Twelve Steps in the Way of Christ: A Postmodern Path for Spiritual Formation and Leadership Development

The goal of this paper is to help North American Church leaders stake a claim to postmodern faith by focusing on the celebrity and centrality of Christ and then calling, growing, maturing, and guiding believers into their own God-inspired journeys in the way of Christ. The postmodern Church’s decline, leadership crisis, and celebrity culture call forth a renewed emphasis on the Christ story as an ancient faith pilgrimage in order to help people mature and become leaders through the use of a new twelve-step path in the way of Christ. Many churched and unchurched pilgrims find themselves stuck in earlier stages of arrested spiritual development, unable to sustain growth, attain maturity as leaders, and finish their life well—thereby releasing their God-given gifts, passion, and destiny. A more dynamic and visual path of faith pilgrimage is required to capture interest and garner support from postmodern seekers of spirituality. The Twelve Steps in the Way of Christ draw on ancient pilgrimage and allegoric models, as well as Scripture and the life of Christ, to provide a clear understanding and direction for Christian followers and leaders. Both linear and cyclical, the steps offer distinctive ways to measure spirituality and a useful template for spiritual and leadership development yet allow enough room for one’s unique imprint and individual personality, life experience, and journey of faith. Today’s church leaders who seek to form faith in tangible, relational, and visual ways that appeal to postmoderns of the next generation will find the Twelve Steps a valuable tool and marker for spiritual assessment. The answer to the North American Church’s dilemma lies not in higher forms of worship or more sophisticated programs but in returning to the well-trod paths of becoming a people of pilgrimage and following the steps first made by the Son of God. Content Reader: Craig Miller, DMi

Colonic ulcerations may predict steroid-refractory course in patients with ipilimumab-mediated enterocolitis

To investigate management of patients who develop ipilimumab-mediated enterocolitis, including association of endoscopic findings with steroid-refractory symptoms and utility of infliximab as second-line therapy

The Role of Dwarf Galaxies in Building Large Stellar Halos

The hierarchical theory of galaxy formation rests on the idea that smaller galactic structures merge to form the galaxies that we see today. The past decade has provided remarkable observational support for this scenario, driven in part by advances in spectroscopic instrumentation. Multi-object spectroscopy enabled the discovery of kinematically cold substructures around the Milky Way and M31 that are likely the debris of disrupting satellites. Improvements in high-resolution spectroscopy have produced key evidence that the abundance patterns of the Milky Way halo and its dwarf satellites can be explained by Galactic chemical evolution models based on hierarchical assembly. These breakthroughs have depended almost entirely on observations of nearby stars in the Milky Way and luminous red giant stars in M31 and Local Group dwarf satellites. In the next decade, extremely large telescopes will allow observations far down the luminosity function in the known dwarf galaxies, and they will enable observations of individual stars far out in the Galactic halo. The chemical abundance census now available for the Milky Way will become possible for our nearest neighbor, M31. Velocity dispersion measurements now available in M31 will become possible for systems beyond the Local Group such as Sculptor and M81 Group galaxies. Detailed studies of a greater number of individual stars in a greater number of spiral galaxies and their satellites will test hierarchical assembly in new ways because dynamical and chemical evolution models predict different outcomes for halos of different masses in different environments.Comment: Astro2010 Decadal Survey White Paper, 8 page

Which comforting messages really work best? A different perspective on Lemieux and Tighe’s “receiver perspective”

Abstract OnlyThis article responds critically to a recent article by Lemieux and Tighe (Communication Research Reports, 21, 144–153, 2004) in which the authors conclude that recipients of comforting efforts prefer messages that exhibit a moderate rather than high level of person centeredness. It is argued that an erroneous assumption made by Lemieux and Tighe about the status of “receiver perspective” research on the comforting process led to faulty interpretations of the data and unwarranted conclusions about recipient preferences regarding comforting messages. Alternative interpretations of Lemieux and Tighe's data are presented; these are guided by the extensive previous research that has assessed evaluations and outcomes of comforting messages

New Constraints on Cosmic Reionization from the 2012 Hubble Ultra Deep Field Campaign

