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Objectives To systematically review and evaluate the effects of different types of attachments, implant numbers and loading protocols on the peri-implant mucosa of implant-supported overdentures (ISODs). Background The impact of peri-implant tissue health on the ISOD treatment outcome is unclear, and current evidence is inadequate on this aspect. Materials and methods A systematic literature search for randomised controlled trials or prospective studies was conducted in indexed databases from 1995 to April 2020. The focused question was as follows: How does the peri-implant mucosa respond to implant-supported or implant-tissue-supported complete overdentures based on different types of attachments, implant numbers, and loading protocols, in terms of clinical outcomes achieved [plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing pocket depth (PD) and bleeding index (BI)]? A random- or fixed-effects model was applied to measure the significance of standardised mean differences (SMD) of PD between the groups. Results Seventeen studies met the eligibility criteria. The SMD for PD between splinted/bar and unsplinted/stud attachments was 0.10 mm (95% CI: -0.27 to 0.47; P = .60) and between 2- and 4-implant groups was 0.15 mm (95% CI: -0.16 to 0.45; P = .34), which were not statistically significant. Significant difference (P = .003) was observed between immediate/early loading and delayed loading (SMD = 0.46 mm [95% CI: 0.16 to 0.75]). Conclusions Probing depth for the immediate loaded implants was significantly higher than for the delayed loading group. No attachment type, implant number or loading protocol seemed to have a clear advantage over the other, in terms of other peri-implant mucosal outcome measures.

Background Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) and donation after circulatory death (DCD) can expand the donor pool for cholestatic liver disease (CLD) patients. We sought to compare the outcomes of deceased donor liver transplant (DDLT) vs LDLT in CLD patients. Methods Retrospective cohort analysis of adult CLD recipients registered in the OPTN database who received primary LT between 2002 and 2018. Cox proportional hazards regression models with mixed effects were used to determine the impact of graft type on patient and graft survival. Results Five thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine DDLT (5730 donation after brain death [DBD], 269 DCD) and 912 LDLT recipients were identified. Ten-year patient/graft survival rates were DBD: 73.8%/67.9%, DCD: 74.7%/60.7%, and LDLT: 82.5%/73.9%. Higher rates of biliary complications as a cause of graft failure were seen in DCD (56.8%) than LDLT (30.5%) or DBD (18.7%) recipients. On multivariable analysis, graft type was not associated with patient mortality, while DCD was independently associated with graft failure (P = .046). Conclusion DBD, DCD, and LDLT were associated with comparable overall patient survival. No difference in the risk of graft failure could be observed between LDLT and DBD. DCD can be an acceptable alternative to DBD with equivalent patient survival, but inferior graft survival likely related to the high rate of biliary complications.

Background and objectives Prophylactic antibiotics are frequently administered for transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In patients without previous biliary instrumentation, infection risk from TACE is low. We hypothesized that there is a negligible rate of infection in these patients without prophylactic antibiotics. Methods We reviewed consecutive patients undergoing TACE between 7/1/2013-6/15/2016. All patients had an intact Sphincter of Oddi, received no peri-procedural antibiotics, and had 30+ days follow-up. Level of arterial selection was recorded. Baseline Child-Pugh (CP) and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) scores were recorded. The primary outcome measure was the absence of clinical or imaging findings of hepatic abscess within 30 days. Results A total of 171 patients underwent 235 TACE procedures. CP scores were A (n = 109), B (n = 47), and C (n = 15). BCLC scores were 0 (n = 1), A (n = 108), B (n = 47), and C (n = 15). TACE was performed segmentally (n = 208) or lobar (n = 27). Three patients died of non-infectious causes before 30 days. No hepatic abscesses developed in evaluable patients: 0/232 infusions. Conclusions In patients with HCC and an intact Sphincter of Oddi, TACE was performed safely without prophylactic antibiotics. The majority of the patients were BCLC and CP A/B. Additional study of BCLC and CP C patients is warranted.

