This project was undertaken to ascertain the perceptions of a group of Taiwan’s fourth-year bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) students regarding death and help expected from nurses during the dying process. Within the Chinese culture, death is one of the most important life issues. However, in many Chinese societies it is difficult for people to reveal their deepest feelings to their significant others or loved ones. It was in this context that this project was developed because little is known (...) about how Taiwan’s nursing students perceive death and the dying process. Using an open-ended, self-report questionnaire, 110 senior BSN students recorded their thoughts on: (1) their fears before physical death; (2) afterlife destinations; and (3) the help they would expect from nurses when dying. The data were analyzed using a three-layer qualitative thematic analysis. The students’ reported needs during the dying process were directed towards three main goals: (1) help in reaching the ‘triple targets of individual life’; (2) help in facilitating in-depth support so that both the dying person and significant others can experience a blessed farewell; and (3) help in reaching a destination in the afterlife. The results support the belief of dying as a transition occurring when life weans itself from the mortal world and prepares for an afterlife. (shrink)

The antithesis of proletarian and bourgeois thinking on the questions of class and class struggle has been obvious from the beginning. The bourgeoisie have never properly explained why class and class struggle exist in society. At the time when they became reactionary, they did their utmost to obfuscate the class contradictions in capitalist society. Bourgeois sociology, which seeks to maintain the advantages of the bourgeois class, has made a concentrated effort to reproach such views; moreover, it has become one of (...) the ideological weapons of the modern-day bourgeoisie in their struggle against Marxism-Leninism. (shrink)

本书内容包括:儒家与人际关系的改善;谈儒家与心灵生活;谈孟子与成功之道;感悟老子的人生大智慧等。.

AimResting state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to analyze changes in functional connectivity within various brain networks and functional network connectivity among various brain regions in patients with high myopia.Methodsrs-fMRI was used to scan 82 patients with HM and 59 healthy control volunteers matched for age, sex, and education level. Fourteen resting state networks were extracted, of which 11 were positive. Then, the FCs and FNCs of RSNs in HM patients were examined by independent component analysis.ResultsCompared with the HC (...) group, FC in visual network 1, dorsal attention network, auditory network 2, visual network 3, and sensorimotor network significantly increased in the HM group. FC in default mode network 1 significantly decreased. Furthermore, some brain regions in default mode network 2, default mode network 3, auditory network 1, executive control network, and significance network increased while others decreased. FNC analysis also showed that the network connection between the default mode network and cerebellar network was enhanced in the HM group.ConclusionCompared with HCs, HM patients showed neural activity dysfunction within and between specific brain networks, particularly in the DMN and CER. Thus, HM patients may have deficits in visual, cognitive, and motor balance functions. (shrink)

