Search Results (133)

El Mirador de la Luna is an off-grid single-family dwelling at 2640 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in Higospamba Alto, Cuenca, Ecuador. The study examines which dimensions of inhabiting under conditions of real autarky exceed the reach of conventional methods of architectural analysis. This single longitudinal case study (n = 1), with twenty years of gestation, six of photography and drawing on site, and six of qualitative post-occupancy evaluation (2020–2026), is the primary instrument of a design-inhabitation methodology that dissolves the separation between theory and practice when the architect acts simultaneously as researcher, designer, and inhabitant. The methodology extends Wallas’s four phases (1926) with a fifth, gestation, which names the time of in-venting prior to the existence of a site, a brief, or a commission, anchored in the in-vention (in-venire) of García Cors (2024). The philosophical foundation integrates Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, Rosalind Krauss’s expanded field (1979), Epicurean autarky, and Levinasian intimacy as interpenetrability, all operating as instruments of verification. Three unanticipated findings, a stratified soundscape made audible by the elevated slab, anabatic winds that drive rain in under the eaves, and orographic fog as absolute interior, produced three documented responses, an executed opening, an attempt the site rejected, and an operating protocol. The courtyard, a decision prior to the work sustained at a structural cost, accumulates six years of recorded use. Balcony and courtyard hold distinct modes of attention, directed in the first and undirected in the second. Operational autarky was achieved in electricity, thermal comfort, hot water, and wastewater. Post-occupancy thus operates as design in two directions, in the sense of Schön’s reflective practice (1983). Material autarky is shown to be a geographical condition rather than an ideological choice, and Platonic Eros, inscribed in the sketches before the work, makes its generative role verifiable in the graphic record. Full article

As neoliberal rationality permeates private life, romantic relationships are increasingly managed as calculated projects rather than spontaneous, autotelic bonds. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study examines how calculative subjectivity is associated with diminished social flow—the state of dyadic synchrony—within intimate relationships in the context of contemporary societal involution, a state of hyper-competition and intense social comparison. Analyzing data from 402 Chinese digital natives via PLS-SEM, we reveal that calculative subjectivity demonstrates a substantial negative association with social flow, statistically mediated through internalized cognitive rationalities (regret aversion, sunk cost sensitivity, self-monitoring) and external behavioral distractions (partner phubbing). Specifically, the “market-in-mind” correlates with a substantial cognitive barrier alongside the physical interference of the “device-in-hand.” These findings are theoretically consistent with the philosophical critique regarding the “agony of eros,” suggesting that a prominent barrier to authentic intimacy in the algorithmic age is not merely technological mediation, but the internalized instrumental rationality that colonizes the human mind. Full article

Background: Emotional intelligence (EI) is an important component of adolescents’ psychological adjustment and social functioning. Creativity-based experiential approaches may support EI development through active emotional processing, reflection, and interpersonal learning; however, empirical evidence in adolescents remains limited. Methods: This quasi-experimental controlled pretest–posttest study included 47 adolescents who self-selected into an experimental group (n = 24) or control group (n = 23) according to their preference regarding participation in the training program. EI was assessed using the Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT). The experimental group completed a 12-week creativity-based experiential programme, while the control group continued usual activities. Results: At post-intervention, the experimental group had significantly higher overall EI (p < 0.001, d = 1.60), AES (p < 0.001, d = 1.34), and ERO (p < 0.001, d = 1.24) scores than the control group. Although post-intervention ERS scores were also higher in the experimental group, a large ERS difference was already present at baseline and the experimental group showed no favorable descriptive change in this dimension. Utilization of emotions in problem solving did not differ significantly between groups (p = 0.090, d = 0.50). Conclusions: Participation in creativity-based experiential training was associated with higher post-intervention overall EI, AES, and ERO scores, but demonstrated limited effectiveness for ERS and UEPS. The small sample and insufficient statistical power, together with the non-randomized design and baseline ERS imbalance, preclude firm or causal conclusions. Larger randomized controlled studies using multimethod assessments and long-term follow-up are needed to establish causality, durability, and the mechanisms underlying these associations. Full article

