The biblical book of Ruth: A feminist literary reading.

The book of Ruth has been widely accepted as being a positive text for and about women in the Hebrew Bible. Frequently described as being \u27delightful\u27 or \u27whimsical\u27, it is regarded as a fine example of a short story with full and complete characters. Naomi\u27s perseverance, Ruth\u27s faithfulness, as well as the deity\u27s providence are examples of this view. The book is seen as one of only a few remnants of women\u27s experience recorded in the patriarchal book of the Hebrew Bible. Through careful re-reading, I revealed hidden complexities contained within this text. In the process, inconsistencies of the characters, including the character of the deity, and the unresolved and ambivalent ending of the story were examined. This process led to an examination of the purpose and composition of the text. I dis-assembled the story to reveal possible origins of the present text. The purpose of the thesis was to examine the process of closely re-reading a well-known text to discover if previous assumptions of the positive portrayal of women were valid. Using a close re-reading influenced by feminist assumptions, I showed that this approach could yield different interpretations of the text. At the same time, I demonstrated the utility of this process for other scriptural texts.Dept. of Religious Studies. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1995 .R35. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 34-02, page: 0547. Adviser: Roy C. Amore. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1995

Vaikuttava TANO-toiminta

Tämä on raportti TANO-tutkimushankkeen neljännestä ja viimeisestä osatutkimuksesta, TANO-vertailututkimuksesta. Siinä selvitettiin tapaus-verrokki -asetelmassa hankkeen edellisessä osatutkimuksessa kehitetyn TANO-toimintamallin vaikuttavuutta, toimivuutta ja hyödyllisyyttä asiakkaille. Vertailututkimusraportissa kuvataan tapaus- ja verrokkitutkimusasetelman lähtökohdat, tutkimuskysymykset, osallistujat, TANO-toimintamallia soveltavat interventiot ja niiden tavoitteet sekä tulokset ja niihin perustuvat johtopäätökset

Cultivating resilience by empirically revealing response diversity

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Parents’ Reports of Preschoolers’ Diets: Relative Validity of a Food Frequency Questionnaire and Dietary Patterns

The accurate assessment of food consumption is crucial in nutritional studies. Since modern nutrition science has become more interested in diet as a whole, studies validating food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and exploratory dietary patterns are needed. We aimed at examining the relative validity of a 47-item FFQ against three-day food records among three- to six-year-old Finnish children, as well as investigating the consistency of the dietary patterns derived using the principal component analysis (PCA), with food record and FFQ data as inputs. We conducted the PCA without forcing the food record data to match the FFQ items. Altogether, 75% or more of the participants were classified into the same or adjacent quarter of vegetables and fruits as well as sugary food consumption. Furthermore, the intake of folate and vitamin C increased linearly in the quarters of vegetable and fruit consumption, as did the intake of sucrose in quarters of sugary food consumption. Three fairly similar dietary patterns were identified from food records and FFQ data. Concerning the patterns, more than 70% of the participants were classified into the same or adjacent quarter. However, the Spearman correlation coefficients between the respective pattern scores were low (0.25–0.33). The FFQ showed acceptable validity when ranking food group consumption compared to food records. Additionally, the FFQ-derived dietary patterns were consistent with those derived using food record data

"I never had the money for blood testing" – Caretakers' experiences of care-seeking for fatal childhood fevers in rural Uganda – a mixed methods study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The main killer diseases of children all manifest as acute febrile illness, yet are curable with timely and adequate management. To avoid a fatal outcome, three essential steps must be completed: caretakers must recognize illness, decide to seek care and reach an appropriate source of care, and then receive appropriate treatment. In a fatal outcome some or all of these steps have failed and it remains to be elucidated to what extent these fatal outcomes are caused by local disease perceptions, inappropriate care-seeking or inadequate resources in the family or health system. This study explores caretakers' experiences of care-seeking for childhood febrile illness with fatal outcome in rural Uganda to elucidate the most influential barriers to adequate care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A mixed methods approach using structured Verbal/Social autopsy interviews and in-depth interviews was employed with 26 caretakers living in Iganga/Mayuge Demographic Surveillance Site who had lost a child 1–59 months old due to acute febrile illness between March and June 2006. In-depth interviews were analysed using content analysis with deductive category application.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Final categories of barriers to care were: 1) "Illness interpretation barriers" involving children who received delayed or inappropriate care due to caretakers' labelling of the illness, 2) "Barriers to seeking care" with gender roles and household financial constraints hindering adequate care and 3) "Barriers to receiving adequate treatment" revealing discontents with providers and possible deficiencies in quality of care. Resource constraints were identified as the underlying theme for adequate management, both at individual and at health system levels.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The management of severely ill children in this rural setting has several shortcomings. However, the majority of children were seen by an allopathic health care provider during the final illness. Improvements of basic health care for children suffering from acute febrile illness are likely to contribute to a substantial reduction of fatal outcomes. Health care providers at all levels and private as well as public should receive training, support, equipment and supplies to enable basic health care for children suffering from common illnesses.</p

