Revolutionary stem cell op to repair hearts: Graham read in Good Health about a pioneering way to beat heart failure …

Posted on by

Graham Parker, 41, from County Durham is one of first to benefit from trial Some participants were given stem cells and the rest placebo Stem cells were taken from bone marrow in his hip and injected into heart Years later Graham feels better - but still classed as having heart failure

By Carol Davis

Published: 18:04 EST, 31 March 2014 | Updated: 18:25 EST, 31 March 2014

Graham Parker took part in a trial using stem cells to repair heart damage

A major new trial is using patients' own stem cells to treat heart failure. One of the first to benefit is Graham Parker, 41, an archaeology student from Stanley, County Durham. He tells CAROL DAVIS his story.

Working as a supply teacher a few years ago, I started feeling exhausted. I couldn't walk more than 50 metres without pausing, was constantly breathless and would wake at night coughing.

At first I thought it was a cold or flu, or the stress of a house move. But my mum, a retired nurse, pointed out I'd been ill for two months, and sent me to the doctor.

The GP suspected asthma, and gave me an inhaler. But within a week it was worse and I couldn't walk more than a few yards without retching.

So I saw a second GP. She didn't say what she thought it was - she called an ambulance instead. I was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, then transferred to the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle while they ran several tests, including an ECG (electrocardiogram) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan.

Doctors explained I had heart failure: part of my heart muscle was damaged and the lower pumping chamber had become flabby so couldn't pump blood round my body properly. This was why I was so exhausted.

Read this article:

Revolutionary stem cell op to repair hearts: Graham read in Good Health about a pioneering way to beat heart failure ...

ALIENS , ALIEN , ET, ASCENSION WWIII Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fifteen) Part Three – Video

Posted on by


ALIENS , ALIEN , ET, ASCENSION WWIII Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fifteen) Part Three
https://www.newmessage.org/nmfg/Greater_Community_Spirituality.html Greater Community Spirituality presents a prophetic new understanding of God and human sp...

By: danielofdoriaa

Read this article:

ALIENS , ALIEN , ET, ASCENSION WWIII Greater Community Spirituality (Chapter Fifteen) Part Three - Video

Richmond hosts discussion on spirituality and sexuality

Posted on by

The offices of Common Ground, Counseling and Psychological Services and the Chaplaincy sponsored a discussion called Sexuality & Spirituality: Student Stories of Faith & Struggle March 31 in Adams Auditorium.

A panel of four students from various Christian traditions shared personal experiences about the differing relationships between their religious beliefs and human sexuality. Speakers included Alex Witt, Westhampton College 14, Brittany LaBelle, WC 15, Zach Kerr, Richmond College 15, and Natalie Shaw, a student at the T.C. Williams School of Law.

While Shaw was the only student on the panel who is gay, all students talked about their internal struggle with the Bibles condemnation of homosexuality as a sin, and its message to love all people.

Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love the Lord and other people to the utmost extent, Kerr said. For God as man to say this means every human, every person, deserves this love, indiscriminately.

It has been the fallacy of man in the last two millennia to claim that hatred of any group or person is a biblical command.

Ted Lewis, associate director of Common Ground for LGBTQ campus life, said the event was sponsored for the second year in a row because many students at University of Richmond struggle with questions of faith and sexuality.

These discussions provide an opportunity for us, as a community, to engage in dialogue around difference, questions of faith, and ways to build better community, Lewis said.

Students from the Rev. Craig Kochers first-year seminar, Faith and Differences in America: Learning to Live Together, were also in attendance.

I am really glad he brought this talk to light, Amy Alexander, WC 17, a member of the class, said. I dont think I would have known about it otherwise.

Kocher said there had been a group of multi-faith panelists last year at the event.

Originally posted here:

Richmond hosts discussion on spirituality and sexuality

Viewpoint: The point behind the chalk throw

Posted on by

Utah is iconic in its religiosity. People all over the country know that the Beehive State is among the most spiritual of the country. It houses one of the largest spiritual festivals in the Western hemisphere, bringing tens of thousands of people to celebrate each year.

This is not General Conference. This festival is the celebration of Holi, the Hindu tradition to usher in spring.

Over 70,000 people gathered at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork last weekend, ringing in the new season with music, love and brightly colored powder lobbed back and forth. No one leaves the Festival of Colors without looking like someone ripped out of a Dr. Seuss book.

This celebration is met with open arms by the local Hindu priests. Caru Das, one of the temples priests, believes the nondenominational appeal drives the festival.

Its an opportunity for young kids to come and celebrate their spirituality, without alcohol or drugs . . . to glorify or spread the name and fame of Gods love.

This holistic approach to community bonding is unique to Utah, having been altered from the original ceremonies in India. Chalk warfare was a new addition, according to Das.

This is an oddity in an otherwise reserved, if not homogenous state. One of the unsettling suspicions of many observers is that these powder-plastered celebrators dont know what theyre celebrating.

This is a double-edged sword. Religious celebration is undoubtedly cultural in its roots, and can be celebrated as such, but its troubling to think that the celebration would be cut off from its origins. Is there a way to be inclusive and simultaneously respectful to the religion involved?

The Signpost doesnt have an answer to that question, but its still a question worth asking.

On one hand, religious diversity offers cultural appreciation and unity that few other events can replicate. Midnight masses, Rosh Hashanah and Halloween (originally a Celtic sacred holiday) offer community involvement rivaled by few other holidays.

Excerpt from:

Viewpoint: The point behind the chalk throw

Opinion: Competitive Games Can Be Meditative

Posted on by

Ever since I bought a discounted copy of FIFA 13 in late 2013, I have been playing it almost every day for the past six months, and recently Ive been trying to figure out why. Ive come up with an idea. Even though at times competitive games can lead to rage and frustration, they can also be meditative, because they require you to be in the moment for every second you are playing them.

