Shamanism from the View of the Theories of Religious Studies

Tato práce se zabývá vznikem, vývojem a problematikou spjatou s pojmem šamanismus. Tento termín byl transformován z původní předmětové roviny do roviny vědeckého metajazyka a záhy se stal obecným pojmem, který je v rámci postmoderní tendence kritiky příliš generalizujících a nejasných termínů zavrhován jako prázdný a nicneříkající. Tato situace je důsledkem univerzalistických definic, které nejen že "šamanismus" zpopularizovaly, ale rovněž podnítily zájem o tento fenomén u mnoha různých disciplín, které reflektují "šamanismus" vždy poněkud odlišným způsobem. K tomu je třeba vzít v potaz fenomén neošamanismu a revitalizaci původních "šamanských" tradic. Díky tomu je v dnešní době skutečně obtížné definovat význam tohoto pojmu. Cílem práce je jednak představit formou typologie hlavní, tj. nejrozšířenější přístupy, které pracují s pojmem šamanismus, definují jej a zároveň poskytují návrhy na řešení výše zmíněné problematiky. Zároveň se pokusím zodpovědět otázku, zda je "šamanismus" pro dnešní vědu nadále přínosnou kategorií.This work is concerned with the origin, development and problems connected with the concept of shamanism. The originally indigenous term was transformed from its objective level to the level of scientific metalanguage and soon after that became a universal concept, which according to the postmodern critics of too generalized and unclear terms was rejected as empty and meaningless. It is the consequence of universal definitions that not only made "shamanism" popular, but also inspired the interest for this phenomenon among many different disciplines, which always reflect "shamanism" in a number of various ways. The phenomenon of neoshamanism and the revitalization of the native "shamanic" traditions also have to be taken into consideration. Thanks to that it is really hard to define the meaning of the term itself. The aim of this work is at first to introduce - on the basis of a typology - the main, i.e. most widespread approaches working with the concept of shamanism, defining it and at the same time providing some propositions concerning the solution of the problems mentioned above. I also try to answer the question wheather the "shamanism" still represents a contributive category for contemporary science.HTF - Katedra religionistikyHussite Theological FacultyHusitská teologická fakult

TSLP is a direct trigger for T cell migration in filaggrin-deficient skin equivalents

Mutations in the gene encoding for filaggrin (FLG) are major predisposing factors for atopic dermatitis (AD). Besides genetic predisposition, immunological dysregulations considerably contribute to its pathophysiology. For example, thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is highly expressed in lesional atopic skin and significantly contributes to the pathogenesis of AD by activating dendritic cells that then initiate downstream effects on, for example, T cells. However, little is known about the direct interplay between TSLP, filaggrin-deficient skin and other immune cells such as T lymphocytes. In the present study, FLG knockdown skin equivalents, characterised by intrinsically high TSLP levels, were exposed to activated CD4+ T cells. T cell exposure resulted in an inflammatory phenotype of the skin equivalents. Furthermore, a distinct shift from a Th1/Th17 to a Th2/Th22 profile was observed following exposure of T cells to filaggrin-deficient skin equivalents. Interestingly, TSLP directly stimulated T cell migration exclusively in filaggrin-deficient skin equivalents even in the absence of dendritic cells, indicating a hitherto unknown role of TSLP in the pathogenesis of AD

Spatial transcriptomics reveals altered lipid metabolism and inflammation-related gene expression of sebaceous glands in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis

Sebaceous glands drive acne, however, their role in other inflammatory skin diseases remains unclear. To shed light on their potential contribution to disease development, we investigated the spatial transcriptome of sebaceous glands in psoriasis and atopic dermatitis patients across lesional and non-lesional human skin samples. Both atopic dermatitis and psoriasis sebaceous glands expressed genes encoding key proteins for lipid metabolism and transport such as ALOX15B, APOC1, FABP7, FADS1/2, FASN, PPARG, and RARRES1. Also, inflammation-related SAA1 was identified as a common spatially variable gene. In atopic dermatitis, genes mainly related to lipid metabolism (e.g. ACAD8, FADS6, or EBP) as well as disease-specific genes, i.e., Th2 inflammation-related lipid-regulating HSD3B1 were differentially expressed. On the contrary, in psoriasis, more inflammation-related spatially variable genes (e.g. SERPINF1, FKBP5, IFIT1/3, DDX58) were identified. Other psoriasis-specific enriched pathways included lipid metabolism (e.g. ACOT4, S1PR3), keratinization (e.g. LCE5A, KRT5/7/16), neutrophil degranulation, and antimicrobial peptides (e.g. LTF, DEFB4A, S100A7-9). In conclusion, our results show that sebaceous glands contribute to skin homeostasis with a cell type-specific lipid metabolism, which is influenced by the inflammatory microenvironment. These findings further support that sebaceous glands are not bystanders in inflammatory skin diseases, but can actively and differentially modulate inflammation in a disease-specific manner

