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Discovering Anglicanism – ecclesiology at Lambeth Conferences 1867–1998
Get PDFThis article explores how some scholars have defined Anglicanism, before examining the institutions that have unified Anglicanism internationally throughout its history. It explores a number of classical statements of authority in Anglicanism, and explores how rapid cultural, liturgical, and demographic change from the 1950s challenged the unspoken assumptions on which these statements rested. These left Anglicanism facing less coherence, just as Global North Anglicanism was losing confidence due to the religious crisis of the 1960s. The article then explores the factors that led to the crisis of 1998 which weakened those institutions, a situation that continues to the present day. Finally, the article offers some thoughts on the future and the enduring, if unfashionable, importance of patriarchs as leaders in churches today
Dynamic activation and dual roles of SOX9 + hepatocytes in liver regeneration under acute and chronic injury by single-cell transcriptomics
Get PDFBackground: SOX9+ hepatocytes, marked by progenitor-like features, have been implicated in both liver regeneration and fibrosis. This study systematically characterized the temporal and contextual roles of SOX9+ hepatocytes during acute and chronic liver injury using integrated single-cell transcriptomics. Methods: Publicly available single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) datasets derived from mouse liver models of partial hepatectomy (PHx) and acetaminophen-induced acute liver injury (APAP), as well as human liver tissues with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), were analyzed. Data were processed using Seurat and Harmony for batch correction. Pathway enrichment analysis was performed using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Results: Under PHx, SOX9+ hepatocytes exhibit transient metabolic activation associated with early regenerative responses and hepatocyte proliferation. In the APAP model, SOX9+ hepatocytes display a biphasic activation pattern, characterized by an early response to stress- and cytokine-associated signals followed by restoration of metabolic balance. During NAFLD progression, SOX9+ hepatocytes progressively expand and acquire transcriptional programs associated with inflammatory signaling and wound-healing processes. Conclusion: Our findings highlight SOX9+ hepatocytes as a dynamic and context-dependent hepatocyte subpopulation associated with adaptive metabolic responses during regeneration and altered inflammatory and wound-healing–related programs under chronic injury
How to … Apply for a Research Fellowship in Clinical Education: The ‘Six Ps’ of Success
Get PDFIn this article, we describe how educators can maximise their chances of success when applying for research fellowships in clinical education. We outline the ‘Six Ps’: Person, Place, Project, Public/Patient involvement (PPI), Preparation and Price; we also address common concerns and provide practical examples of ‘easy wins’
Identifying and selecting outcome measures for the children and families domestic abuse core outcome set
Get PDFBackground: The evidence base for child-focused domestic abuse (DA) interventions is weak. Part of the challenge is that studies measure a range of different outcomes using different outcome measurement instruments (OMI). To address this, a core outcome set (COS) comprising five outcomes was developed. The current study aimed to: (1) identify relevant OMIs and assess their quality for three outcomes in the DA-COS (family relationships, feelings of safety, freedom to go about daily life); and (2) reach consensus between participants on acceptable OMIs for use in research and practice contexts. Methods and results: We carried out a four-stage mixed-methods process to identify, appraise, and reach consensus on relevant tools including targeted, systematic literature searches, participant workshops to define outcome concepts, OMI appraisal of psychometrics and acceptability, and a multi-participant consensus workshop to reach consensus on OMI selection. In total, 239 OMIs were initially identified and reduced to 18 through a systematic appraisal process. Following a rating process of acceptability and feasibility, eight OMIs were taken to a final consensus workshop which resulted in the identification and provisional recommendation of two subscales from a newly developed tool for family relationships and feelings of safety. No suitable OMI was recommended for freedom to go about daily life. Discussion: This work is the next step toward the development of a child and family-focused DA-COS, that we hope will enable co-ordinated outcome measurement within and between practice and research. Further work is needed to adapt and evaluate the selected OMI as well as to develop a new tool to measure freedom to go about daily life. Work is needed to support the implementation of the DA-COS, ensure its applicability to families with diverse needs or from underserved communities and to track the benefits and potential harms of its use in this field
