Open Access Books

The diverging forms of material and immaterial missionary heritages and legacies. For centuries, Christian missions have intervened in local religious communities, practices and ideas across the globe, generating encounters between Indigenous and Western cultures that have ranged from hostile confrontation to intercultural osmosis. While primarily intended as a strategy for evangelisation, forms of inculturation also led to the emergence of new hybrid cultural and religious expressions. These creative processes were rarely unidirectional; instead, they involved reciprocal cultural transactions in which local communities exerted significant agency. Cross-Cultural Heritage deepens our understanding of the intricate relationships between missions and missionised communities. These are reflected in the material and immaterial legacies of missionary histories in various contexts in South America, Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Europe. Often, they remain deeply rooted in landscapes, memories and practices today.

Medieval Studies has done away with many things once considered self-evident. It is even contentious whether it makes sense to speak of the "Middle Ages" as their own epoch. It is against this backdrop that this volume examines the historical and contemporary phenomena of the "Middle Ages" as an object of research, by looking at current debates about content and methods, and asking whether there is a need to realign and restructure the field.

The book wishes to bridge the divide between academic literature and popular culture. This is reflected in its style of presentation. The purpose of the book is threefold: 1. Provision of an Afrikaans translation of Dante’s Purgatorio from the original Italian, true to Dante’s original intentions, and expressed in idiomatic Afrikaans prose of acceptable aesthetic quality, giving the reader a sense of the beauty and subtlety of Dante’s superb literary achievement. 2. Provision of sufficient historical, linguistic and other important information, enabling readers who are not necessarily specialized in the field, to understand the background, context and intentional structure of the great text. Such information is mainly provided in the general introduction, the introduction to each canto, and the endnotes to each of the 33. However, the introduction and endnotes also contain a considerable degree of interpretation of the author’s subjective intentions and the conditions of the time, in the larger context of the development of the notion of purgatory in the Western Church, and the place of Dante’s work and thinking in the overall historical development of Western Christian theology, which at the time of the poet’s supreme synthesis of classical culture and European Christianity and of Church and State, started to demonstrate symptoms of unraveling and decline. 3. Provision of a wide, inclusive theoretical framework of mysticism, enabling an understanding and appreciation of the tendentional drift of Dante’s achievement towards an ultimate horizon of silence, not necessarily consciously intended by the poet. In that context the third part of the book (the postscript) proceeds with a comparison of Dante’s style and the substance of his thinking, with that of the Theravāda Buddhist master Buddhaghosa. The purpose of this section is to clear a path towards a true pax fidei, beyond mutual indifference or schiedlich-friedlich religious apartheid. The research methodology applied consists of three major components: 1. A historical hermeneutic endeavouring to understand and interpret the interplay between the subjective intentions of actors (including Dante) and objective processes and outcomes, often involving an element of tragedy. 2. A comparative procedure, enabling the simultaneous appreciation of more than one religion (in this case, Medieval Christianity and Buddhism). 3. An investigation of points (1) and (2) in an ultimately de-absolutizing, relativizing yet loving, accommodating framework sub specie horizontis.

