Search Results (227)

This paper provides experimental and numerical evidence supporting the occurrence of liposome congregation at the floors of meteor craters on Early Earth. This work builds on our earlier research, which demonstrated that liposomes submerged in a shallow Archean pond are protected from harmful UV radiation. This protection enables them to survive sufficiently long for autocatalytic amphiphile replication and for the mutation and selection of assemblies that enhance membrane stability. For liposomes to fuse, grow, exchange contents and membrane components, and divide, they must establish a population, i.e., form a dense conglomerate that enables close physical contact. The study demonstrates that such a congregation is feasible in bowl-shaped meteor craters on Early Earth, especially under periodic seismic disturbances. Full article

This study challenges familiar readings of John Calvin’s theology of worship by reframing it through the lens of contemporary liturgical theology. Rather than offering a purely historical account, it probes Calvin’s intentions, achievements, and limitations, with particular attention to the formative interplay between lex orandi and lex credendi. Drawing on Calvin’s writings, liturgical texts, and patristic sources, the analysis highlights his Christological and pneumatological grounding, his integration of Word and Sacrament, his pastoral flexibility in applying the regulative principle, and his creative retrieval of ancient liturgical practices to encourage active congregational participation. At the same time, the article identifies tensions within Calvin’s approach, including the risk that doctrinal oversight may constrain liturgical vitality and contribute to an overly intellectualized understanding of worship. By juxtaposing Calvin’s historical context with contemporary ecclesial realities, the study offers both a critical reassessment and a constructive proposal: to reclaim God-centered, Scripture-shaped worship while cultivating the adaptive balance that Calvin himself sought to model. In this way, the article rearticulates the significance of Calvin’s legacy for the theological integrity and missional vitality of worship in the twenty-first century. Full article

This article examines a decisive yet relatively understudied stage in the canonization process of Francis Borgia, third superior general of the Society of Jesus, by focusing on the remission phase carried out between 1649 and 1655. Although Borgia had been beatified in 1624, the path toward his canonization extended over several decades, shaped by a combination of institutional, political, and procedural factors that slowed its progress. The pontificate of Innocent X marked a turning point, creating favorable conditions for renewed momentum within the Roman Curia. Following authorization by the Congregation of Rites, the remission phase formally commenced in 1649, leading to a series of witness examinations conducted in key Iberian centers—Toledo, Madrid, and Valencia—beginning in 1650. By analyzing the selection of witnesses in each location and the substance of their testimonies, the article sheds light on the strategies employed to consolidate Borgia’s reputation for sanctity and to address juridical expectations in Rome. Particular attention is given to the coordination between local ecclesiastical authorities and the central institutions of the Holy See. The study argues that the efficiency and coherence of this phase, culminating in the issuance of the remission briefs in 1655, played a crucial role in advancing the cause toward its successful conclusion in 1670. Full article

Over the past few decades, conversions to Islam in Colombia have increased significantly, with Latin American “indigenous” Muslims (converts or direct descendants of converts) now forming the majority in most mosques, congregations and Islamic centers. These conversions arise from various motivations, including spiritual exploration, intellectual curiosity, and relational or emotional factors, often intertwined. A distinction can be drawn between “collective conversions,” where dozens of individuals in a given area embrace Islam together, and “individual conversions,” which are more dispersed and numerous. This article goes beyond examining the motivations and conditions of these conversions to explore the emergence of an “indigenous Islam” in Colombia and the dynamics surrounding the development and assertion of local Muslim communities, primarily composed of converts. Key challenges for these communities include negotiating knowledge and legitimacy within mixed groups of migrants and “indigenous” Muslims, constructing a plural identity that blends local (Latin American) social and cultural elements with Islamic references, including a sense of belonging to the universal Ummah, and contextualizing religious norms and discourses in light of the local social realities. Furthermore, this study delves into the critical issue of sustaining these small, often fragile communities over time. Drawing on fieldwork and qualitative analysis, this paper aims to provide insights into how Islam is being understood, lived, and rooted in a predominantly Catholic and secular Colombian society, contributing to broader discussions on religion, identity, and social change in Latin America. Full article

