Decolonising youth ministry models? Challenges and opportunities in Africa

Anyone involved in youth ministry will be able to testify to the fact that no perfect youthministry model exists. Youth ministry models employed should consider the vision, missionand needs of the contexts in which they are to be used. Although not new, the term ‘decolonise’has become a prominent part of African discourses after the 2015 and 2016 student protests atvarious university campuses in South Africa. A strong call to decolonise theology and how wedo church has been included in these calls. Students have argued against a theology andecclesiology that is exclusively based on European and other international foundations. Mychallenge with all these discussions has been discerning the difference between decolonisationand contextualisation within theology. I have often wondered whether those calling for adecolonised theology are actually referring to problems connected to a theology that is notcorrectly contextualised. When I ask whether youth ministry models in Africa should bedecolonised, I do so in the awareness that these models have brought with them both challengesand opportunities for ministry on this continent. Youth ministry models employed in Africaneed to stem from the contextual situations and readings of the biblical text in which they findthemselves. This article is aimed at exploring the work of Scripture Union as a mission-basedyouth ministry model in Africa in view of the present call to decolonise theology.

Gene Expression Profiling and Real-Time PCR Analyses Make It Possible To Identify Novel Potential Cancer-Testis Antigens in Multiple Myeloma.

The identification of novel tumor-associated antigens is critical for the development of immunotherapeutic strategies. Cancer-testis (CT) antigens represent attractive targets due to their restricted pattern of expression. More than 90 CT genes have been previously classified into four categories according to their expression profiles: testis-restricted (expression in testis and tumor samples only), “tissue restricted” (mRNA detected in 2 or fewer non-gametogenic tissues), “differentially expressed” (mRNA detected in three to six non-gametogenic tissues), and “ubiquitously expressed”. Among those, we previously reported that 18 CT genes were expressed by primary myeloma cells (MMC) of more than 10% of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). This study aimed at finding novel putative CT genes expressed in MM using cDNA microarray analysis and real-time RT-PCR validation. Gene expression profiles of 5 testis samples, 64 MMC, 7 normal memory B cell (MB), 7 normal bone marrow plasma cell samples and 23 normal tissue samples available on a public database were obtained using Affymetrix U133AB microarrays. Out of 45000 probe sets of Affymetrix U133 AB chips, we selected 16982 probe sets which had a “Present” Affymetrix Call in MMC of at least 6/64 patients and in 3/5 testis samples. In order to select genes with a similar pattern of expression than the known CT genes, we developed 4 independent filters making it possible to keep a high number of known CT genes while decreasing the total number of probe sets. Firstly, 2514 of 16982 probe sets had a ratio of the mean signal in MMC with a Present call / mean signal in MB > 2.5. Secondly, 541 of these 2514 probe sets had a Present call in less than 7 of the 23 normal tissues. Thirdly, 333 of these 541 probe sets had a ratio of the mean signal in MMC with a Present call / mean signal in MMC with an Absent call > 2.5. Fourthly, we removed genes whose expression profiles were discordant with different probe sets or discordant with data of the literature. The final probe set list contains 88 probe sets which include 13 of 18 known CT genes reported in MM, thus resulting in a 190-fold enrichment. The expression in 13 normal tissues and in MM samples of 21 out of these 75 putative novel CT genes was investigated by real time RT-PCR. Seven genes were ubiquitously expressed or poorly expressed in MMC samples and further deleted. According to the previously defined CT gene categories, we found one novel “testis-restricted” (TEX14), 8 “tissue-restricted” and 5 “differentially expressed” CT genes. Immunogenicity of one gene product - IGSF11 - was already demonstrated in other cancers by identifying a T-cell epitope. Two genes - NLGN4X and FAM133A - are located in X chromosome and 2 genes - CTNNA2 and FAM133A - are expressed only in brain and testis. In conclusion, by analyzing gene expression patterns with Affymetrix microarrays, we found 75 novel putative CT antigen candidates expressed in MMC of 10 to 100% of patients. Real time RT-PCR validation made it possible to confirm the CT status of 14 genes out of the 21 tested. Further studies are warranted to determine their immunogenicity.

A New Method for Predictor Calculation Based on Signed-Rank Call Algorithms. Application to Microarray Gene Expression Analysis of Human Multiple Myeloma.

