Keeping the Sacred: Structured Silence in the Enactment of Priesthood Authority, Gendered Worship, and Sacramental Kinship in Mormonism.

The capacity of language for self-referentiality—the fact that language-use inevitably refers not just to the world but to language itself, to interactions, interactants, and interactional contexts—makes language a powerful tool for shaping and contesting our social world. This dissertation explores these dynamics within two speech-communities: members of The Church of Jesus Christ (Cutlerite) and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). It also proposes (in the concluding chapter) a new heuristic model or “definition” of religion in expressly semiotic terms. Rather than asking what makes an act religious, it asks how it is that we make certain of our acts legible to others as religious acts. The analytic focus is not sacred discourse per se but discourse about the sacred in Mormonism, and the role played by various patterns of secrecy within that discourse. Part I (Chapters 2-3) explores these discursive phenomena within the liturgical language of/about LDS temple rites. This is not an account of sacred language, nor an explication of Mormon temple worship; it is an analysis of language about sacred language, an ethnography of how Mormons talk about (and talk about not talking about) temple rituals. In Part II (Chapters 4-5), structured silences surrounding such topics as female deity, polygamy, and female sexual desire are examined, with particular focus on the role they play in shaping the experience of Mormon women and Mormon femininity. Part III (Chapter 6 and Conclusion) brings the Cutlerites into the conversation, mostly as a point of contrast. The ethnographic description and analysis of LDS kinship grows out, in part, of thinking through the difference between the two traditions. Drawing from the work of Sahlins, I describe the distinctive shape that Mormon shared subjectivity takes and how it is enacted. The concluding chapter presents a theory of religion as primarily a semiotic phenomenon. In part the model is meant to sidestep some of the issues—including belief, sincerity, agency, the supernatural—which have encumbered past attempts to define religion. It is also intended as a theoretical extrapolation out from the specific case study (Mormonism) explored in prior chapters.PhDAnthropologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107060/1/bhkramer_1.pd

Supracervical Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Sacrocolpopexy for Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Supracervical robotic-assisted laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy was found to be an effective repair of apical vaginal defects in patients with pelvic organ prolapse who had not undergone previous hysterectomy

Policy Implications of Genetic Information on Regulation under the Clean Air Act: The Case of Particulate Matter and Asthmatics

The U.S. Clean Air Act (CAA) explicitly guarantees the protection of sensitive human subpopulations from adverse health effects associated with air pollution exposure. Identified subpopulations, such as asthmatics, may carry multiple genetic susceptibilities to disease onset and progression and thus qualify for special protection under the CAA. Scientific advances accelerated as a result of the ground-breaking Human Genome Project enable the quantification of genetic information that underlies such human variability in susceptibility and the cellular mechanisms of disease. In epidemiology and regulatory toxicology, genetic information can more clearly elucidate human susceptibility essential to risk assessment, such as in support of air quality regulation. In an effort to encourage the incorporation of genomic information in regulation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an Interim Policy on Genomics. Additional research strategy and policy documents from the National Academy of Science, the U.S. EPA, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services further promote the expansion of asthma genetics research for human health risk assessment. Through a review of these government documents, we find opportunities for the inclusion of genetic information in the regulation of air pollutants. In addition, we identify sources of information in recent scientific research on asthma genetics relevant to regulatory standard setting. We conclude with recommendations on how to integrate these approaches for the improvement of regulatory health science and the prerequisites for inclusion of genetic information in decision making

The Wahlquist-Newman solution

Based on a geometrical property which holds both for the Kerr metric and for the Wahlquist metric we argue that the Kerr metric is a vacuum subcase of the Wahlquist perfect-fluid solution. The Kerr-Newman metric is a physically preferred charged generalization of the Kerr metric. We discuss which geometric property makes this metric so special and claim that a charged generalization of the Wahlquist metric satisfying a similar property should exist. This is the Wahlquist-Newman metric, which we present explicitly in this paper. This family of metrics has eight essential parameters and contains the Kerr-Newman-de Sitter and the Wahlquist metrics, as well as the whole Pleba\'nski limit of the rotating C-metric, as particular cases. We describe the basic geometric properties of the Wahlquist-Newman metric, including the electromagnetic field and its sources, the static limit of the family and the extension of the spacetime across the horizon.Comment: LaTeX, 18 pages, no figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Obesity Management: Clinical Review and Update of the Pharmacologic Treatment Options

The toolbox of medications available for medical weight management is more robust than ever and includes a wide variety of mechanisms of actions and options for patients

SGLT2 Inhibitors for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Treatment

SGLT2 inhibitors are plausible second-line drugs that provide powerful additional A1c-lowering effects while inducing weight loss without hypoglycemia

Transitions of care from child and adolescent mental health services to adult mental health services (TRACK Study) : a study of protocols in Greater London

