Mental illness within evangelical Christian communities is frequently stigmatised, with many attributing it exclusively to demonic possession, lack of faith, personal sin, or other negative spiritual ...influences. This study explores perceptions of self-harm in the context of evangelical Christian faith communities using the novel qualitative story completion task. A convenience sample of 101 UK-based evangelical Christians completed a third-person fictional story stem featuring a devout female Christian who self-harms. A contextualist informed thematic analysis was carried out focusing on perceptions of cause, cure, and treatment. Most stories positioned spiritual causes of mental illness (that is, demonic possession or personal sin) as harmful to the individual by rendering individuals as stigmatised objects or as socially displaced. The stories also provided insight into negative perceptions of females experiencing mental illness within evangelical communities. The stories suggested that these views often led to stigma and shame, which ultimately exacerbated illness and led to reduced help-seeking. Conversely, stories depicting the integration of relational care alongside spiritual resources frequently led to recovery. That the stories represented the need for relational support, within a spiritually syntonic framework, for recovery from mental illness highlights the limitations of a dichotomised approach to pastoral care. Methodologically, the study demonstrates the usefulness of a seldom-used tool within the pastoral psychology context – the story completion task – for accessing sociocultural discourses and wider representations surrounding stigmatised topics or populations.
•Highlights principle data issues for change detection in hydrochemistry.•An extensive assessment of detection methods and their assumptions is presented.•Provides an evaluation of statistical power ...of the change detection methods.•Conceptual framework for choosing a robust change detection methodology is proposed.
Detecting changes in catchment hydrochemistry driven by targeted pollutant mitigation is high on the scientific agenda, following the introduction of the European Union Water Framework Directive. Previous research has shown that understanding natural variability in hydrochemistry time series is vital if changes due to mitigation are to be detected. In order for change to be detected in a statistically robust manner, the data analysis methods need careful consideration. Previous work has shown that erroneous results have often been obtained when statistical analyses have been carried out despite the associated test assumptions not being met. This paper discusses the principal data issues which must be considered when analysing hydrochemical datasets, including non-normality and non-stationarity. A range of statistical techniques is discussed which could be used to detect gradual or abrupt changes in hydrochemistry, including parametric, non-parametric and signal decomposition methods. The statistical power of these techniques as well as their suitability for identifying change is discussed. Using the uniquely detailed hydrochemical datasets generated under the Demonstration Test Catchments programme in England, the efficacy and robustness of change detection methods for hydrochemical data series is assessed. A conceptual framework for choosing a change detection method is proposed, based on this analysis, in order to raise awareness of the types of questions a researcher should consider in order to perform robust statistical analyses, for informing river catchment management and policy support decisions.
We present the results from our 12th annual horizon scan of issues likely to impact biological conservation in the future. From a list of 97 topics, our global panel of 25 scientists and ...practitioners identified the top 15 issues that we believe society may urgently need to address. These issues are either novel in the biological conservation sector or represent a substantial positive or negative step-change in impact at global or regional level. Six issues, such as coral reef deoxygenation and changes in polar coastal productivity, affect marine or coastal ecosystems and seven relate to human and ecosystem-level responses to climate change. Identification of potential forthcoming issues for biological conservation may enable increased preparedness by researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers.
Our 12th annual horizon scan identified 15 emerging issues of concern for global biodiversity conservation.A panel of 25 scientists and practitioners submitted a total of 97 topics that were ranked using a Delphi-style technique according to novelty and likelihood of impact on biodiversity conservation.The top 38 issues were discussed at an online meeting held in September 2020 during which issues were ranked according to the same criteria.Six of the 15 issues primarily affect marine or coastal ecosystems and seven are related to human and ecosystem-level responses to anthropogenic climate change.Other emerging issues include complete coverage of Indian states for sustainable farming and the potential for use of self-healing building materials.
Imaging defined aspects of functional tumor biology with bioluminescent reporter transgenes is a popular approach in preclinical drug development as it is sensitive, relatively high-throughput and ...low cost. However, the lack of internal controls subject functional bioluminescence to a number of unpredictable variables that reduce this powerful tool to semi-quantitative interpretation of large-scale effects. Here, we report the generation of sensitive and quantitative live reporters for two key measures of functional cancer biology and pharmacologic stress: the cell cycle and oxidative stress. We developed a two-colored readout, where two independent enzymes convert a common imaging substrate into spectrally distinguishable light. The signal intensity of one color is dependent upon the biological state, whereas the other color is constitutively expressed. The ratio of emitted colored light corrects the functional signal for independent procedural variables, substantially improving the robustness and interpretation of relatively low-fold changes in functional signal intensity after drug treatment. The application of these readouts in vitro is highly advantageous, as peak cell response to therapy can now be readily visualized for single or combination treatments and not simply assessed at an arbitrary and destructive timepoint. Spectral imaging in vivo can be challenging, but we also present evidence to show that the reporters can work in this context as well. Collectively, the development and validation of these internally controlled reporters allow researchers to robustly and dynamically visualize tumor cell biology in response to treatment. Given the prevalence of bioluminescence imaging, this presents significant and much needed opportunities for preclinical therapeutic development.
