Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Alchemy”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

ALS diagnostic criteria, El Escorial, and Philip II of Spain: a historical perspective.

El Escorial, a magnificent palace-monastery in central Spain, was the setting in 1990 for a meeting of ALS experts who developed a consensus document called the El Escorial ALS Diagnostic Criteria. El Escorial was originally conceived by the Spanish Habsburg monarch, Philip II (1527-1598), as an elaborate burial place for his parents, Emperor Charles V and Isabella. It soon became a symbol of the Spanish empire and Philip's Catholic leadership of the Counter-Reformation. El Escorial included a monastery, palace, basilica, mausoleum, seminary, library, and hospital. Nothing was spared by Philip in obtaining the finest examples of religious art, architecture, music, and books. Philip, as absolute monarch, inherited a vast empire which stretched over Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the New World. His style of personal micro-management and poor economic planning hampered his ability to manage both national and foreign affairs. Philip had a special interest in medicine, including royal hospitals, improved government standards for physicians, medicinal plants, and the health benefits of alchemy and sacred relics. El Escorial's grand scale has generated both illustrious praise and critical condemnation over the last four centuries. Its place in Spanish and world history is assured.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed1996

Radioactivity: conception to birth. The Health Physics Society 1995 Radiology Centennial Hartman Oration.

Röntgen's description of his discovery of x rays was convincing and comprehensive. The response of the scientific community and public was immediate and intense. In contrast, the discovery of radioactivity was a muddled affair that excited little interest. While it would prove far more revolutionary than that of x rays, the discovery of radioactivity began, in the words of Alfred Romer, as something of a dead horse. There it lay, too big to ignore, but what did you do with it? Even the discoverer, Henri Becquerel, left it to decay and went on to pursue other interests. For various reasons, others chose to investigate: Marie and Pierre Curie in France, William Crookes in England, and Ernest Rutherford in Canada. But it was Frederick Soddy, a young chemist with a fascination for alchemy, who, together with Rutherford, revealed the true nature of radioactivity: transmutation.

Fluorescence↗
PubMed2000

Atomic scattering factors for K-shell and L-shell ionization by fast electrons

Atomic scattering factors have been calculated for K-shell ionization for elements in the range Z = 6 (carbon) to Z = 50 (tin) and for L-shell ionization in the range Z = 20 (calcium) to Z = 60 (neodymium). The calculations are based on relativistic Hartree-Fock wave functions for the atomic bound states and Hartree-Slater wave functions for the continuum wave functions. The results are presented in tabular form such that accurate values of the scattering factors can be obtained by cubic spline interpolation for incident electron energies between 50 and 400 keV and for scattering vectors with magnitude s = sin straight theta / lambda up to 2.5 A(-1) (2straight theta is the scattering angle and lambda the wavelength of the incident electrons). A separate parameterization of the form factors is given for 2.5 </= s </= 20 A(-1), where they are small. In addition, a simpler but less accurate parameterization of the atomic scattering factors in an exponential form has been obtained by fitting the calculated form factors in the region s </= 2.5 A(-1). The scattering factors are suitable for the calculation of ionization cross sections for use in atom location by channelling-enhanced microanalysis (ALCHEMI).

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Some reflections on the influence of Chinese thought on Jung and his psychological theory.

Jung claimed that Richard Wilhelm, whose masterful translations of Chinese wisdom literature into a European language (German) and thence into Western consciousness have brought Chinese modes of thinking to so many, was one of the most important influences on his own life and work. The contacts between the two men, which took place from the early 1920's until Wilhelm's death in 1930, were few but intense and for Jung decisive in several ways. Wilhelm's translations of the I Ching and The Secret of the Golden Flower opened new avenues for Jung that had far-reaching consequences on his research and writing after 1930. The latter opened the door to the study of alchemy as a key to the archetypal process of individuation as rooted in the collective unconscious. 'Synchronicity' is a term that grew out of his contact with Chinese thought, in particular with the I Ching. From his contact with Chinese thought, additionally, he received confirmation of the view, independently arrived at, that adult psychological development is not linear but rather circular and spiral-like. The letters between Jung and Wilhelm illuminate the great importance Jung ascribed to Wilhelm's contribution toward bridging East and West and the potential value of Chinese philosophy for psychotherapy.

China↗
PubMed2006

The art of the tincture: analytical supervision.