The simultaneous quantification of thousands of genes in gene expression profiling (GEP) on DNA chips is part of the whole-genome sequencing revolution. Affymetrix(R) chip technology provides both a quantitative fluorescence signal and a decision of absent or present gene expression (absent or present call) based on signed-rank algorithms applied to several hybridization repeats of each gene spread on a single chip. To avoid an empirical normalization between chips of the same experiment, we developed an analysis of GEP based on Affymetrix present or absent calls. Bone marrow aspirates from newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients were purified with CD138 automated magnetic cell sorting. Amplified RNA was run on U133A+B Affymetrix DNA microarrays for a first set of 65 patients, or U133Plus2 for a second cohort of 40 patients. Scan files were transferred to an Oracle(R) data base and analyzed with web-oriented scripts for both unsupervised and supervised non-parametric analysis on either the fluorescence signal or the Affymetrix call. To build a multiclass call-based predictor, the observed distribution of present call of each probeset was first compared between predetermined sample groups using a chi2 test and probesets were kept only if above a threshold compatible with further analysis and calculation time (usually 100 to 1000 genes). The power of a probeset list to classify the different groups (number of presence/number of probesets) was then evaluated for each sample of a group and compared to each sample of all other groups by calculating the reduced deviation (RD) in paired comparisons and evaluating the overall number of non significant comparisons (NS) with a chosen precision, the sum of the reduced deviations divided by the square root of the probeset number (f, independent of the list size), and the smallest RD (RDmin). The minimum predictive probeset list was obtained by deleting each probeset one after the other, and computing NS, f and RDmin from the remaining probeset list. If either NS is reduced, or both NS unchanged and f increased, or together NS and f unchanged and RDmin either increased or higher than precision, the probeset is left out and the process run again on the shortened list until no more leave-outs are possible. This method was successfully validated by determining a 22-gene sex predictor with the 65 patient series that made it possible to classify gender with no error in the 40 patient validation group. Partial loss of chromosome Y was confirmed in 3 male MM patients by short tandem repeat analysis. Significant predictors could not be generated with randomly selected patient groups. Validation was also successful with P <.001 in predicting the immunoglobulin light chain of the validation group after educating with the training group (lambda to kappa-type ratio between 1/4 and 1/3). Classification of the training set according to Salmon-Durie staging made it possible to generate a 97-gene predictor with a validation error of P <.01. This normalization-free method looks particularly promising for further applications like diagnostic classification (MGUS), prognostic grouping and prediction of response to treatment. In addition, it can be used as a powerful tool to mine generated or published data on all cancer types.

Post-apartheid representations of youth in the Zulu novel Kungasa ngifile

In this article representation of black African youth in the Zulu novel “Kungasa ngifile” is examined. The view is presented that the novel, though seeming to be politically neutral, deals with images of the youth that have ideological concerns in terms of theme, plot action and character portrayal. Such ideological modes of representation seem to be in tune with the present call for moral rejuvenation and the empowerment of the youth who lost opportunities during the liberation struggle. In this respect, the novel backs positive post-apartheid cultural forms.

TRANSFORMING RECURSIVE PROCESSES INTO EFFICIENT ALGORITHMS: CALL-GRAPH CACHING FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

There are a large number of highly complex, apparently disparate, Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms for planning and learning. These entail the (often tedious) construction of specialized data and control structures. In this article, we present Call-Graph Caching (CGC) as an organizing principle for many of these methods. CGC is the preservation of the trace of a computational process for subsequent reuse; CGC allows the operation of highly efficient, but unintuitive, AI algorithms to be recast as far simpler recursive processes. Thus, we shall describe simple recursive constructions that, together with CGC, provide new motivations and derivations of certain classical AI planning and learning algorithms.

The Case Against Specialist Jurisdiction for Labour Law: The Philosophical Assumptions of a Common Law for Labour Relations

The aim of this paper is to outline the philosophical assumptions that form the basis of the present call for the abolition of specialist jurisdiction for labour law in New Zealand The discussion here focuses on Epstein's (1983a) "A common law for labour relations ..." because it is the key statement of the case against a specialist jurisdiction, and the conclusions he advances have played an important role in the debate about labour law in New Zealand While academic literature has been largely critical of the call for the abolition of the Employment Court, there have been very few attempts to come to terms with the types of arguments used by the "abolitionists". It is argued that an adequate critique needs to be built on an understanding of the philosophical assumptions that are driving the current changes in labour relations legislation.