Small Families of Partially Shattering Permutations: Small Families of Partially Shattering Permutations
Get PDFWe say that a family of permutations t-shatters a set if it induces at least t distinct permutations on that set. What is the minimum number fk(n, t) of permutations of {1, ⋯, n} that t-shatter all subsets of size k? For t≤2, fk(n, t)=Θ(1). Spencer showed that fk(n, t)=Θ(loglogn) for 3≤t≤k and fk(n, k!)=Θ(logn). In 1996, Füredi asked whether partial shattering with permutations must always fall into one of these three regimes. Johnson and Wickes recently settled the case k=3 affirmatively and proved that fk(n, t)=Θ(logn) for t>2(k-1)!. We give a surprising negative answer to the question of Füredi by showing that a fourth regime exists for k≥4. We establish that fk(n, t)=Θ(logn) for certain values of t and prove that this is the only other regime when k=4. We also show that fk(n, t)=Θ(logn) for t>2k-1. This greatly narrows the range of t for which the asymptotic behaviour of fk(n, t) is unknown
Ancestry and somatic profile indicate acral melanoma origin and prognosis
Get PDFAcral melanoma, which is not ultraviolet-associated, is the type of melanoma reported most commonly in several non-European-descent populations1, 2–3, including in Mexican people4. Latin American samples are substantially under-represented in global cancer genomics studies5, which directly affects patients in these regions as it is known that cancer risk and incidence may be influenced by ancestry and environmental exposures6, 7–8. To address this, we characterized the genome and transcriptome of 123 acral melanoma tumours from 92 Mexican patients—a population notable because of its genetic admixture9. Compared with other studies of melanoma, we found fewer mutations in classical driver genes such as BRAF, NRAS or NF1. Although most patients had predominantly Amerindian genetic ancestry, those with higher European ancestry had increased frequency of BRAF mutations. The tumours with activating BRAF mutations had a transcriptional profile more similar to cutaneous non-volar melanocytes, indicating that acral melanomas in these patients may arise from a distinct cell of origin compared with other tumours arising in these locations. Transcriptional profiling defined three expression clusters; these characteristics were associated with recurrence-free and overall survival. Our study enhances knowledge of this understudied disease and underscores the importance of including samples from diverse ancestries in cancer genomics studies
Clinical guidelines for complex extremity war wound management: update and consensus using a mixed-method approach
Get PDFBackground: Extremity trauma is a common and significant injury sustained by military and civilian casualties of war. Civilian management has evolved, adopting a multidisciplinary orthoplastics approach. Accurate and timely management of open fractures and complex war wounds is required to minimize complications and optimize outcomes. The Lower Limb Debridement for Operations Working Group is part of the UK Defence Medical Services and aimed to provide updated guidelines to support deployed surgeons, given the modern nature of conflict. Methods: The working group formed a panel of military consultants (attendings) in Trauma and Orthopaedics and Plastics and Reconstructive Surgery. The literature was systematically reviewed for new evidence. A modified Delphi technique was adopted, and an initial survey was circulated to the working group to gain its opinion on current guidance. Responses were used by the steering group chairs to formulate updated guidance on combat wound management. A consensus meeting with consultants (attendings) was then used to agree the final guidance. Results: Eight previous recommendations were removed and 21 new recommendations were formed, providing updated guidelines. Recommendations relate to timing, location, and technique of wound excision including irrigation and requirements for wound closure. Conclusions: Civilian and military combat casualties require well prepared surgeons and evidence-based guidance to save life and limb. These recommendations represent a consensus, utilizing up-to-date literature and expert opinions of both orthopaedic and plastic surgeons. In large-scale combat operations, NHS surgeons working in the UK may be required to treat large numbers of patients repatriated from conflict. These guidelines may form a useful part of their preparation
Modelling the effect of long-lasting insecticidal nets on malaria transmission dynamics in Kebbi State, Nigeria
