Reconsidering Deuteronomy 26:5–11 as a ‘small historical creed’: Overtures towards a ‘migrant reading’ within the Persian period

Against the backdrop of recent scholarship related to Deuteronomy 26:5–11, the influential hypothesis formulated by Gerhard von Rad that this verse entails a ‘small historical creed’ will be re-evaluated. In addition to recent Old Testament scholarship, attention will be paid to migrant theory and a rereading of 26:5–11. It will be suggested that this ‘creed’ addressed the identity concerns of returning migrants or exiles from Babylon, as well as the peasant farmers who remained behind in Palestine. Thus, the creed is not understood as an early cultic starting point of a theological tradition, but as a later synthesising framework that responded to theological challenges and tensions prevalent in Persian Yehud

Bookends of Old Testament ethics : the first and tenth commandments and human dignity

CITATION: Bosman, H. L. 2011. Bookends of Old Testament ethics : the first and tenth commandments and human dignity. Scriptura, 106:93-100, doi:10.7833/106-0-150.The original publication is available at http://scriptura.journals.ac.zaThe final position of the tenth commandment might suggest that it is intended as the climactic statement of a series of ‘ten words’ and is linked to the first commandment to form an inclusio. While the first commandment insists that there is no other God and that this is rooted in an internal posture; so too the tenth commandment is opposed to an inner attitude of self-interest that could influence and precipitate actions that violate one of the preceding commandments.http://scriptura.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/150Publisher's versio

Association Between an Increase in Serum Sodium and In-Hospital Mortality in Critically Ill Patients*

OBJECTIVES: In critically ill patients, dysnatremia is common, and in these patients, in-hospital mortality is higher. It remains unknown whether changes of serum sodium after ICU admission affect mortality, especially whether normalization of mild hyponatremia improves survival. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Ten Dutch ICUs between January 2011 and April 2017. PATIENTS: Adult patients were included if at least one serum sodium measurement within 24 hours of ICU admission and at least one serum sodium measurement 24-48 hours after ICU admission were available. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A logistic regression model adjusted for age, sex, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation-IV-predicted mortality was used to assess the difference between mean of sodium measurements 24-48 hours after ICU admission and first serum sodium measurement at ICU admission (Δ48 hr-[Na]) and in-hospital mortality. In total, 36,660 patients were included for analysis. An increase in serum sodium was independently associated with a higher risk of in-hospital mortality in patients admitted with normonatremia (Δ48 hr-[Na] 5-10 mmol/L odds ratio: 1.61 [1.44-1.79], Δ48 hr-[Na] > 10 mmol/L odds ratio: 4.10 [3.20-5.24]) and hypernatremia (Δ48 hr-[Na] 5-10 mmol/L odds ratio: 1.47 [1.02-2.14], Δ48 hr-[Na] > 10 mmol/L odds ratio: 8.46 [3.31-21.64]). In patients admitted with mild hyponatremia and Δ48 hr-[Na] greater than 5 mmol/L, no significant difference in hospital mortality was found (odds ratio, 1.11 [0.99-1.25]). CONCLUSIONS: An increase in serum sodium in the first 48 hours of ICU admission was associated with higher in-hospital mortality in patients admitted with normonatremia and in patients admitted with hypernatremia

Perceived Threat, Risk Perception, and Efficacy Beliefs Related to SARS and Other (Emerging) Infectious Diseases: Results of an International Survey

PURPOSE: To study the levels of perceived threat, perceived severity, perceived vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and eight other diseases in five European and three Asian countries. METHOD: A computer-assisted phone survey was conducted among 3,436 respondents. The questionnaire focused on perceived threat, vulnerability, severity, response efficacy, and self-efficacy related to SARS and eight other diseases. RESULTS: Perceived threat of SARS in case of an outbreak in the country was higher than that of other diseases. Perceived vulnerability of SARS was at an intermediate level and perceived severity was high compared to other diseases. Perceived threat for SARS varied between countries in Europe and Asia with a higher perceived severity of SARS in Europe and a higher perceived vulnerability in Asia. Response efficacy and self-efficacy for SARS were higher in Asia compared to Europe. In multiple linear regression analyses, country was strongly associated with perceived threat. CONCLUSIONS: The relatively high perceived threat for SARS indicates that it is seen as a public health risk and offers a basis for communication in case of an outbreak. The strong association between perceived threat and country and different regional patterns require further researc