The art of creating futures. Practical theology and a strategic research sensitivity for the future

This paper explores a futures perspective for practical theology. Although there are some examples of a future orientation, a systematic futures perspective has not been developed. Building on futures studies (including predictive studies on foresight and design and architecture studies), the authors propose a methodological model for future-sensitive practical theology, accounting for the probable, possible, and preferable. The model results in three modes in which practical theology can employ a future orientation: utopian, prognostic-adaptive, and designing-creative

The art of creating futures. Practical theology and a strategic research sensitivity for the future

This paper explores a futures perspective for practical theology. Although there are some examples of a future orientation, a systematic futures perspective has not been developed. Building on futures studies (including predictive studies on foresight and design and architecture studies), the authors propose a methodological model for future-sensitive practical theology, accounting for the probable, possible, and preferable. The model results in three modes in which practical theology can employ a future orientation: utopian, prognostic-adaptive, and designing-creative

Cognitive and Behavioral Resilience Among Young Gay and Bisexual Men Living with HIV

Purpose: HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects young gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (Y-GBMSM). Resilience remains understudied among Y-GBMSM living with HIV, but represents a potentially important framework for improving HIV-related outcomes in this population. We sought to explore cognitive and behavioral dimensions of resilience and their correlates among Y-GBMSM to gain insights to inform future interventions

Possible Observation of the 1/2+ [880] Orbital in 249-Cm

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY-931478

Superdeformed rotational bands in the Mercury region; A Cranked Skyrme-Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov study

A study of rotational properties of the ground superdeformed bands in \Hg{0}, \Hg{2}, \Hg{4}, and \Pb{4} is presented. We use the cranked Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov method with the {\skm} parametrization of the Skyrme force in the particle-hole channel and a seniority interaction in the pairing channel. An approximate particle number projection is performed by means of the Lipkin-Nogami prescription. We analyze the proton and neutron quasiparticle routhians in connection with the present information on about thirty presently observed superdeformed bands in nuclei close neighbours of \Hg{2}.Comment: 26 LaTeX pages, 14 uuencoded postscript figures included, Preprint IPN-TH 93-6

On the detectability of the CMSSM light Higgs boson at the Tevatron

We examine the prospects of detecting the light Higgs h^0 of the Constrained MSSM at the Tevatron. To this end we explore the CMSSM parameter space with \mu>0, using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique, and apply all relevant collider and cosmological constraints including their uncertainties, as well as those of the Standard Model parameters. Taking 50 GeV < m_{1/2}, m_0 < 4 TeV, |A_0| < 7 TeV and 2 < tan(beta) < 62 as flat priors and using the formalism of Bayesian statistics we find that the 68% posterior probability region for the h^0 mass lies between 115.4 GeV and 120.4 GeV. Otherwise, h^0 is very similar to the Standard Model Higgs boson. Nevertheless, we point out some enhancements in its couplings to bottom and tau pairs, ranging from a few per cent in most of the CMSSM parameter space, up to several per cent in the favored region of tan(beta)\sim 50 and the pseudoscalar Higgs mass of m_A\lsim 1 TeV. We also find that the other Higgs bosons are typically heavier, although not necessarily much heavier. For values of the h^0 mass within the 95% probability range as determined by our analysis, a 95% CL exclusion limit can be set with about 2/fb of integrated luminosity per experiment, or else with 4/fb (12/fb) a 3 sigma evidence (5 sigma discovery) will be guaranteed. We also emphasize that the alternative statistical measure of the mean quality-of-fit favors a somewhat lower Higgs mass range; this implies even more optimistic prospects for the CMSSM light Higgs search than the more conservative Bayesian approach. In conclusion, for the above CMSSM parameter ranges, especially m_0, either some evidence will be found at the Tevatron for the light Higgs boson or, at a high confidence level, the CMSSM will be ruled out.Comment: JHEP versio

From gene to dose: long-read sequencing and -allele tools to refine phenotype predictions of CYP2C19

Background: Inter-individual differences in drug response based on genetic variations can lead to drug toxicity and treatment inefficacy. A large part of this variability is caused by genetic variants in pharmacogenes. Unfortunately, the Single Nucleotide Variant arrays currently used in clinical pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing are unable to detect all genetic variability in these genes. Long-read sequencing, on the other hand, has been shown to be able to resolve complex (pharmaco) genes. In this study we aimed to assess the value of long-read sequencing for research and clinical PGx focusing on the important and highly polymorphic CYP2C19 gene.Methods and Results: With a capture-based long-read sequencing panel we were able to characterize the entire region and assign variants to their allele of origin (phasing), resulting in the identification of 813 unique variants in 37 samples. To assess the clinical utility of this data we have compared the performance of three different *-allele tools (Aldy, PharmCat and PharmaKU) which are specifically designed to assign haplotypes to pharmacogenes based on all input variants.Conclusion: We conclude that long-read sequencing can improve our ability to characterize the CYP2C19 locus, help to identify novel haplotypes and that *-allele tools are a useful asset in phenotype prediction. Ultimately, this approach could help to better predict an individual's drug response and improve therapy outcomes. However, the added value in clinical PGx might currently be limited.Horizon 2020 (H2020)Personalised Therapeutic

Can forest management based on natural disturbances maintain ecological resilience?

Given the increasingly global stresses on forests, many ecologists argue that managers must maintain ecological resilience: the capacity of ecosystems to absorb disturbances without undergoing fundamental change. In this review we ask: Can the emerging paradigm of natural-disturbance-based management (NDBM) maintain ecological resilience in managed forests? Applying resilience theory requires careful articulation of the ecosystem state under consideration, the disturbances and stresses that affect the persistence of possible alternative states, and the spatial and temporal scales of management relevance. Implementing NDBM while maintaining resilience means recognizing that (i) biodiversity is important for long-term ecosystem persistence, (ii) natural disturbances play a critical role as a generator of structural and compositional heterogeneity at multiple scales, and (iii) traditional management tends to produce forests more homogeneous than those disturbed naturally and increases the likelihood of unexpected catastrophic change by constraining variation of key environmental processes. NDBM may maintain resilience if silvicultural strategies retain the structures and processes that perpetuate desired states while reducing those that enhance resilience of undesirable states. Such strategies require an understanding of harvesting impacts on slow ecosystem processes, such as seed-bank or nutrient dynamics, which in the long term can lead to ecological surprises by altering the forest's capacity to reorganize after disturbance