Get PDFBackground/aimMalaria, in Nigeria, is a disease of public health concern that has caused both morbidity and mortality, with the highest prevalence in Kebbi State. Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) have been instrumental in controlling the burden of the disease. This study aims to assess the effect of LLINs on malaria transmission dynamics in Kebbi State, Nigeria.MethodsRoutine data for the confirmed uncomplicated malaria cases in Kebbi State, Nigeria, from January 2015 to May 2024 were used to understand the transmission dynamics within the population. A deterministic compartmental model was developed to capture the malaria transmission dynamics in Kebbi State. Qualitative analysis was carried out, establishing the positivity and boundedness of solutions to ensure the biological feasibility of the model. The disease-free equilibrium was analyzed for stability, revealing under which condition the disease is eradicated. Effective reproduction number, Re , was derived, governing the disease persistent in the presence of intervention. The endemic equilibrium was further examined to indicate situations where the disease persist in the population. The model was fitted to Kebbi state monthly malaria cases using the least squares estimation method implemented in R. Numerical simulations were performed using the R software. Prediction scenarios of malaria cases considering different usage levels of LLINs (38.2%, 50% and 80%) are visualized through the simulation of the malaria model.ResultsThe result showed that if there had been 80% sustained level LLINs usage as proposed by NMEP since 2015, there would have been about 5.2 million malaria cases averted, which corresponds to 97.98% reduction. However, moving forward, if 80% usage can be achieved and sustained, about 3 million malaria cases would be averted by May 2029, signifying an impressive reduction of 78.93% in incidence.ConclusionWe conclude that in order to significantly reduce malaria incidence in Kebbi State to its bearest minimum, health policymakers and decision makers in Nigeria should prioritise scaling up LLINs distribution and usage in the state
Developing young language learners’ oral language through drama: a systematic review
No full textSuccess in literacy relies on the secure development of oral language, particularly for bilingual learners who are known to start school with lower oral language skills than their monolingual peers. Drama-based activities could have beneficial effects on children’s second language (L2) development, but the extent and strength of the evidence in favour of this claim has not been evaluated to date. We conducted a systematic review to fill this research gap. After searching for literature, we identified 471 initial records. Following systematic screening and selection, 29 studies that met the inclusion criteria were included for in-depth analysis. We found that the studies were all conducted in the last 25 years; spanned numerous geographical contexts and educational settings; involved children of varied ages and target L2s; used diverse drama pedagogies; and focused on distinct linguistic, psychological and social skills. Despite their differences, all studies reported positive effects of drama on children’s development of oral language and socio-affective skills in the L2. However, most studies were not able to give rise to unbiased conclusions regarding the effectiveness of drama as a pedagogical approach because of their design and reporting omissions. Based on our findings, we suggest that drama-based education programmes seem to have the potential to develop young L2 learners’ oral language and communication skills. However, more studies –involving more robust methods and more thorough reporting– are needed to draw firmer conclusions about the effectiveness of the approach
Scenario-aware control of multipathway spread processes: Application to biological invasions
Get PDFOptimal control of spread processes over networks is a challenging problem, even for simple diffusion models. Real-world processes—such as infectious disease outbreaks and biological invasions—often involve multiple spread pathways and time-varying network dynamics. In this work, we address the problem of region-wide interventions, where the goal is to select an optimal set of regions (groups of nodes) in a network to minimize spread, subject to budget constraints, intervention delays, and a given spread scenario which reflects prior knowledge of the process—such as initial infection locations, parameter estimates, and other context-specific assumptions. We present a general approach based on integer linear programming and sample average approximation, applicable across a broad class of diffusion models. We also establish theoretical performance guarantees for our method within the bicriteria approximation framework. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we apply the approach to model the spread of a representative agricultural pest. Our method yields near-optimal solutions and consistently outperforms standard baselines. The results emphasize the value of scenario-specific intervention strategies, showing that early action can significantly reduce spread under limited budgets and produce stable outcomes even under model uncertainty