Reading Agrippa von Nettesheim’s De Occulta Philosophia Libri Tres: Textual Structure and Central Arguments

Abstract: This article reads Agrippa von Nettesheim’s De Occulta Philosophia Libri Tres (1531/1533) as a comprehensive model of the universe that integrates magic as part of the original Creation. It focuses on the text’s structure to make sense of a book that has sometimes been dismissed as an encyclopedia or read primarily through the lens of Agrippa’s other works. It concludes that each of the three sections of this text provides evidence to support Agrippa’s model of the universe and that an early modern reader would have had the ability and reading style to put those pieces together. It further proposes Agrippa’s universe is built upon a foundation of natural philosophy, astrology and mathematics, and religious practice and belief intertwined into magical work that allows virtues to be drawn down from the heavens to change the earth and to be directed upwards from the earth to affect the heavens. Thus DOP is both a traditionally neoPlatonic book and proposes a fundamentally more powerful role for Renaissance magic

Exercise Performance and Physiological Responses: The Potential Role of Redox Imbalance

Increases in oxidative stress or decreases in antioxidant capacity, or redox imbalance, are known to alter physiological function and has been suggested to influence performance. To date, no study has sought to manipulate this balance in the same participants and observe the impact on physiological function and performance. Using a single-blind, placebo-controlled, and counterbalanced design, this study examined the effects of increasing free radicals, via hyperoxic exposure (FiO2 = 1.0), and/or increasing antioxidant capacity, through consuming an antioxidant cocktail (AOC; vitamin-C, vitamin-E, α-lipoic acid), on 5-kilometer (km) cycling time-trial performance, and the physiological and fatigue responses in healthy college-aged males. Hyperoxic exposure prior to the 5 km TT had no effect on performance, fatigue, or the physiological responses to exercise. The AOC significantly reduced average power output (222 ± 11 vs. 214 ± 12 W), increased 5 km time (516 ± 17 vs. 533 ± 18 sec), suppressed ventilation (VE; 116 ± 5 vs. 109 ± 13 L/min), despite similar oxygen consumption (VO2; 43.1 ± 0.8 vs. 44.9 ± 0.2 mL/kg per min), decreased VE/VO2 (35.9 ± 2.0 vs. 32.3 ± 1.5 L/min), reduced economy (VO2/W; 0.20 ± 0.01 vs. 0.22 ± 0.01), increased blood lactate (10 ± 0.7 vs. 11 ± 0.7 mmol), and perception of fatigue (RPE; 7.39 ± 0.4 vs. 7.60 ± 0.3) at the end of the TT, as compared to placebo (main effect, placebo vs. AOC, respectively). Our data demonstrate that prior to exercise, ingesting an AOC, but not exposure to hyperoxia, likely disrupts the delicate balance between pro- and antioxidant forces, which negatively impacts ventilation, blood lactate, economy, perception of fatigue, and performance (power output and 5 km time) in young healthy males. Thus, caution is warranted in athletes taking excess exogenous antioxidants

Prevalence of sleepwalking in an adult population

Background: Sleepwalking consists of a series of behavioral activities that occur during sleep. These activities may besimple, complex or aggressive in nature. They include motor activities, confusion, and amnesia for the events. Sleepwalking isa disorder of arousal from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. In children, episodes of sleepwalking are rarely violent; inadults, however, sleepwalking might include violence, which could endanger the patient or others and might precipitate legalissues. There is inadequate information on the prevalence and demographic correlates of sleepwalking in Nigeria.Objectives: One objective of this study was to determine the lifetime prevalence rate of sleepwalking in an adult populationin Ile-Ife, in Southwestern Nigeria. Another objective was to determine the age and sex distribution of sleepwalking amongthose who have experienced it at least once in their lifetime. Materials and Methods: A random sample of 228 healthyindividuals aged 18 – 60 years was obtained and the members were asked to fill out a survey form about lifetime prevalencerate of sleepwalking. Results: The overall lifetime prevalence rate of sleepwalking was 7% (16 of 228 participants). It was10.4% in males and 3.5% in females, but the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.07). Conclusion: This studyhas shown that sleepwalking is common in the population. In view of the psychological effects of sleepwalking and thepotential physical and legal problems associated with it, adequate efforts should be made for early detection and promptmanagement of the condition

Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Beginning in Childhood

Although the clinical manifestations of cardiovascular disease (CVD), such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and peripheral vascular disease, appear from middle age, the process of atherosclerosis can begin early in childhood. The early stage and progression of atherosclerosis in youth are influenced by risk factors that include obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and smoking, and by the presence of specific diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and Kawasaki disease (KD). The existing evidence indicates that primary prevention of atherosclerotic disease should begin in childhood. Identification of children at risk for atherosclerosis may allow early intervention to decrease the atherosclerotic process, thereby preventing or delaying CVD. This review will describe the origin and progression of atherosclerosis in childhood, and the identification and management of known risk factors for atherosclerotic CVD in children and young adults

Reduction in alcohol consumption and health status

Aims: This study investigated the association between alcohol consumption and health status using cross-sectional national survey data. Measurements and design: This study relied upon self-report data collected by the 2004 and 2007 Australian National Drug Strategy Household (NDSH) surveys. Households were selected using a multi-stage, stratified-area, random sample design. Both surveys used combinations of the drop-and-collect and computer-assisted telephone interview approaches. Respondents were questioned about their current and past drinking, the presence of formal diagnosis for specific diseases (heart disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cancer, anxiety, depression) and self-perceived general health status. Associations between drinking status, the presence of diagnoses and self-perceptions of general health status among respondents aged 18+ and 45+ were assessed using multivariate logistic regression. Setting and participants: Male and females aged 18 years or older and resident in Australia. The sample sizes for the 2004 and 2007 NDSH surveys were 24 109 and 23 356, respectively. Findings: Respondents with a diagnosis of diabetes, hypertension and anxiety were more likely to have reduced or stopped alcohol consumption in the past 12 months. The likelihood of having reduced or ceased alcohol consumption inthe past 12 months increased as perceived general health status declined from excellent to poor. Conclusions: Experience of ill health is associated with subsequent reduction or cessation of alcohol consumption. This may at least partly underlie the observed 'J-shape' function relating alcohol consumption to premature mortality

Genetic predisposition influences plasma lipids of participants on habitual diet, but not the response to reductions in dietary intake of saturated fatty acids

Objective: SNPs identified from genome wide association studies associate with lipid risk markers of cardiovascular disease. This study investigated whether these SNPs altered the plasma lipid response to diet in the ‘RISCK’ study cohort. Methods: Participants (n = 490) from a dietary intervention to lower saturated fat by replacement with carbohydrate or monounsaturated fat, were genotyped for 39 lipid-associated SNPs. The association of each individual SNP, and of the SNPs combined (using genetic predisposition scores), with plasma lipid concentrations was assessed at baseline, and on change in response to 24 weeks on diets. Results: The associations between SNPs and lipid concentrations were directionally consistent with previous findings. The genetic predisposition scores were associated with higher baseline concentrations of plasma total(P = 0.02) and LDL (P = 0.002) cholesterol, triglycerides (P = 0.001) and apolipoprotein B (P = 0.004), and with lower baseline concentrations of HDL cholesterol (P < 0.001) and apolipoprotein A-I (P < 0.001). None of the SNPs showed significant association with the reduction of plasma lipids in response to the dietary interventions and there was no evidence of diet-gene interactions. Conclusion: Results from this exploratory study have shown that increased genetic predisposition was associated with an unfavourable plasma lipid profile at baseline, but did not influence the improvement in lipid profiles by the low-saturated-fat diets

Utility of three anthropometric indices in assessing the cardiometabolic risk profile in children

Objectives: To evaluate the ability of BMI, WC and WHtR to identify increased cardiometabolic risk in pre-adolescents. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 192 children (10.92 ± 0.58 years, 56% female) from the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2013. Receiver operating characteristic curves determined the discriminatory ability of BMI, WC and WHtR to identify individuals with increased cardiometabolic risk (increased clustered triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, systolic blood pressure, cardiorespiratory fitness and glucose). Results: A WHtR ≥ 0.5 increased the odds by 5.2 (95% confidence interval 2.6, 10.3) of having increased cardiometabolic risk. Similar associations were observed for BMI and WC. Both BMI-z and WHtR were fair predictors of increased cardiometabolic risk although BMI-z demonstrated the best trade-off between sensitivity and specificity, 76.1% and 63.6%, compared to 68.1% and 65.5% for WHtR. Cross-validation analysis revealed that BMI-z and WHtR correctly classified 84% of individuals (kappa score = 0.671, 95% CI 0.55, 0.79). The sensitivity of the cut-points suggests that 89.3% of individuals were correctly classified as being at risk with only 10.7% misdiagnosed whereas the specificity of the cut-points indicated that 77.8% of individuals were correctly identified as being healthy with 22.2% of individuals incorrectly diagnosed as being at risk. Conclusions: Findings suggest that WHtR provides similar cardiometabolic risk estimates to age and sex adjusted BMI