Introduction: Religious practices can shape lifestyles, influence health choices, and help individuals cope with illness and suffering. Understanding which aspects of religiosity support health-promoting attitudes is particularly important. This study explores how belonging to a religious community affects health and well-being among religious sisters. Materials and Methods: An anonymous survey was conducted among 463 women from international, apostolic Catholic congregations in Poland and 33 other countries. The questionnaire included questions on lifestyle, physical health (including diet, physical activity, sleep, chronic conditions, and medication use), and perceptions of how community life influences health and encourages health-conscious behaviors. Results: Overall, 57% of participants reported following a healthy lifestyle, most commonly sisters aged 65 and older (73%). Non-Polish sisters and those living outside Poland were more likely to report healthy habits. Among sisters who saw their community as beneficial for health, 69% led a healthy lifestyle. Retreats, a sense of belonging, communal prayers, and vacations were consistently rated as having the most positive impact on well-being, particularly among older sisters and missionaries. Conclusions: Life in a religious community appears to support health both directly, through structured daily routines and shared responsibilities, and indirectly, by providing social support and fostering a sense of purpose. Spiritual practices, rest, and close interpersonal relationships emerge as the most influential factors for well-being, while formal obligations such as wearing religious attire or attending formation meetings were rated as less impactful. These findings highlight the important role of communal life in promoting both physical and spiritual health among religious sisters. Full article

Religious buildings such as synagogues, churches, and mosques, which are central to religious, cultural, and social life, have served important purposes throughout history as sacred spaces where art, architecture and performance converge. Although these sacred spaces offer unique spatial contexts that deepen individuals’ spiritual experiences through their physical, symbolic, and atmospheric qualities, empirical studies examining this relationship remain limited. This study aims to investigate the impact of biophilic design features within the Yivli Minaret Mosque, one of the oldest Islamic monuments in Antalya, constructed during the 13th-century Anatolian Seljuk Period, on the spiritual experiences of congregation members, and to identify the key psychological mechanisms shaping this relationship. The methodology of the study is based on a mixed-methods approach that combines expert assessments conducted using the Biophilic Interior Design Matrix (BID-M), which integrates proven scientific data with artistic perspective within a historical and symbolic religious structure, with survey data obtained from 359 mosque congregation members. The findings indicate that the mosque exhibits medium-to-high levels of biophilic design characteristics and that the relationship with nature is established indirectly through historical, cultural, and ecological contexts and symbolic representations rather than directly through natural elements. In this respect, the biophilic characteristics of sacred spaces are not merely an artistic and aesthetic approach, but an element that supports individuals’ relationship with nature and their restorative and spiritual experience. Overall, the study reveals that spiritual experience cannot be considered independently of its spatial context and that sacred spaces related to nature support spiritual experience. Full article

This study examines worship perceptions in conservative Korean Presbyterian churches through a liturgical-theological interpretation of nationwide survey data collected from pastors, lay congregants, and the next generation within a major conservative Presbyterian context in Korea. Analyzing programmatic priorities, preaching emphases, expected outcomes of worship, and patterns of participation, the study identifies both enduring strengths and structural tensions in contemporary worship practice. While worship remains strongly Word-centered and oriented toward personal faith formation, items related to liturgy and sacrament are largely absent, reflecting a sermon-centered and programmatic understanding of worship. Interpreted within their historical and cultural formation, these patterns are examined as liturgical-theological structures rather than merely empirical trends. In response, the article proposes five future directions for worship renewal, emphasizing a more integrated relationship between Word and sacrament, participatory engagement, worship education, and generational and multicultural inclusivity. Full article

This study explores the feasibility of introducing Gregorian chant into contemporary Chinese Methodist worship in Malaysia. Using ethnographic methods including participant observation, interviews, and focus groups, this article documents a pilot study conducted at Sing Ang Tong Methodist Church in Sibu, Sarawak, where seven singers learned and performed the communion chant Gustate et videte. Three different transcription editions were created to bridge the gap between medieval square notation and modern Western notation, which is more familiar to the participants. The chant was translated into Chinese alongside the original Latin text. The majority preferred the quaver-crotchet notation edition and supported performing the chant in both Latin and Chinese to balance authenticity with accessibility. Participants found the modal melodic structure and free rhythm challenging initially but developed appreciation for the chant’s meditative qualities. The performance during Holy Communion services in October 2022 received mixed congregational responses, with many describing it as creating a “calm and prayerful atmosphere” while some expressed discomfort with the unfamiliar musical style. The study demonstrates that Gregorian chant can be successfully integrated into Chinese Methodist worship contexts, particularly during solemn liturgical occasions, when approached with appropriate liturgical sensitivity and cultural adaptation. Full article

