, physics, chemistry, and nanoscience.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
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