Open Access Books

Die vorliegende Forschung definiert die Literatur der Renaissance neu: Die Bedeutung der aristotelischen Poetik wird zurückgestuft zugunsten innovativer – erstaunlicher – literarischer Ansätze. Das seit langem geltende Paradigma, die italienische Renaissance würde von der klassisch-aristotelischen Literaturtheorie dominiert, wird damit maßgeblich ausdifferenziert. Anhand der Analyse des Staunens – ein Begriff, den Aristoteles und Platon an den Anfang des wissenschaftlichen und metaphysischen Denkens stellten und der sich in der italienischen Renaissance zu einem zentralen Konstitutions- und Alleinstellungsmerkmal der Literatur wandelte – wird gezeigt, dass Momente der Neuheit und der Überraschung, ja der erstaunlichen innovatio auf allen Ebenen, die Literatur der Renaissance entscheidend prägten.

The volume comprises a selection of papers presented at the 5th Postgraduate International Conference organized by the Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (Venice, 4-6 October 2023): A Driving Force. On the Rhetoric of Images and Power. In the introduction to his well-known The Power of Images (1989), David Freedberg claims not only that images hold power over us, but they are also, inevitably, related to ‘power’ itself. Art is therefore a powerful and non-neutral tool. Its forms and expressions influence and manipulate the realm of the real. Throughout human history, the artist’s creative power gave form, substance, and meaning to otherwise inert matter. This process turned the artist into a demiurge. Furthermore, once images are given their final form, they circulate and live a life of their own. The 5th Postgraduate International Conference was aimed at investigating the rhetorical nature of the intersection between image and power. In 1979 Yuri Lotman claimed that “rhetoric” is the displacement of the structural principles of a given semiotic sphere into another semiotic sphere. The Tartu semiologist’s approach implies that the “correlation with different semiotic systems gives rise to a rhetorical situation in which a powerful source of elaboration of new meanings is contained”. In exploring these meanings from a multidisciplinary perspective, this volume investigates two main themes: the power of the image, as an autonomous device, endowed with a pervasive and persuasive character; the image as a form for representing power which addresses questions concerning the sense of authority, and its negation, namely a sense of dissidence and counter-narrations.

The application fields of colloid and interface chemistry are very wide, covering many aspects such as industrial and agricultural production, daily chemistry, enhanced oil recovery, and so on. The traditional experimental analysis of a colloid and interface chemistry system includes various instrumental analysis methods such as spectroscopy, rheometer, microscopes, etc. In recent decades, molecular simulation has become an important research method in this field. It can investigate at the molecular level and provide mechanisms or insights that are hard or even impossible to obtain from an experiment. Many applications of molecular simulation have been reported in the literature, such as the behavior of surfactant, self-assembly, enhanced oil recovery, adsorption around interface, etc. This reprint has collected ten research articles which relate to the application of molecular dyamics simulation in colloide and interface chemistry.

The nucleolus is a prominent nuclear domain that is common to eukaryotes. Since the nucleolus was first described in the 1830s, its identity had remained a mystery for longer than 100 years. Major advances in understanding of the nucleolus were achieved through electron microscopic and biochemical studies in the 1960s to 1970s followed by molecular biological studies. These studies finally established the view of the nucleolus that it is a large aggregate of RNA-protein complexes associated with the rRNA gene region of chromosome DNA, serving mainly as a site of ribosome biogenesis, where pre-rRNA transcription, pre-rRNA processing, and ribosome assembly occur. This function of the nucleolus appears to indicate that the nucleolus plays a constitutive and essential role in fundamental cellular activities by producing ribosomes. Recent research has shown, however, that the nucleolus is more dynamic and can have more specific and wider functions. In plants, nucleolar functions have been implicated in developmental regulations and environmental responses by accumulating pieces of evidence obtained mostly from genetic studies of nucleolar factor-related mutants. Comprehensive analysis of nucleolar proteins and molecular cytological characterization of sub-nucleolar and peri-nucelolar bodies have also provided new insights into behaviors and functions of the plant nucleolus.In this Research Topic, we would like to collect physiological and molecular links between the nucleolus to plant growth and development, shed light on novel aspects of nucleolar functions beyond its classical view, and stimulate research activities focusing on the nucleolus across various fields of plant science, including molecular biology, cell biology, genetics, developmental biology, physiology, and evolutionary biology.