Oligodendrocytes (OLs) are the myelinating cells of the central nervous system (CNS). The PLP1 gene, predominantly expressed in OLs, encodes proteolipid protein (PLP), a major structural component of CNS myelin that also regulates oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) proliferation, differentiation, and maturation. Pelizaeus–Merzbacher disease (PMD) is a rare X-linked leukodystrophy caused by PLP1 mutations and characterized by defective myelination. Clinical manifestations range from severe connatal PMD to classic PMD and the milder spastic paraplegia type 2 (SPG2), reflecting substantial phenotypic heterogeneity. Beyond disrupting myelin structure, PLP1 mutations impair oligodendrocyte development and function. Increasing evidence indicates that PMD is fundamentally a proteostasis disorder, in which misfolded PLP accumulates within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), overwhelms ER quality control mechanisms, and triggers chronic unfolded protein response (UPR) activation. Persistent ER stress and maladaptive UPR signaling ultimately promote oligodendrocyte dysfunction and degeneration. Using PMD as a representative model, this review summarizes the relationships between PLP1 mutations and disease phenotypes and discusses the cellular mechanisms by which ER stress and UPR signaling contribute to oligodendrocyte pathology. Full article

Commissioned for West German public television, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s hotly debated 1972 series Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day was Germany’s first working-class family drama. Centering on the growing class consciousness of a crew of toolmakers in Cologne, the show provoked an explosion of criticism and debate among conservative critics, leftists, and trade unionists alike. Westdeutscher Rundfunk—a leader in high-quality, non-commercial, socially engaged television—sought to meet the cultural demands of the New Left by embracing the “worker film” (Arbeiterfilm) that aspired to bring the lives and dreams of the working class, WDR’s target audience, to the screen for the first time. What they got instead was a radical call for the abolition of capitalism—a TV-show that did not condescend to workers through representation of their everyday struggles, but rather radicalized them into the knowledge that employers need workers, not the other way around. Within a remarkably intersectional framework that appoints the lone non-straight, racialized worker and female characters the intellectual vanguard of the mobilizing workers, the show takes the contradictions between the factory workers’ interests and those of their management as its dramatic motor, converging on the anticapitalist insight that eight hours do not, in fact, make a day. Unsurprisingly, despite its popularity, Fassbinder’s show was cancelled five episodes into an eight episode series. In this article, I consider its potential in terms of two great thinkers of abolition—Mario Tronti, a founding figure in the Operaismo movement, and Mario Mieli, a gay communist organizer who asserted that the “liberation of Eros and the achievement of communism” were two sides of the same coin. Full article

This study proposes a condition-based maintenance monitoring method based on Geometry-based Optical Focus Metrology (GOFM) to detect wafer table edge deterioration early and enable proactive interventions before actual Critical Dimension (CD) bridge defects occur. In advanced Deep Ultraviolet (DUV) immersion photolithography, prolonged equipment operation mechanically wears the wafer table, inducing Edge-Roll-Off (ERO). Because conventional optical metrology struggles to separate this localized defocus from process noise, this work utilizes the existing GOFM technique to isolate the pure focus residual within the 140–147 mm radius region. To quantify this hardware-specific degradation, a mathematical dual-indicator system was constructed. This framework integrates a statistical threshold, the Range Percentile 97%, to reject baseline measurement noise, and a geometric variable, Slope × 3, to capture the topographical drop in the outermost 3 mm. Analysis of long-term time-series data from multiple High-Volume Manufacturing (HVM) scanners confirmed a strong correlation ($R^2=0.93$) between these indicators. Furthermore, we proved that the drift trajectory of Slope × 3 deterministically predicts mechanical failure prior to defect occurrence on production wafers. Based on these findings, an automated condition-based maintenance architecture was designed using an OR-logic decision gate. By triggering a preemptive table replacement at a quality-based critical warning threshold, this system converts routine time-based scheduling into a data-driven paradigm, maximizing both edge yield and equipment uptime. Furthermore, this proposed framework establishes a solid foundation for future extensions toward machine learning-based predictive maintenance. Full article

