Cet article propose une réflexion à la fois théorique et méthodologique sur les objets de la phraséologie étendue, qui s’intéresse à des unités préfabriquées du discours au-delà des critères de figement. Plus précisément, nous tentons de clarifier le concept général de motif, ainsi que celui, plus spécifique, de routine discursive. Nous proposons ensuite de comparer deux approches méthodologiques différentes pour l’identification des routines en corpus : une méthode hiérarchique, basée sur le repérage d’arbres lexico-syntaxiques récurrents (ALR), et la méthode séquentielle (...) classique des segments répétés (SR) ou n-grams. Nous montrons, au travers d’une étude sur corpus, que la méthode des ALR présente un réel intérêt pour le repérage des routines et des collocations, mais que les SR semblent plus adaptés et plus simples à mettre en œuvre pour des locutions figées ou des constructions syntaxiques impliquant des lexèmes grammaticaux – le modèle syntaxique des ALR nécessitant une adaptation pour pouvoir identifier ces cas. (shrink)

Cet article présente un processus de fouille de données afin d’extraire des connaissances associées au motif de la parenté et de la famille dans un corpus en ancien français de la première moitié du XIIIe siècle. Après une numérisation puis un prétraitement des données fondé sur des techniques de TAL (Traitement Automatique du Langage), il a été procédé à une extraction de motifs séquentiels (enchaînements de voisinages de mots liés à la thématique traitée). Dans cet article, nous présentons (...) les problèmes liés à la numérisation et aux traitements du texte. Puis, nous détaillons ce processus automatique et exhaustif et analysons les premiers résultats obtenus en procédant à l’étude précise d’un motif séquentiel dans différents textes du cycle Lancelot-Graal. (shrink)

Cet article présente un processus de fouille de données afin d’extraire des connaissances associées au motif de la parenté et de la famille dans un corpus en ancien français de la première moitié du XIIIe siècle. Après une numérisation puis un prétraitement des données fondé sur des techniques de TAL (Traitement Automatique du Langage), il a été procédé à une extraction de motifs séquentiels (enchaînements de voisinages de mots liés à la thématique traitée). Dans cet article, nous présentons (...) les problèmes liés à la numérisation et aux traitements du texte. Puis, nous détaillons ce processus automatique et exhaustif et analysons les premiers résultats obtenus en procédant à l’étude précise d’un motif séquentiel dans différents textes du cycle Lancelot-Graal. (shrink)

Many natural and technological systems are complex, with organizational structures that exhibit characteristic patterns but defy concise description. One effective approach to analyzing such systems is in terms of repeated topological motifs. Here, we extend the motif concept to characterize the dynamic behavior of complex systems by introducing developmental motifs, which capture patterns of system growth. As a proof of concept, we use developmental motifs to analyze the developmental cell lineage of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, revealing a (...) new perspective on its complex structure. We use a family of computational models to explore how biases arising from the dynamics of the developmental gene network, as well as spatial and temporal constraints acting on development, contribute to this complex organization. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 16: 48‐57, 2011. (shrink)

_Purpose_ of the research is to study the originality of interpretation of death in the lyrics of Ukrainian diaspora in Canada in the context of the opposition "foreign land – motherland", based on its existential development in philosophical anthropology and culture of the last two centuries. Its implementation presupposes, first of all, analysis of the forms of development and disclosure of the death motif by figurative and artistic means. _Theoretical basis__._ The author uses the well-founded tradition of interpreting the death (...) motif in philosophical literature of the last centuries, i.e. non-classical and modern philosophical thought. _Originality._ The present study is an attempt at systematization of the notions of death in Ukrainian poetry in Canada in the second half of the 20th century. It is based on the study of artistic texts and the worldview of Ukrainian emigrants. Appeal to the fiction of the Ukrainian Diaspora allows illustrating the originality of philosophical understanding of death in the context of the national culture. _Conclusions_. Reference to Ukrainian-Canadian poetry allows expanding the space of philosophical understanding of death in the form of figurative fiction. Concretizing the character of their interpretation of the motif of death, it is necessary to focus attention on its two basic forms of manifestation: existential, associated with living abroad, and sacrificial death for the benefit of the homeland. Thus, the motif of death occupies a significant place in the lyrics of representatives of the Ukrainian diaspora. The concept of human death is closely connected with the concept of life, which is concretized through their meaningful comprehension. This is a matter of interpretation of despair and loneliness motifs, as well as the illumination of the images of a foreign land, which is one of the features of emigrant literature in general. (shrink)

