The Gospels of Mark and Matthew in the context of the early church

The New Testament is witness to disagreement in the early church about whether Gentile converts to the good news needed to abide by the ritualistic aspects of the Jewish Torah. One view, advocated by Paul, was that Gentiles did not need to adhere to these aspects of the Law. Another view, promoted by James and Peter in the Jerusalem Church, held that the Torah had not been moved aside with Jesus’ ministry. As such, there were different views in the early church about what an appropriate Gentile mission should entail, and this tension is seen at the Council of Jerusalem (Acts. 15:1-21; Gal. 2:1-10), the Incident at Antioch (Gal. 2:11-14), the Crisis at Galatia (Gal. 1:1-24), as well as at other times in Paul’s missionary career (Phil. 3:2-6). The premise of this study is that this early church disagreement was not resolved during Paul’s lifetime but continued into the late first century and is reflected in the Gospels of Mark and Matthew. Mark’s advocacy for a Law-free Gentile mission is seen in the Markan Jesus’ active efforts to take the gospel to Gentiles (Mark 4:35-5:20; 6:45-52; 7:24-8:9; 8:13-9:29), in his stories that promote such an undertaking (Mark 7:24-30; 8:1-9), and in his liberal attitude towards the Torah (Mark 2:23-3:6; 7:15, 19b). Matthew, while using Mark’s Law-free Gospel, promotes a Law-abiding Gospel. This is seen in his insistence that the Torah is eternally binding (Matt. 5:17-19), in his final commission where Gentiles are welcomed into this Law-abiding gospel (Matt. 28:16-20), and in the changes he makes to some Markan stories (Matt. 15:1-20 cf. Mark 7:1-23). These evangelists’ different positions can also be seen in how they represent the leaders of the Law-abiding movement, namely the disciples and family of Jesus. Mark portrays the disciples as steadily becoming more and more foolish as the Gospel goes on, and culminates in their betrayal, desertion, and denial of him (Mark 14:43-72). His portrayal of the family of Jesus is particularly poor, where he writes that Jesus rejects them (Mark 3:31-35), cannot work around them (Mark 6:16), and implies that they are guilty of the unforgivable sin (Mark 3:19b-30). Matthew keeps the basic narrative structure of the disciples’ portrayal in Mark, but tones down the criticism they are given, explicitly gives them responsibility in the future church (Matt. 16:17-19; 18:18; 19:28; 28:19-20), and adds a resurrection narrative where they are reconciled with the risen Jesus (Matt. 28:16-20). He also considerably refines the portrait of Jesus’ family, adding an infancy narrative where they are portrayed very positively (Matt. 1:18-2:23). These different portrayals, viewed through the context of the early church, likely reflect each author’s different views of these figures’ promotion of a Law-abiding Gentile mission. The final part of this study looks at recent questions about the relationship between these Gospels and Paul. In addressing the idea that Mark was influenced by Paul, it is seen that while Mark and Paul share a few key controversial points in common – namely promotion of a Law-free gospel and tension with the Jerusalem Church – there is no indication that Mark received these ideas from Paul. Instead, it is more likely that Mark and Paul were two independently Law-free Christian movements. On the question of whether Matthew was consciously criticising Paul, it is seen that while Matthew at places can be said to criticise a general Law-free theology (Matt. 5:17-19; 7:21-23) there is nothing specifically Pauline in his critique. In both cases then, it is seen that the Law-free movement was bigger than Paul, and that both Gospels could have been reacting to different Law-free movements in the first century church. While in retrospect Mark can be said to align more closely to Paul, and Matthew can be said to stand in tension with him, there is no evidence that either evangelist was consciously doing so. Mark and Matthew then, can be seen to strongly reflect different sides of the continuing debates in the early church about the relevance of the ritualistic aspects of the Torah for Gentiles, and studying both Gospels together in this context demonstrates how pervasive this debate was in the first Christian century

Polysaccharide food matrices for controlling the release, retention and perception of flavours

