Preaching from the Greek New Testament

Some four hundred and fifty years ago, in his Preface to his Greek Testament, which became the standard for three hundred years in spite of the haste and imperfections connected with it, Erasmus expressed his delight as follows: These holy pages will summon up the living image of Christ\u27s mind. They will give you Christ Himself, talking, healing, dying, rising - the whole Christ, in a word. They will give Him to you in an intimacy so close that He would be less visible to you if He stood before your eyes

The Message of the First Epistle of Peter for Our Day

The purpose of this essay is to interpret and illuminate one of the New Testament Epistles which focuses to a rare degree the interests, needs, and problems of the Church of the first century, and gives classical expression to the teachings of Christ and His Apostles in regard to them. These interests, needs, and problems are not greatly different from those which confront thoughtful Christian men and women the world over today. Of this First Epistle of Peter, Luther once said: “It is one of the noblest books of the New Testament, and the true, pure Gospel

Ecclesiastical Union Verses Christian Unity

Is it true that the union which is advocated by this coming conference is based on God\u27s ideal? Placing the basis of the proposed union along side of the basis laid down in the Bible, we find that the former is based on man\u27s conception and is in direct conflict with many clear passages of Scripture. Nothing is more emphatically taught and stressed in the Bible then that church-fellowship must always, and in all places, be preceded by unity in the spirit, unity in doctrine. We learn this from such passages as Rom.16,17; Eph. 4,3-6 , 13, and many similar ones, where we are told that in the Church the true doctrine and only the true doctrine is to be taught, confessed and practiced by all its members. Accordingly, all true Christians, though not unmindful of the Scriptural admonition to bear patiently with the weak in doctrine and in knowledge and to love our neighbors, dare not countenance the surrendering of any portion of the Christian doctrine in the interest of a church union. Most of the efforts at union are doomed to failure from the beginning because they seek a mere outward ecclesiastical union at the expense of the inward unity which is demanded by the Bible. How can two walk together except they be agreed

Tubulin Dimers Oligomerize before Their Incorporation into Microtubules

In the presence of GTP, purified dimers of α- and β-tubulin will interact longitudinally and laterally to self-assemble into microtubules (MTs). This property provides a powerful in vitro experimental system to describe MT dynamic behavior at the micrometer scale and to study effects and functioning of a large variety of microtubule associated proteins (MAPs). Despite the plethora of such data produced, the molecular mechanisms of MT assembly remain disputed. Electron microscopy (EM) studies suggested that tubulin dimers interact longitudinally to form short oligomers which form a tube by lateral interaction and which contribute to MT elongation. This idea is however challenged: Based on estimated association constants it was proposed that single dimers represent the major fraction of free tubulin. This view was recently supported by measurements suggesting that MTs elongate by addition of single tubulin dimers. To solve this discrepancy, we performed a direct measurement of the longitudinal interaction energy for tubulin dimers. We quantified the size distribution of tubulin oligomers using EM and fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). From the distribution we derived the longitudinal interaction energy in the presence of GDP and the non-hydrolysable GTP analog GMPCPP. Our data suggest that MT elongation and nucleation involves interactions of short tubulin oligomers rather than dimers. Our approach provides a solid experimental framework to better understand the role of MAPs in MT nucleation and growth

From bottom-up to top-down control of invertebrate herbivores in a retrogressive chronosequence

In the long-term absence of disturbance, ecosystems often enter a decline or retrogressive phase which leads to reductions in primary productivity, plant biomass, nutrient cycling and foliar quality. However, the consequences of ecosystem retrogression for higher trophic levels such as herbivores and predators, are less clear. Using a post-fire forested island-chronosequence across which retrogression occurs, we provide evidence that nutrient availability strongly controls invertebrate herbivore biomass when predators are few, but that there is a switch from bottom-up to top-down control when predators are common. This trophic flip in herbivore control probably arises because invertebrate predators respond to alternative energy channels from the adjacent aquatic matrix, which were independent of terrestrial plant biomass. Our results suggest that effects of nutrient limitation resulting from ecosystem retrogression on trophic cascades are modified by nutrient-independent variation in predator abundance, and this calls for a more holistic approach to trophic ecology to better understand herbivore effects on plant communities

A computer system for a cadastral mapping application

In 1973, the New Zealand Government instituted a metric measurement system and the New Zealand Department of Lands and Survey (NZLS) implemented a new mapping grid and projection system that permits the accurate representation of the whole country on a uniform basis. These two related decisions required the mapping division of the NZLS to assume responsibility for the conversion of both topographical and cadastral maps in the former imperial mapping grid system to the new metric mapping grid system. This thesis deals with the design of an automated mapping system and identifies the techniques necessary to automate the conversion of cadastral maps from the imperial mapping system to the new metric system. The research undertaken encompasses the following three major areas: (a) the design of an efficient system to automate the conversion from one mapping series to another, (b) the identification and testing of techniques necessary to generate computer produced maps to cartographic standards, (c) to design a data structure for graphical data and its corresponding descriptive data in a format suitable for use by a land information processing system. Although this research deals with a specific problem, the problems discussed in this thesis are of relevance to any general mapping application

Restoring freshwater habitat mosaics to promote resilience of vulnerable salmon populations

Phenotypic diversity and abundance drive salmon resilience in the face of increasing environmental variability. But what happens when human activities fundamentally alter the habitat complexity that drives this diversity? And how can we restore habitats to recover both diversity and abundance to support salmon persistence in a warming climate? Here, we looked at the impact of a large watershed restoration effort on the abundance and climate resilience of the three remaining core natural spring-run Chinook Salmon populations in the California Central Valley (Butte, Mill, and Deer Creek). Butte Creek fish, which have floodplain access, had higher overall productivity and faster juvenile growth compared with Mill and Deer Creek populations, and the proportion of floodplain inundation was positively correlated with Butte Creek adult abundance two years later. While Butte Creek exhibited significant increases in abundance post-restoration (~2000%), it generally exhibited lower phenotypic diversity and only a marginal increase in population stability after restoration based on the coefficient of variation (CV). In particular, Butte Creek salmon tended to exhibit larger drops in escapement following dry years (e.g., return years 2010, 2017) compared with Mill and Deer Creek populations, presumably due to limited inundation of its downstream floodplain. The late-migrating juvenile strategy (i.e., yearling), which disproportionately supported Mill and Deer Creek populations during droughts, was uncommon among Butte Creek adults (averaging 60% of returns for Mill and Deer Creek vs. 0.3% for Butte Creek). Increased spring-run stock complex stability was found, post-restoration, when combining the three spring-run populations (i.e., lower aggregate CV). However, among-river pairwise correlations also suggested increased synchronization in population abundances post-restoration, potentially due to increasing frequency and severity of extreme climatic events (e.g., droughts and ocean warming). This study underscores the importance of restoring a connected mosaic of aquatic habitats across modified landscapes, such as cold water refugia and floodplains, to preserve multiple (across-population) life history pathways for increasing salmon stock complex stability and abundance. These landscape-scale process-based habitat restoration efforts are likely to be crucial for the successful long-term recovery of vulnerable species in a rapidly changing climate.publishedVersio