By analysing three paradigmatic passages, this paper explores how Prudentius uses classical love motifs and imagery not only to lambast paganism, but also as a powerful rhetorical tool to convey his Christian message. The ‘fire of love’ imagery is conspicuous in Psychomachia 53–57, which wittily blends Christian and erotic language. In an entirely different context, the flamma amoris is also fully exploited to depict lustful young Vestal Virgins, in combination with other classical metaphors of passion, such as the ‘wound (...) of love’ and the signa amoris. Additionally, the contrast between heat and cold is a central element in the description of the Vestals’ tardy nuptials, redolent of classical satirical portraits of vetulae libidinosae. Finally, in Hamartigenia 628–636 the relationship between the soul and God draws from a Christian tradition of bridal representation, but the lapse into sin is portrayed as the love triangle, typical of the Latin love elegy. These examples illustrate how Prudentius creatively and consciously frames love and sex imagery in new contexts, exploring their potential and infusing clichés with new meanings and forms. (shrink)

Transcription factors (TFs) have to find their binding sites, which are distributed throughout the genome. Facilitated diffusion is currently the most widely accepted model for this search process. Based on this model the TF alternates between one‐dimensional sliding along the DNA, and three‐dimensional bulk diffusion. In this view, the non‐specific associations between the proteins and the DNA play a major role in the search dynamics. However, little is known about how the DNA properties around the motif contribute to the search. (...) Accumulating evidence showing that TF binding sites are embedded within a unique environment, specific to each TF, leads to the hypothesis that the search process is facilitated by favorable DNA features that help to improve the search efficiency. Here, we review the field and present the hypothesis that TF‐DNA recognition is dictated not only by the motif, but is also influenced by the environment in which the motif resides. (shrink)

Our study in corpus linguistics shows how phraseological units allow us to distinguish between literary genres. In order to do so, we propose to analyze in detail two textual motifs and specific to fantasy novels, the second one being moreover transversal. By studying the discursive functions of these two motifs, we show the contribution of this phraseological modeling to the generic analysis.

The article deals with the professional decorative and applied art of Krasnoyarsk from the 50s of the twentieth century to the present. The aspect of consideration is the use of the ethnographic motif of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the features of its embodiment in the products of Krasnoyarsk artists of decorative and applied art. Using the example of the creativity of N.V. Kasatkina, A.G. Tkachev, A.S. Moskvitin, A.S. Migas, S.E. Anufriev and E.A. Krasnova, the aspects of the use of the (...) ethnographic motif and their transformation over time, which led to the formation of archeoart in modern decorative and applied art and the features of its embodiment in the works of the main conclusions of the study are shown. The principles of the use, functioning and transformation of signs of an ethnographic motif in works of decorative and applied art in the Krasnoyarsk Territory are presented. The process of forming a new style in art took place from quoting and simple stylization of individual objects of ethnography in the works of artists to the gradual increase of signs of an ethnographic motif in the works of masters, which led to the formation of a new understanding of the region in art. The main visual concept of modern archeoart is the representation of Yenisei Siberia as the "cradle of humanity". The ethnographic motif associated with the history and mythology of indigenous peoples becomes the starting point in the artistic image, through which the elevation of regional visual signs to symbols understandable to every person takes place. (shrink)