We present the results of our 15th horizon scan of novel issues that could influence biological conservation in the future. From an initial list of 96 issues, our international panel of scientists ...and practitioners identified 15 that we consider important for societies worldwide to track and potentially respond to. Issues are novel within conservation or represent a substantial positive or negative step-change with global or regional extents. For example, new sources of hydrogen fuel and changes in deep-sea currents may have profound impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Technological advances that may be positive include benchtop DNA printers and the industrialisation of approaches that can create high-protein food from air, potentially reducing the pressure on land for food production.
Objective To describe surgical complications in 597 women over a 24-month period after randomization to retropubic or transobturator midurethral slings. Study Design During the Trial of Midurethral ...Slings study, the Data Safety Monitoring Board regularly reviewed summary reports of all adverse events using the Dindo Surgical Complication Scale. Logistic regression models were created to explore associations between clinicodemographic factors and surgical complications. Results A total of 383 adverse events were observed among 253 of the 597 women (42%). Seventy-five adverse events (20%) were classified as serious (serious adverse events); occurring in 70 women. Intraoperative bladder perforation (15 events) occurred exclusively in the retropubic group. Neurologic adverse events were more common in the transobturator group than in retropubic (32 events vs 20 events, respectively). Twenty-three (4%) women experienced mesh complications, including delayed presentations, in both groups. Conclusion Adverse events vary by procedure, but are common after midurethral sling. Most events resolve without significant sequelae.
Accounts of the demonic within the Christian tradition as causative in differing forms of illness and suffering can be traced back to the New Testament. Demonic accounts also exist more centrally in ...the language of spiritual warfare that pervades some evangelical groups. Contemporary research suggests that belief in the demonic as aetiologically culpable in mental illness has potentially stigmatising effects for those with mental illness and can also negatively impact help-seeking behaviours. However, no research has explored how evangelical groups which subscribe to belief in demonic entities represent the demonic and their relative role in relation to mental illness. This study explores perceptions of the demonic in relation to mental illness, with a sample of evangelical Christians who actively subscribe to belief in the demonic, by using the novel qualitative story completion task. A convenience sample of 43 evangelical Christians completed a third-person fictional story stem featuring a gender-neutral character (Alex) who encountered the demonic (in an ambiguous way) in relation to their mental health. A contextualist informed thematic analysis suggests that while mental ill health was often positioned as having a biopsychological cause, demonic activity was also frequently cited as exacerbating mental illness. Narrations of the demonic positioned Alex in either an active position, wherein they were responsible for their engagement with the occult and the subsequent onset of their mental illness (causative), or a passive position, wherein their pre-existing mental ill health made them vulnerable to demonic attack. In relation to recovery, storied data situated medical and spiritual interventions as effective. Significantly, participants positioned Alex’s Christian faith as a source of power over the demonic and over mental ill health – thus, despite demonic attacks, a sense of agency was often maintained. That the stories positioned demonic influence as external to the self, thereby maintaining a level of individual agency amidst suffering, highlights the potential limitations of assuming all demonic accounts are singularly stigmatising and negative in nature. Findings underline the need for future research to explore demonic accounts in religiously and culturally syntonic ways without imposing meaning.
Abstract
In parts of Africa, greater honeyguides (
Indicator indicator
) lead people to bees' nests, after which people harvest the honey, and make beeswax and larvae accessible to the honeyguide. In ...scientific and popular literature, a similar cooperative relationship is frequently described between honeyguides and honey badgers (
Mellivora capensis
), yet the evidence that this occurs is unclear. Such a partnership may have implications for the origins of our own species' cooperation with honeyguides and for the ecology and conservation of both honey badgers and honeyguides. Here, we review the evidence that honey badgers and honeyguides cooperate to access bees' nests, drawing from the published literature, from our own observations whilst studying both species, and by conducting 394 interviews with honey‐hunters in 11 communities across nine African countries. We find that the scientific evidence relies on incomplete and second‐hand accounts and does not convincingly indicate that the two species cooperate. The majority of honey‐hunters we interviewed were similarly doubtful about the interaction, but many interviewees in the Hadzabe, Maasai, and mixed culture communities in Tanzania reported having seen honey badgers and honeyguides interact, and think that they do cooperate. This complementary approach suggests that the most likely scenario is that the interaction does occur but is highly localized or extremely difficult to observe, or both. With substantial uncertainty remaining, we outline empirical studies that would clarify whether and where honeyguides and honey badgers cooperate, and emphasize the value of integrating scientific and cultural knowledge in ecology.
