Spirituality as a Mediator in the Relationship Between Self-care Practices and Perceived Stress Levels Among Lutheran Clergy

There is currently a shortage of ordained ministers to fill the current vacancies in Lutheran churches due, in part, to the multiplicity of pastoral roles, the stressors clergy encounter in their vocation, and poor self-care. This exploratory research found a statistically significant, small, negative relationship when examining the relationship between clergy self-care practices and perceived levels of stress. The research did not support a relationship between clergy self-care practices and perceived levels of stress when mediated by clergy spiritual maturity. Other predictor variables such as first vocation, gender, spousal financial contributions and stress also did not yield statistically significant results in the relationship with stress. The current research used A Shortened Stress Evaluation Tool (ASSET), Spiritual Assessment Inventory (SAl), and a Clergy Self-Care Questionnaire (CSC) to examine the relationship between these factors. When all factors are taken into consideration, self-care appears to be the most important factor in mitigating clergy stress

Remembering the Revolution: Monuments and Commemorations of American Revolutionary War Sites in New York

Memorials and monuments at military heritage sites track the ways American society constructs and then reconstructs its understandings of important events. They present enticing material culture for study by archaeologists seeking to analyze the layers of meaning and the social and chronological transformations in the heritage narratives at military sites. With the prominence of recent national discourses surrounding the heritage narratives presented by Civil War Confederate monuments, there is a paramount need for archaeologists to lend their expertise in material culture studies to these dialogues. I also believe it remains important to expand this critical examination of Civil War monuments to other wars. The use of monuments to support specific discourses about the past is not an aberration but an established, consistently used means of heritage discourse. Although elites use memorials to craft heritage narratives in support of their power, ethnic-based organizations have also used memorialization to engage and challenge oppressive national ideologies. This dissertation examines the monuments and signage constructed at five Revolutionary War sites within New York State: Oriskany Battlefield, Fort Stanwix National Monument, Saratoga Battlefield, Newtown Battlefield, and Old Fort Niagara. My dissertation foregrounds the agency of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), Irish, and Polish in asserting their own narratives since thelate 19 th century. My analysis challenges portrayals of heritage as monolithic narratives defined exclusively by elite, white, Anglo-Saxons while suggesting that non-dominant ethnicities only engaged in the construction of heritage within the last few decades. My research demonstrates how heritage narratives are transformed by numerous stakeholders. This research is especially relevant with the current national discourse on the meaning, symbolism, and memory of monuments in public spaces. I conclude that the Authorized Heritage Discourses presented at each site were more influenced by the descendants of those who fought at the site rather than whether the site was managed at the New York State or Federal level. At the same time, I observed a clear trend by ethnic organizations of Irish-Americans, Dutch-Americans, and Polish-Americans and by the various nations of theHaudenosaunee to engage with and sometimes challenge these Authorized Heritage Discourses at these sites

Mechanisms of ATP release and signalling in the blood vessel wall

The nucleotide adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) has classically been considered the cell's primary energy currency. Importantly, a novel role for ATP as an extracellular autocrine and/or paracrine signalling molecule has evolved over the past century and extensive work has been conducted to characterize the ATP-sensitive purinergic receptors expressed on almost all cell types in the body. Extracellular ATP elicits potent effects on vascular cells to regulate blood vessel tone but can also be involved in vascular pathologies such as atherosclerosis. While the effects of purinergic signalling in the vasculature have been well documented, the mechanism(s) mediating the regulated release of ATP from cells in the blood vessel wall and circulation are now a key target of investigation. The aim of this review is to examine the current proposed mechanisms of ATP release from vascular cells, with a special emphasis on the transporters and channels involved in ATP release from vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, circulating red blood cells, and perivascular sympathetic nerves, including vesicular exocytosis, plasma membrane F1/F0-ATP synthase, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, connexin hemichannels, and pannexin channel

The effects of stroboscopic training on ball-catching performance

A visual enhancement training program utilizing stroboscopic lighting was evaluated. Pre-training, training, and post-training sessions were conducted and analyzed to inspect the effects of stroboscopic lighting on catching tennis balls being propelled from a tennis ball machine. The ball catching ability of forty-one high school baseball athletes was assessed using a qualitative scale and a quantitative scale in both pre-training and post-training sessions. The subjects were matched by abilities following the pre-training session into a control group or an experimental group, based on their qualitative score. Contrary to our hypothesis, it was concluded that those athletes in the control group (no stroboscopic training) demonstrated a significantly greater improvement than the experimental group (stroboscopic training), based on the difference between their pre-training and post-training scores. Our data revealed three factors that appcar to be important in ball-catching: stereoacuity, cross dominance, and the level of competition. Future questions as to optimal training conditions under stroboscopic lighting need to be addressed

Feasibility of using teleradiology to improve tuberculosis screening and case management in a district hospital in Malawi.

