Christianity, Ethics, and Politics in the Age of Isabella Chow

This Essay responds to comments by Samuel Calhoun, Wayne Barnes, and David Smolin, made as part of a roundtable discussion on Calhoun’s symposium address Separation of Church and State: Jefferson, Lincoln, and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Show It Was Never Intended to Separate Religion from Politics. In Part I, I discuss current events, especially as they pertain to Smolin’s comments. In Part II, I answer Calhoun’s challenges to my own response. In Part III, I criticize Barnes’s response, which was diametrically different from my own. In Part IV, I draw on Smolin’s observations to discuss the path forward for Christians in the current climate

Modification and updating of the Manned Activity Scheduling System (MASS) for shuttle and shuttle payloads analysis. Volume 2: Space shuttle sortie payload analysis

Space shuttle operations include a significant number of launches with a sortie laboratory serving as a facility for manned experimentation in space. Planning a program of space experiments for a facility of this type requires that both the composition of the laboratory payload and the schedule of experiment operations for each payload be carefully selected. Experiment operations are investigated using the manned activity scheduling system (MASS). Schedules provided by these models assist in selecting experiment groups that efficiently use the laboratory resources and yield the desired experiment accomplishment at the program level. An alternate use of the MASS models provides for establishing the time-dependent supporting resources required for a specified candidate payload. A procedure for defining and analyzing shuttle sortie payloads was developed. This procedure was then applied to the definition of mixed-discipline experiment payloads for an advanced technology laboratory (ATL) supported by two-and three-man crews. The ATL payloads, including schedules of experiment operations, were defined to realize a high percentage of experiment accomplishment. The study considers the sensitivity of experiment accomplishment rate to variations of system parameters such as crew cross training, crew operations, shuttle and laboratory resources, ground target systems, and operational orbits

Use of Expressive Arts to Improve Quality of Life in Individuals with Mental Illness

Within the mental health community, the expressive arts are gaining popularity as a respected form of therapy; however, there is still much to be discovered in regard to its effectiveness with individuals with a mental health diagnosis. Research completed to date includes the exploration of a variety of modalities and its benefits to those with a mental illness, but it lacks an examination of the effect that the expressive arts has on overall quality of life. As a contribution to what will hopefully be an expanding area of interest, this writer designed an expressive arts therapy group facilitated at a mental health day programming facility. The group was facilitated over ten weeks with participants ranging in age from 26 to 68. Results did not indicate a substantial change in quality of life scores; however, the participants’ consistent participation, themes of hope, passing time, and moving forward, and demonstration of trust amongst group members suggested that the expressive arts modalities benefit the quality of life of individuals living with a mental health condition

Church History, Liberty, and Political Morality: A Response to Professor Calhoun

In his address, Professor Calhoun used American Christian abolitionism to illustrate the beneficial role that religion can play in political debate. Surveying the past two millennia, I argue that Christian political thought has protected liberty in every era of the church’s dramatic history. Along the way, I rebut critics—from the left and right—who urge that Christianity’s political influence has been unhelpful or harmful. I also seek to show that statements like “religion has no place in politics” are best understood as expressions of arbitrary bias

Impact of Sensing and Actuation Characteristics on Artificial Pancreas Design

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic disease characterized by the body’s inability to produce insulin, leading to chronically high blood glucose (BG) concentrations. T1DM is treated by frequent self-administration of insulin based on BG measurements; however, there is a fine line between too little and too much insulin, and an overdose can lead to a dangerous drop in BG. The artificial pancreas (AP), consisting of a glucose sensor, an insulin pump, and a feedback control algorithm, will replace self-treatment by automatically calculating and delivering insulin dosages based on continuous glucose measurements. Many iterations of the AP utilize commercially available subcutaneous (SC) insulin pumps and glucose sensors, but these devices introduce physiological limitations that make control difficult. In this work, we present a clinical evaluation of an AP that uses SC devices, as well as an investigation of the intraperitoneal (IP) space as an alternative site for insulin delivery and glucose sensing to improve AP performance. Our results show that glucose sensors placed in the IP space have a lower time constant than SC sensors, allowing the controller to respond more quickly to BG disturbances. Similarly, insulin delivered through the IP space has faster pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics than SC insulin. Based on models of the sensing and actuation dynamics, a proportional-integral-derivative control algorithm with anti-reset windup protection was designed for the IP-IP route and evaluated on 10 simulated T1DM subjects. Using the IP-IP route led to a more robust controller that provided excellent control during the simulation studies. Our results support the development of a fully implantable AP that will operate within the IP space to safely and effectively control BG levels

Evaluation of cranial base repair techniques utilizing a novel cadaveric CPAP model.

