33 research outputs found
The problem of church government and emergent presbyterianism in the Long Parliament, 1640 â 1643
The early years of the Long Parliament saw MPs seized with the issue of church
government. What began as an attack on the worst excesses of the Laudian
church quickly escalated into a wholesale assault on episcopacy itself. Taking
the opportunity to âreform the reformationâ MPs decided to abolish
episcopacy, and in 1643 they called in the experts to advise them on what form
of church government should take its place. Two years later the Westminster
Assembly put forward a presbyterian system of church government which the
following year parliament would set out to erect with the Erastian
modifications parliament desired.
The reasons why MPs chose presbyterianism have been little studied, many
historians accepting the traditional view that it was as a result of pressure from
the Scots. Through an examination of parliamentary debates in the years 1640
â 1643 this thesis will identify and trace an emerging English presbyterian
position in the Long Parliament to demonstrate that the MPsâ choice was
proactive rather than reactive and resulted from religious, political and social
ideas distinctive to England
Development of outcome measures for autoimmune dermatoses
Validated outcome measures are essential in monitoring disease severity. Specifically in dermatology, which relies heavily on the clinical evaluation of the patient and not on laboratory values and radiographic tests, outcome measures help standardize patient care. Validated cutaneous scoring systems, much like standardized laboratory values, facilitate disease management and follow therapeutic response. Several cutaneous autoimmune dermatoses, specifically cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), dermatomyositis (DM), and pemphigus vulgaris (PV), lack such outcome measures. As a result, evaluation of disease severity and patientsâ response to therapy over time is less reliable. Ultimately, patient care is compromised. These diseases, which are often chronic and relapsing and remitting, are also often refractory to treatment. Without outcome measures, new therapies cannot be systematically assessed in these diseases. Clinical trials that are completed without standardized outcome measures produce less reliable results. Therefore, the development of validated outcome measures in these autoimmune dermatoses is critical. However, the process of developing these tools is as important, if not more so, than their availability. This review examines the steps that should be considered when developing outcome measures, while further examining their importance in clinical practice and trials. Finally, this review more closely looks at CLE, DM, and PV and addresses the recent and ongoing progress that has been made in the development of their outcome measures
Causes of decoupling between larval supply and settlement and consequences for understanding recruitment and population connectivity
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2010. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 392 (2010): 9-21, doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2010.04.008.Marine broadcast spawners have two-phase life cycles, with pelagic larvae and benthic adults.
Larval supply and settlement link these two phases and are crucial for the persistence of marine
populations. Mainly due to the complexity in sampling larval supply accurately, many
researchers use settlement as a proxy for larval supply. Larval supply is a constraining variable
for settlement because, without larval supply, there is no settlement. Larval supply and
settlement may not be well correlated, however, and settlement may not consistently estimate
larval supply.
This paper explores the argument that larval supply (i.e., larval abundance near settlement sites)
may not relate linearly to settlement. We review the relationship between larval supply and
settlement, from estimates and biases in larval supply sampling, to non-behavioral and
behavioral components, including small-scale hydrodynamics, competency, gregarious behavior,
intensification of settlement, lunar periodicity, predation and cannibalism. Physical and structural
processes coupled with behavior, such as small-scale hydrodynamics and intensification of
settlement, sometimes result in under- or overestimation of larval supply, where it is predicted
from a linear relationship with settlement. Although settlement is a function of larval supply,
spatial and temporal processes interact with larval behavior to distort the relationship between
larval supply and settlement, and when these distortions act consistently in time and space, they
cause biased estimates of larval supply from settlement data.
Most of the examples discussed here suggest that behavior is the main source of the decoupling
between larval supply and settlement because larval behavior affects the vertical distribution of
larvae, the response of larvae to hydrodynamics, intensification of settlement, gregariousness,
predation and cannibalism. Thus, larval behavior seems to limit broad generalizations on the
regulation of settlement by larval supply. Knowledge of the relationship is further hindered by
the lack of a well founded theoretical relationship between the two variables.
The larval supply- settlement transition may have strong general consequences for population
connectivity, since larval supply is a result of larval transport, and settlement constrains
recruitment. Thus, measuring larval supply and settlement effectively allows more accurate
quantification and understanding of larval transport, recruitment and population connectivity.JP would like to thank WHOI Ocean Life Institute for partial funding. FPâs contribution is based upon research supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and National Research Foundation
The IDENTIFY study: the investigation and detection of urological neoplasia in patients referred with suspected urinary tract cancer - a multicentre observational study
Objective
To evaluate the contemporary prevalence of urinary tract cancer (bladder cancer, upper tract urothelial cancer [UTUC] and renal cancer) in patients referred to secondary care with haematuria, adjusted for established patient risk markers and geographical variation.