Using the alchemical metaphor, effective supervision can be seen as an excellent example of the tincture: a little goes a long way. This paper offers a model of the dynamics in analytical supervision: a mirroring of the professional-self of the supervisee, the opportunity to learn through empirical factual knowledge, and, most importantly, experiential, interactive and dynamic learning. The container of supervision will be amplified using an image of the triple vessel of alchemy. The materia of supervision is discussed as 'amalgams' of complex related material. The supervisory field is seen in a triadic intersubjective and interimaginal manner. Jung's diagram of all the possible conscious and unconscious connections between patient and therapist is expanded to include the supervisory situation. Moving beyond projective identification as explanatory process, the concept of the mundus imaginalis is used as the medium for this triadic structure. The 'analytic third' expands to include the 'supervisory fourth' while incorporating the supervisor's imaginings of the patient as the quintessential experience of the imaginal other. The supervisor's attitude and state of mind are seen through the paradigm of active imagination. This state of mind is called supervisory reverie.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Remarks on autocatalysis and autopoiesis.

The notions of collective autocatalysis and of autopoiesis are clearly related; equally clearly, they are not quite the same. The purpose of this paper is to try to clarify the relationship. Specifically I suggest that autopoiesis can be at least roughly characterized as collective autocatalysis plus spatial individuation. Although some mechanism of spatial confinement or concentration is probably necessary to the effective operation of any collectively autocatalytic reaction network, autopoiesis requires, in addition, that the mechanism for maintaining this confinement should itself be a product of the reaction network--and should thus (?) be capable of separating or individuating otherwise identically organized networks. I suggest an informal heuristic test to discriminate the (merely) collectively autocatalytic from the (properly) autopoietic. Finally, in the light of this, I review a variety of published abstract or model systems, Alchemy, alpha-universes, Tierra, and SCL.

Catalysis↗
PubMed1995

Shared amino acid sequences between major histocompatibility complex class II glycoproteins, type XI collagen and Proteus mirabilis in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: To show molecular similarity between two sequences of Proteus mirabilis (haemolysin--ESRRAL; urease--IRRET) with HLA-DR antigens (EQRRAA) which are associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and type XI collagen (LRREI), respectively; and, in patients with RA, to measure levels of antibody against a 16-mer synthetic peptide containing the ESRRAL sequence, and the haemolysin and urease proteins of Proteus mirabilis. METHODS: The homologous sequences EQRRAA and ESRRAL were modelled with Alchemy III, using the crystalline structure of DRB1*0101 (HLA-DR1). Sera from 40 patients with RA, 30 with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and 30 controls were tested against synthetic ESRRAL peptide and the haemolysin of Proteus mirabilis by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Similar tests were also carried out on sera from 20 patients with RA, 40 with AS, and 15 controls, against Proteus mirabilis urease. RESULTS: Molecular modelling of the homologous sequences ESRRAL/EQRRAA and IRRET/LRREI showed stereochemical similarities. Antibodies to the 16-mer synthetic peptide containing the ESRRAL sequence, the haemolysin, and urease proteins were significantly increased in RA patients compared with AS patients (p < 0.001) and healthy controls (p < 0.001). No such increases were observed with three control peptides including the EDERAA sequence of DRB1*0402 (HLA-DR4/Dw10), the haemolysin proteins of Streptococcus pyogenes and Vibrio parahaemolyticus, and the urease of Bacillus pasteurii. CONCLUSION: The additive effect of the immune responses to the two Proteus mirabilis antigens, haemolysin (ESRRAL) and urease (IRRET), could be relevant in the aetiopathogenesis of RA.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

The medieval kidney.

This article surveys the various perceptions of the kidney and its pathologies by encyclopedists, preachers, natural philosophers, surgeons and academic physicians around 1300. It focuses on the medical works of Arnau de Vilanova (d. 1311) and shows the medical discourse about the kidney in all its complexity. It draws attention to the incorporation of the medical nephrological debate into the scholastic frame, and to the close links between nephrology and astrology as well as alchemy.

Encyclopedias as Topic↗
PubMed1994

Wizards and scientists: the pharmacologic experience in the Middle Ages.

During the Dark ages, Greco-Roman science survived in the eastern Roman Empire and the most important advances in pharmacology and pharmacy were made in Byzantium. As the Arab empires spread in the 7th and 8th centuries, they incorporated earlier learning, and the most important contribution of Arabic medical writers was probably the introduction of formularies to aid in the preparation of medicines. In turn, the later spread of Arabic knowledge to the West introduced little-known plants and fostered an interest in collecting and cultivating them, and also introduced the palatable dose forms preferred by the Arabic doctors. In the West, however, the Christian Church taught a doctrine of unquestioning faith, and despite the centers of learning, e.g. at Salerno, most ordinary people depended on the healing power of faith, religious relics and traditional folk medicine. Hydrology was also well developed in the Middle Ages. The formularia that survive describe many indigenous plants, but with few illustrations. Their gathering and preparation is generally guided by magic ceremonies and ritual, and plants often took their properties from their habitat, e.g. the wayside plantain was thought good for tired or wounded feet. Concepts of therapeutic plants were also influenced by alchemy and were linked to related metals and planets.

