Politics and religion in Edinburgh, 1617-53

The Covenanting experiment ended for Edinburgh's inhabitants when their burgh was occupied by the English, but the 1640s cast a long shadow over the burgh's development. Lives were undoubtedly destroyed by disease and war. The prosperity of the burgh must have been seriously affected by the contraction of trade and the depletion of reserves of liquid capital which had sustained moneylending and property speculation. On the other hand, Edinburgh as a political entity endured, stoically as it seems, the pressures of war and the ignominy of English occupation. Remarkably, its constitutional structure and social make-up remained almost entirely unaffected, in marked contrast to London.108 Although the Covenants were consigned to the dustbin of history by nervous political leaders, its impact on the shaping of a Protestant national identity amongst the burgeoning professional classes of the capital was arguably a deep and lasting one. More tenuously, the 1640s may also have entrenched Edinburgh's sense of itself as a capital of a sovereign nation. The Covenanting regime had owed its existence to the country's leading urban centre, which gave it a home with access to the finest lawyers and the richest merchants. Edinburgh was confirmed in its status as the watchtower of the church and as the home of a legal establishment now increasingly being seen as distinctively Scottish.109 Edinburgh's sense of its own uniqueness must have been intensified by a realisation that, regardless of who wielded power in England, they were fundamentally uninterested in closer cooperation with Scotland.For historians, the Covenanting era is a vital moment in the transition between medieval kingdom and early modern state. It proved that the apparatus of government could function without the presence of the monarch, paving the way for the development of a constitutional monarchy which worked with, rather than dominated, bureaucratic institutions. The connection between locality and centre was intensified through the modernisation of Scotland's antiquated tax regime. Constitutionally, the Covenanting committee structure was, in anybody's terms, a revolution. It brought to a natural conclusion the idea posited by Knox, that it was the responsibility of the lesser magistrates to assume power if the Prince had become incapable. It was no social revolution, however, and David Stevenson's work has been confirmed in this respect.111 The complete absence of violence or disorder in the localities before 1644, with the notable exception of the north-east, suggests that the maintenance of the accepted social hierarchy was crucial both to the legitimation of the movement's aims -this was not government by the 'promiscuous and vulgar multitude'112 -and to the speed with which the movement was able to exercise authority.In Lowland Scotland, a regime which could have become intrusive and domineering, while it was also taxing the kingdom in a distastefully efficient way,"4 was still able to engender loyalty - the same regime was far less successful at establishing itself in the north and west.115 The contrast between the regime's agenda and the prevailing cultural and religious influences in these areas made it difficult for the Covenanters to do as they had done in Lowland areas, and co-opt the traditional local elite into the regime. Edinburgh provides an excellent example of how this was achieved, so that instead of being threatened by the creation of novel bureaucratic and military structures, local communities actually supported and participated in them. In Edinburgh, the merchant oligarchy retained control of the town council throughout the 1640s, and even the purge of 1648 did not fundamentally alter its composition. The type of man who had been the burgh's representative at parliaments and conventions also attended the committees. There were attempts to influence who would be provost of Edinburgh but crucially, Argyll never tried to circumvent the town's established customs, as Charles I had done, by imposing his own candidate. This was in marked contrast to the situation in England, where the imposition of competing bureaucracies after 1642 generated a 'march towards chaos' in local administration.The local dimension remains essential. Edinburgh's inhabitants were engaged in debates about the nature of the religious settlement in Scotland and their relationship with the English church. They were aware of the campaigns of 1630 and 1633, which sought to find some means of bringing the king's attention to a growing sense amongst the political nation that they were alienated from the executive. Nonetheless, local politics was primarily driven by local concerns and Edinburgh was a particularly self-aware community; provosts who forgot that their most basic function was the protection of Edinburgh's interests rapidly became very unpopular. As a consequence, issues were given different emphases depending on who was talking about them. Historians can construct theoretical models, identify over-arching themes and discuss ideological frameworks, but people do not usually see their lives in those terms. For most, the reality in Edinburgh was that the differences between royal and Covenanting regimes had little direct bearing on their everyday activities; to a certain extent, this even remained the case after 1651. It was the town council which gave order to their existence, because it permeated every corner of burgh life, to an extent that even the church was unable to match. If this thesis has one unifying thread of continuity, therefore, it is the remarkable stability of Edinburgh government. In 1660, Edinburgh town council disavowed the Covenant; there would be no elect nation, and the capital abandoned the idea of being the new Jerusalem. Never again would a religious ideology threaten to disrupt the burgh's ability to protect its own 'particular',118 which was, after all, what Edinburgh was best at