Héritière de l’anticipation, du merveilleux scientifique et des voyages extraordinaires, la science-fiction française et francophone devait se renouveler profondément à partir des années 1950, confrontée à des changements sociétaux irrépressibles, à l’irruption de La science-fiction américaine en France et dans le reste de l’espace francophone. Quelles sont donc les forces sous-jacentes, ces « dieux cachés » qui allaient présider à une créativité singulière dans tous les domaines science-fictionnels ? La politique, la métaphy­sique et le religieux semblent être les soubassements essentiels d’une science-fiction écrite en français, multi­pliant des ponts culturels entre littérature, cinéma et bande-dessinée, entre production artistique exigeante et succès populaire. La science-fiction en France est devenue un champ culturel autonome qui subirait de nombreuses évolutions, chaque génération produisant des écrivains à la créativité singulière, dont les réflexions critiques enrichiraient ce domaine de l’imaginaire. Explorant un large spectre de la science-fiction francophone en privi­légiant des approches pluridisciplinaires, de Gérard Klein à Pierre Bordage, de l’utopie à la politique, de l’écologie à la révolte, de la poésie au cyberpunk, de Chris Marker à Luc Besson, Des pionniers de l’espérance à Enki Bilal, cet ouvrage ouvre le champ de la recherche universitaire à un domaine inédit et riche, la science-fiction d’expression française des années 1950 à aqjourd’hui.

The presence of papilledema, which is a marker of potential intracranial hypertension or optic nerve disease, can sometimes be exceedingly difficult to diagnose, despite recent advancements in ophthalmic technology. Optic nerve diseases, also known as optic neuropathies, are neurodegenerative disorders that can put patients' vision at serious risk, especially if they are not identified early. In recent years, ocular diagnostic technology (ocular ultrasound, OCT, etc.) and new genetic discoveries have provided new answers and increased our knowledge about this complex group of pathologies, which poses a compelling challenge in ophthalmology but also in the medical field in general. The purpose of this Special Issue will be to promote research on the new advances in optic nerve diseases, from etiology to diagnosis to treatment, trying to better understand the nature of these challenging diseases and how to deal with them.

How can students be empowered to communicate professionally – as translators, journalists and CCOs? How can professionals engaged in crucial language interactions do the same – pilots, nurses, lawyers and many others? This volume gives answers to these questions, providing insights into critical situations and good practices from many years of research and teaching in a practice-oriented, research driven School of Applied Linguistics.

Palimpsests of Themselves is an intervention in current discussions about the fate of philosophy in postclassical Islamic intellectual history. Asad Q. Ahmed uses as a case study the most advanced logic textbook of Muslim South Asia, The Ladder of the Sciences, presenting in English its first full translation and extended commentary. He offers detailed assessments of the technical contributions of the work, explores the social and institutional settings of the vast commentarial response it elicited, and develops a theory of the philosophical commentary that is internal to the tradition. These approaches to the commentarial text complicate presuppositions upon which questions of Islam’s intellectual decline are erected. As such, Ahmed offers a unique and powerful opportunity to understand the transmission of knowledge across the Islamic world.

Urban microenterprise is a structural component of livelihoods in cities in Latin America and Ecuador; however, its sustainability is conditioned by simultaneous exposure to economic, social, and climate risks. This article presents a literature review aimed at synthesizing scientific and technical-institutional evidence on the determinants of vulnerability and the mechanisms of resilience of urban microenterprises in the face of economic shocks (inflation, falling demand, credit restrictions), social risks (violence, extortion, insecurity), and climate threats (floods, landslides, infrastructure and service disruptions). Methodologically, a scoping review was conducted with a systematic search of indexed databases and gray literature, organized into a multiscale thematic synthesis that articulates the global, Latin American, and Ecuadorian contexts and the territorial emphasis on the province of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas and the canton of La Concordia. The results show that vulnerability is explained by a combination of financial precariousness, dependence on daily income, informality, territorial exposure, and weaknesses in infrastructure and security. Resilience also emerges from the interaction between financial capacities (recovery capital), operational capacities (continuity and adaptation), social capacities (networks and social capital), and institutional capacities (public policies, territorial planning, and risk governance). A vulnerability–resilience matrix is proposed as a synthesis tool to guide diagnoses and intervention priorities. It is concluded that strengthening the resilience of urban microenterprises requires integrated strategies that articulate climate adaptation, security, financial inclusion, capacity building, and urban infrastructure improvements, with a territorial approach and interinstitutional coordination.

