The Natural History of Secular Christianity

Human beings are social animals, not solitary ones. Morality is an instinct we have because it helps us socialize, live together harmoniously. This paper reviews how the evolution of morality and other mental functions associated with our survival and sociality gave rise to cultural behavior among the small groups of humans during the Palaeolithic period when the tribe was personified as a supernatural identity and guardian, a totem, an ancestor and ultimately a god. Loyalty to the tribe required loyalty to the tribal god representing the tribe. Preservation of the tribe meant mistrust of other tribes and their gods. The merging of small groups rendered obsolete the tribal, locally cultural conception of religion, but it persisted as monotheism in the imperial stage of society from about 2000 BC, becoming the world religions. Today’s empires are global, and a belief system modelled on local tribes in competition is naïve divisive. Out-group hatred is more of a threat than any in-group moral benefits, and they too are disappearing with the failure to preserve small group coherence, and justice and fairness in capitalist society. The moral failure of imperial religion on the urban and global scale is the “Death of God”. Humans now cannot afford the moral laziness of constantly appealing to a supernatural totem in an otherwise do-nothing religion. Imperial religion was and still is a tool of the political right, used to manipulate us. Yet Christ offered an ethical scheme that is essentially a practical morality of mutual lovingkindness which does not require a supernatural God. It is Secular Christianity, a world view any scientist and atheist could adopt without compromise, and most Christians should

GUCY2C lysosomotropic endocytosis delivers immunotoxin therapy to metastatic colorectal cancer.

The emergence of targeted cancer therapy has been limited by the paucity of determinants which are tumor-specific and generally associated with disease, and have cell dynamics which effectively deploy cytotoxic payloads. Guanylyl cyclase C (GUCY2C) may be ideal for targeting because it is normally expressed only in insulated barrier compartments, including intestine and brain, but over-expressed by systemic metastatic colorectal tumors. Here, we reveal that GUCY2C rapidly internalizes from the cell surface to lysosomes in intestinal and colorectal cancer cells. Endocytosis is independent of ligand binding and receptor activation, and is mediated by clathrin. This mechanism suggests a design for immunotoxins comprising a GUCY2C-directed monoclonal antibody conjugated through a reducible disulfide linkage to ricin A chain, which is activated to a potent cytotoxin in lysosomes. Indeed, this immunotoxin specifically killed GUCY2C-expressing colorectal cancer cells in a lysosomal- and clathrin-dependent fashion. Moreover, this immunotoxin reduced pulmonary tumors \u3e80% (

Clinical and Economic Outcomes of Rabbit Antithymocyte Globulin Induction in Adults Who Received Kidney Transplants from Living Unrelated Donors and Received Cyclosporine‐Based Immunosuppression

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90167/1/phco.29.10.1166.pd

A prospective, randomized trial of complete avoidance of steroids in liver transplantation with follow‐up of over 7 years

Objectives Steroids are a mainstay of treatment in orthotopic liver transplantation ( OLT ) and are associated with significant morbidity. This trial was conducted to assess the efficacy of steroids avoidance. Methods Patients undergoing OLT between June 2002 and April 2005 were entered into a prospective, randomized trial of complete steroids avoidance and followed until November 2011. Recipients received either standard therapy ( n = 50) or complete steroids avoidance ( n = 50). Analyses were performed on an intention‐to‐treat basis. The mean follow‐up of all recipients was 2095 ± 117 days. Sixteen (32%) recipients randomized to the steroids avoidance group ultimately received steroids for clinical indications. Results Incidences of diabetes and hypertension prior to or after OLT were similar in both groups, as was the incidence of rejection. Patient and graft survival rates at 1, 3 and 5 years were lower in the steroids avoidance group than in the standard therapy group (patient survival: 1‐year, 80% versus 86%; 3‐year, 68% versus 76%; 5‐year, 60% versus 72%; graft survival: 1‐year, 76% versus 76%; 3‐year, 64% versus 74%; 5‐year, 56% versus 72%), but the differences were not statistically different. Conclusions Complete steroids avoidance provides liver transplant recipients with minimal benefit and appears to result in a concerning trend towards decreased graft and recipient survival. The present data support the use of at least a short course of steroids after liver transplantation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97180/1/hpb576.pd

Implementation of Vascularized Composite Allografts in the United States: Recommendations From the ASTS VCA Ad Hoc Committee and the Executive Committee

Like all other areas of transplantation, vascularized composite allografts (VCA) has the capacity to transform the lives of patients, for the better or for the worse. It is this duality that mandates VCA be performed in centers prepared for the intricacies accompanying other transplant procedures. Similarly, the complexities of VCA require that the procedures be driven by surgeons and physicians with experience in the multidisciplinary management of immunocompromised postsurgical patients. Furthermore, the grafts should be considered as organs rather than tissues from a regulatory and a biological standpoint. The ASTS supports the field of VCA and has demonstrated its support and leadership by actively formulating a strategy for its systematic development. The goal of this document is to provide a framework for the prospective, thoughtful realization of VCA in the United States from the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS) perspective.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79113/1/j.1600-6143.2010.03374.x.pd