哲學巨擘傅佩榮，獻給愛智者最真摯的禮物 總結懸命半生的重磅著作，橫跨2600年、120位哲學家 ➢哲學就是愛智慧，陪你思考人生問題，掌握人生方向； ➢哲學就是人生經濟學，用最少時間，達成最大效果。 哲學有益人生。傅佩榮教授於「得到」知識平臺開設熱門課程： 「傅佩榮的西方哲學課」，超過四萬訂戶。 本著作為此課程整理修訂而成，完整梳理西方哲學史2600年的120位代表人物， 一套三冊，分為： ．上：古代＋中世紀—介紹古希臘與中世紀哲學 ．中：近代—介紹近代哲學 ．下：現代—介紹現代哲學 本冊為【上：古代＋中世紀】 本著作是哲普作品，也是西方哲學簡史，清楚表述哲學家在愛智過程中所領悟的心得， 與對現代人生的啟發，綜合哲學家用生命驗證的成果，展示西方的核心理念， 讓我們在品味西方哲學時，還能建立起自己的宇宙觀、人生觀、價值觀。 ||上：古代＋中世紀|| 如何讓神從神壇走向廚房？擁有魔戒，你會做什麼？ 悲劇可以淨化心靈嗎？享樂主義的快樂清單說什麼？ 若我受騙，則我存在？有多少力量，就有多少愛？ 古希臘哲學留給後世無限寶貴財富，探討宇宙及萬物的來源； 接續的中世紀哲學由基督宗教主導，綿延1300年， 卻被稱為「黑暗時代」，哲學成為神學的女僕。 但不能忽略基督宗教維持社會穩定、保存文化命脈、塑造西方心靈、 助人面對人生奧祕，是開啟近代哲學的關鍵時期！ ◤哲學讓人生更香甜，改變你對生命的想像！ ．未經反省檢查的人生，是不值得活的。──蘇格拉底 ．對自我有強烈的執著，是一切罪惡的最常見來源。──柏拉圖 ．從事哲學思考，就是學習如何死亡。──西塞羅 ．不要滿不在乎的過日子，好像你可以活一千年似的。──奧雷流士 ．不要從你自身離去，因為真理棲息於人的內心世界。──奧古斯丁 ．人的良心，就是為他引航的最佳嚮導。──司各特 ||書籍特色|| ☆每節結束附上「學習心得」、「問題思考」、「補充說明」， 便於讀者複習重點、換位思考哲學家的觀點進而迸出心靈火花、補充說明關鍵概念。 ☆書中加入作者長年研究儒家與道家的心得，有助讀者在對照比較中， 既可欣賞西方哲學，又能覺悟中國哲學的特色與價值。 ☆書末附有索引，詳列詞條在各冊的頁碼，方便讀者對照查找。.

本书旨在以女性主义视角围绕着性别与哲学进行探索，不仅试图在各种复杂的理论纷争中梳理和澄清诸如性别与社会性别、女性、女性主义、性别差异、妇女哲学、女性主义哲学等基本概念，也对女性主义哲学的产生和发展、学 科定位以及方法论进行分析。.

Im Jahr 2002 wurde seitens der chinesischen Regierung die Forderung der Entfaltung der exzellenten nationalkulturellen Tradition aufgestellt. Nach einem Kultur-Gipfelforum mit dem Hauptthema "Globalisierung und die Chinesische Kultur" unter der Leitung von bedeutenden Wissenschaftlern wie Ren Jiyu, Ji Xianlin u. a. im Jahre 2004 stieg die Wertschätzung des Konfuzianismus als Kernbestandteil "exzellenter Nationalkultur". Folglich wächst heutzutage das Interesse an konfuzianischen Klassikern wieder, vorwiegend für Lunyu. Infolge des gestiegenen Interesses versuchten Autoren im neuen Zeitalter in China, diesen Klassiker neu auszulegen. Am (...) bekanntesten wurden die Bücher von Yu Dan. Einflussreich waren auch die Interpretationen von Li Ling und He Xin. Folglich werden diese neuen Interpretationen hier als Formen der Rekonstruktion der konfuzianischen Tradition behandelt und in drei Arten klassifiziert: volkstümlich, populärwissenschaftlich sowie akademisch. Die Theorie dieser Forschungsarbeit stützt sich auf dem Traditionsbegriff. Infolgedessen wird die Tradition aus der neologistischen Perspektive, im alltagssprachlichen Bezug, nach politischem Verständnis und im wissenschaftlichen Gebiet analysiert. Dann wird die Tradition als ein Konstrukt definiert, das aus über Generationen weitergegebenen Kulturelementen besteht. Daher wird der Konfuzianismus sowohl als ein bedeutsames Element der chinesischen Tradition als auch als eine konfuzianische Tradition betrachtet. Die Forschung wählt drei einflussreiche Interpretationen dieser Art aus, um einen kritischen Zugang zum Prozess der Neuschaffung von "Tradition" im gegenwärtigen China zu finden. Die Interpretationen scheinen die Nachfrage und Erwartungen von Gesellschaft und Politik gleichermassen zu befriedigen und können daher als Linsen dienen, mittels derer wichtige soziale und politische Anliegen und Entwicklungen Chinas seit der Jahrtausendwende in Augenschein genommen werden können. (shrink)

