Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
5,844
result(s) for
"Meridians."
Sort by:
Zero degrees : geographies of the Prime Meridian
Space and time on earth are regulated by the Prime Meridian, 0ہ, which is, by convention, based at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. But the meridian's location in southeast London is not a simple legacy of Britain's imperial past. Before the nineteenth century, more than twenty-five different prime meridians were in use around the world, including Paris, Beijing, Greenwich, Washington, and the location traditional in Europe since Ptolemy, the Canary Islands. Charles Withers explains how the choice of Greenwich to mark 0ہ longitude solved complex problems of global measurement that had engaged geographers, astronomers, and mariners since ancient times. Withers guides readers through the navigation and astronomy associated with diverse meridians and explains the problems that these cartographic lines both solved and created. He shows that as science and commerce became more global and as railway and telegraph networks tied the world closer together, the multiplicity of prime meridians led to ever greater confusion in the coordination of time and the geographical division of space. After a series of international scientific meetings, notably the 1884 International Meridian Conference in Washington, DC, Greenwich emerged as the most pragmatic choice for a global prime meridian, though not unanimously or without acrimony. Even after 1884, other prime meridians remained in use for decades. As Zero Degrees shows, geographies of the prime meridian are a testament to the power of maps, the challenges of accurate measurement on a global scale, and the role of scientific authority in creating the modern world.-- Provided by publisher.
Book
Why the Greenwich meridian moved
In 1884, the International Meridian Conference recommended that the prime meridian “to be employed as a common zero of longitude and standard of time-reckoning throughout the globe” pass through the “centre of the transit instrument at the Observatory of Greenwich”. Today, tourists visiting its meridian line must walk east approximately 102 m before their satellite-navigation receivers indicate zero longitude. This offset can be accounted for by the difference between astronomical and geodetic coordinates—deflection of the vertical—in the east–west direction at Greenwich, and the imposed condition of continuity in astronomical time. The coordinates of satellite-navigation receivers are provided in reference frames that are related to the geocentric reference frame introduced by the
Bureau International de l’Heure
(BIH) in 1984. This BIH Terrestrial System provided the basis for orientation of subsequent geocentric reference frames, including all realizations of the World Geodetic System 1984 and the International Terrestrial Reference Frame. Despite the lateral offset of the original and current zero-longitude lines at Greenwich, the orientation of the meridian plane used to measure Universal Time has remained essentially unchanged.
Journal Article
Heavenly streams : meridian theory in nei gong
The art of connecting with, feeling and adjusting the energy body using the consciousness is often overlooked in Nei Gong and Qi Gong practice. Damo Mitchell provides step-by-step instructions on how to experience and adjust the various elements which make up the energy body in order to diagnose imbalances and restore harmony.
Book
The effects of autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) on mood, attention, heart rate, skin conductance and EEG in healthy young adults
Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is a warm tingling sensation which is often accompanied by feelings of calmness and relaxation. The present study examined the effects of an ASMR video on mood, attention, heart rate (HR), electrodermal activity (EDA), electroencephalography (EEG) and the interaction with personality factors in 38 young adults (33 females and 5 males). Based on the ASMR-checklist responses of having tingles during watching the ASMR video 15 participants out of 38 were classified as ASMR-experiencers. Mood, attention and personality characteristics were measured by the Profile of Mood States, the Flanker task and HEXACO. EEG, HR and EDA were recorded during the ASMR and control videos. Depressive feelings decreased after watching the ASMR video in individuals experiencing tingles relative to those not experiencing tingles. Furthermore, in all participants, irrespective of experiencing tingles, a decrease of HR during watching the ASMR video was found. In ASMR-experiencers scoring low on Conscientiousness EDA tended to increase and HR tended-relatively to the group not experiencing tingles—to decrease during watching the ASMR video. EEG recordings indicated that watching the ASMR video was associated with decreased alpha power in ASMR-sensitive participants and decreased theta as well as increased beta power in the whole group of participants. The observed ASMR-induced decrease of alpha and theta power and increase of beta power and (only in low conscientious participants) EDA may reflect that, apart from relaxation, ASMR is related to arousal and focused attention.
Journal Article
Evaluating Dielectric Properties for Assessing Water Content at Acupuncture Points: New Methodology
Importance
Understanding acupuncture point microenvironments is vital for optimizing treatment efficacy. Evaluating changes in water content at these points can provide further insights into the effects of acupuncture on tissues.
Objective
This study aimed to measure tissue dielectric constant (TDC) and assess changes in water content, specifically at stomach 36 (ST36, Zusanli) and spleen 6 (SP6, Sanyinjiao) acupuncture points.
