<p>A Chinese-Tibetan dictionary of zoology. (Michael Walter and Manfred Taube 2006-05-15, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)</p>
<p>This article discusses the life of Skyid shod sde pa chos rje bstan 'dzin blo bzang rgya mtsho (1593-1638), chief of the Skyid shod region of central Tibet, as well as his paternal ancestry and its role in governance, his immediately previous lifetime, and the history of the Skyid shod region before it was controlled by his ancestors. (Steven Weinberger 2006-12-19)</p>
<p>A report on Nepalese opposition to Indian and European slave trade in the 18th through the 20th century. (Mark Turin 2004-05-03)</p>
Five experienced practitioners of transcendental meditation spent appreciable parts of meditation sessions in sleep stages 2, 3, and 4. Time spent in each sleep stage varied both between sessions for a given subject and between subjects. In addition, we compare electroencephalogram records made during meditation with those made during naps taken at the same time of day. The range of states observed during meditation does not support the view that meditation produces a single, unique state of consciousness.
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ObjectiveTo capture any sleep quality changes associated with group psychotherapy.
Patients/methods
Physician-referred, chronically depressed patients (n = 25) were randomized to either eight group sessions of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT, n = 9) plus Treatment As Usual (TAU), or the Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP, n = 8) plus TAU, or to TAU only (control group, n = 8). Participants recorded their sleep at home. The primary outcome variables were: stable and unstable sleep, which were assessed using cardiopulmonary coupling (CPC) analysis, and estimated total sleep and wake time (minutes). Cardiopulmonary coupling measures heart rate variability and the electrocardiogram's R-wave amplitude fluctuations associated with respiration.
Results
By post-treatment night 6, the CBASP group had more stable sleep (p = 0.044) and less wake (p = 0.004) compared with TAU, and less wake vs MBCT (p = 0.039).
Conclusion
The CBASP group psychotherapy treatment improved sleep quality compared with Treatment As Usual.
<p>A Sanskrit-Tibetan dictionary. A revised and expanded version of the <em>Amarakoṣa</em>. (Michael Walter and Manfred Taube 2006-05-15, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)</p>
A Commentary on the Esoteric Precepts: the Rosary of Views (Man ngag lta phreng gi 'grel pa) is contained in The Miscellaneous Writings of the 11th century Nyingma master Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo.
A Commentary on the Esoteric Precepts: the Rosary of Views (Man ngag lta phreng gi 'grel pa) is contained in The Miscellaneous Writings of the 11th century Nyingma master Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo.
<p>A list of drugs in Latin-Russian-written Tibetan-phonetically transcribed Tibetan in Cyrillic script. This work has Tibetan, Russian, and Latin-Russian-Burjat indices. (Michael Walter and Manfred Taube 2006-05-15, revised by Bill McGrath 2008-01-03)</p>
Influences of slow and deep respiration on steady-state sympathetic nerve activity remain controversial in humans and could vary depending on disease conditions and basal sympathetic nerve activity. To elucidate the respiratory modulation of steady-state sympathetic nerve activity, we modeled the dynamic nature of the relationship between lung inflation and muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in 11 heart failure patients with exaggerated sympathetic outflow at rest. An autoregressive exogenous input model was utilized to simulate entire responses of MSNA to variable respiratory patterns. In another 18 patients, we determined the influence of increasing tidal volume and slowing respiratory frequency on MSNA; 10 patients underwent a 15-min device-guided slow respiration and the remaining 8 had no respiratory modification. The model predicted that a 1-liter, step increase of lung volume decreased MSNA dynamically; its nadir (−33 ± 22%) occurred at 2.4 s; and steady-state decrease (−15 ± 5%), at 6 s. Actually, in patients with the device-guided slow and deep respiration, respiratory frequency effectively fell from 16.4 ± 3.9 to 6.7 ± 2.8/min ( P < 0.0001) with a concomitant increase in tidal volume from 499 ± 206 to 1,177 ± 497 ml ( P < 0.001). Consequently, steady-state MSNA was decreased by 31% ( P < 0.005). In patients without respiratory modulation, there were no significant changes in respiratory frequency, tidal volume, and steady-state MSNA. Thus slow and deep respiration suppresses steady-state sympathetic nerve activity in patients with high levels of resting sympathetic tone as in heart failure.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women worldwide. Much emphasis has been placed on the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. While depression and anxiety increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular disease also increases the risk of developing anxiety and depression. Thus, promoting optimal mental health may be important for both primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease. Like lowering blood pressure, lipids, and body weight, lowering anger and hostility and improving depression and anxiety may also be an important intervention in preventive cardiology. As we strive to further improve cardiovascular outcomes, the next bridge to cross may be one of offering patients nonpharmacologic means for combating daily mental stress and promoting mental health, such as yoga and pranayama. Indeed, the best preventive cardiovascular medicine may be a blend of both Western and Eastern medicine. Key words: Anxiety; blood pressure; cardiovascular disease; depression; hypertension; mental health; pranayama; prevention; slow breathing; stress; yoga.
