Jesus as News: Crises of Health and Overpopulation in Galilee

What made Jesus ‘news’? The key reason given in Mark and Matthew is that Jesus was an effective healer. In Q, likewise, Jesus fulfils John’s prediction of a Coming One who will baptize in Holy Spirit and fire by means of his healing mission. Luke complicates this slightly by emphasizing Jesus’ teaching on social justice, and John conceptualizes the healings as ‘signs’, but both also indicate that Jesus was news because he healed people. Thus, Galilee was in the grip of a chronic health crisis which people – both rich and poor – experienced as stress, and Jesus was news because he provided a solution. While being an exorcistic healer was not unusual, Jesus’ healing apparently was, both in its effectiveness and in its approach, involving physical touch. We now know that affective touch has a positive effect on the immune system. Disease crises in Galilee can be linked to the great density of its population, associated with widespread rural poverty and environmental degradation. Previous assessments of population in Galilee have hitherto been much too small.

Study on the synthesis and application of BaTiO3 nanospheres

In the present study, BaTiO3 nanospheres with a uniform particle size of around 100 nm were prepared by a hydrothermal route using Ba(OH)2.8H2O and TiO2 nanoparticles. Experimental results revealed that the main influencing factors for the formation of BaTiO3 nanospheres were molar Ba/Ti ratio (R Ba/Ti), hydrothermal temperature, and time. Highly-dispersed BaTiO3 nanospheres (100 nm) were obtained under the optimum hydrothermal conditions at temperature = 200°C, time = 12 h, and R Ba/Ti = 1.5. Under these optimum conditions, BaTiO3 ceramics were synthesized from the as-prepared BaTiO3 nanospheres, and their structural, microstructural, and electrical properties were investigated. The BaTiO3 ceramics exhibited a high dielectric constant of 7300 at a Curie temperature of 125 °C, great density (ρ), 5.83 g cm–3; large dielectric constant at room temperature er = 3586 and tan d = 0.03, high remanant polarization P r = 10.6 μC cm–2, low coercive field E c = 4.5 kVcm–1.

Enlightenment From Ancient Wisdom And Experience Of Urban Canal System Against Urban Waterlogging

This paper researches on the causes of the urban waterlogging after rainstorm, and studying on wisdom and experiences of urban canal system against urban waterlogging in ancient China. It is shown that urban canal system was of organic and multi-functions, being titaled as “the blood circulation of city” and that rivers were as the trunk drainage canals, with great density and section for flood passing, tremendous storage capacity, and perfect management. The Forbidden City and Ganzhou are two examples. Enlightenment from ancient wisdom and experiences will help us to solve urban waterlogging problems.

Growth response of mixed beech forests to climate change, various management and game pressure in Central Europe

The growth, structure and production of mixed beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) forests were analysed in the Broumovsko Protected Landscape Area, Czech Republic. The objective of the paper was to evaluate stand structure, timber production and dynamics of forests with historically different silvicultural practices in relation to climate conditions, management and game damage. The results indicate that scree forests (coppices and coppices with standards) were stands with high-rich species diversity and structure compared to herb-rich beech forests (high forests) with higher timber production. The Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) was the most sensitive tree species compared to low growth variability in European beech. The climate factors had the highest effect on radial growth from June to August. Natural regeneration showed great density potential (13,880–186,462 recruits·ha^–1), especially in expansion of maples and European ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.). However, recruits were seriously limiting by damage caused by hoofed game, especially in silver fir (Abies alba Mill.; 53% browsing damage), wych elm (Ulmus glabra Hudson; 51%) and rowan (Sorbus aucuparia L.; 50%).

Evaluation of niche adaptation features by genome data mining approach of Escherichia coli urinary and gastrointestinal strains

Background. Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are among most common infections in humans. The vast majority are caused by Escherichia coli, occasionally responsible for severe clinical manifestations. Although the species frequently adheres and colonizes the bladder mucosa, its reservoir is the host gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the study was designed to evaluate genomic features for niche adaptation of urinary and gastrointestinal strains of E. coli by data mining approach. Results. In the E. coli strains, the repertoire of genes was higher than those found in previous studies, and the majority of genes associated to primary metabolism did not depend of bacteria niche, with exception of cell cycle-division, cell motility and secondary metabolite metabolism. Urinary tract isolates of E. coli had great density of virulence and resistance genes carried by prophages. Conclusion. The urinary and gastrointestinal strains of E. coli evaluated in the study presented an open pan-genome, with groups of functional annotation genes associated to specific niches. In addition, gastrointestinal isolates of E. coli were demonstrated as important reservoir of resistance genes.

