The Concepts of Sin and Grace in Hinduism

There are two concepts which are very fundamental in the Christian religion. These are the concepts of sin and grace. In the realm of Hindu thinking these concepts are only vaguely known. The author became aware or this state of affairs to some extent during his first term of mission service in India. This awareness awakened a desire to learn, if possible, what ideas arise in the mind or a Hindu thinker when he hears these terms used by a Christian speaker. The author feels that this investigation will help him to render better service to his Savior and to some of the people of India, who, for the most part, still do not know their loving Redeemer

The Role Modelling and Farming Systems Research Can Play in Redesigning Grazing Systems for Improved Productivity and Environmental Sustainability

Achieving production and natural resource outcomes from farming systems is critical with growing demand for livestock products, increasing pressure on land and water resources and the desire of farmers to improve profit and standard of living. In many countries this brings to the fore a number of policy dilemmas and conflicts in terms of pastoral household livelihood, regional economic growth and development, as well as natural resource management. By using two case studies; (1) Temperate Grasslands in Southern Australia (EverGraze project); and (2) Western Grasslands in North West China (ACIAR project), this paper considers how farming systems can be redesigned for production and environmental outcomes using modelling and farming systems research. Farming systems, as well as the regions and economies in which they operate, are complex and under constant change. The use of models combined with good science, relevant data and regional validation is essential to examine alternative systems that are better suited to changed operating conditions. Bio-economic modelling helps to understand trade-offs between production and enterprise performance and environmental sustainability over time and, most importantly, where multiple benefits from farming systems are possible. We contend that it is possible to redesign farming systems with both enterprise and environmental sustainability in mind. However the approach used to design and test alternative farming systems is important in an era of declining research resources and increasing complexity

A comparison of Thellier-type and multispecimen paleointensity determinations on Pleistocene and historical lava flows from Lanzarote (Canary Islands, Spain)

Sixteen Miocene, Pleistocene, and historic lava flows have been sampled in Lanzarote (Canary Islands) for paleointensity analysis with both the Coe and multispecimen methods. Besides obtaining new data, the main goal of the study was the comparison of paleointensity results determined with two different techniques. Characteristic Remanent Magnetization (ChRM) directions were obtained in 15 flows, and 12 were chosen for paleointensity determination. In Thellier-type experiments, a selection of reliable paleointensity determinations (43 of 78 studied samples) was performed using sets of criteria of different stringency, trying to relate the quality of results to the strictness of the chosen criteria. Uncorrected and fraction and domain-state corrected multispecimen paleointensity results were obtained in all flows. Results with the Coe method on historical flows either agree with the expected values or show moderately lower ones, but multispecimen determinations display a large deviation from the expected result in one case. No relation can be detected between correct or anomalous results and paleointensity determination quality or rock-magnetic properties. However, results on historical flows suggest that agreement between both methods could be a good indicator of correct determinations. Comparison of results obtained with both methods on seven Pleistocene flows yields an excellent agreement in four and disagreements in three cases. Pleistocene determinations were only accepted if either results from both methods agreed or a result was based on a sufficiently large number (n>4) of individual Thellier-type determinations. In most Pleistocene flows, a VADM around 5 31022 Am2 was observed, although two flows displayed higher values around 931022 Am2.project CGL2012-32149 (Ministerio de Econom ıa y Competitividad, Spain), project 320/2011 (Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Medio Rural y Marino, Spain) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)