Role of Socioeconomic Status and Obesity in African American Adults

African Americans have a higher prevalence of obesity compared to any other racial/ethnic group due to a variety of factors, including socioeconomic status. This research paper presents a semi-systematic literature review revealing the impact socioeconomic status has on obesity among African American adults in the United States. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of this public health issue, we examined the risk factors, risk behaviors, and health outcomes surrounding obesity among this population. An informational web-based search was conducted using various research databases including PubMed, CINAHL, and EBSCOHost. The terms “obesity,” “African Americans, “ and “socioeconomic status” were utilized as common keywords, along with other MeSH terms. The overall pattern of results display a positive association between socioeconomic status and obesity among African Americans in the United States. Findings indicate that certain health behaviors such as unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, and lack of sleep can increase the chances of an individual becoming obese. Not only does indulging in these harmful activities pose an increased risk, but other health outcomes may arise as a result of being obese such as a reduced life expectancy and a variety of chronic conditions. It is essential that further examination is completed to serve as a foundation for creating preventative strategies for this population. Researchers can utilize the findings provided from this literature review to help decrease the obesity rates among African American adults in the United States.https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/gradposters2022_healthsciences/1011/thumbnail.jp

Do Genetic Diversity Effects Drive the Benefits Associated with Multiple Mating? A Test in a Marine Invertebrate

Background: Mothers that mate with multiple males often produce higher quality offspring than mothers that mate with a single male. By engaging in polyandry, mothers may increase their chances of mating with a compatible male or promote sperm competition - both of which act to increase maternal fitness via the biasing of the paternity of offspring. Surprisingly, mating with multiple males, can carry benefits without biasing paternity and may be due simply to differences in genetic diversity between monandrous and polyandrous clutches but role of genetic diversity effects in driving the benefits of polyandry remains poorly tested. Disentangling indirect, genetic benefits from genetic diversity effects is challenging but crucial if we are to understand the selection pressures acting to promote polyandry. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here, we examine the post-fertilisation benefits of accessing the sperm of multiple males in an externally fertilising polychaete worm. Accessing the sperm of multiple males increases offspring performance but this benefit was driven entirely by genetic diversity effects and not by the biasing of paternity at fertilisation. Conclusions/Significance: Previous studies on polyandry should be interpreted cautiously as genetic diversity effects alone can explain the benefits of polyandry yet these diversity effects may be difficult to disentangle from other mechanisms. We suggest that future studies use a modified experimental design in order to discriminate between genetic diversity effects and indirect, genetic benefits

A study of the changes in musical dynamics in concert hall acoustics as measured by perceptual changes in loudness and envelopment.

In this thesis, the perception of musical dynamics in concert hall acoustics is studied by using two of the most influential and more intuitive perceptual factors: loudness and envelopment/width. This study is carried out by using a listening test and interview to assess the loudness and envelopment/width of seven different European concert halls at three different listening positions. The accompanying literature review explores the pschyoacoustics and objective measures of loudness and envelopment as well as the seminal works of perceptual studies in concert hall acoustics. The experiment makes use of a state-of-the-art listening room and a pair-wise comparison listening test to evaluate samples with four different dynamic levels which have approximately constant SPL for the same dynamic levels. The main findings align with previous studies of dynamic responsiveness by Pätynen and Lokki, concluding that shoebox-style halls exhibit better musical dynamics than modern vineyard-style halls. The findings also show that differing seat position has a greater effect on the perception of musical dynamics, where little change is found for differing musical dynamics at the same seating position. Finally, objective measures of strength and SPL are found not to follow subjective loudness suggesting a new objective measure is required

Gender politics and security discourse

Since the United Nations Security Council adopted UNSCR 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in October 2000, there have been debates about how to achieve "gender security". This thesis explores competing modes of constructions about "gender security" within feminist and women's NGOs in Serbia, highlighting the ways that personal-political imaginations of Serbia's conflict and post-conflict pasts, presents and futures affect the logics of "gender security". Part one explores the configurations of "gender security" amongst feminist and women's NGOs in Serbia. Post-structural discourse analysis strategies are deployed to investigate the personal-political imaginations of conflict and post-conflict constituting how feminism and security is thought about. Utilising field research conducted in Serbia during 2008 and 2009, the discursive construction of competing modes of thought about gender and/or security amongst activists is revealed, highlighting that the way that conflict and post-conflict is thought about profoundly affects these modes of thought. Part two is an in-depth examination of the performance of UNseR 1325 within two case studies. UNSCR 1325 is taken to be the site of discursive contact between gender and security, and is productive of the articulation and representation of gender security policies and agendas. The first case study centres upon the feminist-pacifist debate, focussing upon Women in Black. UNSCR 1325 is utilised as a political tool to support the advocacy work of Women in Black. In contrast, the second case study explores ways specific discourses of gender security has stimulated political action. An investigation of the broader domestic violence debate in Serbia makes clear how international gender security discourses triggered an increasing concern about small arms and light weapons (SALW) abuse within domestic violence. Subsequently, activists have pushed SALW concerns higher up the domestic violence agenda in Serbia. The variations in how UNSCR 1325 is utilised is a consequence of the particular configuration of gender security, arising from personal-political imaginations of conflict and post-conflict amongst activists

