The Maternal Personhood of Cattle and Plants at a Hindu Center in the United States

Religious experiences with sacred nonhuman natural beings considered to be “persons” remain only vaguely understood. This essay provides a measure of clarification by engendering a dialogue between psychoanalytic self psychology on one side and, on the other, religious experiences of cattle and Tulsi plants as holy mothers at a Hindu cattle sanctuary in the United States. Ethnographic data from the Hindu center uncover experiences of sacred maternal natural beings that are tensive, liminal, and colored with affective themes of nurturance, respect, and intimacy, much like psychoanalytic maternal selfobjects. Devotees protect cattle and ritually venerate plants because these actions facilitate a limited experiential grounding of religiosity on what is perhaps the most fundamental of all relationships, the relationship with the mother, within a theological worldview that somewhat embraces nonhuman natural beings in both doctrine and practice

Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

Endoscopic ultrasound versus endoscopic retrograde cholangiography for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis: the influence of the size of the stone and diameter of the common bile duct Ecoendoscopia versus colangiografia retrógrada endoscópica para o diagnóstico da coledocolitíase: a influência do tamanho do cálculo e do diâmetro da via biliar principal

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography is highly accurate in diagnosing choledocholithiasis, but it is the most invasive of the available methods. Endoscopic ultrasonography is a very accurate test for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis with a risk of complications similar to that of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. AIM: To compare the accuracy of endoscopic ultrassonography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography in the diagnosis of common bile duct stones before laparoscopic cholecystectomy and to analyze endoscopic ultrasound results according to stone size and common bile duct diameter. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred and fifteen patients with symptomatic gallstones were admitted for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Sixty-eight of them (31.7%) had a dilated common bile duct and/or hepatic biochemical parameter abnormalities. They were submitted to endoscopic ultrassonography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography. Sphincterotomy and sweeping of the common bile duct were performed if endoscopic ultrassonography or endoscopic retrograde cholangiography were considered positive for choledocholithiasis. After sphincterotomy and common bile duct clearance the largest stone was retrieved for measurement. Endoscopic or surgical explorations of the common bile duct were considered the gold-standard methods for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis. RESULTS: All 68 patients were submitted to laparoscopic cholecystectomy with intraoperative cholangiography with confirmation of the presence of gallstones. Endoscopic ultrassonography was a more sensitivity test than endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (97% vs. 67%) for the detection of choledocholithiasis. When stones >4.0 mm were analyzed, endoscopic ultrassonography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiography presented similar results (96% vs. 90%). Neither the size of the stone nor the common bile duct diameter had influence on endoscopic ultrasonographic performance. CONCLUSIONS: For a group of patients with an intermediate or moderate risk with respect to the likelihood of having common bile duct stones, endoscopic ultrassonography is a better test for the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis when compared to endoscopic retrograde cholangiography mainly for small-sized calculi.<br>RACIONAL: A colangiografia retrógrada endoscópica é método acurado porém invasivo para o diagnóstico da coledocolitíase. A ecoendoscopia também é método bastante eficaz para a detecção de cálculo coledociano e apresenta riscos semelhantes àqueles de uma endoscopia digestiva convencional. OBJETIVOS: Comparar a acurácia da ecoendoscopia e da colangiografia endoscópica para o diagnóstico do cálculo da via biliar principal antes da colecistectomia laparoscópica e analisar a influência do tamanho do cálculo e do calibre da via biliar principal na eficácia diagnóstica da ecoendoscopia. PACIENTES E MÉTODOS: Duzentos e quinze pacientes com colecistolitíase sintomática foram admitidos para colecistectomia laparoscópica. Destes, 68 (31,7%) apresentaram dilatação da via biliar extra-hepática à ecografia convencional e/ou alteração de enzimas hepáticas e canaliculares. Foram, então, submetidos a ecoendoscopia e colangiografia endoscópica, seguida de papilotomia, se qualquer um dos métodos sugerisse a presença de coledocolitíase. Após a papilotomia, o maior cálculo foi recuperado e medido. A exploração endoscópica ou cirúrgica da via biliar foi considerada o padrão-ouro para o diagnóstico de coledocolitíase. RESULTADOS: Todos os 68 pacientes foram submetidos a colecistectomia laparoscópica com colangiografia intra-operatória, comprovando-se colecistolitíase neste grupo. A ecoendoscopia foi mais sensível do que a colangiografia endoscópica para a detecção de cálculos coledocianos (97% vs. 67%). Para os cálculos maiores de 4,0 mm, os métodos apresentaram sensibilidades semelhantes (96% vs. 90%). Os resultados da ecoendoscopia não foram influenciados pelo tamanho do cálculo ou pelo calibre do colédoco. CONCLUSÕES: Para pacientes com risco intermediário para coledocolitíase, a ecoendoscopia é método mais sensível do que a colangiografia endoscópica, especialmente para cálculos pequenos