Methods
In a controlled, blinded, randomized trial, 113 healthy volunteers were divided into six groups based on TDC sensor diameters (XS, M, and L): three control groups and three acupuncture groups. They were assessed at three time points: T1, baseline; T2, 20 min post-needle withdrawal; and T3, 40 min post-needle withdrawal. Electrical impedance (EI) was also analyzed. Significance level was set at
p
< 0.001.
Results
TDC at ST36 and SP6 significantly decreased with the XS probe at T2 and T3 compared with that at T1 (F8, 452: 54.61). TDC did not significantly vary between T2 and T3 with M and L probes. EI data indicated that the current passage increased in the SP (F2, 226: 39.32) and ST (F2, 226: 37.32) groups during T2 and T3 compared with that during T1 within their respective groups and controls.
Conclusions and Relevance
This study demonstrated the efficacy of TDC measurements in detecting water content fluctuations at acupuncture points and their responses to needles. TDC measurements, which were validated against EI, provide valuable insights into acupuncture point microenvironments and thus help optimize treatments.
Journal Article
Portable devices for periodic monitoring of bioelectrical impedance along meridian pathways in healthy individuals
Objective
This study aims to investigate the monthly variation patterns of bioelectrical impedance (BEI) along 24 meridian pathways in healthy individuals.
Methods
A cohort of 684 healthy middle-aged participants from North China was enrolled between July 1, 2017, and September 5, 2020. BEI measurements were consistently recorded along the 24 meridian pathways over the study period. The collected BEI data were subjected to statistical analysis, and line charts were constructed to depict the temporal variation patterns.
Results
Analysis revealed that BEI values along the 24 meridian pathways followed a normal distribution over a 12-month period. In the first group of meridians, which includes the lung, large intestine, heart, small intestine, pericardium, and triple-energizer meridians, significant monthly variations were observed. The second group, comprising the spleen, stomach, bladder, kidney, gallbladder, and liver meridians, exhibited marked differences primarily between March and April (
P
< 0.05), with a peak in April and relatively stable values thereafter. Synchronous BEI fluctuations were evident on the left and right sides of the body, and both groups of meridian pathways displayed similar variation patterns. These patterns largely corresponded to fluctuations observed in the spleen meridian.
Conclusion
The consistent monthly variation patterns in BEI along the 24 meridian pathways among healthy middle-aged individuals align with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) concepts of meridians and collaterals. The spleen meridian, in particular, appears to play a crucial role in influencing these bioelectrical fluctuations, as posited in TCM theory. From a bioelectrical standpoint, this study provides empirical support for the potential existence and functionality of meridians and collaterals, offering a scientific perspective that complements ancient TCM principles.
Journal Article
Reflections on the calculation methods of the imbalance degree in the biophysical properties of meridian points
Objective
To analyze and compare the features and strengths of different methods for calculating the biophysical properties of meridian points, and thus propose corresponding suggestions to fully achieve the research and application value of biophysical properties of meridian points.
Methods
We searched and collected the literature on the imbalance of biophysical properties of meridian points between January 1, 2005 and March 1, 2020 in China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Academic Journal Full-text Database (Wanfang), Chongqing VIP Database (CQVIP) and PubMed database, and then analyzed, compared, and summarized the applied methods for calculating the imbalance degree of the biophysical properties of meridian points.
Results
The current methods for calculating the imbalance degree of the biophysical properties of meridian points are diverse and can be summarized as the following three: direct comparison of the measured values of the left and right namesake points, difference method, and ratio method. The low uniformity of the calculation methods has limited the promotion and application of its research results.
Conclusion
In future research on the biophysical properties of meridian points, multidisciplinary cooperation in terms of imbalance degree calculation methods, detection instruments, and health data models is necessary to achieve more widely applicable scientific conclusions and more generalized experimental results.
Journal Article
How Are Time Zones Decided?, in Economist Video
It's not just the sun that decides what time it is, but national identities, rivalries and governments too. Our interactive data journalist, Olivia Vane, examines how politics shapes the world's time zones.
Streaming Video
Predicting Meridian in Chinese traditional medicine using machine learning approaches
Plant-derived nature products, known as herb formulas, have been commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for disease prevention and treatment. The herbs have been traditionally classified into different categories according to the TCM Organ systems known as Meridians. Despite the increasing knowledge on the active components of the herbs, the rationale of Meridian classification remains poorly understood. In this study, we took a machine learning approach to explore the classification of Meridian. We determined the molecule features for 646 herbs and their active components including structure-based fingerprints and ADME properties (absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion), and found that the Meridian can be predicted by machine learning approaches with a top accuracy of 0.83. We also identified the top compound features that were important for the Meridian prediction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that molecular properties of the herb compounds are associated with the TCM Meridians. Taken together, the machine learning approach may provide novel insights for the understanding of molecular evidence of Meridians in TCM.
Journal Article