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Religion, Culture, and Politics
Full text linkThis chapter presents a conceptual framework for understanding the interaction of religion, ideology, and politics. The framework’s key insights are: i) culture and ideology provide a shared mental framework for interpreting the world; ii) ideology is malleable, and it can be used to justify a wide set of empirical realities in a manner that is consistent with the prevailing mental framework; iii) religion is particularly adept at shaping this mental framework because it attempts to explain the unknown; iv) because co-religionists share a mental framework that depends on a (religious) interpretation of events, religions are particularly likely to be co-opted by individuals who gain a comparative advantage in religious interpretation; v) religious authorities are useful for legitimating political rule because of their comparative advantage in interpreting events as well as their platforms for creating common knowledge. The chapter concludes with several historical examples from various religions of the political and economic consequences of religious legitimation of political rule
Bibliography for Literary Copyright Display
Full text linkA bibliography created to support a display about literary copyright in April 2025 at the Leatherby Libraries at Chapman University
Cracking the Code of HBV Persistence: Cutting-Edge Approaches to Targeting cccDNA in Chronic Hepatitis B with or without Pyogenic Liver Abscesses
Full text linkChronic Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) infection remains a formidable global health challenge, driving severe liver complications such as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and pyogenic liver abscesses (PLA). At the core of HBV persistence lies covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA), a viral reservoir that fuels ongoing infection despite antiviral treatments. This review highlights molecular mechanisms governing cccDNA formation, maintenance, and clearance, spotlighting innovative therapeutic strategies to disrupt this key viral element. We explore cutting-edge approaches, including epigenetic modulation to silence cccDNA, RNA interference (RNAi) for viral RNA degradation, and CRISPR/Cas genome editing to excise cccDNA directly. Additionally, emerging antiviral therapies and immunotherapies, such as therapeutic vaccines and immune checkpoint inhibitors, offer new avenues for enhanced treatment efficacy. Special attention is given to the clinical complexities of managing HBV in patients with co-morbid conditions like HCC and PLA, emphasizing the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach. The interplay between antibacterial and antiviral therapies in PLA-associated HBV cases is critically examined to prevent treatment antagonism, ensuring optimal patient outcomes. Advanced therapeutic strategies, including nucleos(t)ide analogs, interferon therapy, and novel genomic interventions, are explored in both isolated HBV infection and PLA co-infections. Personalized regimens remain pivotal in enhancing therapeutic efficacy and long-term disease control. Current review advocates for a shift toward precision medicine, highlighting the critical need for interdisciplinary collaboration to bridge molecular discoveries with clinical innovations. Ultimately, these advancements promise to revolutionize the management of chronic HBV, paving the way for potential cures and improved patient outcomes
Orchestrating Cytosolic Access: The Partnership of Cationic Lytic Peptide L17E and Potassium Channel KCa3.1
No full textIn this issue of Molecular Therapy, the study by Kuriyama et al.1 represents an advance in the field of intracellular delivery systems by elucidating a novel mechanism for cytosolic delivery mediated by a cationic amphiphilic lytic peptide L17E (IWLTALKFLGKHAAKHEAKQQLSKL-amide). The investigators demonstrate that the peptide achieves cytosolic delivery primarily through transient plasma membrane disruption, bypassing some of the endocytic pathways, and highlight the pivotal role of the calcium-activated potassium channel KCa3.1, encoded by the gene KCNN4, in facilitating this process. These findings offer a deeper understanding of peptide-mediated delivery using a potassium channel and raise intriguing questions about the broader implications for drug delivery strategies
Crosstalk Between nNOS/NO and COX-2 Enhances Interferon-Gamma-Stimulated Melanoma Progression
Full text linkBackground/Objectives: Interferon gamma (IFN-γ) in the melanoma tumor microenvironment plays opposing roles, orchestrating both pro-tumorigenic activity and anticancer immune responses. Our previous studies demonstrated the role of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in IFN-γ-stimulated melanoma progression. However, the underlying mechanism has not been well defined. This study determined whether the nNOS/NO and COX-2/PGE2 signaling pathways crosstalk and augment the pro-tumorigenic effects of IFN-γ in melanoma. Methods: Bioinformatic analysis of patient and cellular proteomic data was conducted to identify proteins of interest associated with IFN-γ treatment in melanoma. Changes in protein expression were determined using various analytical techniques including western blot, flow cytometry, and confocal microscopy. The levels of PGE2 and nitric oxide (NO) were analyzed by HPLC chromatography and flow cytometry. In vivo antitumor efficacy was determined utilizing a human melanoma xenograft mouse model. Results: Our omics analyses revealed that the induction of COX-2 was significantly predictive of IFN-γ treatment in melanoma cells. In the presence of IFN-γ, PGE2 further enhanced PD-L1 expression and amplified the induction of nNOS, which increased intracellular NO levels. Cotreatment with celecoxib effectively diminished these changes induced by PGE2. In addition, nNOS blockade using a selective small molecule inhibitor (HH044), efficiently inhibited IFN-γ-induced PGE2 and COX-2 expression levels in melanoma cells. STAT3 inhibitor napabucasin also inhibited COX-2 expression both in the presence and absence of IFN-γ. Furthermore, celecoxib was shown to enhance HH044 cytotoxicity in vitro and effectively inhibit human melanoma tumor growth in vivo. HH044 treatment also significantly reduced tumor PGE2 levels in vivo. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates the positive feedback loop linking nNOS-mediated NO signaling to the COX-2/PGE2 signaling axis in melanoma, which further potentiates the pro-tumorigenic activity of IFN-γ
Time-resolved Fluorescence Measurements of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) as a Function of Environmental Parameters in Estuarine Waters
No full textFluorescent lifetimes of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and associated physicochemical parameters were measured over 14 months in an estuary in Southern California, USA. Measurements were made on 77 samples from sites near the inlet, mid-estuary, and outlet to maximize the range of physicochemical variables. Time-resolved fluorescence data were well fit to a triexponential model with an intermediate lifetime component (τ1: 1 to 5 ns), a long lifetime component (τ2: 2 to 15 ns), and a short lifetime component (τ3: \u3c 1 ns). The amplitude of the short-lived component dominated all measurements (60–70%). However, fractional contributions to steady-state fluorescence were dominated by the intermediate and long-lived components at most wavelengths. Lifetimes varied as a function of both excitation and emission wavelength suggesting structural differences in DOM fluorophores. Lifetimes decreased from the estuary inlet to the outlet and were positively correlated with absorbance and DOC concentrations and negatively correlated with salinity and spectral slope. Quenching experiments with halide ions demonstrated that fluorophores are quenched by heavy ions and that different fluorophores are quenched at different rates. However, concentrations of ions in seawater are not high enough for quenching to completely account for observed lifetime changes across the estuary. The observed variation in lifetimes between sites is instead primarily attributed to structural changes associated with DOM processing. Higher lifetimes are associated with less processed material at the inlet site
Review of ‘Introduction to Dynamical Wave Function Collapse’
No full text‘Introduction to Dynamical Wave Function Collapse,’ by Philip Pearle, offers a comprehensive and meticulous guide to the historical development and current status of dynamical collapse theories—particularly the Continuous Spontaneous Localisation approach originally proposed by the author
Marginalized, Secularized, and Popularized? The Prevalence and Patterns of Paranormal Belief in the United Kingdom
Full text linkThere is growing recognition of the prevalence of paranormal beliefs in Western countries. However, most of this interest has been focused on the United States and robust, comparative data remain limited. This study extends this literature to report findings from a national survey of the United Kingdom designed to assess the prevalence and patterns of paranormal beliefs. Although there are many similarities to previous research, the results also suggest that there are significant differences in the scope, clustering, and patterns of paranormalism across contexts. The study makes four contributions to research on the paranormal by a) reiterating the continuing popularity of paranormal beliefs, even in highly secularized locations, with over 70% of people in the United Kingdom believing in something paranormal; b) demonstrating that these beliefs are differentiated across contexts where they might otherwise be assumed to be similar; c) demonstrating the applicability of social control and bounded affinity theories for explaining belief in the paranormal; and, d) documenting how conventional religiosity relates to paranormalism in a relatively secular cultural context. These findings highlight the need for further research on diffuse forms of supernaturalism and the potential for such studies to contribute to important questions about theory and research in sociology
Fast 3D Printing of Fine, Continuous, and Soft Fibers via Embedded Solvent Exchange
Full text linkNature uses fibrous structures for sensing and structural functions as observed in hairs, whiskers, stereocilia, spider silks, and hagfish slime thread skeins. Here, we demonstrate multi-nozzle printing of 3D hair arrays having freeform trajectories at a very high rate, with fiber diameters as fine as 1.5 µm, continuous lengths reaching tens of centimeters, and a wide range of materials with elastic moduli from 5 MPa to 3500 MPa. This is achieved via 3D printing by rapid solvent exchange in high yield stress micro granular gel, leading to radial solidification of the extruded polymer filament at a rate of 2.33 μm/s. This process extrudes filaments at 5 mm/s, which is 500,000 times faster than meniscus printing owing to the rapid solidification which prevents capillarity-induced fiber breakage. This study demonstrates the potential of 3D printing by rapid solvent exchange as a fast and scalable process for replicating natural fibrous structures for use in biomimetic functions