L'article compare le motif de la contemplation de sa propre image dans une surface réfléchissante chez Plotin avec des motifs semblables que l'on trouvenon seulement dans les récits mythologiques, mais aussi dans les doctrines cosmologiques des systèmes philosophiques, gnostiques surtout, qui sont à la fois proches de Plotin et concurrent, à l'égard de la philosophie plotinienne. En même temps, en analysant deux métaphores mythologiques, dont une se sert du motif de la réflexion dans le miroir (le mythe orphique du (...) démembrement de Dionysos) et l'autre de la réflexion dans l'eau (le mythe de Narcisse), l'article souligne les différences qui séparent la doctrine plotinienne de la descente de l'âme et celle de la chute de l'âme. (shrink)

John Duns Scotus offered an alternative perspective to respect on the mystery of salvation by examining the motive behind the incarnation. Scotus believed that salvation is Christocentric: Motive wise, God incarnate is not primarily anthropocentric, which focuses on the sinfulness of humankind, as traditionally understood in the Catholic Scholastic Theology and taught by Anselm of Canterbury and Thomas Aquinas, but as a total manifestation of His love. Scotus’ Christocentric approach to salvation is in line with his thought on freedom and (...) charity. Scotus believed that God would still have become incarnate even if man had never sinned in the Þ rst place because by taking the form of man, God embodied His love in a total way to His beloved creations.Scotus’ Christocentric salvation is relational because God is involved with the whole creation in person. Consequently, the Cross is not merely the means of redemption, but as manifestation of God’s inÞ nite loveand His self-giving. Through this essay, the author aims to compare those two approaches and to show the unique character of John Duns Scotus’ soteriology. Abstrak Yohanes Duns Scotus menawarkan perspektif alternatif untuk merefleksikan misteri keselamatan dengan mengkaji motif di balik inkarnasi. Dalam refleksi tradisional Teologi Skolastik yang dikembangkan Anselmus Canterbury dan Thomas Aquinas, motif inkarnasi dipahami dalam perspektif antroposentris: keberdosaan manusia menjadi alasan inkarnasi. Bagi Scotus, inkarnasi dan keselamatan bersifat Kristosentris: inkarnasi merupakan manifestasi total kasih Allah. Pendekatan Kristosentris Scotus terkait keselamatan sejalan dengangagasannya tentang kebebasan dan kasih. Scotus percaya bahwa Allah. Kata kunci: Yohanes Duns Scotus, Anselmus Canterbury, Thomas Aquinas, soteriologi, inkarnasi, cinta kasih, kebebasan. (shrink)

L'article compare le motif de la contemplation de sa propre image dans une surface réfléchissante chez Plotin avec des motifs semblables que l'on trouvenon seulement dans les récits mythologiques, mais aussi dans les doctrines cosmologiques des systèmes philosophiques, gnostiques surtout, qui sont à la fois proches de Plotin et concurrent, à l'égard de la philosophie plotinienne. En même temps, en analysant deux métaphores mythologiques, dont une se sert du motif de la réflexion dans le miroir (le mythe orphique du (...) démembrement de Dionysos) et l'autre de la réflexion dans l'eau (le mythe de Narcisse), l'article souligne les différences qui séparent la doctrine plotinienne de la descente de l'âme et celle de la chute de l'âme. (shrink)

L’article constitue un essai de caractéristique du motif cartésien dans la phénoménologie polonaise, dès ses premières réactions jusqu’à ses formulations les plus récentes. Son autre objectif est de présenter les positions, les argumentations et les transformations principales qui, toutes ensemble, forment le motif cartésien. Par « motif cartésien », l’auteur entend un ensemble de questions, de problèmes et de propositions de les résoudre, liés entre eux et se rapportant aux éléments spécifiques des philosophies de Descartes et de Husserl. Cet article, (...) en présentant les penseurs choisis, essaie de cerner de plus près ce qu’est le motif cartésien. Dans ce contexte, il a encore pour objectif de déterminer la direction possible que peut prendre le développement de la phénoménologie non-cartésienne. L’auteur défend la position selon laquelle le cartésianisme de la phénoménologie résulte surtout de la façon dont cette philosophie a été exposée. D’après lui, une application de la méthode phénoménologique avec des visées modérées élargit le champ des recherches phénoménologiques. (shrink)