Recent advances in the structural characterization of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase coupled with the description of its chaperone EROS for Essential for Reactive Oxygen Species have led to a better understanding of its function and activation in phagocytic cells. This review examines the role of EROS chaperone in flavocytochrome b₅₅₈ biosynthesis and function and in physiological and pathological conditions. Based on experimental data and structural insights, we synthesize knowledge from former work on flavocytochrome b₅₅₈ synthesis and structure combined with recent advances on the specific role of EROS chaperone on the potential control of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) production by c flavocytochrome b₅₅₈. We particularly emphasize its role in the pathological context of Chronic Granulomatous Disease (CGD), with already described EROS mutations (known as CGD5), as well as rare X91^minus-CGD (or X91⁻-CGD) cases characterized by low flavocytochrome b₅₅₈ expression in phagocytes that could be due to a lack of interaction with EROS. Future works should address in more detail how EROS binding and release from flavocytochrome b₅₅₈ is regulated, and whether the inhibitory effect on ROS production that was observed in EROS overexpression studies is relevant in a more physiological context. Full article

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is increasingly recognized as a complex pathology rooted in systemic and organelle-level dysfunction, specifically involving chronic low-grade inflammation (CLGI), mitochondrial impairment, and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Central to this pathophysiology is mitochondrial dysfunction, characterized by reduced respiration, impaired metabolic flexibility, and dysregulated fission/fusion machinery, which fuels a self-perpetuating cycle of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Concurrently, chronic ER stress triggered by hyperglycemia and lipotoxicity activates the unfolded protein response (UPR), further amplifying redox imbalance through the Endoplasmic Reticulum Oxidoreductin 1/Protein Disulfide Isomerase (ERO1/PDI) axis and bridging metabolic toxicity to inflammation via c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain–enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB) signaling. The Advanced Glycation Endproducts (AGEs) and the Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts (RAGE) axis act as a molecular catalyst that sequester antioxidants and drive pro-inflammatory feedback loops. These converging mechanisms culminate in profound placental maladaptation, including structural abnormalities like chorangiosis and functional defects in nutrient transport mediated by hyperactive mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling. This review article provides insight into recent evidence to elucidate the meta-inflammatory environment of GDM, where modest but sustained elevations in biomarkers like Interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) disrupt redox homeostasis and impair insulin signaling pathways through the activation of stress-sensitive kinases. By integrating these molecular perspectives, the article underscores the necessity of targeting the systemic inflammatory and oxidative continuum spanning pre-conception to the antenatal period through lifestyle interventions and emerging therapeutic strategies to mitigate GDM risk and improve maternal–fetal outcomes. Full article

Psychological violence is the most frequent form of aggression in intimate partner relationships. It is characterised by its subtle nature, which hinders detection and intervention. Understanding this phenomenon requires examining attitudes toward love, as they influence how violent behaviours are perceived and legitimised. The aim of this study was to identify manifestations of psychological violence and love attitudes among university students, to analyse the relationship between these variables, and to determine the contribution of love attitudes in explaining the variability in psychological violence. An observational cross-sectional study included 1118 university students aged 17–23 years (M = 20.17; SD = 1.66). The Questionnaire on Psychological Violence in Intimate Partner Relationships (CVPPar) and the Short Love Attitudes Scale (LAS) were administered. The findings revealed variability in both psychological violence and love attitudes, as well as significant associations between the two. In particular, the Eros, Ludus, and Mania styles showed the strongest associations with most of the manifestations examined. Regression analyses indicated that love attitudes significantly contributed to explaining variance in psychological violence, with explained variance ranging from 34% to 43%, indicating moderate explanatory power. This study concludes that attitudes towards love are associated with psychological violence, emphasising the importance of early psychoeducational interventions. Full article

