Debating Temple and Torah in the Second Temple Period: Theological and Political Aspects of the Final Redaction(s) of the Pentateuch

Contrary to the current majority view, the formation process of early Judaism(s) reflects less an innovative achievement of an elite group of Judean exiles than a complex and multilayered process of negotiation between diverse groups. The most prominent and well researched groups that come to mind here are the Judean and the Samarian group(s). This thesis leads to the corollary that the late texts of the Hebrew Bible reflect this debate, especially with regard to the two most impactful religious and cultural-historical achievements of the post-exilic epoch, namely the temple, the cult centralization and the Torah. To illustrate this argument, article deals with the Judean and Samarian involvement in the production of the Pentateuch/Hexateuch. The article focuses on two particular Pentateuchal traditions regarding cult centralization, the late Persian redactional additions Deut 11:29–30; Deut 27* and the late Priestly texts. This uncovers a crucial debate revolving around the two important post-exilic institutions of temple and Torah, which, in turn, helps to understand the redactional processes of the final redaction(s) of the Pentateuch. In sum, the article provides a necessary clarification and modification of the modern theory of the so-called Common Torah, that is the Pentateuch understood as a Judean-Samarian co-production

Gottesfürchtige Seeleute (Jon 1,5–16) und bußfertige Feinde (Jon 3,5–10) : Zwei unterschiedliche Modelle des »Heil für die Völker« im Jonabuch

The article analyzes the seamen’s conversion in Jon 1:5–16 and the Ninivites’ conversion in Jon 3:5–19 and compares them with each other. The author concludes that two different models of attribution to ancient Judaism are presented in the context of this prophetic didactic narrative. They are presented in the context of multiple applications of scriptural traditions (especially Joel and Jer; as well as the formula of grace Ex 34:6 f.). In the background is the debate about the attribution options for »proselytes« (Jon 1) and »sympathizers« of Hellenistic Judaism (Jon 3). Der Beitrag analysiert die Konversion der Seeleute in Jon 1,5–16 und die Umkehr der Niniviten in Jon 3,5–19 und vergleicht sie miteinander. Hensel kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass zwei unterschiedliche Modelle der Zuordnung zum antiken Judentum im Rahmen dieser prophetischen Lehrerzählung vorgestellt und im Kontext vielfältiger Applikationen von Schrifttraditionen (insbesondere Joel und Jer; sowie der Gnadenformel Ex 34,6 f.) verhandelt werden. Im Hintergrund steht die Debatte um die Zuordnungsoptionen für »Proselyten« (Jon 1) und »Sympathisanten« des hellenistischen Judentums (Jon 3)

Measurements of the pp → ZZ production cross section and the Z → 4ℓ branching fraction, and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings at √s = 13 TeV

Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp -> (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) -> 4l, where l = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp -> ZZ) = 17.2 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 0.7 (syst) +/- 0.4 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, measured using events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 4l) = 4.83(-0.22)(+0.23) (stat)(-0.29)(+0.32) (syst) +/- 0.08 (theo) +/- 0.12(lumi) x 10(-6) for events with a four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 4GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results agree with standard model predictions. The invariant mass distribution of the four-lepton system is used to set limits on anomalous ZZZ and ZZ. couplings at 95% confidence level: -0.0012 < f(4)(Z) < 0.0010, -0.0010 < f(5)(Z) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(4)(gamma) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(5)(gamma) < 0.0013

TOX defines the degree of CD8+ T cell dysfunction in distinct phases of chronic HBV infection

Objective Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is characterised by HBV-specific CD8+ T cell dysfunction that has been linked to Tcell exhaustion, a distinct differentiation programme associated with persisting antigen recognition. Recently, Thymocyte Selection-Associated High Mobility Group Box (TOX) was identified as master regulator of CD8+ T cell exhaustion. Here, we addressed the role of TOX in HBV-specific CD8+ T cell dysfunction associated with different clinical phases of infection. Design We investigated TOX expression in HBV-specific CD8+ T cells from 53 HLA-A*01:01, HLA-A*11:01 and HLA-A*02:01 positive patients from different HBV infection phases and compared it to hepatitis C virus (HCV)-specific, cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific and influenza virus (FLU)-specific CD8+ T cells. Phenotypic and functional analyses of virus-specific CD8+ T cells were performed after peptide-loaded tetramer-enrichment and peptide-specific expansion. Results Our results show that TOX expression in HBV-specific CD8+ T cells is linked to chronic antigen stimulation, correlates with viral load and is associated with phenotypic and functional characteristics of T-cell exhaustion. In contrast, similar TOX expression in EBV-specific and CMV-specific CD8+ T cells is not linked to T-cell dysfunction suggesting different underlying programmes. TOX expression in HBV-specific CD8+ T cells is also affected by targeted antigens, for example, core versus polymerase. In HBV-specific CD8+ T cells, TOX expression is maintained after spontaneous or therapy-mediated viral control in chronic but not self-limiting acute HBV infection indicating a permanent molecular imprint after chronic but not temporary stimulation. Conclusion Our data highlight TOX as biomarker specific for dysfunctional virus-specific CD8+ T cells in the context of an actively persisting infection

