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The idea of Buddhist-Christian complementarity is by no means new. But what is meant by "complementarity"? In quantum physics, the concept of "complementarity" has been extensively discussed due to the principle of complementarity introduced by Niels Bohr (1885-1962). This principle is also one of the hotly debated issues in the areas of religion and natural science. Many scholars attempt to show that there are cases in Christian theology comparable to the complementarity in quantum physics. The most discussed case is perhaps the Christological doctrine of two natures in Jesus Christ.2 Some scholars even attempt to interpret the relationship between theology and science in terms of complementarity.3 This kind of discussion is not merely fanciful imagination originated by Christian theologians, since even Niels Bohr himself did advise Christian theologians to apply the complementary way of thinking in theology. 4 An interesting question may then be whether the principle of complementarity in quantum physics may cast light on the problem concerning Buddhist-Christian complementarity. This is the issue this essay attempts to address.

Buddhism and Christianity are among the most 'globalized' world religions, contributing enormously to the globalization of culture. This chapter consists primarily of a historical study of the formation, process, and impact of the Buddhist-Christian encounter in modern China from the perspective of the globalization of culture. It endeavours to show that the encounter was shaped by a number of factors that were part of the globalization of culture. These include the activities of Christian missions and the cross-cultural dissemination of Western science. Through focusing on some individuals involved in the encounter, namely Yang Wenhui 楊文會, Timothy Richard and Taixu 太虛, the chapter demonstrates that they also considered the meaning of the encounter against the global context. It shows that the impact of the encounter on both Buddhism and Christianity can be understood from the perspective of globalization. The chapter also addresses the theoretical discussion concerning the globalization of culture. Keywords: Buddhism; Christianity; globalization; modern China; Taixu; Timothy Richard; Western culture; Yang Wenhui

The Chinese religious tradition seems to be characterized by the coexistence of divergent religions and the affirmation of religious plurality. Given the missionary background of Christianity in China, addressing the question of religious diversity is an important issue for Chinese Christians. This article attempts to analyze the contemporary Chinese Christian discourses on religious diversity, especially the question of how these discourses were shaped by their cultural, religious, social, political and intellectual and ecclesiastical contexts. Before analyzing these discourses, it is important to clarify some of the key terms and thus the scope of this study.

Inter-religious dialogue on ecological issues is not merely a new item to be added to the agenda of existing dialogue between religions: it calls for a thorough reconsideration of the nature and aims of inter-religious dialogue. This paper argues that the ultimate goal of inter-religious dialogue on ecological issues should be the betterment of the whole world. It states that rather than merely reaching for the enhancement of mutual understanding between religions, dialogue must engage in a mutually creative process of transformation amongst the religious traditions involved. Moreover, the solutions to the environmental crisis must allow for a diverse approach that incorporates the local economic, political, cultural and religious context. Furthermore it is argued that, unlike the current ‘universal environmental ethics,’ ‘moral pluralism’ is a more flexible, contextual, creative and dynamic approach better suited to tackling environmental issues that are invariably local in character. In conclusion the paper states that such an approach should source its ethical thought and practice from the world religions.

Objective The evaluation of coronary stents by computed tomography (CT) remains difficult. We assessed the imaging performance of a high-definition CT scanner (HDCT) by comparing with a conventional 64-row standard-definition CT (SDCT). Methods One hundred thirty-eight consecutive stented patients underwent coronary CT angiography, among whom 66 patients were examined by HDCT, and 72 patients by SDCT (LightSpeed VCT XT; GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wis). The image quality score, the inner stent diameter (ISD), and the radiation dose were analyzed. All data were statistically tested by SPSS 13.0 software (SPSS Inc, Chicago, Ill). Results In 72 patients examined using SDCT, 135 stents were detected; in 66 patients examined using HDCT, 119 stents were detected. The image quality score on HDCT was significantly better than that on SDCT (1.4 [SD, 0.7] vs 1.9 [SD, 0.8]). The ISD on HDCT was significantly higher than that on SDCT (1.8 [SD, 0.5] vs 1.6 [SD, 0.4]). There was no significant difference of either image quality score or ISD between the HDCT and SDCT groups in stents with 2.5-mm diameter. Images on HDCT showed significantly better image quality score and larger ISD than images on SDCT in 2.75-, 3-, and 3.5-mm stents. For patients examined by retrospective electrocardiogram-gated technique, the radiation dose on HDCT was significantly lower than that on SDCT (11.3 [SD, 2.9] vs 15.1 [SD, 3.8] mSv). Conclusions High-definition CT scanner offered improved image quality and measurement accuracy for imaging coronary stents compared with conventional SDCT, providing higher spatial resolution and lower dose for evaluating coronary stents with 2.75- to 3.5-mm diameter.

