He descended into hell: an English reformation controversy

During the Reformation of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, almost all of the reformers appealed in some way to the writings of the early fathers in their polemical debates against the Roman church. But the English church made the claim that their purpose was only to teach that which was taught by the fathers of the first five or six centuries. This thesis examines whether this was true concerning one of the most disputed doctrines of the English Reformation: Christ’s descent into hell. We first define what the early church taught regarding the descent. In spite of later claims that the fathers offered diverging views on this doctrine, we found a broad consensus with only minor variations (those of Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria). We then trace the doctrine from the patristic era to the eve of the reformation in England. The broad consensus of the fathers was propagated throughout this period in the various adaptations of the so-called Gospel of Nicodemus. There were a few dissenting voices during the medieval period: Abelard denied a local descent, suggesting that Christ’s “power” descended; Nicholas of Cusa taught that Christ descended into hell to suffer; and Reginald Pecock questioned whether the doctrine was apostolic at all. We then trace how the doctrine of Christ’s descent was taught in the successive reigns of the Tudors. The official formularies of the English church largely maintained the mainstream patristic view during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, but during the reign of Elizabeth I, pressures came from some of the continental reformers who had formulated new explanations for the creedal formulation. The central impetus behind this change was the assertion that Christ’s deliverance of the Old Testament saints from Sheol was conceptually too close to the Roman doctrine of souls being delivered from purgatory. Some in England sought to align the official teachings with one of these other continental views, but the established church resisted this urge and continued to insist upon a local descent of Christ to hell. By the end of the Elizabethan era, the Church of England maintained a local descent of Christ into hell, but the central purpose was to defeat the devil, not to deliver the Old Testament saints. This put the Church of England out of step with most of their continental counterparts on this doctrine; but it also meant that they had departed from an important aspect of the descent from the patristic era

Object-Oriented Ontogenesis: biosentience and being

How is it that a cell knows? Why do brains exist to begin with? Gyration never ends and genes are just the beginnin

Gendered Patterns of Migration in Rural South Africa

Gender is increasingly recognised as fundamental to understanding migration processes, causes, and consequences. In South Africa, it is intrinsic to the social transformations fueling high levels of internal migration and complex forms of mobility. Although female migration in Africa has often been characterised as less prevalent than male migration and primarily related to marriage, in South Africa, a feminisation of internal migration is underway, fueled by women's increasing labour market participation. In this paper, we report sex differences in patterns, trends, and determinants of internal migration based on data collected in a demographic surveillance system between 2001 and 2006 in rural KwaZulu‐Natal. We show that women were somewhat more likely than men to undertake any migration, but sex differences in migration trends differed by migration flow, with women more likely to migrate into the area than men and men more likely to out‐migrate. Out‐migration was suppressed by marriage, particularly for women, but most women were not married; both men's and women's out‐migrations were undertaken mainly for purposes of employment. Over half of female out‐migrations (vs 35% of male out‐migrations) were to nearby rural areas. The findings highlight the high mobility of this population and the extent to which gender is intimately related to the processes determining migration. We consider the implications of these findings for the measurement of migration and mobility, in particular for health and social policy and research among highly mobile populations in southern Africa. © 2013 The Authors. Population, Space and Place published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

Nonatonic obstetric haemorrhage: effectiveness of the nonpneumatic antishock garment in egypt.

The study aims to determine if the nonpneumatic antishock garment (NASG), a first aid compression device, decreases severe adverse outcomes from nonatonic obstetric haemorrhage. Women with nonatonic aetiologies (434), blood loss > 1000 mL, and signs of shock were eligible. Women received standard care during the preintervention phase (226) and standard care plus application of the garment in the NASG phase (208). Blood loss and extreme adverse outcomes (EAO-mortality and severe morbidity) were measured. Women who used the NASG had more estimated blood loss on admission. Mean measured blood loss was 370 mL in the preintervention phase and 258 mL in the NASG phase (P < 0.0001). EAO decreased with use of the garment (2.9% versus 4.4%, (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.24-1.76)). In conclusion, using the NASG improved maternal outcomes despite the worse condition on study entry. These findings should be tested in larger studies

Methods for sampling geographically mobile female traders in an East African market setting.

BACKGROUND:The role of migration in the spread of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa is well-documented. Yet migration and HIV research have often focused on HIV risks to male migrants and their partners, or migrants overall, often failing to measure the risks to women via their direct involvement in migration. Inconsistent measures of mobility, gender biases in those measures, and limited data sources for sex-specific population-based estimates of mobility have contributed to a paucity of research on the HIV prevention and care needs of migrant and highly mobile women. This study addresses an urgent need for novel methods for developing probability-based, systematic samples of highly mobile women, focusing on a population of female traders operating out of one of the largest open air markets in East Africa. Our method involves three stages: 1.) identification and mapping of all market stall locations using Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates; 2.) using female market vendor stall GPS coordinates to build the sampling frame using replicates; and 3.) using maps and GPS data for recruitment of study participants. RESULTS:The location of 6,390 vendor stalls were mapped using GPS. Of these, 4,064 stalls occupied by women (63.6%) were used to draw four replicates of 128 stalls each, and a fifth replicate of 15 pre-selected random alternates for a total of 527 stalls assigned to one of five replicates. Staff visited 323 stalls from the first three replicates and from these successfully recruited 306 female vendors into the study for a participation rate of 94.7%. Mobilization strategies and involving traders association representatives in participant recruitment were critical to the study's success. CONCLUSION:The study's high participation rate suggests that this geospatial sampling method holds promise for development of probability-based samples in other settings that serve as transport hubs for highly mobile populations

