scholarly journals Neo-monastics in North Carolina, de-growth and a theology of enough

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Cox Hall

Abstract This article examines one intentional Christian community's attempts to live a life that eschews consumerism and material growth for a life focused on spiritual growth and collectivity. I articulate intentional Christian living, often referred to as neo-monasticism, with the de-growth movement. I do so to offer insight into the practice and pragmatics of de-growth's broadly understood call to revalue the ideals of life in an effort to reduce consumption. Neo-monasticism and de-growth have much in common including the critique of consumerism, individualism and increasing inequality. Both also promote relationships, locality, sharing, slowing down and quality of life over efficiency and incessant work. Drawing on four years of research with one residential Christian community, I suggest that the most challenging aspect of sharing a life together and slowing down is not simply consuming less or pooling resources but rethinking and living social values not driven by a consumerist-growth paradigm. While some de-growth advocates, such as Serge Latouche, promote ideals of harmony and oneness, in practice, living simply and sharing a life together is challenging and conflictual, even when religiously inspired. Key Words: De-growth, neo-monasticism, emerging church, millennial generation, Christianity, sharing economy

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Soetikno ◽  
Wawaimuli Arozal ◽  
Melva Louisa ◽  
Rianto Setiabudy

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) lowered quality of life and shortened life expectancy amongst those affected. Evidence indicates interaction between advanced glycation end products (AGEs), activated protein kinase C (PKC) and angiotensin II exacerbate the progression of DN. Inhibitors of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACEIs), renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS), AGEs, and PKC have been tested for slowing down the progression of DN. The exact molecular drug targets that lead to the amelioration of renal injury in DN are not well understood. This review summarizes the potential therapeutic targets, based on putative mechanism in the progression of the disease.


Author(s):  
Joseph E. Hummer

Many intersection project sites in North Carolina, and probably across the U.S., have asymmetric conditions. There is typically heavier demand from one approach than the others, right of way is more restricted in one or two quadrants than in the others, pedestrian demand is concentrated in one crosswalk, and so forth. However, the literature on alternative intersections and the software that planners and engineers use to explore suitable alternatives primarily provide symmetric and full designs. Analysts reading the FHWA guidebooks on alternative designs or looking at the menus of CAP-X or VJUST would be led to believe that their options were limited. Fortunately, in the past few years it has become apparent that there are many more intersection design options than presented in CAP-X or VJUST. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate that designers can combine pieces of the alternatives in many creative ways to find asymmetric designs that better fit whatever asymmetric conditions they are given. This paper shows some hybrid at-grade and grade-separated intersection designs that seem to have potential to increase efficiency, increase the quality of the pedestrian and bicyclist crossing experience, decrease impacts, and have other benefits. Based on these examples, it should be apparent that many interesting combinations are possible. Designers wanting to explore a hybrid cannot use the usual software to do so, but the tools to analyze a hybrid design are available if one knows where to look.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 214
Author(s):  
Anita Jokić

Teaching English as a foreign language is now one of the most important subjects in Croatian secondary schools since English is one of the three obligatory subjects at 'matura' - standardized tests which the seniors need to pass to graduate. Writing is one of the three parts of the EL exam, the other two being listening and reading. When learning a language, students start from listening skill, move on to speaking and reading and finally to most difficult skill to master: writing. Teaching and learning writing faces a lot of challenges since it requires a lot of time to practice and even more to evaluate and monitor progress. Teacher's responsibilities are to regularly provide opportunities to write, encourage students to learn from their mistakes and promote their success. In order to do so, students should be given clear instructions on evaluation/assessment and concise feedback. Since grading written assignments takes up a lot of time, the author proposes rubrics which can be used to assess various types of writing taught at secondary level (description of place/event/person, letters of complaint, job application, invitation, discursive/opinion/for-and-against essay etc.). Author suggests four fixed rubrics and subdivisions: Task completion, Cohesion / coherence, Grammar and Vocabulary. All rubrics and subdivisions are described in the paper. A survey was also conducted on a sample of 140 students and has given an insight into students’ opinion on importance of assessment and feedback and its influence on their progress.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 54-78
Author(s):  
Petr Adamec ◽  
Marián Svoboda

