June 6, 2011
Dust Sprites and Maturity
April 30, 2011
Carpe Diem
Image by Gregory Jordan via Flickr
Hm. I wonder. Can the cycles of history be restored without venturing into the caldron of current events? Are we able tor recognize where we are and take effective, corrective action. I am thinking it is being a part of the maelstrom of events which determines whether the destructive cycle is repeated or transformed. Who can say with assurance that the die has been cast, history has been repeated? I'll leave that to God. For me, we are at a threshold. The crux is . . . have enough of the Creator's children matured sufficiently to transform a historical mistake rather than be run over by it? Are we observing history cycling as victims and by-standers or are we able to "carpe diem".
March 24, 2011
Defend Marriage: Sign the Petition
Image via Wikipedia
President Obama’s unilateral finding that DOMA is unconstitutional, and his directive that DOJ no longer defend DOMA in litigation, amounts to an end run on the Constitution that would short-circuit the judicial process, giving the President striking new powers to retroactively accept or reject laws passed by Congress. While I am grateful that the House will intervene to ensure that the law is defended, and that it receives a full and vigorous defense, no President has the authority to unilaterally pick and choose which laws are deserving of a legal defense.
The American people have clearly spoken when it comes to marriage, rejecting same-sex marriage in all 31 states where the question has been put to the ballot. Legislators in 14 other states have done the same thing. But at the same time, activist federal judges have issued rulings that threaten to strip millions of Americans of their civil right to vote for marriage, overthrowing the marriage laws of 45 states. A federal judge in San Francisco has already struck down Proposition 8, invalidating the will of 7 million California voters. A federal judge in Boston is attempting to strike down DOMA as well.
Like the vast majority of Americans, I believe marriage is the union of a husband and a wife. I do not want activist judges to take away our right to define marriage . . . or to redefine marriage so that schoolchildren are taught that their parents are bigots. Please stand for marriage by opposing any effort to repeal DOMA, and by supporting H.Con.Res. 25, calling on President Obama and the Department of Justice to honor their constitutional obligation to defend DOMA, ensuring that the rights of American voters are respected, and that marriage remains the union of one man and one woman.
February 19, 2011
Demand Atlas Shrugged Be Shown
Bring the Atlas Shrugged Movie to a theater near you by engaging with your community now. Follow these 10 steps and help catapult ATLAS SHRUGGED PART 1 into a theater near you.
1. Demand it!
You want Atlas Shrugged playing in a theater near you? This is how to do it.Click that yellow "Demand it!" button to the right, sign up for "eventful", and we're on our way to a theater near you.
The more people "Demanding!" Atlas Shrugged, the better so, tell your friends.
Visit the Official Atlas Shrugged Movie Web Site!
June 20, 2009
Resveratrol and diabetes
Image via Wikipedia
There are many companies out there who are offering Resveratrol.
How many have jumped the gun?
There is a huge distinction between rats and humans.
Evaluate the Suppliers:
- Have they performed the double-blind placebo based clinical human trials to verify safe, effective dosing? Ask for the data.
- Have they stabilized the delivery of Resveratrol so that the XX mg per dose you have in their bottle today is also there when you open their bottle tomorrow?
Note: The amount of Resveratrol in a bottle of Pinot Grigio is diminished by approximately 50% when the bottle is opened the following day.
Do the research, evaluate the suppliers and it will make a difference in your supplemental health regime. I recommend Univera.