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Les baby-boomers ont-ils jeté le religieux avec l’eau bénite ? Sont-ils vraiment athées ? Comment donnent-ils un sens aux grands événements du cycle de la vie ? Que cache l’invisibilité ou même le tabou du religieux au Québec après le déclin du catholicisme ? Bref : que reste-t-il de l’héritage du catholicisme auprès de la génération issue du baby-boom ?À partir de récits de vie recueillis auprès d’une centaine de Québécois nés catholiques dans les années 1950, les auteurs explorent la recherche de sens des expériences individuelles et collectives. En dépit de l’invisibilité du religieux sur la place publique, la plupart des personnes rencontrées affichent des croyances et des pratiques qui leur sont propres. Si ces dernières empruntent à divers registres religieux inspirés de la diversité culturelle, la mémoire et l’éducation catholiques restent présentes dans les récits comme dans les pratiques, parfois teintée du vocable de la spiritualité. Ce livre brosse un portrait de la modernité québécoise et de la sécularisation de la société en montrant notamment les débats identitaires qui animent l’imaginaire collectif et qui façonnent les consciences individuelles. Surtout, il vient combler un vide dans les écrits sur les comportements religieux au Québec.

The 2022–2024 Research Yearbook brings together a selection of academic works that reflect the research endeavors of the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana across its various fields of knowledge: Sor Juana and her world, human rights and peacebuilding, psychology and mental health, culture and society, and gastronomy and its context. This volume bears witness to the institution’s commitment to critical, interdisciplinary, and humanistic research, aimed at understanding the complexity of the human being and the environment we inhabit. The investigations presented here not only seek to generate knowledge but also to open spaces for reflection on who we are, what we do, and how we relate to others in a world marked by social, cultural, and ethical tensions. In a time shaped by dynamics of dehumanization and broken dialogue, this yearbook champions curiosity, critical thinking, and creativity as driving forces of knowledge with a transformative purpose.

Composite and multiple-text manuscripts are traditionally studied for their individual texts, but recent trends in codicology have paved the way for a more comprehensive approach: Manuscripts are unique artefacts which reveal how they were produced and used as physical objects. While multiple-text manuscripts codicologically are to be considered as production units, i.e. they were originally planned and realized in order to carry more than one text, composites consist of formerly independent codicological units and were put together at a later stage with intentions that might be completely different from those of its original parts. Both sub-types of manuscripts are still sometimes called "miscellanies", a term relating to the texts only. The codicological difference is important for reconstructing why and how these manuscripts which in many cases resemble (or contain) a small library were produced and used. Contributions on the manuscript cultures of China, India, Africa, the Islamic world and European traditions lead not only to the conclusion that "one-volume libraries" have been produced in many manuscript cultures, but allow also for the identification of certain types of uses.

Paul Féval (né à Rennes en 1816 et mort à Paris en 1897), dont les œuvres furent rapidement célèbres dans toute l'Europe, est particulièrement représentatif des grands feuilletonistes et romanciers populaires du 19e siècle. Sources folkloriques, épisodes de l'histoire de France ou de Bretagne, faits divers, questions sociales et problèmes politiques stimulent une imagination brillante et fantastique un sens aigu de l'action à rebondissements, un goût marqué du dialogue théâtral, une verve satirique souvent féroce. À côté des figures légendaires de Lagardère, de Philippe de Gonzague, de Cocardasse et Passepoil (Le Bossu, 1857), bien d'autres personnages, héroïques, odieux ou drôles, font vivre ses romans « bretons » (La Fée des Grêves, 1850), ses feuilletons à connotations politiques et sociales (Les Mystères de Londres, 1844), ses romans d'aventures criminelles (Les Habits noirs, 1863-1875) ou ses récits fantastiques parodiques (La Ville-Vampire, 1874). Les études rassemblées ici mettent en valeur la richesse, la diversité, mais aussi l'ambiguïté idéologique de l'œuvre févalienne et d'un genre injustement négligé : le roman populaire. Elles les replacent dans les enjeux sociaux de leur époque. Elles montrent enfin que l'analyse des littératures non reconnues permet de mieux percevoir le fonctionnement des grandes œuvres.

This book comprises five peer-reviewed articles covering original research articles on the modeling and simulation of electricity systems for transport and energy storage. The topics include: 1 - Optimal siting and sizing methodology to design an energy storage system (ESS) for railway lines; 2 - Technical–economic comparison between a 3 kV DC railway and the use of trains with on-board storage systems; 3 - How to improve electrical feeding substations, by changing transformer technology and by installing dedicated high-power-oriented storage systems; 4 - Algorithm applied to a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. 5 - Thermal investigation and optimization of an air-cooled lithium-ion battery pack.