Background: Although young people's transition from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS) in England is a significant health issue for service users, commissioners and providers, there is little evidence available to guide service development. The TRACK study aims to identify factors which facilitate or impede effective transition from CAHMS to AMHS. This paper presents findings from a survey of transition protocols in Greater London. Methods: A questionnaire survey (Jan-April 2005) of Greater London CAMHS to identify transition protocols and collect data on team size, structure, transition protocols, population served and referral rates to AMHS. Identified transition protocols were subjected to content analysis. Results: Forty two of the 65 teams contacted (65%) responded to the survey. Teams varied in type (generic/targeted/in-patient), catchment area (locality-based, wider or national) and transition boundaries with AMHS. Estimated annual average number of cases considered suitable for transfer to AMHS, per CAMHS team (mean 12.3, range 0–70, SD 14.5, n = 37) was greater than the annual average number of cases actually accepted by AMHS (mean 8.3, range 0–50, SD 9.5, n = 33). In April 2005, there were 13 active and 2 draft protocols in Greater London. Protocols were largely similar in stated aims and policies, but differed in key procedural details, such as joint working between CAHMS and AMHS and whether protocols were shared at Trust or locality level. While the centrality of service users' involvement in the transition process was identified, no protocol specified how users should be prepared for transition. A major omission from protocols was procedures to ensure continuity of care for patients not accepted by AMHS. Conclusion: At least 13 transition protocols were in operation in Greater London in April 2005. Not all protocols meet all requirements set by government policy. Variation in protocol-sharing organisational units and transition process suggest that practice may vary. There is discontinuity of care provision for some patients who 'graduate' from CAMHS services but are not accepted by adult services

Mosquito net coverage in years between mass distributions: a case study of Tanzania, 2013.

BACKGROUND: The Government of Tanzania is the main source of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) for its population. Mosquito nets (treated and untreated) are also available in the commercial market. To sustain investments and health gains in the fight against malaria, it is important for the National Malaria Control Programme to monitor LLIN coverage especially in the years between mass distributions and to understand what households do if their free nets are deemed unusable. The aim of this paper was to assess standard LLIN indicators by wealth status in Tanzania in 2013, 2 years after the last mass campaign in 2011, and extend the analysis to untreated nets (UTNs) to investigate how households adapt when nets are not continuously distributed. METHODS: Between October-December 2013, a household survey was conducted in 3398 households in eight districts in Tanzania. Using the Roll Back Malaria indicators, the study analysed: (1) household net ownership; (2) access to nets; (3) population net use and (4) net use:access ratio. Outcomes were calculated for LLINs and UTNs. Results were analysed by socio-economic quintiles and by district. RESULTS: Only three of the eight districts had household LLIN ownership of more than 80%. In 2013, less than a quarter of the households had one LLIN for every two people and only half of the population had access to an LLIN. Only the wealthier quintiles increased their net ownership and access to levels above 80% through the addition of UTNs. Overall net use of the population was low (LLINs: 32.8%; UTNs: 9.5%) and net use:access ratio was below target level (LLINs: 0.66; UTN: 0.50). Both measures varied significantly by district. CONCLUSIONS: Two years after the last mass campaign, the percentage of households or population with access to LLINs was low. These findings indicate the average rate at which households in Tanzania lose their nets is higher than the rate at which they acquire new nets. The wealthiest households topped up their household net ownership with UTNs. Efforts to make LLINs available through commercial markets should be promoted, so those who can afford to buy nets purchase LLINs rather than UTNs. Net use was low around 40% and mostly explained by lack of access to nets. However, the use:access ratio was poor in Mbozi and Kahama districts warranting further investigations to understand other barriers to net use

Principal null directions of perturbed black holes

The properties of principal null directions of a perturbed black hole are investigated. It shown that principal null directions are directly observable quantities characterizing the space-time. A definition of a perturbed space-time, generalizing that given by Stewart and Walker is proposed. This more general framework allows one to include descriptions of a given space-time other than by a pair $(M,g)$ where $M$ is a four-dimensional differential manifold and $g$ a Lorentz metric. Examples of alternative characterizations are the curvature representation of Karlhede and others, the Newman-Penrose representation or observable quantities involving principal null directions. The conditions are studied under which the various alternative choices of observables provide equivalent descriptions of the space-time.Comment: To appear in Class. Quantum Gra

Analysing user physiological responses for affective video summarisation

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Displays. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2009 Elsevier B.V.Video summarisation techniques aim to abstract the most significant content from a video stream. This is typically achieved by processing low-level image, audio and text features which are still quite disparate from the high-level semantics that end users identify with (the ‘semantic gap’). Physiological responses are potentially rich indicators of memorable or emotionally engaging video content for a given user. Consequently, we investigate whether they may serve as a suitable basis for a video summarisation technique by analysing a range of user physiological response measures, specifically electro-dermal response (EDR), respiration amplitude (RA), respiration rate (RR), blood volume pulse (BVP) and heart rate (HR), in response to a range of video content in a variety of genres including horror, comedy, drama, sci-fi and action. We present an analysis framework for processing the user responses to specific sub-segments within a video stream based on percent rank value normalisation. The application of the analysis framework reveals that users respond significantly to the most entertaining video sub-segments in a range of content domains. Specifically, horror content seems to elicit significant EDR, RA, RR and BVP responses, and comedy content elicits comparatively lower levels of EDR, but does seem to elicit significant RA, RR, BVP and HR responses. Drama content seems to elicit less significant physiological responses in general, and both sci-fi and action content seem to elicit significant EDR responses. We discuss the implications this may have for future affective video summarisation approaches