The Kingdom of God: An Ancient/Future Ontology of Leadership for the Twenty First Century Church

The Church is facing a crisis ofleadership. For the past several hundred years the Church has embraced an ontology, or basic understanding of the nature ofleadership, based on a modern interpretation of the world. With the emergence of the postmodern world, Church leaders need to embrace a new, ancient/future ontology ofleadership based on Jesus\u27 teachings on the kingdom of God. This will enable the Church to be relevant in the twenty-first century. Chapter two will evaluate Jesus\u27 teaching regarding the kingdom of God. This examination will reveal four characteristics of that kingdom which will serve as the basic framework for the ontology of leadership. In chapter three Saint Augustine\u27s monumental work, City of God will be analyzed. His descriptions of the differences between the city of man and the city of God will be compared, revealing these same four realities, further supporting their use as foundational to this ontology of leadership. Attention will then be given in chapter four to the developments of the modern world and the impact they had on the Church. Evidence will show how the Church adapted to the modern era by embracing the opposite of each of the four characteristics, thus adopting a modern ontology of leadership for that time. Chapter five will outline the significant changes happening in the world with the emergence of the postmodern era. Facts will show how this postmodern world devalues each of the characteristics embraced by the modern ontology of leadership, but elevates each of the original traits found in the kingdom of God and the ontology of leadership. In chapter six, four metaphors will be introduced which correspond to the characteristics of the ontology, delineating their implications for church leadership. The final chapter will provide a basic synopsis of what has been covered in this dissertation and will draw it to a conclusion

Providing decision support for the condition-based maintenance of circuit breakers through data mining of trip coil current signatures

The focus of this paper centers on the condition assessment of 11kV-33kV distribution circuit breakers from the analysis of their trip coil current signatures captured using an innovative condition monitoring technology developed by others. Using available expert knowledge in conjunction with a structured process of data mining, thresholds associated with features representing each stage of a circuit breaker's operation may be defined and used to characterize varying states of circuit breaker condition. Knowledge and understanding of satisfactory and unsatisfactory breaker condition can be gained and made explicit from the analysis of captured trip signature data and subsequently used to form the basis of condition assessment and diagnostic rules implemented in a decision support system, used to inform condition-based decisions affecting circuit breaker maintenance. This paper proposes a data mining method for the analysis of condition monitoring data, and demonstrates this method in its discovery of useful knowledge from trip coil data captured from a population of SP Power System's in-service circuit breakers. This knowledge then forms the basis of a decision support system for the condition assessment of these circuit breakers during routine trip testing

Integrated support structure

This Major Qualifying Project is part of the Advanced Space Design Program at WPI. The goal is to design a support structure for a NASA GetAway Special experimental canister. The payload integration, weight, volume, and structural integrity of the canister as specified by NASA guidelines were studied. The end result is a complete set of design drawings with interface drawings and data to specify the design and leave a base on which the next group can concentrate

Floristic Survey and Annotated Checklist of the Pine Bluff Arsenal

We conducted a floristic survey of the Pine Bluff Arsenal during the spring, summer, and fall of 1996. In total, 622 taxa representing 113 families and 351 genera were identified and compiled into an annotated checklist. The largest families were Asteraceae (79 genera), Poaceae (73 genera). Fabaceae (41 genera), and Cyperaceae (38 genera). Exotic species composed only 8.5% of the flora. Fifty-five of the specimens represent new records for Jefferson County

Vitamin D Inhibits Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection in Macrophages through the Induction of Autophagy

Low vitamin D levels in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV) infected persons are associated with more rapid disease progression and increased risk for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. We have previously shown that 1α,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25D3), the active form of vitamin D, inhibits HIV replication in human macrophages through the induction of autophagy. In this study, we report that physiological concentrations of 1,25D3 induce the production of the human cathelicidin microbial peptide (CAMP) and autophagic flux in HIV and M. tuberculosis co-infected human macrophages which inhibits mycobacterial growth and the replication of HIV. Using RNA interference for Beclin-1 and the autophagy-related 5 homologue, combined with the chemical inhibitors of autophagic flux, bafilomycin A1, an inhibitor of autophagosome-lysosome fusion and subsequent acidification, and SID 26681509 an inhibitor of the lysosome hydrolase cathepsin L, we show that the 1,25D3-mediated inhibition of HIV replication and mycobacterial growth during single infection or dual infection is dependent not only upon the induction of autophagy, but also through phagosomal maturation. Moreover, through the use of RNA interference for CAMP, we demonstrate that cathelicidin is essential for the 1,25D3 induced autophagic flux and inhibition of HIV replication and mycobacterial growth. The present findings provide a biological explanation for the benefits and importance of vitamin D sufficiency in HIV and M. tuberculosis-infected persons, and provide new insights into novel approaches to prevent and treat HIV infection and related opportunistic infections

Selective cell death of latently HIV-infected CD4+ T cells mediated by autosis inducing nanopeptides.