Byzantium↗
PubMed2003

Glucocorticoid-like effects of antihepatocarcinogen Rotenone are mediated via enhanced serum corticosterone levels: Molecular Fitting and Receptor Activation Studies.

BACKGROUND: Recent studies suggest that rotenone alters cell signal transduction pathways in a manner similar to glucocorticoids. Histological and biochemical markers of glucocorticoid effects in vivo, evaluated in our laboratories, provide further evidence for similarities in the activity of glucocorticoids and rotenone. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which rotenone produces glucocorticoid-like effects. METHODS: Male B6C3F1 mice were treated for 7 days with rotenone (600 ppm in diet), the glucocorticoid antagonist RU486 (2 mg/kg/day, ip), corticosterone (2 mg/kg/day, ip), or both rotenone and RU 486. Control mice received drug-free diet and the vehicle (corn oil, ip). Following preservation in 10% neutral buffered formalin, tissues were embedded in paraffin. Sections were stained with hematoxylin, eosin, and were examined by light microscopy. Tissue sections were processed for in situ enzymatic end labeling of 3'-hydroxy-DNA strand breaks, a measure of apoptosis. Corticosterone was quantified in sera, using a solid phase radioimmunoassay kit. Cells (cell line 1470.2 derived from C127 mouse mammary adenocarcinoma cells) were transiently transfected with 5 &mgr;g of pLTRLuc and 1 &mgr;g of beta-Galactosidase expression vectors using a BTX square-wave pulser at 155 V, 4 pulses (40 ms each). Cells were then treated with dexamethasone, rotenone, or a mixture of both for 6 hr, harvested and assayed for luciferase and beta-Galactosidase activity. Using Root Mean Square (RMS) fit analysis (Alchemy trade mark, Tripose, Inc., St Louis, MO), we assessed possible structural similarities between rotenone and corticosterone, dehydrocorticosterone, glucocorticoid antagonists ZK 98.299, and RU 486. RMS fit was calculated by selecting three atoms in each of the molecules, followed by calculating the distance between these atoms. An RMS value of zero between two molecules indicates identical molecular characteristics. A positive value suggests diminished similarity with a value of 1 or higher excluding any such similarities. RESULTS: Although the stimulatory effect exerted by rotenone on hepatocellular apoptosis was in the opposite direction of that produced by the glucocorticoid antagonist RU 486, data suggested that rotenone does not directly activate the glucocorticoid receptor. Molecular fitting of rotenone to glucocorticoid receptor agonists and antagonists as well as examination of the transcriptional activation of a glucocorticoid-responsive reporter gene (Mouse MammaryTumorVirus) in response to rotenone indicated that it is highly unlikely that rotenone interacts directly with the glucocorticoid receptor. However, feeding male B6C3F1 mice a diet containing rotenone (600 ppm for 7 days) resulted in a 3-fold increase in serum levels of corticosterone relative to control animals. Corticosterone is the major glucocorticoid in rodents. CONCLUSION: Rotenone does not interact directly with the glucocorticoid receptor. Elevation of serum corticosterone levels in response to rotenone may explain the glucocorticoid-like effects of this compound, and may play a role in its anti-hepatocarcinogenic effect.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

To survive, to become: our way of life (Presidential address).

Occupational therapy's domain consists of a carefully compounded alchemy of a great vision, transforming the "poetry of the commonplace" into a vital sustainer and prolonger of precious life. Through the judicious application of an unique technology--human occupation--cautiously blended with timeless values and beliefs, we will inevitably succeed where others have failed. The grand tasks of occupational therapy abide and endure: to attend to the multiple, complex, interrelated, and critical human activities of not just living, but living well. Through the habits of attention and interest, we engage the human in regaining the harmony of functions that ensure survival, retaining those characteristics that facilitate and push balanced growth and development, and attaining those interdependent meanings of a purposeful, fulfilled life within the context of a personal and social order.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Sisters with mercury exposure.

The same iron pot in which their father had boiled lead with mercury (from a glass thermometer) for the purpose of alchemy, was also used for cooking in the kitchen. Although his wife had died of mercury poisoning, and his 14-year-old and 11-year-old daughters were found to excrete 322 and 455 micrograms/l mercury in the urine, respectively, (1-10 micrograms/l in controls), he stubbornly refused to give permission for them to be examined further. Nine months later, the daughters were permitted to be sent to our clinical ward. While the blood level of mercury had already come down to near normal, its excessive deposition in hair, kidneys and other parts of the body as well as its excessive urinary excretion, were still persistent (beyond tenfold the normal). According to our measurement values, mercury ranged from 14 to 49 micrograms/g in every 1-cm-piece of 10 cm hair of the elder sister, and ranged from 21 to 85 micrograms/g in 14 cm hair from the younger sister. About a 75% decrease in mercury deposition was estimated during these 9 months, based on the speculation of 1.5 cm/month hair-lengthening.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

[Not Available].