This article aims to investigate the impact of employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility on job embeddedness under the drastic circumstances of coronavirus disease 2019. This study also investigated the role of organizational identification as a psychological mechanism linking employee perceptions of corporate social responsibility to job embeddedness. Survey data were collected from 325 employees in banking industry of China and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Results revealed that CSR to employees and organizational identification were positively and (...) significantly related to job embeddedness, while CSR to customers, CSR to government, and CSR to society did not significantly predict job embeddedness. Organizational identification fully mediated the relationship between CSR to customers, CSR to government, CSR to society and job embeddedness, and partially mediated the relationship between CSR to employees and job embeddedness. The results suggest engaging in CSR activities can lead employees to identify themselves with the organization and enhance their embeddedness. The article concludes with several implications for practice and recommendations for future research. (shrink)

Background Caring behaviour is critical for nursing quality, and the clinical internship environment is a crucial setting for preparing nursing students for caring behaviours. Evidence about how to develop nursing students’ caring behaviour in the clinical environment is still emerging. However, the mechanism between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviour remains unclear, especially the mediating role of moral sensitivity and the moderating effect of self-efficacy. Research objective This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of moral sensitivity and the (...) moderating function of self-efficacy on the association between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviours. Research design A cross-sectional design used acceptable validity scales. The hypothesised moderated mediation model was tested in the SPSS PROCESS macro. Participants and research context This survey collected data from 504 nursing students in an internship at a teaching hospital in Changsha, China. Ethical considerations This study was pre-approved by the ethics committee of the medical school (No. E2022210). Informed consent was obtained from all students. Results The clinical internship environment ( B = 0.450, 95% CI = [0.371, 0.530]) and moral sensitivity ( B = 1.352, 95% CI = [1.090, 1.615]) had positive direct effects on nursing students' caring behaviours. Clinical internship environment also indirectly influenced students’ caring behaviours via moral sensitivity ( B = 0.161, 95% CI = [0.115, 0.206]). In addition, self-efficacy played a moderating role between the clinical internship environment and caring behaviours ( B = 0.019, 95% CI = [0.007, 0.031]), as well as the relationship between the clinical internship environment and moral sensitivity ( B = 0.006, 95% CI = [0.003, 0.010]). Conclusion Moral sensitivity mediates the effect of the clinical internship environment on caring behaviour, and self-efficacy strengthens both direct and indirect effects. This study emphasises the importance of self-efficacy in developing moral sensitivity and caring behaviours in nursing students. (shrink)

The current COVID-19 pandemic and the previous SARS/MERS outbreaks of 2003 and 2012 have resulted in a series of major global public health crises. We argue that in the interest of developing effective and safe vaccines and drugs and to better understand coronaviruses and associated disease mechenisms it is necessary to integrate the large and exponentially growing body of heterogeneous coronavirus data. Ontologies play an important role in standard-based knowledge and data representation, integration, sharing, and analysis. Accordingly, we initiated the (...) development of the community-based Coronavirus Infectious Disease Ontology in early 2020. -/- As an Open Biomedical Ontology (OBO) library ontology, CIDO is open source and interoperable with other existing OBO ontologies. CIDO is aligned with the Basic Formal Ontology and Viral Infectious Disease Ontology. CIDO has imported terms from over 30 OBO ontologies. For example, CIDO imports all SARS-CoV-2 protein terms from the Protein Ontology, COVID-19-related phenotype terms from the Human Phenotype Ontology, and over 100 COVID-19 terms for vaccines (both authorized and in clinical trial) from the Vaccine Ontology. CIDO systematically represents variants of SARS-CoV-2 viruses and over 300 amino acid substitutions therein, along with over 300 diagnostic kits and methods. CIDO also describes hundreds of host-coronavirus protein-protein interactions (PPIs) and the drugs that target proteins in these PPIs. CIDO has been used to model COVID-19 related phenomena in areas such as epidemiology. The scope of CIDO was evaluated by visual analysis supported by a summarization network method. CIDO has been used in various applications such as term standardization, inference, natural language processing (NLP) and clinical data integration. We have applied the amino acid variant knowledge present in CIDO to analyze differences between SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants. CIDO's integrative host-coronavirus PPIs and drug-target knowledge has also been used to support drug repurposing for COVID-19 treatment. -/- CIDO represents entities and relations in the domain of coronavirus diseases with a special focus on COVID-19. It supports shared knowledge representation, data and metadata standardization and integration, and has been used in a range of applications. (shrink)