Oxygen adsorption on the Ru (10 bar 1 0) surface: Anomalous coverage dependence

Oxygen adsorption onto Ru (10 bar 1 0) results in the formation of two ordered overlayers, i.e. a c(2 times 4)-2O and a (2 times 1)pg-2O phase, which were analyzed by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and density functional theory (DFT) calculation. In addition, the vibrational properties of these overlayers were studied by high-resolution electron loss spectroscopy. In both phases, oxygen occupies the threefold coordinated hcp site along the densely packed rows on an otherwise unreconstructed surface, i.e. the O atoms are attached to two atoms in the first Ru layer Ru(1) and to one Ru atom in the second layer Ru(2), forming zigzag chains along the troughs. While in the low-coverage c(2 times 4)-O phase, the bond lengths of O to Ru(1) and Ru(2) are 2.08 A and 2.03 A, respectively, corresponding bond lengths in the high-coverage (2 times 1)-2O phase are 2.01 A and 2.04 A (LEED). Although the adsorption energy decreases by 220 meV with O coverage (DFT calculations), we observe experimentally a shortening of the Ru(1)-O bond length with O coverage. This effect could not be reconciled with the present DFT-GGA calculations. The nu(Ru-O) stretch mode is found at 67 meV [c(2 times 4)-2O] and 64 meV [(2 times 1)pg-2O].Comment: 10 pages, figures are available as hardcopies on request by mailing [email protected], submitted to Phys. Rev. B (8. Aug. 97), other related publications can be found at http://www.rz-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm

Acute Beneficial Hemodynamic Effects of a Novel 3D-Echocardiographic Optimization Protocol in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

Post-implantation therapies to optimize cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) focus on adjustments of the atrio-ventricular (AV) delay and ventricular-to-ventricular (VV) interval. However, there is little consensus on how to achieve best resynchronization with these parameters. The aim of this study was to examine a novel combination of doppler echocardiography (DE) and three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) for individualized optimization of device based AV delays and VV intervals compared to empiric programming.25 recipients of CRT (male: 56%, mean age: 67 years) were included in this study. Ejection fraction (EF), the primary outcome parameter, and left ventricular (LV) dimensions were evaluated by 3DE before CRT (baseline), after AV delay optimization while pacing the ventricles simultaneously (empiric VV interval programming) and after individualized VV interval optimization. For AV delay optimization aortic velocity time integral (AoVTI) was examined in eight different AV delays, and the AV delay with the highest AoVTI was programmed. For individualized VV interval optimization 3DE full-volume datasets of the left ventricle were obtained and analyzed to derive a systolic dyssynchrony index (SDI), calculated from the dispersion of time to minimal regional volume for all 16 LV segments. Consecutively, SDI was evaluated in six different VV intervals (including LV or right ventricular preactivation), and the VV interval with the lowest SDI was programmed (individualized optimization).EF increased from baseline 23±7% to 30±8 (p<0.001) after AV delay optimization and to 32±8% (p<0.05) after individualized optimization with an associated decrease of end-systolic volume from a baseline of 138±60 ml to 115±42 ml (p<0.001). Moreover, individualized optimization significantly reduced SDI from a baseline of 14.3±5.5% to 6.1±2.6% (p<0.001).Compared with empiric programming of biventricular pacemakers, individualized echocardiographic optimization with the integration of 3-dimensional indices into the optimization protocol acutely improved LV systolic function and decreased ESV and can be used to select the optimal AV delay and VV interval in CRT

Anisotropic atomic motions in structural analysis by low energy electron diffraction

The structure of the √3 × √3 R30° overlayer formed by CO molecules adsorbed on a Ru(0001) was analyzed by low energy electron diffraction. Anisotropic atomic motions under the influence of thermal excitation were taken into account by adopting the concept of split positions. Apart from considerable improvement in the structural refinement this technique provides information about dynamic processes. In particular, the molecular axis of the CO molecules was found to be tilted on the average by (12±3° at 150 K, which is attributed to excitation of the bending mode vibration (i.e., frustrated translation)

Interferon-λ rs12979860 genotype and liver fibrosis in viral and non-viral chronic liver disease

Tissue fibrosis is a core pathologic process that contributes to mortality in ~45% of the population and is likely to be influenced by the host genetic architecture. Here we demonstrate, using liver disease as a model, that a single-nucleotide polymorphism (rs12979860) in the intronic region of ​interferon-λ4 (​IFNL4) is a strong predictor of fibrosis in an aetiology-independent manner. In a cohort of 4,172 patients, including 3,129 with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), 555 with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 488 with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), those with rs12979860CC have greater hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. In CHC, those with rs12979860CC also have greater stage-constant and stage-specific fibrosis progression rates (P<0.0001 for all). The impact of rs12979860 genotypes on fibrosis is maximal in young females, especially those with HCV genotype 3. These findings establish rs12979860 genotype as a strong aetiology-independent predictor of tissue inflammation and fibrosis