Search for heavy resonances decaying to two Higgs bosons in final states containing four b quarks

A search is presented for narrow heavy resonances X decaying into pairs of Higgs bosons (H) in proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at root s = 8 TeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb(-1). The search considers HH resonances with masses between 1 and 3 TeV, having final states of two b quark pairs. Each Higgs boson is produced with large momentum, and the hadronization products of the pair of b quarks can usually be reconstructed as single large jets. The background from multijet and t (t) over bar events is significantly reduced by applying requirements related to the flavor of the jet, its mass, and its substructure. The signal would be identified as a peak on top of the dijet invariant mass spectrum of the remaining background events. No evidence is observed for such a signal. Upper limits obtained at 95 confidence level for the product of the production cross section and branching fraction sigma(gg -> X) B(X -> HH -> b (b) over barb (b) over bar) range from 10 to 1.5 fb for the mass of X from 1.15 to 2.0 TeV, significantly extending previous searches. For a warped extra dimension theory with amass scale Lambda(R) = 1 TeV, the data exclude radion scalar masses between 1.15 and 1.55 TeV

HIV Drug Resistance (HIVDR) in Antiretroviral Therapy-Naïve Patients in Tanzania Not Eligible for WHO Threshold HIVDR Survey Is Dramatically High

The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended guidelines for a HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) survey for resource-limited countries. Eligibility criteria for patients include age below 25 years in order to focus on the prevalence of transmitted HIVDR (tHIVDR) in newly-infected individuals. Most of the participating sites across Africa have so far reported tHIVDR prevalences of below 5%. In this study we investigated whether the rate of HIVDR in patients <25 years is representative for HIVDR in the rest of the therapy-naïve population. HIVDR was determined in 88 sequentially enrolled ART-naïve patients from Mwanza, Tanzania (mean age 35.4 years). Twenty patients were aged <25 years and 68 patients were aged 25-63 years. The frequency of HIVDR in the study population was 14.8% (95%; CI 0.072-0.223) and independent of NVP-resistance induced by prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs. Patients >25 years had a significantly higher HIVDR frequency than younger patients (19.1%; 95% CI 0.095-0.28) versus 0%, P = 0.0344). In 2 out of the 16 patients with HIVDR we found traces of antiretrovirals (ARVs) in plasma. ART-naïve patients aged over 25 years exhibited significantly higher HIVDR than younger patients. Detection of traces of ARVs in individuals with HIVDR suggests that besides transmission, undisclosed misuse of ARVs may constitute a significant factor in the generation of the observed high HIVDR rate. The current WHO tHIVDR survey that is solely focused on the transmission of HIVDR and that excludes patients over 25 years of age may therefore result in substantial underestimation of the prevalence of HIVDR in the therapy-naïve population. Similar studies should be performed also in other areas to test whether the so far reported optimistic picture of low HIVDR prevalence in young individuals is really representative for the rest of the ART-naïve HIV-infected population

Bindings as bounded natural functors

We present a general framework for specifying and reasoning about syntax with bindings. Abstract binder types are modeled using a universe of functors on sets, subject to a number of operations that can be used to construct complex binding patterns and binding-aware datatypes, including non-well-founded and infinitely branching types, in a modular fashion. Despite not committing to any syntactic format, the framework is “concrete” enough to provide definitions of the fundamental operators on terms (free variables, alpha-equivalence, and capture-avoiding substitution) and reasoning and definition principles. This work is compatible with classical higher-order logic and has been formalized in the proof assistant Isabelle/HOL

Coulomb dissociation of O-16 into He-4 and C-12

We measured the Coulomb dissociation of O-16 into He-4 and C-12 within the FAIR Phase-0 program at GSI Helmholtzzentrum fur Schwerionenforschung Darmstadt, Germany. From this we will extract the photon dissociation cross section O-16(alpha,gamma)C-12, which is the time reversed reaction to C-12(alpha,gamma)O-16. With this indirect method, we aim to improve on the accuracy of the experimental data at lower energies than measured so far. The expected low cross section for the Coulomb dissociation reaction and close magnetic rigidity of beam and fragments demand a high precision measurement. Hence, new detector systems were built and radical changes to the (RB)-B-3 setup were necessary to cope with the high-intensity O-16 beam. All tracking detectors were designed to let the unreacted O-16 ions pass, while detecting the C-12 and He-4