A developing application of laser-driven currents is the generation of magnetic fields of picosecond–nanosecond duration with magnitudes exceeding $B=10~\text{T}$. Single-loop and helical coil targets can direct laser-driven discharge currents along wires to generate spatially uniform, quasi-static magnetic fields on the millimetre scale. Here, we present proton deflectometry across two axes of a single-loop coil ranging from 1 to 2 mm in diameter. Comparison with proton tracking simulations shows that measured magnetic fields are the result of kiloampere currents in the coil and electric charges distributed around the coil target. Using this dual-axis platform for proton deflectometry, robust measurements can be made of the evolution of magnetic fields in a capacitor coil target.

The role that vitamin D plays in pulmonary function remains uncertain. Epidemiological studies reported mixed findings for serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D)–pulmonary function association. We conducted the largest cross-sectional meta-analysis of the 25(OH)D–pulmonary function association to date, based on nine European ancestry (EA) cohorts (n 22 838) and five African ancestry (AA) cohorts (n 4290) in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium. Data were analysed using linear models by cohort and ancestry. Effect modification by smoking status (current/former/never) was tested. Results were combined using fixed-effects meta-analysis. Mean serum 25(OH)D was 68 (sd 29) nmol/l for EA and 49 (sd 21) nmol/l for AA. For each 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV1) was higher by 1·1 ml in EA (95 % CI 0·9, 1·3; P<0·0001) and 1·8 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·5; P<0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·06), and forced vital capacity (FVC) was higher by 1·3 ml in EA (95 % CI 1·0, 1·6; P<0·0001) and 1·5 ml (95 % CI 0·8, 2·3; P=0·0001) in AA (Prace difference=0·56). Among EA, the 25(OH)D–FVC association was stronger in smokers: per 1 nmol/l higher 25(OH)D, FVC was higher by 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·1, 2·3) for current smokers and 1·7 ml (95 % CI 1·2, 2·1) for former smokers, compared with 0·8 ml (95 % CI 0·4, 1·2) for never smokers. In summary, the 25(OH)D associations with FEV1 and FVC were positive in both ancestries. In EA, a stronger association was observed for smokers compared with never smokers, which supports the importance of vitamin D in vulnerable populations.

The manuscript version of this line, apart from a nonsensical variant tutus for bubus, is et Tiberis nostris advena bubus erat. The trouble here has been that scholars have taken advena to mean ‘stranger’, ‘foreigner’, ‘alien’, or German ‘fremd’. Clearly the sentence and Tiber was a stranger to our oxen makes no sense in the context, and for this reason many scholars have either produced strange translations (‘alien Tiber served our oxen’, Butler and Barber) or else have dabbled in dubious emendation (temptus Baehrens, tortus Postgate, Tuscus Havet in place of bubus).

M. L. West in JHS xcix (1979) 132–3 speculates that the Chorus of Prometheus Pyrphoros may have been the Meliai. There is, however, only one reference that might just possibly link the Meliai with the gift of fire to men: Hesiod Th. 563,

οὐκ ἐδίδου μελίῃσι πυρὸς μένος ἀκαμάτοιο.

Preston et al (1976) and Burke (1982, these proceedings) have long extolled the virtues of launching a radio telescope into space to increase VLBI baseline lengths and thus angular resolution, and to provide a much enhanced image formation capability. The scientific motivation for this has been covered in a number of memoranda referenced by Burke in these proceedings, and by Anderson et al (1982). Efforts to mobilise western astronomical support for space VLBI met with success in late 1982 at a meeting of US and European radio astronomers in Toulouse, France, at which a decision was taken to propose a joint mission to ESA and NASA. Shortly thereafter, a formal proposal was made to ESA (Anderson et al 1982) for a free flying satellite in an elliptical orbit out to 15000 km from the Earth, designed to observe in concert with the major ground-based VLBI networks and arrays. The mission, dubbed QUASAT, was received favourably in both ESA and NASA, with the result that formal Assessment Studies are scheduled to begin in both agencies in October 1983.

On 1980 February 20 we conducted an 8-station intercontental VLBI experiment in order to study the nucleus and jet of M87 at 1666.6 MHz in right circular polarization. Our array was sensitive to structures from 0.001 to 0.1 arcsec. We made a hybrid map of the nucleus of M87, and also searched for compact structures within the knots of the jet. The map (Figure 1) shows that the nucleus of M87 contains a one-sided jet. This morphology is similar to that observed in many compact extragalactic sources. The position angle of the nuclear jet is 290.5 (±1) degrees, which precisely matches that of the 20 arcsec jet. No bending of the jet through an angle greater than about 2 degrees is observed. The nucleus also contains a large component (>0.1 arcsec) which is elongated along the same position angle as the jet and has a flux density of roughly 1 Jy. This component is fully resolved by the vast majority of our (u, v) points, and we could not map it with standard techniques.

In CR N.S. 10 (1960), 7, I supported L. Purgold's emendation of to in O. T. 230, accepted by Elmsley, wrongly discarded by all editors since, and now omitted even from the apparatus criticus of R. D. Dawe's recent Teubner edition of Sophocles. May I now add that the emendation was also defended, at greater length, by M. Furness in CR 13 (1899), 195–7? The 1899 editor of CR reproduced, at the end of Furness's article, the sueeinct and trenchant Latin in which, in the year 1802, Purgold defended his emendation.