Background/Objectives: In 2023, the United States Congress amended Section 13 of the National School Lunch Act to allow non-congregate meal service as an option within the Summer Food Service Program in rural areas, creating “SUN Meals To-Go.” The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore caregivers’ perceptions of USDA rural non-congregate summer meal programs in California during the summer of 2024. Methods: This was a cross-sectional, qualitative study using an electronic 20-item survey instrument that was available in English and Spanish. Five school foodservice directors in California shared and/or posted at meal pick-up sites a flyer with a QR code leading caregivers to the survey instrument. A conventional content analysis was conducted with the open-ended responses and descriptive statistics were calculated for close-ended items. Results: Caregivers (n = 827) were primarily married (70.5%) and Hispanic/Latino (54.3%) women (85.5%). They (55%) reported using the 2024 summer meal program “most times” or “every time” it was available. Three themes were constructed through qualitative content analysis: (1) Family support and resource relief, (2) Navigating program accessibility and logistics, and (3) Nourishment and practicality: Reflections on food quality, nutrition, and sustainability. Conclusions: Caregivers highlighted that the program supported their families and provided resource relief. They indicated that accessibility and logistics were effective, provided ideas for fine-tuning the delivery of the program, described this program as supporting their children’s nutrition. Full article

How are Pentecostal theologies, doctrines, and practices deployed in navigating urban spaces? This paper examines how covering—a concept and practice deployed in some Pentecostal and charismatic churches—is deployed and negotiated in navigating life in the city. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork initiated in Johannesburg’s vibrant yet complex urban landscape, this research investigates how covering extends beyond church walls to influence broader urban experiences through power-laden interactions. Within my case study church, Speak in Tongues International (SITI), covering refers to multilayered spiritual authority, protection, and accountability structures that create relationships between the divine and human, and between leaders and followers. This paper contributes to the affect-sensitive urban studies literature by theorising how, in contrast to the city riddled by fear, anxiety and insecurity, religious conceptions mediate how some congregants understand themselves as moving through city spaces under a protective divine canopy that shields them from moral contamination whilst simultaneously imposing behavioural and social constraints. Full article

Background: Children can be removed from their home if allegations of abuse or neglect are substantiated. The preference is to place them with family members. In the most extreme cases, a child may be placed in a congregate care setting. A child with diabetes should only be placed in such a facility if the staff have been appropriately trained. Otherwise, the consequences can be devastating. In 2022 and 2024, two children were placed into congregate care facilities in Arizona and died of diabetic ketoacidosis due to a lack of appropriate employee training. Study Objective: We aim to inform providers of the legal processes and laws that can result in a child being placed into a congregate care setting. We analyze what went wrong in the care of these two children. We present alternative pathways that might ensure the safety of children before they are placed in such facilities. Methodology: We reviewed public information for cases of morbidity and mortality in children with diabetes in congregate care. We reviewed the California Welfare and Institution legal codes and applicable laws in the Federal Register. We obtained information regarding children with diabetes mellitus who were in the care of child welfare on PubMed. Results and Conclusions: While there are legal safeguards for children with diabetes who are placed in congregate care, these safeguards are ineffective if staff are inappropriately trained. We present programs and recommendations to prevent a child who is placed in a congregate care facility from suffering medical complications or death. Full article

