Training Pastors as Steward Leaders

Knolhoff, Wayne J. “Training Pastors as Steward Leaders.” D. Min. MAP, Concordia Seminary—St. Louis, 2017. 187 pp. The major purpose of this project is to design training for pastors that will equip them to lead ongoing, intentional, systematic, whole life Biblical stewardship education in their congregations. Attention will be given to the biblical metaphor of steward as an appropriate image for pastors as they lead stewardship ministry. In addition, pastors will be encouraged to adopt the model of “steward leadership” as they function in every area of pastoral ministry. The central component of the research for this project is a stewardship assessment tool that was conducted using Survey Monkey. This online survey was sent to pastors in the Michigan, Missouri, and New England districts of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The survey was designed to identify areas of stewardship ministry where pastors felt the need for additional encouragement, instruction, and resources. The training presented here seeks to connect pastors to their identity as steward in such a way that they relish their role as steward leader and joyfully lead their members to a fuller understanding of all that Christian stewardship means

Lent 3 • 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 • March 8, 2015 The Word of the Cross

The preacher has the wonderful opportunity in this text to invite his hearers to respond to Christ by believing the word of the cross and living according to it

The Role of Contact and Empathy in Stigma toward Individuals with Mental Illness among Mental Health and Non-Mental Health Professionals

This study was designed to help identify the factors that predict people\u27s stigmatized attitudes toward individuals with mental illness. Corrigan (2002) suggested that stigmatized beliefs about individuals with mental illness may be detrimental to the potential recovery of these individuals, their self-esteem, empowerment, and their integration into society. One factor that has been found to reduce this stigma is personal contact with mentally ill individuals (Corrigan et al., 2002). Additionally, research has shown that empathy and principled moral reasoning are negatively correlated with prejudice, or stigma (McFarland, 2010). The current study examined level of contact, employment in a mental health profession, and four measures of empathy (macro perspective-taking, cognitive empathy, self-other awareness, and affective response) as potential predictors of stigmatized attitudes. A total of 159 participants, obtained through convenience sampling, completed an online survey that included demographic items (e.g., age, gender, and status as a mental health professional), the Day Mental Illness Scale (Day, Edgren, & Eshleman, 2007), the Hackler Level-of-Contact Items (Hackler, 2011), and the Segal Interpersonal and Social Empathy Index (Segal, Cimino, Gerdes, Harmon, & Wagaman, 2013). The results indicate that gender is significantly related to stigma toward mentally ill individuals; women tend to have less stigma toward individuals with mental illness. Macro perspective-taking and affective response are also significantly related to stigma toward mentally ill individuals; the more of these empathy levels that one has, the less stigma they have toward individuals with mentally ill individuals. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed

Stark cell stabilization of a CO(2) laser

Studies have been conducted of the frequency stabilization of the output from a Sylvania 941 Carbon Dioxide laser by active comparison with a Stark-tuned NH(2)D line center in an absorption cell. A dithered Stark voltage gave a peak-detection correction signal fed back to a PZT mounted laser resonator mirror to control the cavity optical length. Operation of an integrator incorporated in the feedback loop to improve the system stability has been investigated. A method was demonstrated of using the integrator to locate the desired laser vibronic transition by scanning the laser through its spectral signature prior to initiation of servo operation. An unexpected discontinuity in the absorption lineshape of a Stark-tunable cell was discovered which made the cell unsuitable for generation of the feedback signal. A new and more versatile Stark cell was designed for test and evaluation of cell plate configuration and fabrication.http://archive.org/details/starkcellstabili00knolLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Genome scan of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera for genetic variation associated with crop rotation tolerance

Crop rotation has been a valuable technique for control of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera for almost a century. However, during the last two decades, crop rotation has ceased to be effective in an expanding area of the US corn belt. This failure appears to be due to a change in the insect's oviposition behaviour, which, in all probability, has an underlying genetic basis. A preliminary genome scan using 253 amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) markers sought to identify genetic variation associated with the circumvention of crop rotation. Samples of D. v. virgifera from east-central Illinois, where crop rotation is ineffective, were compared with samples from Iowa at locations that the behavioural variant has yet to reach. A single AFLP marker showed signs of having been influenced by selection for the circumvention of crop rotation. However, this marker was not diagnostic. The lack of markers strongly associated with the trait may be due to an insufficient density of marker coverage throughout the genome. A weak but significant general heterogeneity was observed between the Illinois and Iowa samples at microsatellite loci and AFLP markers. This has not been detected in previous population genetic studies of D. v. virgifera and may indicate a reduction in gene flow between variant and wild-type beetles

