Sabbath and Longevity in Global Work and Vocational Ministry

Sabbath is a scripturally mandated pattern that was established by God in Genesis and continues to be practiced in vocational ministry, global ministry and in society as a whole. In past ethnographic research, there is a correlation between practice of Sabbath and a simultaneous decrease of attrition and increase of effectivity of ministry in global work. The same impact of Sabbath practice is also found for those in vocational ministry. The question is how the practice of Sabbath impacts the ministry and longevity of vocational ministry work. By partaking in Sabbath practice, both weekly and longer periods of sabbatical, rates of burnout and attrition decrease, and the effectivity of ministry increases. A connection was found between practice of Sabbath (whether on the mission field or vocationally in the States) and more efficient overall ministry

Thermal Ecology of the Australian Agamid Pogona barbata

This study compares the thermal ecology of male bearded dragon lizards (Pogona barbata) from south-east Queensland across two seasons: summer (1994-1995) and autumn (1995). Seasonal patterns of body temperature (Tb) were explored in terms of changes in the physical properties of the thermal environment and thermoregulatory effort. To quantify thermoregulatory effort, we compared behavioral and physiological variables recorded for observed lizards with those estimated for a thermoconforming lizard. The study lizards' field Tbs varied seasonally (summer: grand daily mean (GDM) 34.6 +/- 0.6 degrees C, autumn: GDM 27.5 +/- 0.3 degrees C) as did maximum and minimum available operative temperatures (summer: GDM Tmax 42.1 +/- 1.7 degrees C, Tmin 32.2 +/- 1.0 degrees C, autumn: GDM Tmax 31.7 +/- 1.2 degrees C, Tmin 26.4 +/- 0.5 degrees C). Interestingly, the range of temperatures that lizards selected in a gradient (selected range) did not change seasonally. However, P. barbata thermoregulated more extensively and more accurately in summer than in autumn; lizards generally displayed behaviors affecting heat load nonrandomly in summer and randomly in autumn, leading to the GDM of the mean deviations of lizards' field Tbs from their selected ranges being only 2.1 +/- 0.5 degrees C in summer, compared to 4.4 +/- 0.5 degrees C in autumn. This seasonal difference was not a consequence of different heat availability in the two seasons, because the seasonally available ranges of operative temperatures rarely precluded lizards from attaining field Tbs within their selected range, should that have been the goal. Rather, thermal microhabitat distribution and social behavior appear to have had an important influence on seasonal levels of thermoregulatory effort

Body temperatures of modern and extinct vertebrates from ^(13)C-^(18)O bond abundances in bioapatite

The stable isotope compositions of biologically precipitated apatite in bone, teeth, and scales are widely used to obtain information on the diet, behavior, and physiology of extinct organisms and to reconstruct past climate. Here we report the application of a new type of geochemical measurement to bioapatite, a “clumped-isotope” paleothermometer, based on the thermodynamically driven preference for ^(13)C and ^(18)O to bond with each other within carbonate ions in the bioapatite crystal lattice. This effect is dependent on temperature but, unlike conventional stable isotope paleothermometers, is independent from the isotopic composition of water from which the mineral formed. We show that the abundance of ^(13)C-^(18)O bonds in the carbonate component of tooth bioapatite from modern specimens decreases with increasing body temperature of the animal, following a relationship between isotope “clumping” and temperature that is statistically indistinguishable from inorganic calcite. This result is in agreement with a theoretical model of isotopic ordering in carbonate ion groups in apatite and calcite. This thermometer constrains body temperatures of bioapatite-producing organisms with an accuracy of 1–2 °C. Analyses of fossilized tooth enamel of both Pleistocene and Miocene age yielded temperatures within error of those derived from similar modern taxa. Clumped-isotope analysis of bioapatite represents a new approach in the study of the thermophysiology of extinct species, allowing the first direct measurement of their body temperatures. It will also open new avenues in the study of paleoclimate, as the measurement of clumped isotopes in phosphorites and fossils has the potential to reconstruct environmental temperatures

Synoptic observations of Jupiter's radio emissions: Average Statistical properties observed by Voyager