This text presents an assessment of the literary work of Karel Čapek from a perspective that has not yet been discussed. It focuses on analysing Čapek’s works from the viewpoint of their possible inspiration by bioethical issues. Čapek’s philosophy and the powerful ethical charge of his texts tend to be associated with his interest in pragmatism, a subject to which he, however, took an individual and critical approach. One of the most important categories of his way of thinking is life. (...) In his prose works and plays we therefore see motifs that may be associated with the thematic definition of bioethics. These are questions concerning the value and quality of human life, issues concerning the dehumanizing impact of science and technology, as well as reflections upon the moral dimension of man’s relationship to nature and also to the relationship between people and animals. Čapek’s work may therefore provide inspiration from the perspective of the history of the gradual formation of the bioethical point of view. (shrink)

Cross-shareholding is a new type of strategic means for capital operation and is an important component of corporate governance. With the increasing complexity of business motivation, the structure of a cross-shareholding network is becoming more intricate, and it exposes various important local patterns with different economic functions. The goal of this paper is to uncover investment mechanisms and economic functions implied in cross-shareholding networks by analyzing the local characteristic patterns of company interactions. In this paper, we construct the CSNs of (...) listed companies and extract the directed triadic motifs to reveal the evolutionary characteristics of local investment patterns at the company and industry levels. On the company level, we find that companies tend to form V-shaped structures with other companies, but bidirectional shareholding patterns and circular relationships in the triads are scarce. On the industry level, we identify the characteristic linking patterns of some industries with a role analysis of the industries. Furthermore, we detect the evolutionary characteristics of industry interrelationships in three implied patterns. Such a motif evolution analysis may provide valuable information for investors and supervisory departments that make decisions about investment portfolios and policy. Meanwhile, this study is also helpful for exploring the implied information in other empirical networks. (shrink)

Contemporary poetry—true to the changes brought about by the poetics of modernity at the turn of the century—far from glorifying the ‘lyrical illusion’ and from favouring ‘romantic’ identifications with heroes standing ‘alone against all’, that madness of a subject believing himself to be the only exception to the law, had in fact to tone down its song, had to pull down its hopes, had to interiorize its failures in order to turn them into paradoxes … What failures? The failures of (...) the poets who thought they were failing. Contemporary poetry has therefore to meditate the different figures of paradoxical failure (the failure that is in no way a simple failure); namely, to distinguish the failures of Baudelaire from that of Rimbaud, from that of Mallarmé …. (shrink)

This article reviewed the influence of pre-Islamic religions such as Mithraism and Zoroastrianism on decorative elements of ancient Persian rugs. The article then evaluated the effect of the Islamic religion on Persian rugs. This was examined through extant evidence from pre–Islamic empire artefacts and publications in Persian carpet history, iconography and religious studies. Using spiritual motifs on some ancient rugs results from the important position of rugs in ancient Iranians’ lives. Believing the existence of religious motifs on Persian (...) carpets is because the first carpet in history (Pazyryk) was attributed to the ancient Achaemenians, decorated with symbolic motifs from Mithraism and Zoroastrianism. Pazyryk shows how rug-weaving evolved during the Achaemenids, and it represented spiritual foundations through visual concepts. This article reviewed the symbolic Persian rug motifs from ancient religions through Pazyryk, with support from museum collections. With the emergence of religions, these effects are seen in all aspects of life, including the production of rug design. Contribution: The main contribution of this research was that it investigated the effects of religion on Persian art focusing on the Persian rug. The findings showed that religion had directly influenced the decorative motifs of the Persian rug among high-class families that might have cascaded into visual elements found on commoners’ rugs. (shrink)

