Living on Breath and Spirit: Spiritual Intelligence and Spiritual Journey in the Christian Faith Tradition

In the last decade, one observes an increased interest in applied spirituality that takes into account the fact that spirituality has left the boundaries of religion. Psychologists and neuroscientists postulate a spiritual intelligence. As a scientific concept it adopts an etic perspective on spirituality. It is used in healthcare, management and education. It is interested in spirituality but not in religion. Christian spirituality on the other hand is rooted in a particular religion. Lytta Basset offers guidance for spiritual growth in the Christian faith tradition. Because spiritual growth is very personal, Basset adopts an emic perspective on spiritual experiences. This thesis asks how these two perspectives can enter in a fruitful dialogue and where are the limits of it

Immunization with a Borrelia burgdorferi BB0172-Derived Peptide Protects Mice against Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is the most prevalent arthropod borne disease in the US and it is caused by the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), which is acquired through the bite of an infected Ixodes tick. Vaccine development efforts focused on the von Willebrand factor A domain of the borrelial protein BB0172 from which four peptides (A, B, C and D) were synthesized and conjugated to Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin, formulated in Titer Max® adjuvant and used to immunize C3H/HeN mice subcutaneously at days 0, 14 and 21. Sera were collected to evaluate antibody responses and some mice were sacrificed for histopathology to evaluate vaccine safety. Twenty-eight days post-priming, protection was evaluated by needle inoculation of half the mice in each group with 103 Bb/mouse, whereas the rest were challenged with 105Bb/mouse. Eight weeks post-priming, another four groups of similarly immunized mice were challenged using infected ticks. In both experiments, twenty-one days post-challenge, the mice were sacrificed to determine antibody responses, bacterial burdens and conduct histopathology. Results showed that only mice immunized with peptide B were protected against challenge with Bb. In addition, compared to the other the treatment groups, peptide B-immunized mice showed very limited inflammation in the heart and joint tissues. Peptide B-specific antibody titers peaked at 8 weeks post-priming and surprisingly, the anti-peptide B antibodies did not cross-react with Bb lysates. These findings strongly suggest that peptide B is a promising candidate for the development of a new DIVA vaccine (Differentiate between Infected and Vaccinated Animals) for protection against Lyme disease.The open access fee for this work was funded through the Texas A&M University Open Access to Knowledge (OAK) Fund

How to bring research evidence into policy? Synthesizing strategies of five research projects in low-and middle-income countries

Background Addressing the uptake of research findings into policy-making is increasingly important for researchers who ultimately seek to contribute to improved health outcomes. The aims of the Swiss Programme for Research on Global Issues for Development (r4d Programme) initiated by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation are to create and disseminate knowledge that supports policy changes in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This paper reports on five r4d research projects and shows how researchers engage with various stakeholders, including policy-makers, in order to assure uptake of the research results. Methods Eleven in-depth interviews were conducted with principal investigators and their research partners from five r4d projects, using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews explored the process of how stakeholders and policy-makers were engaged in the research project. Results Three key strategies were identified as fostering research uptake into policies and practices: (S1) stakeholders directly engaged with and sought evidence from researchers; (S2) stakeholders were involved in the design and throughout the implementation of the research project; and (S3) stakeholders engaged in participatory and transdisciplinary research approaches to coproduce knowledge and inform policy. In the first strategy, research evidence was directly taken up by international stakeholders as they were actively seeking new evidence on a very specific topic to up-date international guidelines. In the second strategy, examples from two r4d projects show that collaboration with stakeholders from early on in the projects increased the likelihood of translating research into policy, but that the latter was more effective in a supportive and stable policy environment. The third strategy adopted by two other r4d projects demonstrates the benefits of promoting colearning as a way to address potential power dynamics and working effectively across the local policy landscape through robust research partnerships. Conclusions This paper provides insights into the different strategies that facilitate collaboration and communication between stakeholders, including policy-makers, and researchers. However, it remains necessary to increase our understanding of the interests and motivations of the different actors involved in the process of influencing policy, identify clear policy-influencing objectives and provide more institutional support to engage in this complex and time-intensive process.ISSN:1478-450

Catalysing One Health with Swiss Diplomacy: Three recommendations for leveraging Switzerland’s science and diplomacy to prevent, prepare, and respond to future pandemics

The origins, spreading mechanisms, and consequences of epidemics and pandemics lie at the intersection between environmental, human, and animal systems. Therefore, effective governance requires an approach that accounts for the systemic nature of epidemics and pandemics. Switzerland has an essential role to play in strengthening the One Health approach to improve governance of international epidemics and pandemics. Signed by over 30 experts, this policy brief supports Switzerland with 3 key recommendations and 13 actions to leverage Swiss scientific expertise and diplomatic instruments for strengthening international efforts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to future epidemics and pandemics – with a focus on diseases of animal origin. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of international and Swiss research on One Health support the following recommendations. This policy brief was commissioned by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. It was developed by the Institute of Global Health at the University of Geneva and the Geneva Science-Policy Interface, in partnership with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and the Geneva Health Forum, involving experts from academia, international organisations, NGOs and the government.</p

The economic evaluation of One Health

One Health is an approach that integrates perspectives from human, animal and environmental health to address health challenges. As the idea of One Health is grounded in achieving sustainable outcomes, an important aspect is the contribution of One Health to social sustainability. In this chapter we ask, what social sustainability is, what the indicators of social sustainability related to One Health are, and, through what measures we can evaluate the contributions of One Health to social sustainability, in terms of its operations, its supporting infrastructures and outcomes. We adopt a wider conceptualization of social sustainability and propose an approach based on basic needs, capabilities and emancipation, environmental justice, solidarity and social cohesion. First, we identify indicators used in literature to capture social sustainability in human, animal and environmental health and propose ways to integrate them into a framework for the evaluation of One Health initiatives. Second, we formulate questions that can be used to evaluate the social sustainability of One Health initiatives. Third, we discuss the viability of operationalising the indicators, the trade-Offs that might arise and identify how they can be minimised. We then discuss methodological issues and highlight the importance of transdisciplinary deliberative approaches for adapting the framework to specific contexts

African 2, a clonal complex of Mycobacterium bovis epidemiologically important in East Africa

We have identified a clonal complex of Mycobacterium bovis isolated at high frequency from cattle in Uganda, Burundi, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. We have named this related group of M. bovis strains the African 2 (Af2) clonal complex of M. bovis. Af2 strains are defined by a specific chromosomal deletion (RDAf2) and can be identified by the absence of spacers 3 to 7 in their spoligotype patterns. Deletion analysis of M. bovis isolates from Algeria, Mali, Chad, Nigeria, Cameroon, South Africa, and Mozambique did not identify any strains of the Af2 clonal complex, suggesting that this clonal complex of M. bovis is localized in East Africa. The specific spoligotype pattern of the Af2 clonal complex was rarely identified among isolates from outside Africa, and the few isolates that were found and tested were intact at the RDAf2 locus. We conclude that the Af2 clonal complex is localized to cattle in East Africa. We found that strains of the Af2 clonal complex of M. bovis have, in general, four or more copies of the insertion sequence IS6110, in contrast to the majority of M. bovis strains isolated from cattle, which are thought to carry only one or a few copies