Letters and records of the dissenting congregations: David Crosley, Cripplegate and Baptist Church life

The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comInternational audienceThis chapter examines the status and function of letters in manuscript records of dissenting Churches of the post-Toleration years, concentrating on the correspondence of the Baptist Church of Cripplegate. The letters are placed in the context of controversies about Church government and discipline and the rhetoric used during the scandal caused by the excommunication of its Northern minister David Crosley for drinking, lying and adultery is assessed. In doing so, the chapter pays particular attention to the epistolary exchanges between metropolitan and provincial congregations and to what they reveal about conceptions of the Baptist ministry

Normative data on regional sweat-sodium concentrations of professional male team-sport athletes

Background: The purpose of this paper was to report normative data on regional sweat sweat-sodium concentrations of various professional male team-sport athletes, and to compare sweat-sodium concentrations among sports. Data to this effect would inform our understanding of athlete sodium requirements, thus allowing for the individualisation of sodium replacement strategies. Accordingly, data from 696 athletes (Soccer, n = 270; Rugby, n = 181; Baseball, n = 133; American Football, n = 60; Basketball, n = 52) were compiled for a retrospective analysis. Regional sweat-sodium concentrations were collected using the pilocarpine iontophoresis method, and compared to self-reported measures collected via questionnaire. Results: Sweat-sodium concentrations were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in American football (50.4 ± 15.3 mmol·L-1), baseball (54.0 ± 14.0 mmol·L-1), and basketball (48.3 ± 14.0 mmol·L-1) than either soccer (43.2 ± 12.0 mmol·L-1) or rugby (44.0 ± 12.1 mmol·L-1), but with no differences among the N.American or British sports. There were strong positive correlations between sweat-sodium concentrations and self-reported sodium losses in American football (rs = 0.962, p < 0.001), basketball (rs = 0.953, p < 0.001), rugby (rs = 0.813, p < 0.001), and soccer (rs = 0.748, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The normative data provided on sweat-sodium concentrations might assist sports science/medicine practitioners in generating bespoke hydration and electrolyte-replacement strategies to meet the sodium demands of professional team-sport athletes. Moreover, these novel data suggest that self-reported measures of sodium loss might serve as an effective surrogate in the absence of direct measures; i.e., those which are more expensive or non-readily available

Characterising droughts in Central America with uncertain hydro-meteorological data

Central America is frequently affected by droughts that cause significant socio-economic and environmental problems. Drought characterisation, monitoring and forecasting are potentially useful to support water resource management. Drought indices are designed for these purposes, but their ability to characterise droughts depends on the characteristics of the regional climate and the quality of the available data. Local comprehensive and high-quality observational networks of meteorological and hydrological data are not available, which limits the choice of drought indices and makes it important to assess available datasets. This study evaluated which combinations of drought index and meteorological dataset were most suitable for characterising droughts in the region. We evaluated the standardised precipitation index (SPI), a modified version of the deciles index (DI), the standardised precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) and the effective drought index (EDI). These were calculated using precipitation data from the Climate Hazards Group Infra-Red Precipitation with Station (CHIRPS), the CRN073 dataset, the Climate Research Unit (CRU), ECMWF Reanalysis (ERA-Interim) and a regional station dataset, and temperature from the CRU and ERA-Interim datasets. The gridded meteorological precipitation datasets were compared to assess how well they captured key features of the regional climate. The performance of all the drought indices calculated with all the meteorological datasets was then evaluated against a drought index calculated using river discharge data. Results showed that the selection of database was more important than the selection of drought index and that the best combinations were the EDI and DI calculated with CHIRPS and CRN073. Results also highlighted the importance of including indices like SPEI for drought assessment in Central America.Universidad de Costa Rica/[805-B0-810]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-A9-532]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B3-600]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B0-065]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B3-413]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B4-227]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B4-228]/UCR/Costa RicaUniversidad de Costa Rica/[805-B5-295]/UCR/Costa RicaUppsala University/[54100006]//SueciaMarie Curie Intra-European Fellowship/[No.329762]//EuropaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigaciones Geofísicas (CIGEFI)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Físic

Utilisation of an operative difficulty grading scale for laparoscopic cholecystectomy