The paper aims at critical reconsideration of a motif popular in Indian literary, ritual, and pictorial traditions – a tree goddess (yakṣī, vṛkṣakā) or a woman embracing a tree (śālabhañjīkā, dohada), which points to a close and intimate bond between women and trees. At the outset, I present the most important phases of the evolution of this popular motif from the ancient times to present days. Then two essential characteristics of nature recognized in Indian visual arts, literature, religions and philosophy (...) will be distinguished: (1) a dynamic, creative, self-sufficient and inexhaustible power, and (2) a passive, merely reproductive or vegetative, and dependent field of potentiality. The paper is to demonstrate the interdependence of the popular concepts of nature identified with femininity, and their iconic representations circulating for centuries in Indian culture, with a specific line of argument repeatedly used in social practices and public debates. While doing so, I consider the semiotic function of a cultural topos which proves to be an effective instrument for construing and supporting the gender roles and gender identities. As a modern example illustrating vitality and persuasive power of the motif of yakṣī and śālabhañjīkā, I refer to the Chipko Movement, a group of rural women based in the Garhwal Himalayas (state Uttarakhand), who fought against the mass cut of trees in the 1970s. They were involved in the wide-spread environmental campaign which significantly affected the ecological policy of the local and state authorities. Thus, a traditional motif of the visual arts has been revived and re-elaborated by the activists of this ecofeminist movement through converting the symbolic potential of yakṣī/śālabhañjīkā into social and political power. (shrink)

This article reviewed the influence of pre-Islamic religions such as Mithraism and Zoroastrianism on decorative elements of ancient Persian rugs. The article then evaluated the effect of the Islamic religion on Persian rugs. This was examined through extant evidence from pre–Islamic empire artefacts and publications in Persian carpet history, iconography and religious studies. Using spiritual motifs on some ancient rugs results from the important position of rugs in ancient Iranians’ lives. Believing the existence of religious motifs on Persian (...) carpets is because the first carpet in history (Pazyryk) was attributed to the ancient Achaemenians, decorated with symbolic motifs from Mithraism and Zoroastrianism. Pazyryk shows how rug-weaving evolved during the Achaemenids, and it represented spiritual foundations through visual concepts. This article reviewed the symbolic Persian rug motifs from ancient religions through Pazyryk, with support from museum collections. With the emergence of religions, these effects are seen in all aspects of life, including the production of rug design.Contribution: The main contribution of this research was that it investigated the effects of religion on Persian art focusing on the Persian rug. The findings showed that religion had directly influenced the decorative motifs of the Persian rug among high-class families that might have cascaded into visual elements found on commoners’ rugs. (shrink)

Aleksei Fedorovich Losev did not share the hereditary Russian prejudice that science and philosophy exclude religion . Although he did not leave any specialized works in theology, the history of religion, or the foundations of the Christian worldview, many of his books, lines from letters, and fragments of conversations and, most importantly, his whole way of life and life journey show that all his life he reflected continuously and intensely on themes of the Christian faith and, primarily, of the Orthodox (...) faith that he confessed. Not only did he reflect on them, he lived by them. For Aleksei Fedorovich Christianity was never just an object of knowledge, a preoccupation of the reflective mind, but rather the profound foundation of his relationship with the world and with people. It constituted not only his thought and its foundation, but his very life. Religion, as Aleksei Fedorovich understood it, is first of all a certain kind of life, not just a personal worldview, however religious and mystical it might be. It was not a personal morality, however lofty or religious it might be, nor personal feeling or esthetics, however ardent the feeling might be or however perfectly mystical the esthetics. Religion, in his mind, is the realization of a worldview, the material substance of morality, the real affirmation of feeling; it is the life of the person directed to the persons substantial self-affirmation, to self-affirmation in eternity . In recounting the facts of Aleksei Fedorovichs spiritual biography I shall not follow their chronological order. The basic facts can be found in the works of A.A. Takho-Godi, D. Dzhokhadze, M. Gogotishvili, and others. (shrink)

This article examines the problem of cultural–civilizational self-identification in the early philosophical–poetic works of Osip Emil’evich Mandelstam. The author argues that Mandelstam...

