Book Review: \u3cem\u3eChrist and Krishna: Where the Jordan Meets the Ganges\u3c/em\u3e

A review of Christ and Krishna: Where the Jordan Meets the Ganges by Steven J. Rosen

Book Review: \u3ci\u3eKṛṣṇa and Christ: Body-Divine Relation in the Thought of Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, and Classical Christian Orthodoxy\u3c/i\u3e

Book review of Kṛṣṇa and Christ: Body-Divine Relation in the Thought of Śaṅkara, Rāmānuja, and Classical Christian Orthodoxy. By Steven Tsoukalas. Eugene, OR: WIPF & STOCK, 2011, 310 pages

Book Review: \u3ci\u3eCaste, Gender, and Christianity in Colonial India: Telugu Women in Mission\u3c/i\u3e

Book review of Caste, Gender, and Christianity in Colonial India: Telugu Women in Mission. By James Elisha Taneti. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013, 203 pages

The Grace of God and the Travails of Contemporary Indian Catholicism

This essay discusses the challenges faced by Indian Catholicism, particularly as it seeks to adapt to and in contemporary, post-colonial India through the process or program of what is called inculturation, a self-conscious program of adaptation to Indian religion and culture. Since Indian Catholicism is constituted by so many irreducible persons-in-relation, the article focuses on the life of the Catholic priest, Swami Ishwar Prasad in whose life we may chart something of the inculturation movement and the Catholic tradition as it is found in North India region, in one rather long and rich lifetime connecting two centuries. The article seeks to show not only how inculturation is understood by one of its chief Indian architects, but also how and why it came to be so central to one person’s life’s work

Scalable high-resolution forecasting of sparse spatiotemporal events with kernel methods: a winning solution to the NIJ "Real-Time Crime Forecasting Challenge"

We propose a generic spatiotemporal event forecasting method, which we developed for the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) RealTime Crime Forecasting Challenge (National Institute of Justice, 2017). Our method is a spatiotemporal forecasting model combining scalable randomized Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) methods for approximating Gaussian processes with autoregressive smoothing kernels in a regularized supervised learning framework. While the smoothing kernels capture the two main approaches in current use in the field of crime forecasting, kernel density estimation (KDE) and self-exciting point process (SEPP) models, the RKHS component of the model can be understood as an approximation to the popular log-Gaussian Cox Process model. For inference, we discretize the spatiotemporal point pattern and learn a log-intensity function using the Poisson likelihood and highly efficient gradientbased optimization methods. Model hyperparameters including quality of RKHS approximation, spatial and temporal kernel lengthscales, number of autoregressive lags, bandwidths for smoothing kernels, as well as cell shape, size, and rotation, were learned using crossvalidation. Resulting predictions significantly exceeded baseline KDE estimates and SEPP models for sparse events

Mapping hydrothermal and supergene alteration zones associated with carbonate-hosted Zn-Pb deposits by using PRISMA satellite imagery supported by field-based hyperspectral data, mineralogical and geochemical analysis

Delineating hydrothermal alteration and supergene caps is fundamental for mineral exploration of sulfide ores. The aim of this study is to apply a multi-scale workflow based on hyperspectral remote and proximal sensing data in order to delineate hydrothermal dolomitization and supergene alteration associated with the Mississippi Valley-Type Zn-Pb(-Ag) deposit of Jabali (Western Yemen). The area was investigated through hyperspectral images derived from the new launched Italian Space Agency's PRISMA satellite, which has a higher spectral resolution compared to multispectral sensors and covers the mineral-diagnostic wavelength regions (such as the 2100 nm to 2300 nm range) with a Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) ≥ 100. Spectral mineral maps were produced through the band ratios method using specific feature extraction indices applied to the hyperspectral satellite data. The results were validated by using Visible Near InfraRed (VNIR) to Short Wave InfraRed (SWIR) reflectance spectra, mineralogical (XRPD) and geochemical (ICP-ES/MS) analyses on rock samples collected in the Jabali area. The dolomites footprint was mapped using a PRISMA Level 2C image, by enhancing the spectral differences between limestones and dolomites in the SWIR-2 region (major features centered at 2340 nm and 2320 nm, respectively). Gossans were detected due to the Fe3+ absorption band in the VNIR region at 900 nm. The Zn-Pb mineralized area, extended for approximately 25 km2, was thus identified by recognizing gossan occurrences in dolomites. The study demonstrates that the PRISMA satellite is effective in identifying Zn-Pb mineralized outcrops in sedimentary basins

Bosentan and macitentan prevent the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) in systemic sclerosis: in vitro study.

Background: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by early vascular abnormalities and subsequent fibroblast activation to myofibroblasts, leading to fibrosis. Recently, endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndoMT), a complex biological process in which endothelial cells lose their specific markers and acquire a mesenchymal or myofibroblastic phenotype, has been reported in SSc. In the present study, we evaluated the ability of endothelin-1 (ET-1) dual receptor antagonists bosentan (BOS) and macitentan (MAC) to antagonize EndoMT in vitro. Methods: Ten women with limited SSc were enrolled. They underwent double skin biopsy (affected and nonaffected skin). Fibroblasts and microvascular endothelial cells (MVECs) were isolated from biopsies. We performed mono- or coculture of MVECs (isolated from nonaffected skin) with fibroblasts (isolated from affected skin and stimulated with ET-1 and transforming growth factor beta [TGF-\u3b2]). In cocultures, the MVEC layer was left undisturbed or was preincubated with BOS or MAC. After 48 h of coculture, MVECs were analyzed for their tube formation ability and for messenger RNA and protein expression of different vascular (CD31, vascular endothelial growth factor-A [VEGF-A], VEGF-A165b) and profibrotic (alpha-smooth muscle actin [\u3b1-SMA], collagen type I [Col I], TGF-\u3b2) molecules. Results: After 48 h, MVECs showed a reduced tube formation ability when cocultured with SSc fibroblasts. CD31 and VEGF-A resulted in downregulation, while VEGF-A165b, the antiangiogenic isoform, resulted in upregulation. At the same time, mesenchymal markers \u3b1-SMA, Col I, and TGF-\u3b2 resulted in overexpression in MVECs. Tube formation ability was restored when MVECs were preincubated with BOS or MAC, also reducing the expression of mesenchymal markers and restoring CD31 expression and the imbalance between VEGF-A and VEGF-A165b. Conclusions: With this innovative EndoMT in vitro model realized by coculturing nonaffected MVECs with affected SSc fibroblasts, we show that the presence of a myofibroblast phenotype in the fibroblast layer, coupled with an ET-1-TGF-\u3b2 synergic effect, is responsible for EndoMT. BOS and MAC seem able to antagonize this phenomenon in vitro, confirming previous evidence of endothelium-derived fibrosis in SSc and possible pharmacological interferenc

Control methods for Dermanyssus gallinae in systems for laying hens: results of an international seminar

This paper reports the results of a seminar on poultry red mite (PRM), Dermanyssus gallinae. Eighteen researchers from eight European countries discussed life cycle issues of the mite, effects of mites on hens and egg production, and monitoring and control methods for PRM in poultry facilities. It was determined that PRM probably causes more damage than envisaged, with the cost in The Netherlands alone reaching 11 million euro per annum. However a great deal is still unknown about PRM (e.g. reproduction, survival methods, etc.) and that PRM monitoring is an important instrument in recognising and admitting the problem and in taking timely measures. Currently, the most promising control method combines heating the hen house in combination with chemical treatments. Future areas of development which show promise include the use of entomopathogenic fungi, vaccination and predatory mites. The final aim is to solve the problem of D. gallinae in housing systems for laying hens