DNA sequence polymorphisms in a panel of eight candidate bovine imprinted genes and their association with performance traits in Irish Holstein-Friesian cattle

peer-reviewedBackground: Studies in mice and humans have shown that imprinted genes, whereby expression from one of the two parentally inherited alleles is attenuated or completely silenced, have a major effect on mammalian growth, metabolism and physiology. More recently, investigations in livestock species indicate that genes subject to this type of epigenetic regulation contribute to, or are associated with, several performance traits, most notably muscle mass and fat deposition. In the present study, a candidate gene approach was adopted to assess 17 validated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their association with a range of performance traits in 848 progeny-tested Irish Holstein-Friesian artificial insemination sires. These SNPs are located proximal to, or within, the bovine orthologs of eight genes (CALCR, GRB10, PEG3, PHLDA2, RASGRF1, TSPAN32, ZIM2 and ZNF215) that have been shown to be imprinted in cattle or in at least one other mammalian species (i.e. human/mouse/pig/sheep). Results: Heterozygosities for all SNPs analysed ranged from 0.09 to 0.46 and significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg proportions (P ≤ 0.01) were observed at four loci. Phenotypic associations (P ≤ 0.05) were observed between nine SNPs proximal to, or within, six of the eight analysed genes and a number of performance traits evaluated, including milk protein percentage, somatic cell count, culled cow and progeny carcass weight, angularity, body conditioning score, progeny carcass conformation, body depth, rump angle, rump width, animal stature, calving difficulty, gestation length and calf perinatal mortality. Notably, SNPs within the imprinted paternally expressed gene 3 (PEG3) gene cluster were associated (P ≤ 0.05) with calving, calf performance and fertility traits, while a single SNP in the zinc finger protein 215 gene (ZNF215) was associated with milk protein percentage (P ≤ 0.05), progeny carcass weight (P ≤ 0.05), culled cow carcass weight (P ≤ 0.01), angularity (P ≤ 0.01), body depth (P ≤ 0.01), rump width (P ≤ 0.01) and animal stature (P ≤ 0.01). Conclusions: Of the eight candidate bovine imprinted genes assessed, DNA sequence polymorphisms in six of these genes (CALCR, GRB10, PEG3, RASGRF1, ZIM2 and ZNF215) displayed associations with several of the phenotypes included for analyses. The genotype-phenotype associations detected here are further supported by the biological function of these six genes, each of which plays important roles in mammalian growth, development and physiology. The associations between SNPs within the imprinted PEG3 gene cluster and traits related to calving, calf performance and gestation length suggest that this domain on chromosome 18 may play a role regulating pre-natal growth and development and fertility. SNPs within the bovine ZNF215 gene were associated with bovine growth and body conformation traits and studies in humans have revealed that the human ZNF215 ortholog belongs to the imprinted gene cluster associated with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome--a genetic disorder characterised by growth abnormalities. Similarly, the data presented here suggest that the ZNF215 gene may have an important role in regulating bovine growth. Collectively, our results support previous work showing that (candidate) imprinted genes/loci contribute to heritable variation in bovine performance traits and suggest that DNA sequence polymorphisms within these genes/loci represents an important reservoir of genomic markers for future genetic improvement of dairy and beef cattle populations.Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Ireland - Research Stimulus Fund (project numbers: RSF-06-406, RSF-06-0353 and RSF-06-0409); Science Foundation Ireland - Investigator Programme Grants(SFI/01/F.1/B028; SFI/08/IN.1/B1931, 07/SRC/B1156 (MPM)

Multi-platform Approach for Microbial Biomarker Identification Using Borrelia burgdorferi as a Model

The identification of microbial biomarkers is critical for the diagnosis of a disease early during infection. However, the identification of reliable biomarkers is often hampered by a low concentration of microbes or biomarkers within host fluids or tissues. We have outlined a multi-platform strategy to assess microbial biomarkers that can be consistently detected in host samples, using Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, as an example. Key aspects of the strategy include the selection of a macaque model of human disease, in vivo Microbial Antigen Discovery (InMAD), and proteomic methods that include microbial biomarker enrichment within samples to identify secreted proteins circulating during infection. Using the described strategy, we have identified 6 biomarkers from multiple samples. In addition, the temporal antibody response to select bacterial antigens was mapped. By integrating biomarkers identified from early infection with temporal patterns of expression, the described platform allows for the data driven selection of diagnostic targets

Risk Factors for Urinary Complications After Renal Transplantation

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73788/1/j.1600-6143.2007.01790.x.pd