Book Review: Finding Jesus in Dharma: Christianity in India

A review of Finding Jesus in Dharma: Christianity in India by Chaturvedi

Book Review: Asian Biblical Hermeneutics and Postcolonialism: Contesting the Interpretations

A review of Asian Biblical Hermeneutics and Postcolonialism: Contesting the Interpretations by R. S. Sugirtharajah

Book Review: The History of the Holy Servants of the Lord Siva: A Translation of the Periya Puranam of Cekkilar

A review of The History of the Holy Servants of the Lord Siva: A Translation of the Periya Puranam of Cekkilar by Alaistair McGlashan

Guest Editor\u27s Introduction: Hindu and Christian Mutual Misperceptions

The other remains as a mystery and puzzle before one comes to know the other in a personal and intimate manner. especially when the other is the religious other, it is much more puzzling and mysterious. The history of the encounter between Hindus and Christians over several centuries reveals how the puzzle and the mystery of the other can at times lead to gross misperceptions of the other. Such mutual misperceptions have been some of the stumbling blocks in the path of a healthy, friendly, and mutually enhancing relation between Christians and Hindus. In this issue of the Bulletin, we offer four essays that directly address the problem of mutual misperceptions. Before we set out to read these essays, let me offer some preliminary and introductory remarks

Viewpoint: Pastors, Pujaris, and Swamis: Hindu-Christian Encounter in a Classroom

I have been teaching a course titled Christian Encounter with Hinduism, at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, since 1988. Students who enroll in this course are mostly those who are pursing the Master of Divinity program with a view to becoming pastors in Christian congregations or chaplains in colleges and hospitals. Some others are in the process of discerning their vocation as theologians, teachers, counselors, or informed laypersons

Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM): antenatal and postnatal management

Background: Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAM) is a rare abnormality of lung development. The estimated incidence ranges from 1: 10,000 to 1.35,000 live births. It is diagnosed by prenatal screening at 18-20 weeks of gestation. Surgical excision of symptomatic lesions is relatively straight forward, but management of asymptomatic lesions is controversial.Methods: Among women who delivered at St. Johns medical college and hospital, Bangalore between Jan 2011 to Dec 2016, those with the diagnosis of CCAM during anomaly scan were included in the study. Antenatal and Post-natal period and their outcomes were evaluated. Follow up was extend up to the childhood in the affected foetus.Results: There were 5 cases of CCAM in 13057 deliveries during 5-year study. Incidence was 1:2611. Mean gestational age at diagnosis was 21.6±2.5weeks. All foetus had CVR (CCAM volume) ratio more than 1.6 and there was no compromise on lung volume. Mean lung volume was 62.8±8.6 cc. and mean Apgar score at 1minute was 6.8±2.7 and at 5 minutes was 8.0±2.2. Among 5 foetuses, 2 foetuses had regression of cyst by birth and 3 underwent surgery for resection after birth.Conclusions: CCAM remains a challenge for obstetricians, neonatologists and paediatric surgeons. The combination of prenatal MRI and serial ultrasound studies optimize foetal surveillance and postnatal care. In asymptomatic CCAM, babies should be followed up to adolescence and adulthood, as they can manifest with malignant changes

Cryptococcal meningitis: improving access to essential antifungal medicines in resource-poor countries

Cryptococcal meningitis is the leading cause of adult meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa, and contributes up to 20% of AIDS-related mortality in low-income and middle-income countries every year. Antifungal treatment for cryptococcal meningitis relies on three old, off-patent antifungal drugs: amphotericin B deoxycholate, flucytosine, and fluconazole. Widely accepted treatment guidelines recommend amphotericin B and flucytosine as first-line induction treatment for cryptococcal meningitis. However, flucytosine is unavailable in Africa and most of Asia, and safe amphotericin B administration requires patient hospitalisation and careful laboratory monitoring to identify and treat common side-effects. Therefore, fluconazole monotherapy is widely used in low-income and middle-income countries for induction therapy, but treatment is associated with significantly increased rates of mortality. We review the antifungal drugs used to treat cryptococcal meningitis with respect to clinical effectiveness and access issues specific to low-income and middle-income countries. Each drug poses unique access challenges: amphotericin B through cost, toxic effects, and insufficiently coordinated distribution; flucytosine through cost and scarcity of registration; and fluconazole through challenges in maintenance of local stocks-eg, sustainability of donations or insufficient generic supplies. We advocate ten steps that need to be taken to improve access to safe and effective antifungal therapy for cryptococcal meningitis

Antihypercholesterolemic and Antioxidative Potential of an Extract of the Plant, Piper betle

Hypercholesterolemia is a dominant risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. In the present study, the putative antihypercholesterolemic and antioxidative properties of an ethanolic extract of Piper betle and of its active constituent, eugenol, were evaluated in experimental hypercholesterolemia induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of Triton WR-1339 (300 mg/kg b.wt) in Wistar rats. Saline-treated hypercholesterolemic rats revealed significantly higher mean blood/serum levels of glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, low density and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol, and of serum hepatic marker enzymes; in addition, significantly lower mean serum levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol and significantly lower mean activities of enzymatic antioxidants and nonenzymatic antioxidants were noted in hepatic tissue samples from saline-treated hypercholesterolemic rats, compared to controls. However, in hypercholesterolemic rats receiving the Piper betle extract (500 mg/kg b.wt) or eugenol (5 mg/kg b.wt) for seven days orally, all these parameters were significantly better than those in saline-treated hypercholesterolemic rats. The hypercholesterolemia-ameliorating effect was better defined in eugenol-treated than in Piper betle extract-treated rats, being as effective as that of the standard lipid-lowering drug, lovastatin (10 mg/kg b.wt). These results suggest that eugenol, an active constituent of the Piper betle extract, possesses antihypercholesterolemic and other activities in experimental hypercholesterolemic Wistar rats

Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for present-day Europeans

We sequenced the genomes of a ∼7,000-year-old farmer from Germany and eight ∼8,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Luxembourg and Sweden. We analysed these and other ancient genomes1,2,3,4 with 2,345 contemporary humans to show that most present-day Europeans derive from at least three highly differentiated populations: west European hunter-gatherers, who contributed ancestry to all Europeans but not to Near Easterners; ancient north Eurasians related to Upper Palaeolithic Siberians3, who contributed to both Europeans and Near Easterners; and early European farmers, who were mainly of Near Eastern origin but also harboured west European hunter-gatherer related ancestry. We model these populations’ deep relationships and show that early European farmers had ∼44% ancestry from a ‘basal Eurasian’ population that split before the diversification of other non-African lineages.Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Celula

The Druze: A Population Genetic Refugium of the Near East

BACKGROUND: Phylogenetic mitochondrial DNA haplogroups are highly partitioned across global geographic regions. A unique exception is the X haplogroup, which has a widespread global distribution without major regions of distinct localization. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We have examined mitochondrial DNA sequence variation together with Y-chromosome-based haplogroup structure among the Druze, a religious minority with a unique socio-demographic history residing in the Near East. We observed a striking overall pattern of heterogeneous parental origins, consistent with Druze oral tradition, together with both a high frequency and a high diversity of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) X haplogroup within a confined regional subpopulation. Furthermore demographic modeling indicated low migration rates with nearby populations. CONCLUSIONS: These findings were enabled through the use of a paternal kindred based sampling approach, and suggest that the Galilee Druze represent a population isolate, and that the combination of a high frequency and diversity of the mtDNA X haplogroup signifies a phylogenetic refugium, providing a sample snapshot of the genetic landscape of the Near East prior to the modern age