NETosis, a form of cell death that manifests by the release of decondensed chromatin to the extracellular space, provides valuable insights into mechanisms and consequences of cellular demise. Because extracellular chromatin can immobilize microbes, the extended nucleohistone network was called a neutrophil extracellular trap (NET), and the process of chromatin release was proposed to serve an innate immune defense function. Extracellular chromatin NETs were initially observed in studies of neutrophils and are most prominent in these types of granulocytes. Subsequent studies showed that other granulocytes and, in a limited way, other cells of the innate immune response may also release nuclear chromatin following certain kinds of stimulation. Variations of NETosis were noted with cells that remain temporarily motile after the release of chromatin. Numerous stimuli for NETosis were discovered, including bacterial breakdown products, inflammatory stimuli, particulate matter, certain crystals, immune complexes and activated thrombocytes. Fundamental explorations into the mechanisms of NETosis observed that neutrophil enzyme activity (PAD4, neutrophil elastase, proteinase 3 and myeloperoxidase) and signal transduction pathways contribute to the regulation of NETosis. Histones in NET chromatin become modified by peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4) and cleaved at specific sites by proteases, leading to extensive chromatin externalization. In addition, NETs serve for attachment of bactericidal enzymes including myeloperoxidase, leukocyte proteases, and the cathelicidin LL-37. NETs are decorated with proteases and may thus contribute to tissue destruction. However, the attachment of these enzymes to NET-associated supramolecular structures restricts systemic spread of the proteolytic activity. While the benefit of NETs in an infection appears obvious, NETs also participate as key protagonists in various pathologic states. Therefore, it is essential for NETs to be efficiently cleared; otherwise digestive enzymes may gain access to tissues where inflammation takes place. Persistent NET exposure at sites of inflammation may lead to a further complication: NET antigens may provoke acquired immune responses and, over time, could initiate autoimmune reactions, serve as antigen for nuclear autoantibodies and foster DNA immune complex-related inflammation. Neutrophil products and deiminated proteins comprise an important group of autoantigens in musculoskeletal disorders. Aberrant NET synthesis and/or clearance are often associated with inflammatory and autoimmune conditions. Recent evidence also implicates aberrant NET formation in the development of endothelial damage, atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Intravital microscopy provides evidence for conditions that induce NETosis in vivo. Furthermore, NETs can easily be detected in synovial fluid and tissue sections of patients with arthritis and gout. NETosis is thus of interest to researchers who investigate innate immune responses, host-pathogen interactions, chronic inflammatory disorders, cell and vascular biology, biochemistry, and autoimmunity. As we enter the second decade of research on NETosis, it is useful and timely to review the mechanisms and pathways of NET formation, their role in bacterial and fungal defense and their importance as inducers of autoimmune responses.

L’antiromanisme catholique s’est tôt préoccupé de fonder historiquement ses revendications politiques et ecclésiologiques et de justifier les critiques qu’il pouvait adresser à l’autorité ecclésiale par l’élaboration d’une historiographie ecclésiastique qui correspondît à ses engagements. Organisée à Lyon le 24 septembre 2010, une journée d’études avait commencé à explorer la question des rapports entre le catholicisme antiromain et la genèse de la tradition historiographique européenne. Le présent ouvrage, qui regroupe les actes d’une seconde journée d’études - la quatrième du cycle consacré par l’équipe RESEA du LARHRA à l’antiromanisme catholique des temps posttridentins - qui s’est déroulée à Munich le 13 septembre 2012, se place dans le prolongement de la précédente session : il était apparu que la question des sources méritait des investigations plus précises, ainsi que le problème du style et celui de l’exploitation des acquis méthodologiques de l’érudition moderne. En particulier, le divorce est devenu de plus en plus visible, à partir de l’âge libéral, entre une historiographie antiromaine soucieuse de méthode critique et sa concurrente romaniste mais, disait-on, méthodologiquement attardée. Les discussions ont montré, au cours du second xixe siècle, avec quelle difficulté l’histoire ecclésiastique, de tradition vénérable, s’est progressivement extraite d’un modèle apologétique pour se plier progressivement aux impératifs d’une méthodologie historiographique critique en voie de définitive consécration. Il semble que les historiens catholiques antiromains aient contribué plus que leurs concurrents respectueux du Saint-Siège, et avant eux, à éloigner l’histoire de l’Église des excès à quoi la conduisait le modèle d’une dissertation édifiante qui finissait par être entrave au récit scientifiquement établi de la geste chrétienne. Les contributeurs de la rencontre munichoise de septembre 2012 ont souhaité éclairer un questionnement dont les alternatives épistémologiques ont sans nul doute contribué à façonner l’historiographie religieuse contemporaine.