Norovirus is the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide, responsible for up to 90% of viral gastroenteritis outbreaks and an estimated 10.6 billion USD in annual economic losses in the U.S. Despite its well-documented seasonality, wastewater surveillance in the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan reveals persistent GI norovirus detection year-round, diverging from national clinical trends that consistently show far greater GII prevalence. To characterize norovirus dynamics in this region, 250 mL wastewater influent grab samples were collected once per week across 14 sites, concentrated using a PEG-based method, and analyzed via digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) for GI and GII concentrations. Across the study period, the rate of positive sites per month ranged from 57 to 100% for GI and 74 to 97% for GII, with mean positivity rates of 85.4% (GI) and 88.7% (GII), indicating that both genogroups were detected frequently at comparable levels. GI was more prevalent in winter and spring (December–May), whereas GII was more prevalent during spring and summer (March–August). Mean GI gene copies per 100 mL ranged from 12,898 (October) to 532,792 (February), while mean GII concentrations ranged from 29,806 (December) to 1,100,215 (May). These patterns contrast with national clinical data, where GI contributes to a small minority of reported norovirus cases. This study explores potential environmental and behavioral factors contributing to this regional pattern. GI norovirus demonstrates greater resistance to wastewater treatment and environmental stability, which may facilitate its persistence in the region. Additionally, congregate living settings, such as college campuses and correctional facilities, may contribute to sustained GI prevalence through foodborne transmission and asymptomatic viral shedding. Overall, these findings suggest that environmental and social factors influence norovirus seasonality and genogroup distribution in this region, underscoring the need for improved monitoring and expanded multi-site wastewater and epidemiological research to better understand norovirus persistence in similar communities. Full article

Motivation: We aim to study the boundary stability and persistence of positive odes in mathematical epidemiology models by importing structural tools from chemical reaction networks. This is largely a review work, which attempts to congregate the fields of mathematical epidemiology (ME), and chemical reaction networks (CRNs), based on several observations. We started by observing that epidemiologic strains, defined as disjoint blocks in either the Jacobian on the infected variables, or as blocks in the next generating matrix (NGM), coincide in most of the examples we studied, with either the set of critical minimal siphons or with the set of minimal autocatalytic sets (cores) in an underlying CRN. We leveraged this to provide a definition of the disease-free equilibrium (DFE) face/infected set as the union of either all minimal siphons, or of all cores (they always coincide in our examples). Next, we provide a proposed definition of ME models, as models which have a unique boundary fixed point on the DFE face, and for which the Jacobian of the infected subnetwork admits a regular splitting, which allows defining the famous next generating matrix. We then define the interaction graph on minimal siphons (IGMS), whose vertices are minimal siphons, and whose edges indicate the existence of reactions producing species in one siphon from species in another. When this graph is acyclic, we say the model exhibits an Acyclic Minimal Siphon Decomposition (AMSD). For AMSD models whose minimal siphons partition the infection species, we show that the NGM is block triangular after permutation, which implies the classical max structure of the reproduction number $R_0$ for multi-strain models. In conclusion, using irreversible reaction networks, minimal siphons and acyclic siphon decompositions, we provide a natural bridge from CRN to ME. We implement algorithms to compute IGMS and detect AMSD in our Epid-CRN Mathematica package (which already contain modules to identify minimal siphons, criticality, drainability, self-replicability, etc.). Finally, we illustrate on several multi-strain ME examples how the block structure induced by AMSD, and the ME reproduction functions, allow expressing boundary stability and persistence conditions by comparing growth numbers to 1, as customary in ME. Note that while not addressing the general Persistence Conjecture mentioned in the title, our work provides a systematic method for deriving boundary instability conditions for a significant class of structured models. Full article

The shift away from mission studies to intercultural theology within a number of universities coincides with the emergence of postmodernism. This article explores the extent to which a postmodern outlook pervades intercultural theology and explores whether or not an alternative epistemological orientation, particularism, might be better suited to the task of bringing diverse cultures and languages into dialogue and, moreover, uniting Christian congregations. Full article

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a core enabler of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), yet dense deployments suffer from tag collisions and reader interference that degrade reliability and inflate infrastructure cost. This study proposes a deterministic Reader Deployment Algorithm with Adjustable Reader range (RDA2R) to achieve full tag coverage with minimal interference and reader usage. The method divides the monitored field into grid units, evaluates tag coverage weights, activates high-weight readers with interference checks, and adaptively adjusts interrogation ranges. Simulation results under random and congregation tag distributions show that RDA2R requires about 46–47% fewer readers than ARLDL and 32–33% fewer than MR2D, while improving average tag coverage per reader by over 30%. These results demonstrate that RDA2R provides a scalable, interference-aware, and cost-efficient deployment strategy for RFID-enabled IIoT environments. Full article