The Proverbs 31 Woman, Then

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. Before she became a cultural icon of Christian womanhood, before she was invoked in funeral eulogies, and even before she was recounted by Jewish husbands to their wives on the Sabbath, the woman of Proverbs 31:10-31 represented an elite masculine perspective among the golah community centered in Jerusalem during the Persian period. The following paragraphs seek to offer the reader a glimpse into how Proverbs 31:10-31 reflects this historical context. In particular, the poem relies on economic activities and values of elite women and households then, which may be foreign to today\u27s readers in the United States

When Isaac Was a Priest

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. On his deathbed, the patriarch Isaac received the important men from the city to talk to him. Among these men was an unnamed priest of God who requested Isaac to tell him a word (T. Isaac 4.8). In this moment, the Testament of Isaac11 depicts Isaac as a priestly authority who is able to instruct priests. If you have not read ancient narratives in which Isaac plays a role, but have only read Genesis, you might be confused: Why does it represent Isaac in this manner? Was Isaac a priest? Nonetheless, the Testament of Isaac does not make up this representation of Isaac from out of nothing. In what follows, I sketch out relevant events from Isaac’s narrative tradition to show that there was a tradition of Isaac as a priest that makes this representation not unexpected.1

Multinational Validation of \u3cem\u3eAnxiety\u3c/em\u3e, \u3cem\u3eHopelessness\u3c/em\u3e, and \u3cem\u3eIneffective Airway Clearance\u3c/em\u3e

The effective use of nursing diagnosis internationally depends in part on incorporating language and cultural difference into the common language of nursing. International validation studies can provide a basis for this effort. This study tested three diagnoses—anxiety, hopelessness, and ineffective airway clearance—through multinational validation. The Diagnostic Content Validity (DCV) model was used to collect data from critical care nurses in six countries. Defining characteristics rated as critical (\u3e .80) by the total sample were dyspnea for ineffective airway clearance and panic and nervousness for anxiety. No critical defining characteristics for hopelessness were identified. DCV ratios for all defining characteristics are compared by country

God in Ocean City, New Jersey

Sometimes, God, summer weighs on me like wet ropes. My lungs seize trying to have the most fun in the world before school starts. September is Hell and we all die and go there after Labor Day. Yesterday, I saw my English teacher stuffing her bright red face with pink cotton candy. She is supposed to be reading books all summer, not coming here—wearing her hair down and eating the same things I do. I felt like the boardwalk was going to explode one splinter at a time under my feet, even though yesterday was the kind of day my cousins draw with a smiley face sun. I whipped a grape Pixie Stick out of my back pocket and downed it, but that only made me feel sicker. I carry Pixie Sticks for emergencies, and because I steal them.https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/onearth/1011/thumbnail.jp

Fluorescence-based incision assay for human XPF-ERCC1 activity identifies important elements of DNA junction recognition

The structure-specific endonuclease activity of the human XPF–ERCC1 complex is essential for a number of DNA processing mechanisms that help to maintain genomic integrity. XPF–ERCC1 cleaves DNA structures such as stem–loops, bubbles or flaps in one strand of a duplex where there is at least one downstream single strand. Here, we define the minimal substrate requirements for cleavage of stem–loop substrates allowing us to develop a real-time fluorescence-based assay to measure endonuclease activity. Using this assay, we show that changes in the sequence of the duplex upstream of the incision site results in up to 100-fold variation in cleavage rate of a stem-loop substrate by XPF-ERCC1. XPF–ERCC1 has a preference for cleaving the phosphodiester bond positioned on the 3′-side of a T or a U, which is flanked by an upstream T or U suggesting that a T/U pocket may exist within the catalytic domain. In addition to an endonuclease domain and tandem helix–hairpin–helix domains, XPF has a divergent and inactive DEAH helicase-like domain (HLD). We show that deletion of HLD eliminates endonuclease activity and demonstrate that purified recombinant XPF–HLD shows a preference for binding stem–loop structures over single strand or duplex alone, suggesting a role for the HLD in initial structure recognition. Together our data describe features of XPF–ERCC1 and an accepted model substrate that are important for recognition and efficient incision activity

Spatial displays as a means to increase pilot situational awareness

Experiences raise a number of concerns for future spatial-display developers. While the promise of spatial displays is great, the cost of their development will be correspondingly large. The knowledge and skills which must be coordinated to ensure successful results is unprecedent. From the viewpoint of the designer, basic knowledge of how human beings perceive and process complex displays appears fragmented and largely unquantified. Methodologies for display development require prototyping and testing with subject pilots for even small changes. Useful characterizations of the range of differences between individual users is nonexistent or at best poorly understood. The nature, significance, and frequency of interpretation errors associated with complex integrated displays is unexplored and undocumented territory. Graphic displays have intuitive appeal and can achieve face validity much more readily than earlier symbolic displays. The risk of misleading the pilot is correspondingly greater. Thus while some in the research community are developing the tools and techniques necessary for effective spatial-display development, potential users must be educated about the issues so that informed choices can be made. The scope of the task facing all is great. The task is challenging and the potential for meaningful contributions at all levels is high indeed

A Note on the Jewish Tanak and the Christian Old Testament

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. In my introductory courses it is not uncommon for students to assume that Jews and Christians share the Old Testament. These students are surprised when I state that Jews have their own canon that is often called the Tanak and that Christians are the ones with the canon called the Old Testament.1 While the canons may contain the same books, the practices and meanings of these communities in relation to the books result in two distinct canons

MacWilliams' Extension Theorem for Bi-Invariant Weights over Finite Principal Ideal Rings

A finite ring R and a weight w on R satisfy the Extension Property if every R-linear w-isometry between two R-linear codes in R^n extends to a monomial transformation of R^n that preserves w. MacWilliams proved that finite fields with the Hamming weight satisfy the Extension Property. It is known that finite Frobenius rings with either the Hamming weight or the homogeneous weight satisfy the Extension Property. Conversely, if a finite ring with the Hamming or homogeneous weight satisfies the Extension Property, then the ring is Frobenius. This paper addresses the question of a characterization of all bi-invariant weights on a finite ring that satisfy the Extension Property. Having solved this question in previous papers for all direct products of finite chain rings and for matrix rings, we have now arrived at a characterization of these weights for finite principal ideal rings, which form a large subclass of the finite Frobenius rings. We do not assume commutativity of the rings in question.Comment: 12 page

Learning to coordinate in a complex and non-stationary world

We study analytically and by computer simulations a complex system of adaptive agents with finite memory. Borrowing the framework of the Minority Game and using the replica formalism we show the existence of an equilibrium phase transition as a function of the ratio between the memory $\lambda$ and the learning rates $\Gamma$ of the agents. We show that, starting from a random configuration, a dynamic phase transition also exists, which prevents the system from reaching any Nash equilibria. Furthermore, in a non-stationary environment, we show by numerical simulations that agents with infinite memory play worst than others with less memory and that the dynamic transition naturally arises independently from the initial conditions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure