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Te Rōpū Arotake Auau Mate o te Hunga Tamariki, Taiohi |
Get PDFIn Aotearoa/New Zealand in the period 2015–19, 2,666 pēpi, tamariki and rangatahi aged from 28
days to 24 years died. The most common causes of these deaths were suicide, transport incidents,
cancers and sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI).
Knowing that many of these deaths could be prevented drives home the importance and urgency of
doing more to reduce child and youth mortality.
This data report shows that while strong progress was made in reducing mortality rates among pēpi,
tamariki and rangatahi in the past, momentum has been lost and mortality rates have been stagnant
over the past five years
Modulation of ΔN-TRPV1 mechanotransduction by heteromerization with TRPV4: Implications for vasopressin neuron activity
No full textVasopressin is a neuropeptide that is essential for body fluid balance and blood pressure regulation. Vasopressin maintains body fluid homeostasis by promoting renal water retention in response to increased plasma osmolality. Vasopressin is synthesised by hypothalamic neurons and is secreted into the circulation from the posterior pituitary gland in response to action potential firing. Vasopressin neurons respond directly to changes in osmolality through expression of an N-terminal truncated variant of the transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV)-1 channel, ΔN-TRPV1, which is mechanically activated by osmotically-induced membrane shrinkage, depolarising the neurons towards action potential threshold. While osmosensitivity is conferred by ΔN-TRPV1, vasopressin neurons also express TRPV4 but the role of TRPV4 in vasopressin neuron function is unknown. Full-length TRPV1 can form heteromers with TRPV4, which modifies channel function. However, it is unknown whether ΔN-TRPV1 can form heteromers with TRPV4. Therefore, the aim of this project was to test the hypothesis that ΔN-TRPV1 forms heteromeric channels with TRPV4 to modulate mechanosensitivity of ΔN-TRPV1. Patch-clamp electrophysiology was used to determine biophysical properties and mechanosensitivity in ΔN-TRPV1-transfected, TRPV4-transfected and ΔN-TRPV1+TRPV4-transfected cells.
Initial studies were completed using two-electrode voltage-clamp electrophysiology to study TRPV function in Xenopus oocytes. However, the results showed that TRPVs do not form functional channels in Xenopus oocytes because TRPV-transfected oocytes did not respond to non-specific TRPV agonists or antagonists (Chapter III). Therefore, the project was continued using single-channel patch-clamp electrophysiology on transfected HEK293 cells.
Cell-attached single-channel patch-clamp electrophysiology on transfected HEK293 cells verified that homomeric rat ΔN-TRPV1 is mechanically activated by positive pressure, which resulted in a higher open probability (p = 0.0004; paired t-test) and maximum current amplitude (p = 0.007; paired t-test) at +60 holding potential. Furthermore, I validated the use of rats as an animal model for human comparison because human ΔN-TRPV1-transfected HEK293 cells were also mechanically activated by positive pressure (NPo p = 0.003; maximum current amplitude p = 0.004; paired t-tests). Neither human nor rat ΔN-TRPV1 were mechanically activated by negative pressure (Chapter IV).
Before testing heteromeric TRPV channel function, I measured homomeric human TRPV4 single-channel properties and found that TRPV4 appears to have a larger conductance (~50 pS ± 5) and longer channel open time (11.7 ms ± 1.9) than human ΔN-TRPV1 (14 pS ± 1.4; 0.7 ms ± 0.01) at positive holding potentials. Furthermore, TRPV4 was not mechanically activated by positive or negative pressure using cell-attached single-channel configuration (Chapter V).
HEK293 cells were transfected with equal quantities of human ΔN-TRPV1 DNA and human TRPV4 DNA. All human ΔN-TRPV1+TRPV4 expressing HEK293 cells had different single-channel properties than the homomers, suggesting that heteromers formed. The single-channel conductance of putative ΔN-TRPV1+TRPV4 was larger at positive holding potentials (~50 pS ± 3.4) than at negative holding potentials (~10 pS ± 1.4). Putative ΔN-TRPV1+TRPV4 was mechanically activated by positive pressure, causing an increase in open probability (p = 0.006; paired t-test) and maximum current amplitude (p = 0.04; paired t-test) at +60 mV holding potential. Some putative heteromers were also activated by negative pressure, a trait neither homomer expressed (maximum current amplitude p = 0.01 paired t-test). Finally, putative ΔN-TRPV1+TRPV4 activation by positive pressure was reduced when microtubules were destabilised by nocodazole treatment. However, nocodazole did not appear to completely prevent mechanical activation in some ΔN-TRPV1+TRPV4-transfected cells (Chapter V). Therefore ΔN-TRPV1+TRPV4 might have a greater connection to the cytoskeleton via actin.
Finally, a single point mutation of human TRPV4 (Ser319Leu) has been identified but not yet characterised. Unlike TRPV4, Ser319Leu-TRPV4-transfected HEK293 cells had a high open probability, independent of holding potential (mean NPo ~0.5). Furthermore, Ser319Leu-TRPV4 did not appear to form heteromeric channels with ΔN-TRPV1 as readily as the common TRPV4 variant did with ΔN-TRPV1. Finally, Ser319Leu-TRPV4-containing putative heteromers appeared less conductive (32.1 pS ± 3.6), less likely to open (NPo = 0.3) and less strongly mechanically activated by positive pressure than TRPV4-containing putative heteromers at +60 mV holding potential (Chapter VI).
Taken together, the results in this thesis suggest that ΔN-TRPV1 and TRPV4 form functional heteromeric channels that have broader mechanosensitivity than homomeric ΔN-TRPV1. Ser319LeuTRPV4 also formed putative heteromers with ΔN-TRPV1, but these channels appeared less functional than putative ΔN-TRPV1+TRPV4 heteromers.
Hence, the ΔN-TRPV1 and TRPV4 could form heteromers in vasopressin neurons, providing a mechanism that might allow plasticity in the osmosensitivity of vasopressin neurons evident in different (patho) physiological states such as pregnancy and hypertension
Nest defence behaviour of Vespula vulgaris: Ecological and molecular approaches
Get PDFIn behavioural ecology, aggression is comprised of a suite of agonistic behaviours displayed by animals during confrontations, which may or not involve direct fights between groups or individuals. Aggression serves a range of ecological functions, including competing for resources, subjugating prey, self-preservation, and brood defence. Aggressive behaviours are near ubiquitous across animal taxa and have been theorized to play a major role in biological evolution.
Social Hymenoptera (ants, social bees, and social wasps) are renowned for their expressive aggression behaviours, especially in the context of nest defence. Being able to defend their brood against predators is essential to ensure colony survival and reproduction, and aggression has been suggested as a main trait underlying the ecological success of social insects and the evolution of eusociality. Many mechanisms have been suggested to help drive defensive aggression in the social Hymenoptera, including abiotic, social, and molecular factors.
In this thesis, I studied the nest defence behaviour of Vespula vulgaris. This social wasp, an introduced pest species in New Zealand, is an ideal model to study mechanisms underlying aggression behaviours due to its dense populations, quantifiable response to simulated predator attacks, and variation in aggression phenotype.
I start with a systemic review of worldwide predation pressures on social wasp colonies. I describe the taxonomic diversity of predators of wasp individuals and colonies, and how they vary across different social wasp taxa in different areas of the world. Based on my findings, I draw conclusions on how predator-prey interactions are shaped by their behavioural ecology, and make inferences on how these relationships might have developed over the groups’ evolutionary history.
I then investigated how V. vulgaris nest defence varies according to age and experience over time at the colony level in a field setting. I found that colony aggression fluctuates over the colony cycle, but provide no evidence towards the effect of habituation or sensitization over time as colonies experience continuous simulated predator attacks. I relate these findings to shifts in the colonies’ physiological age, interpreted in the context of natural demographic changes happening over the course of the colony’s seasonal cycle. I also provide insights on the absence of abiotic effects on colony-level aggression.
Finally, I investigated individual brain transcriptome differences between nest defenders and foragers, aiming to identify genomic bases for aggressive behaviour variation within and across colonies. I found that while colonies have differing aggressive phenotypes and distinct transcriptomic patterns, very few genes are differentially expressed between behavioural castes within colonies. I briefly discuss the biological significance of these genes of interest, and provide ideas for further investigating the study of aggression at the molecular level.
Overall, this thesis contributes to the advancement of the field of behavioural ecology by providing evidence on different mechanisms that may play different roles at determining consistent behavioural variation in a model study system. Although there are many challenges and limitations for field-based studies, such as sub-optimally standardized experiments and snapshot phenotypical sampling, by investigating ecological and molecular influences on aggression behaviours in V. vulgaris I add to the current knowledge on how behavioural variation has shaped the evolution of eusociality in Hymenoptera
Blending whanaungatanga and belonging: a wise intervention integrating Māori values and contemporary social psychology
No full textThe current thesis investigated the efficacy of a brief social-psychological intervention as a potentially novel tool to help improve outcomes for Māori tertiary students. This thesis utilized an integrated approach that drew knowledge from contemporary Western social science regarding the social identity perspective and belonging, and Kaupapa Māori regarding the importance of whanaungatanga (family-like relationships). This dual knowledge approach formed the basis for testing a brief social-psychological intervention aimed to enhance feelings of belonging (and, by association, whanaungatanga-like values) for first-year Māori students. The guiding research question asked, “Can a brief, ‘wise’ intervention that focuses on belonging and whanaungatanga provide psychological benefits to Māori tertiary students?” It was predicted that Māori tertiary students would be more likely to benefit from the belonging-focused intervention as a response to the well-documented inequities faced by Māori learners in Aotearoa New Zealand and the significant cultural importance of whanaungatanga (broadly defined as family-like relationships) for Māori.
Study 1 tested a cross-section of Māori (N = 75) and non-Māori-non-Pasifika (nMnP; N = 63) students across six belonging based variables. The results found no significant difference between the two groups on five of the six variables. Study 2 implemented a brief ‘wise’ intervention procedure adapted from Walton and Cohen (2007, 2011), which used contextually targeted storytelling narratives and a brief writing and reading exercise to reframe social concerns and subsequent doubts about belonging as common, rather than evidence that students (and students like them) do not belong. The results found that Māori students given the intervention (N = 40) did not show significant changes in any of the belonging based variables compared to a control condition (N = 39). There were no differences between non-Māori-non-Pasifika in the intervention (N = 48) and control (N = 53).
Study 3 comprised a qualitative analysis of Māori and New Zealand European first-year students written experiences at university. In this analysis, three main themes were identified – 1) ‘Social Support – Not Instant but Critical’, 2) ‘Independence: A Goal or a Challenge?’, 3) ‘University is Challenging’. The latter two themes identified differences in the experiences of Māori and New Zealand European students. Notably, within Theme 2 Māori students were more likely to contextualise learning to become independent as a challenge. In comparison, the NZ European students were more likely to describe independence as an expected goal to achieve. Within Theme 3, Māori students described several challenges that were directly related to their identity as Māori.