Together towards Life (TIE) and Evangelii Gaudium (EG) convey a renewed and fresh understanding of mission and evangelism that speaks meaningfully to the contemporary context, reminds churches of their primary task of mission and evangelism, and challenges them to reflect on and practice mission and evangelism with joy and life. This essay strives to discuss three important aspects of mission and evangelism that TTL and EG share, albeit with their own distinct perspective. The inseparability of ecclesiology and missiology is one affirmation that is commonly shared by TTL and EG. Introduction The present decade has witnessed the birth of a trilogy of statements on mission and evangelism that is of historic significance. The Cape Town Commitment of the Lausanne Movement (2010), Together towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes (TTL) of the World Council of Churches (2012), and the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG) of Pope Francis (2013) have already made their mark with their vast influence on theological reflections on mission and evangelism today. This article is an attempt to reflect on some of the common threads that bind two of them together, namely TTL and EG. (1) Whilst there are several aspects and emphases that make each of them distinct and different, both documents share certain dimensions of mission and evangelism that are pertinent in the contemporary global context. The central concept that captures the spirit of EG is joy, whereas life is the permeating theme of TTL. While TTL adopts a pneumatological perspective (within an overarching Trinitarian scheme), EG tends to opt for a Christo-centric approach to mission and evangelism. EG has been published in response to the most recent meeting of the Synod of Bishops (October 2012) and is devoted to the theme of "new evangelization." (2) TTL has been an attempt on the part of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to look at mission and evangelism afresh in the fast-changing global landscape, as the previous official WCC statement on mission and evangelism was getting somewhat outdated. (3) The main objective of both TTL and EG is again somewhat similar. EG has been articulated so that "the Church may rediscover the original source of evangelization in the contemporary world." (4) Likewise, the aim of TTL is to "seek vision, concepts and directions for a renewed understanding and practice of mission and evangelism in changing landscapes." (5) Both TTL and EG are, therefore, efforts to re- imagine missiology in the contemporary global scenario. Pope Francis, a Jesuit himself, offers an "Ignatian" reading of the global context, "looking for people, world and trends where God is present." (6) The social analysis of EG is more or less akin to that of classical Latin American liberation theology (hereafter referred to as liberation theology in this essay), whereas TTL seems to go beyond and engage an indigenous/subaltern reading of the signs of our times. Trends such as the shift of the centre of gravity of global Christianity from global North to global South and the phenomenal rise of Pentecostal and Charismatic spirituality across the globe have been dealt with seriously in TTL. These, however, do not merit much prominence in EG. Whilst EG devotes a great deal of focus to concerns such as inter- religious dialogue, secularization, and postmodernity, they don't seem to get adequate attention in TTL. Whereas a creation-centred perspective on missiology is apparent in TTL, the tendency in EG is to take a traditional anthropocentric view on evangelization, which probably accounts for almost a complete absence of missiological reflections on environmental concerns in the apostolic exhortation. Both TTL and EG seem to have put considerable emphasis, rightly so, on the impact of economic globalization and the dictatorship of the market. Such has been the impact of EG that it is being widely regarded as a "remarkable and radical document, one that ranges widely and challenges complacency at every level. …