Andrei Platonov’s The Foundation Pit contains its own interpretation of the interaction between life and death. Scholars are usually focused on the influence of Nikolai Fedorov’s philosophy, but re...

Après avoir situé la démonologie de l’Aquinate par rapport à son angélologie et au dogme, l’article étudie les notions de bonté et intégrité de la nature des anges déchus, que Thomas d’Aquin élabore en s’appuyant sur le quatrième chapitre du De divinis nominibus. L’enquête est conduite à partir de l’examen du riche dossier angélologique constitué à l’occasion de la rédaction du De substantiis separatis et vise à préciser le rôle que la (re)lecture de Denys joue dans l’élaboration de la pensée (...) démonologique thomiste. On montre ainsi comment, en suivant Denys, Thomas harmonise la notion aristotélicienne de nature comme essence figée et inaltérable avec celle augustinienne d’une nature susceptible par contre d’amoindrissement et défaillance. Le but étant moins de caractériser la démonologie thomiste comme dionysienne que d’observer l’interaction substantielle chez Thomas entre sources et doctrine, on évoque le triptyque formé par l’opuscule inachevé De substantiis separatis et les commentaires au Liber de causis et à la Métaphysique comme dernier exemple de la manière de travailler de l’Aquinate, entre philosophie et théologie, tradition et spéculation. (shrink)

In The Shock of Recognition, Lewis Pyenson uses a method called Historical Complementarity to identify the motif of non-figurative abstraction in modern art and science. He identifies the motif in Picasso's and Einstein's educational environments. He shows how this motif in domestic furnishing and in urban lighting set the stage for Picasso's and Einstein's professional success before 1914. He applies his method to intellectual life in Argentina, using it to address that nation's focus on an inventory of the natural world (...) until the 1940s, its adoption of non-figurative art and nuclear physics in the middle of the twentieth century, and attention to landscape painting and the wonder of nature at the end of the century. (shrink)

It is acknowledged that most motifs used in Western art have an iconographic counterpart. It is inferred that the geometric and floral motifs that we encounter in Anatolia are provided by the world meanings such as “ornamentation”, “talisman”, “power” or “strength”, which have a wide place in folk beliefs, rather than creating a meaning by combining with religious images. In this study, it is focused that on the minaret of the Ibrahim Efendi Mosque in Kilis with the Seal (...) of Solomon motif, which has been used on area of usage in Turkish-Islamic arts, from architectural surfaces to wall paintings, from manuscripts to under-glass paintings. According to the data provided by historical sources, the first work that has existed till now was built by Hacı İbrahim, the son of Hacı Mustafa, one of the residents of Kızılca township. For an unknown reason, a large part of the building was demolished and a second building group was built over time. According to the inscription, the second building group refers to a building group called “the New Mosque”, which was rebuilt in 1831 by Mehmet Pasha, the son of Mehmet Ali Pasha (1769-1849), the Governor of Egypt, who was the Governor of Aleppo. Since only the minaret has existed from the second building group, which consisted of a madrasah-mosque combination, which was demolished over time, this single work is also called “orphan minaret” among the people. In this study, it is emphasized that on the Seal of Solomon motif and the ornamentation of the building, which is especially concentrated in the minaret balcony section. The general acceptance of the six-armed star motif on the pedestal and its usage areas in different works within the Turkish motif tradition were emphasized, and the difference of this motif from the six-armed star, which has a symbolic context in the Jewish faith as Magen David, was determined. The visual data obtained during the survey, archival sources and literature on the structure are based on the documentation method. (shrink)