Collectively, these results suggest that a slightly altered and lightly contextualized wise intervention does not provide any clear benefits for Aotearoa New Zealand tertiary students. In particular, these results do not appear to offer much evidence in support of a wise intervention framework to impact belonging (or by association, whanaungatanga) for Māori tertiary students. The qualitative differences in themes found within Study 3 suggest that interventions and approaches that are cognizant of Māori experiences are still, nevertheless, important. The implications of these findings, as well as the limitations and future directions for research are discussed
The inotropic and chronotropic effects of carbon monoxide releasing molecule oCOm-21 in the myocardium
No full textIschaemic heart disease is a leading cause of mortality globally, placing a huge strain on health care systems. Treatment can involve percutaneous coronary interventions or in severe cases, revascularisation using surgical procedures, such as coronary artery bypass grafting. Coronary bypass surgical procedures can often require the heart to be placed under ischaemic arrest conditions for the duration of the surgical revascularisation. Prolonged ischaemia, particularly in cases involving multi-vessel bypass, can lead to serious post-surgical complications, such as a decrease in contractile function, due to ischaemic injury to the myocardium. To minimise the ischaemic duration, the myocardium can be reperfused periodically throughout the surgery to allow the return of blood flow. However, this reperfusion can also exacerbate the oxidative stress damage, causing ischaemic reperfusion injury, which results in ventricular dysfunction and low cardiac output syndrome. In order to improve cardiac output, positive inotropic agents are used to increase the force of contraction and support ventricular function. Currently used therapeutic agents, such as catecholamines, however, cause an increased risk of tachycardia and arrhythmias as well as increase the myocardial demand for oxygen, which places further strain on the injured myocardium exacerbating the injury. Pharmacological studies have shown carbon monoxide to have beneficial effects, including positive inotropic properties, and is currently being investigated as a potential therapeutic agent.
This study investigates the direct inotropic effect of the organic carbon monoxide donor, oCOm-21, in non-vascularised papillary and atrial cardiac preparations. The results showed that oCOm-21 (0.3 – 10 µM) produced a concentration dependent positive inotropic effect in the absence of the increased vascular perfusion. Incubation with the L and T type Ca2+ channel blocker, diltiazem, appeared to inhibit the positive inotropic response to oCOm-21. The results also suggest the involvement of Ca2+ sensitive K+ channels (BKCa) as iberiotoxin reduced the inotropic response to oCOm-21. This positive inotropic response to oCOm-21 also appeared to be inhibited by L-NAME administration therefore it is likely to involve the production of NO from NOS. However, ODQ did not have a significant impact on the direct increase in the force of contraction therefore does not involve sGC activation of cGMP. This study found oCOm-21 had no significant chronotropic effect and did not increase the risk of arrhythmia development. The findings of these studies support the therapeutic use of low dose carbon monoxide as a positive inotropic agent for prophylactic use during cardiac surgery
Morphometric modelling, anatomy and ultrastructure of some New Zealand cyclostomatida (Bryozoa: Stenolaemata)
Get PDFBryozoans of the class Stenolaemata have been diverse and abundant members of the marine epibenthos since the Ordovician and have a rich fossil record. Only one order in this class, the Cyclostomatida, survives in modern seas. Like other marine bryozoans, cyclostomes are small, colonial coelomates equipped with crowns of ciliated tentacles used to gather suspended food particles. There is strong evidence that all stenolaemates shared these basic traits, making extant cyclostomes a potential resource for understanding the biology of long-extinct palaeostomates. However, our knowledge of the cyclostomes is far from being complete. For instance, morphometry of the feeding apparatus and its correspondence with skeletal parameters has not been comprehensively studied. Although some predictive models exist for palaeostomate soft parts, little is known about the extent of intraspecific variability and thus the limitations inherent in such modelling for palaeobiological and palaeoecological reconstructions. Similarly, at the anatomical and ultrastructural level, variation within Cyclostomatida soft parts remains largely unknown. Existing studies made with modern imaging techniques have barely scratched the surface, with only a few genera investigated. Indeed, most studies focus on just one family, the Crisiidae. Thus, it is difficult to assess the degree of morphological consistency within the group at the scale of cells, tissues and organs. Since cyclostomes vary greatly in their life styles and colony composition, the assumption of fine-scale anatomical uniformity needs to be checked.
