The Image of God and Human Uniqueness: Challenges from the Biological and Information Sciences

The image of God is the doctrinal home of human uniqueness. Indeed, the Genesis text indicates that the image of God is decisively what separates human beings from the rest of creation and helps to define the human being as a special creature in the order of creation. Recent work in the biological and information sciences is eroding the centuries-old conviction that we are unique as creatures. How does this affect how we understand the image of God? Should we experience this loss of human uniqueness as damaging to the Christian faith? These questions are addressed by first calling attention to the various ways the image of God have been interpreted throughout Christian history. Employing the four views of the image of God—substantive, functional, relational and dynamic—I argue that this loss of human uniqueness need not threaten the image of God in each of these cases, but rather helps provide clarity to the doctrine itself

Can trial quality be reliably assessed from published reports of cancer trials: evaluation of risk of bias assessments in systematic reviews

To evaluate the reliability of risk of bias assessments based on published trial reports, for determining trial inclusion in meta-analyses

Automated hippocampal segmentation in patients with epilepsy: Available free online

Hippocampal sclerosis, a common cause of refractory focal epilepsy, requires hippocampal volumetry for accurate diagnosis and surgical planning. Manual segmentation is time-consuming and subject to interrater/intrarater variability. Automated algorithms perform poorly in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. We validate and make freely available online a novel automated method

Is Hot IT a False Economy? An Analysis of Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency as Temperatures Rise

As demand for digital services grows, there is need to improve efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of data centers. The largest energy consumer in any data center is the IT, followed by the systems dedicated to cooling. Aiming to improve efficiency, and driven by metrics like PUE, there is a trend towards running data centers hotter to reduce the cooling energy. There is little research investigating the effect this will have on the IT beyond failure rates. To ensure overall efficiency is improving, we must view the data center as a system of systems, taking a holistic view rather than focusing on individual sub-systems. In this paper we use industry standard benchmarks and a wind-tunnel to profile typical enterprise IT. We analyze the effect of environmental conditions on IT efficiency, showing minor increases in temperature or pressure impact the efficiency of servers. Using an idealized, simulated data center case study we show that the interaction between cooling systems, server behaviour and local climate are non-trivial and increasing temperatures has potential to worsen efficiency

Duplicated network meta-analysis in advanced prostate cancer: a case study and recommendations for change

Background: Research overlap and duplication is a recognised problem in the context of both pairwise and network systematic reviews and meta-analyses. As a case study, we carried out a scoping review to identify and examine duplicated network meta-analyses (NMAs) in a specific disease setting where several novel therapies have recently emerged: hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer (mHSPC). Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were systematically searched, in January 2020, for indirect or mixed treatment comparisons or network meta-analyses of the systemic treatments docetaxel and abiraterone acetate in the mHSPC setting, with a time-to-event outcome reported on the hazard-ratio scale. Eligibility decisions were made, and data extraction performed, by two independent reviewers. Results: A total of 13 eligible reviews were identified, analysing between 3 and 8 randomised comparisons, and comprising between 1773 and 7844 individual patients. Although the included trials and treatments showed a high degree of overlap, we observed considerable variation between identified reviews in terms of review aims, eligibility criteria and included data, statistical methodology, reporting and inference. Furthermore, crucial methodological details and specific source data were often unclear. Conclusions and recommendations: Variation across duplicated NMAs, together with reporting inadequacies, may compromise identification of best-performing treatments. Particularly in fast-moving fields, review authors should be aware of all relevant studies, and of other reviews with potential for overlap or duplication. We recommend that review protocols be published in advance, with greater clarity regarding the specific aims or scope of the project, and that reports include information on how the work builds upon existing knowledge. Source data and results should be clearly and completely presented to allow unbiased interpretation

The password is praise: content of feedback affects categorization of feedback sources.

PublishedJournal ArticleIn three experimental studies, we investigated the effect of the content of group-directed feedback on categorization of the feedback source as an ingroup or an outgroup member. In all studies, feedback valence (criticism vs. praise) and the attributional content of feedback (attributing outcomes to internal properties of the group vs. external circumstances) were experimentally manipulated. The results demonstrated that anonymous (Study 1) and ambiguous (Studies 2 and 3) sources of feedback are more likely to be seen as (typical) ingroup members when they provide praise rather than criticism. In addition, in all studies there was a significant interaction between valence and the attributional content of feedback, such that sources of praise were more likely to be seen as ingroup members when they attributed the group's success to internal (rather than external) causes, while the opposite was observed for critics. These effects were mediated by perceived group image threat. Implications for research on group-based feedback and social categorization are discussed

Fracture properties of La(Fe,Mn,Si)13 magnetocaloric materials

La(Fe,Mn,Si)13 alloys are a promising material family for magnetic refrigeration. Challenges associated with their structural integrity during device assembly and operation requires deep understanding of the mechanical properties. Here we developed a workflow to quantitatively study the fracture properties of La(Fe,Mn,Si)13 plates used in magnetic cooling devices. We employed microstructural characterisation, optical examination of defects, and four-point bending tests of samples with known defect sizes to evaluate their mechanical performance. We established the residual strength curve which directly links observed defects to mechanical strength. The estimated fracture toughness KC of hydrogenated La(Fe,Mn,Si)13 is approximately 4 MPa·m1/2 for the geometry employed. The established relationship between strength and crack length enables the prediction of mechanical performance through examination of defects via optical microscopy, therefore can be used industrially for directing plate selection to guarantee the mechanical stability of refrigeration devices

The cellular microscopy phenotype ontology

BACKGROUND: Phenotypic data derived from high content screening is currently annotated using free-text, thus preventing the integration of independent datasets, including those generated in different biological domains, such as cell lines, mouse and human tissues. DESCRIPTION: We present the Cellular Microscopy Phenotype Ontology (CMPO), a species neutral ontology for describing phenotypic observations relating to the whole cell, cellular components, cellular processes and cell populations. CMPO is compatible with related ontology efforts, allowing for future cross-species integration of phenotypic data. CMPO was developed following a curator-driven approach where phenotype data were annotated by expert biologists following the Entity-Quality (EQ) pattern. These EQs were subsequently transformed into new CMPO terms following an established post composition process. CONCLUSION: CMPO is currently being utilized to annotate phenotypes associated with high content screening datasets stored in several image repositories including the Image Data Repository (IDR), MitoSys project database and the Cellular Phenotype Database to facilitate data browsing and discoverability