Inciting Peace From the Inside Out

Violence and war can be incited, and so can peace. This volume shares select addresses and responses from Seton Hall University’s 2/7/23 conference “Inciting Peace From The Inside Out.” A multi-disciplinary range of scholars each addresses how reconciliation processes grow from spiritual dynamics. Multiple religious traditions teach contemplative praxes that prioritize and nurture personal reflection oriented toward peace. Social conflicts divide, so engaging them with a partisan orientation only serves to escalate harmful rifts. In contrast, bringing personal awareness and sensitivity, spiritual balance, and holistic integral perspective to conflict can transcend divisions and work toward unity. This volume is supported in part by a generous grant from the Lilly Faculty Fellows Program

Recent Advances in Understanding Particle Acceleration Processes in Solar Flares

We review basic theoretical concepts in particle acceleration, with particular emphasis on processes likely to occur in regions of magnetic reconnection. Several new developments are discussed, including detailed studies of reconnection in three-dimensional magnetic field configurations (e.g., current sheets, collapsing traps, separatrix regions) and stochastic acceleration in a turbulent environment. Fluid, test-particle, and particle-in-cell approaches are used and results compared. While these studies show considerable promise in accounting for the various observational manifestations of solar flares, they are limited by a number of factors, mostly relating to available computational power. Not the least of these issues is the need to explicitly incorporate the electrodynamic feedback of the accelerated particles themselves on the environment in which they are accelerated. A brief prognosis for future advancement is offered.Comment: This is a chapter in a monograph on the physics of solar flares, inspired by RHESSI observations. The individual articles are to appear in Space Science Reviews (2011

Panel 7: otitis media:treatment and complications

Objective: We aimed to summarize key articles published between 2011 and 2015 on the treatment of (recurrent) acute otitis media, otitis media with effusion, tympanostomy tube otorrhea, chronic suppurative otitis media and complications of otitis media, and their implications for clinical practice. Data Sources: PubMed, Ovid Medline, the Cochrane Library, and Clinical Evidence (BMJ Publishing). Review Methods: All types of articles related to otitis media treatment and complications between June 2011 and March 2015 were identified. A total of 1122 potential related articles were reviewed by the panel members; 118 relevant articles were ultimately included in this summary. Conclusions: Recent literature and guidelines emphasize accurate diagnosis of acute otitis media and optimal management of ear pain. Watchful waiting is optional in mild to moderate acute otitis media; antibiotics do shorten symptoms and duration of middle ear effusion. The additive benefit of adenoidectomy to tympanostomy tubes in recurrent acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion is controversial and age dependent. Topical antibiotic is the treatment of choice in acute tube otorrhea. Symptomatic hearing loss due to persistent otitis media with effusion is best treated with tympanostomy tubes. Novel molecular and biomaterial treatments as adjuvants to surgical closure of eardrum perforations seem promising. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of complementary and alternative treatments. Implications for Practice: Emphasis on accurate diagnosis of otitis media, in its various forms, is important to reduce overdiagnosis, overtreatment, and antibiotic resistance. Children at risk for otitis media and its complications deserve special attention

Combination of novel and public RNA-seq datasets to generate an mRNA expression atlas for the domestic chicken

Background: The domestic chicken (Gallus gallus) is widely used as a model in developmental biology and is also an important livestock species. We describe a novel approach to data integration to generate an mRNA expression atlas for the chicken spanning major tissue types and developmental stages, using a diverse range of publicly-archived RNA-seq datasets and new data derived from immune cells and tissues. Results: Randomly down-sampling RNA-seq datasets to a common depth and quantifying expression against a reference transcriptome using the mRNA quantitation tool Kallisto ensured that disparate datasets explored comparable transcriptomic space. The network analysis tool Graphia was used to extract clusters of co-expressed genes from the resulting expression atlas, many of which were tissue or cell-type restricted, contained transcription factors that have previously been implicated in their regulation, or were otherwise associated with biological processes, such as the cell cycle. The atlas provides a resource for the functional annotation of genes that currently have only a locus ID. We cross-referenced the RNA-seq atlas to a publicly available embryonic Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) dataset to infer the developmental time course of organ systems, and to identify a signature of the expansion of tissue macrophage populations during development. Conclusion: Expression profiles obtained from public RNA-seq datasets - despite being generated by different laboratories using different methodologies - can be made comparable to each other. This meta-analytic approach to RNA-seq can be extended with new datasets from novel tissues, and is applicable to any species

Detecting horses' sickness: In search of visible signs

International audienceAssessing sickness in animals, by which we refer to non-specific states involving both physical discomfort and negative emotional states, is a real challenge. In this review, we demonstrate the need for clear and simple indicators of sickness in horses, a species in which suffering is largely underestimated. We provide a critical review of existing tools available to assess sickness in equids, which include composite pain scales and scores and welfare assessment scoring. Many such scales and scoring systems involve subjective assessments and lack of clear definitions. We discuss possible objective, visible indicators (qualitative and quantitative behavioural modifications and some postures) associated with sickness in horses, highlighting the two predominant modalities of expression (becoming unresponsive to environmental stimuli and “lethargic”, or becoming aggressive and hostile). Much work is still needed before an agreement can be achieved on the indicators of sickness in horses; there are however signs that, even if non-specific, should attract the owners’ attention on the horses’ welfare state

A Multicultural Examination of Business Ethics Perceptions

An evaluation is provided of ethical business perception of business students from 3 countries: Australia, Taiwan and the US. Although statistically significant differences do exist, there is significant agreement with the way students perceive ethical/unethical practices in business. The findings indicate a universality of business ethical perceptions

Dissensual Decision Making

This analysis seeks to understand the decline of Supreme Court consensual norms often attributed to the failed leadership of Chief Justice Stone. A new unit of analysis-justice-level dissent and concurrence rates-supports an alternative view of observed increases in dissensual decision making. When these measures are estimated with time-series techniques, results offer evidence of multiple changepoints in this norm of the Court that both lead and lag Stone\u27s elevation. Broader contextual explanations related to the alteration of the Court\u27s discretionary issue agenda and its ideological and demographic composition also contribute to fractures in the once-unanimous voting coalitions. © 2012 University of Utah