AIM: To develop and evaluate the validity and reliability of a knowledge, attitude, and practice questionnaire related to vision screening (KAP-VST) among preschool teachers in Malaysia. METHODS: The questionnaire was developed through a literature review and discussions with experts. Content and face validation were conducted by a panel of experts (n=10) and preschool teachers (n=10), respectively. A pilot study was conducted for construct validation (n=161) and test-retest reliability (n=60) of the newly developed questionnaire. RESULTS: Based on the content and face validation, 71 items were generated, and 68 items were selected after exploratory factor analysis. The content validity index for items (I-CVI) score ranged from 0.8-1.0, and the content validity index for scale (S-CVI)/Ave was 0.99. Internal consistency was KR20=0.93 for knowledge, Cronbach’s alpha=0.758 for attitude, and Cronbach’s alpha=0.856 for practice. CONCLUSION: The KAP-VST is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing knowledge, attitude, and practice in relation to vision screening among preschool teachers in Malaysia.

Abstract A number of key Old Testament texts cited in the New Testament are surveyed to determine whether they are amenable to prosopological exegesis (e.g., Dan 7; Ps 45; Ps 110), but in none of these texts is more than one divine figure present, nor do they depict one divine person speaking to or about another divine person. The Christian reader is not required to find the three persons of the Trinity differentiated and assigned different speaking roles in Old Testament texts. However, another mode of Trinitarian reading is credible. The follower of Jesus is not to equate the God of the Old Testament simply with the Father; rather the God of the Old Testament is the triune God, which means that many more Old Testament texts than often thought directly connect to Jesus.

Abstract Theological interpretation of Scripture and public theology have so far said very little to one another. To a certain extent, this is understandable, as the two are involved in separate projects with differing priorities and questions. However, a mutually beneficial dialogue is possible. Public theology has yet to devote significant attention to the role of Scripture in public engagement and theological interpretation provides a framework better suited than historical criticism for allowing the Bible to speak to current situations. In return, public theology can help theological interpretation to clarify the public nature of the ecclesial community through the development of a public ecclesiology in order to better hear the voice of God in Scripture through a more holistic theological reading, one with a thicker defense against ecclesial tendencies toward authoritarianism and privatism. In establishing the possibility of a mutually beneficial relationship, this article provides a rationale for the relationship between public theology and theological interpretation to begin outright.

Abstract This comparative study will examine the ways Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther understood the literal sense of Scripture in their expositions of Ps 2. Building off of G. Sujin Pak’s book, The Judaizing Calvin: Sixteenth-Century Debates over the Messianic Psalms, this study seeks to incorporate Erasmus and compare his exegesis and hermeneutic to the early Luther’s expositions of Ps 2. The article aims to demonstrate how these two exegetes converged (and diverged) in their understanding of the literal sense and to explore what part the literal sense played in their interpretation of Scripture. Further, it will consider the relationship these exegetes have to their antecedent exegetical tradition as well as the role history and philology played in their exegesis and how Christ was related to the literal sense of Scripture. The final section of this study ends with a recommendation for contemporary biblical scholars and theologians in the task of biblical interpretation today.

Abstract Gregory of Nyssa’s interpretation of the Lord’s Prayer’s request for daily bread is difficult to place in the history of the petition’s exegesis. Early interpreters—among them Tertullian, Cyprian, Origen, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose, Augustine, and Peter Chrysologus—stressed what is often called, in Henri de Lubac’s phrase, a “spiritual interpretation” of the bread as knowledge, the Eucharist, or Christian doctrine. The majority of modern commentators, in contrast, understand the petition to ask for material food. Gregory, however, troubles simple contrasts between ancient and modern and spiritual and material interpretation. In his fourth homily on the dominical prayer, he draws upon Origen’s exegesis, interpretating the bread within a metaphysical framework distinguishing between the perceptible and intelligible, but Gregory understands the bread to be material bread and the necessity of eating to be central to the human creature’s imitation of the impassible and immaterial God. Even more unique than this departure from the spiritual interpretation of the bread is Gregory’s argument that luxury and excess—eating more than the minimum required by the body—are practices not only bad for the soul but harmful and unjust to one’s neighbors. This article takes both these dynamics in turn: first, putting Gregory’s interpretation in relief by comparing it not only to the spiritual interpretation of bread by Origen but also the materialist interpretations offered by Chrysostom and Theodore; and second, bringing to light Gregory’s remarkable deployment of a perceptible/intelligible ontology to argue for the purpose of material sustenance and its importance for a just society.