The REF’s focus on linear and direct impact is problematic and silences certain types of research

In the last Research Excellence Framework (REF), the new element of research impact was understood in very linear and direct terms. Aoileann Ní Mhurchú, Laura McLeod, Stephanie Collins and Gabriel Siles-Brügge consider how accepted definitions of impact may have had the effect of silencing certain types of research. Research and impact should be seen as a two-way street, where academics engage with their research subjects as part of a process of co-production. Moreover, impact must be thought of as a collective endeavour that captures the broader social and cultural benefits of academic work. The Stern Review recommendations are to be welcomed but whether and how they are adopted remains to be seen

Hypothesis and theory : a pathophysiological concept of stroke-induced acute phase response and increased intestinal permeability leading to secondary brain damage

Gut integrity impairment leading to increased intestinal permeability (IP) is hypothesized to be a trigger of critically illness. Approximately 15–20% of human ischemic stroke (IS) victims require intensive care, including patients with impaired level of consciousness or a high risk for developing life-threatening cerebral edema. Local and systemic inflammatory reactions are a major component of the IS pathophysiology and can significantly aggravate brain tissue damage. Intracerebral inflammatory processes following IS have been well studied. Until now, less is known about systemic inflammatory responses and IS consequences apart from a frequently observed post-IS immunosuppression. Here, we provide a hypothesis of a crosstalk between systemic acute phase response (APR), IP and potential secondary brain damage during acute and subacute IS stages supported by preliminary experimental data. Alterations of the acute phase proteins (APPs) C-reactive protein and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein and serum level changes of antibodies directed against Escherichia coli-cell extract antigen (IgA-, IgM-, and IgG-anti-E. coli) were investigated at 1, 2, and 7 days following IS in ten male sheep. We found an increase of both APPs as well as a decrease of all anti-E. coli antibodies within 48 h following IS. This may indicate an early systemic APR and increased IP, and underlines the importance of the increasingly recognized gut-brain axis and of intestinal antigen release for systemic immune responses in acute and subacute stroke stages

Reliability and Concurrent Validity of Select C3 Logix Test Components

We sought to investigate the one-week and within-session reliability of the instrumented balance error scoring system test and the concurrent validity/one-week reliability of two neurocognitive assessments available through C3 Logix. (n = 37) Participants completed two balance error scoring system tests separated by the Trails A, Trails B, and Symbol Digit Modality test available through C3 Logix, and with paper and pencil. We found that the instrumented balance error scoring system test demonstrated strong one-week reliability and that neuropsychological tests available through C3 Logix show acceptable concurrent validity with standard (comparable) paper and pencil measures

Deep Neural Network Identification of Limnonectes Species and New Class Detection Using Image Data

As is true of many complex tasks, the work of discovering, describing, and understanding the diversity of life on Earth (viz., biological systematics and taxonomy) requires many tools. Some of this work can be accomplished as it has been done in the past, but some aspects present us with challenges which traditional knowledge and tools cannot adequately resolve. One such challenge is presented by species complexes in which the morphological similarities among the group members make it difficult to reliably identify known species and detect new ones. We address this challenge by developing new tools using the principles of machine learning to resolve two specific questions related to species complexes. The first question is formulated as a classification problem in statistics and machine learning and the second question is an out-of-distribution (OOD) detection problem. We apply these tools to a species complex comprising Southeast Asian stream frogs (Limnonectes kuhlii complex) and employ a morphological character (hind limb skin texture) traditionally treated qualitatively in a quantitative and objective manner. We demonstrate that deep neural networks can successfully automate the classification of an image into a known species group for which it has been trained. We further demonstrate that the algorithm can successfully classify an image into a new class if the image does not belong to the existing classes. Additionally, we use the larger MNIST dataset to test the performance of our OOD detection algorithm. We finish our paper with some concluding remarks regarding the application of these methods to species complexes and our efforts to document true biodiversity. This paper has online supplementary materials.Comment: 26 pages, 11 Figure