Shamanism from the View of the Theories of Religious Studies

This work is concerned with the origin, development and problems connected with the concept of shamanism. The originally indigenous term was transformed from its objective level to the level of scientific metalanguage and soon after that became a universal concept, which according to the postmodern critics of too generalized and unclear terms was rejected as empty and meaningless. It is the consequence of universal definitions that not only made "shamanism" popular, but also inspired the interest for this phenomenon among many different disciplines, which always reflect "shamanism" in a number of various ways. The phenomenon of neoshamanism and the revitalization of the native "shamanic" traditions also have to be taken into consideration. Thanks to that it is really hard to define the meaning of the term itself. The aim of this work is at first to introduce - on the basis of a typology - the main, i.e. most widespread approaches working with the concept of shamanism, defining it and at the same time providing some propositions concerning the solution of the problems mentioned above. I also try to answer the question wheather the "shamanism" still represents a contributive category for contemporary science

EEG ERP Response Inhibition of Selective Attention in Bilinguals

This Bachelor's Degree thesis studies the difference in basic processing processes between bilinguals and monolinguals. Specifically, it examines executive functions and selective attention. In the theoretical portion, elaborated information including speech development, bilingualism, electroencephalography and even-related potentials is explored. The practical portion of the study explores the metodology and analysis of data obtained from the experiment. The function and attention experiment presents test subjects with a letter-detection task during which simultaneous tones are presented at 76 dB sound pressure level. The experiment uses two groups of test subjects. An experimental group of Czech-English bilinguals and a control group of Czech monolinguals. Both groups underwent the same experimental design. Two types of data, behavioral and EEG data in the form of even-related potentials, were collected from the experiment. Behavioral data was processed in the STATISTICA program using neparametric tests. EEG data was analyzed in the MATLAB program. Results from statistical analysis of the behavioral data did not show a difference between the subject groups in the number of errors or length of response time. Statistical analysis of the EEG data showed a significant difference between the groups; however overall, the study resulted in a difficult determination and an unclear interpretation of the results

Shamanism from the View of the Theories of Religious Studies

This work is concerned with the origin, development and problems connected with the concept of shamanism. The originally indigenous term was transformed from its objective level to the level of scientific metalanguage and soon after that became a universal concept, which according to the postmodern critics of too generalized and unclear terms was rejected as empty and meaningless. It is the consequence of universal definitions that not only made "shamanism" popular, but also inspired the interest for this phenomenon among many different disciplines, which always reflect "shamanism" in a number of various ways. The phenomenon of neoshamanism and the revitalization of the native "shamanic" traditions also have to be taken into consideration. Thanks to that it is really hard to define the meaning of the term itself. The aim of this work is at first to introduce - on the basis of a typology - the main, i.e. most widespread approaches working with the concept of shamanism, defining it and at the same time providing some propositions concerning the solution of the problems mentioned above. I also try to answer the question wheather the "shamanism" still represents a contributive category for contemporary science

Analysis of lipids in epidermis with filaggrin knock-down

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Pharmacy in Hradec Králové Department of Inorganic and Organic Chemistry Michaela Sochorová Supervisor: Doc. PharmDr. Kateřina Vávrová, Ph.D. Title of Diploma thesis: Analysis of lipids in epidermis with filaggrin knock-down Filaggrin (FLG) is crucial for correct development of epidermis and for its function as a skin barrier. Mutation in the FLG gene and loss of its function is associated with diseases such as ichthyosis vulgaris and atopic dermatitis. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of FLG knock-down on the composition of intercellular lipids in the stratum corneum (SC). We used in vitro skin constructs with reduced (FLG-) and normal gene expression (FLG+) for the analysis. It enabled us to study separately the influence of FLG on the composition and organization of SC lipids. FLG is a protein which is degraded to metabolites which cause an acidification of SC. pH is important for optimal activity of enzymes which are pivotal for formation of ceramides from their precursors. Therefore we assumed lower ceramide content in skin barrier when FLG is reduced. Our assumption was supported with findings in patients with atopic dermatitis. However our HPTLC analysis showed that the amount of lipids is similar in both FLG- and FLG+ skin construct...