Malawi has one of the world's highest rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (10.6%), and southern Malawi, where Thyolo district is located, bears the highest burden in the country (14.5%). Tuberculosis, common among HIV-infected people, requires radiologic diagnosis, yet Malawi has no radiologists in public service. This hinders rapid and accurate diagnosis and increases morbidity and mortality

EPR identification of defects responsible for thermoluminescence in Cu-doped lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7) crystals

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is used to identify the electron and hole traps responsible for thermoluminescence (TL) peaks occurring near 100 and 200 ◦C in copper-doped lithium tetraborate (Li2B4O7) crystals. As-grown crystals have Cu+ and Cu2+ ions substituting for lithium and have Cu+ ions at interstitial sites. All of the substitutional Cu2+ ions in the as-grown crystals have an adjacent lithium vacancy and give rise to a distinct EPR spectrum. Exposure to ionizing radiation at room temperature produces a second and different Cu2+ EPR spectrum when a hole is trapped by substitutional Cu+ ions that have no nearby defects. These two Cu2+ trapped-hole centers are referred to as Cu2+-VLi and Cu2+active, respectively. Also during the irradiation, two trapped-electron centers in the form of interstitial Cu0 atoms are produced when interstitial Cu+ ions trap electrons. They are observed with EPR and are labeled Cu0A and Cu0B. When an irradiated crystal is warmed from 25 to 150 ◦C, the Cu2+active centers have a partial decay step that correlates with the TL peak near 100 ◦C. The concentrations of Cu0A and Cu0B centers, however, increase as the crystal is heated through this range. As the crystal is futher warmed between 150 and 250 ◦C, the EPR signals from the Cu2+active hole centers and Cu0A and Cu0B electron centers decay simultaneously. This decay step correlates with the intense TL peak near 200 ◦C

Bulk Elastic Moduli and Solute Potentials in Leaves of Freshwater, Coastal, and Marine Hydrophytes. Are Marine Plants More Rigid?

Bulk modulus of elasticity (ɛ), depicting the flexibility of plant tissues, is recognized as an important component in maintaining internal water balance. Elevated ɛ and comparatively low osmotic potential (Ψπ) may work in concert to effectively maintain vital cellular water content. This concept, termed the ‘cell water conservation hypothesis’, may foster tolerance for lower soil-water potentials in plants while minimizing cell dehydration and shrinkage. Therefore, the accumulation of solutes in marine plants, causing decreases in Ψπ, play an important role in plant–water relations and likely works with higher ɛ to achieve favourable cell volumes. While it is generally held that plants residing in marine systems have higher leaf tissue ɛ, to our knowledge no study has specifically addressed this notion in aquatic and wetland plants residing in marine and freshwater systems. Therefore, we compared ɛ and Ψπ in leaf tissues of 38 freshwater, coastal and marine plant species using data collected in our laboratory, with additional values from the literature. Overall, 8 of the 10 highest ɛ values were observed in marine plants, and 20 of the lowest 25 ɛ values were recorded in freshwater plants. As expected, marine plants often had lower Ψπ, wherein the majority of marine plants were below −1.0 MPa and the majority of freshwater plants were above −1.0 MPa. While there were no differences among habitat type and symplastic water content (θsym), we did observe higher θsym in shrubs when compared with graminoids, and believe that the comparatively low θsym observed in aquatic grasses may be attributed to their tendency to develop aerenchyma that hold apoplastic water. These results, with few exceptions, support the premise that leaf tissues of plants acclimated to marine environments tend to have higher ɛ and lower Ψπ, and agree with the general tenets of the cell water conservation hypothesis

Quality review and education as method of improving guideline adherence for medication prescription and outcomes among vascular interventionalists performing non-cardiac vascular surgeries

Background: Medical management of patients undergoing non-cardiac vascular procedures often sub-optimally follow evidence based guidelines. We hypothesized that feedback to practitioners in regards to outcomes and medications prescribed would improve care. Methods: With conversion to new database in 2015 that allowed for more comprehensive tracking of vascular surgery outcomes, a decision was made to share these data with practitioners on regular basis as well as relay medications prescribed at discharge. Carotid and abdominal aortic surgeries were evaluated. The most frequent format for presentation of data was vascular morbidity and mortality conference. Medications included in presentations were antiplatelet and statin therapies. Comparisons were made between adherence to guideline based therapies 2 years before and 2 years after new database implementation. ACE inhibitor/aldosterone receptor blocker (ARB) therapy prescribing data were not included in these presentations. SAS Enterprise Guide 7.1 and R 3.6.1 software used for analysis. Results: 826 patients were evaluated. 400 patients were in pre new database implementation and 426 were included after implementation. No significant difference found with prescribing of ACE inhibitors/ARB, changing only from 47 to 48%. There was difference with univariate analysis of antiplatelet and statin prescribing. Antiplatelet prescribing improved from 89 to 93%, Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.7 (95% confidence interval, 1-2.8) and statin prescribing improved from 74 to 86%, OR= 2.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.5-3). Access site and bleeding complications also demonstrated improvement. See Figure. Conclusion: Regular feedback to vascular practitioners improves adherence to guideline based therapies and can improve surgical outcomes

Evaluating techniques for sampling stream crayfish (paranephrops planifrons)

We evaluated several capture and analysis techniques for estimating abundance and size structure of freshwater crayfish (Paranephrops planifrons) (koura) from a forested North Island, New Zealand stream to provide a methodological basis for future population studies. Direct observation at night and collecting with baited traps were not considered useful. A quadrat sampler was highly biased toward collecting small individuals. Handnetting at night and estimating abundances using the depletion method were not as efficient as handnetting on different dates and analysing by a mark-recapture technique. Electrofishing was effective in collecting koura from different habitats and resulted in the highest abundance estimates, and mark-recapture estimates appeared to be more precise than depletion estimates, especially if multiple recaptures were made. Handnetting captured more large crayfish relative to electrofishing or the quadrat sampler