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While ‘individuality’ is regarded as a cultural construct, this article argues that its trans-cultural investigation has hardly begun, both empirically and theoretically. Comparative work to date has been confined to euro-centric approaches. South Asian models of the individual, though amongst the earliest on record, have not been taken seriously as credible alternatives to European models, other than under the label of ‘ethnosociology’. The present article seeks to redress the balance, by offering a sociological reconstruction of the classical concept of the individual in Jaina philosophy and of its social implications. It argues that previously opaque aspects of the dualistic conception of individuality of the Jainas can be freshly understood, and analysed, with the help of the sociological concepts of G. Simmel and N. Luhmann, which in turn are interpreted as variations of broader transcultural themes.

This article gives an overview of recent findings on the thriving cult of bone relic stūpas in contemporary Jaina culture. Although Jaina doctrine rejects the worship of material objects, fieldwork in India on the hitherto unstudied current Jaina mortuary rituals furnished clear evidence for the ubiquity of bone relic stūpas and relic veneration across the Jaina sectarian spectrum. The article discusses a representative case and assesses the significance of the overall findings for the history of religions. It also offers a new theoretical explanation of the power of relics.

A review of John E. Cort: Jains in the World: Religious Values and Ideology in India. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

The article investigates the relationship between canonical rules ( dharma) and customary rules ( maryādā) in contemporary Jain mendicant life. It focuses on an analysis of the Terāpanth śvetāmbara Jain mendicant order and presents translations and analyses of the rules and regulations and initiation rituals for a new category of Jain novices, the saman order, which was introduced by the Terāpanth in 1981. It is argued that variations and cumulative changes in post-canonical monastic law can be understood in terms of rule specification and secondary canonization and not only in terms of exceptions to the rule. The article contributes both to the anthropology of South Asian asceticism and monasticism and to the exploration of the maryādā and āvaśyaka literatures of the Jains.

Purpose: To evaluate a rotational thrombectomy device in the treatment of acute and subacute/chronic thrombotic infra-aortic occlusions of native vessels and bypass grafts. Methods: From July 2000 to February 2002, 98 patients (65 men; mean age 66±9 years, range 47–90) with 100 thrombotic occlusions (mean age of occlusion 31±33 days, range 0–140) measuring an average of 21±11 cm long (range 2–40) were treated with rotational thrombectomy (Rotarex). There were 33 acute (≤14 days) thrombotic/embolic native artery occlusions (group I), 58 subacute/chronic (>14 days) native artery occlusions (group II), and 9 acute bypass graft occlusions (group III). Results: The device activation time was 4.9±1.4 minutes, during which 4.0±1.4 passes of the device were performed. The amount of aspirated fluid was 240±119 mL. Slightly less than half the arteries (48%) were stented. Primary success (residual stenosis Conclusions: The device is an easy-to-handle, useful tool for ipsilateral treatment of acute and subacute thrombotic arterial and bypass graft occlusions. The use of this device is limited by the 8-F diameter of the catheter and the limited capacity for crossover interventions.

Preface. Introduction. Orthodoxy and Heresy Adda or the Oldest Extant Dispute between Jains and Heretics (Suyagada 2,6). The Later Fortunes of Jamali. The Dating of the Jaina Councils: Do Scholarly Presentations Reflect the Traditional Sources? The Question of Omniscience and Jaina Logic The Jain-Mimamsa Debate on Omniscience. Why must there be an Omniscient in Jainism? Implications of the Buddhist-Jaina Dispute over the Fallacious Example in Nyaya-Bindu and Nyayavatara-Vivrti Role Models for Women and Female Identity Restrictions and Protection: Female Jain Renouncers. Thinking Collectively about Jain Satis: The Uses of Jain Sati Name Lists. Religious Practice and the Creation of Personhood among Svetambar Murtipujak Jain Women in Jaipur Sectarian Movements Rethinking Religious Authority: A Perspective on the Followers of Srimad Rajacandra. A Fifteenth Century Digambar Mystic and his Contemporary Followers: Taran Taran Svami and the Taran Svami Panth. Demographic Trends in Jaina Monasticism Property, Law and Ethics Architectural, Sculptural and Religious Change: A New Interpretation of the Jaina Temples at Khajuraho. Jaina Law as an Unofficial Legal System. Ahimsa and Compassion in Jainism