Background The use of lengthy, detailed, and complex informed consent forms is of paramount concern in biomedical research as it may not truly promote the rights and interests of research participants. The extent of information in ICFs has been the subject of debates for decades; however, no clear guidance is given. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the perspectives of research participants about the type and extent of information they need when they are invited to participate in (...) biomedical research. Methods This multi-center, cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted at 54 study sites in seven Asia-Pacific countries. A modified Likert-scale questionnaire was used to determine the importance of each element in the ICF among research participants of a biomedical study, with an anchored rating scale from 1 to 5. Results Of the 2484 questionnaires distributed, 2113 were returned. The majority of respondents considered most elements required in the ICF to be ‘moderately important’ to ‘very important’ for their decision making. Major foreseeable risk, direct benefit, and common adverse effects of the intervention were considered to be of most concerned elements in the ICF. Conclusions Research participants would like to be informed of the ICF elements required by ethical guidelines and regulations; however, the importance of each element varied, e.g., risk and benefit associated with research participants were considered to be more important than the general nature or technical details of research. Using a participant-oriented approach by providing more details of the participant-interested elements while avoiding unnecessarily lengthy details of other less important elements would enhance the quality of the ICF. (shrink)

Engineering ethics education is a complex field characterized by dynamic topics and diverse students, which results in significant challenges for engineering ethics educators. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a systematic approach to determine what to teach and how to teach in an ethics curriculum. This is a topic that has not been adequately addressed in the engineering ethics literature. This systematic approach provides a method to: (1) develop a context-specific engineering ethics curriculum using the Delphi technique, a (...) process-driven research method; and (2) identify appropriate delivery strategies and instructional strategies using an instructional design model. This approach considers the context-specific needs of different engineering disciplines in ethics education and leverages the collaboration of engineering professors, practicing engineers, engineering graduate students, ethics scholars, and instructional design experts. The proposed approach is most suitable for a department, a discipline/field or a professional society. The approach helps to enhance learning outcomes and to facilitate ethics education curriculum development as part of the regular engineering curriculum. (shrink)

From 1979 to 1999, a heated dispute over the science or pseudoscience of extraordinary power or extrasensory perception took place in China. During these two decades, many so-called “grandmasters” of ESP and Qigong emerged, and millions of people across the country studied with them; this was known as “Qigong Fever” or “ESP Fever.” The supporters of ESP argued that ESP existed, people could cultivate ESP through specific Qigong training, and ESP was a science; whereas the opponents of ESP denied all (...) of these. Both sides of the dispute had many supporters. With the onset of Qigong Fever in China, some Qigong and ESP masters developed their Qigong organizations into Chinese-style religions. Qigong Fever ended when the religions were banned by the Chinese government. The rise of Qigong Fever demonstrated that basic questions about the boundaries between science and pseudoscience were not easy to answer. Different theoretical and practical consequences resulted from different answers to these questions. (shrink)