Background A reliable system for grading operative difficulty of laparoscopic cholecystectomy would standardise description of findings and reporting of outcomes. The aim of this study was to validate a difficulty grading system (Nassar scale), testing its applicability and consistency in two large prospective datasets. Methods Patient and disease-related variables and 30-day outcomes were identified in two prospective cholecystectomy databases: the multi-centre prospective cohort of 8820 patients from the recent CholeS Study and the single-surgeon series containing 4089 patients. Operative data and patient outcomes were correlated with Nassar operative difficultly scale, using Kendall’s tau for dichotomous variables, or Jonckheere–Terpstra tests for continuous variables. A ROC curve analysis was performed, to quantify the predictive accuracy of the scale for each outcome, with continuous outcomes dichotomised, prior to analysis. Results A higher operative difficulty grade was consistently associated with worse outcomes for the patients in both the reference and CholeS cohorts. The median length of stay increased from 0 to 4 days, and the 30-day complication rate from 7.6 to 24.4% as the difficulty grade increased from 1 to 4/5 (both p < 0.001). In the CholeS cohort, a higher difficulty grade was found to be most strongly associated with conversion to open and 30-day mortality (AUROC = 0.903, 0.822, respectively). On multivariable analysis, the Nassar operative difficultly scale was found to be a significant independent predictor of operative duration, conversion to open surgery, 30-day complications and 30-day reintervention (all p < 0.001). Conclusion We have shown that an operative difficulty scale can standardise the description of operative findings by multiple grades of surgeons to facilitate audit, training assessment and research. It provides a tool for reporting operative findings, disease severity and technical difficulty and can be utilised in future research to reliably compare outcomes according to case mix and intra-operative difficulty

Subject specific demands of teaching: Implications for out-of-field teachers

This chapter provides a framework for thinking about the subject-specific nature of teaching in terms of the knowledge, modes of inquiry and discursive practices that delineate one subject from another in the traditional school curriculum. The chapter will explore how these disciplinary traits are translated into teaching as curriculum, knowledge and pedagogy, and how this subject-specificity of teaching is juxtaposed against the more generic aspects of teaching. The chapter explores the idea that if a teacher’s expertise can be situated within a field, then they can also be positioned out-of-field. Implications for teaching out-of-field are discussed in terms of the subject-specific knowledge, processes and skills, and the difficulties associated with teacher practice. English and Australian illustrations of teacher practices from in-field and out-of-field situations are provided, in particular highlighting the demands of moving across subject boundaries. Cross-fertilisation is especially evident when subjects are integrated, therefore, the issues associated with integrated curriculum are discussed where the traditional subject boundaries are being challenged as schools are reorganised to integrate subjects through, for example, STEM teaching, or holistic curriculum designs

Teacher Wellbeing: The Importance of Teacher–Student Relationships

Many studies have examined the importance of teacher-student relationships for the development of children. Much less is known, however, about how these relationships impact the professional and personal lives of teachers. This review considers the importance of teacher-student relationships for the wellbeing of teachers guided by the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping of Lazarus (1991). Based on theories on interpersonal relationships, it is postulated that teachers have a basic need for relatedness with the students in their class that originates from the close proximity between teacher and student. It is discussed that teachers internalize experiences with students in representational models of relationships that guide emotional responses in daily interactions with students, and changes teacher wellbeing in the long run. In addition, the notion of mental representations of relationships at different levels of generalization could offer a window to understand how individual teacher-student relationships may affect the professional and personal self-esteem of teachers. Lastly, it is argued that the influence of student misbehavior on teacher stress may be more fully understood from a relationship perspective. The review shows that few studies have directly tested these propositions and offers suggestions for future research

Identification and characterization of microRNAs expressed in the African malaria vector Anopheles funestus life stages using high throughput sequencing

Background: Over the past several years, thousands of microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified in the genomes of various insects through cloning and sequencing or even by computational prediction. However, the number of miRNAs identified in anopheline species is low and little is known about their role. The mosquito Anopheles funestus is one of the dominant malaria vectors in Africa, which infects and kills millions of people every year. Therefore, small RNA molecules isolated from the four life stages (eggs, larvae, pupae and unfed adult females) of An. funestus were sequenced using next generation sequencing technology. Results: High throughput sequencing of four replicates in combination with computational analysis identified 107 mature miRNA sequences expressed in the An. funestus mosquito. These include 20 novel miRNAs without sequence identity in any organism and eight miRNAs not previously reported in the Anopheles genus but are known in non-anopheles mosquitoes. Finally, the changes in the expression of miRNAs during the mosquito development were determined and the analysis showed that many miRNAs have stage-specific expression, and are co-transcribed and co-regulated during development. Conclusions: This study presents the first direct experimental evidence of miRNAs in An. funestus and the first profiling study of miRNA associated with the maturation in this mosquito. Overall, the results indicate that miRNAs play important roles during the growth and development. Silencing such molecules in a specific life stage could decrease the vector population and therefore interrupt malaria transmission.IS