Despite significant advances in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV) infection, antiretroviral therapy only suppresses viral replication but is unable to eliminate infection. Thus, discontinuation of antiretrovirals results in viral reactivation and disease progression. A major reservoir of HIV latent infection resides in resting central memory CD4+ T cells (TCM) that escape clearance by current therapeutic regimens and will require novel strategies for elimination. Here, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of autophagy-inducing peptides, Tat-Beclin 1 and Tat-vFLIP-α2, which can induce a novel Na+/K+-ATPase dependent form of cell death (autosis), to kill latently HIV-infected TCM while preventing virologic rebound. In this study, we encapsulated autophagy inducing peptides into biodegradable lipid-coated hybrid PLGA (poly lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles for controlled intracellular delivery. A single dose of nanopeptides was found to eliminate latent HIV infection in an in vitro primary model of HIV latency and ex vivo using resting CD4+ T cells obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells of HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral with fully suppressed virus for greater than 12 months. Notably, increased LC3B lipidation, SQSTM1/p62 degradation and Na+/K+-ATPase activity characteristic of autosis, were detected in nanopeptide treated latently HIV-infected cells compared to untreated uninfected or infected cells. Nanopeptide-induced cell death could be reversed by knockdown of autophagy proteins, ATG5 and ATG7, and inhibition or knockdown of Na+/K+-ATPase. Importantly, viral rebound was not detected following the induction of the Na+/K+-ATPase dependent form of cell death induced by the Tat-Beclin 1 and Tat-vFLIP-α2 nanopeptides. These findings provide a novel strategy to eradicate HIV latently infected resting memory CD4+ T cells, the major reservoir of HIV latency, through the induction of Na+/K+-ATPase dependent autophagy, while preventing reactivation of virus and new infection of uninfected bystander cells

Biomedical Engineering Advancements after Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS): A Narrative Review

Spina bifida is a neural tube defect resulting from an incomplete closure of the caudal neuropore. The most debilitating form of spina bifida, myelomeningocele (MMC), can present with Chiari II malformation with concomitant hydrocephalus, bowel and bladder abnormalities, and impaired motor function of the lower limbs. The incidence rate of spina bifida is 3.4 per 10,000 live births reported within the US. On average, the US spends $1,176,000,000 annually on patient management and treatment. Advancements in the standard therapy, namely prenatal intervention pioneered by the Management of Myelomeningocele Study (MOMS), have aimed to reduce maternal and fetal complications, and yet complications were increased, calling for the need of further improvements. Beyond current standard interventions for MMC, the most promising developments have employed various biomedical methods ranging from isolated stem cell injections to biodegradable scaffold patches. These scaffolds can be biologic or synthetic and are often incorporated with bioactive proteins or stem cells. This review discusses the benefits and limitations of post-MOMS era biomedical engineering intervention articles found in 3 medical and biomedical databases consisting of systematic reviews, meta-analyses, randomized control trials, and experimental studies. After analysis of the advancements and limitations of these studies, a combination of materials could create a superior scaffold possessing watertight impermeability and cytocompatibility for successful coverage and host integration with minimal inflammation. Coupled with minimally invasive intra-amniotic injection delivery, an earlier mitigation could further prevent progression of poor neurologic outcomes, and possibly even regenerate neuronal tissue in patients with MMC

COOPERATIVE SOCIETY AND EMPLOYEES’ WELFARE

Membership of cooperatives entitles eligible members access to financial resources for capital accumulation, investment and consumption purposes. However, becoming a member of the cooperative comes with the price tag of consistent savings that qualifies such committed members access to certain benefits.the World Bank (2015) reports that about 70% of the population still live in abject poverty, 83.9% of the Nigerian population is still living on less than US $2 per day and the inequality of wealth distribution is 42.9%. Based on this background, there is the tendency to question consumer cooperatives welfare promoting impact. We explore the relationship between and employees’ welfare. A survey research design is adopted in which a Likert 5 constructed questionnaires were administered among the faculty and staff members of the Covenant University Cooperative Society, Ota Ibadan, Oyo State, as a means of data collection.through purposive random sampling. Data collected were analysed using the descriptive and inferen societies cut across people in different age, sex, educational attainment, levels of income and number of households. Majority of the respondents were satisfie cooperative societies in meeting the welfare needs of the members. disbursement by the cooperative societies was also found commendable by members

Parton Distributions for Event Generators

In this paper, conventional Global QCD analysis is generalized to produce parton distributions optimized for use with event generators at the LHC. This optimization is accomplished by combining the constraints due to existing hard-scattering experimental data with those from anticipated cross sections for key representative SM processes at LHC (by the best available theory) as joint input to the global analyses. The PDFs obtained in these new type of global analyses using matrix elements calculated in any given order will be best suited to work with event generators of that order, for predictions at the LHC. This is most useful for LO event generators at present. Results obtained from a few candidate PDF sets (labeled as CT09MCS, CT09MC1 and CT09MC2) for LO event generators produced in this way are compared with those from other approaches.Comment: 35 pages, 19 figures, and 4 table