Spontaneous regression is an unexpected improvement or cure from a disease which is usually taking a different course. It is a term that is mainly used for unexpected transient or final improvements in cancer.

It has long been assumed that spontaneous regressions from cancer are a rare phenomenon, and that some forms of cancer are more prone to unexpected courses than others. Frequency is estimated to be about 1/100000, however, in reality this ratio might be largely underestimated. Not all cases of spontaneous regression can be apprehended, either because the case was not well documented, the physician was not willing to publish, or simply because the patient did not show up in a clinic any more.

For small tumors, the frequency of spontaneous regression was probably drastically underrated. In a carefully designed study on mammography it was found that 22% of all breast cancer cases underwent spontaneous regression.

In many of the collected cases, it must be acknowledged that the factors or mechanisms responsible for spontaneous regression are unknown in the light of present knowledge. In some of the cases, available knowledge permits one to infer that hormonal influences probably were important. In other cases, the protocols strongly suggest that an immune mechanism was responsible.

Binary opposition is a pair of terms or concepts that are theoretical opposites. In structuralism, a binary opposition is seen as a fundamental organizer of human philosophy, culture, and language. It is one of several influential characteristics or tendencies of Western thought. Typically, one of two opposites assumes a role of dominance over the other. The categorization of binary oppositions is often value-laden and ethnocentric with an illusory order and superficial meaning.

An example of a binary opposition is the presence-absence dichotomy. In much of Western thought, distinguishing between presence and absence is a fundamental element of thought in many cultures. In addition, according to post-structuralist criticisms, presence occupies a position of dominance in Western thought over absence, because absence is traditionally seen as what you get when you take away presence. Had absence been dominant, presence might have been seen as what you get when you take away an absence.

Deconstruction is the event or moment at which a binary opposition is thought to contradict itself and undermine its own authority. Although deconstruction can not explain how a rational basis for defending itself can then be maintained, it has removed any objective basis in structuralism it may have had.

The correspondence between each of the dominant Western concepts such as rational vs. emotional, mind vs. body, thought vs. writing, are claimed to show a tendency of Western thought called logocentrism. The critique of binary oppositions is an important part of post-feminism, post-colonialism, post-anarchism, and critical race theory, which argue that the perceived binary dichotomy between man/woman, civilized/savage, and caucasian/non-caucasian have perpetuated and legitimized Western power structures favoring “civilized” white men.

Genetic testing involves direct examination of the DNA molecule to detemine a person’s ancestry or vulnerabilities to inherited diseases. Genetic testing can provide only limited information about an inherited condition. The test can not determine if a person will show symptoms of a disorder, how severe the symptoms will be, or whether the disorder will progress over time.

The results of genetic tests are not always straightforward, which often makes them challenging to interpret and explain. Many of the risks associated with genetic testing involve the emotional, social, or financial consequences of the test results. The possibility of genetic discrimination in employment or insurance is also a concern. In the United States, the use of genetic information is governed by the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

Direct-to-Consumer genetic testing is a type of genetic test that is accessible directly to the consumer without having to go through a health care professional. Benefits of this type of testing are the accessibility of tests to consumers, promotion of proactive healthcare and the privacy of genetic information.

Some advertising for direct-to-consumer genetic testing has been criticized as conveying an exaggerated and inaccurate message about the connection between genetic information and disease risk, utilizing emotions as a selling factor. Consumers can potentially misinterpret genetic information, causing them to be deluded about their personal health.

Healing of the body is accomplished through restoration of damaged cells to normal function. It is the process by which cells regenerate and repair. Healing incorporates both the removal and replacement of damaged areas in the body.

Living organs will heal using a combination of regeneration and repair. Regeneration occurs when damaged cells are replaced by the same cell structure that was originally present. Repair is the process by which injured areas are replaced with scar tissue, a natural part of the body’s reaction to wounding or injury that is deeply correlated with healing.

In order for an injury to be healed by regeneration, the cell type that was destroyed will replicate. This process occurs by use of a cellular framework along which to grow known as collagen. Collagen is the main component of all connective tissue that guides cell growth. It continues to exist even when the cells around it are damaged.

The existing cells replicate, using the collagen framework as a guide, eventually bringing the damaged area of the body back to normal. After regeneration is complete, the damage to the original cell area is undetectable. Ultimately, a scar made of collagen containing a small number of assistive healing cells is left.