Purpose The aim of this research was to evaluate the shear bond strength of different laboratory resin composites bonded to a fiber-reinforced composite substrate with some intermediate adhesive resins. Materials and Methods Mounted test specimens of a bidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced substrate (StickNet) were randomly assigned to three equal groups. Three types of commercially available veneering resin composites - BelleGlass®, Sinfony®, and GC Gradia® were bonded to these specimens using four different adhesive resins. Half the specimens per group were stored for 24 hours; the remaining were stored for 30 days. There were 10 specimens in the test group (n). The shear bond strengths were calculated and expressed in MPa. Data were analyzed statistically, and variations in bond strength within each group were additionally evaluated by calculating the Weibull modulus. Results Shear bond values of those composites are influenced by the different bonding resins and different indirect composites. There was a significant difference in the shear bond strengths using different types of adhesive resins (p = 0.02) and using different veneering composites (p < 0.01). Belle-Glass® had the highest mean shear bond strength when bonded to StickNet substrate using both Prime & Bond NT and OptiBond Solo Plus. Sinfony® composite resin exhibited the lowest shear bond strength values when used with the same adhesive resins. The adhesive mode of failure was higher than cohesive with all laboratory composite resins bonded to the StickNet substructure at both storage times. Water storage had a tendency to lower the bond strengths of all laboratory composites, although the statistical differences were not significant. Conclusion Within the limitations of this study, it was found that bonding of the veneering composite to bidirectional continuous fiber-reinforced substrate is influenced by the brand of the adhesive resin and veneering composite.

Bird migration occurs at the largest of global scales, but monitoring such movements can be challenging. In the US there is an operational network of weather radars providing freely accessible data for monitoring meteorological phenomena in the atmosphere. Individual radars are sensitive enough to detect birds, and can provide insight into migratory behaviors of birds at scales that are not possible using other sensors. Archived data from the WSR-88D network of US weather radars hold valuable and detailed information about the continent-scale migratory movements of birds over the last 20 years. However, significant technical challenges must be overcome to understand this information and harness its potential for science and conservation. We describe recent work on an AI system to quantify bird migration using radar data, which is part of the larger BirdCast project to model and forecast bird migration at large scales using radar, weather, and citizen science data.

The World Council of Churches' (WCC) new mission and evangelism statement, Together Towards Life: Mission and Evangelism in Changing Landscapes, prepared by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), is about seeking "vision, concepts, and directions for a renewed understanding and practice of mission and evangelism in the changing global landscape." (1) Given that there has been only one official WCC mission and evangelism affirmation (2) since the historic integration of the International Missionary Council (IMC) and the World Council of Churches in 1961 and that the global scenario has significantly changed since then, a fresh look at the world mission context and its ramifications for contemporary mission thinking and praxis was imperative. Some of the contextual changes that are addressed in the new mission affirmation include the shift of the centre of gravity of global Christianity from global North to global South; the sweeping influence of neo-liberal economic ideologies across the world; the impact of migration; new forms of oppression of people and environment; novel ways of being churches; and the phenomenal rise of Pentecostal and charismatic movements. The new mission affirmation aims to stimulate creative mission reflection and encourage discernment of action by WCC member churches, affiliated bodies, and related agencies. It is also expected that the new mission affirmation will provide a renewed appreciation of the mission of the Holy Spirit, itself understood from a trinitarian perspective. It articulates a new understanding of a prophetic missiology--"mission from the margins"--that affirms life in its fullness vis-a-vis justice, inclusivity, and integrity of creation. This essay is an attempt to look at some of the key affirmations of the new WCC mission and evangelism statement. Mission is affirmation of the life of the Holy Trinity According to the new mission statement, mission is essentially affirmation of trinitarian life. In this sense, what the document offers is missio trinitatis. It affirms that the triune God is the God of life and that we are called to participate in the life-affirming mission of the Holy Trinity, itself the source and fountain of mission. As the documents itself puts it, "Mission begins in the heart of the Triune God and the love which binds together the Holy Trinity overflows to all humanity and creation." (3) Mission, in this sense, may be defined as the outpouring of love, justice, mutual sharing, and equality that characterize and bind together the Holy Trinity. The trinitarian life that is affirmed here is the result of perichoresis, the mutual indwelling and sharing of love, justice, and peace among the members of the divine trinitarian community. Trinitarian life or fullness of life, therefore, is in clear contradiction with "luxurious life," which is being privatized and enjoyed by an elite minority, often at the expense of the vast majority. It does not view "goodness of life" in terms of greedy quest for accumulating wealth, possessions, armaments, and hegemonic power to exercise mastery over others. (4) Trinitarian life is derived from a trinitarian economy, which fosters sharing, justice, and fairness: fullness of life for all. The act of the triune God is characterized by an egalitarian, interdependent, communitarian, and inclusive way of operation. However, economic globalization today has effectively supplanted the God of life with its own "ungod" of Mammon -the god of free market capitalism that propagates a "soteriology" of "saving" the world through creation of undue wealth and prosperity. Countering such idolatrous visions and denouncing the economy of greed in the strongest language possible, the new mission statement offers a counter-cultural missiology. The prophetic dimension of the new mission statement therefore also lies in its outright rejection of the idolatry of Mammon in a world of free-market economy. …