The relevant part of the fragment is:

εἰ δὲ ἔστιν, ἀνάγκη ἕκαστον μέγεθός τι ἔχειν καὶ πάχος καὶ ἀπέχειν αὐτοῦ τὸ ἕτερον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου. καὶ περὶ τοῦ προύχοντος ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο ἕξει μέγεθος καὶ προέξει αὐτοῦ τι. ὅμοιον δὴ τοῦτο ἅπαξ τε εἰπεῖν καὶ ἀεὶ λέγειν οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτοῦ τοιοῦτον ἕσχατον ἔσται οὔτε ἕτερον πρὸς ἕτερον οὐκ ἔσται.

Jebb is right. The two lines are a comment by the Chorus; and they are a comment on the apparent shamelessness of the remarks which Electra has just been making about her mother. The dissentients have been deceived by two pseudo-problems, hitherto unexploded:

In pages 101–3 of his article Pope lists the numbers of occurrences of interrogative and enclitic in Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, and mentions occurrences in other authors. He shows that, although there is a dead heat between the numbers of instances of the two words in Aeschylus, nevertheless enclitic is very rarely indeed, and perhaps never, found in sentences which do not have a main verb (or, failing that, at least subject and predicate). There are, however, occurrences of interrogative in sentences which lack a main verb and have no predicate either. It must surely be rare to find statement sentences which do not contain at least subject and predicate at the best of times, let alone when happens to occur in the sentence. There are strong reasons, then, for rejecting the version of F and Triclinius, quite apart from the occurrence of in the sentence. One can defend by saying that either is understood from the preceding sentence, or else is vaguely understood: The favour of the gods comes to men (comes about) perforce.’ But it is not very plausible. I am inclined to agree with Pope on this point, if not for quite the same reason.

Dr D. O'Brien in his interesting article ‘The effect of a simile: Empedocles's theories of seeing and breathing’ (JHS xc [1970] 140–79) unfortunately reverts to D. J. Furley's view that, in the clepsydra simile of Empedocles fr. 100, air must be parallel to air and water to blood. This involves him in interpretations which have no basis in the text of Empedocles. It is obvious, from the clear parallelism of sentence structure presented by Empedocles and duly noted in my article of 1960, that water is parallel to air, and air to blood. The relevant lines are (as quoted from Ross by Dr O'Brien):

The general sense is:

Just as, in the case of the clepsydra, water comes in and out through the sieve in accordance with movements of air on the other side of the sieve:

So, in the case of breathing, air is breathed in and out through holes at the back of the nostrils in accordance with movements of blood on the other side of the holes.

Westphal wished to transpose lines 88–90 and 93–5 of the Supplices. This transposition has been supported recently by R. D. Dawe (The Collation and Investigation of Manuscripts of Aeschylus, 163), by Holger Friis Johansen in C. & M. xxvii (1966), 43–4 (also in his edition of the play), and by Sir Denys Page (in his new Oxford Text of Aeschylus). However, the transposition gains little support from a careful examination of the language and context of the passage, as I shall now proceed to demonstrate. I discussed the whole passage previously in my article ‘Aeschylus Supplices 86–95’, Classical Philology, 1 (1955), 21–5, and much of my argument can be found in that earlier article.

Empedocles' Fragment 100 contains an account of ‘the way that all things breathe in and out’. It may conveniently be divided into three sections:

A. Lines 1–5, the apparatus of breathing.

B. Lines 6–8, the manner in which breathing takes place.

C. Lines 8–25, an illustration taken from the working of the klepsydra.

I shall discuss the fragment under thesethree headings.

A. The Apparatus of Breathing

These lines (1–5) are translated as follows by Diels-Kranz: ‘Also aber atmet alles ein und aus: Allen sind blutarme Fleischröhren über die Oberfläche des Körpers hin gespannt, und an ihren Mündungen ist mit vielen Ritzen durchweg durchbohrt der Haut äusserste Oberfläche, so dass zwar das Blut drinnen geborgen bleibt, der Luft aber freier Zutritt durch die Öffnungen gebahnt ist.’ Thus the picture which Diels gives us is of tubes running out to the skin all over the body, and at the ends of the tubes perforated flaps of skin which will allow the passage of air but not of blood. The tubes are, furthermore, only partly filled with blood.

This line of interpretation has been followed by most scholars since, and it appears to derive some reinforcement from Aristotle, who in his comment on the passage at de respiratione 7, p. 473, b 1 ff., says: ‘They have passages through to the outer air.’ The ‘outer air’ would appear to mean the outer air outside the body, and we might therefore be tempted to suppose that Aristotle meant to say that these tubes ended up at the surface of the skin.

All past interpretations of this passage involve an obscure train of thought. There appear to be two ideas running right through; light-twilight-night, and quick-slow-(never?). But how are we to combine these ideas so as to make sense of them ?

Most, if not all, past commentators have agreed in taking to mean ‘punishes’’ and most interpretations conform to one or other of the following patterns:

Mr. G. B. KERFERD, in C.Q. xlviii (1954), 84 ff. writes of ‘Plato's Noble Art of Sophistry’. He suggests that Plato thought there was a ‘Noble Art’ of sophistry, other than philosophy itself; and he seeks to find this Art in the better and worse arguments of Protagoras. This suggestion is, unfortunately, based on a mistranslation of Plato, Sophist 231 a: .