An Inductive Study of the Principles of Stewardship of Material Goods as Taught in the Four Gospels

A study of the Scriptures, as well as observing the economic structure of society, reveals that money, or its equivalent in the for.m of material goods, is vital to the life of every individual. The problem of wealth is, and has always been, one of the most important ethical problems of the world. Neither religion nor civilization can evade that problem and live. Money, the most common of temporal things, can be used for good or for evil, depending upon the desire and wish of the individual who has possession of it. For this reason it involves uncommon and eternal consequences. No wonder, then, that God has given stewardship so important a place in the training of the human race. It is one of the divine kindergarten methods of developing human life. The grace of giving is God\u27s antidote for human selfishness. It has three distinct angles of relation in which to be viewed: upward, in relation to God; inward, in relation to the Individual; outward, in relation to Society

How CIOs Overcome the Competing Values Challenge: Irish CIOs’ Perspectives

Competing values are a fact of organizational life. However, there are gaps in our understanding about how these opposing beliefs hinder influence processes. This article draws on interview data to demonstrate how Irish Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are able to convince their colleagues to support new projects within their firms in the face of competing values. Focused interviews were used to explore the influence process and the competing values phenomenon, since this type of research is at an early stage and qualitative methods and analysis serve as a rich source of theory development. The data showed that the CIOs who did not face competing values were able to successfully influence other executives to support proposed projects. Additionally, half of the remaining CIOs who did face competing values were also successful at influencing their colleagues. In these cases, several features of the situation existed, including (a) small relative project size, (b) projects that were consistent with both external and internal environmental conditions, (c) the use of upward influence, and (d) the right combination of influence behaviors. Finally, we suggest actions that CIOs can use to successfully influence other executives when faced with the challenge of competing values

Using New Selection Tools

The goal of most beef production systems is to increase or at least maintain profitability. Producers can attempt to increase profitability in a variety of ways that might include reducing feed costs, changing their marketing program, or perhaps by changing the performance of their herd through genetic improvement. Focusing on this latter option, there are two primary genetic tools available: selection and mating where selection refers to the selection of breeding animals and mating includes which females are mated to which bulls, for example, crossbreeding systems. This paper focuses on the former, the selection of the appropriate animals for a production system with the goal to improve profitability. The best tool available for making selection decisions is expected progeny differences (EPD). Over the years the number of EPD available to guide producers in making selection decisions has grown from 5 to over 15 in most cases. Simply put, the amount of information that the breeder must sift through to try to make a good selection decision has become overwhelming. The producer must determine which EPD have the greatest influence on their income and their expenses, and by how much—a daunting task. Historically this task has depended on the “intuition” and experience of the breeder. For instance, they know that selection for heavier weaning weight will increase the weight of calves sold at weaning, but that blind selection for weaning weight will also increase calving difficulty and if replacements are kept, likely increase cow size and feed costs. Breeders have been performing a balancing act with little concrete information on how important each of those traits is to their profitability. Fortunately, there are several tools that have recently become available to ease the process of combining the costs and the revenues of beef production with EPD to make selection decisions that will produce progeny which are more profitable

Direct health care costs of treating seasonal affective disorder: a comparison of light therapy and fluoxetine.

Objective. To compare the direct mental health care costs between individuals with Seasonal Affective Disorder randomized to either fluoxetine or light therapy. Methods. Data from the CANSAD study was used. CANSAD was an 8-week multicentre double-blind study that randomized participants to receive either light therapy plus placebo capsules or placebo light therapy plus fluoxetine. Participants were aged 18-65 who met criteria for major depressive episodes with a seasonal (winter) pattern. Mental health care service use was collected for each subject for 4 weeks prior to the start of treatment and for 4 weeks prior to the end of treatment. All direct mental health care services costs were analysed, including inpatient and outpatient services, investigations, and medications. Results. The difference in mental health costs was significantly higher after treatment for the light therapy group compared to the medication group-a difference of $111.25 (z = -3.77, P = 0.000). However, when the amortized cost of the light box was taken into the account, the groups were switched with the fluoxetine group incurring greater direct care costs-a difference of$75.41 (z = -2.635, P = 0.008). Conclusion. The results suggest that individuals treated with medication had significantly less mental health care cost after-treatment compared to those treated with light therapy

Visual similarity in masking and priming: The critical role of task relevance

Cognitive scientists use rapid image sequences to study both the emergence of conscious perception (visual masking) and the unconscious processes involved in response preparation (masked priming). The present study asked two questions: (1) Does image similarity influence masking and priming in the same way? (2) Are similarity effects in both tasks governed by the extent of feature overlap in the images or only by task-relevant features? Participants in Experiment 1 classified human faces using a single dimension even though the faces varied in three dimensions (emotion, race, sex). Abstract geometric shapes and colors were tested in the same way in Experiment 2. Results showed that similarity reduced the visibility of the target in the masking task and increased response speed in the priming task, pointing to a double-dissociation between the two tasks. Results also showed that only task-relevant (not objective) similarity influenced masking and priming, implying that both tasks are influenced from the beginning by intentions of the participant. These findings are interpreted within the framework of a reentrant theory of visual perception. They imply that intentions can influence object formation prior to the separation of vision for perception and vision for action

