Preaching Fools: The Gospel as a Rhetoric of Folly

Preaching fools: the Gospel as a rhetoric of folly. Author: Charles L Campbell; Johan Cilliers. Publisher: Waco, Tex. : Baylor University Press, ©2012. ISBN: 978160258367

The Insistence of God: A Theology of Perhaps

Title: The insistence of God: a theology of perhaps. Author: John D Caputo. Publisher: Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 2013. ISBN: 978025301010

Making new spaces in between: A post-reflective essay weaving postcolonial threads into North American homiletics

This post-reflective essay is intended to provide common themes/threads that repeatedly appear throughout the consultation papers. However, it should be noted that though we distill and present these threads, not only numerous voices can remain unearthed but also the threads in themselves are porous, hybrid, changing, thus resonating. The threads that we identified in the papers are as follows: Hybridity and Identity in Contemporary Homiletic, Third Space, Loss and Memory, Performative Element, Context, Postcolonial Hermeneutics/Imagination, and Self-Reflexivity. In summary, these threads can be described in the following way: First, hybrid identity is closely related with Third Space, because postcolonial preaching is to create a Third Space where hybrid identity is forged. Thus, the understanding of both concepts is crucial for postcolonial preaching. Second, the lost should be recovered since under the influence of neo/colonialism, different elements (including memory) of the past that construct identities are lost, displaced and/or removed. Third, performative element is to be considered, focusing not only how and what to preach but also where to preach. Fourth, it is important to have synchronic and diachronic views of context as well as understanding of the inherent power dynamic within contexts. Fifth, postcolonial hermeneutics/imagination is needed to revision reality in historical, dialogical, and diasporic dimension. Finally, self-reflexivity is always required in order not to reproduce colonial discourse

Asymptotic Geometry of Discrete Interlaced Patterns: Part II

We study the boundary of the liquid region $\mathcal{L}$ in large random lozenge tiling models defined by uniform random interlacing particle systems with general initial configuration, which lies on the line $(x,1)$, $x\in\mathbb{R}\equiv \partial \mathbb{H}$. We assume that the initial particle configuration converges weakly to a limiting density $\phi(x)$, $0\le \phi\leq 1$. The liquid region is given by a homeomorphism $W_{\mathcal{L}}: \mathcal{L}\to \mathbb{H}$, the upper half plane, and we consider the extension of $W_{\mathcal{L}}^{-1}$ to $\overline{\mathbb{H}}$. Part of $\partial \mathcal{L}$ is given by a curve, the edge $\mathcal{E}$, parametrized by intervals in $\partial \mathbb{H}$, and this corresponds to points where $\phi$ is identical to $0$ or $1$. If $0<\phi<1$, the non-trivial support, there are two cases. Either $W_{\mathcal{L}}^{-1}(w)$ has the limit $(x,1)$ as $w\to x$ non-tangentially and we have a \emph{regular point}, or we have what we call a singular point. In this case $W_{\mathcal{L}}^{-1}$ does not extend continuously to $\overline{\mathbb{H}}$. Singular points give rise to parts of $\partial \mathcal{L}$ not given by $\mathcal{E}$ and which can border a frozen region, or be "inside" the liquid region. This shows that in general the boundary of $\partial \mathcal{L}$ can be very complicated. We expect that on the singular parts of $\partial \mathcal{L}$ we do not get a universal point process like the Airy or the extended Sine kernel point processes. Furthermore, $\mathcal{E}$ and the singular parts of $\partial \mathcal{L}$ are shocks of the complex Burgers equation.Comment: 72 pages, 6 figure

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis: diagnostic and treatment challenges

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a pulmonary disorder, occurring mostly in asthmatic and cystic fibrosis patients, caused by an abnormal T-helper 2 lymphocyte response of the host to Aspergillus fumigatus antigens. ABPA diagnosis is defined by clinical, laboratory and radiological criteria including active asthma, immediate skin reactivity to A. fumigatus antigens, total serum IgE levels>1000 IU/mL, fleeting pulmonary parenchymal opacities and central bronchiectases that represent an irreversible complication of ABPA. Despite advances in our understanding of the role of the allergic response in the pathophysiology of ABPA, pathogenesis of the disease is still not completely clear. In addition, the absence of consensus regarding its prevalence, diagnostic criteria and staging limits the possibility of diagnosing the disease at early stages. This may delay the administration of a therapy that can potentially prevent permanent lung damage. Long-term management is still poorly studied. Present primary therapies, based on clinical experience, are not yet standardized. These consist in oral corticosteroids, which control acute symptoms by mitigating the allergic inflammatory response, azoles and, more recently, anti-IgE antibodies. The latter two are used as a steroid-sparing agent to prolong the remission stage of the disease. Anti-IgE antibodies also have immunomodulatory properties. At present, the only way to bypass these limits and allow for an early diagnosis, is to assume ABPA in all patients with difficult-to-control asthma or cystic fibrosis. They should then be screened for sensitization to A. fumigatus antigens and, if positive, monitored more closely. Future controlled studies are needed to standardize present therapy, standardize cut-off values of various investigations, define the role of different novel immunomodulatory therapies, define the role of novel assays (such as recombinant A. fumigatus antigens and CCL17) and confirm new diagnostic and staging criteria