In this thesis I address both the issues outlined above. In pursuit of these goals I use a variety of methods, ranging from simple light microscopy to TEM and serial block-face SEM, and a number of statistical tools. In Chapter 2 I investigate the relationships between feeding apparatus parameters and skeletal traits within and across 13 species from 8 cyclostome families. I use these data to develop and test predictive models, and outline their limitations if applied to reconstructing extinct stenolaemates. The strongest of these models is subsequently used to assess trophic partitioning of several palaeostome orders (Appendix II). In Chapters 3 and 4 I examine polypide and body wall ultrastructure in four species in two genera from the family Horneridae. Hornerids are phylogenetically distant from the Crisiidae and have different colony organisation and life history. These data enable nested comparisons: (1) between three species within one genus, (2) between two genera in one family, and (3) between disparate cyclostome families. The analysis of morphometry within and across cyclostome species revealed great intraspecific variability, almost without exception disconnected from skeletal traits. At a higher, interspecific level, however, the relationships were positive, linear, and moderately strong, in line with previous reports. Still, single-predictor models of soft-body characters have limited predictive power and applicability. Inferences derived from them are best cross-correlated with reconstructions based on other evidence. Ultrastructural study of the polypides of four hornerids, compared with findings on other genera, support a stablebauplan for Cyclostomatida, with a single exception of the funiculus. The composition of its inner core differs in Hornera, Crisia and Cinctipora, while in the rest of the cyclostome
families this organ remains unexplored. Such disparity hints at either a widespread variability of this trait, or at a more conservative structure with unusual outliers and clearly deserves further study. Organisation of the hornerid body wall differs from that in crisiids, revealing deviations from typical epithelial composition, including missing extracellular matrix (ECM) and disrupted cell continuity across orificial wall and portions of cystid lining. The classic coelomate body wall composition (epidermis — ECM — coelothelium) is only present in an unmodified form in the tentacle sheath and in skeletal attachments of the membranous sac. In addition, the architecture of the atrial polypide attachment(s) in particular emerges as a potentially useful taxonomic trait. Present findings, taken together and applied to the task of reconstructing fossil stenolaemates, do, paradoxically, delineate an area of uncertainty that is unlikely to be clarified, but also help narrow down the range of plausible and biologically meaningful interpretations. This study represents a step toward a better understanding of both living cyclostomes and palaeostomates
Practicing Māori principles within mainstream New Zealand: A frontline scope of kaitiakitanga in care and protection of children.
No full textKaitiakitanga (guardianship), is underpinned and influenced by te ao Māori (Māori worldview). This is a vital practice, when sustaining our tangata whenua(Māori indigenous people) and others. This principle guides us in how we engage with others, create respectful relationships, and care for our land, our people, and the resources that are of importance to our wellbeing and survival.
This rangahau (research thesis) captured the knowledge and experience of five Māori social workers, and how they articulated what kaitiakitanga means to them. This has been within their personal and professional lives, as well as in various contexts such as a te ao Māori and non-Māori settings.
By examining the application of kaitiakitanga, has provided an indigenous Māori position of Māori voices incorporated into Māori lives for iwi Māori (tribal groupings) to utilise. This created a space for a kaupapa Māori (Māori oriented) methodology, and the theoretical methods of a qualitative approach of data collection and data analysis. This was captured within semi-structured interviews with individual kaikōrero (speaker), and articulated through the findings of a thematic analysis process.
The conclusion of these findings demonstrated the important aspects of kaitiakitanga, and applied into practice, through a process of whakamana ngā tangata (empowering people). This perspective has direct links to care, protection, and nurture, for all tamariki (children) that may be in a state requiring support. This can enable iwi to support our mokopuna Māori, (children/grandchildren of Māori descent) from going into care of the Ministry for Children – Oranga Tamariki, or who are in their care. Kaitiakitanga continues to highlight the importance of iwi involvement in the process
Characterisation of Drug Tolerant Persisters in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Get PDFLung cancer is the largest cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide and is the second most common cancer in New Zealand. By disproportionality impacting Māori and those who are most vulnerable in our community, lung cancer is a significant burden to New Zealand’s health system.
