Hope for the restoration of the Davidic kingdom in the light of the Davidic covenant in Chronicles

Chronicles was composed in the postexilic period when the Jews were without their own king and were living under the rule of the Persian Empire and the Greek dynasties of the Ptolemies and Seleucids. In view of the apparently eternal nature of the Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:11b-16), this loss of sovereignty would have posed a difficult problem for the Jews. To be sure, Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiachin, penultimate king of the Davidic kingdom, was appointed as governor of Yehud by the Persian king Darius (Hag 1:1) and received YHWH’s promise of being his ‘signet ring’ (Hag 2:23); however, he could not and did not re-establish the kingdom of David. When the Jews lost their political leadership in the postexilic period, religious personnel appeared to play an increasingly important role as leaders of the Temple centered community. Along with Zerubbabel, Joshua, the high priest of the Jewish community that had returned from the exile, led the project of rebuilding the Temple (Hag 1:1; Ezra 3:2). The book of Chronicles reflects this Temple-centered community and deals in much detail with issues relating to the cultic personnel. The two main figures in Chronicles, David and Solomon, are presented respectively as the one who prepares (1 Chr 22; 28:1-29:20), and the one who completes (2 Chr 2:1-5:1) the Temple building project. Furthermore, the Chronicler evaluates the Judaic kings who reigned after Solomon in relation to their piety and their service in the Temple.5 Those who were considered ‘good’ kings worshipped God in the Temple according to the divine commandment, diligently repairing and restoring the Temple, whereas those who were considered ‘bad’ kings were negligent in their worship of YHWH and in their preservation of the Temple. In the context of this postexilic Temple-centred cultic society, the question may be asked: Does the Chronicler hope for the revival of the Davidic kingdom in view of the seemingly and eternally binding, unconditional Davidic covenant (2 Sam 7:12-16; 1 Chr 17:11-14), or is he satisfied with its replacement by the postexilic, Temple-centered cultic society?.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Gender-related differences in cardiometabolic risk factors and lifestyle behaviors in treatment-seeking adolescents with severe obesity

Background Obesity during adolescence is associated with cardiovascular mortality in adulthood. The adverse obesity-related cardiometabolic risk profile is already observed in adolescence. We aimed to examine possible gender differences in cardiometabolic risk factors and lifestyle behaviors among adolescents with severe obesity, hypothesizing that boys would have both a higher prevalence of the metabolic syndrome as well as less healthy lifestyle behaviors than girls. Methods Cross-sectional study of treatment-seeking adolescents with severe obesity who attended the Morbid Obesity Centre at Vestfold Hospital Trust and who were consecutively enrolled in the Vestfold Register of Obese Children between September 2009 and September 2015. A total of 313 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years were recruited, whereof 268 subjects (49% boys) completed a food and activity frequency questionnaire and were included in the analysis. Results Mean (SD) age, BMI and BMI SDS were 15 (1.6) years, 38.6 (5.9) kg/m2 and 3.5 (0.6). Levels of LDL cholesterol, fasting insulin and glucose and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) did not differ between genders. Compared to girls, boys had significantly higher triglycerides (p = 0.037) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) (p = 0.003), as well as lower HDL cholesterol (p = 0.002). The metabolic syndrome was present in 27% of the boys and 19% of the girls (p = 0.140), and the prevalence of high DBP, dyslipidemia and dysglycemia also did not differ significantly between genders. The prevalence of high SBP was higher in boys than in girls (19% vs. 9%, p = 0.021). Gender was associated with a number of lifestyle habits, as a larger proportions of boys had higher screen time (p = 0.032), more regular breakfast eating (p = 0.023), higher intake of sugar sweetened soda (p = 0.036), and lower intake of vegetables than girls (p = 0.011). By contrast, physical activity level and intake of fruit and berries did not differ between genders. Conclusions Male treatment-seeking adolescents with severe obesity had a more unfavorable set of metabolic and behavioral risk factors for cardiovascular disease than girls. Our results indicate that lifestyle behavioral markers should be thoroughly assessed in both genders, and possible gender-related differences in risk profile should be taken into account in future treatment programs

Ca2+ Dependence of the Binomial Parameters p and n at the Mouse Neuromuscular Junction

The Ca2+ dependence of synaptic quantal release is generally thought to be restricted to probability of vesicular release. However, some studies have suggested that the number of release sites (n) at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is also Ca2+ dependent. In this study, we recorded endplate currents over a wide range of extracellular Ca2+ concentrations and found the expected Ca2+ dependency of release. A graphical technique was used to estimate p (probability of release) and n using standard binomial assumptions. The results suggested n was Ca2+ dependent. The data were simulated using compound binomial statistics with variable n (Ca2+ dependent) or fixed n (Ca2+ independent). With fixed n, successful simulation of increasing Ca2+ required that p increase abruptly at some sites from very low to high values. Successful simulation with variable n required the introduction of previously silent release sites (p = 0) with high values of p. Thus the success of both simulations required abrupt, large increases of p at a subset of release sites with initially low or zero p. Estimates of the time course of release obtained by deconvolving evoked endplate currents with average miniature endplate currents decreased slightly as Ca2+ increased, thus arguing against sequential release of multiple quanta at higher Ca2+ levels. Our results suggest that the apparent Ca2+ dependence of n at the NMJ can be explained by an underlying Ca2+ dependence of a spatially variable p such that p increases abruptly at a subset of sites as Ca2+ is increased