‘Has anyone here seen Amos?’ – re-establishing ‘prophetic imagination’ at the centre of religious education and formation

In 1989 Australian author and illustrator Bob Graham published a children’s book entitled Has anyone here seen William? This article seeks to construct a parallel narrative in relation to the category of the prophet, with a particular focus on the need to engage in prophetic imagination within the twin contexts of religious education (hereafter R.E.) and formation. In doing so it also makes reference to one of the archetypical biblical prophets - Amos. The article’s primary interlocutor is scripture scholar Walter Brueggemann (1982, 2002a, 2002b) who has written on topics as diverse as scripture exegesis and the theology of pain and homecoming. He has also written prominently on prophetic imagination, understood as the capacity to stand outside the dominant discourse or power structure of one’s day and critique it. As we will demonstrate throughout the article, Brueggemann’s scholarship in this area is complemented and refined through contact with the African-American philosopher Cornel West’s (1999) approach to prophetic critique, along with other commentators. Held together, both thinkers impel us to consider why teaching ‘about prophets’ needs to be complemented by an explicit cultivation of prophetic imagination, and how this might be seeded in crucial contexts such as religious education and formation. Following a brief introduction (part one) the second part explores the nature of the prophetic challenge. Part three focuses on recovery of the prophetic imagination, while part four examines ways to cultivate the prophetic imagination today. The final section considers conclusions and future directions in relation to topics raised throughout the paper

On the scattering of longitudinal elastic waves from axisymmetric defects in coated pipes

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Journal of Sound and Vibration. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.Viscoelastic coatings are widely used to protect pipelines from their surrounding environment. These coatings are known to attenuate ultrasonic waves guided along the pipe walls, which may limit the range of a pulse/echo based inspection technique that seeks to detect defects in a pipeline. This article aims to investigate the attenuation of longitudinal modes in a coated pipe by comparing predicted and measured values for the reflection coefficient of an axisymmetric defect in a pipe coated with bitumen. This extends recent work undertaken by the authors for torsional modes, and also provides an independent investigation into the validity of those values proposed by the authors for the shear properties of bitumen, based on a comparison between prediction and experiment for torsional modes. Predictions are generated using a numerical mode matching approach for axially uniform defects, and a hybrid finite element based method for non-uniform defects. Values for the shear and longitudinal properties of bitumen are investigated and it is shown that the shear properties of the viscoelastic material play a dominant role in the propagation of longitudinal modes in a coated pipeline. Moreover, by using the shear values obtained from experiments on torsional modes, it is shown that good agreement between prediction and measurement for uniform and non-uniform defects may also be obtained for the longitudinal L(0,2) mode. This provides further validation for the shear bulk acoustic properties proposed for bitumen in the low ultrasonic frequency range, although in order to apply this methodology in general it is demonstrated that one must measure independently the reflection coefficient of both the torsional T(0,1) and the longitudinal L(0,2) mode before arriving at values for the shear properties of a viscoelastic material

One-dimensional fluids with second nearest-neighbor interactions

As is well known, one-dimensional systems with interactions restricted to first nearest neighbors admit a full analytically exact statistical-mechanical solution. This is essentially due to the fact that the knowledge of the first nearest-neighbor probability distribution function, $p_1(r)$, is enough to determine the structural and thermodynamic properties of the system. On the other hand, if the interaction between second nearest-neighbor particles is turned on, the analytically exact solution is lost. Not only the knowledge of $p_1(r)$ is not sufficient anymore, but even its determination becomes a complex many-body problem. In this work we systematically explore different approximate solutions for one-dimensional second nearest-neighbor fluid models. We apply those approximations to the square-well and the attractive two-step pair potentials and compare them with Monte Carlo simulations, finding an excellent agreement.Comment: 26 pages, 12 figures; v2: more references adde

Phylogenetic Signal Variation in the Genomes of Medicago (Fabaceae)

Genome-scale data offer the opportunity to clarify phylogenetic relationships that are difficult to resolve with few loci, but they can also identify genomic regions with evolutionary history distinct from that of the species history. We collected whole-genome sequence data from 29 taxa in the legume genus Medicago, then aligned these sequences to the Medicago truncatula reference genome to confidently identify 87 596 variable homologous sites. We used this data set to estimate phylogenetic relationships among Medicago species, to investigate the number of sites needed to provide robust phylogenetic estimates and to identify specific genomic regions supporting topologies in conflict with the genome-wide phylogeny. Our full genomic data set resolves relationships within the genus that were previously intractable. Subsampling the data reveals considerable variation in phylogenetic signal and power in smaller subsets of the data. Even when sampling 5000 sites, no random sample of the data supports a topology identical to that of the genome-wide phylogeny. Phylogenetic relationships estimated from 500-site sliding windows revealed genome regions supporting several alternative species relationships among recently diverged taxa, consistent with the expected effects of deep coalescence or introgression in the recent history of Medicago. [Medicago; phylogenomics; whole-genome resequencing.

