The Garden of Love: Some Orthodox Perspectives on the Spirit and the Church

In contemporary cultures, we often observe a strong shift of values.  Traditional religious ones are being replaced with “worldly” – at times petty – values. Within this context, notion and understanding of “paradise” takes a central place. Indeed, this is frequently regarded as a consolation for failed ambition on earth, rather than as recognition of true communion with God. In fact, in paradise, human beings existed in a state of harmony with their  Creator and the rest of creation, as well as with themselves. Due to the fall, human beings have been deprived of Grace. However, God sent the gift of His Son to recreate cosmic unity through His body, the Church. This article  explores the manner in which the Church mysteriously shapes paradise life on earth

Saddle-point dynamics of a Yang-Mills field on the exterior Schwarzschild spacetime

We consider the Cauchy problem for a spherically symmetric SU(2) Yang-Mills field propagating outside the Schwarzschild black hole. Although solutions starting from smooth finite energy initial data remain smooth for all times, not all of them scatter since there are non-generic solutions which asymptotically tend to unstable static solutions. We show that a static solution with one unstable mode appears as an intermediate attractor in the evolution of initial data near a border between basins of attraction of two different vacuum states. We study the saddle-point dynamics near this attractor, in particular we identify the universal phases of evolution: the ringdown approach, the exponential departure, and the eventual decay to one of the vacuum states.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure

Collapse of an Instanton

We construct a two parameter family of collapsing solutions to the 4+1 Yang-Mills equations and derive the dynamical law of the collapse. Our arguments indicate that this family of solutions is stable. The latter fact is also supported by numerical simulations.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figur

Immediate and late benefits of treating very elderly people with hypertension: results from active treatment extension to Hypertension in the Very Elderly randomised controlled trial

Objective To assess if very elderly people with hypertension obtain early benefit from antihypertensive treatment. Design One year open label active treatment extension of randomised controlled trial (Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial (HYVET)). Setting Hospital and general practice based centres mainly in eastern and western Europe, China, and Tunisia. Participants People on double blind treatment at the end of HYVET were eligible to enter the extension. Interventions Participants on active blood pressure lowering treatment continued taking active drug; those on placebo were given active blood pressure lowering treatment. The treatment regimen was as used in the main trial-indapamide SR 1.5 mg (plus perindopril 2-4 mg if required)-with the same target blood pressure of less than 150/80 mm Hg. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was all stroke; other outcomes included total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and cardiovascular events. Results Of 1882 people eligible for entry to the extension, 1712 (91%) agreed to participate. During the extension period, 1682 patient years were accrued. By six months, the difference in blood pressure between the two groups was 1.2/0.7 mm Hg. Comparing people previously treated with active drug and those previously on placebo, no significant differences were seen for stroke (n=13; hazard ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval 0.59 to 6.22) or cardiovascular events (n=25; 0.78, 0.36 to 1.72). Differences were seen for total mortality (47 deaths; hazard ratio 0.48, 0.26 to 0.87; P=0.02) and cardiovascular mortality (11 deaths; 0.19, 0.04 to 0.87; P=0.03). Conclusion Very elderly patients with hypertension may gain immediate benefit from treatment. Sustained differences in reductions of total mortality and cardiovascular mortality reinforce the benefits and support the need for early and long term treatment

