Changing the Story of White Supremacy in the Church: Towards a Trauma-Informed Model of Racial Reconciliation

The lack of identifiable progress regarding racial reconciliation since the 1960s has become increasingly evident in the growing mainstream appeal of extremist views on race in the wake of the Obama administration and intense rise in racial tensions across the country. The seeming impotence of the church to effectively speak into this climate has sparked renewed conversation in how the church engages racial reconciliation, particularly in an approach that considers how white evangelicals can recognize themselves as key factors in both the problem and the solution. Additionally, there is a growing interest in the role that trauma plays in these incidents, however, most of the attention focuses on the victim’s trauma, largely represented by the Black community. This dissertation reviews how race and trauma interact, considers how they may contribute to the lack of measurable progress in the white church’s pursuit of racial reconciliation, and ends with offering a new approach to racial reconciliation that considers these dynamics. Section 1 explores the relationship between race and trauma. Section 2 examines current approaches to racial reconciliation. Section 3 offers a solution that focuses specifically on equipping white evangelicals to the work of racial reconciliation by combining white identity development education, narrative therapy techniques, and an application of trauma therapy modalities for a new approach to racial reconciliation focused specifically on the role that white people play in the dynamic. The outcome is a curriculum that can be utilized to help white Christians begin to recognize how their white identity is both formed and reformed and when their reactions in racially charged situations and conversations may be rooted in traumatic response. It is intended to equip them to mitigate those responses in healing ways, thus better preparing them for the ministry of racial reconciliation

Numerical simulation of shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions in over-expanded nozzles

The performances of first-stage liquid rocket engines are highly dependent on the fluid dynamic behaviour of the expansion nozzle and for launch-trajectory optimisation purposes, large values of the ratio between the exit and throat areas are desirable. The maximum limit to this ratio is imposed by the need to avoid internal flow separation, since at sea level the flow is highly overexpanded. However, during the start-up phase the chamber pressure is below the design pressure and the flow separates from the nozzle wall. This condition is characterised by complex physical features, including the formation of a shock-wave system that adapts the exhaust flow to the higher ambient pressure, shock-wave/boundary-layer interactions (SWBLI), and a turbulent recirculation zone. As a global effect, the nozzle experiences non-axial forces, known as side-loads, which can be of sufficient strength to cause structural damage to the engine. Despite several studies in the last decades, a clear physical understanding of the driving factors of the unsteadiness is still lacking. The experiments on axi-symmetric nozzles suffer from the lack of flow measurements inside the nozzle itself, due to the challenging flow conditions and absence of optical access. Therefore, numerical simulations represent an important complementary tool to gain a more complete insight into the physics of separated rocket nozzle flows, giving the opportunity to address important open questions. The present thesis investigates shock wave induced flow separation in over-expanded rocket nozzles by means of large-scale high-fidelity numerical computations based on the delayed detached eddy simulation (DDES) methodology, a hybrid RANS/LES method that allows the simulation of high-Reynolds number flows involving massive flow separation. In this approach, attached boundary layers are treated in RANS mode, lowering the computational requirements, while the most energetic turbulent scales of separated shear layers and turbulent recirculating zones are directly treated by the LES mode of the method. The potential of DDES has been first tested on a simple planar nozzle configuration for which experimental and numerical studies are available, with the main aim of highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the approach. The results indicate that the DDES is able to capture the shock oscillations and that the computed characteristic frequency is close to that reported in literature for the same test case. The study then focuses on the investigation of the unsteadiness in a truncated ideal contoured (TIC) nozzle, a configuration for which experimental data are available. The numerical data agree well with the experimental results in terms of mean and fluctuating wall pressure statistics. The frequency spectra are characterised by the presence of a large bump in the low-frequency range associated to an axi-symmetric (piston-like) motion of the shock system and a broad and high amplitude peak at high frequencies generated by the turbulent activity of the detached shear layer. Moreover, a distinct peak at an intermediate frequency (f « 1 kHz) is observed in the wall-pressure spectra downstream of the separation shock. A Fourier-based spectral analysis performed in both time and azimuthal wave number space, reveals that this peak is associated with the first (non- symmetrical) pressure mode and is thus related to the generation of the aerodynamic side loads. Furthermore, it is found that the unsteady Mach disk is characterised by an intense vortex shedding activity that, together with the vortical structures of the annular shear layer, contributes to the sustainment of an aeroacoustic feedback loop occurring within the nozzle