Understanding cosmic reionization requires the identification and characterization of early sources of hydrogen-ionizing photons. The 2012 Hubble Ultra Deep Field (UDF12) campaign has acquired the deepest infrared images with the Wide Field Camera 3 aboard Hubble Space Telescope and, for the first time, systematically explored the galaxy population deep into the era when cosmic microwave background (CMB) data indicates reionization was underway. The UDF12 campaign thus provides the best constraints to date on the abundance, luminosity distribution, and spectral properties of early star-forming galaxies. We synthesize the new UDF12 results with the most recent constraints from CMB observations to infer redshift-dependent ultraviolet (UV) luminosity densities, reionization histories, and electron scattering optical depth evolution consistent with the available data. Under reasonable assumptions about the escape fraction of hydrogen ionizing photons and the intergalactic medium clumping factor, we find that to fully reionize the universe by redshift z~6 the population of star-forming galaxies at redshifts z~7-9 likely must extend in luminosity below the UDF12 limits to absolute UV magnitudes of M_UV\sim -13 or fainter. Moreover, low levels of star formation extending to redshifts z~15-25, as suggested by the normal UV colors of z\simeq7-8 galaxies and the smooth decline in abundance with redshift observed by UDF12 to z\simeq10, are additionally likely required to reproduce the optical depth to electron scattering inferred from CMB observations.Comment: Version accepted by ApJ (originally submitted Jan 5, 2013). The UDF12 website can be found at http://udf12.arizona.ed

Esophageal sphincter device for gastroesophageal reflux disease

BACKGROUND Patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease who have a partial response to proton-pump inhibitors often seek alternative therapy. We evaluated the safety and effectiveness of a new magnetic device to augment the lower esophageal sphincter. METHODS We prospectively assessed 100 patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease before and after sphincter augmentation. The study did not include a concurrent control group. The primary outcome measure was normalization of esophageal acid exposure or a 50% or greater reduction in exposure at 1 year. Secondary outcomes were 50% or greater improvement in quality of life related to gastroesophageal reflux disease and a 50% or greater reduction in the use of proton-pump inhibitors at 1 year. For each outcome, the prespecified definition of successful treatment was achievement of the outcome in at least 60% of the patients. The 3-year results of a 5-year study are reported. RESULTS The primary outcome was achieved in 64% of patients (95% confidence interval [CI], 54 to 73). For the secondary outcomes, a reduction of 50% or more in the use of proton-pump inhibitors occurred in 93% of patients, and there was improvement of 50% or more in quality-of-life scores in 92%, as compared with scores for patients assessed at baseline while they were not taking proton-pump inhibitors. The most frequent adverse event was dysphagia (in 68% of patients postoperatively, in 11% at 1 year, and in 4% at 3 years). Serious adverse events occurred in six patients, and in six patients the device was removed. CONCLUSIONS In this single-group evaluation of 100 patients before and after sphincter augmentation with a magnetic device, exposure to esophageal acid decreased, reflux symptoms improved, and use of proton-pump inhibitors decreased. Follow-up studies are needed to assess long-term safety. (Funded by Torax Medical; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00776997.

Plasma cholesterol levels and brain development in preterm newborns.

BackgroundTo assess whether postnatal plasma cholesterol levels are associated with microstructural and macrostructural regional brain development in preterm newborns.MethodsSixty preterm newborns (born 24-32 weeks gestational age) were assessed using MRI studies soon after birth and again at term-equivalent age. Blood samples were obtained within 7 days of each MRI scan to analyze for plasma cholesterol and lathosterol (a marker of endogenous cholesterol synthesis) levels. Outcomes were assessed at 3 years using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, Third Edition.ResultsEarly plasma lathosterol levels were associated with increased axial and radial diffusivities and increased volume of the subcortical white matter. Early plasma cholesterol levels were associated with increased volume of the cerebellum. Early plasma lathosterol levels were associated with a 2-point decrease in motor scores at 3 years.ConclusionsHigher early endogenous cholesterol synthesis is associated with worse microstructural measures and larger volumes in the subcortical white matter that may signify regional edema and worse motor outcomes. Higher early cholesterol is associated with improved cerebellar volumes. Further work is needed to better understand how the balance of cholesterol supply and endogenous synthesis impacts preterm brain development, especially if these may be modifiable factors to improve outcomes

Science results from the imaging Fourier transform spectrometer SpIOMM

SpIOMM is an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer designed to obtain the visible range (350 to 850 nm) spectrum of every light source in a circular field of view of 12 arcminutes in diameter. It is attached to the 1.6-m telescope of the Observatoire du Mont Megantic in southern Quebec. We present here some results of three successful observing runs in 2007, which highlight SpIOMMs capabilities to map emission line objects over a very wide field of view and a broad spectral range. In particular, we discuss data cubes from the planetary nebula M27, the supernova remnants NGC 6992 and M1, the barred spiral galaxy NGC7479, as well as Stephans quintet, an interacting group of galaxies.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, to appear in "Ground-based and Airborne Instrumentation for Astronomy II", SPIE conference, Marseille, 23-28 June 200