BACKGROUND: Although recent guidelines for obstructive sleep apnea recommend early postoperative use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) after endonasal skull base surgery, the time of initiation of CPAP is unclear. In this study we used a novel, previously validated cadaveric model to analyze the pressures delivered to the cranial base and evaluate the effectiveness of various repair techniques to withstand positive pressure. METHODS: Skull base defects were surgically created in 3 fresh human cadaver heads and repaired using 3 commonly used repair techniques: (1) Surgicel™ onlay; (2) dural substitute underlay with dural sealant onlay; and (3) dural substitute underlay with nasoseptal flap onlay with dural sealant. Pressure microsensors were placed in the sphenoid sinus and sella, both proximal and distal to the repair, respectively. The effectiveness of each repair technique against various CPAP pressure settings (5-20 cm H RESULTS: Approximately 79%-95% of positive pressure administered reached the sphenoid sinus. Sellar pressure levels varied significantly across the 3 repair techniques and were lowest after the third technique. Breach points (CPAP settings at which sellar repair was violated) were lowest for the first group. All 3 specimens showed a breach after the first repair technique. For the second repair technique, only a single breach was created in 1 specimen at 20 cm H CONCLUSION: Different skull base repair techniques have varying ability to withstand CPAP. Both second and third repair techniques performed in a nearly similar fashion with regard to their ability to withstand positive pressure ventilation

Small business in Ukraine as the engine of national economic development

У статті розглянуто стан малого підприємництва в Україні, охарактеризовано слабкі сторони його діяльності та чинники, що впливають на даний сектор економіки. Для переконливішого пояснення зроблених висновків, наведено статистичну інформацію щодо частки малих підприємств України в загальній кількості підприємств і їх розподіл за регіонами.This article examines the state of small business in Ukraine, gives a description of the weaknesses of its activities; describes factors that affect this sector of the economy. For a more convincing explanation of the findings, statistics on the share of small business in Ukraine, the total number of companies and their distribution by region are presented

Photooxygenation mechanisms in naproxen-amino acid linked systems

The photooxygenation of model compounds containing the two enantiomers of naproxen (NPX) covalently linked to histidine (His), tryptophan (Trp) and tyrosine (Tyr) has been investigated by steady state irradiation, fluorescence spectroscopy and laser flash photolysis. The NPX–His systems presented the highest oxygen-mediated photoreactivity. Their fluorescence spectra matched that of isolated NPX and showed a clear quenching by oxygen, leading to a diminished production of the NPX triplet excited state ( 3 NPX*–His). Analysis of the NPX–His and NPX–Trp photolysates by UPLC-MS–MS revealed in both cases the formation of two photoproducts, arising from the reaction of singlet oxygen (1 O2) with the amino acid moiety. The most remarkable feature of NPX–Trp systems was a fast and stereoselective intramolecular fluorescence quenching, which prevented the efficient formation of 3 NPX*–Trp, thus explaining their lower reactivity towards photooxygenation. Finally, the NPX–Tyr systems were nearly unreactive and exhibited photophysical properties essentially coincident with those of the parent NPX. Overall, these results point to a type II photooxygenation mechanism, triggered by generation of 1 O2 from the 3 NPX* chromophoreFinancial support from the Spanish Government (CTQ2010-14882, JCI-2011-09926, Miguel Servet CP11/00154), from the EU (PCIG12-GA-2012-334257), from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (SP20120757) and from the Conselleria de Educacio, cultura i Esport (PROMETEOII/2013/005, GV/2013/051) is gratefully acknowledged.Vayá Pérez, I.; Andreu Ros, MI.; Jiménez Molero, MC.; Miranda Alonso, MÁ. (2014). Photooxygenation mechanisms in naproxen-amino acid linked systems. Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. 13:224-230. https://doi.org/10.1039/c3pp50252jS22423013L. I. Grossweiner and K. C.Smith, Photochemistry, in The Science of Photobiology, ed. K. C. 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Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 12, No. 3

• Antiques in Dutchland • Antique or Folk Art: Which? • Pennsylvania Dutch • Amish Barn Raisings • Building a Pennsylvania Barn • Water Witching • Amish Family Life: A Sociologist\u27s Analysis • Straw Hat Making Among the Old Order Amish • Bread and Apple-Butter Day • Schnitz in the Pennsylvania Folk-Culture • Dutch Country Scarecrows • The Man Who Was Buried Standing Up • Living Occult Practices in Dutch Pennsylvania • Farewell to Olliehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1011/thumbnail.jp