CMV vaccine development based on epithelial entry mediators UL128, UL130, UL131

Congenital cytomegalovirus infection is the leading cause of sensorineural hearing loss in the U.S. CMV vaccines developed to date do not protect the majority of women of childbearing age from primary CMV infection. Insufficient vaccine-induced epithelial entry neutralizing activity may be the reason for poor performance of these vaccines. CMV entry into endothelial and epithelial but not fibroblast cells requires the virion envelope complex gH/gL/UL128-131. Since current vaccines do not target this complex, epithelial entry mediators UL128-131 are attractive subunit CMV vaccine candidates, since they should target mucosal immunity. The mucosal immune response, specifically salivary epithelial entry neutralizing activity, has not been previously described. This report demonstrates that salivas from CMV seropositive children under two, adolescents, and Towne vaccine recipients do not have epithelial or fibroblast neutralizing activity. Epithelial but not fibroblast neutralizing activity was identified in half of the salivas from CMV seropositive adults tested. This activity correlated with the level of serum neutralizing activity, suggesting that salivary neutralizing activity results from passively transferred serum IgG. Furthermore, this report describes three highly immune individuals with serum and saliva neutralizing titers two- to four-fold above average. These individuals also have UL130 antibodies detectable in western blot assays. This is the first report of antibodies by western blot in CMV seropositive sera to UL128, UL130, or UL131. To determine the feasibility of UL128-131 as vaccine candidates both peptide and DNA vaccines were tested in animal models. Rabbit anti-peptide sera from UL130 and UL131 vaccinated animals induced epithelial entry neutralizing activity similar to that found following natural infection. Mixing anti-peptide UL130 and UL131 sera neutralized CMV infection of epithelial cells at titers higher than natural infection. DNA vaccination with these proteins was not as successful but based on DNA vaccination of mice UL130 is the most immunogenic of the three proteins. These data support further development of UL130 as a CMV vaccine. Future vaccines, including the vaccine candidates described in this report, should strive to induce levels of immunity seen in the three highly immune individuals, specifically serum epithelial neutralizing titers \u3e1:7,000 and saliva epithelial neutralizing titers \u3e1:20

El nuevo Código civil chino y la realidad del mutuo

L'articolo si occupa del contratto di mutuo nel Codice civile cines

El sistema del derecho romano como patrimonio común de la humanidad

Roman law shows, from its origins, an obvious propensity for universality. That is clearly manifested, at the ‘foundation’ of the system, in the Constitutions with which Justinian accompanies the launching of the CJC, but it undoubtedly goes back to the age of Romans’ identification of ius gentium, at the basis of which we find the naturalis ratio. Statual-legalism has not been able to cut off this umbilical cord with Roman law and with the natural reason. Roman law, in force even though no longer effective, is the driving force behind modern codifications, and must be cherished by modern jurists as a common heritage of humanity. The preservation of its values, which revolve around the centrality of the human person (bona fides, aequitas, libertas, voluntas, etc.) represents the challenge that all of us, as jurists, must be capable of taking up.El Derecho romano, desde sus orígenes, muestra una clara propensión a la universalidad. Esta propensión se manifiesta claramente en la ‘fundación’ del sistema, en las Constituciones con las cuales Justiniano acompaña el lanzamiento del Corpus Iuris Civilis, pero sin duda se remonta ya a la identificación por los romanos del ius gentium, en cuya base se reconoce la naturalis ratio. El estatual-legalismo no ha sido capaz de cortar este cordón umbilical con el derecho romano y la razón natural que lo sustenta. El Derecho romano, vigente aunque ya no eficaz, es el motor de las codificaciones modernas, y debe ser apreciado por los juristas modernos como un verdadero patrimonio común de la humanidad. La salvaguardia de los valores que este representa, que giran en torno a la centralidad de la persona humana (bona fides, aequitas, libertas, voluntas, etc.) representa el reto que todos nosotros, como juristas, debemos demostrar ser capaces de asumir

Ius romanum

Il saggio propone una valutazione del sistema del diritto romano come fondamento dei moderni diritti di cd. civil law, e lo identifica come patrimonio comune dell'umanit

Atestine identities in the Iron Age Veneto, north-east Italy (9th-1st cent. BC)

The aim of this PhD thesis is to analyse identity in its broader sense (e.g. individual, gender, group, community, just to mention a few aspects), and not only as ethnic identity, by focusing on the Veneto Iron Age (9th to 1st cent. BC) archaeological record, north-east Italy, which the literature links to the Atestine culture. Prior to developing my identity argument I discuss the history of study of the Iron Age Veneto, a literature review on identity, the geography and geomorphology of the Veneto region and its settlement and socio-political pattern prior to and during the emergence period of the Atestine culture. On the basis of the literature review I have decided to approach Atestine identity in an eclectic and pragmatic way, negotiating my scientific position according to the type of question to be addressed, choosing each time the method of analysis that I believe best fits the problem to solve and not to align with a specific school of thought. I analyse selected Iron Age Atestine classes (i.e. red-and-black painted ware, Situla Art, bronze ex votos and tomb markers) following Morgan’s argument that in ancient times only particular artefacts under particular circumstances selectively carried social or political valency and Lomas’ argument that a complex hierarchy of identities and interactions between different forms of identity can be identified in Archaic Italy. The above classes were used to analyse different aspects of Atestine identity via a multi-scalar approach (i.e. inter-regional, regional and local/community levels), evaluating how the identity valency of an object may vary across time and space and, in at least one case – when objects interact at the inter-regional scale, identity acquires an ethnic valency

Agmatine prevents the Ca2+-dependent induction of permeability transition in rat brain mitochondria

The arginine metabolite agmatine is able to protect brain mitochondria against the drop in energy capacity by the Ca(2+)-dependent induction of permeability transition (MPT) in rat brain mitochondria. At normal levels, the amine maintains the respiratory control index and ADP/O ratio and prevents mitochondrial colloid-osmotic swelling and any electrical potential (DeltaPsi) drop. MPT is due to oxidative stress induced by the interaction of Ca(2+) with the mitochondrial membrane, leading to the production of hydrogen peroxide and, subsequently, other reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydroxyl radicals. This production of ROS induces oxidation of sulfhydryl groups, in particular those of two critical cysteines, most probably located on adenine nucleotide translocase, and also oxidation of pyridine nucleotides, resulting in transition pore opening. The protective effect of agmatine is attributable to a scavenging effect on the most toxic ROS, i.e., the hydroxyl radical, thus preventing oxidative stress and consequent bioenergetic collapse