Patients and Methods
This was an international multicentre prospective observational study. We included patients aged â„16 years, referred to secondary care with suspected urinary tract cancer. Patients with a known or previous urological malignancy were excluded. We estimated the prevalence of bladder cancer, UTUC, renal cancer and prostate cancer; stratified by age, type of haematuria, sex, and smoking. We used a multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression to adjust cancer prevalence for age, type of haematuria, sex, smoking, hospitals, and countries.
Results
Of the 11 059 patients assessed for eligibility, 10 896 were included from 110 hospitals across 26 countries. The overall adjusted cancer prevalence (n = 2257) was 28.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 22.3â34.1), bladder cancer (n = 1951) 24.7% (95% CI 19.1â30.2), UTUC (n = 128) 1.14% (95% CI 0.77â1.52), renal cancer (n = 107) 1.05% (95% CI 0.80â1.29), and prostate cancer (n = 124) 1.75% (95% CI 1.32â2.18). The odds ratios for patient risk markers in the model for all cancers were: age 1.04 (95% CI 1.03â1.05; P < 0.001), visible haematuria 3.47 (95% CI 2.90â4.15; P < 0.001), male sex 1.30 (95% CI 1.14â1.50; P < 0.001), and smoking 2.70 (95% CI 2.30â3.18; P < 0.001).
Conclusions
A better understanding of cancer prevalence across an international population is required to inform clinical guidelines. We are the first to report urinary tract cancer prevalence across an international population in patients referred to secondary care, adjusted for patient risk markers and geographical variation. Bladder cancer was the most prevalent disease. Visible haematuria was the strongest predictor for urinary tract cancer
The Social Side of Borderline: Edgework in the Narrative Accounts of Self-injurers
Eleven in-depth life history interviews with respondents who identified as former self-injurers and a thematic analysis of the existing qualitative literature on self-injury constitute the data for this research. Self-injury, a growing public health concern, has typically been framed by researchers as an individual level, psychological, phenomenon with largely negative connotations. Edgework, a theoretical orientation which has been used to explain voluntary risk-taking such as skydiving and mountain climbing, has been applied to the activity of self-injury. The interviews and qualitative research on self-injury were coded for the presence of edgework as a vocabulary of motive. Framed as edgework, this distinctly sociological approach casts self-injury as a socially produced phenomenon which can be viewed as a reaction to oversocialization/alienation, a way to regulate negative internal conversation, a bid for self-actualization, realization, and determination, and more. Through edgework theory, self-injury can be understood to âmake senseâ at times
Autoethnography as a methodology in researching social problems
In this chapter, we will tell the reader about autoethnography as a research methodology and show its usefulness for researching social problems. In what follows we pedagogically define autoethnography, discuss its theoretical orientation, and the politics that underpin it. We also discuss varieties of autoethnography in the study of social problems, as well as some of its advantages and limitations. Then we reflexively examine autoethnography, providing a few examples. Finally, we close with an argument regarding the appropriateness of autoethnography as a method for showcasing social problems as lived, emotional experiences and as socially constructed realities
Junior Recital, Taylor Gaines, flute
This junior recital will fulfill in part the requirements for the Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. Taylor Gaines studies flute with Dr. Tabatha Easley
A Paternal Fish Oil Diet Preconception Modulates the Gut Microbiome and Attenuates Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Neonatal Mice
Epidemiology and animal studies suggest that a paternal history of toxicant exposure contributes to the developmental origins of health and disease. Using a mouse model, our laboratory previously reported that a paternal history of in utero exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) increased his offspring’s risk of developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Additionally, our group and others have found that formula supplementation also increases the risk of NEC in both humans and mice. Our murine studies revealed that intervening with a paternal fish oil diet preconception eliminated the TCDD-associated outcomes that are risk factors for NEC (e.g., intrauterine growth restriction, delayed postnatal growth, and preterm birth). However, the efficacy of a paternal fish oil diet in eliminating the risk of disease development in his offspring was not investigated. Herein, reproductive-age male mice exposed to TCDD in utero were weaned to a standard or fish oil diet for one full cycle of spermatogenesis, then mated to age-matched unexposed females. Their offspring were randomized to a strict maternal milk diet or a supplemental formula diet from postnatal days 7–10. Offspring colon contents and intestines were collected to determine the onset of gut dysbiosis and NEC. We found that a paternal fish oil diet preconception reduced his offspring’s risk of toxicant-driven NEC, which was associated with a decrease in the relative abundance of the Firmicutes phylum, but an increase in the relative abundance of the Negativicutes class