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE MRI studies in Parkinson's Disease have shown volumetric reductions of subcortical structures such as the thalamus, putamen, globus pallidus, and caudate nucleus. However, there are no studies which look at the relationship between subcortical structure volumes and clinical variables, such as age and motor severity scores. METHODS Brain MRI scans of 47 consecutive PD patients undergoing deep brain stimulation was acquired. Volumetric data of the thalamus, putamen, caudate nucleus, and globus pallidus were extracted and corrected for total intracranial volume. Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) and general linear modeling (GLM) were then applied to the volumetric and the clinical variable data to explore the relationships between the two. RESULTS PCC showed a positive correlation between volumes of the left and right thalamus and left and right putamen with increasing duration of disease. GLM demonstrated that duration of symptoms was a significant factor relating to larger left thalamic volume. Male gender was also a significant factor associated with smaller left and right thalamic and right putaminal volumes. CONCLUSIONS There is a correlation between the volume subcortical structures and clinical variables, particularly the disease duration, in PD. This may not only help understanding the disease process but also patient selection for invasive and noninvasive therapies.

The article examines the theme of the Busan Assembly from a missiological angle, especially from the perspective of "mission from the margins." This is done, focussing on Asian contextual realities, with a 80edfic subaltern accent on Indian missiological challenges such as casteism. The article argues that the prayer format of the assembly theme be understood essentially as cries of the marginalized peoples and the exploited nature. Christians and churches are challenged to echo these cries by joining in their struggles to affirm life, justice and peace. Links to the new WCC affirmation on mission and evangelism are also established here. ********** We are here so that the world will not see any more Nuclear Power Plants that are dangerous and uneconomic. When I was in Delbi for the Public Heating on Nuclear Energy in August 2012, I saw that there are so many people in various parts of the country who are raising their protest. It is not just about losing their land and sea, but it is also about the creation of spaces like nuclear parks and power plants where life itself is in danger. Who would want to live in such places? We shall resist the Koodankulam Nuclear Plant at all costs. --Xavieramma, an anti-nuclear activist in Koodankulam (1) We have not told our children what we do. They wouldn't understand. There is no pride in it. --Manual scavenger in India (2) This is not a fight for power, wealth or fame, but for human dignity and reject. It is essentially a struggle to be. --Bezwada Wilson, crusader against manual scavenging (3) I would like you to understand one thing. I have only lost my immunity, not my humanity. Treat me as a human being. --A woman affected by AIDS (4) These are cries for life, justice, and peace; cries from the margins. In more than one way, the theme of the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), "God of Life, Lead Us to Justice and Peace," to be held in Busan, South Korea, echoes these cries. This essay is an attempt to make sense of the assembly theme from a contextual mission perspective, particularly from the position of "mission from the margins." God of Life, Lead Us to Justice and Peace: A Prayer It is not the first time that a WCC assembly theme has been presented in a prayer format. The theme is concurrently an invocation and an invitation. Whilst on the one hand it invokes the God of Life, on the other it invites God to lead God's people and creation to justice and peace. The prayer mode of the theme does not leave any room for lethargy, inaction, or escapism from worldly realities. The prayer here must be understood as a cry for justice and peace, addressed to the God of Life by the people who struggle, those at the margins. Put differently, it is a cry of the oppressed, the poor, and the exploited creation: a cry from the margins. This has been the persistent cry, the daily prayer, of some 166 million Dalits who have been suffering under the yoke of casteism in India for centuries; the cry of some one billion poverty-stricken people in Asia; the cry of more than 350 million hungry people in India; the cry of countless women, especially Dalit women, discriminated against on the basis of their caste, gender, and class; the cry of some five million Adivasis and Tribals in India, displaced from their homes and livelihood in the name of development; the cry of some four million HIV and AIDS affected people in India; the cry of nature, land, air, water, and creatures of the earth, all of which have been polluted, raped, and devastated by profit-driven capitalist forces. This has also been the cry of some 1.3 million manual scavengers in India who are still forced to earn a living doing a "job" that is considered to be the most inhuman and dehumanizing of all jobs. Even after 65 years of independence from foreign regime in India and despite a ten-year-old legal ban on manual scavenging, this atrocious system continues. …