Background—It is well established that a depressed baroreflex sensitivity may adversely influence the prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and in those with previous myocardial infarction.Methods and Results—We tested whether a slow breathing rate (6 breaths/min) could modify the baroreflex sensitivity in 81 patients with stable (2 weeks) CHF (age, 58Ϯ1 years; NYHA classes I [6 patients], II [33], III [27], and IV [15]) and in 21 controls. Slow breathing induced highly significant increases in baroreflex sensitivity, both in controls (from 9.4Ϯ0.7 to 13.8Ϯ1.0 ms/mm Hg, PϽ0.0025) and in CHF patients (from 5.0Ϯ0.3 to 6.1Ϯ0.5 ms/mm Hg, PϽ0.0025), which correlated with the value obtained during spontaneous breathing (rϭϩ0.202, Pϭ0.047). In addition, systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased in CHF patients (systolic, from 117Ϯ3 to 110Ϯ4 mm Hg, Pϭ0.009; diastolic, from 62Ϯ1 to 59Ϯ1 mm Hg, Pϭ0.02).
Conclusions—These data suggest that in patients with CHF, slow breathing, in addition to improving oxygen saturation and exercise tolerance as has been previously shown, may be beneficial by increasing baroreflex sensitivity. (Circulation. 2002;105:143-145.)
There is much that warrants our attention in an emerging discourse of sustainability in the nineteenth century and by examining some of these early ideas and debates concerning sustainability, we may enhance our own thinking about the challenges of everyday life in the twenty-first century. This chapter considers two Victorian writers whose ideals of sustainability were grounded in the centrality of culture and everyday life. William Morris (poet, designer and socialist) and Edward Carpenter (poet, essayist and socialist) advocated an alternative approach to daily life and work in which the values of nature, beauty, and creativity were championed against the alienation, standardisation and increased social disparities they attributed to the industrial mode of production and the growth of Victorian consumer society. Celebrating the handmade and the artisanal, Morris and Carpenter variously began to formulate ideals of sustainability that they believed would enhance everyday life and restore the natural environment. It may now be easy to dismiss some of these ideas as naïve idealism but if we look more closely at some of the writings of Morris and Carpenter, we may discern a radical and complex response to the problem of sustainability in Victorian modernity that still resonates today.
Background: Hypertension and reduced lung function are important features of aging. Slow loaded breathing training reduces resting blood pressure and the question is whether this can also improve lung function.Methods: Thirty-two people (67 ± 5 years, 16 male) with controlled isolated systolic hypertension undertook an eight weeks randomised controlled training trial with an inspiratory load of 25% maximum inspiratory pressure (MIP) at 6 breaths per minute (slow loaded breathing; SLB) or deep breathing control (CON). Outcome measures were resting blood pressure (BP) and heart rate; MIP; lung capacity; chest and abdominal expansion; arm cranking exercise endurance at 50% heart rate reserve.