To investigate the feasibility of contrast media (CM) volume reduction in dual-source coronary computed tomography angiography high-pitch mode without affecting coronary artery enhancement. Eighty patients were involved in a preliminary experiment with a default injection protocol (60 ml of CM). The age, BMI, test bolus (TB) enhancement peak and the CT values of coronary artery for each patient were recorded and the key factors for determining coronary artery enhancement were investigated. Based on the results of the preliminary experiment, 120 patients were involved in the main experiment with a new injection protocol. For each patient, the CT values and noise of left coronary sinus (LCS), and the distal segment of right coronary artery were measured. In the preliminary experiment, the peak enhancement of TB correlated most strongly with the HU values of coronary artery. Consequently, the new injection protocol was devised to catalog patients into four groups (30, 40, 50 and 60 ml) of CM based on their TB peak enhancement. In the main experiment, the 30 ml CM injection group whose peak attenuation of TB were the highest (30 vs. 40,50,60 ml: 323.0 ± 27.5 vs. 264.2 ± 11.9, 242.1 ± 8.8, 206.2 ± 18.2 HU, p

To investigate the value of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) in the preoperative T and N staging of gastric carcinoma and to further investigate the clinicopathological factors affecting the diagnostic accuracy.Seven hundred ninety gastric carcinoma patients underwent preoperative MDCT examination. The results of MDCT were compared with surgical and pathological findings.Early gastric carcinoma patients whose primary tumor was detected by MDCT had higher incidence of lymph node metastasis, larger tumor size, and deeper invasion. The overall accuracy of MDCT in determining T stage of gastric carcinoma was 73.80% (T1 45.93%, T2 53.03%, T3 86.49%, and T4 85.79%). The overall accuracy of MDCT in preoperative N staging was 75.22% (N0 76.17%, N1 68.81%, and N2 80.63%). The overall diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MDCT for determining lymph node metastasis was 86.26%, 76.17%, and 82.09%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the diagnostic sensitivity of MDCT in determining lymph node metastasis related with tumor size, N stage, and number of metastatic lymph nodes.The clinical value of MDCT in the preoperative T and N staging of gastric carcinoma is relatively high. MDCT can be the first choice for the preoperative evaluation of patients with gastric carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE To assess the performance of a high-definition CT (HDCT) for imaging small caliber coronary stents (≤ 3 mm) by comparing different scan modes of a conventional 64-row standard-definition CT (SDCT). MATERIALS AND METHODS A cardiac phantom with twelve stents (2.5 mm and 3.0 mm in diameter) was scanned by HDCT and SDCT. The scan modes were retrospective electrocardiography (ECG)-gated helical and prospective ECG-triggered axial with tube voltages of 120 kVp and 100 kVp, respectively. The inner stent diameters (ISD) and the in-stent attenuation value (AV(in-stent)) and the in-vessel extra-stent attenuation value (AV(in-vessel)) were measured by two observers. The artificial lumen narrowing (ALN = [ISD - ISD(measured)]/ISD) and artificial attenuation increase between in-stent and in-vessel (AAI = AV(in-stent) - AV(in-vessel)) were calculated. All data was analyzed by intraclass correlation and ANOVA-test. RESULTS The correlation coefficient of ISD, AV(in-vessel) and AV(in-stent) between the two observers was good. The ALNs of HDCT were statistically lower than that of SDCT (30 ± 5.7% versus 35 ± 5.4%, p < 0.05). HDCT had statistically lower AAI values than SDCT (15.7 ± 81.4 HU versus 71.4 ± 90.5 HU, p < 0.05). The prospective axial dataset demonstrated smaller ALN than the retrospective helical dataset on both HDCT and SDCT (p < 0.05). Additionally, there were no differences in ALN between the 120 kVp and 100 kVp tube voltages on HDCT (p = 0.05). CONCLUSION High-definition CT helps improve measurement accuracy for imaging coronary stents compared to SDCT. HDCT with 100 kVp and the prospective ECG-triggered axial technique, with a lower radiation dose than 120 kVp application, may be advantageous in evaluating coronary stents with smaller calibers (≤ 3 mm).

Wheat hybrid necrosis has been genetically characterised for many years, but the specific gene(s) and the protein products involved in the processes remains unknown. In this study, protein expression in the base (B), mid (M) and tip (T) segments of the FL-2 leaves of a necrotic hybrid, PZF1 and its parents, Pan555 and Zheng891, was analysed and compared using a high throughput proteomic approach. Twenty-three protein spots, with significant variations in intensity across the necrotic leaf segments, were analysed by MALDI-TOF-MS, of which, 18 were matched to protein accessions in the NCBI database. Several of these proteins are enzymes involved in the methylation cycle, including AdoHcy hydrolase, AdoMet synthase 3 and methionine synthase 1; AdoHcy hydrolase was downregulated sharply in M and T, and AdoMet synthase 3 and methionine synthase 1 were upregulated gradually from M to T. This result suggests that methylation-associated processes, including epigenetic mechanisms, may play a role in the initiation and development of hybrid necrosis. Several energy cycle-associated proteins and cytoprotective proteins were also differentially expressed across the leaf segments, suggesting their direct association with or possible involvement in the necrotic processes. The significant imbalance of a heat-shock protein, a transposon protein and a RNA- and ssDNA-binding protein also makes these proteins potential molecular components in the necrotic processes.

A derivative nonlinear Schrodinger equation with variable coefficient is considered. Special exact solutions in the form of a solitary pulse are obtained by the Hirota bilinear transformation. The essential ingredients are the identification of a special chirp factor and the use of wavenumbers dependent on time or space. The inclusion of damping or gain is necessary. The pulse may then undergo broadening or compression. Special cases, namely, exponential and algebraic dispersion coefficients, are discussed in detail. The case of exponential dispersion also permits the existence of a 2-soliton. This provides a strong hint for special properties, and suggests that further tests for integrability need to be performed. Finally, preliminary results on other types of exact solutions, e.g., periodic wave patterns, are reported.