Of the four complete Āgama collections, the Ekottarika Āgama (EĀ) has generated the most controversy about whether it can be attributed to any early Buddhist school and, if so, which school it could belong to. This paper examines the various hypotheses about the sectarian affiliation(s) of the EĀ. It shows that a considerable part of this corpus is likely to be of Mahāsāṃghika derivation, and that the EĀ contains numerous salient features of Mahāsāṃghika doctrine, particularly the transcendence of Buddhas and (...) Bodhisattvas. This study also argues that the seeming affinity between several legends in the EĀ and those in the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya is likely to have resulted from Mahāsāṃghika influence on the Mūlasarvāstivādins. The Mahāsāṃghika hypothesis for the school affiliation of the EĀ is substantially strengthened in this inquiry while the others are shown to be probably untenable. (shrink)

Recording and manipulating neuronal ensemble activity is a key requirement in advanced neuromodulatory and behavior studies. Devices capable of both recording and manipulating neuronal activity brain-computer interfaces should ideally operate un-tethered and allow chronic longitudinal manipulations in the freely moving animal. In this study, we designed a new intracortical BCI feasible of telemetric recording and stimulating local gray and white matter of visual neural circuit after irradiation exposure. To increase the translational reliance, we put forward a Göttingen minipig model. The (...) animal was stereotactically irradiated at the level of the visual cortex upon defining the target by a fused cerebral MRI and CT scan. A fully implantable neural telemetry system consisting of a 64 channel intracortical multielectrode array, a telemetry capsule, and an inductive rechargeable battery was then implanted into the visual cortex to record and manipulate local field potentials, and multi-unit activity. We achieved a 3-month stability of the functionality of the un-tethered BCI in terms of telemetric radio-communication, inductive battery charging, and device biocompatibility for 3 months. Finally, we could reliably record the local signature of sub- and suprathreshold neuronal activity in the visual cortex with high bandwidth without complications. The ability to wireless induction charging combined with the entirely implantable design, the rather high recording bandwidth, and the ability to record and stimulate simultaneously put forward a wireless BCI capable of long-term un-tethered real-time communication for causal preclinical circuit-based closed-loop interventions. (shrink)

Personal review record, as a form of personally identifiable information, refers to the past review information of a reviewer. The disclosure of reviewers’ personal information on electronic commerce websites has been found to substantially impact consumers’ perception regarding the credibility of online reviews. However, personal review record has received little attention in prior research. The current study investigated whether the disclosure of personal review record influenced consumers’ information processing and decision making by adopting event-related potentials measures, as ERPs allow for (...) a nuanced examination of the neural mechanisms that underlie cognitive processes. At the behavioral level, we found that the purchase rate was higher and that the reaction time was shorter when the review record was disclosed, indicating that the disclosed condition was more favorable to the participants. Moreover, ERPs data showed that the disclosed condition induced an attenuated N400 component and an increased LPP component relative to the undisclosed condition, suggesting that the former condition gave rise to less cognitive and emotional conflict and to more positive evaluations. Thus, by elucidating potential cognitive and neural underpinnings, this study demonstrates the positive impact of reviewers’ disclosure of personal review record on consumers’ purchase decisions. (shrink)

Seemingly contrary ideas of Nirvana are found in early Buddhist literature. Whereas some texts describe one who attains Nirvana as being conscious of everything, others depict Nirvana as a state in which consciousness has no object but emptiness or Nirvana. In this paper I deal with this paradox of Nirvana consciousness by exploring the correlations between several statements in early Buddhist texts. A number of sutta passages are cited to show that they contain doctrinal elements which, when considered collectively, may (...) cast valuable light on how to reconcile this paradox. Two pivotal notions are ‘non-abiding consciousness’ and ‘consciousness that is infinite, pervasive all around’. These two notions are connected to each other and seem to subsume or bridge the two strikingly distinct forms of Nirvana consciousness mentioned above. Nirvana consciousness said to be ‘non-abiding’, which is analogous to ‘without object’, does ‘not abide’ in any objects in the sense that it does not cling to them or rest on them. The ‘infinite, all-pervasive’ consciousness, based on stopping normal consciousness, does not depend on any sense objects, and hence it is unconditioned by them and operates unhindered. Nirvana consciousness thus constitutes the infinite realization free from all conditioning and hindrance. This resonates with the idea that one who attains Nirvana is conscious of everything. (shrink)