Stromal senescence establishes an immunosuppressive microenvironment that drives tumorigenesis

Age is a significant risk factor for the development of cancer. However, the mechanisms that drive age-related increases in cancer remain poorly understood. To determine if senescent stromal cells influence tumorigenesis, we develop a mouse model that mimics the aged skin microenvironment. Using this model, here we find that senescent stromal cells are sufficient to drive localized increases in suppressive myeloid cells that contributed to tumour promotion. Further, we find that the stromal-derived senescence-associated secretory phenotype factor interleukin-6 orchestrates both increases in suppressive myeloid cells and their ability to inhibit anti-tumour T-cell responses. Significantly, in aged, cancer-free individuals, we find similar increases in immune cells that also localize near senescent stromal cells. This work provides evidence that the accumulation of senescent stromal cells is sufficient to establish a tumour-permissive, chronic inflammatory microenvironment that can shelter incipient tumour cells, thus allowing them to proliferate and progress unabated by the immune system

Microarray analysis yields candidate markers for rotation resistance in the western corn rootworm beetle, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera

As pest species may evolve resistance to chemical controls, they may also evolve resistance to cultural control methods. Yearly rotation of corn (Zea mays) with another crop interrupts the life cycle of the western corn rootworm beetle (Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), but behavioral resistance to crop rotation is now a major problem in the Midwest of the USA. Resistant adult females exhibit reduced fidelity to corn as a host and lay their eggs in the soil of both corn and soybean (Glycine max) fields. Behavioral assays suggest that the adaptation is related to increased locomotor activity, but finding molecular markers has been difficult. We used microarray analysis to search for gene expression differences between resistant and wild-type beetles. Candidates validated with real-time polymerase chain reaction exhibit predicted patterns from the microarray in independent samples across time and space. Many genes more highly expressed in the rotation-resistant females have no matches to known proteins, and most genes that were more lowly expressed are involved in antimicrobial defense

Preference for C 4 shade grasses increases hatchling performance in the butterfly, Bicyclus safitza

The Miocene radiation of C4 grasses under high-temperature and low ambient CO2 levels occurred alongside the transformation of a largely forested landscape into savanna. This inevitably changed the host plant regime of herbivores, and the simultaneous diversification of many consumer lineages, including Bicyclus butterflies in Africa, suggests that the radiations of grasses and grazers may be evolutionary linked. We examined mechanisms for this plant–herbivore interaction with the grass-feeding Bicyclus safitza in South Africa. In a controlled environment, we tested oviposition preference and hatchling performance on local grasses with C3 or C4 photosynthetic pathways that grow either in open or shaded habitats. We predicted preference for C3 plants due to a hypothesized lower processing cost and higher palatability to herbivores. In contrast, we found that females preferred C4 shade grasses rather than either C4 grasses from open habitats or C3 grasses. The oviposition preference broadly followed hatchling performance, although hatchling survival was equally good on C4 or C3 shade grasses. This finding was explained by leaf toughness; shade grasses were softer than grasses from open habitats. Field monitoring revealed a preference of adults for shaded habitats, and stable isotope analysis of field-sampled individuals confirmed their preference for C4 grasses as host plants. Our findings suggest that plant–herbivore interactions can influence the direction of selection in a grass-feeding butterfly. Based on this work, we postulate future research to test whether these interactions more generally contribute to radiations in herbivorous insects via expansions into new, unexploited ecological niches

Role of dispersal in resistance evolution and spread

Gene flow via immigration affects rate of evolution of resistance to a pest management tactic, while emigration from a resistant population can spread resistance alleles spatially. Whether resistance detected across the landscape reflects ongoing de novo evolution in different hotspots or spread from a single focal population can determine the most effective mitigation strategy. Pest dispersal dynamics determine the spatio-temporal scale at which mitigation tactics must be applied to contain or reverse resistance in an area. Independent evolution of resistance in different populations appears common but not universal. Conversely, spatial spread appears to be almost inevitable. However, rate and scale of spread depends largely on dispersal dynamics and interplay with factors such as fitness costs, spatially variable selection pressure and whether resistance alleles are spreading through an established population or being carried by populations colonizing new territory