118 research outputs found
The Ministry of Ezra: A Biblical Model of Intergenerational Worship
Despite many studies on intergenerational worship, there is little focus on a specific biblical character with the aim to edify the Church family as a whole in terms of intergenerational worship and how it impacts all generations and family types in the Church today. This study focuses on the ministry of Ezra and how he led others through a time of intergenerational worship and transition. Guided by examples from Ezraβs ministry, along with historical research, this study will seek to discover ways that Ezra taught worship across generational lines, lessons that the 21st-century church can glean from his ministry, and the critical impact that his example of intergenerational worship can have on single families in the Church. Through these findings, one will see how Ezra taught worship across generational lines during a time of transition by studying, teaching, and enacting the Word of God. The 21st-century church will see the benefits that come from this model through a weekly worship service in terms of intergenerational participation, self-sacrifice, and mentorship. The 21st-century single family will also see the benefit that comes from this type of weekly intergenerational worship service in terms of inclusion in the church family, support from the congregation, and opportunities to serve all generations. Further, this study will help encourage other church ministry disciplines to research more materials that can demonstrate a biblical method that any church pastor or lay leader can follow in order to incorporate intergenerational aspects in all family groups that are represented, especially in the area of single-parent homes
The Use of Social Media by Alleged Members of Mexican Cartels and Affiliated Drug Trafficking Organizations
Focusing on Mexican cartels and affiliated drug trafficking organizations, this article examines how self-proclaimed cartel members use social media to further the criminal activities of their organizations. Employing an opensource, intelligence-driven methodology, the authors identified, followed, and mapped the connections between and among 75 alleged cartel members over a period of 4 months. Results indicated that cartel members actively use Facebook to plan, organize, and communicate in real-time. These findings provide tentative validation to the utility of using open-source social media platforms to study the social structure and operations of Mexican drug cartels. Implications for law enforcement, homeland security, and the intelligence enterprise are discussed
Hexacoordinate Ru-based olefin metathesis catalysts with pH-responsive N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and N-donor ligands for ROMP reactions in non-aqueous, aqueous and emulsion conditions
Three new ruthenium alkylidene complexes (PCy3)Cl2(H2ITap)Ru=CHSPh (9), (DMAP)2Cl2(H2ITap)Ru=CHPh (11) and (DMAP)2Cl2(H2ITap)Ru=CHSPh (12) have been synthesized bearing the pH-responsive H2ITap ligand (H2ITap = 1,3-bis(2β,6β- dimethyl-4β-dimethylaminophenyl)-4,5-dihydroimidazol-2-ylidene). Catalysts 11 and 12 are additionally ligated by two pH-responsive DMAP ligands. The crystal structure was solved for complex 12 by X-ray diffraction. In organic, neutral solution, the catalysts are capable of performing standard ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and ring closing metathesis (RCM) reactions with standard substrates. The ROMP with complex 11 is accelerated in the presence of two equiv of H3PO4, but is reduced as soon as the acid amount increased. The metathesis of phenylthiomethylidene catalysts 9 and 12 is sluggish at room temperature, but their ROMP can be dramatically accelerated at 60 Β°C. Complexes 11 and 12 are soluble in aqueous acid. They display the ability to perform RCM of diallylmalonic acid (DAMA), however, their conversions are very low amounting only to few turnovers before decomposition. However, both catalysts exhibit outstanding performance in the ROMP of dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) and mixtures of DCPD with cyclooctene (COE) in acidic aqueous microemulsion. With loadings as low as 180 ppm, the catalysts afforded mostly quantitative conversions of these monomers while maintaining the size and shape of the droplets throughout the polymerization process. Furthermore, the coagulate content for all experiments staye
COVID-19 impacts on household energy & food security in a Kenyan informal settlement: The need for integrated approaches to the SDGs
Complex dynamics in sustaining clean cooking and food access through a pandemic: A COVID-19 impact study in peri-urban Cameroon
Access to clean energy for cooking is central to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7. Latest predictions suggest that this goal will not be met by 2030, with further setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on household cooking fuel, practices and dietary behaviours in a peri-urban community in Central Cameroon. Using surveys (n = 333) and qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 12), we found negative financial impacts and high levels of food insecurity, with 83 % and 56 % of households reporting reduced income and insufficient food, respectively. Households reduced food intake and cooking frequency and relied more heavily on local sources (e.g., farmland) to feed their families. Changes in primary cooking fuel were less pronounced and fuel choice was inherently linked to cooking behaviours, with some households utilising LPG more often for simple tasks, such as reheating food. Local systems were key in sustaining food and fuel access and households demonstrated resilience by employing numerous mechanisms to overcome challenges. Our findings underline the vulnerability of households in maintaining sufficient food intake and sustaining clean cooking, highlighting how policy needs to take a nuanced approach considering food-energy dynamics and strengthening local systems to ensure access to clean energy is resistant to system shocks
Systematic Evaluation of Factors Influencing ChIP-Seq Fidelity
