The concept of ‘transcendence’ in modern Western philosophy and in twentieth century Hindu thought

‘Transcendence’ has been a key subject of Western philosophy of religion and history of ideas. The meaning of transcendence, however, has changed over time. The article looks at some perspectives o ered by the nineteenth and the twentieth century Anglo‐American and con‐ tinental European philosophers of religion and presents their views in relation to the concept of transcendence formulated by the Bengali Hindu traditionalist Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (1874–1937). The questions raised are what transcendence in the philosophy of religion is, how one can speak of it, and what its goal is. The paper points to parallels and di erences in epistemology, ontology and practice. One di erence is that the nineteenth and the twentieth century Western philosophy of religion tended to assume an ontological di erence between self and transcendence inherited om personalities such as Søren Kierkegaard, but also to explore the concept of transcendence beyond the idea of a metaphysical God. Bhaktisiddhanta, whose foundational thought mirrors medieval Hindu philosophy of religion and the theistic schools of Vedānta, suggests that transcendence has a metaphysical and personal dimension that is to some degree ontologically similar to and directly knowable by the self. Bhaktisid‐ dhanta’s approach to transcendence di ers om Kierkegaard’s and other Western philosophers’ and revolves around the idea of God as a transcendent person that can be directly known mor‐ phologically and ontologically through devotion. The article is a contribution to the history of ideas and the philosophy of religion in Eurasia and beyond

Magnetic Field of an In-Plane Vortex Inside and Outside a Layered Superconducting Film

In the present work we study an anisotropic layered superconducting film of finite thickness. The film surfaces are considered parallel to the $bc$ face of the crystal. The vortex lines are oriented perpendicular to the film surfaces and parallel to the superconducting planes. We calculate the local field and the London free energy for this geometry. Our calculation is a generalization of previous works where the sample is taken as a semi-infinite superconductor. As an application of this theory we investigate the flux spreading at the superconducting surface.Comment: One REVTeX file containing a figure in it and two PS figures. To appear in Physical Review

Study of the threshold line between macroscopic and bulk behaviors for homogeneous type II superconductors

In this work we solved the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations to simulate homogeneous superconducting samples with square geometry for several lateral sizes. As a result of such simulations we notice that in the Meissner state, when the vortices do not penetrate the superconductor, the response of small samples are not coincident with that expected for the bulk ones, i.e., $4\pi M=-H$. Thus, we focused our analyzes on the way which the $M(H)$ curves approximate from the characteristic curve of bulk superconductors. With such study, we built a diagram of the size of the sample as a function of the temperature which indicates a threshold line between macroscopic and bulk behaviors.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

The Gelasian (Late Villanyan-MN17) diversified micromammal assemblage with Mimomys pliocaenicus from Coste San Giacomo (Anagni basin, central Italy), taxonomy and comparison with selected european sites

The Gelasian site of Coste San Giacomo (CSG) (central Italy) provides a unique opportunity to investigate the faunal and environmental changes occurred in Mediterranean Europe during the Early Pleistocene. The finding of both large and small mammal fauna has a great biochronological and palaeoenvironmental value. In this work the description of the small mammal assemblage is presented and discussed in detail for the first time. Twelve taxa, belonging to three orders, have been in fact identified and described (six Rodentia, one Lagomorpha and five Eulipotyphla). In particular, the CSG small mammal assemblage has provided the largest collection in Europe of Mimomys pliocaenicus and, for this reason, it can be considered as a reference. Finally, the occurrence of the Desmaninae subfamily is reported for the first time in Italy. © 2015 Associazione Teriologica Italiana

Quality-Control Study Evaluating the Identification, Family History Collection, and Genetic Counseling Referral of Individuals At-Risk for HNPCC (Lynch Syndrome) Within the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center System and Applications to a State-Wide Referral System

