Dynamic Contextualization of Learners Within Educational Systems Through a Vygotskian Lens: A Telling Case of Jesus Christ as an Educator

This study looked at Jesus Christ as a telling example of how transformative patterns of influence are exerted on learners by educators in educational systems. Based on concepts found in L.S. Vygotsky’s work, this study found these patterns acting as a current or stream of consistent aims and meanings introduced and reinforced by educators in the form of practices and methods that generated momentum toward/around desired learner responses. This study’s insights into these patterns of influence as employed by Christ during his ministry and as experienced by his learners provided new means of both interpreting their success and potentially replicating elements of that methodology in contemporary educational practice

Natural History of Tuberculosis: Duration and Fatality of Untreated Pulmonary Tuberculosis in HIV Negative Patients: A Systematic Review

Background The prognosis, specifically the case fatality and duration, of untreated tuberculosis is important as many patients are not correctly diagnosed and therefore receive inadequate or no treatment. Furthermore, duration and case fatality of tuberculosis are key parameters in interpreting epidemiological data. Methodology and Principal Findings To estimate the duration and case fatality of untreated pulmonary tuberculosis in HIV negative patients we reviewed studies from the pre-chemotherapy era. Untreated smear-positive tuberculosis among HIV negative individuals has a 10-year case fatality variously reported between 53% and 86%, with a weighted mean of 70%. Ten-year case fatality of culture-positive smear-negative tuberculosis was nowhere reported directly but can be indirectly estimated to be approximately 20%. The duration of tuberculosis from onset to cure or death is approximately 3 years and appears to be similar for smear-positive and smear-negative tuberculosis. Conclusions Current models of untreated tuberculosis that assume a total duration of 2 years until self-cure or death underestimate the duration of disease by about one year, but their case fatality estimates of 70% for smear-positive and 20% for culture-positive smear-negative tuberculosis appear to be satisfactory

Expandable bioresorbable endovascular stent. I. Fabrication and properties

Abstract-A bioresorbable, expandable poly͑L-lactic acid͒ stent has been designed, based on a linear, continuous coil array principle, by which multiple furled lobes convert to a single lobe upon balloon expansion, without heating. Stent strength and compliance are sufficient to permit deployment by a conventional balloon angioplasty catheter. Several multiple lobe configurations were investigated, with expansion ratios ranging from 1.4 to 1.9 and expanded diameters ranging from 2.3 to 4.7 mm. Compression resistance of the expanded stent is dependent on fiber coil density and fiber ply. A range sufficient for endovascular service was obtained, with less than 4% elastic recoil in six day saline incubation studies. Surface plasma treatment with di͑ethylene glycol͒ vinyl ether significantly reduced platelet adhesion in a 1 h porcine arteriovenous shunt model. Patency was maintained in one week implant studies in the porcine common femoral artery. However, a strong inflammatory response, and significant reduction of the vascular lumen were observed following two weeks implantation. The design principles and fabrication techniques for this bioresorbable stent are sufficiently versatile that a broad range of applications can be addressed. Much work remains to be done, including long-term evaluation of the inflammatory response, and of polymer degradation. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of expandable biodegradable stent design and deployment by conventional means