In our article, we will focus on an analysis of the relationship between man and the cosmos, set against the backdrop of ancient Greek ideas about the origin of the world. On the one hand, we will deal with the images of the creation of the world provided in Greek mythology and the religious tradition associated with it (in particular Hesiod); on the other hand, we will approach the anthropomorphic elements within the framework of philosophical cosmogonies (Plato’s dialogue, the Timaeus). (...) Our aim is to show that Greek philosophical thought was never able to fully relinquish this anthropomorphism but nonetheless it did move away from a purely mythological tradition (as found in Hesiod and the pre-Socratics) and, in some measure towards a more scientific interpretation of the cosmos (as found in Plato). (shrink)

Alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP)AFP, alpha‐fetoprotein; T3R, thyroid hormone (triiodothyronine) receptor; RAR, retionic acid receptor; erbA, putative thyroid hormone receptor proto‐oncogene products; VDR, vitamin D receptor; MR, mineralocorticoid receptor; GR, glucocorticoid receptor; PR, progesterone receptor; AR, androgen receptor; HRE, hormone response element on DNA; RXR, retionic‐X‐receptor; RAP, receptor auxiliary (accessory) proteins; E, estrogen. is a tumor‐associated fetal marker, associated both with tumor growth and with birth defects. AFP, whose precise function is unknown, has been classified as belonging to a protein superfamily together with (...) albumin and vitamin D‐binding (Gc) protein. AFP has been shown to bind various ligands in vitro including fatty acids, estrogens, thyroid hormones and retinoic acids. The steroid/thyroid nuclear receptor superfamily of proteins has recently become a major focus of biomedical investigation regarding regulation of gene expression. These receptors are thought to bind to DNA‐hormone response elements (HRE) that affect growth, development, differentiation, reproduction and homeostasis. The HREs are known to share DNA sequences with the various members of the nuclear receptor superfamily. In the present report, the possibility of a leucine‐zipper dimerization (heptad) motif in the carboxy‐terminal third domain of both rodent and human AFP is postulated. The presence of nine such hydrophobic repeats in the third domain of the AFP molecule mimics the heptad dimerization repeats found in the retinoic acid, thyroid, e‐erbA and other members of the nuclear receptor superfamily. Computer analysis revealed that the most conservative matching occurred between AFP and the retinoic acid class of receptors. However, other superfamily members displayed 40–60% homology with 5 of 9 AFP heptads. These findings could provide a possible mechanism for explaining the growth‐regulatory properties (both inhibition and enhancement) that have been ascribed to AFP in the last decade. (shrink)

This paper discusses a krater recently discovered in a cultic building at Tel Burna in the Shephelah. Of special interest is the krater’s relatively well-preserved decoration containing multiple nature scenes related to the so-called tree of life or sacred tree motif. The krater’s physical description and archaeological context and the decoration’s relationship to relevant comparanda are explored in order to elucidate the significance of its iconography. In light of this discussion, we conclude that the decoration includes an abstract representation of (...) a Canaanite goddess as a “pubis of life” variation of the “tree of life” motif on the krater as a votive vessel in the Late Bronze Age cult. (shrink)

Han Kang's 2007 novel The Vegetarian, published in English translation in 2015, tells a story of one woman's refusal to eat meat. Yeong-hye's refusal comes from her desire to eschew the intersecting violence of patriarchy and carnism, which gradually reveals an underlying psychosis and drive towards self-attrition. Because of the central motifs of bodily transgression and self-abnegation in the novel, critics have compered Han Kang's Yeong-hye to Frantz Kafka's Gregor Samsa or the hunger artist. Just as the hunger artist (...) seeks seclusion from human sociality in the space of his vacuous interiority, so does Yeong-hye sequester herself from the gaze of others in her visions of... (shrink)

This book explores the relationship between the works of Agamben and Jacques Derrida. Arthur Willemse explains how Agamben’s thought renders Derridean terminology inoperative—by suspending the suspense of signification. He argues that this is Agamben’s way of undoing a theological structure of thought that philosophy has unknowingly appropriated.

