The Function of Humility in St. Teresa of Avila\u27s Autobiography: A Literature Review

In the Carmelite nun St. Teresa of Ávila’s (1515-1582) autobiography, The Life of Saint Teresa of Ávila by Herself (1588), the author repeatedly asserts her unworthiness. Contemporary scholarship has explored the function of Teresa’s rhetoric of humility in this text. Scholars from the 1990s have largely argued that Teresa’s humility is a carefully crafted, defensive method to meet the demands of the patriarchal culture in which she wrote. Twenty-first-century scholars take a (slightly) different approach. To them, Teresa’s humility is not solely rhetorical; they suggest that Teresa’s humility is also a consequence and tool of her spiritual journey. In this thesis, I review scholarship published in the last 35 years that addresses the function of humility in Teresa’s autobiography. I begin with Alison Weber, Carole Slade, and Gillian Ahlgren from the 1990s. These scholars focus on the cultural period in which Teresa wrote to suggest that it was the primary influence on her rhetoric of humility. In the early twenty-first century, Elena Carrera opens the door to a spiritual understanding of Teresa’s humility, showing how her self-deprecation represents more than a persona adopted for survival—it is also her manifestation of humility and an example of this religious virtue to her readers. Within the last 10 years, Lisa Fullam, Noelia Bueno-Gómez, and A. F. Davis Abdallah argue that, though Teresa may use a rhetoric of humility to dispose her audience to receive her text, her humility is also a consequence of her spiritual path and empowers her to fulfill the mission she believes God has given her. The trajectory of the scholarship is significant because it gradually reconsiders Teresa’s voice, suggesting that her humility was more than a consequence of her rhetorical situation. No longer merely defensive, humility has a powerful function in her autobiography: Teresa demonstrates humility’s importance to spiritual development and its ability to give one courage to persist on one’s spiritual path, setting aside personal interests to serve God

Evaluation of a direct time integration scheme for dynamic analysis

Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2007.Includes bibliographical references (p. 43).Direct integration schemes are important tools used in the dynamic analysis of many structures. It is critical that the solutions obtained from these schemes produce accurate results. Currently, one of the most widely used direct integration schemes is the trapezoidal rule. It is favored because it is a method that requires single steps and its results are second-order accurate. However, in cases where there are large deformations and longer integration times, the trapezoidal rule fails. A new composite method scheme shows promise in maintaining stability where the trapezoidal rule fails. It is a two step method that makes use of the trapezoidal rule and the three-point Euler backward method. The purpose of this study is to compare the trapezoidal rule and the new composite method using two nonlinear problems in order to determine if the composite method generates more accurate results than the trapezoidal rule.by Jennifer D. Sanchez.S.B

Structural Analysis of [Ni(dippe)] Fragment Using Computational Methods

The structural analysis of the Nickel (Bisdiisopropylphospino)ethane, also known as [Ni(dippe)H]2, has been heavily studied in our group in collaboration with William D. Jones\u27s group. A computational analysis of the [Ni(dippe)] fragment was performed to determine the structural relationship between the nickel center and its phosphine ligand, due to phosphines having both electronic and steric properties. The reactivity of the Nickel will be most dependent on the dippe ligand. A conformational search generated 244 conformers after a thorough minimization using Molecular Mechanic (MM) calculations where a thorough minimization was performed and then re-minimized using a SEED command until unique conformers remained. Quantum Mechanical (QM) calculations were then performed using DFT to optimize the 244 conformers and then duplicates were further removed, where 177 unique conformers remained. The lowest five energy conformers below 1.0 kcal/mol were studied heavily to better understand the 3D structure of the [Ni(dippe)] fragment. The conformers associated with the five-membered chelate rings (λ/∂) and the isopropyl groups (anti/gauche) were systematically analyzed. The Boltzmann distribution of the conformers generated will be presented. This study can be applied in the growing field of Ni-catalyzed reactions with bidentate phosphines

Evaluation of phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium content in commercially available foods formulated for healthy cats.

BackgroundHigh dietary phosphorus (P) and low calcium-to-phosphorus ratio (Ca:P) are associated with kidney damage in cats. There are no established guidelines for dietary P maximum for cats.ObjectivesTo quantify crude protein, P, Ca, and magnesium (Mg) concentrations in cat foods and compare among food formats (dry, canned, raw), primary protein ingredients, protein concentrations (low, moderate, high), grain-free versus grain-containing foods, foods intended for adult maintenance versus all life stages, and cost.SamplesEighty-two commercial nonprescription cat foods.MethodsDescriptive study. Mineral concentrations were measured using inductively coupled argon plasma-optical emission spectroscopy. Crude protein was measured using the Dumas nitrogen combustion method. Mineral and crude protein concentrations were compared among food categories.ResultsTwenty-seven foods contained ≥3.6 g P/1000 kcal metabolizable energy (ME), of which 7 exceeded 4.8 g/1000 kcal ME. Thirteen foods had low Ca:P ratio (≤1.0). The low-protein diet group had no products ≥3.6 g P/1000 kcal ME, which was significantly different compared to the high-protein diet group (52% of products had ≥3.6 g P/1000 kcal ME; P = .01). No significant differences in P content and Ca:P ratio were found among other diet categories. Canned foods had significantly lower Mg compared to dry (P < .001) and raw (P = .007) foods. Declared minimum P and Ca were significantly lower than analyzed concentrations (P = .0005 and P = .003, respectively).Conclusions and clinical importanceThe high number of foods with high P and low Ca suggest that pet food regulatory reform should be considered

