New Wine Into Fresh Wineskins: Contextualizing the Early Christian Confessions

Author: Longenecker, Richard N. Title: New wine into fresh wineskins. Publisher: Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Pubs, 1999

Decolonizing Biblical Studies: a View From the Margins

Author: Fernando F. Segovia. Title: Decolonizing Biblical Studies. Publisher: Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Bks, 2000

Mary: Glimpses of the Mother of Jesus

Author: Gaventa, Beverly Roberts. Title: Mary. Publisher: Columbia: Univ of South Carolina Pr, 1995. Series: Studies on personalities of the New Testament

Educational Environments and Children\u27s Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviors

Children and adolescents spend the majority of their day engaged in sedentary behaviors (SB), while also not meeting physical activity (PA) recommendations. The failure to develop and maintain health enhancing behaviors from a young age may impact an individual throughout their life. With children and adolescents spending a large proportion of their waking hours in a school setting, the educational environment presents an opportunity in which children and adolescents’ PA and SB can be positively influenced. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation was to explore how children and adolescent’s school time PA and SB are associated with the educational setting, and how these behaviors change over the course of the school year and in response to non-traditional classroom settings. To address this purpose, three individual studies were completed. Study 1: Comparison of measures of elementary student’s classroom postural behaviors using direct observation and accelerometry in a school setting. The results of our research are only as good as the measures used, therefore to begin this series of studies two commonly used objective methods to assess children’s PA and SB were compared. Specifically, the inclinometer function of a hip-worn Actigraph GT3X+ accelerometer (ACC) and direct-observation (DO) were evaluated in their measurement of child and adolescent posture within a classroom environment that included stand-biased and traditional seated desks. Our results suggest that the measurement of both sitting and standing while in either a stand-biased or traditional seated desk were significantly different between DO and ACC, with DO consistently recording a higher proportion of time spent sitting, and a lower proportion of time standing regardless of desk assignment. The difference between DO and ACC measures of sitting (-18.9%; p=0.041) were significantly smaller when students used a stand-biased compared to a traditional seated desk. There was no significant difference between DO and ACC measures of standing between desk types, and lower limb fidgeting was found to have no main or interaction effect between desk type and differences of postural measures. It is important to remain cognizant of the methodologies used to assess youth behaviors, and the influence these measurement techniques can have on intervention outcomes involving environmental and other behavioral modifications. Study 2: An exploration into the variation of children’s in-school physical activity across the school year. Study two explored the variation in children and adolescents PA behaviors during active periods of the school day across the school year. Participating students completed a survey on five separate occasions throughout the school year, assessing activity levels during active transportation to and from school, at recess, and in physical education class. Our results suggest that overall, the weekly minutes that children and adolescents spent engaging in moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA (MVPA) remained relatively stable during recess (Avg: 42.2±12.2 minutes/week) and physical education class (Avg: 17.7±5.6 minutes/week) throughout the year. Statistically significant differences were found in the estimated weekly minutes of MVPA accumulated during active transportation to- and from-school, with the greatest accumulation occurring in September (To-School: 15.3±5.7 minutes/week; From-School: 32.0±10.5 minutes/week), and the lowest accumulation of MVPA to-school and from-school occurring in December (13.9±6.5 minutes/week; p=0.01) and March (28.5±11.9 minutes/week; p\u3c0.001), respectively. During active transportation to-school, weekly MVPA was highest in September (Fall; 15.3±5.7 minutes/week), and lowest in December (Winter; 13.9±6.5 minutes/week; p=0.01), while significant differences in active transportation from-school occurred between September (Fall; 32.0±10.5 minutes/week), December (Winter; 29.6±11.6 minutes/week; p=0.003), March (Spring; 28.5±11.9 minutes/week; p\u3c0.001), and April (Spring; 29.2±12.0 minutes/week; p\u3c0.001). Opportunities for PA throughout the school day may have been insufficient to aid youth in meeting recommendations, however the weekly opportunities which students are provided to engage in MVPA do not vary meaningfully throughout the year. To address this, school administrators may consider increasing the frequency and length of time which students are provided to engage in PA throughout the school day, such as during recess and physical education class, or by seeking to increase participation during periods of the school day where students are less consistently active throughout the school year, including during active transportation to- and from-school. Study 3: Comparison of children’s physical activity and sedentary behaviors between a nature-based and traditional educational setting. The third and final study of this dissertation aimed to compare within-child differences in PA and SB of a sample of children attending a single Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) educational program which alternated school days between a traditional and nature-based school setting. Overall, the results from this study suggest that children spent a significantly greater proportion of school time engaging in MVPA (+2.4±3.4%; p=0.002) while in a nature-based compared to a traditional Pre-K setting. Moreover, differences in MVPA between a nature-based and traditional program setting were most pronounced during the winter (~6 min/day), particularly while engaging in unstructured free play (~5 min/day). While the winter season has been shown to be a time when youth PA levels are at their lowest, the PA levels of children while in a nature-based setting remained constant from winter to spring. Therefore, modifying educational practices to increase opportunities for structured and unstructured activities outdoors, particularly during periods of the year when children are least active, may have the potential to positively influence children’s in-school PA and SB. Overall Conclusion. Together, these dissertation findings contribute toward a better understanding of the potential that the school setting has to provide meaningful and consistent opportunities for youth to engage in more active behaviors throughout the school day. The methodological approach of Study 1 highlights the differences in the measurement and interpretation of youth activity behaviors encountered when the methods of assessment vary, particularly as schools may seek to modify educational environments and promote more active behaviors. Study 2 provided insight into times of the school day and periods throughout the school year in which opportunities for children and adolescents to engage in PA can be enhanced, and Study 3 reinforces the relationship between time outside and children’s PA levels, providing one avenue for traditional school programs to incorporate more activity into the school day. Overall, the results of these studies provide school administrators and decision makers with important information surrounding school-related factors which are associated with children and adolescents PA and SB, and inform improvements in opportunities for the accumulation of school time PA. Ultimately, this dissertation contributes towards a body of research seeking to increase the quantity and quality of activity behaviors youth engage in, and to aid in the development of the healthy habits that children and adolescents practice throughout their lifespan