We performed a systematic evaluation of how variations in sequencing depth and other parameters influence interpretation of Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) experiments. Using Drosophila S2 cells, we generated ChIP-seq datasets for a site-specific transcription factor (Suppressor of Hairy-wing) and a histone modification (H3K36me3). We detected a chromatin state bias, open chromatin regions yielded higher coverage, which led to false positives if not corrected and had a greater effect on detection specificity than any base-composition bias. Paired-end sequencing revealed that single-end data underestimated ChIP library complexity at high coverage. The removal of reads originating at the same base reduced false-positives while having little effect on detection sensitivity. Even at a depth of ~1 read/bp coverage of mappable genome, ~1% of the narrow peaks detected on a tiling array were missed by ChIP-seq. Evaluation of widely-used ChIP-seq analysis tools suggests that adjustments or algorithm improvements are required to handle datasets with deep coverage
Endothelial Membrane Remodeling Is Obligate for Anti-Angiogenic Radiosensitization during Tumor Radiosurgery
While there is significant interest in combining anti-angiogenesis therapy with conventional anti-cancer treatment, clinical trials have as of yet yielded limited therapeutic gain, mainly because mechanisms of anti-angiogenic therapy remain to a large extent unknown. Currently, anti-angiogenic tumor therapy is conceptualized to either "normalize" dysfunctional tumor vasculature, or to prevent recruitment of circulating endothelial precursors into the tumor. An alternative biology, restricted to delivery of anti-angiogenics immediately prior to single dose radiotherapy (radiosurgery), is provided in the present study.Genetic data indicate an acute wave of ceramide-mediated endothelial apoptosis, initiated by acid sphingomyelinase (ASMase), regulates tumor stem cell response to single dose radiotherapy, obligatory for tumor cure. Here we show VEGF prevented radiation-induced ASMase activation in cultured endothelium, occurring within minutes after radiation exposure, consequently repressing apoptosis, an event reversible with exogenous C(16)-ceramide. Anti-VEGFR2 acts conversely, enhancing ceramide generation and apoptosis. In vivo, MCA/129 fibrosarcoma tumors were implanted in asmase(+/+) mice or asmase(-/-) littermates and irradiated in the presence or absence of anti-VEGFR2 DC101 or anti-VEGF G6-31 antibodies. These anti-angiogenic agents, only if delivered immediately prior to single dose radiotherapy, de-repressed radiation-induced ASMase activation, synergistically increasing the endothelial apoptotic component of tumor response and tumor cure. Anti-angiogenic radiosensitization was abrogated in tumors implanted in asmase(-/-) mice that provide apoptosis-resistant vasculature, or in wild-type littermates pre-treated with anti-ceramide antibody, indicating that ceramide is necessary for this effect.These studies show that angiogenic factors fail to suppress apoptosis if ceramide remains elevated while anti-angiogenic therapies fail without ceramide elevation, defining a ceramide rheostat that determines outcome of single dose radiotherapy. Understanding the temporal sequencing of anti-angiogenic drugs and radiation enables optimized radiosensitization and design of innovative radiosurgery clinical trials
The Developing Female Chorister Voice:Case-Study Evidence of Musical Development
The human singing voice changes throughout the lifespan and there are gender-specific variations that need to be taken into account. Life changes in terms of voice are different for females and males and this paper concentrates on the female singing voice in the context of choral singing. Case-study data from three choristers are presented relating to the changing female voice during puberty as part of a longitudinal study of female choristers in a major English Cathedral Choir School. In addition, discussion is presented on important considerations with respect to the female choral singing voice with a particular focus on specific choral aspects during rehearsals and performance
A study of alterations in DNA epigenetic modifications (5mC and 5hmC) and gene expression influenced by simulated microgravity in human lymphoblastoid cells
Cells alter their gene expression in response to exposure to various environmental changes. Epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation are believed to regulate the alterations in gene expression patterns. In vitro and in vivo studies have documented changes in cellular proliferation, cytoskeletal remodeling, signal transduction, bone mineralization and immune deficiency under the influence of microgravity conditions experienced in space. However microgravity induced changes in the epigenome have not been well characterized. In this study we have used Next-generation Sequencing (NGS) to profile ground-based βsimulatedβ microgravity induced changes on DNA methylation (5-methylcytosine or 5mC), hydroxymethylation (5-hydroxymethylcytosine or 5hmC), and simultaneous gene expression in cultured human lymphoblastoid cells. Our results indicate that simulated microgravity induced alterations in the methylome (~60% of the differentially methylated regions or DMRs are hypomethylated and ~92% of the differentially hydroxymethylated regions or DHMRs are hyperhydroxymethylated). Simulated microgravity also induced differential expression in 370 transcripts that were associated with crucial biological processes such as oxidative stress response, carbohydrate metabolism and regulation of transcription. While we were not able to obtain any global trend correlating the changes of methylation/ hydroxylation with gene expression, we have been able to profile the simulated microgravity induced changes of 5mC over some of the differentially expressed genes that includes five genes undergoing differential methylation over their promoters and twenty five genes undergoing differential methylation over their gene-bodies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first NGS-based study to profile epigenomic patterns induced by short time exposure of simulated microgravity and we believe that our findings can be a valuable resource for future explorations
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