Polysaccharides have many roles across both the food and pharmaceutics industries. They are commonly used to enhance viscosity, stabilise emulsions and to add bulk to food products. In the pharmaceutics industry, they are also utilised for their mucoadhesive nature. Mucoadhesive polysaccharides can facilitate retention of active ingredients at mucosal sites for a prolonged time and formulations can be designed to control their release and bioavailability. This study investigates how polysaccharides, with differing physicochemical properties (e.g. functional groups and molecular weight), affect the release and perception of flavour compounds from films. Polysaccharide films were prepared using either high or low viscosity carboxymethyl cellulose, pullulan or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. Glucose, vanillin or a combination of both was also added to the films to assess the effect of flavour release and perception over time. The films were assessed for glucose release in vitro, swelling and disintegration times, and mucoadhesive ability. Results show that flavour release and perception depend on the polysaccharide matrix properties; this includes how quickly the films dissolves, the rate of release of tastant compounds, and the mucoadhesive strength of the polysaccharide. A higher viscosity and slower disintegration time resulted in slower release of glucose in vitro and flavour perception in vivo

Constructing Authentic and Meaningful STEAM Experiences Through University, School, and Community Partnerships

The aim of this article is to provide a model, an example, and suggestions for establishing and fostering meaningful partnerships to construct authentic and relevant STEAM learning experiences for preservice teachers. In order to prepare elementary preservice teachers to implement the Next Generation Science Standards alongside the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics in ways that are situated in relevant contexts and involve students in authentic inquiry-based problem solving, it is essential that PSTs actually experience modeled points of integration in their teacher preparation programs. It is our hope that this article inspires other teacher educators to develop partnerships with their university, local K–5 schools, and their community in order to best engage preservice teachers in meaningful STEAM-related learning and teaching

Acute alcohol-related dysfunction as a predictor of employment status in a longitudinal study of working-age men in Izhevsk, Russia.

AIMS: To investigate longitudinally the effect of alcohol consumption and related acute alcohol-related dysfunction on employment status. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1143 men aged 25-55 years in regular paid employment and resident in the city of Izhevsk, Russia were interviewed between 2003-06 and then re-interviewed (2008-09) and their employment status ascertained. MEASUREMENTS: Exposures of interest were baseline alcohol intake (yearly total volume of ethanol consumed and non-beverage alcohols) and alcohol-related dysfunction, measured by a latent variable defined in terms of frequency of alcohol-related dysfunctional behaviours and by one or more episodes of zapoi (a period of continuous drunkenness lasting 2 or more days). The outcome of interest was whether or not men were still in regular paid employment at follow-up. The inter-relationship between these variables was investigated using structural equation modelling. FINDINGS: Total volume of ethanol consumed had no substantive effect on future employment status; however, taking into account education and other socio-demographic factors, there was strong evidence that loss of regular paid employment at follow-up was influenced by non-beverage alcohol consumption [odds ratio = 2.30 for non-beverage drinkers compared with beverage-only drinkers, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.21, 4.40)], latent acute alcohol-related dysfunction (odds ratio = 1.50 per standard deviation increase in dysfunction score, 95% CI = 1.20, 1.88) and zapoi (odds ratio = 3.08, 95% CI = 1.71, 5.55). Acute alcohol-related dysfunction was an important mediator of the relationship between non-beverage alcohol use and employment status. CONCLUSIONS: Acute alcohol-related dysfunction is an important factor in determining whether men remain in employment and an important mediator of the effects of alcohol intake

Mucoadhesive polysaccharides modulate sodium retention, release and taste perception

The mucoadhesion between polymeric substances and mucosal membranes, widely exploited in the pharmaceutics industry to prolong drug residence, has been investigated as a means of retaining taste or aroma molecules in the oral cavity. This study shows that the mucoadhesive properties of carboxymethyl cellulose, a commonly used polysaccharide in the food and pharmaceutics industry, can modify retention, release and perception of sodium over time. A three-part study was designed coupling in vitro retention using ex vivo porcine tongue, sensory perception with a trained panel and in vivo retention of sodium ions in human volunteers. The findings suggest that although salt perception is stunted in samples containing a random coil, ionic, mucoadhesive thickener, the retention of sodium ions in the mouth is prolonged due to the mucoadhesive nature of the polysaccharide. Not only has this study-investigated mucoadhesion of liquid formulations in the oral cavity but it is also the first to link the mucoadhesive nature of a commonly used polysaccharide to the organoleptic properties of a food