Oneiromancy is a form of divination based upon dreams. It is a system of dream interpretation that uses dreams to predict the future. Dream divination was a common feature of Greek and Roman religion and literature of all genres.

Oneirocritic literature is the traditional literary format of dream interpretation. Artemidorus was a professional diviner and author known for the five volume Greek work Oneirocritica. According to Artemidorus, the material for his work was gathered from diviners during lengthy travels through Greece, Italy and Asia.

Artemidorus writes that dream interpretation is nothing other than the juxtaposition of similarities, but like other types of Greek divination, including astrology, celestial divination and pallomancy, Oneiromancy became exceedingly complex, with a given dream subject to a number of interpretations.

Dreams occur throughout the Bible as omens or messages from God. Jacob dreamed of a ladder to heaven and his son Joseph dreamed of his future success and interpreted the dreams of the Pharaoh of Egypt. The Magi are told in a dream to avoid Herod on their journey home, and Joseph, husband of Mary, was directed to flee to Egypt.

Hylomorphism is the theory that all things are a combination of matter and form. Aristotle was one of the first writers to approach the subject of life in a scientific way. Biology was one of his main interests, and there is extensive biological material in his writings. He believed that while matter can exist without form, form cannot exist without matter, and therefore the soul cannot exist without the body.

According to Aristotle, all things in the material universe have both matter and form. The form of a living thing is its soul. There are three kinds of souls: the vegetative soul of plants, which causes them to grow and decay and nourish themselves, but does not cause motion and sensation; the ‘animal soul’ which causes animals to move and feel; and the rational soul which is the source of consciousness and reasoning which Aristotle believed is found only in man.

A properly organized body is already alive simply by virtue of its structure. However, the property of life or soul is something in addition to the body’s structure. The analogy of a car can be used to explain this interpretation. A running car is running not only because of its structure but also because of the activity in its engine. Likewise, a living body is alive not only because of its structure but also because of an additional property. The soul is this additional property, which a properly-organized body needs in order to be alive.

Duende is a difficult to define phrase used in the Spanish arts, including performing arts. The artistic and especially musical term was derived from the original meaning of a fairy or goblin-like creature in Spanish and Latin American mythology.

The meaning of duende  has to do with emotion, expression and authenticity. In fact, duende can be loosely translated as “having soul”. It is the spirit of evocation. It comes from inside as a physical and emotional response to music. It is what gives you chills, makes you smile or cry as a bodily reaction to an artistic performance that is particularly expressive.

Folk music in general, especially flamenco, tends to embody an authenticity that comes from a people whose culture is enriched by diaspora and hardship; vox populi, the human condition of joys and sorrows. It is thus as universal in its meaning as it is immensely personal and culturally contextual by its nature.

To a higher degree than the muse or the angel, duende seizes not only the performer but also the audience, creating conditions where art can be understood spontaneously with little, if any, conscious effort. It is, in Lorca’s words, “a sort of corkscrew that can get art into the sensibility of an audience… the very dearest thing that life can offer the intellectual.”

Ochre is a term for a golden yellow or red color. Ochres are among the earliest pigments used by mankind, derived from naturally tinted clay containing mineral oxides. Chemically, it is hydrated iron oxide. Modern artists’ pigments continue to use the terms yellow ochre and red ochre for specific hues.

It was the most commonly used material for painting walls in the ancient Mediterranean world. In Athens, when assembly was called, a contingent of public slaves would sweep the open space with ropes dipped in ochre. Those citizens that loitered instead of moving to the assembly area would risk having their clothes stained with the paint. This prevented them from wearing these clothes in public again, as failure to attend the assembly incurred a fine.

A popular coloring during the time of the French Empire, many French citizens living in foreign colonies would import a great deal of ochre clay from France to make their new lands feel like home. After the period of French colonization ended, ochre became associated with repression and fell out of favor. Recently, however, natural ochre paint has seen something of a comeback as an upscale house paint option.

In Newfoundland, red ochre was the pigment of choice for use in vernacular outbuildings and work buildings associated with the cod fishery. Deposits of ochre are found throughout Newfoundland, notably near Fortune Harbor and at Ocher Pit Cove. While earliest settlers may have used locally collected ochre, people were later able to purchase pre-ground ochre through local merchants, largely imported from England.