Background: Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC) is a dominantly inherited syndrome predisposing individuals to cancers of the colon and other organs. HNPCC is caused by mutations in one of four mismatch repair proteins responsible for DNA repair. Current guidelines on HNPCC screening have focused on administering molecular testing on tumors of at-risk groups affected with colorectal cancer. Criteria for molecular testing include both tumor pathology and personal and family history of cancer. Abnormal tumor test results warrant referral for genetic counseling and germline testing. Public Health Significance: Identifying individuals with HNPCC is crucial for screening and surgical purposes in order to reduce mortality and morbidity. Additionally, at-risk family members can undergo germline testing to determine whether increased surveillance or surgery is warranted. Results: The study revealed that 45.3% (total n=44) of patients warranting genetic counseling attended at a genetic counseling appointment within the UPMC system. Patients who had a personal or family history of cancer were more likely to attend a genetic counseling session than individuals who had pathological or age dependant risk factors (p = 0.0014; OR = 4.8; 95% CI: 1.78, 12.95). Furthermore, patients with a family history of colorectal cancer were more likely to attend a genetic counseling session than individuals whose families displayed a different type of cancer. The average time interval between molecular tumor testing and genetic counseling was approximately 63 days. Finally, 24% and 21.5% of individuals with abnormal tumor results were identified independently by family history and pathological criteria, respectively. Conclusions: This study indicates that improvements can be made in genetic counseling referral process for at-risk HNPCC individuals within the UPMC system. Several factors were potentially associated with attending a genetic counseling session including: the presence of personal or family cancer history, and type of cancers in the family. Timing may also impact attendance with a genetic counselor. The study reveals that there is an opportunity for more detailed family history collection within the UPMC system, from which health care practitioners can identify and address factors that may influence patient compliance with genetic counseling referrals and clinical management. These results can also inform development of a state-wide screening program

Vortices in a mesoscopic superconducting circular sector

In the present paper we develop an algorithm to solve the time dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL) equations, by using the link variables technique, for circular geometries. In addition, we evaluate the Helmholtz and Gibbs free energy, the magnetization, and the number of vortices. This algorithm is applied to a circular sector. We evaluate the superconduting-normal magnetic field transition, the magnetization, and the superconducting density. Furthermore, we study the nucleation of giant and multi-vortex states for that geometry.Comment: One REVTeX file and 8 figure

La geometría en las culturas precolombinas

Luego de una breve introducción histórica, se hace referencia a las investigaciones científicas que nos indican aspectos no conocidos e inesperados sobre lo realizado por los indígenas que vivieron en América precolombina. Se dividió el continente americano en áreas y se analizó en cada una de ellas y en diferentes períodos lo realizado por las diferentes culturas en construcciones y en sus manifestaciones artísticas relacionadas con la geometría

La geometría en las danzas folklóricas argentinas

Es conocida la relación de la geometría con el arte, (Pedoe, 1979), así como su influencia en la arquitectura (Alsina y Trillas, 1983) y en las realizaciones artísticas de los indígenas que ocuparon el territorio argentino (Gonzalez, 1983). Sin embargo existen otros aspectos interesantes como por ejemplo la Geometría en las danzas tradicionales argentinas. Son numerosas y poco conocidas las formas y características de la música precolombina en las regiones que hoy ocupa la República Argentina. Las referencias que se tienen indican que muchas tribus realizaban un ritual músico en sus ceremonias tanto guerreras como religiosas. En las danzas folclóricas argentinas es característico el movimiento de los bailarines por pareja suelta, hombre y mujer, realizando evoluciones en general independientes, es allí donde aparece la geometría. Se analizaran las coreografías de varias danzas y se observará como existe una geometría oculta que rige sus movimientos. Los objetivos de este trabajo son: establecer la relación entre la Matemática, más precisamente la Geometría con otras disciplinas y hallar relaciones entre los temas que se enseñan habitualmente en la escuela, sus orígenes y desarrollos históricos, para integrar la Matemática y su relación con otras áreas a la práctica docente

Macaca sylvanus Linnaeus 1758 from the Middle Pleistocene of Quecchia Quarry (Brescia, Northern Italy)

During the Plio-Pleistocene the Barbary macaque, Macaca sylvanus Linnaeus, 1758 was widely distributed throughout Europe and North Africa (Szalay and Delson, 1979; Delson, 1980; Rook et al., 2001), and it became extinct in Europe during the Late Pleistocene (Elton and O’Regan, 2014). Nowadays this primate is still present in North Africa and a small population has been reintroduced at Gibraltar (Modolo et al., 2005). The taxonomy of the Plio-Pleistocene European macaques is still debated but many authors agree in considering all the fossils as belonging to the M. sylvanus lineage, while the Pleistocene endemic M. majori Azzaroli, 1946 from Sardinia (Italy) has been considered a distinct valid species (Rook and O’Higgins, 2005). The occurrence of this species is documented from Late Pliocene to Late Pleistocene sites located in Northern and Central Italy. Here we describe unpublished dentognathic remains of Macaca sylvanus from the Middle Pleistocene site of Quecchia Quarry (Botticino, Brescia, North Italy)