Women in the Greetings of Rom 16:1-16: A Study of Mutuality and Women's Ministry in the Letter to the Romans

The purpose of this study is to investigate the leadership roles of women within the model of mutuality in Pauline churches as specified in Romans 16:1-16. The three major issues focussed in this study are the leadership roles of women in the Pauline churches (Romans 16:1-16), the nature of mutuality reflected in the greetings to men and women, and the way in which the greetings to men and women in Rom 16 relate to the ethos of mutualism in Rom 12-15. Starting from the premise that Romans 16 is an integral part of the letter, the study begins with an overview of previous research in the areas of major focus (Chapter 1). It is followed by the analysis of the form of greetings in the Pauline letters against the backdrop of the Hellenistic use of greetings to understand the significance of the specific form of the greetings in Rom 16:1-16 and its purpose of encouraging mutual relationship (Chapter 2). The analysis of the leadership of women in the Greco-Roman world shows that women’s leadership roles in the Pauline churches were not countercultural; rather they were part of the culture of the Greco-Roman world, where some women of wealth or higher social status exerted some independence (Chapter 3). The women named (Rom 16:1-16) and greeted with descriptive phrases perhaps draw our attention to Paul’s acknowledgment of some women, who worked as his associates, and point to relationships of mutuality in the greetings (Chapter 4). The study of Romans 12-13 helps to clarify the model of mutuality in the body metaphor and the repeated term ‘a0llh/louv’, signifying that Christian experience is not only an individual experience but also has social and ethical aspects (Chapter 5). The contextual application of mutuality in the community as mutual welcoming and mutual up-building (Rom 14-15) is the focus of Chapter 6. The final attempt is to draw together the peculiarities of the Pauline ethos of mutuality which encourages the leadership roles of women in the greetings (Chapter 7). Mutuality of relationships in Romans transcends gender discrimination as Paul accepts and appreciates men and women for their toil with regard to the church and to himself. The women named and greeted with specific roles (Rom 16) are Phoebe, Prisca, Junia, Persis, Mary, Tryphaena and Tryphosa, Rufus’ mother, Nereus’ sister and Julia. The leadership of women in the church is placed within the structures of mutuality in Romans. Mutuality is the model of relationship Paul wants to urge on Roman Christians and the ethical obligations are guided by the dynamic relationships of ‘love mutualism’, which are evident in Romans 12-15. Love mutualism works as mutual service to the other that works within the hierarchies and is dynamic

Has Bollywood Lost the Plot? Analyzing the Influence of Item Songs on Rape Culture in India

An item song is a provocative musical song and dance sequence that appears in Bollywood films that have little to no connection to the film’s plot, performed by an item girl for the male gaze. Contemporary Bollywood item songs have become highly contested social and political texts in the discourse surrounding rape culture in India. This research explores the socio-cultural context of rape culture in India and examines what makes item songs a popular and acceptable form of entertainment in a patriarchal, conservative society where sexualized violence against women is a major cause for concern. The study also addresses the narrative, visual, and lyrical characteristics of ten of the most popular item songs from 2012 – 2019. Using a hybrid theoretical framework that brings together the male gaze theory, intersectionality, and postfeminism, this study analyzes the ways in which rape culture is manifested in the cinematic techniques and song lyrics. I argue that item songs mirror certain characteristics and tropes that invoke rape culture. I conclude that the songs reveal four main characteristics: glamorization of illicit activities and behavior, sexual objectification of the female body, alcohol abuse, and violence. The research argues that contemporary item songs are a popular source of sexist imagery and a powerful cultural influencer of sexual violence against women in India. Moreover, this study suggests that item songs desensitize the Indian public and contributes to the normalization of gang rapes in the country. Ultimately, the study emphasizes the need for the Bollywood film industry to introduce more nuanced narratives about female sexuality and reconsider the ongoing stereotyping, objectification, and misogyny of item songs, and recognize their wide reach and influence on the attitudes and behaviors of Indian people

HGNC: The Why and How of Standardised Gene Nomenclature

The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) aims to approve a unique gene symbol and gene name for every human gene. Standardisation of gene symbols is necessary to allow researchers and curators to refer to the same gene without ambiguity. Consistent use of gene symbols in publications and across different websites makes it easy for researchers to find all relevant information for a particular gene and facilitates data mining and retrieval. For each gene that we name we curate relevant information including symbol aliases, chromosomal location, locus type, sequence accessions and links to relevant databases. Therefore, our website is a central resource for human genetics. 
 