In both the A?guttara Nik?ya in Pali and the Ekottarika?gamain Chinese translation, the suttas are grouped into eleven nip?tas, from the Ekaka-nip?ta/Eka-nip?ta to the Ek?dasaka-nip?ta – though in the Ekottarika?gama the nip?tas are not labelled as such. This grouping into nip?tas is based on the number of doctrinal items dealt with in the component suttas. In the Ones and Twos, it is often the case that a single original sutta has been subdivided so that its component sections become a series (...) of similarly structured derivative suttas superficially appropriate for inclusion in the Ones or Twos. Moreover, material for this process of subdividing has sometimes been provided by multiplying doctrinal sets with formulaic statements. In most of the remaining nip?tas the phenomena noted in the Ones and Twos are also present, but on a much smaller scale. In view of their Chinese counterparts in the Sa?yukta?gama, some groups of suttas in the A?guttara Nik?ya with sa?yutta-like nature were probably moved from the Sa?yutta Nik?ya to the A?guttara Nik?ya within the Pali tradition. Evidence of a comparable movement into the Ekottarika?gama is also available. The artificial suttas created by subdivision and the original suttas shared by the Ekottarika?gama and the A?guttara Nik?ya largely retained their original places at the beginning of each nip?ta, while the genuine suttas, probably earlier located in the Sa?yukta?gama and Madhyama?gama, were added progressively at the end of the growing nip?ta. (shrink)

Abstract:The Buddha seems ambivalent in his position about whether all our feelings can be ascribed to karma, even if indirectly. He unequivocally states: "Karma distinguishes beings as inferior and superior," which covers various aspects of life that affect our feelings. On the other hand, again and again he criticizes some religions for holding the doctrine "whatever a person experiences is caused by karma," or puts aside karma in favor of obvious causation. This issue can be addressed in several ways: the (...) Buddha implies a distinction between past and present karma, and the unthinkable nature of karma entails the question "Who are qualified to pronounce karma?" Also, the Buddha is careful to avoid a fatalistic view of karma doctrine, his skill in means leads to the inconsistency of his mode of expression, and the two levels of truth allow him to speak in conformity with worldly conventions endorsed by "the wise.". (shrink)

Recent theoretical advances describing consciousness from information and integration have highlighted the unique role of the thalamocortical system in leading to integrated information and thus, consciousness. Here, we examined the differential distributions of specific and nonspecific thalamocortical functional connections using resting-state fMRI in a group of healthy subjects and vegetative-state patients. We found that both thalamic systems were widely distributed, but they exhibited different patterns. Nonspecific connections were preferentially associated with brain regions involved in higher-order cognitive processing, self-awareness and introspective (...) mentalizing . In contrast, specific connections were prevalent in the ventral and posterior part of the prefrontal and precuneus, known involved in representing externally-directed attentions. Significant reductions of functional connectivity in both systems, especially the nonspecific system, were observed in VS. These data suggest that brain networks sustaining information and integration may be differentiated by the nature of their thalamic functional connectivity. (shrink)

This study via the sensemaking perspective examines whether spiritual leadership can influence employee workplace spirituality and employee corporate social responsibility (CSR) participation. We also examine the joint effects of spiritual leadership and employee Machiavellianism on employee workplace spirituality. Using a sample of 556 employees from four commercial banks in China, analyses demonstrate that employee workplace spirituality mediates the relationship between spiritual leadership and employee CSR participation and that the indirect effect of spiritual leadership on employee CSR participation is dependent on (...) the level of employee Machiavellianism. These results shed light on how and why spiritual leadership and employee Machiavellianism influence employee workplace spirituality and employee CSR participation. The theoretical and practical implications of these finding are discussed along with directions for future research. (shrink)