Update on the role of Rifaximin in digestive diseases

© Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Various environmental factors affecting the human microbiota may lead to gut microbial imbalance and to the development of pathologies. Alterations of gut microbiota have been firmly implicated in digestive diseases such as hepatic encephalopathy, irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disease. However, while these three conditions may all be related to dysfunction of the gut-liver-brain axis, the precise pathophysiology appears to differ somewhat for each. Herein, current knowledge on the pathophysiology of hepatic encephalopathy, irritable bowel syndrome, and diverticular disease are reviewed, with a special focus on the gut microbiota modulation associated with these disorders during therapy with rifaximin. In general, the evidence for the efficacy of rifaximin in hepatic encephalopathy appears to be well consolidated, although it is less supported for irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disease. We reviewed current clinical practice for the management of these clinical conditions and underlined the desirability of more real-world studies to fully understand the potential of rifaximin in these clinical situations and obtain even more precise indications for the use of the drug.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Nebulization of the acidified sodium nitrite formulation attenuates acute hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Generalized hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) occurring during exposure to hypoxia is a detrimental process resulting in an increase in lung vascular resistance. Nebulization of sodium nitrite has been shown to inhibit HPV. The aim of this project was to investigate and compare the effects of nebulization of nitrite and different formulations of acidified sodium nitrite on acute HPV.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p><it>Ex vivo </it>isolated rabbit lungs perfused with erythrocytes in Krebs-Henseleit buffer (adjusted to 10% hematocrit) and <it>in vivo </it>anesthetized catheterized rabbits were challenged with periods of hypoxic ventilation alternating with periods of normoxic ventilation. After baseline hypoxic challenges, vehicle, sodium nitrite or acidified sodium nitrite was delivered via nebulization. In the <it>ex vivo </it>model, pulmonary arterial pressure and nitric oxide concentrations in exhaled gas were monitored. Nitrite and nitrite/nitrate were measured in samples of perfusion buffer. Pulmonary arterial pressure, systemic arterial pressure, cardiac output and blood gases were monitored in the <it>in vivo </it>model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the <it>ex vivo </it>model, nitrite nebulization attenuated HPV and increased nitric oxide concentrations in exhaled gas and nitrite concentrations in the perfusate. The acidified forms of sodium nitrite induced higher levels of nitric oxide in exhaled gas and had longer vasodilating effects compared to nitrite alone. All nitrite formulations increased concentrations of circulating nitrite to the same degree. In the <it>in vivo </it>model, inhaled nitrite inhibited HPV, while pulmonary arterial pressure, cardiac output and blood gases were not affected. All nitrite formulations had similar potency to inhibit HPV. The tested concentration of appeared tolerable.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Nitrite alone and in acidified forms effectively and similarly attenuates HPV. However, acidified nitrite formulations induce a more pronounced increase in nitric oxide exhalation.</p

Functional bowel disorders with diarrhoea: Clinical guidelines of the United European Gastroenterology and European Society for Neurogastroenterology and Motility

Irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhoea (IBS-D) and functional diarrhoea (FDr) are the two major functional bowel disorders characterized by diarrhoea. In spite of their high prevalence, IBS-D and FDr are associated with major uncertainties, especially regarding their optimal diagnostic work-up and management. A Delphi consensus was performed with experts from 10 European countries who conducted a literature summary and voting process on 31 statements. Quality of evidence was evaluated using the grading of recommendations, assessment, development, and evaluation criteria. Consensus (defined as >80% agreement) was reached for all the statements. The panel agreed with the potential overlapping of IBS-D and FDr. In terms of diagnosis, the consensus supports a symptom-based approach also with the exclusion of alarm symptoms, recommending the evaluation of full blood count, C-reactive protein, serology for coeliac disease, and faecal calprotectin, and consideration of diagnosing bile acid diarrhoea. Colonoscopy with random biopsies in both the right and left colon is recommended in patients older than 50 years and in presence of alarm features. Regarding treatment, a strong consensus was achieved for the use of a diet low fermentable oligo-, di-, monosaccharides and polyols, gut-directed psychological therapies, rifaximin, loperamide, and eluxadoline. A weak or conditional recommendation was achieved for antispasmodics, probiotics, tryciclic antidepressants, bile acid sequestrants, 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 antagonists (i.e. alosetron, ondansetron, or ramosetron). A multinational group of European experts summarized the current state of consensus on the definition, diagnosis, and management of IBS-D and FDr

Characterization of a murine model of monocrotaline pyrrole-induced acute lung injury

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>New animal models of chronic pulmonary hypertension in mice are needed. The injection of monocrotaline is an established model of pulmonary hypertension in rats. The aim of this study was to establish a murine model of pulmonary hypertension by injection of the active metabolite, monocrotaline pyrrole.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Survival studies, computed tomographic scanning, histology, bronchoalveolar lavage were performed, and arterial blood gases and hemodynamics were measured in animals which received an intravenous injection of different doses of monocrotaline pyrrole.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Monocrotaline pyrrole induced pulmonary hypertension in Sprague Dawley rats. When injected into mice, monocrotaline pyrrole induced dose-dependant mortality in C57Bl6/N and BALB/c mice (dose range 6–15 mg/kg bodyweight). At a dose of 10 mg/kg bodyweight, mice developed a typical early-phase acute lung injury, characterized by lung edema, neutrophil influx, hypoxemia and reduced lung compliance. In the late phase, monocrotaline pyrrole injection resulted in limited lung fibrosis and no obvious pulmonary hypertension.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Monocrotaline and monocrotaline pyrrole pneumotoxicity substantially differs between the animal species.</p