The Critical Project in Schelling, Tillich and Goodchild

2 Altizer and Tillich repeat a Cartesian trope that lies at the kernel of modernity: beginnings must be destructive; they ... The Critical Project in Schelling, Tillich, and Goodchild Daniel Whistler Radical Apologetics: Paul Tillich and Radical ..

Quantum error-correcting codes and 4-dimensional arithmetic hyperbolic manifolds

Using 4-dimensional arithmetic hyperbolic manifolds, we construct some new homological quantum error correcting codes. They are LDPC codes with linear rate and distance $n^\epsilon$. Their rate is evaluated via Euler characteristic arguments and their distance using $\mathbb{Z}_2$-systolic geometry. This construction answers a queston of Z\'emor, who asked whether homological codes with such parameters could exist at all.Comment: 21 page

The Complete Nucleotide Sequences of the 5 Genetically Distinct Plastid Genomes of Oenothera, Subsection Oenothera: II. A Microevolutionary View Using Bioinformatics and Formal Genetic Data

A unique combination of genetic features and a rich stock of information make the flowering plant genus Oenothera an appealing model to explore the molecular basis of speciation processes including nucleus–organelle coevolution. From representative species, we have recently reported complete nucleotide sequences of the 5 basic and genetically distinguishable plastid chromosomes of subsection Oenothera (I–V). In nature, Oenothera plastid genomes are associated with 6 distinct, either homozygous or heterozygous, diploid nuclear genotypes of the 3 basic genomes A, B, or C. Artificially produced plastome–genome combinations that do not occur naturally often display interspecific plastome–genome incompatibility (PGI). In this study, we compare formal genetic data available from all 30 plastome–genome combinations with sequence differences between the plastomes to uncover potential determinants for interspecific PGI. Consistent with an active role in speciation, a remarkable number of genes have high Ka/Ks ratios. Different from the Solanacean cybrid model Atropa/tobacco, RNA editing seems not to be relevant for PGIs in Oenothera. However, predominantly sequence polymorphisms in intergenic segments are proposed as possible sources for PGI. A single locus, the bidirectional promoter region between psbB and clpP, is suggested to contribute to compartmental PGI in the interspecific AB hybrid containing plastome I (AB-I), consistent with its perturbed photosystem II activity

Lived religion: Rethinking human nature in a neoliberal age

This article considers the relationship between philosophy of religion and an approach to the study of religion, which prioritises the experience of lived religion. Considering how individuals and communities live out their faith challenges some of the assumptions of analytic philosophers of religion regarding the position the philosopher should adopt when approaching the investigation of religion. If philosophy is understood principally as a means for analysing belief, it will have little space for an engagement with what it feels like to live out one’s faith

Reviews of

Antibiotic Switch therapy is defined by the switch of intravenous antibiotic therapy to oral form. This research aimed to learn about the relationship of switch therapy toward the value of wound healing, lenght of stay and the antibiotic expenditure. The data of this cross sectional study was collected from medical record and by direct investigation to patients for their macroscopis the wound healings value. T-test was used to compared the relationship of the patient wound healings value, lenght of stay and the antibiotic expenditure between the those with and accurate switch therapy and those without it. The result showed that there was no different of wound healing value between those groups of patients (P>0,1). On the other hand, lenght of stay and antibiotic expenditure of the patient with the accurate switch therapy was cuted on the patient with the accurate switch therapy. These indicated that accuracy of switch therapy will proceed a benefit outcome to the patient with appendicitis, especially to there lenght of stay and antibiotic expenditure as well

Classical and revisionary theism on the divine as personal: a rapprochement?

To claim that the divine is a person or personal is, according to Richard Swinburne, ‘the most elementary claim of theism’ (1993, 101). I argue that, whether the classical theist’s concept of the divine as a person or personal is construed as an analogy or a metaphor, or a combination of the two, analysis necessitates qualification of that concept such that any differences between the classical theist’s concept of the divine as a person or personal and revisionary interpretations of that concept are merely superficial. Thus, either the classical theist has more in common with revisionary theism than he/she might care to admit, or classical theism is a multi-faceted position which encompasses interpretations which some might regard as revisionist. This article also explores and employs the use of a gender-neutral pronoun in talk about God

How does one become spiritual? The Spiritual Modeling Inventory of Life Environments (SMILE)