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Fundamentos básicos para escribir en la universidad es un libro que hace parte de la colección de apoyo a la docencia denominada Investigación en el aula. Es, en otras palabras, el resultado de tres experiencias pedagógicas que han surgido de los cursos de Lectura y Escritura en la Universidad, que se orientan en la Universidad de Ibagué, organizadas en tres temáticas, así: la oración, el párrafo, las muletillas. Cada sección contiene preguntas, conceptos, recomendaciones, metodologías y talleres, que motivan a estudiantes y docentes universitarios a que sigan aprendiendo acerca de escritura. Los teóricos referenciados, por su parte, son en realidad una invitación a que sean más; ellos fueron el pilar de las lecturas, investigaciones y críticas que hoy hacen posible la cohesión de este compilado.

La critique est plus que jamais à l'ordre du jour. Des universitaires de Birmingham et de Besançon ont voulu confronter l'expérience qu'ils en ont lors d'un colloque qui s'est tenu à Besançon en janvier 1996. Ils l'envisagent par rapport à la littérature, au théâtre, à la peinture et à la chanson. Ils s'interrogent aussi sur son utilisation pédagogique et publient ici le résultat de leurs réflexions.

Hermann Heller przynależy do grona najciekawszych teoretyków państwa pierwszej połowy XX w. Zaliczyć można go przy tym do tej ich grupy, których dzieło z zainteresowaniem i uznaniem szerszego grona czytelników spotkało się dopiero po śmierci autora. Za życia pozostawał w cieniu bardziej prominentnych twórców, zwłaszcza Hansa Kelsena i Carla Schmitta, z którymi wytrwale polemizował. Celem artykuły jest prezentacja koncepcji konstytucji H. Hellera, której zarys przedstawił w niedokończonej i wydanej pośmiertnie pracy Nauka o państwie (Staatslehre). Koncepcja ta zawiera wszystkie najważniejsze elementy jego ogólnej teorii państwa. Jej sedno sprowadzić można do dialektycznego związku zachodzącego pomiędzy państwem a społeczeństwem. Konsekwencją tego jest założenie, że nauka o państwie jest nauką społeczną. Oznacza to, że wszelka refleksja na temat państwa musi mieć głębokie zakorzenienie w konkretnej rzeczywistości społecznej. Samo państwo to bowiem organizacja życia społecznego, która powstaje w określonym momencie i podlega ciągłym przemianom. Z kolei życie społeczne to przestrzeń ludzkiego działania, które ma wymiar zewnętrzny i wewnętrzny. Na ten pierwszy składają się czynniki obiektywne, takie jak procesy historyczne warunkujące rzeczywistość społeczną. Natomiast wewnętrzny wymiar ludzkiego działania ma charakter subiektywny i obejmuje sferę naszych przeżyć, emocji czy myśli. Stąd główna funkcja państwa polega na zagwarantowaniu relatywnego porządku społecznego poprzez okiełznanie dynamiki życia społecznego. Ma zarazem zapewnić odpowiedni poziom homogeniczności pluralistycznego społeczeństwa. Innymi słowy, z nieuporządkowanej masy ma stworzyć uporządkowane społeczeństwo zorganizowane w państwo. H. Heller naliczył aż pięć możliwych sposobów definiowania konstytucji. Dwa z nich miały charakter socjologiczny, a trzy były natury prawnej. Mnogość tych definicji i ich różnorodność metodologiczna utwierdziły go tylko w przekonaniu, że konstytucja jest zjawiskiem dialektycznym i tylko poprzez nierozerwalny związek sfery faktycznej z normatywną można oddać jej istotę.

Uncovering the complexity of linguistic diversity and semiotic creativity, this book examines the issues of power, affect, and identity in both physical and digital linguistic landscapes. Based on fieldwork with various Chinese communities in Australia, the book offers unique insights into the uses of languages, semiotic resources, and material objects in public spaces, and discusses the motives and ideologies that underline these linguistic and semiotic practices. Each chapter frames the sociolinguistic issue emerging from the linguistic landscape under investigation and shows readers how the personal trajectories of individuals, the availability of semiotic resources, and the historicity of spaces collectively shape the meanings of publicly displayed language items in offline and online spaces. Supported by a wealth of interviews, media, and archival data, the book not only advances readers’ understanding of how linguistic landscape is structured by various historical, political, and sociocultural factors, but also enables them to reimagine the linguistic landscape through the lens of emerging digital methods. This book is an ideal resource for researchers, advanced undergraduates, and graduate students of applied linguistics and sociolinguistics who are interested in the latest advances in linguistic landscape research within virtual and material contexts.