According to the classical Erd˝´ theorem, given a positive integer k, every graph G either contains k vertex disjoint cycles or a set of at most O(klogk) vertices that hits all its cycles. Robertson and Seymour [Graph minors. V. Excluding a planar graph. J. Comb. Theory Series B, 41:92‐114, 1986] generalized this result in the best possible way. More specifically, they showed that ifH is the class of all graphs that can be contracted to a fixed planar graph H, then every graph G either contains a set of k vertex-disjoint subgraphs of G, such that each of these subgraphs is isomorphic to some graph inH or there exists a set S of at most f(k) vertices such that Gn S contains no subgraph isomorphic to any graph inH. However the function f is exponential. In this note, we prove that this function becomes quadratic whenH consists all graphs that can be contracted to a fixed planar graph c. For a fixed c, c is the graph with two vertices and c 1 parallel edges. Observe that for c = 2 this corresponds to the classical Erd˝´ osa theorem.

It is with a great sense of gratitude to the Triune God, the source and fountain of our very being and becoming, that I present to this august body this missiological account, covering the years 2006-2012, of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). As moderator of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism and especially on behalf of Prof. Dr Kirsteen Kim, our vice moderator, the Rev. Dr Jooseop Keum, the CWME secretary and coordinator of the Mission and Evangelism project of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and all the commissioners, I deem it an honour and privilege to extend to all of you who have gathered here a very warm welcome. I thank all of you for having responded to our invitation positively; we look forward to your contributions during this week of prayer, fellowship and reflections together. Although this gathering is a pre-assembly mission event prior to the forthcoming assembly of the WCC to be held in Busan, Korea, in 2013, and therefore not a conventional CWME world mission conference, we can assure you that we are treating this event with the same amount of seriousness that we would have given to a world mission conference. This is particularly due to the fact that this conference is going to be almost exclusively, as you have noted already, about a new WCC statement on mission, a "new ecumenical affirmation on mission and evangelism." It is our hope that the proposed new statement will be discussed thoroughly here and that it can go to the Busan assembly with your affirmation. I shall come back to the statement in a short while from now in my address. Being moderator of CWME, one of the foundational pillars of the WCC, is at the same time a great honour and a profound challenge. As a consultative body of the WCC, CWME has a mandate and objectives which are quite clear and focused. Apart from the mandate to organize world mission conferences, CWME is also expected to assist the Christian community in the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, by word and deed, to the whole world to the end that all may believe in him and be saved; and to facilitate the common wimess of the churches in each place and in all places and to help them support each other in their local, national and worldwide work of mission and evangelism. (1) The commission believes that we have been able to fulfil this mandate in a faithful and meaningful manner. All I can attempt here in a short span of time is simply to lift up a few highlights of CWME's life and work since Porto Alegre (2006), where we were given this mandate and responsibility. Edinburgh 2010 As the true heir of the International Missionary Council (IMC), it would have been the sole privilege of the CWME to organize the centenary world mission conference. However, this was not to be. The world-wide call was to celebrate the hundred years of ecumenical mission journey of the global church, together as a common event in the very place, Edinburgh, where it all began in 1910. The central committee of the WCC also endorsed this global call and CWME was asked to join this global collective initiative in organizing the centenary mission conference which took place in Edinburgh, Scotland, in June 2010. Although CWME regrets the fact that we lost the opportunity to organize our own world mission conference due to the common event in Edinburgh 2010, we still rejoice in the fact that we could be part of the momentous centenary celebrations of Edinburgh 1910 as one of the organizers. We were able to make substantial contributions in both monetary and theological terms toward Edinburgh 2010. The whole commission participated in the conference. We are proud to acknowledge that our vice moderator, Prof. Kirsteen Kim, played a vital leading role in the study process that both preceded and accompanied the conference. The publications that have resulted speak volumes about the intensity and academic rigour of the study process. …