Infrared Spectral Observations While Drilling into a Frozen Lunar Simulant

Past and continuing observations indicate an enrichment of volatile materials in lunar polar regions. While these volatiles may be located near the surface, access to them will likely require subsurface sampling, during which it is desirable to monitor the volatile content. In a simulation of such activities, a multilayer lunar simulant was prepared with differing water content, and placed inside a thermal vacuum chamber at Glenn Research Center (GRC). The soil profile was cooled using liquid nitrogen. In addition to the soil, a drill and infrared (IR) spectrometer (~1600-3400 nm) were also located in the GRC chamber. We report the spectral observations obtained during a sequence where the drill was repeatedly inserted and extracted, to different depths, at the same location. We observe an overall increase in the spectral signature of water ice over the duration of the test. Additionally, we observe variations in the water ice spectral signature as the drill encounters different layers

Sex Chromosome-Specific Regulation in the \u3ci\u3eDrosophila\u3c/i\u3e Male Germline But Little Evidence for Chromosomal Dosage Compensation or Meiotic Inactivation

The evolution of heteromorphic sex chromosomes (e.g., XY in males or ZW in females) has repeatedly elicited the evolution of two kinds of chromosome-specific regulation: dosage compensation—the equalization of X chromosome gene expression in males and females— and meiotic sex chromosome inactivation (MSCI)—the transcriptional silencing and heterochromatinization of the X during meiosis in the male (or Z in the female) germline. How the X chromosome is regulated in the Drosophila melanogaster male germline is unclear. Here we report three new findings concerning gene expression from the X in Drosophila testes. First, X chromosome-wide dosage compensation appears to be absent from most of the Drosophila male germline. Second, microarray analysis provides no evidence for X chromosome-specific inactivation during meiosis. Third, we confirm the previous discovery that the expression of transgene reporters driven by autosomal spermatogenesis-specific promoters is strongly reduced when inserted on the X chromosome versus the autosomes; but we show that this chromosomal difference in expression is established in premeiotic cells and persists in meiotic cells. The magnitude of the X-autosome difference in transgene expression cannot be explained by the absence of dosage compensation, suggesting that a previously unrecognized mechanism limits expression from the X during spermatogenesis in Drosophila. These findings help to resolve several previously conflicting reports and have implications for patterns of genome evolution and speciation in Drosophila

Sex Chromosome-Specific Regulation in the Drosophila Male Germline But Little Evidence for Chromosomal Dosage Compensation or Meiotic Inactivation

Suppression of X-linked transgene reporters versus normal expression of endogenous X-linked genes suggest a novel form of X chromosome-specific regulation in Drosophila testes, instead of sex chromosome dosage compensation or meiotic inactivation

Habitat complexity affects functional traits and diversity of ant assemblages in urban green spaces (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Habitat complexity conferred by vegetation characteristics mediates key processes that govern the assemblage of insect communities. Thus, species within the community should only persist if their functional traits are well-matched to the conditions of their environment. Here, we compared ant assemblages between habitats in terms of species richness and functional-trait distribution at the species and the assemblage level. Ants were collected from 36 sites representing different degrees of habitat complexity mediated by standing vegetation. We found fewer ant species in simpler habitats, supporting the "habitat-heterogeneity" hypothesis. We measured key functional traits of ants that reflect their foraging and dispersal strategies, such as body size, femur length, antenna scape length, and head length / width. Interactions of species traits with measured habitat complexity variables were assessed at the species and the assemblage level using a fourth-corner approach. Ant traits were closely related to environmental complexity. In wooded habitats, ants were larger and had broader heads, while ants with longer antenna scapes prevailed in habitats with a dense herb / grass layer. Our study suggests that vegetation structural complexity can act as an environmental filter, driving ant assemblages in terms of both species numbers and functional traits. Our results can be used to predict turnover patterns in ant assemblages due to changes in management practices

Increasing Student Achievement through School-Family-Community Collaborations: UMass Boston’s School Counseling Program at Dever School

Research has indicated that when a variety of stakeholders build partnerships, the achievement gap narrows, resulting in positive effects on student outcomes, including academic achievement, attendance, and discipline