ObjectiveTo investigate the instant impact of hemodialysis on the cerebral morphological measurements of patients with end-stage renal disease.Materials and methodsTwenty-five patients undergoing maintenance HD and twenty-eight age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy control were included. The HD group and HC group had 3D high-resolution structural magnetic resonance imaging scans twice and once, respectively. Both groups underwent neuropsychologic tests. The morphological measurements of structural MRI were measured using CAT12 and these measures were compared among three groups. The relationship between morphological measures and (...) clinical parameters and neuropsychological tests were investigated through multiple regression analysis.ResultsCompared to the HC group, the cortical thickness before HD significantly decreased in the bilateral temporal lobe and significantly decreased in the left superior temporal gyrus after HD. The cortical thickness significantly increased in the bilateral temporal lobe, frontal lobe and occipital lobe after HD compared to before HD. The sulcus depth in the bilateral insula, frontal lobe, and parietal lobe after HD significantly increased compared to before HD. No significant differences in sulcus depth between HD and HC were detected. After HD, the cortical thickness of the right parsopercularis was positively correlated with the number connection test-A. Cortical thickness in multiple regions were positively correlated with blood flow velocity and cortical thickness in the left parahippocampal gyrus was negatively correlated with ultrafiltration volume. Patients showed better performance in the digit symbol test and line tracing test after HD compared to before HD, but there were no significant differences in the comparison of neuropsychologic tests between patients and HC.ConclusionThe instant morphological changes were captured during a single hemodialysis in HD patients. There was an association between these instant changes in the brain and clinical parameters and neuropsychologic tests. This work implied the instant impact of a single hemodialysis impact on the brain in HD patients. (shrink)

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy combined with medication therapy in preventing the recurrence of major depressive disorder in convalescent patients.MethodsA total of 130 patients with convalescent MDD were enrolled in this prospective study. Sixty-five patients were assigned to the experimental group and received medication therapy combined with MBCT, and 65 patients were assigned to the control group and treated with medication alone. The recurrence rate and related hormonal changes were compared between the two groups.ResultsAfter (...) 1 year of MBCT intervention, eight patients experienced recurrence in the experimental group, a recurrence rate of 12.31%, and 19 patients experienced recurrence in the control group, a recurrence rate of 29.23%. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale scores in both the experimental and the control groups were significantly improved after treatment. The difference in the HAM-D scores before and after treatment in the experimental group was 16.74 ± 4.54; this was significantly higher than that of the control group. The WHOQOL-BREF scores in the experimental group were significantly improved compared with those of the control group. The differences in the levels of corticotrophin-releasing hormone, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and cortisol before and after treatment in the experimental group and the control group were statistically significant. The difference in CRH before and after treatment in the experimental group was 16.8 ± 7.2, which was higher than that of the control group. The intervention with MBCT had a significant impact on the recurrence of MDD [β = 1.206, P = 0.039, 95% CI = 0.0790–1.229]. The difference in the HAM-D scores also had a significant impact on the recurrence of MDD.ConclusionCompared with medication therapy alone, the use of MBCT combined with medication therapy can effectively prevent the recurrence of MDD in convalescent patients. (shrink)