Despite advancements in lung cancer treatment, relapse remains common in patients undergoing therapy. In recent years, our understanding of the drug resistance mechanisms that lead to relapse has been challenged by the discovery of the phenomenon of drug tolerance driven by a rare subpopulation of cells called “drug tolerant persisters” (DTPs). A growing body of literature suggests that non-genetic mechanisms allow DTPs to change their identity to evade therapy by assuming a lung progenitor cell phenotype. We aimed to investigate the role of lung progenitor and stem cell genes in DTPs induced by three distinct targeted agents, and to identify genes as markers to determine whether DTPs exist prior to treatment or are induced upon addition of drug.
We generated DTPs in PC9, H3122 and H358 lung cancer cell lines with which contain oncogenic mutations in EGFR, ALK and KRAS, respectively. We found that the stem cell genes OCT3/4 and NANOG were upregulated by 4-fold (P<0.0005) and 2.5-fold (P<0.005) respectively in PC9 DTPs and by 6-fold (P<0.005) and 5-fold (P<0.0005) in respectively in H358 DTPs. SOX2, another stem cell gene, was found to be upregulated by 13-fold (P<0.005) in H3122 DTPs. Furthermore, our findings suggest that DTPs gain pluripotency by dedifferentiating back to a progenitor lung cell state, with the expression of the surfactant genes SFTPC and SFTPD being upregulated 5-fold (P<0.005), and 2.5-fold (P<0.05) in PC9 DTPs, 2-fold (P<0.05) and 5-fold (P<0.005) in H3122 DTPs and 5-fold (P<0.0005) and 9-fold (P<0.0005) in H358 DTPs respectively. Significantly, we identified AQP4 to be consistently upregulated in all three cell lines by at least 5-fold. AQP4 is a cell surface marker and thus will allow future studies to isolate DTPs from treated and untreated cell populations to determine whether DTPs are pre-existing or induced.
The information generated throughout this project has provided insight into the establishment of the DTP phenotype, which will inform future studies to exploit these findings. By understanding the mechanisms that underpin drug tolerance in lung cancer, it is hoped that we will eventually be able to prevent drug tolerance and the subsequent development of stable resistance in patients
God the Trinity in the theology of John Webster (1955-2016)
No full textAt the centre of John Webster’s theological mind lay a measureless object: God the Trinity. The centrality of theology proper in Webster’s thought and its significance for all other doctrinal loci are well-recognised, but there remains no extended scholarly treatment. Filling this lacuna, the following thesis traces the contours, shape, and development of Webster’s doctrine of the triune God. Webster’s unwavering ‘God-intoxication’ is marked by shifts in form—style and idiom—focus—proportion and placement—and material content. The character of such development, particularly with respect to individual themes and topics, remains unexplored in detail.
Webster’s ‘theological theology proper,’ to use Tyler Wittman’s apt descriptor, is characterised by three longstanding commitments: particularity, aseity, and self-correspondence. First, Webster carries forward Barth’s deep sense of God’s aseity in relation to the world. Aseity is a plastic term that includes a cluster of convictions regarding God’s self-sufficient and perfect life. Second, Webster is committed to the singularity and uniqueness of God’s triune being. Third, the particularity and aseity of God’s being converge in ‘God’s self-correspondence,’ that is, in the notion that God ‘in Godself’ corresponds to God ‘for us.’
In the final decade of his writings, Webster’s doctrine of God undergoes subtle development which requires careful parsing. In particular, divine perfection, blessedness, and goodness become the leading themes. Perfection integrates and amplifies early concerns—not least divine freedom and aseity—while permitting a sharper distinction between ‘God in Godself’ and God for us. By recentring Christian teaching on divine perfection (and, in due course, blessedness and goodness), Webster increasingly appeals to the catholic tradition. He turns to the patristic (most often, Augustine), medieval (most often, Thomas Aquinas), Reformation (most often, John Calvin) and the post-Reformed orthodox (most often, John Owen) for inspiration—though the grand old man from Basel is never far from view.
