The road from Damascus: the impact of Paul\u27s conversion on his life, thought, and ministry

Reviewed Book: Longenecker, Richard N. The road from Damascus: the impact of Paul\u27s conversion on his life, thought, and ministry. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997. McMaster New Testament studies; 2

Litium-ontginning uit Zimbabwiese petaliet met behulp van ammoniumbifluoried

Extraction of Li2CO3 from Zimbabwean petalite, from the Bikita deposit, was studied using ammonium bifluoride (ABF) digestion at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 600 oC, and gram quantities of ore. ABF digestion bypasses the conventional hightemperature conversion of the mineral to β-spodumene before acid roasting. The process reaction takes place at surprisingly low temperatures – even at room temperature with slurry formation due to the release of water. Below the melting point of ABF, the main products are LiF, AlF3, K2NaAlF6, and (NH4)2SiF6. (NH4)2SiF6 decomposes readily to form ammonia and gaseous SiF4. At higher temperature, the products are cryolithionite (Li3Na3Al2F12) and eucryptite (LiAlSiO4). The fluoride solids are not readily soluble in water and may be roasted in sulfuric acid at relatively mild conditions for a few tens of minutes, then water leached, with 99 % pure lithium carbonate easily recovered from the aqueous phase.The Fluorochemical Expansion Initiative (FEI).http://www.satnt.ac.zaam2022Chemical Engineerin

Independent and complementary bio-functional effects of CuO and Ga2O3 incorporated as therapeutic agents in silica- and phosphate-based bioactive glasses

The incorporation of therapeutic-capable ions into bioactive glasses (BGs), either based on silica (SBGs) or phosphate (PBGs), is currently envisaged as a proficient path for facilitating bone regeneration. In conjunction with this view, the single and complementary structural and bio-functional roles of CuO and Ga2O3 (in the 2–5 mol% range) were assessed, by deriving a series of SBG and PBG formulations starting from the parent glass systems, FastOs®BG – 38.5SiO2—36.1CaO—5.6P2O5—19.2MgO—0.6CaF2, and 50.0P2O5—35.0CaO—10.0Na2O—5.0 Fe2O3 (mol%), respectively, using the process of melt-quenching. The inter-linked physico-chemistry – biological response of BGs was assessed in search of bio-functional triggers. Further light was shed on the structural role – as network former or modifier – of Cu and Ga, immersed in SBG and PBG matrices. The preliminary biological performance was surveyed in vitro by quantification of Cu and Ga ion release under homeostatic conditions, cytocompatibility assays (in fibroblast cell cultures) and antibacterial tests (against Staphylococcus aureus). The similar (Cu) and dissimilar (Ga) structural roles in the SBG and PBG vitreous networks governed their release. Namely, Cu ions were leached in similar concentrations (ranging from 10–35 ppm and 50–110 ppm at BG doses of 5 and 50 mg/mL, respectively) for both type of BGs, while the release of Ga ions was 1–2 orders of magnitude lower in the case of SBGs (i.e., 0.2–6 ppm) compared to PBGs (i.e., 9–135 ppm). This was attributed to the network modifier role of Cu in both types of BGs, and conversely, to the network former (SBGs) and network modifier (PBGs) roles of Ga. All glasses were cytocompatible at a dose of 5 mg/mL, while at the same concentration the antimicrobial efficiency was found to be accentuated by the coupled release of Cu and Ga ions from SBG. By collective assessment, the most prominent candidate material for the further development of implant coatings and bone graft substitutes was delineated as the 38.5SiO2—34.1CaO—5.6P2O5—16.2MgO—0.6CaF2—2.0CuO—3.0Ga2O3 (mol%) SBG system, which yielded moderate Cu and Ga ion release, excellent cytocompatibility and marked antibacterial efficacy.publishe

Dominant suppression of inflammation via targeted mutation of the mRNA destabilizing protein tristetraprolin

In myeloid cells, the mRNA-destabilizing protein tristetraprolin (TTP) is induced and extensively phosphorylated in response to LPS. To investigate the role of two specific phosphorylations, at serines 52 and 178, we created a mouse strain in which those residues were replaced by nonphosphorylatable alanine residues. The mutant form of TTP was constitutively degraded by the proteasome and therefore expressed at low levels, yet it functioned as a potent mRNA destabilizing factor and inhibitor of the expression of many inflammatory mediators. Mice expressing only the mutant form of TTP were healthy and fertile, and their systemic inflammatory responses to LPS were strongly attenuated. Adaptive immune responses and protection against infection by Salmonella typhimurium were spared. A single allele encoding the mutant form of TTP was sufficient for enhanced mRNA degradation and underexpression of inflammatory mediators. Therefore, the equilibrium between unphosphorylated and phosphorylated TTP is a critical determinant of the inflammatory response, and manipulation of this equilibrium may be a means of treating inflammatory pathologies

