The interplay between written and spoken word in the Second Testament as background to the emergence of written gospels

Christianity is a faith rooted in the written and the spoken word. However, the precise relationship between the written and the spoken word in the period of Christian origins has been a matter of much debate. Past studies have viewed the written and the spoken word as belonging to differentiated social worlds and modes of thought (e.g., Ong 1982; Kelber 1983). In recent years a more nuanced understanding of the interplay between written and spoken words and worlds has begun to emerge (e.g., Byrskog 2002; Jaffee 2001; Kirk 2008). Following this trend, I attempt, in this essay, to draw a kind of "contour map" of the textual world of the Second Testament with respect to written and spoken words, tracing where and how references to written and spoken words occur and the interplay between them. To assist in charting this territory, I employ as a compass references to the uses of written and spoken word found in Greek and Roman sources. My focus, then, is on primary sources rather than studies of these sources in secondary literature. While I include the broad range of texts in the Second Testament, the cornerstone of my study is Luke-Acts. The goal of this exercise is to gain insight into the different ways written and spoken words were perceived, encountered, and experienced in early Christian communities, and to explore what insight this may offer into the emergence of written gospels. This is self-consciously only an initial exploration of the territory, intended to lay the groundwork for a larger and more comprehensive project.Issue title: Oral Tradition in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

Establishing a link between anxiety sensitivity, exercise intolerance, and overeating

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions, highlighting the need to better understand contributors to under-exercise and overeating. Anxiety Sensitivity (AS) is hypothesized to amplify negative affect and avoidance motives, and has been linked to maladaptive coping behaviors such as eating pathology as well as distress during and avoidance of exercise. The current series of studies was designed to extend research that relied on self-report assessments, and investigate the role of AS in objectively-assessed eating and exercise behavior across three community samples. The first two studies examined eating in the context of experimentally-induced negative affect in a sample representing all weight categories (N = 57); and distress, perceived exertion, and affect changes during exercise in normal and obese weight groups (N = 38). The third study extended this investigation to a naturalistic setting, using actigraphy, affect, and dietary monitoring across a three-day period in normal and obese weight groups (N = 32). The hypotheses were that AS would predict more eating in the context of negative affect; greater perceived exertion and distress during exercise, as well as avoidance of exercise, with findings most pronounced in obese participants. Results were as follows. In the first study, more calories consumed following a negative affect induction was predicted by the interaction between a dimension of AS (mental concern) and the expectancy of loss of control from eating in overweight/obese participants. In the second study, there was no significant association between AS and ratings of exertion or distress during exercise; however, a trend suggested the expected affective benefits of acute exercise were not evident in obese participants with greater AS and exertion. The final study found that AS was associated with more calories consumed across the monitoring period in women but not men (who were equally represented across AS and weight groups), and was also predictive of more calories consumed in the context of negative affect. Additionally, high AS predicted less engagement in moderate-intensity exercise in obese participants and more in normal weight participants. Overall, these studies provide support for the hypothesis that AS is a predictor of both exercise avoidance and overeating behavior

The Relationship Between the Accuracy of Certain Generalized Body Density Prediction Equations and Indices of Fatness, Body Physique/Proportionality and Fat Distribution.

There is a need to eliminate the least accurate of the existing equations for anthropometrical body density prediction and support for the use of specific prediction equations over generalized equations. The purpose of the investigation was to examine the accuracy of the Jackson-Pollock (JP) and Durnin-Womersley (DW) generalized anthropometrical body density prediction equations in relation to indices of overall fatness, regional fat distribution and body proportionality. The relationships between prediction accuracy (predicted body density minus hydrodensitometric estimate of body density) and three mass/stature indices (total fatness indices), waist-to-hip circumference ratio (WC/HC)(android/gynoid fat distribution) and the three components of the Heath-Carter somatotype (body proportionality) were examined. if the prediction equations were truly generalized , no relationship between prediction accuracy and any of these indices should exist, rather accuracy should be random across the range of any index. Forty-five Caucasian males were recruited so that they were all similar with respect to age and overall adiposity to those subjects from which the JP and DW equations were derived. Results revealed no relationship (p $\u3e$ 0.05) between JP accuracy and any of the fatness indices, WC/HC or the somatotype. Similar results were found to exist with regards to the DW accuracy relationship with the fatness indices and WC/HC (p $\u3e$ 0.05). The accuracy of the DW equation was found to be significantly (p $\le$ 0.05) related to the components of the somatotype. The accuracy of the DW equation changed significantly as the components of the somatotype changed. Based on these results, it appears that the JP equation is accurate for generalized use across total adiposity as reflected by the mass/stature indices, regional fat distribution as reflected by WC/HC and body proportionality as reflected by the somatotype. The DW equation also appears to be accurate for generalized use across the total fatness and regional fatness indices. However, the DW equation is not generalized across a range of body proportionalities and its use as a generalized prediction equation is not recommended on a sample that varies from the original derivation sample with respect to body proportionality