Exploring structural variation and gene family architecture with De Novo assemblies of 15 Medicago genomes

Abstract Background Previous studies exploring sequence variation in the model legume, Medicago truncatula, relied on mapping short reads to a single reference. However, read-mapping approaches are inadequate to examine large, diverse gene families or to probe variation in repeat-rich or highly divergent genome regions. De novo sequencing and assembly of M. truncatula genomes enables near-comprehensive discovery of structural variants (SVs), analysis of rapidly evolving gene families, and ultimately, construction of a pan-genome. Results Genome-wide synteny based on 15 de novo M. truncatula assemblies effectively detected different types of SVs indicating that as much as 22% of the genome is involved in large structural changes, altogether affecting 28% of gene models. A total of 63 million base pairs (Mbp) of novel sequence was discovered, expanding the reference genome space for Medicago by 16%. Pan-genome analysis revealed that 42% (180 Mbp) of genomic sequences is missing in one or more accession, while examination of de novo annotated genes identified 67% (50,700) of all ortholog groups as dispensable – estimates comparable to recent studies in rice, maize and soybean. Rapidly evolving gene families typically associated with biotic interactions and stress response were found to be enriched in the accession-specific gene pool. The nucleotide-binding site leucine-rich repeat (NBS-LRR) family, in particular, harbors the highest level of nucleotide diversity, large effect single nucleotide change, protein diversity, and presence/absence variation. However, the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) and heat shock gene families are disproportionately affected by large effect single nucleotide changes and even higher levels of copy number variation. Conclusions Analysis of multiple M. truncatula genomes illustrates the value of de novo assemblies to discover and describe structural variation, something that is often under-estimated when using read-mapping approaches. Comparisons among the de novo assemblies also indicate that different large gene families differ in the architecture of their structural variation

Investigation of guided wave propagation in pipes fully- and partially-embedded in concrete

The application of long-range guided-wave testing to pipes embedded in concrete results in unpredictable test-ranges. The influence of the circumferential extent of the embedding-concrete around a steel pipe on the guided wave propagation is investigated. An analytical model is used to study the axisymmetric fully embedded pipe case, while explicit finite-element and semi-analytical finite-element simulations are utilised to investigate a partially embedded pipe. Model predictions and simulations are compared with full-scale guided-wave tests. The transmission-loss of the T(0,1)-mode in an 8 in. steel pipe fully embedded over an axial length of 0.4 m is found to be in the range of 32–36 dB while it reduces by a factor of 5 when only 50% of the circumference is embedded. The transmission-loss in a fully embedded pipe is mainly due to attenuation in the embedded section while in a partially embedded pipe it depend strongly on the extent of mode-conversion at entry to the embedded-section; low loss modes with energy concentrated in the region of the circumference not-covered with concrete have been identified. The results show that in a fully embedded pipe, inspection beyond a short distance will not be possible, whereas when the concrete is debonded over a fraction of the pipe circumference, inspection of substantially longer lengths may be possible

A new three-locus model for rootstock-induced dwarfing in apple revealed by genetic mapping of root bark percentage

Rootstock-induced dwarfing of apple scions revolutionized global apple production during the twentieth century, leading to the development of modern intensive orchards. A high root bark percentage (the percentage of the whole root area constituted by root cortex) has previously been associated with rootstock induced dwarfing in apple. In this study, the root bark percentage was measured in a full-sib family of ungrafted apple rootstocks and found to be under the control of three loci. Two QTL for root bark percentage were found to co-localise to the same genomic regions on chromosome 5 and chromosome 11 previously identified as controlling dwarfing, Dw1 and Dw2, respectively. A third QTL was identified on chromosome 13 in a region that has not been previously associated with dwarfing. The development of closely linked 3 Sequence-tagged site STS markers improved the resolution of allelic classes thereby allowing the detection of dominance and epistatic interactions between loci, with high root bark percentage only occurring in specific allelic combinations. In addition, we report a significant negative correlation between root bark percentage and stem diameter (an indicator of tree vigour), measured on a clonally propagated grafted subset of the mapping population. The demonstrated link between root bark percentage and rootstock-induced dwarfing of the scion leads us to propose a three-locus model that is able to explain levels of dwarfing from the dwarf ‘M.27’ to the semi-invigorating rootstock ‘M.116’. Moreover, we suggest that the QTL on chromosome 13 (Rb3) might be analogous to a third dwarfing QTL, Dw3 that has not previously been identified

Searching for a Stochastic Background of Gravitational Waves with LIGO

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) has performed the fourth science run, S4, with significantly improved interferometer sensitivities with respect to previous runs. Using data acquired during this science run, we place a limit on the amplitude of a stochastic background of gravitational waves. For a frequency independent spectrum, the new limit is $\Omega_{\rm GW} < 6.5 \times 10^{-5}$. This is currently the most sensitive result in the frequency range 51-150 Hz, with a factor of 13 improvement over the previous LIGO result. We discuss complementarity of the new result with other constraints on a stochastic background of gravitational waves, and we investigate implications of the new result for different models of this background.Comment: 37 pages, 16 figure

Perioperative hazards in myotonic dystrophy

A 32-year-old man with myotonic dystrophy underwent a thoracotomy for removal of a mediastinal thymoma. Pre-operative examination revealed features of myotonic dystrophy, the only other abnormality was mild restrictive pulmonary disease. Anaesthesia was induced with thiopentone and maintained with enflurane, nitrous oxide, oxygen and curare. Following surgery, the patient was mechanically ventilated for several hours and remained intubated for 9 hours. The anaesthesia and surgery were tolerated well; however, postoperative complications included refractory dysrhythmias, hypoxia, pneumoccocal pneumonia and pulmonary emboli. More intensive preoperative pulmonary evaluation and physiotherapy coupled with more aggressive postoperative pulmonary care might have resulted in a smoother recovery phase.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75595/1/j.1365-2044.1980.tb03827.x.pd