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Knowing God\u27s Will
No full textAfter briefly discussing some questions of exercise and wellness, via Peter Attia\u27s bestseller Outlive, Oliver and Ante shift their discussion to the question of knowing God\u27s will, what it is, whether it is a pagan idea, how it tracks views of what it means to be human, whether it can be a form of superstition, whether there is something like God\u27s will in the Bible, how we tend to turn God into an idol, what the dangers might lurk in God told me so convictions, whether we not are not seeking God\u27s will enough, and how to make sense of biblical passages that promise deep intimacy with God
Mechanistic modeling of redox balance effects on the fermentation of eucalyptus wood-derived xylose to acetone-butanol-ethanol
No full textA Michaelis-Menten-like kinetic model is proposed to simulate the effects of redox balance on Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 metabolism during fermentation of biomass-derived xylose to acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE). The model builds on previous metabolic kinetic models by introducing six mass balance differential equations for the redox pairs NADH/NAD+, NADPH/NADP+, and oxidized/reduced ferredoxin. Batch cultures were conducted using laboratory-grade or eucalyptus-derived xylose, and kinetic parameters were estimated by minimizing the difference between experimental (substrate, metabolites, and cell) and model results using a genetic optimization algorithm. The simulations agreed well with experimental data, and a sensitivity analysis showed that the rate of reoxidation of reduced ferredoxin used for NADPH regeneration is the most relevant reaction for the synthesis of acids and ABE. Furthermore, an increase in NADPH consumption due to the reduction of eucalyptus-derived furfural to furfuryl alcohol was only significant for the production of butanol. Differences in the values of the Michaelis-Menten constants, Km’s, depending on the xylose source, suggest that a decrease in the conversion rates of lactate to pyruvate and acetate to acetyl-CoA considerably affected the biosynthesis of butanol from eucalyptus-derived xylose. The proposed model was effective in assessing the effects of redox balance on ABE fermentation, suggesting its use for the design of metabolic engineering strategies to improve butanol synthesis from furfural-containing biomass hydrolysates
A Predator-Prey Biological Model with Combined Birth Rates, Self-Limitation and Competition Terms
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to give sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of positive solutions to a rather general type of elliptic system of the Dirichlet problem on a bounded domain Ω in Rn. Also considered are the effects of perturbations on the coexistence state and uniqueness. The techniques used in this paper are super-sub solutions method, eigenvalues of operators, maximum principles, spectrum estimates, inverse function theory, and general elliptic theory. The arguments also rely on some detailed properties for the solution of logistic equations. These results yield an algebraically computable criterion for the positive coexistence of species of animals with predator-prey relation in many biological models
Site custody activism in Jordan: introducing Sela and Alraqeem
No full textThe article introduces Sela/Alraqeem, a Jordanian grass-roots organization dedicated to building capacity for local-level engagement with officialdom and professional archaeologists when planning for the protection and development of archaeological sites. The article is based on Øystein LaBianca’s embedding, during two weeks in October 2021, with the Sela/Alraqeem leadership team in the town of Madaba — observing, listening and asking questions to gain an understanding of their vision, mission and way of working. The organization occupies a space between the academy and government officialdom, on the one hand, and the local community on the other. From this space they are challenging the existing order with regard to prevailing notions re the place and role of the local community — as providers, primarily, of cheap, menial labour. Under this old order, no respectable archaeologist would ever deign to produce children’s books about archaeology, mount heritage-themed summer camps for local families, or design and deliver heritage-related vocational training for local young people. But such are precisely the ways of Sela/Alraqeem, and, in the process, they are changing not only archaeological practice in Jordan at every level — that of officialdom, that of the academy and that of local communities — they are also showing the way forward, with a funding model for sustained, local engagement with protection and development of their host country’s rich archaeological heritage
Trends in Substance Use in a Prohibitionist University Compared to General College Populations
Get PDFResearchers at the Institute for the Prevention of Addictions have conducted surveys on health risk behaviors among Andrews University students from 1995 to 2023. In examinations of five data points between 1995 and 2018, the gap in the rates of substance use between Andrews University students and a general U.S. college population remained about the same each time period. However, both groups tended to increase or decrease use over the same time periods. Data from the March 2023 collection period will be included in the presentation and will be examined to see if cultural levelling has occurred or if Andrews students have been able to resist the pull of cultural levelling
“Feed My Sheep”: A literal mandate?
Get PDFThis presentation will outline the results of a quantitative, non-experimental study conducted with students at a faith-based university in the US to explore the levels of food insecurity on its campus. The presentation will include implications for policy and practice applicable to other faith-based institutions of higher education