The civil war that started in Syria in 2011 began as a series of political disputes between government forces and opposition groups. Tension mounted when citizens of Syria called for their president, Bashar al-Assad, to step down from power. When government forces resisted the will of the people, and instead used force against them, the country descended into all-out war. Two distinct groups surfaced in opposition to one another, with opposition rebels fighting against the Syrian regime. But as the war progressed these two groups began to display religious characteristics. Opposition groups began to represent a Sunnī Muslim rebel force, while regime forces where represented by the Alawite sect, and as the war continued elements of jihādism began to surface within the fighting. Syria’s sectarian rifts began to reveal themselves as religious factions became more involved in the fighting. These rifts are a result of centuries of violence and tension between Sunnī Muslim and Alawites in the country. Their theological beliefs differ extensively from one another, and over the course of history these differences have led to clashes between the two groups. The study looks at the historical interactions between Sunnī Muslims and the Alawites in Syria, and identifies the theological differences between the two groups. The study then uses these two elements to understand the religious violence that Syria is experiencing, and why such intolerance is happening between the religious factions of the country. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Science of Religion and Missiology / MA / Unrestricted

The COVID-19 pandemic increased uncertainty and anxiety for most and was especially disruptive to autistic people and their families. Autistic children were particularly vulnerable due to their intolerance for increased uncertainty and disruption to their school and therapy support. This study aimed to investigate the effect that increased uncertainty had on autistic children, specifically their sensory behaviors and stress levels and on the stress levels of their primary caregivers. Parents and guardians of 47 autistic children completed an online survey consisting of questions investigating background and demographic information, their experiences during the first six months of the pandemic, information about the types of support that they were provided, and measures of intolerance of uncertainty (IUS-12) and sensory processing (SSP). Additionally, 10 primary caregivers participated in semi-structured interviews to explore in-depth accounts of their experiences and those of their children during the pandemic. Eighty nine percent of caregivers reported their children had significant sensory difficulties prior to the pandemic. We found that this majority group showed significant increases in sensory processing and intolerance of uncertainty from pre to during the first six months of the pandemic. Changes from pre to during the first six months of the pandemic were significantly correlated suggesting that as uncertainty increased, sensory processing ability decreased. Disruption to routines was significantly correlated with sensory processing and explained a significant portion of the variance in child, household, and parent stress. The themes found in interview responses including the relationship between sensory processing and uncertainty, living in "survival mode,"and unmasking reflect the quantitative findings, showing that the uncertainty introduced by disrupted routines increased sensory processing difficulty and typically autistic behaviors. These findings have implications for helping us to understand the relationship between uncertainty, sensory processing, and stress leading to better interventions and supports for this population. Additionally, primary caregivers noted the need for increased education and training for parents during therapy sessions and for a stronger community of primary caregivers to support the unique needs of these individuals and families.

Over the course of history, we have become increasingly aware of values possessed by individuals and collectives alike not to be taken as being beyond all questioning, yet these values are often perceived as inevitable from the perspective of the individual. This gives rise to a conflict eternal and evident throughout social life, in the form of value clashes. Within the framework of the thesis, such conflict is referred to as the meta-crisis. As the, in the West, increasing polarisation and subsequent inability to understand and tolerate individuals whose values clash with out own, revealed as a permeating layer riding along with other ongoing crises. Discussion between individuals possessing different values has the proven potential to mitigate the meta-crisis. However, current spaces for discussion, within meatspace and the virtual alike, are turning excessively prone to producing echo chambers. This echoing characteristic is actively degrading potential discussion into antagonistic conflict furthering the meta-crisis. The Radical Middle sets out to discover the role of architecture and urbanism in preventing echo chambers from occuring in our increasingly pluralistic cities, in setting up clashes between different spaces of logic, and ultimately constructing conditions for perpetually mitigating the accelerating meta-crisis through discussion between different-minded individuals. A set of principles are discovered, including but not limited to how information spreads, an individual's propensity to congregate with like-minded individuals in particular spaces and relationships between class status and living condition as a model for predicting values across averages. The thesis concludes with a theoretical framework for the conceptualization and actualization of the Radical Middle - as a synthesis of its principles, wherein the whole comes to exceed the sum of its parts, perpetually mitigating the meta-crisis both within and without.

