Between the second, third and fourth centuries the Christian Church produced biographies chronicling the pious undertakings of monks. These hagiographies borrowed from preexisting Greek biographies to distinguish the Christian monk from the pagan holy man. Patricia Cox Miller’s Biography in Late Antiquity: The Quest for the Holy Man demonstrates how hagiographers adaptation of Greek biographies...

In her article, "Holy Fools, Secular Saints, and Illiterate Saviors in American Literature and Popular Culture," Dana Heller identifies and analyzes characteristics of the holy fool figure in American literature and culture. Heller defines the holy fool, or divine idiot, as a figure central to U.S. myths of nation. One encounters such figures in American literature as well as in American folklo...

Tulsi (Ocimum sanctum Linn.) herb has been known from as early as the Vedic period. Its extract has numerous pharmacological activities like hypoglycaemic, immunomodulatory, antistress, analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcerogenic, antihypertensive, CNS depressant, radioprotective, antitumour and antibacterial. The active constituents of the herb include volatile oil chiefly euge...

The suitability of application Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems in the supply chain has been discussed since the late nineties. Like any new innovation, there are advantages (in operational efficiencies), and disadvantages (in its implementation). The hype created by this innovation suggests that advantages outweighed the disadvantages. Yet, adoption has lagged most predictions. Th...

BACKGROUND Podoconiosis (endemic non-filarial elephantiasis) is a chronic, non-infectious disease resulting from exposure of bare feet to red-clay soil in tropical highlands. This study examined lay beliefs about three under-researched aspects of podoconiosis patients' care: explanatory models, health-seeking behaviours and self-care. METHODS In-depth interviews and focus group discussions we...

Breastfeeding is the ideal and most natural way of nurturing infants. The importance of breastfeeding has been proved unequivocally, and UNICEF and WHO have issued guidelines to ensure breastfeeding. More than 14 centuries is that in Islamic teachings with the most comprehensive, most beautiful and most powerful motivation, is raised important points in the form of advice and education about br...

Tectonic processes are major factors controlling landform development in tectonically active areas. In order to evaluate quantitative measurement of tectonic activities in the Alamarvdasht basin in the south of Iran, six different morphological indices including stream-gradient index (SL), drainage basin asymmetry (Af), hypsometric integral (Hi), valley floor width-valley height ratio (Vf), dra...

understanding the fundamental issues of the iran-iraq war as well as the factors affecting understanding the nature of it is the most important window to the correct understanding the history of the holy defense. if done correctly, this will provide an opportunity to understand the trends and events of the iran-iraq war which regardless of political and factional controversies, it paves the gro...

what follows is an attempt to see otto the phenomenologist within wider developments in the field, and to take account of some recent criticisms. everything that is said falls under the general headingof 'introduction to the study of religion'(or 'meta-religionswissenschaft') within this wide field, we shall be specifically concerned with the possibility of a systematic phen...