“Genuine Brotherhood” without Remorse: A Commentary on Joseph Ratzinger’s "Comments on 'De Iudaeis'"

This article critically engages, section by section, a 2018 essay on Catholic-Jewish relations by emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. It is the result of joint analysis by a Jewish professor and a Catholic professor who co-direct an academic institute devoted to Catholic-Jewish relations. Benedict’s treatment of such topics as supersessionism, the “unrevoked covenant,” and the State of Israel is complex, and his reasoning is often difficult to follow, but the authors conclude that his essay makes genuine contributions to a Catholic theology of relations with Jews and Judaism that deserve serious, dispassionate, and critical study. This is true despite some serious weaknesses, especially its lack of consistent engagement with Judaism as lived by Jews today

Diversity and retention in engineering

The authors describe three initiatives designed to increase the academic achievement and retention of historically underrepresented students (including females and underrepresented students of color) in engineering.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57352/1/287_ftp.pd

Reciprocal elucidation: a student-led pedagogy in multidisciplinary undergraduate research conferences

© 2016 HERDSA. There is no previous study of the benefits of attending a national multidisciplinary conference dedicated to undergraduate researchers, despite the growing number of such conferences internationally. This paper addresses the gap in knowledge of the learning gains from these conferences, and reveals a student driven learning process, a multidisciplinary signature pedagogy. It presents the results of 90 in-depth interviews with student conference participants conducted over three consecutive years of a multidisciplinary National Conference of Undergraduate Research (2012–2014). This paper uniquely captures the student voice on their perceived learning gains from this experience. The results reveal that some students co-create a pedagogy of Foucauldian reciprocal elucidation, through a sense of ‘unfinishedness’, allowing them to reflect on their own learning in the light of divergent perspectives, questions and frames of reference. Bidirectional exchange of ideas and insights enabled students to ask and answer questions that transformed each other’s thinking, allowing them to arrive at understandings they could not have achieved by themselves. The opportunity to present research in an authentic setting beyond disciplinary and institutional contexts developed students’ skills and confidence, giving additional value over and above the recognised benefits of engaging in research. The undergraduate research conference is framed as a threshold experience for the development of self-authorship. Significant implications for practice include supporting constructive dialogues between students and the creation of authentic and professional multidisciplinary contexts for sharing research

Fat tissue, aging, and cellular senescence

Fat tissue, frequently the largest organ in humans, is at the nexus of mechanisms involved in longevity and age-related metabolic dysfunction. Fat distribution and function change dramatically throughout life. Obesity is associated with accelerated onset of diseases common in old age, while fat ablation and certain mutations affecting fat increase life span. Fat cells turn over throughout the life span. Fat cell progenitors, preadipocytes, are abundant, closely related to macrophages, and dysdifferentiate in old age, switching into a pro-inflammatory, tissue-remodeling, senescent-like state. Other mesenchymal progenitors also can acquire a pro-inflammatory, adipocyte-like phenotype with aging. We propose a hypothetical model in which cellular stress and preadipocyte overutilization with aging induce cellular senescence, leading to impaired adipogenesis, failure to sequester lipotoxic fatty acids, inflammatory cytokine and chemokine generation, and innate and adaptive immune response activation. These pro-inflammatory processes may amplify each other and have systemic consequences. This model is consistent with recent concepts about cellular senescence as a stress-responsive, adaptive phenotype that develops through multiple stages, including major metabolic and secretory readjustments, which can spread from cell to cell and can occur at any point during life. Senescence could be an alternative cell fate that develops in response to injury or metabolic dysfunction and might occur in nondividing as well as dividing cells. Consistent with this, a senescent-like state can develop in preadipocytes and fat cells from young obese individuals. Senescent, pro-inflammatory cells in fat could have profound clinical consequences because of the large size of the fat organ and its central metabolic role

Jewish Theology and Limits on Reciprocity in Catholic-Jewish Dialogue

No abstract is available

Early Engagement of Students in Research: Best Practices for Diversity and Inclusion

Speaker: Sandra Gregerman Director, Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor · The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) at the University of Michigan is a national award winning program. · UROP creates research partnerships between students (first year, second year, and transfer) and faculty. · In 2010-2011, 1300 students participated in UROP working with over 800 research mentors. · The seminar will include a set of structured program components to support early engagement of students in research. Introduction: Dr. Tony Waldrop, Provost and Executive Vice President, University of Central Florida Keynote Sponsored by the UCF Office of Research and Commercializatio