Epsilon iron oxide: origin of the high coercivity stable low Curie temperature magnetic phase found in heated archeological materials

The identification of epsilon iron oxide (ɛ-Fe2O3) as the low Curie temperature high coercivity stable phase (HCSLT) carrying the remanence in heated archeological samples has been achieved in samples from two archeological sites that exhibited the clearest evidence of the presence of the HCSLT. This uncommon iron oxide has been detected by Confocal Raman Spectroscopy (CRS) and characterized by rock magnetic measurements. Large numbers of ɛ-Fe2O3 microaggregates (in CO) or isolated clusters (in HEL) could be recognized, distributed over the whole sample, and embedded within the ceramic matrix, along with hematite and pseudobrookite and with minor amounts of anatase, rutile, and maghemite. Curie temperature estimates of around 170°C for CO and 190°C for HEL are lower than for pure, synthetic ɛ-Fe2O3 (227°C). This, together with structural differences between the Raman spectra of the archeologically derived and synthetic samples, is likely due to Ti substitution in the ɛ-Fe2O3 crystal lattice. The γ-Fe2O3-ɛ-Fe2O3-α-Fe2O3 transformation series has been recognized in heated archeological samples, which may have implications in terms of their thermal history and in the factors that govern the formation of ɛ-Fe2O3

EBP1 and DRBP76/NF90 binding proteins are included in the major histocompatibility complex class II RNA operon

Major histocompatibility complex class II mRNAs encode heterodimeric proteins involved in the presentation of exogenous antigens during an immune response. Their 3′UTRs bind a protein complex in which we identified two factors: EBP1, an ErbB3 receptor-binding protein and DRBP76, a double-stranded RNA binding nuclear protein, also known as nuclear factor 90 (NF90). Both are well-characterized regulatory factors of several mRNA molecules processing. Using either EBP1 or DRBP76/NF90-specific knockdown experiments, we established that the two proteins play a role in regulating the expression of HLA-DRA, HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DQA1 mRNAs levels. Our study represents the first indication of the existence of a functional unit that includes different transcripts involved in the adaptive immune response. We propose that the concept of ‘RNA operon’ may be suitable for our system in which MHCII mRNAs are modulated via interaction of their 3′UTR with same proteins

Cooperation between Referees and Authors Increases Peer Review Accuracy

Peer review is fundamentally a cooperative process between scientists in a community who agree to review each other's work in an unbiased fashion. Peer review is the foundation for decisions concerning publication in journals, awarding of grants, and academic promotion. Here we perform a laboratory study of open and closed peer review based on an online game. We show that when reviewer behavior was made public under open review, reviewers were rewarded for refereeing and formed significantly more cooperative interactions (13% increase in cooperation, P = 0.018). We also show that referees and authors who participated in cooperative interactions had an 11% higher reviewing accuracy rate (P = 0.016). Our results suggest that increasing cooperation in the peer review process can lead to a decreased risk of reviewing errors

Nano-Architecture of nitrogen-doped graphene films synthesized from a solid CN source

New synthesis routes to tailor graphene properties by controlling the concentration and chemical configuration of dopants show great promise. Herein we report the direct reproducible synthesis of 2-3% nitrogen-doped ‘few-layer’ graphene from a solid state nitrogen carbide a-C:N source synthesized by femtosecond pulsed laser ablation. Analytical investigations, including synchrotron facilities, made it possible to identify the configuration and chemistry of the nitrogen-doped graphene films. Auger mapping successfully quantified the 2D distribution of the number of graphene layers over the surface, and hence offers a new original way to probe the architecture of graphene sheets. The films mainly consist in a Bernal ABA stacking three-layer architecture, with a layer number distribution ranging from 2 to 6. Nitrogen doping affects the charge carrier distribution but has no significant effects on the number of lattice defects or disorders, compared to undoped graphene synthetized in similar conditions. Pyridinic, quaternary and pyrrolic nitrogen are the dominant chemical configurations, pyridinic N being preponderant at the scale of the film architecture. This work opens highly promising perspectives for the development of self-organized nitrogen-doped graphene materials, as synthetized from solid carbon nitride, with various functionalities, and for the characterization of 2D materials using a significant new methodology