The Buddhist Concept of Death

The manifest turmoil and unrest of these latter days-atheistic Communism, idolatrous materialism, Iron Curtain barbarism, A-bomb fears, and now the H - are but a coarser outburst, a more inflamed symptom, of the fundamental problem of all centuries - How can man in sin overcome his separation from God?” How can man conquer death which without Christ makes this separation from God forever painful and forever permanent? All mankind - also those who call themselves Buddhists - face this inescapable problem - the problem of death. Like all mankind, so also the Buddhists, though in a more comprehensive and attractive manner than some, have adorned themselves with fig leaves of human reason and good works, and behind the trees and bushes of borrowed, mutilated, as well as prefabricated theological and non-theological concepts, have tried to hide themselves from that penetrating voice of the Lord God, who is still walking in the spoiled Eden of this world, and is still calling from the pages of Genesis 3 with the words: Adam, where art thou? bringing to mind those terrible and unforgettable words: \u27Thou shalt surely die

Drug Resistance in Cancer: An Overview

Cancers have the ability to develop resistance to traditional therapies, and the increasing prevalence of these drug resistant cancers necessitates further research and treatment development. This paper outlines the current knowledge of mechanisms that promote or enable drug resistance, such as drug inactivation, drug target alteration, drug efflux, DNA damage repair, cell death inhibition, and the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, as well as how inherent tumor cell heterogeneity plays a role in drug resistance. It also describes the epigenetic modifications that can induce drug resistance and considers how such epigenetic factors may contribute to the development of cancer progenitor cells, which are not killed by conventional cancer therapies. Lastly, this review concludes with a discussion on the best treatment options for existing drug resistant cancers, ways to prevent the formation of drug resistant cancers and cancer progenitor cells, and future directions of study

The New Creation according to Is. 65

Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered nor come into mind, Is. 65, 17. Of what kind of creation and of what time is the Lord speaking here? Does the new creation mean the Christian Church, which began when our Savior established the New Covenant through His redemptive work and the pouring out of the Holy Ghost, so that the new creation is a specific name for the New Testament Messianic kingdom? Or does it denote a certain period of Christ’s kingdom here on earth, the so-called millennium, a period of one thousand years of glory? Or does the Lord in the words quoted above give a promise of what He will do after this present world has been destroyed? Each of these three views has its adherents in the Church. Which of them is correct

Der Begriff Gerechtigkeit im Alten Testament, besonders in den Psalmen

Der Begriff Gerechtigkeit im Alten Testament, besonders in den Psalmen (The term righteousness in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms

Safety proposals for freediving time limits should consider the metabolic-rate dependence of oxygen stores depletion.

INTRODUCTION: There is no required training for breath-hold diving, making dissemination of safety protocols difficult. A recommended breath-hold dive time limit of 60 s was proposed for amateur divers. However, this does not consider the metabolic-rate dependence of oxygen stores depletion. We aimed to measure the effect of apnoea time and metabolic rate on arterial and tissue oxygenation. METHODS: Fifty healthy participants (23 (SD 3) y, 22 women) completed four periods of apnoea for 60 s (or to tolerable limit) during rest and cycle ergometry at 20, 40, and 60 W. Apnoea was initiated after hyperventilation to achieve PETCO2 of approximately 25 mmHg. Pulse oximetry, frontal lobe oxygenation, and pulmonary gas exchange were measured throughout. We defined hypoxia as SpO2 < 88%. RESULTS: Static and exercise (20, 40, 60 W) breath-hold break times were 57 (SD 7), 50 (11), 48 (11), and 46 (11) s (F [2.432, 119.2] = 32.0, P < 0.01). The rise in PETCO2 from initiation to breaking of apnoea was dependent on metabolic rate (time × metabolic rate interaction; F [3,147] = 38.6, P < 0.0001). The same was true for the fall in SpO2 (F [3,147] = 2.9, P = 0.03). SpO2 fell to < 88% on 14 occasions in eight participants, all of whom were asymptomatic. CONCLUSIONS: Independent of the added complexities of a fall in ambient pressure on ascent, the effect of apnoea time on hypoxia depends on the metabolic rate and is highly variable among individuals. Therefore, we contend that a universally recommended time limit for breath-hold diving or swimming is not useful to guarantee safety

Thesen zur kurzen Darlegung der Lehrstellung der Missourisyode

Thesen zur kurzen Darlegung der Lehrstellung der Missourisyode (Theses for the brief presentation of the teaching position of the Missourisyode

Early life trauma, depression and the glucocorticoid receptor gene - an epigenetic perspective

Background. Hopes to identify genetic susceptibility loci accounting for the heritability seen in unipolar depression have not been fully realized. Family history remains the ‘gold standard’ for both risk stratification and prognosis in complex phenotypes such as depression. Meanwhile, the physiological mechanisms underlying life-event triggers for depression remain opaque. Epigenetics, comprising heritable changes in gene expression other than alterations of the nucleotide sequence, may offer a way to deepen our understanding of the aetiology and pathophysiology of unipolar depression and optimize treatments. A heuristic target for exploring the relevance of epigenetic changes in unipolar depression is the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene (NR3C1) has been found to be susceptible to epigenetic modification, specifically DNA methylation, in the context of environmental stress such as early life trauma, which is an established risk for depression later in life. Method. In this paper we discuss the progress that has been made by studies that have investigated the relationship between depression, early trauma, the HPA axis and the NR3C1 gene. Difficulties with the design of these studies are also explored. Results. Future efforts will need to comprehensively address epigenetic natural histories at the population, tissue, cell and gene levels. The complex interactions between the epigenome, genome and environment, as well as ongoing nosological difficulties, also pose significant challenges. Conclusions. The work that has been done so far is nevertheless encouraging and suggests potential mechanistic and biomarker roles for differential DNA methylation patterns in NR3C1 as well as novel therapeutic targets

Mesenchymal stromal cell engagement in cancer cell epithelial to mesenchymal transition

Due to coexistence of stromal and epithelial tumor cells, their dynamic interactions have been widely recognized as significant cellular components to the tumor tissue integrity. Initiation and outcome of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in tumor cells are dependent on their interaction with adjacent or recruited mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). A plethora of mechanisms are involved in MSCs-controlled employment of the developmental processes of EMT that contribute to loss of epithelial cell phenotype and acquisition of stemness, invasiveness and chemoresistance of tumor cells. Interplay of MSCs with tumor cells, including interchange of soluble biomolecules, plasma membrane structures, cytoplasmic content, and organelles, is established through cell-cell contact and/or by means of paracrine signaling. The main focus of this review is to summarize knowledge about involvement of MSCs in cancer cell EMT. Understanding the underlying cellular and molecular mechanism involved in the interplay between MSCs and cancer EMT is essential for development of effective therapy approaches, which in combination with current treatments may improve the control of tumor progression. Developmental Dynamics 247:359-367, 2018