A Spiritual Call: Jeremiah’s Call to the Heart And the Stages of Spiritual Progression in Carmelite Spirituality

The aim of this study is first, to identify resonances between Jeremiah 1:10 and the three stages of the spiritual journey as defined by the Carmelites such as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila (i.e., the stages known as purgative, illuminative and unitive) and then, in light of an in depth understanding of the spiritual senses attributed to Jeremiah 1:10 in its reception history, to evaluate the impact of Jer 1:10 upon the Carmelite conception of the spiritual journey. A comprehensive Word Study is undertaken of six task verbs from Jer 1:10, presented as three pairs: to root out (נתש) and to pull down (נחץ), to destroy (אבד) and to throw down (הרס), to build (בנה) and to plant (נטע). This analysis offers support for the alignment and resonances of the task verbs with the three stages of the spiritual journey. The Word Study also suggests that for the spiritual sense, the Hebrew text may provide a typology of a three-stage progression, in which two stages of purification (described by two pairs of negative task verbs) are necessary before the holiest and whole-hearted stage of unification is effected (described by the positive pair of task verbs). In addition, the repeated proximate position of task verbs to the themes of “turning” and “the heart” suggest that the verbs may work to turn the heart to the Lord, who continues to love his people despite their spiritual adultery and other sins. The evidence reviewed in the Word Study is supported by the reception history and indicates that Jer 1:10 may offer a significant and early spiritual model. This verse directly impacts upon Paul and Origen in the early era of Christianity. Based on Origen’s interpretation, it is possible that Jer 1:10 offers a biblical model for the tri-partite spiritual journey which precedes the conception of spiritual stages by Pseudo-Dionysius, who is often considered the originator of the purgative, illuminative and unitive concepts. In a number of ways, Origen’s spiritual interpretation seems to be carried through Christian tradition and may challenge oft-assumed Platonic or Neoplatonic sources of the spiritual journey. However, the impact of Jer 1:10 upon the Carmelites Saints John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila is diffuse and indirect. No direct citation or echo of Jer 1:10 has been identified in their writings. Nonetheless, like Origen’s interpretation of Jer 1:10, John recognizes successive stages of spiritual “destruction” (purgation and illumination) designed to open space in the soul for God, allowing for a third phase of “construction” (i.e., union). Jer 1:10 may offer insight into the earliest theological seeds of the spiritual journey, with echoes and resonances throughout the ages

Evidence-Based Medicine Instruction in Integrative Medical School Curricula: A Tale of Two Libraries

Background: Many academic health sciences libraries have been moving towards active participation in the curriculum at their institutions.1 At the same time, many medical schools have completed, are working upon or are considering movement to an integrative curriculum, (the melding of basic sciences and clinical learning), based on suggested AAMC competencies.2We will discuss how libraries at two New England medical schools have successfully embraced roles in the their school’s curriculum, which are at different stages of adoption of new integrative curricula. Methods: The teaching of Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) is an area ripe for collaboration between a medical school and its library. The libraries at both Harvard Medical School (HMS) and the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) now offer EBM instruction within their medical school curricula. HMS is refining its new integrative curriculum while UMMS is in the planning stages with implementation targeted for AY 2010. Teaching time, location within the curriculum, general content and methods between the programs at these two schools will be examined and compared. Results: UMMS conducts all of its EBM instruction within a traditional 3rd year clerkship format. HMS covers similar content online in a 1st year combined basic science/clinical course. However, the libraries at both institutions have successfully facilitated the incorporation of this important topic into required coursework. Reflection: Reflections on the following themes are included in the poster on: Staff and resources/workload Adding content into a packed curriculum Library expertise In person vs. online instruction Progressive versus single encounter instruction Conclusions: While at different phases of curriculum redesign, the academic libraries at UMMS and HMS have demonstrated the effectiveness of varied methods of teaching Evidence-Based Medicine within a medical school curriculum. 1Burrows, Suzetta, et al. Developing an evidence-based medicine and use of the biomedical literature component as a longitudinal theme of an outcomes-based medical school curriculum: year 1. Journal of the Medical Library Association 91.1 (2003):34-41. 2Association of American Medical Colleges. The Education of Medical Students: Ten Stories of Curriculum Change. New York: Milbank Memorial Funds, 2000. Presented at the Northeast Group on Educational Affairs (NEGEA) Regional Conference on May 2, 2009, in Hershey, Pennsylvania