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Study has shown that plasma membrane (PM) cholesterol and cortical filamentous actin (F-actin) influence skeletal muscle glucose transport. Of fundamental and clinical interest is whether diabetogenic insults promote membrane/cytoskeletal dysfunction amendable for therapy. As exposure to excess fatty acid (FA)s induce glucose intolerance by mechanisms imperfectly understood, we tested if PM cholesterol/F-actin changes could contribute to FA-induced glucose transporter GLUT4 dysregulation in skeletal muscle. High-fat fed, insulin-resistant animals displayed elevated levels of skeletal muscle PM cholesterol and a loss in cortical F-actin, compared to normal-chow fed animals. Consistent with a PM cholesterol component of glucose intolerance, human skeletal muscle biopsies revealed an inverse correlation between PM cholesterol and whole-body glucose disposal. Mechanistically, exposure of L6 myotubes to the saturated FA palmitate induced an increase in PM cholesterol that destabilized actin filaments and decreased insulin-stimulated PM GLUT4 and glucose transport, which could be reversed with cholesterol lowering. Next, study tested if the lipid-lowering action of the antidiabetic AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) had a beneficial influence on PM cholesterol balance. Consistent with AMPK inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase, a rate-limiting enzyme of cholesterol synthesis, we found that AMPK activation promoted a significant reduction in PM cholesterol and amplified basal and insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation. A similar loss of PM cholesterol induced by β-cyclodextrin caused an analogous enhancement of GLUT4 regulation. Interestingly, PM cholesterol replenishment abrogated the AMPK effect on insulin, but not basal, regulation of GLUT4 translocation. Conversely, AMPK knockdown prevented the enhancement of both basal and insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation. As a whole these studies show PM cholesterol accrual and cortical F-actin loss uniformly in skeletal muscle from glucose-intolerant mice, swine, and humans. In vivo and in vitro dissection demonstrated this membrane/cytoskeletal derangement induces insulin resistance and is promoted by excess FAs. Parallel studies unveiled that the action of AMPK entailed lowering PM cholesterol that enhanced the regulation of GLUT4/glucose transport by insulin. In conclusion, these data are consistent with PM cholesterol regulation being an unappreciated aspect of AMPK signaling that benefits insulin-stimulated GLUT4 translocation during states of nutrient excess promoting PM cholesterol accrual.

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Many consumers are unable to enjoy the benefits of milk, due to lactose-intolerance. Lactose-free milk is available, but at about 2 times the cost of regular milk or greater, it may be difficult for consumers to afford. The high cost of lactose-free milk is in part due to the added cost of the lactose hydrolysis process. Hydrolysis at refrigerated temperatures, possibly in the bulk tank or package, could increase the flexibility of the process, and potentially reduce the cost. A rapid β-galactosidase assay was used to determine the relative activity of commercially available lactase samples at different temperatures. Four enzymes exhibited low-temperature activity and were added to refrigerated raw and pasteurized milk at various concentrations and allowed to react for various lengths of time. The degree of lactose hydrolysis by each of the enzymes as a function of time and enzyme concentration was determined by HPLC. The two most active enzymes, as determined by the β-galactosidase assay, hydrolyzed over 98% of the lactose in 24 hours at 2°C using the supplier recommended dosage. The other two enzymes hydrolyzed over 95% of the lactose in 24 hours at two times the supplier recommended dosage at 2°C. Results were consistent in all milk types tested. The results show that it is feasible to hydrolyze lactose during refrigerated storage of milk using currently available enzymes.

Question: Has the basal area of pine and spruce in a protected forest changed between 1937 and 2022? And has there been a change in size distribution?Location: Säby Västerksog, a pine-dominated coniferous forest protected for 100 years.Method: A part of the reserve was mapped, and diameter at breast height, using the same methods as used in 1937.Results: Basal area had increased for both pine and spruce but mostly for pine. More pine than spruce had survived from 1937. On the other hand, more spruce than pine had become established after 1937. The size distribution of pine had shifted towards larger trees, with few smaller ones. The corresponding distribution among spruce showed a decline towards larger trees (except the largest ones).Conclusion: The reason for the poor regeneration of pine is probably due to a combination of shade intolerance and a lack disturbances needed for this species (e.g. forest fires). Due to these hindrances pine is expected to decrease within a longer time frame, while spruce is expected to increase.

As a primary factor in human evolution, natural selection is an important component of genetic research. Studies of lactase persistence suggest that positive selection has played a powerful role in the adaptation to a lifelong consumption of fresh milk. Using multiple research studies of lactase persistence and suspected corresponding single nucleotide genetic polymorphisms, this study combines data sources to determine whether evidence exists for natural selection of a specific cytosine-to-thymine genetic mutation located 13,910 base pairs (T-13910) upstream from the lactase gene. This polymorphism has potential to be a causal element for lactase persistence, and data suggest that natural selection has played a role in the rising frequency and distribution of this allele, if only in some regions. European and neighboring regions appear to have the highest frequencies with little or no frequency in Asia, Africa and Indonesia; however the presence of lactase persistence in those areas suggests convergent evolution may be occurring on a phenotypic level. To examine this possibility several other identified polymorphisms in the same region as the T-13910 will be included in this study