Results: Home based measurement of resting systolic BP decreased by 20 mm Hg (15 to 25) (Mean and 95%CI) for SLB and by 5 mm Hg (1 to 7) for CON. Heart rate and diastolic BP also decreased significantly for SLB but not CON. MIP increased by 15.8 cm H2O (11.8 to 19.8) and slow vital capacity by 0.21 L (0.15 to 0.27) for SLB but not for CON. Chest and abdominal expansion increased by 2.3 cm (2.05 to 2.55) and 2.5 cm (2.15 to 2.85), respectively for SLB and by 0.5 cm (0.26 to 0.74) and 1.7 cm (1.32 to 2.08) for CON. Arm exercise time increased by 4.9 min (3.65 to 5.15) for SLB with no significant change for CON.
Conclusion: Slow inspiratory muscle training is not only effective in reducing resting BP, even in older people with well controlled isolated systolic hypertension but also increases inspiratory muscle strength, lung capacity and arm exercise duration.
If there is one sector of society that should be cultivating deep thought in itself and others, it is academia. Yet the corporatisation of the contemporary university has sped up the clock, demanding increased speed and efficiency from faculty regardless of the consequences for education and scholarship.In The Slow Professor, Maggie Berg and Barbara K. Seeber discuss how adopting the principles of the Slow movement in academic life can counter this erosion of humanistic education. Focusing on the individual faculty member and his or her own professional practice, Berg and Seeber present both an analysis of the culture of speed in the academy and ways of alleviating stress while improving teaching, research, and collegiality. The Slow Professor will be a must-read for anyone in academia concerned about the frantic pace of contemporary university life.
We never cease to be amazed by how popular mindfulness is becoming and by the number of individuals wishing to train as mindfulness teachers. The explanations people provide for wanting to become mindfulness teachers are numerous and wide-ranging but the most common reasons we have come across are spiritual development, personal development, professional development and/or financial gain. Personally, we would like to see the integration of mindfulness into applied settings unfold at a much slower pace and for a greater number of mindfulness stakeholders to appreciate the importance of developing strong practice foundations. We would also like to see people teach mindfulness only after many years of tuition and focussed daily practice. However, given the level of public interest and the growing demand for mindfulness teachers, such an approach is probably not realistic and so perhaps the next best thing to do is to try to raise awareness of the factors that—whether according to traditional Buddhist thinking or contemporary research findings—are deemed to facilitate effective and authentic mindfulness teaching. Accordingly, here we outline what we believe are ten practical recommendations for teaching mindfulness effectively.
“Slow violence” from climate change, toxic drift, deforestation, oil spills, and the environmental aftermath of war takes place gradually and often invisibly. Rob Nixon focuses on the inattention we have paid to the lethality of many environmental crises, in contrast with the sensational, spectacle-driven messaging that impels public activism today.
In einer Zeit, in der der Prozess der Globalisierung die Besonderheiten kleiner Städte und ihre Vitalität bedroht und in der sich die meisten stadtplanerischen Diskussionen um Themen wie Metropolregionen oder Mega-Regionen und Weltstädte drehen, betonen die Autoren die Notwendigkeit, das Potenzial kleiner Ortschaften kritisch zu reflektieren. Sie veranschaulichen wie Kleinstädte die Herausforderung einer schnelllebigen und globalisierten Welt annehmen können und stellen anhand von Fallbeispielen Bewegungen, Programme und Strategien vor, die örtliche Kulturen, Traditionen und Identitäten effektiv und nachhaltig zu fördern wissen. Kleinstädte spielen oftmals eine entscheidende Rolle innerhalb regionaler Wirtschaftssysteme. Wenn Kleinstädte sich auf ihre spezifischen Eigenschaften konzentrieren und ihre Möglichkeiten nutzen, können sie zu stabilen Nischen in regionalen, nationalen und globalen Ökonomien werden und so wesentlich dazu beitragen, ihre Zukunft zu gestalten. Die zweite Auflage setzt einen weiteren Fokus auf die intensive Entwicklung von Kleinstädten in China und Korea. Daneben untersuchen die Autoren die Auswirkungen der Wirtschaftskrise auf Kleinstädte und die jüngste Entwicklung der Slow City Bewegung.
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