Therapeutic Intervention for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS): A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) has been treated with several different interventions with limited success. This meta-analysis aims to review all trials reporting on therapeutic intervention for CP/CPPS using the National Institutes of Health-Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI). Methods We searched Medline, PubMed, the Cochrane Pain, Palliative & Supportive Care Trials, the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, ClinicalTrials.gov, and the NIDDK website between 1947 and December 31, 2011 without language or study type restrictions. All RCTs for CP/CPPS lasting at least 6 weeks, with a minimum of 10 participants per arm, and using the NIH-CPSI score, the criterion standard for CP/CPPS, as an outcome measure were included. Data was extracted from each study by two independent reviewers. Gillbraith and I-squared plots were used for heterogeneity testing and Eggers and Peters methods for publication bias. Quality was assessed using a component approach and meta-regression was used to analyze sources of heterogeneity. Results: Mepartricin, percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS), and triple therapy comprised of doxazosin + ibuprofen + thiocolchicoside (DIT) resulted in clinically and statistically significant reduction in NIH-CPSI total score. The same agents and aerobic exercise resulted in clinically and statistically significant NIH-CPSI pain domain score reduction. Acupuncture, DIT, and PTNS were found to produce statistically and clinically significant reductions in the NIH-CPSI voiding domain. A statistically significant placebo effect was found for all outcomes and time analysis showed that efficacy of all treatments increased over time. Alpha-blockers, antibiotics, and combinations of the two failed to show statistically or clinically significant NIH-CPSI reductions. Conclusion: Results from this meta-analysis reflect our current inability to effectively manage CP/CPPS. Clinicians and researchers must consider placebo effect and treatment efficacy over time and design studies creatively so we can more fully elucidate the etiology and role of therapeutic intervention in CP/CPPS.

Clinical and Experimental Applications of NIR-LED Photobiomodulation

This review presents current research on the use of far-red to near-infrared (NIR) light treatment in various in vitro and in vivo models. Low-intensity light therapy, commonly referred to as “photobiomodulation,” uses light in the far-red to near-infrared region of the spectrum (630–1000 nm) and modulates numerous cellular functions. Positive effects of NIR–light-emitting diode (LED) light treatment include acceleration of wound healing, improved recovery from ischemic injury of the heart, and attenuated degeneration of injured optic nerves by improving mitochondrial energy metabolism and production. Various in vitro and in vivo models of mitochondrial dysfunction were treated with a variety of wavelengths of NIR-LED light. These studies were performed to determine the effect of NIR-LED light treatment on physiologic and pathologic processes. NIRLED light treatment stimulates the photoacceptor cytochrome c oxidase, resulting in increased energy metabolism and production. NIR-LED light treatment accelerates wound healing in ischemic rat and murine diabetic wound healing models, attenuates the retinotoxic effects of methanol-derived formic acid in rat models, and attenuates the developmental toxicity of dioxin in chicken embryos. Furthermore, NIR-LED light treatment prevents the development of oral mucositis in pediatric bone marrow transplant patients. The experimental results demonstrate that NIR-LED light treatment stimulates mitochondrial oxidative metabolism in vitro, and accelerates cell and tissue repair in vivo. NIR-LED light represents a novel, noninvasive, therapeutic intervention for the treatment of numerous diseases linked to mitochondrial dysfunction

Lessons from Toxicology: Developing a 21st‑Century Paradigm for Medical Research

Biomedical developments in the 21st century provide an unprecedented opportunity to gain a dynamic systems-level and human-specific understanding of the causes and pathophysiologies of disease. This understanding is a vital need, in view of continuing failures in health research, drug discovery, and clinical translation. The full potential of advanced approaches may not be achieved within a 20th-century conceptual framework dominated by animal models. Novel technologies are being integrated into environmental health research and are also applicable to disease research, but these advances need a new medical research and drug discovery paradigm to gain maximal benefits. We suggest a new conceptual framework that repurposes the 21st-century transition underway in toxicology. Human disease should be conceived as resulting from integrated extrinsic and intrinsic causes, with research focused on modern human-specific models to understand disease pathways at multiple biological levels that are analogous to adverse outcome pathways in toxicology. Systems biology tools should be used to integrate and interpret data about disease causation and pathophysiology. Such an approach promises progress in overcoming the current roadblocks to understanding human disease and successful drug discovery and translation. A discourse should begin now to identify and consider the many challenges and questions that need to be solved