Role of the endothelium in modulating sympathetic vasoconstriction in contracting skeletal muscle of young and older adults

2016 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Aerobic capacity is a powerful independent predictor of all-cause mortality in healthy and disease populations. Healthy (primary) ageing is associated with a decline in maximal aerobic capacity, exercise intolerance and elevated risk for ischemic cardiovascular disease. Specifically, ageing is characterized by impaired regulation of vascular tone during exercise, due in part to lower vasodilatory signaling and elevated sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity in the peripheral vasculature. Impaired regulation of peripheral vascular tone results in attenuated blood flow and oxygen delivery to contracting skeletal muscle during exercise and is a primary contributor to the age-associated decline in aerobic capacity. The overall aim of this dissertation is to determine the vascular signaling mechanisms responsible regulating sympathetic vasoconstrictor signaling during exercise in young healthy adults and translate these findings to improve vascular function during exercise in older adults. The regulation of blood flow and oxygen delivery during exercise depends on the proper integration of local vasodilatation and neural sympathetic vasoconstriction. In healthy humans, the integration of these competing signals results in attenuation of sympathetic vasoconstriction, or “sympatholysis”, to ensure adequate blood flow to contracting skeletal muscle. The signaling mechanisms responsible for sympatholysis in healthy humans are unknown. To date, the only exogenous vasodilator shown to mimic exercise in its ability to attenuate sympathetic vasoconstriction in humans is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The first aim of this dissertation is to determine if smooth muscle cell hyperpolarization (via activation of inwardly-rectifying potassium (KIR) channels), the primary vasodilatory pathway of ATP, is responsible for ATP-mediated attenuation of sympathetic vasoconstriction. In contrast to smooth muscle specific signaling, vasodilatory stimuli such as ATP and exercise can act through endothelium-dependent pathways. The second aim of this dissertation tests the hypothesis that endothelium-dependent signaling is capable of attenuating sympathetic vasoconstriction during exercise in young healthy humans. With age, impaired endothelial function and elevated sympathetic vasoconstrictor activity results in impaired functional sympatholysis. The third aim is to determine if augmentation of endothelium-dependent signaling during exercise improves age-associated impairments in functional sympatholysis. The primary findings of this dissertation are that 1) similar to exercise, the ability of ATP to attenuate sympathetic vasoconstriction is independent of smooth muscle cell hyperpolarization via activation of KIR channels, 2) activation of endothelium-dependent signaling during exercise significantly enhances the ability of contracting skeletal muscle to attenuate sympathetic vasoconstriction, and 3) that augmentation of endothelium-dependent signaling during exercise significantly improves functional sympatholysis in older adults. These findings are the first to identify endothelium-dependent modulation of sympathetic vasoconstriction in humans, and identifies vascular signaling pathways capable of improving the regulation of vascular tone during exercise in older adults. These findings are clinically significant for patient populations and disease states characterized by impaired functional sympatholysis including ageing, hypertension, and heart failure

The implications of "Orality" for studies of the biblical text

My goal in this article is to highlight some of the ways in which the application of studies in oral tradition to biblical texts has begun to foment a shift in thinking among biblical scholars by encouraging us to look at the biblical texts in relation to their oral-aural contexts and by considering how these oral-aural texts functioned in the ancient world. Because these studies have taken us in many different directions, my paper is structured as a series of "sound bytes" loosely grafted together. My intent is to be suggestive rather than comprehensive, to describe some of the places we have been and some of the places we have yet to go.Issue title "Slavica.