Hernioplastía Inguinal Electiva

Antecedentes: La hernioplastía es la técnica más utilizada para reparar la hernia inguinal.Objetivos: determinar las características demográficas, tipos de hernia, clasificación y resultados de la cirugía.Pacientes y Método: Serie de 229 pacientes sometidos a hernioplastia inguinal electiva en la Primera Cátedra de Clínica Quirúrgica en el periodo 2005–2009; estudio descriptivo retrospectivo longitudinal con las siguientes variables: características demográficas, co-morbilidad, tipo de hernia, clasificación de Gilbert, modalidad de reparación y resultados inmediatos.Resultados: La edad media fue de 46 años y 90 % eran varones; la hernia era indirecta en 84%, directa en 7% y mixtas en 5%. En 112 casos la hernia se situaba a la derecha, en 99 a la izquierda y en 18 bilateral. Se encontró hipertensión arterial en 46 pacientes, cardiopatía hipertensiva en 8, cardiopatía isquémica en 2, tabaquismo 5 y diabetes mellitus en 2 ; 10 pacientes tenían hipertrofia prostática, 5 asma o alergia a medicamentos y 5 trastornos psiquiátricos ; 18% correspondían al tipo I de Gilbert, 45% al tipo II, 18% al III, 4% al IV, 8% al V y el restante tipo VI y VII. Se empleó la técnica del Plugstein en 207 pacientes y la técnica de Lichtenstein en 22. Las complicaciones fueron: hematoma en 3 y seroma en 2. Un paciente desarrolló infección del sitio quirúrgico. Una recidiva precoz fue comprobada en 3 pacientes (1.3%).Conclusiones: la hernia inguinal es más frecuente en la 5a década y en el sexo masculino. La variedad más frecuente es la indirecta y la mayoría son de tipo II de Gilbert. La hernioplastia electiva permite obtener resultados inmediatos satisfactorios, con escasa recidiva

The quality control theory of aging

The quality control (QC) theory of aging is based on the concept that aging is the result of a reduction in QC of cellular systems designed to maintain lifelong homeostasis. Four QC systems associated with aging are 1) inadequate protein processing in a distressed endoplasmic reticulum (ER); 2) histone deacetylase (HDAC) processing of genomic histones and gene silencing; 3) suppressed AMPK nutrient sensing with inefficient energy utilization and excessive fat accumulation; and 4) beta-adrenergic receptor (BAR) signaling and environmental and emotional stress. Reprogramming these systems to maintain efficiency and prevent aging would be a rational strategy for increased lifespan and improved health. The QC theory can be tested with a pharmacological approach using three well-known and safe, FDA-approved drugs: 1) phenyl butyric acid, a chemical chaperone that enhances ER function and is also an HDAC inhibitor, 2) metformin, which activates AMPK and is used to treat type 2 diabetes, and 3) propranolol, a beta blocker which inhibits BAR signaling and is used to treat hypertension and anxiety. A critical aspect of the QC theory, then, is that aging is associated with multiple cellular systems that can be targeted with drug combinations more effectively than with single drugs. But more importantly, these drug combinations will effectively prevent, delay, or reverse chronic diseases of aging that impose such a tremendous health burden on our society

Considerations In Developing And Utilizing Operator Training Simulators

Effective electric system operation depends on strengthening the relationship between the system operator and the electrical system with its associated control system. This relationship can be developed through a training medium which increases the operator\u27s knowledge of the behavior of the power system under various operating conditions and contingencies, and its response to control actions. An Operator Training Simulator (OTS), which simulates the static and dynamic responses of the operator\u27s power system and his control system, can accomplish these training objectives. The concepts developed in this paper are based on the work of the project team through funding by the Electric Power Research Institute. Copyright © 1983 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc

Ferristatin II Promotes Degradation of Transferrin Receptor-1 In Vitro and In Vivo

Previous studies have shown that the small molecule iron transport inhibitor ferristatin (NSC30611) acts by down-regulating transferrin receptor-1 (TfR1) via receptor degradation. In this investigation, we show that another small molecule, ferristatin II (NSC8679), acts in a similar manner to degrade the receptor through a nystatin-sensitive lipid raft pathway. Structural domains of the receptor necessary for interactions with the clathrin pathway do not appear to be necessary for ferristatin II induced degradation of TfR1. While TfR1 constitutively traffics through clathrin-mediated endocytosis, with or without ligand, the presence of Tf blocked ferristatin II induced degradation of TfR1. This effect of Tf was lost in a ligand binding receptor mutant G647A TfR1, suggesting that Tf binding to its receptor interferes with the drug’s activity. Rats treated with ferristatin II have lower TfR1 in liver. These effects are associated with reduced intestinal 59Fe uptake, lower serum iron and transferrin saturation, but no change in liver non-heme iron stores. The observed hypoferremia promoted by degradation of TfR1 by ferristatin II appears to be due to induced hepcidin gene expression