Upon his death in 1895, Carl Schorlemmer, professor of chemistry at the Victoria University in Manchester/GB, left an extensive but unfinished and unpublished manuscript, which is now stored in the John Rylands University Library of Manchester. It covers about 1100 pages and deals with the history of chemistry from antiquity to the second third of the 17th century. Based on a several years' study of this paper, an evaluation of its main parts (Chemical knowledge of antiquity/The age of alchemy/ The age of medical chemistry) is given. As compared with his book The Rise and development of organic chemistry (Manchester/London 1879) Schorlemmer seemes to have overstepped the summit of scientific-historical efficiency in the "Contributions ...". Some authors believe that he intended to write an universal history of chemistry from the Marxist point of view but this presumption cannot be supported.

Chemistry↗
PubMed1994

[Reasoning by analogy in chemical history: fallacies and guidelines].

In chemistry (and natural science in general) reasoning in terms of analogy may be of great practical value as well as of theoretical significance. At the same, however, the use of analogy is risky and the results are uncertain. In alchemy and iatrochemistry analogies between the living and the non-living nature have been carried too far. At the end of the 19th century an analogy was drawn between chemical phenomena and the Darwinian theory of evolution. Another example of an overexaggerated analogy can be found in Lavoisier's theory of acids, where oxygen was considered to be the general principle of acidity. Reasoning by analogy is mostly based on an inner conviction. It leads to provisional predictions in such cases where the required facts are not, or incompletely, at our disposal.

Chemistry↗
PubMed2000

[Study on development history of Taoist medicine in Wudang].

This accomplishment of textual research on the development of Wudang Taoist medicine covers the history from the record on Wudang priests practicing medicine in early period, herb pills and internal alchemy in Song - Yuan period to Taoist medicine when at its peak and the strive of doctors of Taoist priests made a vitalize Taoism after its period of declination.

China↗
PubMed2001

[Wine and alcohol in apothecaries' shops during the Middle Ages in Southern countries].

Alcohol, wine and their derivatives do not play during the Middle Ages the role they played during Antiquity. The reading of ancient authors by Arab doctors was probably at the origin of this lack of interest for wine. As ordinary wine, medicinal wines were a matter of conviviality more than of therapeutics. Vinegar was more often used, maybe because of its lack of inebriating properties. Alcohol, this mysterious product, was probably more pertinent in the area of alchemy. Doctors and pharmacists of the enlightened age gave it a new importance. The influence of Islam on Middle Age medicine in Christian occident could explain this lack of interest for wine.

Drug Therapy↗
PubMed2002

Snake and staff symbolism, and healing.

Since time immemorial the snake has been venerated as an enigmatic creature with supernatural powers. As a snake and staff symbol it is also traditionally associated with the healing arts, either as the single-snake emblem of Asklepios, or as the double-snake emblem (caduceus) of Hermes. The mythological basis for this symbolism is reviewed. The Asklepian emblem has been associated with health care since the 5th century BC, when Asklepios became accepted by the Greeks as the god of healing. Whether he was also an historical figure as healer in earlier ages is less certain. The origin of the double-snake emblem is shrouded in the mists of antiquity. In classical times it became the herald's wand of Hermes, messenger of the gods who guided departed souls to the underworld, and was seen as protector of travellers, shepherds and merchants. In the latter capacity Hermes also conveyed a negative connotation as protector of thieves. During the Middle Ages the caduceus became a symbol of the healing sciences (pharmacy and alchemy in particular), and today, although mythologically incorrect, it is in common usage in the health care field.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

[A study of the sexual art of having intercourse with several young virgins in traditional Chinese medicine].

The emergency treatments for the damage and bleeding of the vagina, and the sharp pubic pain of young virgins which were caused occurred by the sexual art, were recorded in traditional medicine books, such as the "Ji yan fang" and others. It is a fact that in ancient China some people used the sexual art of having intercourse with several young virgins at the same time in order to increase their health and keep perpetual youth and longevity. The famous traditional general-medical book, "qian jin yao fang" recommended that method to rich persons too. It is supposed that the beginning of the sexual art of having intercourse with several young virgins traces back to the times of Emperor Hanwu , but it seems to have disappeared from the historical stage in the Song period. On the other hand, the criticisms from the traditional medicine books and the secret languages of internal alchemy used for the Taoist sacred books show that the sexual art of having intercourse with several young virgins was still going on behind the scene in the Ming and Qing periods. Even if we consider the historical changes of ethics and mortality, we now cannot but criticize this behavior of abusing juveniles for the sexual art.

China↗