Ikisiri
Katika sehemu mbalimbali za Afrika, ndege aitwaye segu au kwa jina la kisayansi huitwa (
Indicator indicator
) huwaongoza watu kwenye viota vya nyuki, na baada ya watu kuvuna asali, nta na watoto wa nyuki mara kwa mara hupatiwa ndege huyu. Katika machapisho ya kisanyansi na machapisho maarufu, ushirikiano kati ya ndege segu na nyegere kwa jina la kisayandi (
Mellivora capensis
) inasadikiwa mara kwa mara, lakini ushahidi kamili wa ushirikiano kati ya wanyama hawa ni ngumu kuthibitisha. Ushirikiano kama huu unaweza kufafanua ufahamu wa kina na kuongeza ujuzi wetu kuhusu mwanzo wa ushirikiano kati ya sisi binadamu na segu na kwa ekolojia na uhifadhi wa nyegere pamoja na segu. Katika makala hii, tunakagua ushahidi mbalimbali kwamba nyegere na segu wanauhusiano. Tunafanya mapitio katika fasihi za kisayansi ziliyochapishwa, kutokana na uchunguzi wetu wakati tunatafiti viumbe husika, na kwa kuchambua mahojiano 394 kwa wawinda asali katika jamii 11 kwenye nchi tisa za Afrika. Tumegundua kwamba ushahidi wa kisayansi uliochapishwa unategemea zaidi kwenye taarifa zilizokamilika na zisizotoka kwenye ushahidi wa moja kwa moja, na hautoi ushahidi wa kuaminisha kwamba wanyama hawa wa nashirikiana. Wawinda asali wengi ambao tuliwahoji, walikua na shaka kama nyegere na segu wanauhusiano. Lakini wengi katika jamii za waHadzabe, waMaasai, na jamii za kuchanganyikana Tanzania walisema wameona nyegere na segu wakisirikiana, na wanaamini kwamba ushirikiano huo upo. Matokeo yanapendekeza kuwa uwezekano mkubwa ni kwamba ushirikiano kati ya nyegere na segu hutokea, lakini inapatikana sehemu chache tu na ni vigumu sana kuutazama, au vyote viwili. Bado hakuna uhakika kwamba nyegere na segu wanauhusiano.Tunapendekeza utafiti wa kisayansi zaidi kugundua wapi segu na nyegere wanashirikiana zaidi. Tunasisitiza umuhimu wa kuunganisha ujuzi wa kitamaduni na kisayansi katika ekolojia.
Recent research has shown drastic reductions in the global diversity and abundance of insects. This is a major concern given the expected cascade effects on ecosystem services, such as pollination. ...Understanding the patterns and drivers of changes in the distribution and abundance of species in our rapidly changing environment is therefore urgent. Cases of species showing trends that run counter to general population declines, especially when they deliver key ecosystem services, are especially interesting. The tree bumblebee (
Bombus hypnorum
), which belongs to a globally important group of pollinators, has substantially expanded its range in recent years in direct contrast to many other species within this group. Here we reconstructed the likely pattern of colonization of the UK based on RAD-seq population genomic data combined with Bayesian population modelling. This RAD-seq approach also enabled an analysis of genomic regions potentially under selection. We report a complex and dynamic colonization pattern that is most likely ongoing. Current evidence suggests that either a shift in its migration potential, and/or adaptive genomic changes have contributed to the recent range expansion of
B. hypnorum
. Genomic areas of potential adaptive significance included genes involved in regulation of transcription and gene expression, circadian rhythms and innate immunity. Our results are framed within the general context of understanding the factors driving successful population expansions.
In fresh waters, the origins of dissolved organic matter (DOM) have been found to exert a fundamental control on its reactivity, and ultimately, its ecosystem functional role. A detailed ...understanding of landscape scale factors that control the export of DOM to aquatic ecosystems is, therefore, pivotal if the effects of DOM flux to fresh waters are to be fully understood. In this study we present data from a national sampling campaign across the United Kingdom in which we explore the variability in DOM composition in three broad landscape types defined by similar precipitation, geology, land use and management, hydrology, and nutrient enrichment status. We characterised samples from fifty-one sites, grouping them into one of three major underlying classifications: circumneutral streams underlain by clay and mudstone (referred to as ‘clay’), alkaline streams underlain by Cretaceous Chalk or by Carboniferous or Jurassic Limestone (‘limestone’), and acidic streams in peatland catchments underlain by a range of low permeability lithologies (‘peat’). DOM composition was assessed through organic matter stoichiometry (organic carbon: organic nitrogen; organic carbon: organic phosphorus; C/N(P)
DOM
) and metrics derived from ultra-violet (UV)/visible spectroscopic analysis of DOM such as specific UV absorption (a
254
nm; SUVA
254
). We found similar SUVA
254
, C/N
DOM
and DOM/a
254
relationships within classifications, demonstrating that despite a large degree of heterogeneity within environments, catchments with shared environmental character and anthropogenic disturbance export DOM with a similar composition and character. Improving our understanding of DOM characterisation is important to help predict shifts in stream ecosystem function, and ecological responses to enrichment or mitigation efforts and how these may result in species composition shifts and biodiversity loss in freshwater ecosystems.
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