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected

Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Cells and Tissues: Triple Helix Proteins as a Potential Biomarker for Tumors

In this work, the infrared (IR) spectra of living neural cells in suspension, native brain tissue, and native brain tumor tissue were investigated. Methods were developed to overcome the strong IR signal of liquid water so that the signal from the cellular biochemicals could be seen. Measurements could be performed during surgeries, within minutes after resection. Comparison between normal tissue, different cell lineages in suspension, and tumors allowed preliminary assignments of IR bands to be made. The most dramatic difference between tissues and cells was found to be in weaker IR absorbances usually assigned to the triple helix of collagens. Triple helix domains are common in larger structural proteins, and are typically found in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of tissues. An algorithm to correct offsets and calculate the band heights and positions of these bands was developed, so the variance between identical measurements could be assessed. The initial results indicate the triple helix signal is surprisingly consistent between different individuals, and is altered in tumor tissues. Taken together, these preliminary investigations indicate this triple helix signal may be a reliable biomarker for a tumor-like microenvironment. Thus, this signal has potential to aid in the intra-operational delineation of brain tumor borders. © 2013 Stelling et al

Final Targeting Strategy for the SDSS-IV APOGEE-2N Survey

APOGEE-2 is a dual-hemisphere, near-infrared (NIR), spectroscopic survey with the goal of producing a chemo-dynamical mapping of the Milky Way Galaxy. The targeting for APOGEE-2 is complex and has evolved with time. In this paper, we present the updates and additions to the initial targeting strategy for APOGEE-2N presented in Zasowski et al. (2017). These modifications come in two implementation modes: (i) "Ancillary Science Programs" competitively awarded to SDSS-IV PIs through proposal calls in 2015 and 2017 for the pursuit of new scientific avenues outside the main survey, and (ii) an effective 1.5-year expansion of the survey, known as the Bright Time Extension, made possible through accrued efficiency gains over the first years of the APOGEE-2N project. For the 23 distinct ancillary programs, we provide descriptions of the scientific aims, target selection, and how to identify these targets within the APOGEE-2 sample. The Bright Time Extension permitted changes to the main survey strategy, the inclusion of new programs in response to scientific discoveries or to exploit major new datasets not available at the outset of the survey design, and expansions of existing programs to enhance their scientific success and reach. After describing the motivations, implementation, and assessment of these programs, we also leave a summary of lessons learned from nearly a decade of APOGEE-1 and APOGEE-2 survey operations. A companion paper, Santana et al. (submitted), provides a complementary presentation of targeting modifications relevant to APOGEE-2 operations in the Southern Hemisphere.Comment: 59 pages; 11 Figures; 7 Tables; 2 Appendices; Submitted to Journal and Under Review; Posting to accompany papers using the SDSS-IV/APOGEE-2 Data Release 17 scheduled for December 202

SARS-CoV-2 uses CD4 to infect T helper lymphocytes

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the agent of a major global outbreak of respiratory tract disease known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infects mainly lungs and may cause several immune-related complications, such as lymphocytopenia and cytokine storm, which are associated with the severity of the disease and predict mortality. The mechanism by which SARS-CoV-2 infection may result in immune system dysfunction is still not fully understood. Here, we show that SARS-CoV-2 infects human CD4+ T helper cells, but not CD8+ T cells, and is present in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage T helper cells of severe COVID-19 patients. We demonstrated that SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein (S) directly binds to the CD4 molecule, which in turn mediates the entry of SARS-CoV-2 in T helper cells. This leads to impaired CD4 T cell function and may cause cell death. SARS-CoV-2-infected T helper cells express higher levels of IL-10, which is associated with viral persistence and disease severity. Thus, CD4-mediated SARS-CoV-2 infection of T helper cells may contribute to a poor immune response in COVID-19 patients.</p