This paper deals with the results of sociological survey focused on identification of the attitudes of elderly people to further education. The research was carried out in September 2010. Experience of elderly people with further education, their readiness (determination) for further education as well as their motivation and barriers in further education were also subjects of this research. Detecting elderly population’s awareness of universities of the third age and finding out their further education preferences were an integral part of the research. Research sample consisted of citizens over 55 years living in the South Moravian region. The survey results are structured by socio-demographic features e.g.: age, sex, educational attainment etc. and provide an interesting insight into the attitudes of the target group to one of the activities that contributes to improvement of their quality of life.


BMC Genomics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory M. Weber ◽  
Jill Birkett ◽  
Kyle Martin ◽  
Doug Dixon ◽  
Guangtu Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Transcription is arrested in the late stage oocyte and therefore the maternal transcriptome stored in the oocyte provides nearly all the mRNA required for oocyte maturation, fertilization, and early cleavage of the embryo. The transcriptome of the unfertilized egg, therefore, has potential to provide markers for predictors of egg quality and diagnosing problems with embryo production encountered by fish hatcheries. Although levels of specific transcripts have been shown to associate with measures of egg quality, these differentially expressed genes (DEGs) have not been consistent among studies. The present study compares differences in select transcripts among unfertilized rainbow trout eggs of different quality based on eyeing rate, among 2 year classes of the same line (A1, A2) and a population from a different hatchery (B). The study compared 65 transcripts previously reported to be differentially expressed with egg quality in rainbow trout. Results There were 32 transcripts identified as DEGs among the three groups by regression analysis. Group A1 had the most DEGs, 26; A2 had 15, 14 of which were shared with A1; and B had 12, 7 of which overlapped with A1 or A2. Six transcripts were found in all three groups, dcaf11, impa2, mrpl39_like, senp7, tfip11 and uchl1. Conclusions Our results confirmed maternal transcripts found to be differentially expressed between low- and high-quality eggs in one population of rainbow trout can often be found to overlap with DEGs in other populations. The transcripts differentially expressed with egg quality remain consistent among year classes of the same line. Greater similarity in dysregulated transcripts within year classes of the same line than among lines suggests patterns of transcriptome dysregulation may provide insight into causes of decreased viability within a hatchery population. Although many DEGs were identified, for each of the genes there is considerable variability in transcript abundance among eggs of similar quality and low correlations between transcript abundance and eyeing rate, making it highly improbable to predict the quality of a single batch of eggs based on transcript abundance of just a few genes.


2003 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Thomas

In 1927 a study at King's College, University of London, of the chemical composition of foods was initiated by Dr McCance to assist with diabetic dietary guidance. The study evolved and was then broadened to determine all the important organic and mineral constituents of foods, it was financed by the Medical Research Council and eventually published in 1940. Over the next 51 years subsequent editions reflected changing national dietary habits and food laws as well as advances in analytical procedures. The most recent (5th Edition) published in 1991 has comprehensively analysed 14 different categories of foods and beverages. In order to provide some insight into any variation in the quality of the foods available to us as a nation between 1940 and 1991 it was possible to compare and contrast the mineral content of 27 varieties of vegetable, 17 varieties of fruit, 10 cuts of meat and some milk and cheese products. The results demonstrate that there has been a significant loss of minerals and trace elements in these foods over that period of time. It is suggested that the results of this study cannot be taken in isolation from recent dietary, environmental and disease trends. These trends are briefly mentioned and suggestions are made as to how the deterioration in the micronutrient quality of our food intake may be arrested and reversed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
L Cantarero Arevalo ◽  
S Fejfer Olsen