Recently Ive been reading The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle. Im not here to sell you on the book, only to give context on my line of thinking. One of the things he touches on is the idea of presence, that being present and not worrying about the future or past is a very healthy thing to do. He writes about the peaceful frame of mind he calls no-mind, where the brain is so focused on the moment that you have a clear mind without thoughts rattling around up there.

Focus and presence is required for success in competitive games, because the moment your mind wanders from the task at hand someone will score a goal on you, shoot you in the back, or overtake your 1st place position. Competitive games often move at such a fast pace that thinking will be punished and action will be rewarded. When playing a racing game, I dont think about at which second Im going to take a turn; I take that turn in the second that feels right in the moment. Those who play fighting games at a high level probably arent pre-planning what combo they will pull out 30 seconds into a match. They react in the moment according to their opponents actions, and the opponent is trying to do the same.

FIFA 13 matches me up online against players of my skill level, which means I know I have a chance of winning if I focus and play well. But, Ive come to find out that if Im not paying attention when playing defense, good players will score on me immediately. Thus, Ive come to realize that I must put my full focus and attention on to the game for the full 20 to 30 minutes the match lasts if I want to maximize my chances of winning. I enjoy the dynamic gameplay of FIFA, so this is what I do: I put my full mental focus into FIFA whenever I play it.

In turn, FIFA is a game where I can take my mind off things. When I come home from a long days work, I can sit down and play FIFA. When I play, I wont get mad about the day I had or worry about what my future will look like in a month. I cant or else I will likely get scored upon. I devote my full presence to the match, and after Ive played a few I feel better and more relaxed. It clears my mind and eases my head, which is the goal of many practices of meditation. In fact, during my period of unemployment before this internship, FIFA was a nice escape from the mental anxiety I had about my future.

At the same time, however, if I lose too many matches in a row in FIFA or get killed repeatedly while playing a shooter, I get upset and frustrated, which definitely does not lead to a healthy mental state. I think this is because once I start losing, I am no longer playing with presence. I am looking to the future to redeem myself. I worry more about winning the next round instead of actually focusing and playing the game. Thinking about winning while youre playing usually leads to more losing, at least in my experience.

So what can we take away from this? Two things: Competitive games can be stress-relieving and meditative if you approach them correctly. If you leave your ego at the door, stop thinking, and focus purely on each moment of gameplay reflexively, competitive games can calm the mind. Secondly, if you want to enjoy competitive games more, try to bring 100% of your attention to whats going on in the game rather than thinking about winning or losing. Youll probably end up winning more this way anyway.

Editors note: This post was inspired by the videoCan Bullet Hell Games be Meditative?on The PBS Idea Channel on YouTube a channel I highly recommend.

Read more from the original source:

Opinion: Competitive Games Can Be Meditative

NASA ISS Expedition Lead Scientist: Highlights: Week of March 24, 2014

Posted on by

Aboard the International Space Station, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Koichi Wakata installed the canisters that arrived on the Soyuz spacecraft into the Protein Crystallization Research Facility for the JAXA Protein Crystal Growth (PCG) study. The main scientific objective of the investigation is to make fine quality protein crystals in space, and it will show how effective the space station is for investigations of this type. This experiment contributes to society by helping to design new drugs to fight diseases, and new catalysts for the environmental and energy industries.

NASA astronaut Steven Swanson set up blood and saliva collections for theSalivary Markersstudy. The investigationinvolves thecollection ofblood, saliva, urine and a health assessment on six subjects pre-, in- and post-flight to determine if spaceflight-induced immune systemdysregulationincreases infection susceptibility or poses a health risk to crews aboard the space station. The data collected during this study may lead to an understanding of how the immune system is affected by different factors from stress to the environment. The information could be used to help develop new treatments and preventative measures for immune dysfunctions.

The crew installed the 17 dosimeters -- a device for measuring doses of radiation -- that arrived on the Soyuz for the Area Passive Dosimeter for Life-Science Experiments in Space (Area PADLES) study. This investigation uses dosimeters to continuously monitor the radiation dose aboard the space station. Radiation exposure can have significant biological effects on living organisms, and on the biological investigations being done on the station and on the Japanese Experiment Module, known as Kibo.By installing dosimeters at 17 fixed locations inside the Kibo, continuous area radiation monitoring can be provided. The dosimetry technique is already used for dose management of radiation workers in high-energy accelelators. The high-speed microscope scanning image techniques are used in the diagnosis of cancer cells.

Wakata installed the passive dosimeters that arrived on the Soyuz for theDOSIS-3Dstudy. DOSIS-3D is short for Dose Distribution Inside the International Space Station-D. DOSIS-3D measures radiation field parameters such as absorbed dose and dose equivalent at different locations inside the space station, using active and passive radiation detector devices. The aim is to produce a three-dimensional dose distribution map of all segments of the station. This study further enlightens scientists of the use of devices for data collection and how to monitor real-time data. This could prove beneficial to radiation monitoring of commercial airline crews and military flight crews.

Operations were completed for the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) study. It was deactivated and will be disposed of on H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)-5. The main scientific objective of the SMILES mission is to study the recovery and stability of the stratospheric ozone, also known as the ozone layer. SMILES is the first aboard mechanically cooled superconducting mixer and high-resolution system for measuring atmospheric minor constituents related to stratospheric and mesospheric chemistry. It was launched on HTV-1 in 2009 and operated for over four years.

Other human research investigations continued for various crew members includingJournals,Reaction Self Test,Space Headachesand Space Linear Acceleration Mass Measurement Device (SLAMMD).

Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.

See the rest here:

NASA ISS Expedition Lead Scientist: Highlights: Week of March 24, 2014