AIM: To figure out whether various atropine dosages may slow the progression of myopia in Chinese kids and teenagers and to determine the optimal atropine concentration for effectively slowing the progression of myopia. METHODS: A systematic search was conducted across the Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, CNKI, CBM, VIP, and Wanfang database, encompassing literature on slowing progression of myopia with varying atropine concentrations from database inception to January 17, 2024. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed, and a network Meta-analysis was executed using Stata version 14.0 Software. Results were visually represented through graphs. RESULTS: Fourteen papers comprising 2475 cases were included; five different concentrations of atropine solution were used. The network Meta-analysis, along with the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA), showed that 1% atropine (100%)>0.05% atropine (74.9%) >0.025% atropine (51.6%)>0.02% atropine (47.9%)>0.01% atropine (25.6%)>control in refraction change and 1% atropine (98.7%)>0.05% atropine (70.4%)>0.02% atropine (61.4%)>0.025% atropine (42%)>0.01% atropine (27.4%)>control in axial length (AL) change. CONCLUSION: In Chinese children and teenagers, the five various concentrations of atropine can reduce the progression of myopia. Although the network Meta-analysis showed that 1% atropine is the best one for controlling refraction and AL change, there is a high incidence of adverse effects with the use of 1% atropine. Therefore, we suggest that 0.05% atropine is optimal for Chinese children to slow myopia progression.

Abstract How might we read the canonical Gospel of John as anything other than anti-Jewish, a scholarly point of view that in recent years has received renewed support? The accusation is absolute and raises serious problems for the gospel’s ongoing reception as Christian Scripture. The appropriate response to this challenge of such high stakes is to return to the gospel and offer close readings of the relevant passages. This article participates in the ongoing debate regarding the status of the gospel by examining how John characterizes Nicodemus, the first “Jew” with whom Jesus engages in extended dialogue. Through a reading of his three appearances (John 3:1–21; 7:45–52; 19:38–42), this article argues for a positive characterization of Nicodemus. It contends that he progresses toward a fuller understanding of Jesus’s true identity, which culminates in reverently burying Jesus, this act representing an embodied confession commensurate with Johannine faith. Becoming a disciple, Nicodemus nevertheless remains a “Jew.” Thus, he is a case in point for how the gospel, while striking in its marked dualistic contrasts and exclusivist in its claim for Jesus as the only Way, permits movement across the very boundaries it establishes, thereby challenging the appropriateness of labeling John an anti-Jewish gospel. Part of the theological challenge of John’s Gospel is for all readers to recognize themselves in the story of Nicodemus.

AIM: To analyze and compare the differences among ocular biometric parameters in Han and Uyghur populations undergoing cataract surgery. METHODS: In this hospital-based prospective study, 410 patients undergoing cataract surgery (226 Han patients in Tianjin and 184 Uyghur patients in Xinjiang) were enrolled. The differences in axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), keratometry [steep K (Ks) and flat K (Kf)], and corneal astigmatism (CA) measured using IOL Master 700 were compared between Han and Uyghur patients. RESULTS: The average age of Han patients was higher than that of Uyghur patients (70.22±8.54 vs 63.04±9.56y, P<0.001). After adjusting for age factors, Han patients had longer AL (23.51±1.05 vs 22.86±0.92 mm, P<0.001), deeper ACD (3.06±0.44 vs 2.97±0.37 mm, P=0.001), greater Kf (43.95±1.40 vs 43.42±1.69 D, P=0.001), steeper Ks (45.00±1.47 vs 44.26±1.71 D, P=0.001), and higher CA (1.04±0.68 vs 0.79±0.65, P=0.025) than Uyghur patients. Intra-ethnic male patients had longer AL, deeper ACD, and lower keratometry than female patients; however, CA between the sexes was almost similar. In the correlation analysis, we observed a positive correlation between AL and ACD in patients of both ethnicities (rHan=0.48, rUyghur=0.44, P<0.001), while AL was negatively correlated with Kf (rHan=-0.42, rUyghur=-0.64, P<0.001) and Ks (rHan= -0.38, rUyghur=-0.66, P<0.001). Additionally, Kf was positively correlated with Ks (rHan=0.89, rUyghur=0.93, P<0.001). CONCLUSION: There are differences in ocular biometric parameters between individuals of Han ethnicity in Tianjin and those of Uyghur ethnicity in Xinjiang undergoing cataract surgery. These ethnic variances can enhance our understanding of ocular diseases related to these parameters and provide guidance for surgical procedures.