Evaluation of niche adaptation features by genome data mining approach of Escherichia coli urinary and gastrointestinal strains

Background. Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are among most common infections in humans. The vast majority are caused by Escherichia coli, occasionally responsible for severe clinical manifestations. Although the species frequently adheres and colonizes the bladder mucosa, its reservoir is the host gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, the study was designed to evaluate genomic features for niche adaptation of urinary and gastrointestinal strains of E. coli by data mining approach. Results. In the E. coli strains, the repertoire of genes was higher than those found in previous studies, and the majority of genes associated to primary metabolism did not depend of bacteria niche, with exception of cell cycle-division, cell motility and secondary metabolite metabolism. Urinary tract isolates of E. coli had great density of virulence and resistance genes carried by prophages. Conclusion. The urinary and gastrointestinal strains of E. coli evaluated in the study presented an open pan-genome, with groups of functional annotation genes associated to specific niches. In addition, gastrointestinal isolates of E. coli were demonstrated as important reservoir of resistance genes.

Automatic Synthesis of Anthropomorphic Pulmonary CT Phantoms

The great density and structural complexity of pulmonary vessels and airways impose limitations on the generation of accurate reference standards, which are critical in training and in the validation of image processing methods for features such as pulmonary vessel segmentation or artery-vein (AV) separations. The design of synthetic computed tomography (CT) images of the lung could overcome these difficulties by providing a database of pseudorealistic cases in a constrained and controlled scenario where each part of the image is differentiated unequivocally. This work demonstrates a complete framework to generate computational anthropomorphic CT phantoms of the human lung automatically. Starting from biological and image-based knowledge about the topology and relationships between structures, the system is able to generate synthetic pulmonary arteries, veins, and airways using iterative growth methods that can be merged into a final simulated lung with realistic features. Visual examination and quantitative measurements of intensity distributions, dispersion of structures and relationships between pulmonary air and blood flow systems show good correspondence between real and synthetic lungs.

A population study of the Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, at Point Judith Pond, RI

The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus (De Haan), has recently invaded the Atlantic coast of the United States. Its large populations and continued fecundity are indicative of its successful establishment. Competitive interaction with other coastal crab species has been a subject of many studies. For example, in ex situ experiments, H. sanguineus has been shown to be superior to a long-established invader: the green crab, Carcinus maenas. Because H. sanguineus has been found in such great density on some shorelines, it has been postulated that it poses an ecological threat due to its potential to disrupt native and established species. However, many investigators have noted the invasive crab’s limiting habitat requirement for complex, rocky shorelines. After observation of Point Judith Pond, RI, we assessed whether there were enough rocky areas to support significant populations of H. sanguineus that might be disruptive to C. maenas. Using a photo-quadrat system alongside software analysis, transects were laid across areas of interest. H. sanguineus were collected and counted in each quadrat, allowing habitat metrics obtained from the photographs, such as rock size and cover, to be correlated with the density of crabs, their size, and sex. These data, paired with the observation that Point Judith Pond has ample habitat for C. maenas to be displaced to, led us to conclude that the H. sanguineus population in Point Judith Pond, RI, is likely not capable of causing severe disruption of the native C. maenas population as it currently stands, and that this trend may extend to other estuarine systems.

A population study of the Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, at Point Judith Pond, RI

The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus (De Haan), has recently invaded the Atlantic coast of the United States. Its large populations and continued fecundity are indicative of its successful establishment. Competitive interaction with other coastal crab species has been a subject of many studies. For example, in ex situ experiments, H. sanguineus has been shown to be superior to a long-established invader: the green crab, Carcinus maenas. Because H. sanguineus has been found in such great density on some shorelines, it has been postulated that it poses an ecological threat due to its potential to disrupt native and established species. However, many investigators have noted the invasive crab’s limiting habitat requirement for complex, rocky shorelines. After observation of Point Judith Pond, RI, we assessed whether there were enough rocky areas to support significant populations of H. sanguineus that might be disruptive to C. maenas. Using a photo-quadrat system alongside software analysis, transects were laid across areas of interest. H. sanguineus were collected and counted in each quadrat, allowing habitat metrics obtained from the photographs, such as rock size and cover, to be correlated with the density of crabs, their size, and sex. These data, paired with the observation that Point Judith Pond has ample habitat for C. maenas to be displaced to, led us to conclude that the H. sanguineus population in Point Judith Pond, RI, is likely not capable of causing severe disruption of the native C. maenas population as it currently stands, and that this trend may extend to other estuarine systems.