句容葛仙观

葛仙观原名叫“青元观”,始建于宋皇佑二年,由葛玄、葛洪的故宅改建而成,主要供奉葛玄、葛洪二位真人,原观内建有紫微、北极、三官、东岳四房道院,并有葛玄炼丹用井一口即“青元丹井”现井栏收     

Histone modifications around individual BDNF gene promoters in prefrontal cortex are associated with extinction of conditioned fear

Extinction of conditioned fear is an important model both of inhibitory learning and of behavior therapy for human anxiety disorders. Like other forms of learning, extinction learning is long-lasting and depends on regulated gene expression. Epigenetic mechanisms make an important contribution to persistent changes in gene expression; therefore, in these studies, we have investigated whether epigenetic regulation of gene expression contributes to fear extinction. Since brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is crucial for synaptic plasticity and for the maintenance of long-term memory, we examined histone modifications around two BDNF gene promoters after extinction of cued fear, as potential targets of learning-induced epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Valproic acid (VPA), used for some time as an anticonvulsant and a mood stabilizer, modulates the expression of BDNF, and is a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor. Here, we report that extinction of conditioned fear is accompanied by a significant increase in histone H4 acetylation around the BDNF P4 gene promoter and increases in BDNF exon I and IV mRNA expression in prefrontal cortex, that VPA enhances long-term memory for extinction because of its HDAC inhibitor effects, and that VPA potentiates the effect of weak extinction training on histone H4 acetylation around both the BDNF P1 and P4 gene promoters and on BDNF exon IV mRNA expression. These results suggest a relationship between histone H4 modification, epigenetic regulation of BDNF gene expression, and long-term memory for extinction of conditioned fear. In addition, they suggest that HDAC inhibitors may become a useful pharmacological adjunct to psychotherapy for human anxiety disorders.     

SAS and SPSS macros to calculate standardized Cronbach’s alpha using the upper bound of the phi coefficient for dichotomous items

Cronbach’s α is widely used in social science research to estimate the internal consistency of reliability of a measurement scale. However, when items are not strictly parallel, the Cronbach’s α coefficient provides a lower-bound estimate of true reliability, and this estimate may be further biased downward when items are dichotomous. The estimation of standardized Cronbach’s α for a scale with dichotomous items can be improved by using the upper bound of coefficient ϕ. SAS and SPSS macros have been developed in this article to obtain standardized Cronbach’s α via this method. The simulation analysis showed that Cronbach’s α from upper-bound ϕ might be appropriate for estimating the real reliability when standardized Cronbach’s α is problematic.     

The contributions of static visual cues, nonvisual cues, and optic flow in distance estimation

By systematically varying cue availability in the stimulus and response phases of a series of same-modality and cross-modality distance matching tasks, we examined the contributions of static visual information, idiothetic information, and optic flow information. The experiment was conducted in a large-scale, open, outdoor environment. Subjects were presented with information about a distance and were then required to turn 180 before producing a distance estimate. Distance encoding and responding occurred via: (i) visually perceived target distance, or (ii) traversed distance through either blindfolded locomotion or during sighted locomotion. The results demonstrated that subjects performed with similar accuracy across all conditions. In conditions in which the stimulus and the response were delivered in the same mode, when visual information was absent, constant error was minimal; whereas, when visual information was present, overestimation was observed. In conditions in which the stimulus and response modes differed, a consistent error pattern was observed. By systematically comparing complementary conditions, we found that the availability of visual information during locomotion (particularly optic flow) led to an 'under-perception' of movement relative to conditions in which visual information was absent during locomotion.     

《科学与宗教：是可调和的吗？》导言（一）

选自《Science and Religion:Are They Compatible?》,保罗·库尔兹(PaulKurtz)主编,2003年由普罗米修斯出版社(Prometheus Books)出版,导言第一部分。为使读者更易理解文章内容编译者自加了小标题。“上帝创造了独立的灵魂”这一神学教条,成了宗教反对堕胎、出生控制和人工受精等医学科学的基本理由科学与宗教是协调的吗?或者说,他们有必要冲突吗?他们的关系长期被争论着;而且,从科学与宗教两大阵营利益的历史来看,它们之间的冲突程度也一直发生着不同程度的变化。1.科学带来社会巨变,却被指称占了宗教的领地虽然,古代希腊与罗马培育了…     

唐宋道教与中外星宿学说关系初探

本文以《秤星灵台秘要经》《灵台经》《天老神光经》《北斗法治武威经》四部道经为例,对唐宋时期道教对中西方星宿学说的认知态度进行分析,发现唐宋道教不仅对中国传统星宿理论加以继承,而且保留有九曜、黄道十二宫等大量域外星宿学说遗痕。道教在融合中西方星宿思想的基础上,进一步拓展出富有自身特色的星神信仰方式与星占技法。     

《资本论》及其手稿的哲学地位

<资本论>及其手稿的哲学地位,长期以来被理论界低估了,这主要表现在以下几个方面:(1)人们长期以来把<资本论>看做经济学著作,而不是哲学著作,这必然妨碍了对<资本论>哲学意义的开掘;(2)改革开放以后开始了对<资本论>哲学意义的探讨,但大都停留在逻辑学和方法论层面,而没有深入到历史观层面;(3)对<资本论>手稿哲学意义和哲学地位探讨的论著更少.