Buddhisme og selvutvikling : en fenomenologisk studie av nordmenns erfaringer med buddhistisk praksis

Buddhismen beskrives ofte som en atypisk religion, siden den ikke opererer med en skapende og styrende gud. Buddha var et menneske som ved meditasjonspraksis nådde opplysningen, også kjent som nirvana. Det er derfor nærliggende å undersøke buddhismen som en selvutviklingsmetode. Den typisk vestlige oppfatningen av selvutvikling, synes å handle om å bygge et sterkt og kompetent selv, ved å realisere våre iboende evner. Det sentrale i Buddhas opplysningserfaring, var på den annen side at selvet er tomt for selvstendig eksistens. Oppgavens problemstillinger er:1) Hvordan oppleves det å praktisere buddhisme? Og, 2) Hva slags utvikling fører buddhistisk praksis til, sammenlignet med hvordan selvutvikling beskrives i et utvalg psykologiske teorier? Metoden som ble benyttet var kvalitative intervjuer med en fenomenologisk forankring. Utvalget besto av 12 nordmenn som praktiserer buddhisme. Intervjumaterialet gir grunnlag for å belyse følgende underproblemstillinger: 1. Hvordan oppleves det å praktisere meditasjon? 2. Hvilken betydning har den ”mystiske erfaringen” for den praktiserende? 3. Hva kjennetegner den praktiserendes opplevelse av å ha et selv? Og, 4. Hvordan inngår praksis hverdagen? Intervjusitater illusterer hvordan buddhismens negasjons-begreper og paradoksale utviklingsprinsipp, inngår informantenes livsverden. Sammenlignet med konvensjonelle psykologiske selvutviklingsteorier, gir undersøkelsen grunnlag for å definere buddhismen som en selvavviklingsmetode

Search for a heavy neutral lepton that mixes predominantly with the tau neutrino

We report a search for a heavy neutral lepton (HNL) that mixes predominantly with ντ. The search utilizes data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy e+e− collider. The data sample was collected at and just below the center-of-mass energies of the ϒ(4S) and ϒ(5S) resonances and has an integrated luminosity of 915  fb−1, corresponding to (836±12)×106 e+e−→τ+τ− events. We search for production of the HNL (denoted N) in the decay τ−→π−N followed by its decay via N→μ+μ−ντ. The search focuses on the parameter-space region in which the HNL is long-lived, so that the μ+μ− originate from a common vertex that is significantly displaced from the collision point of the KEKB beams. Consistent with the expected background yield, one event is observed in the data sample after application of all the event-selection criteria. We report limits on the mixing parameter of the HNL with the τ neutrino as a function of the HNL mass. Published by the American Physical Society 202

Detailed Analysis of Gene Polymorphisms Associated with Ischemic Stroke in South Asians

The burden of stroke is disproportionately high in the South Asian subcontinent with South Asian ethnicity conferring a greater risk of ischemic stroke than European ancestry regardless of country inhabited. While genes associated with stroke in European populations have been investigated, they remain largely unknown in South Asians. We conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of known genetic polymorphisms associated with South Asian ischemic stroke, and compared effect size of the MTHFR C677T-stroke association with effect sizes predicted from homocysteine-stroke association. Electronic databases were searched up to August 2012 for published case control studies investigating genetic polymorphisms associated with ischemic stroke in South Asians. Pooled odds ratios (OR) for each gene-disease association were calculated using a random-effects model. We identified 26 studies (approximately 2529 stroke cases and 2881 controls) interrogating 33 independent genetic polymorphisms in 22 genes. Ten studies described MTHFR C677T (108 with TT genotype and 2018 with CC genotype) -homocysteine relationship and six studies (735 stroke cases and 713 controls) described homocysteine-ischemic stroke relationship. Risk association ORs were calculated for ACE I/D (OR 5.00; 95% CI, 1.17–21.37; p = 0.03), PDE4D SNP 83 (OR 2.20; 95% CI 1.21–3.99; p = 0.01), PDE4D SNP 32 (OR 1.57; 95% CI 1.01–2.45, p = 0.045) and IL10 G1082A (OR 1.44; 95% CI, 1.09–1.91, p = 0.01). Significant association was observed between elevated plasma homocysteine levels and MTHFR/677 TT genotypes in healthy South Asians (Mean difference (ΔX) 5.18 µmol/L; 95% CI 2.03–8.34: p = 0.001). Our results demonstrate that the genetic etiology of ischemic stroke in South Asians is broadly similar to the risk conferred in Europeans, although the dataset is considerably smaller and warrants the same clinical considerations for risk profiling

Search for baryon and lepton number violating decays D→pℓ\boldsymbol{D \rightarrow p\ell}

6 pages, 4 figures, To be submitted in PRD(L)International audienceWe search for the baryon and lepton number violating charm decays, $D \rightarrow p\ell$, where $D$ is either a $D^0$ or a $\overline{D}^0$ and $\ell$ is a muon or an electron, using a data sample of $921\,\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric energy $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider. In the absence of significant signals, we set upper limits on the branching fractions in the range $(5 - 8) \times 10^{-7}$ at a 90\% confidence level, depending on the decay mode