We report psychometric properties, correlates and underlying theory of the Spiritual Modeling Index of Life Environments (SMILE), a measure of perceptions of spiritual models, defined as everyday and prominent people who have functioned for respondents as exemplars of spiritual qualities, such as compassion, self-control, or faith. Demographic, spiritual, and personality correlates were examined in an ethnically diverse sample of college students from California, Connecticut, and Tennessee (N=1010). A summary measure of model influence was constructed from perceived models within family, school, religious organization, and among prominent individuals from both tradition and media. The SMILE, based on concepts from Bandura\u27s (1986) Social Cognitive Theory, was well-received by respondents. The summary measure demonstrated good 7-week test/retest reliability (r=.83); patterns of correlation supporting convergent, divergent, and criterion-related validity; demographic differences in expected directions; and substantial individual heterogeneity. Implications are discussed for further research and for pastoral, educational, and health-focused interventions

Classical Morphology of Plants as an Elementary Instance of Classical Invariant Theory

It has long been known that structural chemistry shows an intriguing correspondence with Classical Invariant Theory (CIT). Under this view, an algebraic binary form of the degree n corresponds to a chemical atom with valence n and each physical molecule or ion has an invariant-theoretic counterpart. This theory was developed using the Aronhold symbolical approach and the symbolical processes of convolution/transvection in CIT was characterized as a potential “accurate morphological method”. However, CIT has not been applied to the formal morphology of living organisms. Based on the morphological interpretation of binary form, as well as the process of convolution/transvection, the First and Second Fundamental Theorems of CIT and the Nullforms of CIT, we show how CIT can be applied to the structure of plants, especially when conceptualized as a series of plant metamers (phytomers). We also show that the weight of the covariant/invariant that describes a morphological structure is a criterion of simplicity and, therefore, we argue that this allows us to formulate a parsimonious method of formal morphology. We demonstrate that the “theory of axilar bud” is the simplest treatment of the grass seedling/embryo. Our interpretations also represent Troll's bauplan of the angiosperms, the principle of variable proportions, morphological misfits, the basic types of stem segmentation, and Goethe's principle of metamorphosis in terms of CIT. Binary forms of different degrees might describe any repeated module of plant organisms. As bacteria, invertebrates, and higher vertebrates are all generally shared a metameric morphology, wider implications of the proposed symmetry between CIT and formal morphology of plants are apparent

Are substitution rates and RNA editing correlated?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>RNA editing is a post-transcriptional process that, in seed plants, involves a cytosine to uracil change in messenger RNA, causing the translated protein to differ from that predicted by the DNA sequence. RNA editing occurs extensively in plant mitochondria, but large differences in editing frequencies are found in some groups. The underlying processes responsible for the distribution of edited sites are largely unknown, but gene function, substitution rate, and gene conversion have been proposed to influence editing frequencies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We studied five mitochondrial genes in the monocot order Alismatales, all showing marked differences in editing frequencies among taxa. A general tendency to lose edited sites was observed in all taxa, but this tendency was particularly strong in two clades, with most of the edited sites lost in parallel in two different areas of the phylogeny. This pattern is observed in at least four of the five genes analyzed. Except in the groups that show an unusually low editing frequency, the rate of C-to-T changes in edited sites was not significantly higher that in non-edited 3^rdcodon positions. This may indicate that selection is not actively removing edited sites in nine of the 12 families of the core Alismatales. In all genes but <it>ccm</it>B, a significant correlation was found between frequency of change in edited sites and synonymous substitution rate. In general, taxa with higher substitution rates tend to have fewer edited sites, as indicated by the phylogenetically independent correlation analyses. The elimination of edited sites in groups that lack or have reduced levels of editing could be a result of gene conversion involving a cDNA copy (retroprocessing). If so, this phenomenon could be relatively common in the Alismatales, and may have affected some groups recurrently. Indirect evidence of retroprocessing without a necessary correlation with substitution rate was found mostly in families Alismataceae and Hydrocharitaceae (e.g., groups that suffered a rapid elimination of all their edited sites, without a change in substitution rate).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The effects of substitution rate, selection, and/or gene conversion on the dynamics of edited sites in plant mitochondria remain poorly understood. Although we found an inverse correlation between substitution rate and editing frequency, this correlation is partially obscured by gene retroprocessing in lineages that have lost most of their edited sites. The presence of processed paralogs in plant mitochondria deserves further study, since most evidence of their occurrence is circumstantial.</p