Epigenetic Analysis of KSHV Latent and Lytic Genomes

Epigenetic modifications of the herpesviral genome play a key role in the transcriptional control of latent and lytic genes during a productive viral lifecycle. In this study, we describe for the first time a comprehensive genome-wide ChIP-on-Chip analysis of the chromatin associated with the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) genome during latency and lytic reactivation. Depending on the gene expression class, different combinations of activating [acetylated H3 (AcH3) and H3K4me3] and repressive [H3K9me3 and H3K27me3] histone modifications are associated with the viral latent genome, which changes upon reactivation in a manner that is correlated with their expression. Specifically, both the activating marks co-localize on the KSHV latent genome, as do the repressive marks. However, the activating and repressive histone modifications are mutually exclusive of each other on the bulk of the latent KSHV genome. The genomic region encoding the IE genes ORF50 and ORF48 possesses the features of a bivalent chromatin structure characterized by the concomitant presence of the activating H3K4me3 and the repressive H3K27me3 marks during latency, which rapidly changes upon reactivation with increasing AcH3 and H3K4me3 marks and decreasing H3K27me3. Furthermore, EZH2, the H3K27me3 histone methyltransferase of the Polycomb group proteins (PcG), colocalizes with the H3K27me3 mark on the entire KSHV genome during latency, whereas RTA-mediated reactivation induces EZH2 dissociation from the genomic regions encoding IE and E genes concurrent with decreasing H3K27me3 level and increasing IE/E lytic gene expression. Moreover, either the inhibition of EZH2 expression by a small molecule inhibitor DZNep and RNAi knockdown, or the expression of H3K27me3-specific histone demethylases apparently induced the KSHV lytic gene expression cascade. These data indicate that histone modifications associated with the KSHV latent genome are involved in the regulation of latency and ultimately in the control of the temporal and sequential expression of the lytic gene cascade. In addition, the PcG proteins play a critical role in the control of KSHV latency by maintaining a reversible heterochromatin on the KSHV lytic genes. Thus, the regulation of the spatial and temporal association of the PcG proteins with the KSHV genome may be crucial for propagating the KSHV lifecycle

Ubiquitous molecular substrates for associative learning and activity-dependent neuronal facilitation.

Recent evidence suggests that many of the molecular cascades and substrates that contribute to learning-related forms of neuronal plasticity may be conserved across ostensibly disparate model systems. Notably, the facilitation of neuronal excitability and synaptic transmission that contribute to associative learning in Aplysia and Hermissenda, as well as associative LTP in hippocampal CA1 cells, all require (or are enhanced by) the convergence of a transient elevation in intracellular Ca2+ with transmitter binding to metabotropic cell-surface receptors. This temporal convergence of Ca2+ and G-protein-stimulated second-messenger cascades synergistically stimulates several classes of serine/threonine protein kinases, which in turn modulate receptor function or cell excitability through the phosphorylation of ion channels. We present a summary of the biophysical and molecular constituents of neuronal and synaptic facilitation in each of these three model systems. Although specific components of the underlying molecular cascades differ across these three systems, fundamental aspects of these cascades are widely conserved, leading to the conclusion that the conceptual semblance of these superficially disparate systems is far greater than is generally acknowledged. We suggest that the elucidation of mechanistic similarities between different systems will ultimately fulfill the goal of the model systems approach, that is, the description of critical and ubiquitous features of neuronal and synaptic events that contribute to memory induction

The "Statinth" wonder of the world: a panacea for all illnesses or a bubble about to burst

After the introduction of statins in the market as effective lipid lowering agents, they were shown to have effects other than lipid lowering. These actions were collectively referred to as 'pleiotropic actions of statins.' Pleiotropism of statins formed the basis for evaluating statins for several indications other than lipid lowering. Evidence both in favour and against is available for several of these indications. The current review attempts to critically summarise the available data for each of these indications