Appropriate and balanced decision-making is sentinel to goal setting and the provision of appropriate clinical care that are attuned to preserving the best interests of the patient. Current family-led decision-making in family-centric societies such as those in Singapore and other countries in East Asia are believed to compromise these objectives in favor of protecting familial interests. Redressing these skewed clinical practices employing autonomy-based patient-centric approaches however have been found wanting in their failure to contend with wider sociocultural considerations that impact (...) care determinations. Evaluation of a number of alternative decision-making frameworks set out to address the shortcomings of prevailing atomistic and family-centric decision-making models within the confines of end-of-life care prove these alternative frameworks to be little better at protecting the best interests of vulnerable patients. As a result, we propose the Welfare Model that we believe is attentive to the relevant socio-culturally significant considerations of a particular case and better meets the needs of end-of-life care goals of preserving the welfare of patients. Employing a multi-professional team evaluation guided by regnant psychosocial, legal, and clinical standards and the prevailing practical and clinical realities of the particular patient’s setting the Welfare Model provides a clinically relevant, culturally sensitive, transparent, and evidence-based approach to care determinations. (shrink)

An Early Chinese Commentary on the Ekottarika-āgama: The Fenbie gongde lun 分別功德論 and the History of the Translation of the Zengyi ahan jing 增一阿含經. By Antonello Palumbo. Taipei: Dharma Drum Publishing Corp., 2013. Pp. xiv + 424. NT$460.

Abstrak: John Zizioulas merefleksikan kembali doktrin Allah Trinitaris dan mencoba mencari cara-cara baru menolong umat beriman zaman ini menemukan makna ajaran iman ini. Merujuk teologi para Bapa Gereja Kapadokia, Zizioulas mengajukan gambar Allah Trinitaris sebagai Pribadi yang berkomunitas. Pribadi memiliki tiga karakteristik: primer dan absolut, ekstasis dan hipostasis, unik dan tak tergantikan. Pribadi selalu bergerak ke luar dirinya, ke arah pribadi yang lain, maka ia menerima keberbedaan. Kehidupan dan identitas otentik pribadi ditemukan hanya di dalam komunitas yang dibangunnya bersama pribadi-pribadi (...) yang lain. Gerak Pribadi Allah adalah eros, cinta yang merangkul pribadi-pribadi yang lain beserta keberbedaan mereka, yakni manusia dan segenap ciptaan. Berkomunitas dengan Allah dan segenap ciptaan, manusia melampaui substansi manusiawi dan kondisi naturalnya. Manusia tidak lagi menjadi milik kematian melainkan kehidupan kekal. Gereja adalah image Allah Trinitaris karena ia adalah komunitas pribadi-pribadi yang mengalami kelahiran baru oleh Roh Kudus di dalam peristiwa Kristus. Sebagai image Allah Trinitaris, cara Gereja hadir di dunia ialah dengan menjadi komunitas katolik dan ekaristis. Untuk menjadi komunitas katolik-ekaristis, pembaruan cara hidup, struktur hirarkis, dan pelayanan Gereja adalah sebuah kebutuhan. Kata-kata Kunci: pribadi, substansi, ekstasis-hipostasis, keberbedaan, identitas otentik, komunitas ekaristis, imago Dei/Trinitatis, eros. Abstract: John Zizioulas did his reflection on the doctrine of the Trinity in term to seek new ways that help the faithful to grasp the meaning of this teaching. Referring to the theology of Cappadocian Fathers, Zizioulas provides a picture of the Trinity as Persons within communion. A person has three primary characteristics: primary and absolute, ecstatic and hypostatic, unique and irreplaceable. A person always moves towards others, thus she/he embraces otherness. The very life and authentic identity of a person can be found only in communion with others. The Person of God moves as eros, God’s love which embraces the others and otherness, i.e. human beings and the rest of creation. Being in communion with God and all creations, human being overcomes the human substance and its nature. Human being no longer belongs to death but to eternal life. The church is an image of the Trinity for it is a communion of the new persons that were delivered by the Holy Spirit within the Christ event. As the image of the Trinity, the Church’s way of being in this world is by becoming a catholic and eucharistic community. To be such a community, the renewal of the Church’s way of life, hierarchical structure, and ministries is a necessity. Kata-kata Kunci: Person, substance, ecstatic-hypostatic, otherness, authentic identity, eucharistic community, image of God/image of the Trinity, eros. (shrink)