LEAF OFFRING

Chapter IX: The Yoga of the Royal Science and Royal Secret

IX.26. PATRAM PUSHPAM PHALAM TOYAM YO ME BHAKTYAA PRAYACCHATI;
TADAHAM BHAKTYUPAHRITAMASHNAAMI PRAYATAATMANAH.

(Krishna speaking to Arjuna)
Whoever offers Me with devotion and a pure mind (heart), a leaf, a
flower, a fruit or a little water-I accept (this offering).

IX.27. YATKAROSHI YADASHNAASI YAJJUHOSHI DADAASI YAT;
YATTAPASYASI KAUNTEYA TATKURUSHVA MADARPANAM.
Whatever thou doest, whatever thou eatest, whatever thou offerest
in sacrifice, whatever thou givest, whatever thou practiseth as
austerity, O Arjuna, do it as an offering unto Me!


//////////////////dreaded “triple class” resistance — that is, resistance to NRTIs, NNRTIs, and PIs.



///////////////////Warrior gene' predicts aggressive behavior after provocation
Published: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 - 10:15 in Psychology & Sociology
Learn more about: aggressive behavior london school of economics provocation rose mcdermott university of california santa barbara western populations

Individuals with the so-called "warrior gene" display higher levels of aggression in response to provocation, according to new research co-authored by Rose McDermott, professor of political science at Brown University. In the experiment, which is the first to examine a behavioral measure of aggression in response to provocation, subjects were asked to cause physical pain to an opponent they believed had taken money from them by administering varying amounts of hot sauce. The findings are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to McDermott, the research team included Dustin Tingley of Princeton University, Jonathan Cowden of the University of California–Santa Barbara, Giovanni Frazetto from the London School of Economics, and Dominic Johnson from the University of Edinburgh. Their experiment synthesized work in psychology and behavioral economics.

Monoamine oxidase A is an enzyme that breaks down important neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. The enzyme is regulated by monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA). Humans have various forms of the gene, resulting in different levels of enzymatic activity. People with the low-activity form (MAOA-L) produce less of the enzyme, while the high-activity form (MAOA-H) produces more of the enzyme.

Several studies have found a correlation between the low-activity form of MAOA and aggression in observational and survey-based studies. Only about a third of people in Western populations have the low-activity form of MAOA. By comparison, low-activity MAOA has been reported to be much more frequent (approaching two-thirds of people) in some populations that had a history of warfare. This led to a controversy over MAOA being dubbed the "warrior gene."

The PNAS paper is the first experimental test of whether MAOA-L individuals display higher levels of actual behavioral aggression in response to provocation. A total of 78 subjects took part in the experiment over networked computers (all were male students from the University of California–Santa Barbara). Each subject (A) first performed a vocabulary task in which they earned money. Then they were told that an anonymous partner (B), linked over the network, could choose to take some of their earnings away from them. The original subject (A) could then choose to punish the taker (B) by forcing them to eat unpleasantly hot (spicy) sauce — but they had to pay to do so, so administering punishment was costly. In reality, the "partner" who took money away was a computer, which allowed the researchers to control responses. No one actually ingested hot sauce.

Their results demonstrate that

* Low-activity MAOA subjects displayed slightly higher levels of aggression overall than high-activity MAOA subjects.
* There was strong evidence for a gene-by-environment interaction, such that MAOA is less associated with the occurrence of aggression in the low-provocation condition (when the amount of money taken was low), but significantly predicted aggression in a high-provocation situation (when the amount of money taken was high).

The results support previous research suggesting that MAOA influences aggressive behavior, with potentially important implications for interpersonal aggression, violence, political decision-making, and crime. The finding of genetic influences on aggression and punishment behavior also questions the recently proposed idea that humans are "altruistic" punishers, who willingly punish free-riders for the good of the group. These results support theories of cooperation that propose there are mixed strategies in the population. Some people may punish more than others, and there may be an underlying evolutionary logic for doing so.
Source: Brown University

MAO RELATED WARRIOR GENE


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"The chains of my thoughts that bind me fall away leaving me in the peace and serenity of momentary time."



//////////////////Given the high error rate with “parent-reported wheeze” there is a need to reexamine the extensive literature on the epidemiology of wheeze in infants and young children, because parent-reported wheeze is unconfirmed by a clinician.



/////////////////Perceptions and Pathophysiology of Dyspnea and Exercise Intolerance
by Miles Weinberger, Mutasim Abu-Hasan
Dyspnea is a complex psychophysiologic sensation that requires intact afferent and efferent pathways for the full perception of the neuromechanical dissociation between the respiratory effort attempted and the work actually accomplished. The sensation is triggered or accentuated by a variety of receptors located in the chest wall, respiratory muscles, lung parenchyma, carotid body, and brain stem. The sensation of dyspnea is stronger in patients with higher scores for anxiety and has been reported in patients with anxiety disorders with no cardiopulmonary disease. These observations demonstrate the importance of cerebral cognition in this complex symptom. Ten cases are presented that illustrate different clinical manifestations of dyspnea.



/////////////////Jan 9, 2009 10:18 AM
Chest Pain and Chest Wall Deformity
by Janaki Gokhale, Steven M. Selbst
Chest pain and chest wall deformities are common in children. Although most children with chest pain have a benign diagnosis, some have a serious etiology for pain, so the complaint must be addressed carefully. Unfortunately, there are few prospective studies to evaluate this complaint in children. Serious causes for chest pain are rare, making it difficult to develop clear guidelines for evaluation and management. The child who appears well, has a normal physical examination, and lacks worrisome history deserves reassurance and careful follow-up rather than extensive studies. Multicenter studies are needed to better define this important symptom.



PCNA=

////////////////////Jan 9, 2009 10:18 AM
Recurrent Respiratory Infections
by Andrew Bush
The child who has recurrent infections poses one of the most difficult diagnostic challenges in pediatrics. The clinician faces a two-fold challenge in determining first whether the child is normal or has a serious disease, and then, in the latter case, how to confirm or exclude the diagnosis with the minimum number of the least invasive tests. It is hoped that, in the absence of good-quality evidence for most clinical scenarios, the experience-based approach described in this article may prove a useful guide to the clinician.


////////////////Acute Bronchiolitis and Croup
by Mark L. Everard
Croup and acute bronchiolitis are common forms of virally induced respiratory disease in infancy and early childhood. There is good evidence that corticosteroids can ameliorate disease severity and alter the natural history of symptoms in patients who have croup and that temporary symptomatic benefit can be obtained from the use of nebulized adrenaline. The principle weakness when reviewing therapeutic interventions for acute bronchiolitis is the lack of a clear diagnostic test or definition. Current evidence suggests that oxygen is the only useful pharmacologic agent for correcting hypoxia.


//////////////////FRIENDSHIP-THE SHIP THAT NVR SINKS


////////////////////Getting kids to eat vegetables
Several years ago, I did a study in graduate school to determine why some children like vegetables and many do not. Two findings emerged from my "research" with 6 and 7 year olds: Children who had opportunity to help grow and/or prepare vegetables liked to eat them. And even when moms prepared most of the meals, kids tended to copy how dad ate.



///////////////////KUDREMUNKH-BNGLOR FTHR SAGA-?1976


//////////////////New study provides further evidence that apple juice can delay onset of Alzheimer's disease
A growing body of evidence demonstrates that we can take steps to delay age-related cognitive decline, including in some cases that which accompanies Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.



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