Eschatology, the Elimination of Evil, and the Ontology of Time

Part and parcel of the eschatology of the three Abrahamic faiths is the belief that sin and evil will be eliminated upon the consummation of God’s kingdom on earth. Not only do these beliefs affirm that God will ultimately “deal” with the problem of sin and evil, but that sin and evil will be no more. I refer to this eschatological belief as “the elimination of evil” (EOE). The EOE has important implications for how one understands the ontology of time. In this paper, I contribute to this discussion by arguing that ontologies of time that affirm the concrete existence of past moments are incompatible with the EOE. I also argue that solutions based on theories of hypertime, such as those posited by Tyron Goldschmidt and Samuel Lebens, also fail to solve the problems posed to those ontologies of time affirming the concrete existence of the past. I conclude that the ontology of time that best facilitates the EOE is presentism

Thomistic Simplicity and Distinguishing the Immanent and Economic Trinities

I argue that there is a discrepancy between the Thomistic doctrine of divine simplicity and affirming the immanent-economic distinctions in the Trinity. Since God is an absolutely simple essence whose essence it is to exist, and since the simple God exists as pure act—lacking all potential—there exist no real distinctions in God, such as physical or metaphysical parts, and there exist no divisions in the life of God, who exists in atemporal eternity. Per the immanent-economic distinctions in the Trinity, the Son is submissive to the will of the Father in the latter but not the former. This appears to be a distinction in the life of the Triune God, which is not acceptable per divine simplicity. After examining the Trinity doctrine and christology of Thomas along with possible solutions to the problem proposed, I conclude that said solutions fail to eliminate the discrepancy between Thomas’s account of simplicity and the immanent-economic distinctions in the life of the Trinity

An electrospinning apparatus for the production of heterogeneous scaffolds and their application in cartilage regeneration

The human body contains a vast array of soft and hard tissues, each with their own unique set of physical, chemical, mechanical, and electrical properties. It is the combination of these tissues that allows the human body to function as it does. However, these tissues are subject to wear, fatigue, and injury and thus can potentially limit the functions of the body. Therefore, tissue engineering has sought various natural and synthetic materials that can be used for fabrication of cellular scaffolds that have the ability to promote cellular attachment, proliferation, differentiation, and eventual whole tissue formation for replacement and repair of damaged human tissues. The objective of this thesis is to develop an apparatus that is capable of producing a graded heterogeneous fiber scaffold, and its subsequent application towards the development of a scaffold which mimics the cartilage-bone ECM interface. The scaffold is a combination of fibers made from three separate solutions: 1) gelatin-NaCS in dH2O and ethanol, 2) gelatin-NaCS-HA/β-TCP in dH2O and ethanol, and 3) PCL-HA/β-TCP in methylene chloride and dimethylformamide. The fibers produced from the electrospinning of these solutions are intended to mimic the extracellular matrix of hyaline cartilage, calcified cartilage, and subchondral bone, respectively. A co-electrospinning technique, utilizing a grounded rotating mandrel, is used to create the fiber grade through the depth of the scaffold. A combination of light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and fluorescence microscopy are used to determine several scaffold parameters including: fiber diameter, inter-fiber spacing, fiber alignment, the presence of specific material components, and the confirmation of the presence of two distinct sides to the scaffold. Ideally, the scaffold has the potential of promoting cellular differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into chondrocytes and osteoblasts on separate halves of the same scaffold. However, several hurdles remain that could impede complete differentiation of two cell types on the scaffold, the largest being the absence of a differentiation media that is both osteogenic and chondrogenic. Nevertheless, this work serves as a foundation for the development of electrospun scaffolds that look to generate more than one tissue type

Binary Colloidal Alloy Test-5: Aspheres

The Binary Colloidal Alloy Test - 5: Aspheres (BCAT-5-Aspheres) experiment photographs initially randomized colloidal samples (tiny nanoscale spheres suspended in liquid) in microgravity to determine their resulting structure over time. BCAT-5-Aspheres will study the properties of concentrated systems of small particles when they are identical, but not spherical in microgravity.

When Twilight Slowly Gathers

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/5974/thumbnail.jp

Eschatology, the Elimination of Evil, and the Ontology of Time

Part and parcel of the eschatology of the three Abrahamic faiths is the belief that sin and evil will be eliminated upon the consummation of God’s kingdom on earth. Not only do these beliefs affirm that God will ultimately “deal” with the problem of sin and evil, but that sin and evil will be no more. I refer to this eschatological belief as “the elimination of evil” (EOE). The EOE has important implications for how one understands the ontology of time. In this paper, I contribute to this discussion by arguing that ontologies of time that affirm the concrete existence of past moments are incompatible with the EOE. I also argue that solutions based on theories of hypertime, such as those posited by Tyron Goldschmidt and Samuel Lebens, also fail to solve the problems posed to those ontologies of time affirming the concrete existence of the past. I conclude that the ontology of time that best facilitates the EOE is presentism

Anomalous tumbling of colloidal ellipsoids in Poiseuille flows

Shear flows cause aspherical colloidal particles to tumble so that their orientations trace out complex trajectories known as Jeffery orbits. The Jeffery orbit of a prolate ellipsoid is predicted to align the particle's principal axis preferentially in the plane transverse to the axis of shear. Holographic microscopy measurements reveal instead that colloidal ellipsoids' trajectories in Poiseuille flows strongly favor an orientation inclined by roughly $\pi/8$ relative to this plane. This anomalous observation is consistent with at least two previous reports of colloidal rods and dimers of colloidal spheres in Poiseuille flow and therefore appears to be a generic, yet unexplained feature of colloidal transport at low Reynolds numbers.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Cerebral vascular control is associated with skeletal muscle pH in chronic fatigue syndrome patients both at rest and during dynamic stimulation

Peer reviewedPublisher PD