Studies showed that resveratrol increased life span in lower organisms by activating the NAD (+)-dependent histone deacetylase Sirt1. And, it was found that that resveratrol promoted longevity and improved glucose homeostasis in mice by stimulating the Sirt1-mediated deacetylation of the transcriptional coactivator PGC-1alpha. [7] Researchers are interested to know if resveratrol benefits animals suffered from chronic diseases, such as diabetes. The following is a summary of a few interesting research studies about the potential benefits of resveratrol on chronic diseases, such as diabetes. In 2001, Naderali EK and co-workers from University of Liverpool found resveratrol (5-35 micromole/l) induced concentration-dependent relaxation of mesenteric arteries preconstricted with noradrenaline (8 micromol/l) or KCl (125 mmol/l) from both lean and dietary-obese rats. [1] Hyperglycemia, a symptom of diabetes mellitus, induces hyperosmotic responses, including apoptosis, in vascular endothelial cells and leukocytes. Hyperosmotic shock elicits a stress response in mammalian cells, often leading to apoptotic cell death. Moreover, resveratrol was found to attenuate high glucose-induced apoptotic changes by virtue of its antioxidant property. [2] Diabetic nephropathy is a serious vascular complication and one of the main causes of end-stage renal disease. Increased oxidative stress plays an important role in the etiology of diabetic nephropathy. In a study, researchers found treatment with resveratrol significantly attenuated renal dysfunction and oxidative stress in diabetic rats. [3] Most of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients eventually become insulin dependent because insulin secretion by the islets of Langerhans becomes exhausted. In the present study, researchers from Chang Gung University, Taiwan, showed that resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihydroxylstilbene) possesses hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects in streptozotocin-induced diabetes rats. In resveratrol-treated diabetic rats, the plasma glucose concentration on day 14 was reduced by 25.3%, and the triglyceride concentration was reduced by 50.2% compared with the placebo-treated rats. In nicotinamide-treated diabetic rats, the plasma glucose oncentration on day 14 was reduced only by 20.3 %, and the triglyceride concentration was reduced by 33 %. Resveratrol administration ameliorates common DM symptoms, such as body weight loss, polyphagia, and polydipsia. In STZ-nicotinamide DM rats, resveratrol administration significantly decreased insulin secretion and delayed the onset of insulin resistance. [4] Usually, diabetic rats exhibited a significant thermal hyperalgesia and cold allodynia along with increased plasma glucose and decreased body weights. Allodynia means other pain. It is a painful response to a usually non-painful stimulus. Hyperalgesia is an increased sensitivity to pain, which may be caused by damage to nociceptors or peripheral nerves. [Wikipedia] Sharma S and co-workers from Panjab University, India, reported treatment with resveratrol (10mg/kg orally) from week 4 to week 6 significantly attenuated the cold allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia, suggesting the application of resveratrol in diabetes, especially for diabetic neuropathy. [5] Researchers, at Boston University Medical Center, revealed inactivation of hepatic AMP-activated protein kinase was a key event in the pathogenesis of hyperlipidemia in diabetes (based on a study of in type 1 diabetic LDL receptor-deficient mice). They showed that resveratrol could lower lipid levels by activating AMP-activated protein kinase. It was about 200 times the potency of Metformin! [6] Recent Research Studies of Resveratrol on Diabetes Schmatz R and co-workers from Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Brazil, found that treatment with resveratrol prevented the increase in acetylcholinesterase activity and consequently memory impairment in diabetic rats. [8] Palsamy P and other India researchers found daily oral treatment of resveratrol to diabetic rats for 30 days demonstrated a significant decline in blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels and a significant increase in plasma insulin level. The administration of resveratrol also reverted the altered activities of the key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism such as hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphatase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase in liver and kidney tissues of diabetic rats to near normal levels. [9] Researchers from New York Medical College observed that resveratrol increased mitochondrial mass and mtDNA content, up-regulated protein expression of electron transport chain constituents and induced mitochondrial biogenesis factors (PGC-1alpha, Nrf-1, Tfam) in cultured human coronary arterial endothelial cells. They found resveratrol treatment normalized impaired mitochondrial biogenesis in aortas of type 2 diabetic mice. This suggests the potential benefits of resveratrol on diabetes or metabolic diseases. [10] Researchers from Dortmund University of Technology, Germany, observed that resveratrol could inhibit the formation of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP) fibril. Following preferential partitioning of IAPP into the fluid lipid phase, the membrane of beta-cells suffered irreversible damage and predominantly circularly-shaped lipid-containing IAPP amyloid was formed. Deposition of amyloid in the extracellular matrix of beta-cells commonly occurs in type II diabetes mellitus. Thus, resveratrol may benefit animals suffered from diabetes. [11] Rodella LF and co-workers from University of Brescia, Italy, found resveratrol and cobalt protoporphyrin administration increased heme oxygenase-1 protein expression and heme oxygenase activity in the aorta and significantly increased serum adiponectin levels, compared to untreated diabetic rats. Increased heme oxygenase-1 expression usually improves vascular function. [12] Resveratrol decreased blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood urea, serum uric acid, serum creatinine and diminished activities of pathophysiological enzymes such as aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in diabetic rats after 30 days of treatment. [13] The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is high.nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is linked to obesity, diabetes mellitus, and hypertriglyceridemia. Approximately 20% of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease will eventually develop cirrhosis. Resveratrol was found to decrease nonalcoholic fatty liver disease severity in rats. This effect was mediated, at least in part, by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibition and antioxidant activities. [14] Resveratrol Benefits and Side Effects Resveratrol Arthritis Resveratrol Cream Resveratrol Cancers Does grape seed extract lower bad cholesterol?