Abstract Background 16,889 new cases of severe anxiety (SA) were diagnosed in Denmark in 2019. Incidence rate is highest among 16 to 24 year-old women, a population group with 64% risk of being diagnosed with SA. Experiences of stigma and shame are common among this group, affecting negatively their quality of life and opportunity to recover. The aim is 1) to gain insight into the digital narratives young women with SA share through social networking websites, and 2) to open up the possibility to develop new narrative patterns using dialogical research as a method rooted in Bakhtin (1895-1975) and further developed by Frank (2005). Methods Netnography of four large Facebook groups focused on anxiety was used to gain insight into the patients' narratives and to build guiding themes for the off-line dialogical interviews (DI). Biographical narrative patterns were analyzed in light of a narrative-constructivist approach. Participants were invited to sign an informed consent prior to the DI and received ample information about the project aims and their rights. Results 8 young women diagnosed with SA participated in the off-line DI. They had experienced stress, loss, betrayal or violation against them prior to the trigger of SA. All had constructed a narrative that explained why they were suffering from SA. Patient experiences were dominated by the struggle to control intrusive thoughts and to live in a threatening world. Some felt stigmatized and tried to hide their condition from colleagues, friends and family. They had different preferences regarding healthcare needs and were active in their search for alternative ways to cope with SA. Conclusions Participants perceived DI as beneficial. It thus has the potential to not only explore the patient's perspective in depth, but also serve as therapy during the process of inquiry. Key messages Dialogical research has the potential to not only explore the patient’s perspective in depth, but also serve as therapy during the process of inquiry. Young women suffering with severe anxiety experience shame and stigma, which worsen their condiction and hinder their opportunity to recover.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1766
Author(s):  
Igor Koch ◽  
Mathias Duwe ◽  
Jakob Flury ◽  
Akbar Shabanloui

During its science phase from 2002–2017, the low-low satellite-to-satellite tracking mission Gravity Field Recovery And Climate Experiment (GRACE) provided an insight into Earth’s time-variable gravity (TVG). The unprecedented quality of gravity field solutions from GRACE sensor data improved the understanding of mass changes in Earth’s system considerably. Monthly gravity field solutions as the main products of the GRACE mission, published by several analysis centers (ACs) from Europe, USA and China, became indispensable products for quantifying terrestrial water storage, ice sheet mass balance and sea level change. The successor mission GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) was launched in May 2018 and proceeds observing Earth’s TVG. The Institute of Geodesy (IfE) at Leibniz University Hannover (LUH) is one of the most recent ACs. The purpose of this article is to give a detailed insight into the gravity field recovery processing strategy applied at LUH; to compare the obtained gravity field results to the gravity field solutions of other established ACs; and to compare the GRACE-FO performance to that of the preceding GRACE mission in terms of post-fit residuals. We use the in-house-developed MATLAB-based GRACE-SIGMA software to compute unconstrained solutions based on the generalized orbit determination of 3 h arcs. K-band range-rates (KBRR) and kinematic orbits are used as (pseudo)-observations. A comparison of the obtained solutions to the results of the GRACE-FO Science Data System (SDS) and Combination Service for Time-variable Gravity Fields (COST-G) ACs, reveals a competitive quality of our solutions. While the spectral and spatial noise levels slightly differ, the signal content of the solutions is similar among all ACs. The carried out comparison of GRACE and GRACE-FO KBRR post-fit residuals highlights an improvement of the GRACE-FO K-band ranging system performance. The overall amplitude of GRACE-FO post-fit residuals is about three times smaller, compared to GRACE. GRACE-FO post-fit residuals show less systematics, compared to GRACE. Nevertheless, the power spectral density of GRACE-FO and GRACE post-fit residuals is dominated by similar spikes located at multiples of the orbital and daily frequencies. To our knowledge, the detailed origin of these spikes and their influence on the gravity field recovery quality were not addressed in any study so far and therefore deserve further attention in the future. Presented results are based on 29 monthly gravity field solutions from June 2018 until December 2020. The regularly updated LUH-GRACE-FO-2020 time series of monthly gravity field solutions can be found on the website of the International Centre for Global Earth Models (ICGEM) and in LUH’s research data repository. These operationally published products complement the time series of the already established ACs and allow for a continuous and independent assessment of mass changes in Earth’s system.


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