The thesis structures the material chronologically to disclose the overall shape, contours, and development of Webster’s doctrine of the Trinity. The first chapter, “The triune God in Karl Barth,” frames the analysis of Webster’s early writings with a focused reading of Karl Barth’s doctrine of the triune God. It charts three structural principles of Barth’s teaching that Webster finds most salutary and, by consequence, prove most formative for his constructive interests: aseity, particularity, and correspondence.
The second chapter, “The Road to Basel (1980-1994),” unfolds Webster’s early engagement with the German Protestant tradition. In Eberhard Jüngel and Karl Barth, Webster finds what will become two leading themes of his early doctrine of God: first, the recasting of the doctrine of divine aseity as God’s freedom to love (here the principles of particularly and aseity interlace); and second, the correspondence (material identity) of God pro se and God pro nobis.
The third chapter, “Discovering Dogmatics (1995–2002),” traces Webster’s discovery of ‘theological theology,’ which will, in due course, inform theology proper. A new note breaks forth in the theology–economy relationship which supplements the equiprimordiality motif with the ‘soteriological priority’ of God’s immanent life. I also identify a corresponding concentration on the antecedent conditions of divine aseity over its enacted or actualised form.
The fourth chapter, “God’s Perfect Life (2003–2006),” attends to the content and consequences of divine perfection. The governing aim of the period is coordination: dogmatics offers a “fully integrated account” of God’s inner life and outer activity which grounds the former in the latter without detriment to their equiprimordiality. For the time, then, equiprimordiality and “proper distinction” co-exist in dialectical tension within the frame of ‘holism’ (which counts God’s being and activity as a consistent, coherent whole) and ‘inclusivism’ (which counts God’s relationship to creatures as an integral part of God’s immanent life).
The fifth chapter, “‘Qui est’ (Ex 3:14): Thomas Aquinas’s Doctrine De Deo,” provides a selected survey of Aquinas’s confession of ‘God as God’ in order to animate Webster’s late-career ‘theological theology proper’ (2007–2016). I concentrate on three key tracts of Thomas’s teaching: the material ordering of sacred teaching, the contours of the undivided essence, and requisite distinctions of trinitarian theology.
The sixth chapter, “Perfection and Presence (2007-2009),” explores a dominant pairing of Webster’s late-career: perfection and presence. The terms ‘perfection’ and ‘presence,’ which correspond to theology proper and economy, restate the logic of God’s immanent perfection. The pairing, then, permits a much sharper distinction between God’s immanent self-relation and God’s transitive acts. Webster depicts God’s perfection primarily by dint of God’s trinitarian aseity, that is, in terms of the personal hypostatic character of the divine persons.
The seventh chapter, “Blessedness, Divine Goodness, and the ‘Christian Distinction’ (2010–2016),” considers how the logic of divine perfection expands—reinforcing, refashioning, and refining other areas of teaching. I trace three interrelated lines of argument: First, how a refined doctrine of creation expands the logic of divine perfection to include the ‘Christian distinction,’ that is, the confession of God’s blessedness apart from and prior to God’s relation to creatures; second, the implications of the material priority of God in se for Christological teaching; and third, I consider the changes afoot in Webster’s final year of writings by a close examination of rare retractions and silent editorial judgements, alongside exceptional genealogical remarks.
The final chapter shifts to a more critical register to consider the contribution of Webster’s theological theology proper in three parts. First, it asks after the extent and character of Webster’s theological development. Second, it responds to recent criticisms of Webster’s doctrine of God and offers a way forward. Third, it takes up two countervailing aspects of Webster’s late-career thought: the path of redoublement and the idiom of participation. Though rudimentary in many respects, this teaching provides footings for further expansion. The re-constructive potential lies in a more robust appeal to the idiom of participation. Thinking ‘after’ Webster in this way, I argue that a participatory vision expands the core convictions of Webster’s late doctrine of God the Trinity