Invariant Measures for Hybrid Stochastic Systems

In this paper, we seek to understand the behavior of dynamical systems that are perturbed by a parameter that changes discretely in time. If we impose certain conditions, we can study certain embedded systems within a hybrid system as time-homogeneous Markov processes. In particular, we prove the existence of invariant measures for each embedded system and relate the invariant measures for the various systems through the flow. We calculate these invariant measures explicitly in several illustrative examples.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Contribution of Lianas to Plant Area Index and Canopy Structure in A Panamanian Forest

Lianas are an important component of tropical forests, where they reduce tree growth, fecundity, and survival. Competition for light from lianas may be intense; however, the amount of light that lianas intercept is poorly understood. We used a large-scale liana-removal experiment to quantify light interception by lianas in a Panamanian secondary forest. We measured the change in plant area index (PAI) and forest structure before and after cutting lianas (for 4 yr) in eight 80 m × 80 m plots and eight control plots (16 plots total). We used ground-based LiDAR to measure the 3-dimensional canopy structure before cutting lianas, and then annually for 2 yr afterwards. Six weeks after cutting lianas, mean plot PAI was 20% higher in control vs. liana removal plots. One yr after cutting lianas, mean plot PAI was ~17% higher in control plots. The differences between treatments diminished significantly 2 yr after liana cutting and, after 4 yr, trees had fully compensated for liana removal. Ground-based LiDAR revealed that lianas attenuated light in the upper- and middle-forest canopy layers, and not only in the upper canopy as was previously suspected. Thus, lianas compete with trees by intercepting light in the upper- and mid-canopy of this forest

Clinical vignette: Subarachnoid hemorrhage the initial manifestation of granulomatosis with polyangiitis flare

This is a 42 year old female with a past medical history of GPA resulting in renal failure, post renal transplant in 1999 with recent nephrectomy after rejection, hypertension, and hypothyroidism. She was diagnosed with GPA 15 years prior by renal biopsy and was ANCA +. She was treated with immunosuppression after the renal transplant, but had discontinued medications after having a nephrectomy 3 weeks prior to presentation. She presented to an outside hospital with severe headache and confusion in the setting of systolic blood pressures \u3e200. CT scan showed a subarachnoid hemorrhage involving the basal cisterns and filling the fourth ventricle. Diagnostic angiogram on presentation to our facility was normal with no aneurysms, AVMs or other vascular abnormalities. She was admitted to the NSICU and was treated for hypertensive urgency and had frequent neuro checks. She had severe headache, nausea and vomiting, but no progression of SAH on CT imaging and no need for surgical intervention. On hospital day 5, she developed swelling and new skin lesions on her face. These lesions progressed to involve the extremities, face, and trunk;becoming ulcerated and painful. A rheumatologic work-up was completed and showed: Labs: ANCA screen: negative, ANA: negative. C3: 73 (normal 90-180), C4: 19(normal 10-40). PR3: negative, MPO: positive. Skin biopsy was performed and showed leukocytoclasticvasculitis. In patients with a history of GPA a subarachnoid hemorrhage can be the initial presentation of a vasculitis flare. In GPA 22-54% of patients can present with neurological involvement, most commonly mononeuritismultiplex and polyneuritis while CNS manifestation occurs in only 7-11% of patients. Of those, SAH or ICH are very uncommon. There have only been 8 reported cases of SAH associated with GPA in the literature and only 2 of those cases reported full recovery. SAH in patients with GPA is clinically different than in the general population. All but 1 of the cases of SAH in patients with GPA were non-aneurysmal, while 85% of spontaneous SAH in the general population is caused by ruptured cerebral aneurysms. Another interesting difference is that SAH in the general population has a female preponderance, while only 1 of the 8 previously reported cases in GPA was femal

Genomic and toxigenic heterogeneity of bacillus cereus sensu lato Isolated from ready-to-eat foods and powdered milk in day care centers in Colombia

Bacillus cereus sensu lato (s.l.) is a group of bacteria commonly found in diverse environments, including foods, with potential to cause emesis and diarrhea. In Colombia, it is one of the main foodborne pathogens. The aim of this study was to determine the genomic and toxigenic heterogeneity of B. cereus s.l. isolated from ready-to-eat foods and powdered milk collected in day care centers of Medellin, Colombia. Of 112 B. cereus s.l. isolates obtained, 94% were beta-hemolytic. Toxigenic heterogeneity was established by the presence of nheABC, hblCDAB, cytK2, entFM, and cesB toxigenic genes. The nheABC operon and entFM gene were most frequently detected in the isolates, whereas the cesB gene was not found. According to the toxin genes content, nine toxigenic profiles were identified. A 44% of isolates had profiles with all genes for nonhemolytic enterotoxin, hemolysin BL, and enterotoxin FM production (profiles II and IV). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis indicated a high genomic heterogeneity among the B. cereus s.l., with 68 isolates grouping into 16 clusters and 33 placed separately in the dendrogram. This study provides useful information on the safety of ready-to-eat foods and powdered milk in day care centers where children, a susceptible population, are exposed and it should incentive for more studies to understand the distribution of different toxin-encoding genes among B. cereus s.l. isolates, enabling detailed risk assessment