We endeavour to approve gene symbols that are acceptable to researchers to encourage widespread use of our symbols. In order to achieve this, we contact researchers that work on particular genes for advice before approving symbols and allow researchers to submit gene symbols to us directly for our consideration. We attend conferences to discuss difficult nomenclature matters and to gain community agreement. We interact with annotators of genes and proteins to provide symbols and names that accurately reflect the nature of each gene and its products. We also work with the gene nomenclature committees for other organisms, and aim to approve equivalent gene symbols for orthologous genes in human and other vertebrate species, especially mouse and rat. 
 
We will demonstrate the steps that are required to name a gene, and will show how and where the nomenclature of a particular gene is used. We will also explain the nature of our collaborations with particular journals and other databases in striving to achieve the use of a common gene nomenclature by all

ResearchGate Profiles of Naval Architecture Scientists in India: An Altmetric Analysis

This study aims to conduct an altmetrics analysis of researchers on Indian Naval Architecture. The study covered sixty-fourfacultymembersonNaval Architecture discipline from six higher education institutions in India. The profile page of ResearchGate (RG) was visited to collect altmetrics indicators. The study also tried to perform scientometric analysis of publication outputs, citations and H-index of the researchers using the Scopus database. The study further investigated the correlation of altmetrics and scientometric indicators with Pearson correlation test. The study found that the 65 percent of the researchers has an account in RG with their publications being uploaded in RG. Most of them received citations in a range of 1-50 and H-index of 1-5. Their publications have received reads in a range of 1000 to 5000 and obtained RG score of10-15. Naval architecture scientists have relatively low followers, and they are following a limited number of their peers. There is a significant correlation between the range of citations and H-index received by the naval architecture scientists in Scopus and RG. The study also shows the correlation among the range of publications indexed in Scopus and added in RG

Extent of Knowledge of Coconut Farmers in Kozhikode District of Kerala

The present study was conducted among the coconut farmers of Kozhikode district of Kerala to assess the extent of knowledge on coconut cultivation. A total 120 farmers from purposively selected eight panchayats of the district formed the sample. Extent of knowledge of the farmers was measured using a teacher-made test. Based on analysis of data, it was found that more than half of the farmers possessed medium level of knowledge about the recommended coconut farming practices

Some observations on the ecology and biochemical aspects of the seaweeds of Kerala coast

Knowledge of the distribution and ecology of algae is a basic aspect of algal research. Ecologically, algal communities of the sea shore lend themselves admirably to a detailed study. The principal marine algal species together with certain animals form well marked belts on the shore and the phenomenon is not confined to one region, but is more or less universal, though the component species obviously vary in different parts of the world. In a variety of localities it can be seen that there is a variation both in the number of species and abundance of individual species. Comparisons of this type are well worth making since they provide information about the species present and absent respectively in different localities and the possible reasons

Study on the effect of glycemic control on mean platelet volume in type 2 diabetic patients on treatment.

Diabetes mellitus is a global pandemic. The increased platelet activity may play a role in the development of vascular complications of this metabolic disorder. The mean platelet volume (MPV) is an indicator of the average size and activity of platelets. Larger platelets are younger and exhibit more activity. Increased mean platelet volume is a known risk factor for various acute vascular complications, which is commonly associated with patients with diabetes mellitus. This study was aimed to investigate the association of Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) with glycemic control in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Material and Methods A total of 100 patients were selected and allocated to three Groups according to their HbA1C level. Investigations like fasting blood glucose, HbA1Cand MPV were performed. Relation of MPV was assessed with HbA1C and FBS, PPBS, duration of diabetes. To find the significance difference between the bivariate samples in independent groups the Independent sample t-test was used. For the multivariate analysis the one way ANOVA was used. In both the above statistical tools the probability value .05 is considered as significant level. Results The mean platelet counts and MPV were higher in diabetics with poor glycemic control defined as HbA1C more eight {[7.29+/-.786(<7)], [7.9+/-.659(7.1-8)] and [8.76+/-1.068(>8)fl] than compared to the patients with good control. MPV showed a strong positive correlation with HbA1C levels (P=0.001). Conclusion This study has shown an elevation in Mean Platelet Volume in patients with increased HbA1C (glycated hemoglobin) values, thus indicating poor control of diabetes and, it can be stated that an increase in Mean Platelet Volume is directly proportional to the numerical value of HbA1C (glycated hemoglobin) and inversely related to the control of diabetes. Statistically significant association was found with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) (P-value =.0001) and mean platelet volume