This book delivers chapters that are required reading for serious cosmologists. The most important chapters strongly suggest that the typical analytical routine used by astronomers over the past century to evaluate the distance-velocity correlation is fatally flawed and unscientific. Type Ia Supernovae (SNe Ia) data, when properly analyzed, do not support the standard model better than other simple models. This also means support for dark matter and dark energy is nonexistent. Another chapter explains that information from distant galaxies is not evidence for dark matter, and why Distance Modulus (DM) cannot be detected on Earth. Other chapters explore the fundamental relationships of cosmology, suggesting new and potentially useful models. Several chapters present excellent work in predicting observables in subatomic physics, which can be verified through high-energy experiments.

The second volume of the book concerns the characterization approach of photonic crystals, photonic crystal lasers, photonic crystal waveguides and plasmonics including the introduction of innovative systems and materials. Photonic crystal materials promises to enable all-optical computer circuits and could also be used to make ultra low-power light sources. Researchers have studied lasers from microscopic cavities in photonic crystals that act as reflectors to intensify the collisions between photons and atoms that lead to lazing, but these lasers have been optically-pumped, meaning they are driven by other lasers. Moreover, the physical principles behind the phenomenon of slow light in photonic crystal waveguides, as well as their practical limitations, are discussed. This includes the nature of slow light propagation, its bandwidth limitation, coupling of modes and particular kind terminating photonic crystals with metal surfaces allowing to propagate in surface plasmon-polariton waves. The goal of the second volume is to provide an overview about the listed issues.

With cardiometabolic diseases still topping the list of mortality causes and in facing the obesity and diabetes epidemic, there remains a great need to better understand the pathophysiological derangements underlying these conditions. During the past years, it has become increasingly appreciated that low grade systemic inflammation is a common hallmark of cardiometabolic disorders—not only concerning diabetes and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease but also involving non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Recently developed high-throughput laboratory techniques for lipidomics and metabolomics have enabled researchers to discern novel crosstalk pathways between lipid phenotypes and enhanced chronic inflammation. With this Special Issue of the Journal of Clinical Medicine, entitled “Novel Aspects of Lipoprotein Metabolism with a Focus on Systemic Inflammation”, researchers were invited to submit original papers and reviews on various topics, in particular, at the interface of lipid metabolism and inflammation.

The main goal of the monograph is to present the processes of integration of the Russian state. The work describes the issues of economic and social development of Russia against the background of territorial integration processes and the formation of the sovereignty of the Moscow state. The monograph is addressed to a wide group of readers interested in the issues of territorial, social and economic development of both the Old Russian state and the Muscovite state.

Globalization and telecoupling are enhancing the complexity of the coupled socio-ecological system constituted by the interaction between the global ecosphere and the anthroposphere. As a result, the demand for tools to identify transformative innovations, assess future risks, and support precautionary decisions for sustainability is growing by the day in business and politics. Scenarios are a means of simplification, reducing the real-world complexity to a limited number of essential factors to analyze their interactions and support policy formulation, with indicators as communication and monitoring tools. In particular, in a time of fake news and alternative truths a critical reflection amongst producers and users of scenarios and indicators is overdue; the capability for critical self-reflection is what distinguishes science from pseudo-science, and is a condition of trust. The authors of this book test established measurement and modeling approaches against new challenges, assess the weaknesses of prevailing innovation theories and the political-ideological embedment of archetypical scenarios, highlight deficits in taking the physical basics into account, and the need to understand global interaction and the stepwise process of energy transitions, point out technical as well as conceptual weaknesses in data collection, harmonization and indicator generation, always with a view to solving problems.