Sex or Gender Is Binary Due To Definiens Per Negationem

This perspective asserts the existence of only two sexes/genders, male and female, based on not only biological and reproductive processes but also from claims of non-binary or transgender identities as defined through negation which rely on the binary concept of sex/gender. Thus, individuals claiming identities on the "gender/sex spectrum" are again defining themselves through negation (definiens per negationem). This perspective suggests that the diversity of gender experiences, (the sex or gender spectrum) is defined by what individuals are not rather than what they are. While the validity of non-binary and transgender identities definiens per negationem is noted, it is important to accept the reality of the binary nature of sex or gender as a scientific fact, and that all human beings are on a developmental pathway leading to either male or female. Without the reality of binary sex or gender, the gender identity spectrum does not exist as there is nothing to negate from

Tolerance Is Not a Virtue

Tolerance is not a virtue or a moral species in and of itself, rather tolerance exists with its contrary of intolerance. If we reduce tolerance and intolerance to its bare acts, we find that tolerance involves an act of indifference, and intolerance involves an act of intervention. Some may find that it is problematic with associating tolerance with indifference, but for it to be practiced as a virtue as such, those are the acts that must be performed. Additionally, not only must acts of indifference and intervention be involved for tolerance in general to be a moral virtue, the level of indifference and intervention must be appropriate for the circumstance as its relevant guiding cardinal virtue dictates. Lastly, as all things good, there exists an evil form of tolerance and intolerance known as virtue signaling which meets the criteria of false prudence and should not be tolerated

Six grade 6 students' perceptions of the Ontario Province-wide reading and writing assessments

This qualitative study investigated Grade Six Students' Perceptions of the Ontario Province-wide Reading and Writing Assessments. The participants in the study were six Grade 6 students attending a rural school in Northwestern Ontario, and their teacher. Four themes emerged from the analysis of the qualitative data: (a) preparation for the Provincial Assessments; (b) preassessment perceptions; (c) cognitive, metacognitive and affective perceptions relating to test performance; and (d) post-assessment reflections. The finding of this study suggest that the pre-assessment perceptions formed by participants may be influenced by external factors including the following: test preparation practices, their level of awareness regarding the need for testing and usage of test scores, affective responses to testing and motivation to perform. Participants' reported use of cognitive and metacognitive reading and writing strategies and their affective response to testing provided insight into perceptions that may affect test performance. Finally, post-assessment reflections suggest that participants responded easily to questions that required less controlled and more personally relevant responses. The suggested changes made by participants regarding the assessment content reflected ± e ir need for more freedom of choice and opportunities to use exercise their creativity

Improved Viral Suppression With Streamlined Care in the SEARCH Study

Background: HIV differentiated service delivery (DSD) models are scaling up in resource-limited settings for stable patients; less is known about DSD outcomes for patients with viremia. We evaluated the effect on viral suppression (VS) of a streamlined care DSD model implemented in the SEARCH randomized universal test and treat trial in rural Uganda and Kenya (NCT:01864603). Methods: We included HIV-infected adults at baseline (2013) who were country guideline antiretroviral therapy (ART) eligible (prior ART experience or CD4 ≤ 350) with ≥1 HIV clinic visit between 2013 and 2017 in SEARCH communities randomized to intervention (N = 16) or control (N = 16). We assessed the effect of streamlined care in intervention community clinics (patient-centered care, increased appointment spacing, improved clinic access, reminders, and tracking) on VS at 3 years. Analysis was stratified by the baseline care status: ART-experienced with viremia, ART-naïve with CD4 ≤ 350, or ART-experienced with VS. Results: Among 6190 ART-eligible persons in care, year 3 VS was 90% in intervention and 87% in control arms (RR 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.06). Among ART-experienced persons with baseline viremia, streamlined care was associated with higher VS (67% vs 47%, RR 1.41, 95% CI: 1.05 to 1.91). Among ART-naïve persons, VS was not significantly higher with streamlined care (83% vs 79%, RR 1.05, 95% CI: 0.95 to 1.16). Among ART-experienced persons with baseline VS, nearly all remained virally suppressed in both arms (97% vs 95%, RR 1.01, 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.03). Conclusions: Streamlined care was associated with higher viral suppression among ART-experienced patients with viremia in this randomized evaluation of ART-eligible patients who were in care after universal HIV testing