Source: Does resveratrol helps diabetes?
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=f7857667-df11-4f3f-8d6f-740e2a28619c)
June 8, 2009
Allopathy, Snake Oil and the Semmelweis Reflex
Image via Wikipedia
Recently, I found myself using the word Allopathic or Allopathy. When asked what it meant, I stumbled blindly towards the answer, " . . . a generalization of the standard practice of medicine." I lucked out. However, having looked up the word I am not inclined to use the word again. Why? It has to do with motivation and maturity. People have a right to have their opinions. You might hear them say, " . . . that is the way it is done and all other ways are false". Since the goal is to advance the efficacy our efforts we must be patient until one can demonstrate or show the value of new, different ways of restoring and maintaining our body's vitality or in any other area of life. With that purpose in mind, I believe using 'Allopathy' or 'Allopathic' to describe the main stream, standard way of today's medicine or health practitioner is counter productive. Just a useless as describing non-traditional health maintenance and renewal arts as 'snake oil' et al.
(This post acknowledges and encounter with Robin 6/8/09)
Allopathy is a term coined in the early 19th century[1] by Samuel Hahnemann[2], the founder of homeopathy, as a synonym for mainstream medicine. It was used by homeopaths to highlight the difference they perceived between homeopathy and conventional medicine, and its use remains common among homeopaths. The term derives from the Greek ἄλλος, állos, other, different + πάϑος, páthos, suffering. The distinction comes from the use in homeopathy of substances that cause similar effects as the symptoms of a disease to treat patients (homeo - meaning similar). The term allopathy was meant to contrast the homeopathic approach with those conventional medical treatments that are different from or which directly counter a patient's symptoms; hence the terms allopathic and antipathic. Homeopaths saw such symptomatic treatments as "opposites treating opposites". However, many conventional medical treatments do not fit this definition of allopathy, as they seek to prevent illness, or remove the cause of an illness by acting on the etiology of disease.[3][4]
The term allopathic was used throughout the 19th Century as a derogatory term for the practitioners of heroic medicine,[5][6] a precursor to modern medicine that did not rely on evidence. The meaning and controversy surrounding the term can be traced to its original usage during a heated 19th-century debate between practitioners of homeopathy, and those they derisively referred to as "allopaths."[7] The meaning implied by the label has never been accepted by conventional medicine, and is still be considered pejorative by some.[8][9] More recently, some sources have used the term allopathic, particularly American sources wishing to distinguish between conventional medicine and, say, osteopathic.[10][6][11]
History is full of examples of this kind of tension or Semmelweis reflex; rejecting the obvious benefits in favor of the norm.
Here is a YouTube story of a breakthrough where a Doctor looks at everything 'going on' and recognizes the obvious. Click Here and further with Univera Science (Univera White Papers)
Click here to email me or leave a comment below to go further with this discussion .
May 18, 2009
Socratic Method: Short Stories & James Hoskins
Image via Wikipedia
Socratic Method: Short Stories and James Hoskins
May 18, 2009 01:12 PM PDT
Today on ID the Future, Casey Luskin interviews James Hoskins about his latest creative writing endeavors. Hoskins, a philosophy major at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, has written several pieces based on the debate between ID and Darwinian evolution, including one that pits Socrates and imaginary materialist Hector Dawkins against each other as they argue over the scientific merit of ID. Hoskins also reads excerpts from some of his stories, and describes the inspiration behind them.
Hoskins' work, including his Debate Between Socrates and Hector Dawkins, can be downloaded from ID Arts here.
![[PLAY]](http://intelligentdesign.podomatic.com/img/play_button.gif)
Click here to listen to this pod cast.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_b.png?x-id=dd01da2b-d28f-476c-9a91-85427851fca6)
Posts