Introduction to the Essays of the Consultation on Preaching and Postcolonial Theology

The essays that follow were first presented as part of a consultation on preaching and postcolonial theology at Boston University in October, 2014, sponsored by the BU Center for Practical Theology. The consultation was an opportunity to bring together a leading scholar in postcolonial theology, Dr. Kwok Pui-lan of Episcopal Theological Seminary; two homileticians who have already started to grapple with postcolonial theory and theology in their work, Drs. Pablo Jiménez and Sarah Travis; and two Ph.D. students, Revs. Tim Jones and Lis Valle, from BU and Vanderbilt respectively. The goal of this interdisciplinary consultation was to jump start a wider conversation on today’s postcolonial context in North American homiletics for the sake of the practice of preaching. As an ad hoc research team for the fall term of 2014, we editors named above were all pleased to help bring this consultation together and are now excited to bring its fruits to you, the international and diverse body of homileticians based in North America, the Academy of Homiletics

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) treatment associated with parent management training (PMT) for the acute symptoms in a patient with PANDAS syndrome: a case report

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this report was to present the results of eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy associated with parent management training (PMT) in a child with paediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with streptococcus (PANDAS), who had previously only been treated with pharmacological treatment. CASE PRESENTATION: The case concerns an 11-year-old boy who presented with simple and complex vocal tics, motor tics, obsessive-compulsive traits and irritability from the age of 6 years, in addition to a positive result for streptococcal infection. The course of symptoms followed a relapsing-remitting trend with acute phases that were contingent on the infectious episodes. CONCLUSIONS: Following eight sessions of EMDR, preceded by training sessions with the parents, the child showed a significant reduction in symptoms and disappearance of the exacerbation. These results indicate the possibility of improving the treatment outcomes of patients with PANDAS by a combined approach using both antibiotic and EMDR therapies

Tear ferning test and pathological effects on ocular surface before and after topical cyclosporine in vernal keratoconjunctivitis patients

Background: Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a rare ocular surface inflammatory disease that affects mainly boys in the first decade of life. Clinical observations show that it generally regresses spontaneously with the onset of puberty, but therapeutic measures must be taken before then to control the course of the disease. Purpose: To evaluate the role of the lacrimal mucous component in VKC patients and compare tear ferning test (TFT) modifications, MUC5AC levels in tears, and density of conjunctival goblet cells to clinical characteristics before and after treatment with cyclosporine A (CY) in eye drops. Methods: Forty-seven patients affected by VKC and 30 healthy subjects aged between 3 and 16 years of life were enrolled. All individuals were submitted to complete eye examination and skin prick test (SPT) for the most common allergens. Then, they were subjected to collection of the tears and to impression cytology to evaluate TFT, MUC5AC levels, and conjunctival goblet cell density, before and after treatment with CY in eye drops. Results: Comparing the VKC group vs. the control group at baseline, a significant alteration in the degree of the ferns was found, indicating a pathological condition of the lacrimal mucous layer. In addition, an increased number of goblet cells were observed in the patients. The concentration of lacrimal secretory mucins (MUC5AC) did not show significant differences between the 2 groups. Patients treated with CY have reported improvements of some signs and symptoms of disease activity, including TFT, and a tendency of conjunctival goblet cell density to normalise. Conclusions: The results obtained demonstrated for the first time a significant alteration of the lacrimal mucin component evaluated in the VKC group, and an improvement of the latter after CY therapy

Stroke and migraine is there a possible comorbidity?

The association between migraine and stroke is still a dilemma for neurologists. Migraine is associated with an increased stroke risk and it is considered an independent risk factor for ischaemic stroke in a particular subgroup of patients. The pathogenesis is still unknown even if several studies report some common biochemical mechanisms between these two diseases. A classification of migraine-related stroke that encompasses the full spectrum of the possible relationship between migraine and stroke includes three main entities: coexisting stroke and migraine, stroke with clinical features of migraine, and migraine-induced stroke. The concept of migraine-induced stroke is well represented by migrainous infarction and it is described in the revised classification of the International Headache Society (IHS), representing the strongest demonstration of the relationship between ischaemic stroke and migraine. A very interesting common condition in stroke and migraine is patent foramen ovale (PFO) which could play a pathogenetic role in both disorders. The neuroradiological evidence of subclinical lesions most typical in the white matter and in the posterior artery territories in patients with migraine, opens a new field of research. In conclusion the association between migraine and stroke remains an open question. Solving the above mentioned issues is fundamental to understand the epidemiologic, pathogenetic and clinical aspects of migraine-related stroke