Summary Fairy tales are widely used by teachers and parents in helping children to read. The Ladybird Well?Loved Tales series is particularly popular and widely available in schools and supermarkets. The paper argues that the stereotypical images of women put forward in these tales is one element in contributing to females? negative and stereotypical views of themselves and limited definitions of their identities and roles. It also argues that the consolation implicit in such tales need not necessarily be ?bought? at (...) such a price: the second part of the paper outlines images and motifs in alternative fairy tales. (shrink)

While the aim of the present paper is to analyze Olympiodorus’ commentary to Plato’s Phaedo, particular attention will be paid here to the role of hēdonē. The first part of the text presents the four conceptions of the pleasure that can be found in Plato’s dialogue. Although pleasure does not play the most prominent role either in the Plato’s dialogue or in the Neoplatonic commentary, Olympiodorus’ attitude to this issue reveals an important change and difference between the philosophical views of (...) Plato and those of Olympiodorus. The latter does not seem to discern the possibility that pleasure can have its spiritual dimension. Thus, the experience of hēdonē is reduced solely to the sphere of the senses and even in this area its role needs to be minimized: in this form it has to be carefully measured and controled. Furthermore, Olympiodorus does not see that so-called hedonistic calculus: whilst it is not strictly speaking connected with virtuous actions, it still can have some significance for the the philosopher’s life. (shrink)

The paper presents the question of relations between Galileo Galilei and the polish establishment and cultural world. Taking the departure from the classical essay by Biliński, and preserving its structure, the present paper describes these relations in the larger perspective of recent polish publications dedicated to this question.

The simultaneous globalization and demographic shift of the Church to the Global South has produced an unprecedented climate for theological work. Pastors and theologians are confronted with the task of developing theological systems that are faithful to the authoritative standard of Scripture, tailored to the increasingly complex needs of their local contexts, and sensitive to the ongoing dialogue of other leaders around the globe. In light of the increasing cross-cultural dialogue among scholars and pastors within a globalized church and a (...) corresponding desire to encourage greater ‘diasporadic consciousness’ therein, this article presents the biblical-theological shepherd-leader motif as a primary metaphor for understanding the distinct nature and role of pastoral leadership. This article presents shepherd leadership as a robust metaphor of pastoral leadership by reviewing Scripture’s use of the metaphor and recent significant works on the subject. In the second section of the article, I propose a model profile of the biblical shepherd-leader based upon the insights of the biblical-theological review. (shrink)

The work of Giorgio Agamben relies heavily on two rather opaque notions: the messianic and the irreparable. This essay is devoted to an analysis of the latter. After surveying the existing literature, I take my cue from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's prison letters and prepare the way for my own analysis of Agamben's irreparable. In the final part of the essay, I compare the irreparable with Agamben's use of Benjamin's thought of something unforgettable. I understand the role of the irreparable in this (...) light, since, for Agamben, it means the chance of something given up by language, something given up altogether, and as such serves as entry to the paradigmatic. (shrink)

This article discusses the factors that confer a contemplative atmosphere to the village of Girilayu and stimulate local artisans to create batik motifs that contain symbolic philosophical meanings that confer ethical values to batik making while adapting to contemporary design and technological processes. Since 2016, Mbok Semok batik has struggled to preserve local traditions and patterns that stimulate contemplation in its designs. The paper is based an ethnographic approach involving data collection from Girilayu batik artisans; later analyzed using a (...) phenomenological approach in order to describe the correlation between design and contemplative philosophical meaning in Mbok Semok. Thus, the paper functions as an example of the need to articulate local ethical practices with technological change in a way that grounds harmony in human relationships with the environment and the supernatural beyond. (shrink)