In the face of the environmental crises that threaten all of life, I first review how the WCC focus on creation emerged. I then explore what it would mean for mission theology to turn to God in creation, moving from a dominating to a kenotic "down to earth" missiology that is rooted in the earthliness of creation, there finding God's grace and healing. This is especially poignant for Dalit and Indigenous People in India who are considered of the earth (mud), and for the filling and keeping of creation that is our biblical mandate. (1) ********** In 1982, Alice Walker sounded an alarm in a significant speech she delivered in San Francisco: Over the pandemic condition of human greed and wanton consumption hangs a curse, the curse of total annihilation, a curse we set in motion when we exploit and destroy instead of help and heal.... But if by some miracle, and all our struggle, the earth is spared, only justice to every living thing (and everything is alive) will save humanity. And we are not saved yet. Only justice can stop a curse. (2) The enormous environmental predicament that humanity faces today is cogently reflected in these words. Climate change, global warming, deforestation, desertification, destruction of land, water and biodiversity, pollution and so on, pose grave threats to the survival of all forms of life. Humanity is on the brink of an abyss. Mission theology cannot ignore these concerns because missio Dei encompasses the entire creation of God. Of all the doctrines that have been drawn upon to develop missiological paradigms, seldom has it been the doctrine of creation. Here I will consider the doctrine of creation, as recorded in the biblical creation accounts, and its implications for an environmentally relevant missiology. Creation in ecumenical (WCC) theological discourse The global ecumenical movement did not at first recognize the importance of ecological issues, along with social and economic justice issues. (3) In this regard, the launching of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) programme "Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation" (JPIC) marked a seismological shift in ecumenical thinking. "Integrity of creation" provided a fresh way of bridging the issues of justice, peace and ecology. In a sense, these concerns were already aired at the WCC Vancouver Assembly (1983), through the German expression Bewahrung der Schopfung (preservation of creation). That assembly urged the WCC to "engage the member churches in a conciliar process of mutual commitment (covenant) to Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation." The central committee that immediately followed the assembly officially launched the JPIC programme in 1985. Initially, though, it was deemed a mere appendage, an add-on to the existing concerns of justice and peace. For some within the ecumenical movement, the new discourse smacked of a "new age" kind of creation spirituality. For others in the global South, it was construed as a strategy on the part of the Western environmental lobby to weaken the focus on social and economic justice concerns. However, a series of theological consultations on the theme helped to bring more clarity to this new emphasis on creation. An important conference was held in Granvollen, Norway (1988), which provided windows into indigenous peoples' understanding of creation, with many moving stories of land alienation, pollution of water, lethal effects of militarism and war and so on. The cry at Granvollen was that creation is broken and for the sake of all creation, theology must begin with creation. Integrity of creation gave new prominence to the doctrine of creation, which hitherto had been disregarded by traditional and contextual theologies, including liberation theology. Notable exceptions were patristic theology and process theology. Liberation theology, for instance, only realized more recently the folly of overlooking the creation theme and environmental issues. …