Observations of Jupiter's low frequency radio emissions collected over one month intervals before and after each Voyager encounter were analyzed. Compilations of occurrence probability, average power flux density and average sense of circular polarization are presented as a function of central meridian longitude, phase of Io, and frequency. The results are compared with ground based observations. The necessary geometrical conditions are preferred polarization sense for Io-related decametric emission observed by Voyager from above both the dayside and nightside hemispheres are found to be essentially the same as are observed in Earth based studies. On the other hand, there is a clear local time dependence in the Io-independent decametric emission. Io appears to have an influence on average flux density of the emission down to below 2 MHz. The average power flux density spectrum of Jupiter's emission has a broad peak near 9MHz. Integration of the average spectrum over all frequencies gives a total radiated power for an isotropic source of 4 x 10 to the 11th power W

Psicoanálisis y feminismo. Intersección para pensar en nuevas infancia/s y adolescencia/s

El siguiente recorrido se enmarca en el Proyecto de Investigación V 112 “Destinos de(s)ubjetivación en infancia/s y adolescencia/s, intersecciones y comunidad”, dirigido por la Dra. Patricia V. Weigandt y Co-dirigido por la Lic. y Prof. Marina La Vecchia (CURZA-UNCo). Su objetivo es reflexionar acerca de las infancia/s y adolescencia/s en el contexto actual, utilizando lecturas provenientes del psicoanálisis y del feminismo. La intersección entre los campos antes mencionados, permite ampliar las perspectivas en cuanto a los desafíos que actualmente se nos presentan respecto a nuestros/as niños, niñas y adolescentes. En este sentido, algunas de las líneas destacadas con las que nos encontramos hoy, focalizan en las denominadas infancias trans, la implementación de la Ley de Educación Sexual Integral en todos los niveles educativos, la ruptura de mandatos de género de décadas anteriores y la lucha contra la prescripción de causas de buso sexual infantil, entre otras. La cuarta ola del feminismo profundiza en la reivindicación de los derechos conquistados, el papel de las redes sociales en la actualidad y enfatiza en las problemáticas anteriormente planteadas. A esto último, considero  fundamental además, (re)pensar nuestras funciones como adultos/as y trabajadores/as de diferentes instituciones, en la constitución subjetiva de niños, niñas y adolescentes

Topiramate in add-on therapy: Results from an open-label, observational study

SummaryAn open-label, observational prospective study assessed the effectiveness of topiramate (TPM) as add-on therapy. A total of 450 patients aged 12 and above with a diagnosis of epilepsy and at least one epileptic seizure during the 12-week retrospective baseline were to be documented. After baseline evaluation, topiramate was added. Ninety-five percent of patients had at least one baseline AED, most commonly Carbamazepine (53%) or Valproate (34%). In 5% TPM was started in monotherapy. Topiramate dose titration and target dose was determined by clinical response and side effect profile. Patients were intended to be followed for a total of 1 year which included 6 visits during which seizure frequency, adverse events, weight as well as clinical global impression were recorded. During the 12 weeks retrospective baseline, a median of 2.8 seizures per month were recorded which reduced significantly to 0.7 per month during the complete treatment phase (p<0.0001). Seventy-two percent of patients had a ≥50% seizure reduction. Ten percent of patients were seizure free during the study. The most commonly reported adverse events were difficulties with memory (4.2%), somnolence (3.6%), and dizziness (2.7%). Overall, topiramate was well tolerated, and only 5% of patients discontinued treatment due to an adverse event. Retention in the study was higher than previously reported during randomized, dose controlled studies and is likely due to individualized doses as well as slower titration used

Extreme enrichment in atmospheric 15N15N.

Molecular nitrogen (N2) comprises three-quarters of Earth's atmosphere and significant portions of other planetary atmospheres. We report a 19 per mil (‰) excess of 15N15N in air relative to a random distribution of nitrogen isotopes, an enrichment that is 10 times larger than what isotopic equilibration in the atmosphere allows. Biological experiments show that the main sources and sinks of N2 yield much smaller proportions of 15N15N in N2. Electrical discharge experiments, however, establish 15N15N excesses of up to +23‰. We argue that 15N15N accumulates in the atmosphere because of gas-phase chemistry in the thermosphere (&gt;100 km altitude) on time scales comparable to those of biological cycling. The atmospheric 15N15N excess therefore reflects a planetary-scale balance of biogeochemical and atmospheric nitrogen chemistry, one that may also exist on other planets