PLANAR GRAPHS, BIPLANAR GRAPHS AND GRAPH THICKNESS

A graph is planar if it can be drawn on a piece of paper such that no two edges cross. The smallest complete and complete bipartite graphs that are not planar are K5 and K{3,3}. A biplanar graph is a graph whose edges can be colored using red and blue such that the red edges induce a planar subgraph and the blue edges induce a planar subgraph. In this thesis, we determine the smallest complete and complete bipartite graphs that are not biplanar

Teachers’ perceptions of teacher incentives on district attendance incentive programs and their impact on improving overall teacher attendance

Teacher absenteeism is a problem that needs a solution. It is imperative that teachers come to work each day to prepare their students for academic achievement. If teachers are chronically absent from work, the students’ academic achievement suffers. There needs to be a way to minimize teacher absences. School districts must track data that shows teacher absences in order to get a clear picture of when and where the absences are the greatest problem. A review of the literature identified several studies conducted over the years that document the effects of teacher absenteeism. With this in mind, it is recommended that incentives be put in place to reduce the absences of the teachers. I furthered the research to include data from a school district by researching teacher perceptions of the use of teacher attendance incentives in the school district. The purpose of this study was to determine which schools within the school district have Incentive programs in place to motivate teachers to come to work. Existing attendance data was obtained to analyze the attendance of the teachers at each building. The teachers were then surveyed to identify the incentives that are in place at each building and the teachers’ perceptions of those incentives. The surveys conducted also assisted in determining if the attendance incentives that are used as motivation are effective to motivate teachers to attend work. The results of the teachers’ perceptions of the incentive program at each school will be compared with the teacher attendance data to determine which teacher attendance incentives are effective in motivating teachers to attend work as scheduled. The incentives that are the most effective will be shared with each principal in the district to utilize in maintaining better teacher attendance throughout the school district

Assessment of Thermographic Imaging Systems on Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) to Identify Artificial Grassland Bird Nests

Grassland bird populations can be good indicator species of ecosystem health. However, their populations are declining at greater rates than any other group of birds. A well-established method of monitoring rapidly disappearing bird populations is by locating and identifying active nests. Studies quantifying grassland birds tend to have low statistical power due to low sample sizes, high labor costs, and high levels of disturbance - associated with difficulty finding nests. However, advances in small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and thermographic imaging technologies have the potential to improve efficiency and accuracy of locating nests, while causing minimal disruption. Early research has evaluated nest detectability using a thermal imaging system equipped to a sUAS. The sUAS was flown at three different altitudes to detect simulated nests at incremental depths in monoculture grass stand canopies. This study evaluated nest detection accuracy using visual assessment of two different types of thermal imagery. The first type of imagery used third-party software to create a stitched thermal map of the research area, while the second method utilized real-time video feed from the thermal sensor to identify simulated nest locations. Both methodologies were tested in a blind evaluation, using five evaluators and two replications. Results from this study have suggested that mapping software does not optimize nest detectability and identification, and the analysis of videos proves to be a much more precise way to detect and identify nests

From I Want To Hold Your Hand to Promiscuous : Sexual Stereotypes in Popular Music Lyrics, 1060-2008

Media content analyses indicate that gender-based differences in sexuality are common and consistent with gender stereotypes. Specifically, women are expected to focus on love and romantic relationships and have sexually objectified bodies, while men are expected to focus on sexual behavior. Although decades of research have documented the presence of these stereotypes in a broad variety of visual media, much less is known about the content of popular music lyrics. Relying on a database of 1250 songs across five decades (the top 50 songs from evennumbered years from 1960 through 2008), we documented the presence or absence of a dating relationship, the word ‘‘love’’ (and its uses), sexual activity, and sexual objectification of females and males (separately). Analyses revealed that the vast majority of songs addressed at least one of these themes, primarily dating relationships. Although female performers were proportionally more likely to address romantic relationships than male performers, raw counts reversed this pattern because male performers substantially outnumbered female performers. Males were proportionally more likely to sing about sexual behavior and to objectify both females and males. References to romantic relationships became less common over time, while references to sexual behavior and objectified bodies became more common. Content varied across genres, with rap being the least likely to reference dating and most likely to reference sexual behavior. Implications for sexual development are discussed