‘Guru’ devotion in India: Socio-cultural perspectives and current trends

‘Guru’ devotion in India: Socio-cultural perspectives and current trendsThough the academic study of religion is considered nascent in India, eminent scholars speak of Hindu restoration and the evolution of a guru. In a highly dynamic and pluralistic India, various sociological perspectives stand valid even today, for a better understanding into the spurt of the new movements – religious, spiritual and charismatic. These offer several insights into the evolution of the ‘guru phenomenon’ in the country. We have come a long way from the traditional guru to the contemporary godman (godwoman). The ‘Guru’ in India has today entered the realm of religion. Despite having access to a wide pantheon of divine entities, what makes a people of a nation in current civilized and better literate times, cut across all barriers of caste and religion (also class) and surrender one’s all to that one ultimate authority called a ‘guru’? What makes him ‘god’? This paper attempts to comprehend, appreciate and study the evolution and progression of the ‘guru’ tradition in India - with an understanding of some sociological perspectives, the need for a ‘Guru’, role in Indian society, related psychoanalysis, and finally current trends. As we do so, this would only be the beginning of a journey in discovering the numerous traditions and movements that come to be associated with this phenomenon, each enshrined with its own trends, plentiful stories and abundant miracles – taking it to a new level, altogether. Zjawisko guru w Indiach. Perspektywy społeczno-kulturowe i aktualne kierunkiChociaż akademickie studia nad religią nadal postrzegane są w Indiach jako nowość, to wybitni uczeni mówią o hinduskim odnowieniu i ewolucji „guru”. W dynamicznych i pluralistycznych Indiach wciąż pojawiają się różnorodne koncepcje socjologiczne mające pomóc w lepszym zrozumieniu wzrostu liczby nowych ruchów religijnych, duchowych i charyzmatycznych. Odnoszą się one do wielu spostrzeżeń dotyczących ewolucji „zjawiska guru” w Indiach. Albowiem przebyliśmy długą drogę od tradycyjnego pojmowania guru do współczesnego rozumienia „boga-mężczyzny” („boga-kobiety”). Obecnie „guru” w Indiach jest częścią religii. Co jednak sprawia, że pomimo dostępu do szerokiego panteonu boskich istot ludzie danego narodu w obecnych cywilizowanych i lepiej wykształconych czasach, we wszystkich kastach i religiach (także klasach) poddają się najwyższej władzy nazywanej „guru”? Co umożliwia stanie się „bogiem”? W niniejszym artykule podjęto próbę – opierając się na wybranych koncepcjach socjologicznych, psychoanalizie, a także aktualnych trendach – zrozumienia, poznania i zbadania ewolucji i rozwoju tradycji „guru” w Indiach i jego roli w społeczeństwie indyjskim. Jednakże jest to dopiero początek podróży w odkrywaniu licznych tradycji i ruchów związanych z tym zjawiskiem, gdyż każde z nich zawiera własne nurty, bogactwo opowieści i obfitość cudów – wznoszą je na całkowicie nowy poziom

Derivatives of salicylic acid. Part XIII. Chlorosalicylic acids and their methyl ethers

This article does not have an abstract

Inflammation-dependent cerebrospinal fluid hypersecretion by the choroid plexus epithelium in posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Nature via the DOI in this recordThere is another record in ORE for this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/10871/33419The choroid plexus epithelium (CPE) secretes higher volumes of fluid (cerebrospinal fluid, CSF) than any other epithelium and simultaneously functions as the blood-CSF barrier to gate immune cell entry into the central nervous system. Posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH), an expansion of the cerebral ventricles due to CSF accumulation following intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), is a common disease usually treated by suboptimal CSF shunting techniques. PHH is classically attributed to primary impairments in CSF reabsorption, but little experimental evidence supports this concept. In contrast, the potential contribution of CSF secretion to PHH has received little attention. In a rat model of PHH, we demonstrate that IVH causes a Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)- and NF-κB-dependent inflammatory response in the CPE that is associated with a ∼3-fold increase in bumetanide-sensitive CSF secretion. IVH-induced hypersecretion of CSF is mediated by TLR4-dependent activation of the Ste20-type stress kinase SPAK, which binds, phosphorylates, and stimulates the NKCC1 co-transporter at the CPE apical membrane. Genetic depletion of TLR4 or SPAK normalizes hyperactive CSF secretion rates and reduces PHH symptoms, as does treatment with drugs that antagonize TLR4-NF-κB signaling or the SPAK-NKCC1 co-transporter complex. These data uncover a previously unrecognized contribution of CSF hypersecretion to the pathogenesis of PHH, demonstrate a new role for TLRs in regulation of the internal brain milieu, and identify a kinase-regulated mechanism of CSF secretion that could be targeted by repurposed US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs to treat hydrocephalus.We thank D.R. Alessi (Dundee) and R.P. Lifton (Rockefeller) for their support. K.T.K. is supported by the March of Dimes Basil O'Connor Award, a Simons Foundation SFARI Grant, the Hydrocephalus Association Innovator Award, and the NIH (4K12NS080223-05). J.M.S. is supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (NS060801; NS061808) and the US Department of Veterans Affairs (1BX002889); R.M. is supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute

The health impacts of energy performance investments in low-income areas: a mixed-methods approach

The study found improvements in subjective well-being and a number of psychosocial outcomes, but there was no evidence of changes in physical health

Decision Tree for data with Known Hierarchical Class Labels

Decision Tree classifier builds a classification model using training data. It consists of records having attribute values and corresponding class label. Very few algorithms deal with class labels that are organized as hierarchical structure. In this paper we propose a framework for decision trees which considering the prior knowledge of the class hierarchies in training data. Classification algorithm is applied multiple time to predict class label from higher level (coarse-grain) to lower level (fine-grain) by using respective training records

The Relationship Between Level of Physical Activity and Speech Perception Abilities

Introduction: Kearns et al., (2019) observed subjects having an increased ability to recognize speech in noise after 30 minutes. Parbery-Clark et al., (2009) demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between speech recognition in noise results vs. working memory. Curhan et al., (2013), based on collected survey data, reported that women who were more physically active were less likely to develop hearing loss. Kawakami et al., (2021) showed a positive association between level of physical activity (LPA) and risk reduction in hearing loss development. Therefore, it was hypothesized that there would be statistically significant relationships between level of self-reported physical activity vs. pure-tone thresholds, speech-in-noise perception ability, and working memory. The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between degree of physical activity, pure-tone audiometry, speech-in-noise perception ability, and working memory. Methods: Twenty-three native English speakers with normal pure-tone thresholds participated in this study. Bilateral pure-tone average (PTA) was calculated for all participants. Speech recognition in noise ability was evaluated using the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT; Nilsson et al., 1994; Vermiglio, 2008) and the AzBio test (Spahr et al., 2012). Working memory was evaluated using the Digit-Span test (Wechsler, 1991). A questionnaire was used to categorize the participants' LPA. The relationships between self-reported LPA vs. all test results were evaluated with the Spearman rho statistic. Results: A weak negative relationship was found between LPA vs. binaural PTA (r = -0.21, p = 0.33). A weak negative relationship was found between LPA vs. HINT thresholds (r = -0.36, p = 0.10). A very weak positive relationship was found between LPA vs. AzBio scores (r = 0.15, p = 0.50). A very weak positive relationship was found between LPA vs. Digit Span scores (r = 0.18, p = 0.42). Discussion: Contrary to the three hypotheses, no statistically significant relationships (p > 0.05) were found between degree of physical activity vs. the test results. The results of this investigation are inconsistent with previous investigations (Curhan et al., 2013; Kawakami et al., 2021; Kearns et al., 2019). Future research should further investigate these relationships using alternative measures of physical activity

A Study on Assess the Perceived Image of Nursing and Factors Influencing Them among the Nursing Students

Introduction: In a developing country like India, nursing education is difficult to come by. As a result, this research examines nursing experts' beliefs besides expectations, in addition to desired future activities. It is vital to build and sustain a constructive picture of nursing, especially in today's culture, where nurses' achievements are rarely in light of credit, they have earned.&#x0D; Aim: To assess the perceived image of nursing and factors influencing them among the nursing students.&#x0D; Methodology: This study was based on a Descriptive evaluative research approach. Non-probability convenient sampling technique was used. The populace were undergraduate students from selected college, consisted of 400 samples. Structured questionnaires were used based on a 5-points Likert scale.&#x0D; Results: The study shows that 1% of nursing students were strongly disagree, 4.75% were disagree, 7.75% were not sure, 68.75% were agreed and 17.75% were strongly agreed with level of perceived image of nursing whereas level of factors that influenced the perceived image of nursing were poor i.e.,62% had poor, 24.5% had average, 11.25% had good and 2.25% of nursing students had very good level.&#x0D; Conclusion: The study shows corelation between the perceived image of nursing and factors influencing them among nursing students. Later on, more investigations are expected to investigate students view of the nursing occupation.</jats:p