The Impact of Stand-biased Desks on After-school Physical Activity Behaviors in Children

The purpose of this study was to assess changes in after-school time spent performing sedentary behavior (SB), light intensity physical activity (LPA), and moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) among elementary school children in response to the introduction of stand-biased desks in the classroom. Thirty-one 6th grade participants randomly assigned by their teacher to a traditional (CON) or stand-biased (INT) desk provided complete accelerometer data. After-school PA and SB were measured on four consecutive weekdays at baseline and 10-weeks. Wilcoxon Rank Sum Tests were used to detect significant differences (p\u3c0.10) in changes in the proportion of after-school wear time performing SB and PA between groups. Results suggested no significant differences in changes in after-school time performing SB (p=0.770), LPA (p=0.740), or MVPA (p=0.470). Significant differences in the change in moderate PA (INT: -1.4%; CON: -0.2%, p=0.093) were detected. Stand-biased desks were not detrimental to children’s after-school PA and SB

Inspiration and Authority: Nature and Function of Christian Scripture

Author: Achtemeier, Paul J. Title: Inspiration and authority. Publisher: Peabody, Mass: Hendrickson Pubs, 1999

Case report: Pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 with severe myocardial dysfunction. Is there any hope in immunotherapy?

Pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) develops in a small percentage of children after COVID-19, however, it might cause severe myocardial dysfunction. The pathogenesis of this disease includes systemic hyper-inflammation with cytokine storm. This case report concerns a 12-year-old boy with PIMS-TS who presented severe respiratory and circulatory failure with increased inflammatory markers and significant reduction of left ventricle ejaculatory fraction (LVEF) from 65% to 35%. The recommended therapy with the use of vasopressors, corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulins and mechanical ventilation was introduced and his condition gradually improved. However, after few days, aggravation of cardiac symptoms occurred again and among other treatment, the therapy with the use of anakinra - the human interleukin 1 receptor antagonist protein was introduced. This case highlights a satisfactory regression of cardiac disturbances and generally favorable outcome of the treatment in patients with PIMS-TS with the use of immunomodulatory therapy

Reversed septal curvature is associated with elevated troponin level in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

The aim of study was to compare patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy divided according to septal configuration assessed in a 4-chamber apical window. The study group consisted of 56 consecutive patients. Reversed septal curvature (RSC) and non-RSC were diagnosed in 17 (30.4%) and 39 (69.6%) patients, respectively. Both RSC and non-RSC groups were compared in terms of the level of high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-TnI), NT-proBNP (absolute value), NT-proBNP/ULN (value normalized for sex and age), and echocardiographic parameters, including left ventricular outflow tract gradient (LVOTG). A higher level of hs-TnI was observed in RSC patients as compared to the non-RSC group (102 (29.2-214.7) vs. 8.7 (5.3-18) (ng/l), p=0.001). A trend toward increased NT-proBNP value was reported in RSC patients (1279 (367.3-1186) vs. 551.7 (273-969) (pg/ml), p=0.056). However, no difference in the NT-proBNP/ULN level between both groups was observed. Provocable LVOTG was higher in RSC as compared to non-RSC patients (51 (9.5-105) vs. 13.6 (7.5-31) (mmHg), p=0.04). Furthermore, more patients with RSC had prognostically unfavourable increased septal thickness to left LV diameter at the end diastole ratio. Patients with RSC were associated with an increased level of hs-TnI, and the only trend observed in this group was for the higher NT-proBNP levels. RSC seems to be an alerting factor for the risk of ischemic events. Not resting but only provocable LVOTG was higher in RSC as compared to non-RSC patients