Studies in our laboratory indicate that collagenase from Clostridium histolyticum promotes endothelial cell and keratinocyte responses to injury in vitro and wound healing in vivo. We postulate that matrix degradation by Clostridial collagenase creates bioactive fragments that can stimulate cellular responses to injury and angiogenesis. To test this hypothesis, we performed limited digestion of defined capillary-endothelial-derived extracellular matrices using purified human or bacterial collagenases. Immunoprecipitation with antibodies recognizing collagens I, II, III, IV, and V, followed by mass spectrometry reveals the presence of unique fragments in bacterial, but not human-enzyme-digested matrix. Results show that there are several bioactive peptides liberated from Clostridial collagenase-treated matrices, which facilitate endothelial responses to injury, and accelerate microvascular remodeling in vitro. Fragments of collagen IV, fibrillin-1, tenascin X, and a novel peptide created by combining specific amino acids contained within fibrillin 1 and tenascin X each have profound proangiogenic properties. The peptides used at 10-100 nM increase rates of microvascular endothelial cell proliferation by up to 47% and in vitro angiogenesis by 200% when compared with serum-stimulated controls. Current studies are aimed at revealing the molecular mechanisms regulating peptide-induced wound healing while extending these in vitro observations using animal modeling.

This article provides a brief history of mission theology of the global church since Edinburgh 1910, highlighting the seismological shifts and major developments in missiological thinking and praxis over the years and through various world mission conferences, specifically from the perspective of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME). It argues that, as we prepare ourselves to celebrate the centenary mission conference in Edinburgh in June 2010, mission theology has moved from its early stage of colonial, Eurocentric expressions to post-colonial and polyphonic articulations of missiology. For the CIF/ME, though, the missiological journey continues even beyond 2010. This article argues that, amongst many important missiological themes that CWME needs to address within the overarching theme of "Ecumenism in Mission", the themes CWME has identified as its major focus for the coming years--viz. ecclesiology and mission, mission as healing, and mission as contestation--are of crucial pertinence. In the changing global Christian landscape where the centre of gravity of Christianity has moved to the global South, and in a context where new forms of being ecclesial communities are tried out, 'The Nature and Mission of the Church" needs to take a "from below" approach, going beyond the traditional frameworks of mainline churches. Mission as healing would provide a comprehensive and more integral perspective to the salvific purpose of God for this world, especially as "healing" is a common strand within many religious, ecclesial and spiritual traditions, offering a dialogical perspective. Mission as contestation is equally significant in today's world where the gospel imperative of confronting satanic forces that express themselves in the form of globalization, neo-imperialism, patriarchy, racism, casteism and eco-violence is of cardinal importance. Introduction Much has changed in the arena of ecumenical mission thinking and praxis since Edinburgh 1910. The founders of the modern ecumenical movement that had its genesis in Edinburgh 1910 would not have anticipated the kind of sea changes in the global Christian landscape that we have witnessed over the years. Crisis in Western civilization, disintegration and collapse of colonial imperialism, emergence of new forms of colonialism (economic and cultural globalization) and war (on terrorism), the phenomenal rise of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, novel ways of being church, growing secularization, challenges of postmodernity and so on are just a few aspects of the ever changing global Christian landscape. How has ecumenical mission understanding evolved and developed since 1910? Where do we stand today in terms of our missiological thinking and practice, as we prepare to commemorate the centenary of Edinburgh 1910 at the very place where it all began? Ecumenical mission thinking: An historical overview Edinburgh 1910 The Edinburgh 1910 World Mission Conference is widely considered the birth place of the modern ecumenical movement. The origin of what we today term "ecumenical missiology" could be traced back to Edinburgh 1910. The thematic slogan of the 1910 Edinburgh conference was "evangelization of the world in this generation". And as the theme itself indicates, the predominant mood of the conference was characterized by a "zeal for evangelization", albeit understood largely in Western colonial terms. The context of Western colonial expansion and imperialism was the dominant backdrop of the first ever modern institutionalized world mission conference. In several ways, the 1910 Edinburgh conference could be deemed an ecumenical watershed. Of course, one could argue that the conference was not representative enough, both geographically and ecclesiastically: the Orthodox and the Roman Catholics were not present at the conference, the global South was hardly represented, those present from the North themselves did not quite represent churches, but mission bodies. …