The study of Jainism as a lived religion is still hampered by a lack of reliable sociological and demographic information both on the Jain laity and Jain mendicants. Most empirical studies to date have been thematically oriented or were of an exploratory nature, based on the methods advanced by the classical anthropological village studies or on small surveys of a non-representative nature. In both cases, the units of investigation were defined in terms of observer categories which were often created ad hoc in the field due to the advantages of snowball sampling under conditions of limited resources. Despite the pioneering studies of Vilas Sangave (1959/1980) on the social divisions of the Jain lay community and of Muni Uttam Kamal Jain (1975) on the pre-modern history of the religious divisions of the Jain mendicants, most students of Jainism, and indeed most Jains, have still no way of knowing how many independent mendicant orders exist today and how they are organised. The aim of this article is to fill this gap and to provide a brief overview of the present schools, orders and sects within both the Śvetāmbara- and the Digambara-denomination by bringing together the available demographic data on the current Jain monastic traditions with a synopsis of their schismogenesis and an analysis of the principal dimensions of social organisation. It is argued that the reinvention of the tradition of the naked Digambara munis in the early twentieth century and the increasing level of education of Jain women together with organisational reforms of the Śvetāmbara orders are amongst several decisive causal factors informing the current exponential increase of the number of Jain mendicants. The most interesting result of this study is the emerging, nearly complete, pattern of the group structure of the current Jain mendicant traditions, including the Digambara traditions whose modern history is described for the first time. A comprehensive analysis of the Jain lay movements is beyond the scope of this article.

Purpose: To evaluate gadodiamide as an alternative contrast agent for peripheral and renal angioplasty in patients with contraindications to iodinated contrast media. Methods: Seventeen patients (10 men; mean age 74 years, range 68–83) with contraindication to iodinated contrast media were given gadodiamide as the contrast agent during peripheral and renal intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and subsequent percutaneous interventions (balloon angioplasty, stent placement). Results: The mean volume of gadodiamide used was 136 ± 46 mL (range 60–200). No serious side effects were observed, especially no change in renal or thyroid function; no exanthema or other allergic reactions were noted. In patients without renal artery intervention, serum creatinine at discharge remained unchanged (2.57 ± 1.43 mg/dL to 2.40 ± 1.28 mg/dL, p=NS). In patients undergoing angioplasty/stenting of renal artery stenoses, serum creatinine decreased significantly from 3.53 ± 1.75 mg/dL to 2.36 ± 1.15 mg/dL (pConclusions: For patients with contraindications to iodinated materials, gadodiamide may be a suitable alternative for renal or peripheral DSA followed by angioplasty.

Percutaneous transluminal renal angioplasty is a safe and effective treatment for nonostial stenoses of the renal arteries, but it has proved to be disappointing for ostial stenoses. Therefore, we prospectively studied the use of intravascular stents for the treatment of critical ostial stenoses after unsuccessful balloon angioplasty.Stainless-steel endoprostheses were placed across 74 renal-artery stenoses located within 5 mm of the aortic lumen in 68 patients with hypertension. Twenty patients had mild or severe renal dysfunction. The indications for stent placement were elastic recoil (63 arteries) or dissection (1 artery) of the vessel after angioplasty, or restenosis after initially successful balloon angioplasty (10 arteries). Patients were followed for a mean of 27 months with measurements of blood pressure and serum creatinine, duplex sonography, and intraarterial angiography.Initial technical success was achieved in all patients. Minor complications (local hematomas) occurred in only three patients; there were no major complications. Eighty-four percent of the patients were free of primary occlusion 60 months after the procedure. Restenosis of more than 50 percent of the vessel diameter occurred in 8 of 74 arteries (11 percent). Reintervention resulted in a secondary patency rate of 92 percent. Long-term normalization of blood pressure was achieved in 11 patients (16 percent). Serum creatinine levels did not change significantly after successful stent implantation in patients with previously impaired renal function.Accurate placement of renal-artery stents is technically feasible without major complications. The favorable early and long-term results suggest that primary stent placement is an effective treatment for renal-artery stenosis involving the ostium.

Diagnosis of renovascular disease by intra- and extrarenal Doppler scanning. The purpose of this prospective, angiographically controlled study was to determine the diagnostic value of color Doppler sonography with two differing approaches of scanning in patients with clinical clues for renal artery stenosis (RAS). In 135 hypertensive patients peak systolic velocity in the main renal arteries and the resistive index (RI) of the intrarenal arteries were measured. The RI side-to-side-difference (ΔRI) greater than 0.05 or peak systolic velocity greater than 2 m/s were used to discriminate normal from stenotic renal arteries, defined as angiographically confirmed RAS > 50%. In 88 of 135 patients 107 RAS were demonstrated by selective arteriography. Five renal artery occlusions occurred, which were all diagnosed by color Doppler sonography. Seventysix RAS were detected by increased peak systolic velocity, and an additional 19 stenoses were identified by ΔRI. The combined analysis of peak systolic velocity and ΔRI resulted in a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 92%. The positive predictive value was 92% and the negative predictive value was 88%. Our data suggest that only the combination of intra- and extrarenal scanning with color Doppler sonography represents an effective screening method for significant renal artery stenosis in hypertensive patients.

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