Madness and Mindfulness: How the "Personal" is "Political"

The chapter examines the institutionalization of unreason and the potential role of meditation in disclosing its roots. It is argued that meditative awareness can enable critical reflection on, and transformation of, practices that diminish our rational awareness. Mindfulness may contribute to this awareness, but its lack of an ethical frame renders it vulnerable to narcissistic appropriation and corporate commercialization. Accordingly, mindfulness is limited in disclosure, and counteracting, of the needless perpetuation of suffering associated with ego-building and defensive emotions, as manifest in contemporary expressions of sectarianism and fanaticism. The examination of antidotes to unreason and freedom is accomplished through a series of critical reflections upon the insights generated by Wright Mills’ The Sociological Imagination, Carol Hanisch’s “The Personal is Political,” and Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. These texts provide complementary commentaries on the development of progressive, emancipatory consciousness and praxis to which, I conjecture, meditation, as distinct from the mindfulness movement, contributes

Madness and Mindfulness

The chapter examines the institutionalization of unreason and the potential role of meditation in disclosing its roots. It is argued that meditative awareness can enable critical reflection on, and transformation of, practices that diminish our rational awareness. Mindfulness may contribute to this awareness, but its lack of an ethical frame renders it vulnerable to narcissistic appropriation and corporate commercialization. Accordingly, mindfulness is limited in disclosure, and counteracting, of the needless perpetuation of suffering associated with ego-building and defensive emotions, as manifest in contemporary expressions of sectarianism and fanaticism. The examination of antidotes to unreason and freedom is accomplished through a series of critical reflections upon the insights generated by Wright Mills’ The Sociological Imagination, Carol Hanisch’s “The Personal is Political,” and Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. These texts provide complementary commentaries on the development of progressive, emancipatory consciousness and praxis to which, I conjecture, meditation, as distinct from the mindfulness movement, contributes

Overexpression of P70 S6 kinase protein is associated with increased risk of locoregional recurrence in node-negative premenopausal early breast cancer patients

The RPS6KB1 gene is amplified and overexpressed in approximately 10% of breast carcinomas and has been found associated with poor prognosis. We studied the prognostic significance of P70 S6 kinase protein (PS6K) overexpression in a series of 452 node-negative premenopausal early-stage breast cancer patients (median follow-up: 10.8 years). Immunohistochemistry was used to assess PS6K expression in the primary tumour, which had previously been analysed for a panel of established prognostic factors in breast cancer. In a univariate analysis, PS6K overexpression was associated with worse distant disease-free survival as well as impaired locoregional control (HR 1.80, P 0.025 and HR 2.50, P 0.006, respectively). In a multivariate analysis including other prognostic factors, PS6K overexpression remained an independent predictor for poor locoregional control (RR 2.67, P 0.003). To our knowledge, P70 S6 kinase protein is the first oncogenic marker that has prognostic impact on locoregional control and therefore may have clinical implications in determining the local treatment strategy in early-stage breast cancer patients

Photonic quantum state transfer between a cold atomic gas and a crystal

Interfacing fundamentally different quantum systems is key to build future hybrid quantum networks. Such heterogeneous networks offer superior capabilities compared to their homogeneous counterparts as they merge individual advantages of disparate quantum nodes in a single network architecture. However, only very few investigations on optical hybrid-interconnections have been carried out due to the high fundamental and technological challenges, which involve e.g. wavelength and bandwidth matching of the interfacing photons. Here we report the first optical quantum interconnection between two disparate matter quantum systems with photon storage capabilities. We show that a quantum state can be faithfully transferred between a cold atomic ensemble and a rare-earth doped crystal via a single photon at telecommunication wavelength, using cascaded quantum frequency conversion. We first demonstrate that quantum correlations between a photon and a single collective spin excitation in the cold atomic ensemble can be transferred onto the solid-state system. We also show that single-photon time-bin qubits generated in the cold atomic ensemble can be converted, stored and retrieved from the crystal with a conditional qubit fidelity of more than $85\%$. Our results open prospects to optically connect quantum nodes with different capabilities and represent an important step towards the realization of large-scale hybrid quantum networks

Effects of second-generation and indoor sports surfaces on knee joint kinetics and kinematics during 45° and 180° cutting manoeuvres, and exploration using statistical parametric mapping and Bayesian analyses