Background and Objective: Recent studies have presented evidence that periodontal disease in pregnant women may be a determining factor for preterm delivery. However this finding has not been consistently observed. The present investigation was carried out to explore the association between maternal periodontal disease and preterm delivery in the state of Kerala India. Material and Methods: The case-control study had a sample of 300 (100 cases and 200 controls) postpartum women over 18 years of age. Cases were women who had undergone spontaneous preterm delivery ( 37 wk of gestation). Standard clinical and periodontal examinations were performed at the maternity wards and the existence of an association between periodontal disease and preterm delivery was evaluated by means of a multivariate logistic regression model that also considered other risk factors for preterm delivery. Results: Periodontitis was diagnosed in 25% of the mothers in the case group and in 14.5% of the mothers in the control group. Logistic regression analysis indicated a risk of nearly threefold for preterm delivery in mothers with periodontitis [adjusted odds ratio (ORa) = 2.72; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.68-6.84]. The other factors significantly associated with preterm birth were physical exertion (ORa = 2.80; 95% CI: 1.18-6.65) a previous history of preterm birth (ORa = 2.65; 95% CI: 1.20-5.83) and previous abortion/death of infant (ORa = 4.08; 95% CI: 1.56-10.65). Conclusion: Periodontal disease is a possible risk factor for preterm delivery in this population.

Billions of birds migrate at night over North America each year. However, few studies have described the phenology of these movements, such as magnitudes, directions, and speeds, for more than one migration season and at regional scales. In this study, we characterize density, direction, and speed of nocturnally migrating birds using data from 13 weather surveillance radars in the autumns of 2010 and 2011 in the northeastern USA. After screening radar data to remove precipitation, we applied a recently developed algorithm for characterizing velocity profiles with previously developed methods to document bird migration. Many hourly radar scans contained windborne "contamination," and these scans also exhibited generally low overall reflectivities. Hourly scans dominated by birds showed nightly and seasonal patterns that differed markedly from those of low reflectivity scans. Bird migration occurred during many nights, but a smaller number of nights with large movements of birds defined regional nocturnal migration. Densities varied by date, time, and location but peaked in the second and third deciles of night during the autumn period when the most birds were migrating. Migration track (the direction to which birds moved) shifted within nights from south-southwesterly to southwesterly during the seasonal migration peaks; this shift was not consistent with a similar shift in wind direction. Migration speeds varied within nights, although not closely with wind speed. Airspeeds increased during the night; groundspeeds were highest between the second and third deciles of night, when the greatest density of birds was migrating. Airspeeds and groundspeeds increased during the fall season, although groundspeeds fluctuated considerably with prevailing winds. Significant positive correlations characterized relationships among bird densities at southern coastal radar stations and northern inland radar stations. The quantitative descriptions of broadscale nocturnal migration patterns presented here will be essential for biological and conservation applications. These descriptions help to define migration phenology in time and space, fill knowledge gaps in avian annual cycles, and are useful for monitoring long-term population trends of migrants. Furthermore, these descriptions will aid in assessing potential risks to migrants, particularly from structures with which birds collide and artificial lighting that disorients migrants.

A new species of gobiid fish Glossogobius minutus collected from the south-west coast of India is described. The morphological, morphometric and meristic characters were studied with special emphasis on osteology. The various characters are compared with those of G. giuris (Harn.) and G. biocellatus (Val.), the only other species of the genus reported from this region. Glossogobius minutus is a benthic omnivore and shows distinct sexual dimorphism.