WHO global research priorities for antimicrobial resistance in human health

The WHO research agenda for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human health has identified 40 research priorities to be addressed by the year 2030. These priorities focus on bacterial and fungal pathogens of crucial importance in addressing AMR, including drug-resistant pathogens causing tuberculosis. These research priorities encompass the entire people-centred journey, covering prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of antimicrobial-resistant infections, in addition to addressing the overarching knowledge gaps in AMR epidemiology, burden and drivers, policies and regulations, and awareness and education. The research priorities were identified through a multistage process, starting with a comprehensive scoping review of knowledge gaps, with expert inputs gathered through a survey and open call. The priority setting involved a rigorous modified Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative approach, ensuring global representation and applicability of the findings. The ultimate goal of this research agenda is to encourage research and investment in the generation of evidence to better understand AMR dynamics and facilitate policy translation for reducing the burden and consequences of AMR

Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase: three-dimensional structure and structure-based functional studies:studies on the enzyme using recombinant protein produced by baculovirus expression vector system in insect cells

Abstract Osteoporosis is a disease characterized by abnormalities in the amount and architectural arrangement of bone tissue, which leads to impaired skeletal strength and increased susceptibility to fractures. Type 5 tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP, AcP5) has been suggested to participate directly in bone resorption. In this study, baculovirus expression vector system in insect cells was used to gain large amounts of recombinant type 5 acid phosphatase for structure determination, structure-based functional studies and production of monoclonal antibodies. Active and inactive forms of the enzyme were separated from each other by cation-exchange chromatography, and characterized. The enzyme was crystallized and the three-dimensional structure was determined. Based on the three-dimensional structure of the active site five different enzyme variants were constructed, produced in insect cells, and purified. The wild type enzyme and the mutated forms were characterized, and their kinetic parameters were determined. The importance of amino acids that were expected to be essential for the acid phosphatase activity was confirmed. The acid phosphatase activity and reactive oxygen species generating activity of this dual enzyme proved to exploit different amino acids in their reaction mechanisms. Further studies are needed to clarify the physiological substrates of TRACP in vivo. The findings of this study could form a base for construction of inhibitors for TRACP that could be useful therapeutic agents for osteoporosis and related bone disorders

Educating teachers and multipliers for future work with the elderly and the role of motivational workshops for the elderly\u27s future participation in ICT training courses

To find potential connection between positive experiences from ICT training courses gained by teachers and multipliers and their ability to affect elderlypeopleʼs willingness to learn ICT skills and motivate them for future participation in ICT training courses through motivational workshops. The evaluation of the ICT training courses for teachers and multipliers and the motivational workshops for the elderly. The data obtained was quantitative andanalyzed using SPSS software. The authors found a significant correlation between the number of possibilities for discussion provided during the ICT training courses for teachers and multipliers and the opinion that, from an overall perspective, the course helped the participants to be more sensitized to intergenerational issues and so understand the elderly people better. Similarly, the authors found significant correlation between the number of discussion possibilities during the motivational workshops for elderly and thelevel of interest in participation in future ICT training courses. Individuals who work in a teaching/learning process with elderly people need to be properly trained to be able to transfer knowledge and motivation to the elderly. Motivational workshops for the elderly should focus on individualizedlearning methods which positively affect elderlyʼs future motivation to learn ICT skills