Purpose: The aim of the current investigation was to examine the influence of second generation (2G) and indoor surfaces on knee joint kinetics, kinematics, frictional and muscle force parameters during 45° and 180° change of direction movements using statistical parametric mapping (SPM) and Bayesian analyses. Methods: Twenty male participants performed 45° and 180° change of direction movements on 2G and indoor surfaces. Lower limb kinematics were collected using an eight-camera motion capture system and ground reaction forces were quantified using an embedded force platform. ACL, patellar tendon and patellofemoral loading was examined via a musculoskeletal modelling approaches and the frictional properties of the surfaces were examined using ground reaction force information. Differences between surfaces were examined using SPM and Bayesian analyses. Results: Both SPM and Bayesian analyses showed that ACL loading parameters were greater in the 2G condition in relation to the indoor surface. Conversely, SPM and Bayesian analyses confirmed that patellofemoral/ patellar tendon loading alongside the coefficient of friction and peak rotational moment were larger in the indoor condition compared to the 2G surface. Conclusions: This study indicates that the indoor surface may improve change of direction performance owing to enhanced friction at the shoe-surface interface but augment the risk from patellar tendon/ patellofemoral injuries; whereas the 2G condition may enhance the risk from ACL pathologies

Effects of barefoot and shod running on lower extremity joint loading, a musculoskeletal simulation study

PURPOSE: The aim of the current investigation was to utilize a musculoskeletal simulation based approach, to examine the effects of barefoot and shod running on lower extremity joint loading during the stance phase. METHODS: Twelve male runners, ran over an embedded force plate at 4.0 m/s, in both barefoot and shod conditions. Kinematics of the lower extremities were collected using an eight camera motion capture system. Lower extremity joint loading was also explored using a musculoskeletal simulation and mathematical modelling approach, and differences between footwear conditions were examined using paired samples t-tests. RESULTS: Peak Achilles tendon force was significantly larger (P=0.039) when running barefoot (6.85 BW) compared to shod (6.07 BW). In addition, both medial (P=0.013) and lateral (P=0.007) tibiofemoral instantaneous load rates were significantly larger in the barefoot (medial = 289.17 BW/s & lateral = 179.59 BW/s) in relation to the shod (medial = 167.57 BW/s & lateral = 116.40 BW/s) condition. Finally, the barefoot condition (9.70 BW) was associated with a significantly larger (P=0.037) peak hip force compared to running shod (8.51 BW). CONCLUSIONS: The current investigation indicates that running barefoot may place runners at increased risk from the biomechanical factors linked to the aetiology of chronic lower extremity pathologies. However, future analyses using habitual barefoot runners, are required before more definitive affirmations regarding injury predisposition can be made

Effects of prophylactic knee bracing on patellar tendon loading parameters during functional sports tasks in recreational athletes

Purpose This study investigated the efects of prophylactic knee bracing on patellar tendon loading parameters. Methods Twenty recreational athletes (10 male and 10 female) from diferent athletic disciplines performed run, cut and single leg hop movements under two conditions (prophylactic knee brace/no-brace). Lower extremity kinetics and kinematics were examined using a piezoelectric force plate and three-dimensional motion capture system. Patellar tendon loading was explored using a mathematical modelling approach, which accounted for co-contraction of the knee lexors. Tendon loading parameters were examined using 2 (brace) × 3 (movement) × 2 (sex) mixed ANOVAs. Results Tendon instantaneous load rate was signiicantly reduced in female athletes in the run (brace 289.14 BW/s no-brace 370.06 BW/s) and cut (brace 353.17 BW/s/no-brace 422.01 BW/s) conditions whilst wearing the brace. Conclusions Female athletes may be able to attenuate their risk from patellar tendinopathy during athletic movements, through utilization of knee bracing, although further prospective research into the prophylactic efects of knee bracing is required before this can be clinically substantiated

Constraints on Nucleon Decay via "Invisible" Modes from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

Data from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory have been used to constrain the lifetime for nucleon decay to ``invisible'' modes, such as n -> 3 nu. The analysis was based on a search for gamma-rays from the de-excitation of the residual nucleus that would result from the disappearance of either a proton or neutron from O16. A limit of tau_inv > 2 x 10^{29} years is obtained at 90% confidence for either neutron or proton decay modes. This is about an order of magnitude more stringent than previous constraints on invisible proton decay modes and 400 times more stringent than similar neutron modes.Comment: Update includes missing efficiency factor (limits change by factor of 2) Submitted to Physical Review Letter

First Neutrino Observations from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory

The first neutrino observations from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory are presented from preliminary analyses. Based on energy, direction and location, the data in the region of interest appear to be dominated by 8B solar neutrinos, detected by the charged current reaction on deuterium and elastic scattering from electrons, with very little background. Measurements of radioactive backgrounds indicate that the measurement of all active neutrino types via the neutral current reaction on deuterium will be possible with small systematic uncertainties. Quantitative results for the fluxes observed with these reactions will be provided when further calibrations have been completed.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, 10 figures, Invited paper at Neutrino 2000 Conference, Sudbury, Canada, June 16-21, 2000 to be published in the Proceeding