From semiotic exegesis to contextual ecclesiology: The hermeneutics of missional faith in the COVIDian era

This essay uses the global impact of the Coronavirus as a heuristic semiotic for exploring the future of the church. Unlike the pandemic of 1918, which left few dents on the world’s economic, social, and cultural systems, almost all the nations of the world have passed laws and implemented procedures that are only comparable to world wars in their impact on entire populations. Nations are acting in unison, but not in unity. This post-COVID, post-Corona world is the ‘time that is given’ to the church. But it will not be a post-pandemic world. We may become COVID-proof, but we will never be pandemic-proof. There is no pre-COVID reset. There is only risk assessment from natural extinction risks to existential dangers of our own creation that are catching up to us (climate change, GRAIN [genetic engineering, robotics, artificial intelligence {AI}, info-tech, nanotechnology]). Disruption is the new status that is never quo; stability is the new abnormality; global cataclysm is the ever-present peril. The only way to prepare for a future of constant ‘the end of the world as we know it?’ moments is by developing a high Contextual Quotient (CQ), and deepening our Contextual Intelligence (CI) so we can choose ‘the next right thing’ in a world of volcanic volatility.Contribution: This essay frames the semiotics of a missional ecclesiology in the COVIDian wake from the hermeneutics of blessings not curses. What virtues might we expect to come out of a virus that is fast-forwarding the future, virtues that will shape the contours of Christianity. What if the pandemic is a shock treatment that is putting the world, and the church, back in a new and better equilibrium? What if there are goldmines on the other side of the landmines and minefields?

Expression of heat shock protein genes Aaehsp26, Aaehsp83 and Aaehsc70 in response to thermal stress in Aedes aegypti larvae

Climate change is responsible to a certain extent for the occurrence and spread of arboviral pathogens worldwide. Temperature is one of the crucial abiotic factors influencing the physiological processes of mosquitoes. Several genes of heat shock protein (AaeHsp26, AaeHsp83, and AaeHsc70) families are known to be expressed in mosquitoes, which aid in overcoming stress induced by elevated temperature. In this study, the relative expression of heat shock protein genes has been examined using Quantitative Real-time PCR (qPCR). The temperatures used for heat shock treatment were 27(control), 37, and 42°C for 1 hour heat shock period and applied to 3rd instar larvae. Significant up-regulation has been seen at 37, and 42°C. The highest expression level, about 82.43 fold, was reported for the AaeHsc70 gene at 42°C followed by 78.36 fold for AaeHsp26 at 37°C and 4.79 fold for AaeHsp83 at 42°C. The current study has shown that HSPs are important markers of stress and may function as critical proteins to protect and enhance the survival of Ae. aegypti larvae and pupae. Biological implications of these findings could impact the vector competencies Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 30(2): 233-241, 2021 (July)