The present study examined how parental attachment and cultural background shape love styles in emerging adulthood. Drawing on attachment theory and cross-cultural perspectives, we investigated whether gender, attachment to mother and father, and nationality (Italian vs. Angolan) predicted the development of love styles in 370 young adults. Participants completed validated measures of parental attachment (IPPA) and love attitudes (LAS). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed a differentiated pattern across love styles. Emotionally detached relational styles (Ludus) were significantly predicted by gender, paternal attachment, and nationality, with higher levels reported by men, those with lower paternal attachment, and Angolan participants. While Storge showed no significant associations, passionate love expression (Eros) was robustly predicted by nationality, with Italian participants reporting higher levels of passion in love. Results suggest that while paternal attachment serves as a critical developmental anchor in preventing Ludus, the cultural macrosystem remains the primary architect of Eros. These findings call for culturally attuned clinical and educational interventions that differentiate between early relational deficits and normative cultural variations in intimacy. Full article

Backgrounds: Premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a clinical syndrome characterized by premature ovarian dysfunction, amenorrhea, and infertility. Ferulic acid (FA) is a prominent bioactive phenolic compound derived from traditional Chinese herbs Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels and Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort. These herbs are commonly used to treat gynecological disorders including menstrual irregularities and infertility, and are known to modulate endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. However, the therapeutic potential and molecular mechanisms of FA in the context of POI remain largely unexplored. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of FA against POI and to elucidate the underlying pharmacological mechanisms. Methods: In vivo, a mouse model of POI was established via a single intraperitoneal injection of cyclophosphamide (CTX; 120 mg/kg), and using FA for 28 days of continuous gavage to observe its therapeutic effect. Ovarian function and pathological changes were assessed by hormone levels, follicle development and oxidative stress (OS) level. In vitro, the effects of FA were examined using 4-hydroperoxy cyclophosphamide (4-OHCP)-treated KGN granulosa cells. Transcriptome sequencing, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations were employed to identify potential targets of FA. Results: Our findings demonstrated that FA administration helped preserve regular estrous cycles, promoted follicle development and hormone secretion, and attenuated OS in both ovarian tissue and granulosa cells (GCs). Transcriptomic profiling combined with molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations suggested that FA potentially targets key ER stress proteins, specifically Grp78 and Perk. Further in vivo and in vitro experiments confirmed that FA alleviates ER stress by inhibiting the overactivation of the Perk/eIF2α/ATF4/CHOP signaling pathway. Notably, the protective effects of FA were comparable to those of the ER stress inhibitor 4-Phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) and were reversed by the ER stress activator tunicamycin (TM). Additionally, FA downregulates ERO1α expression, further blocking secondary oxidative damage triggered by ER stress. In KGN cells, FA significantly inhibits 4-OHCP-induced apoptosis and upregulates the anti-apoptotic proteins BCL-2 and BCL-xL, exhibiting efficacy similar to 4-PBA. Conclusions: FA improves ovarian function in CTX-induced POI by coordinately regulating OS and ER stress, inhibiting the Perk/eIF2α/ATF4/CHOP pathway, and suppressing GC apoptosis. These findings provide experimental evidence supporting FA as a potential therapeutic candidate for POI. Full article

This article explores Mihail Aslan’s volume of poetry Late Geometries, Rejected through the prism of an in-depth psychoanalytic reading. The text highlights how the poetic work constitutes an expression of deep psychic processes, centered around the concepts of early trauma, narcissistic deficit, and failure of the primordial environment. Through theories by authors such as Winnicott, Anzieu, Green, and Kristeva, the article reveals how Aslan’s creation functions as a transitional space, in which a complex dialectic takes place between Eros and Thanatos, between the constitution of the self and its waste. Writing thus becomes an act of psychic survival, a way to metabolize the traumatic experience and to reconstruct an inner geometry, albeit “late” and “rejected”. Full article

Desire, a transformative force, is one of contemporary serial narratives’ most intricate and multifaceted dimensions. Far from being reducible to a mere representation of sexual attraction, desire in television seriality operates as a prism through which to explore issues of intimacy, identity, and power. This paper seeks to analyze how desire is staged and problematised within a set of emblematic series that have significantly shaped contemporary cultural imagination. Grey’s Anatomy explores the entanglement of desire with professional life, emotional fragility, and collective trauma, constructing narratives where eros intersects with affective labour and the negotiation of identity within high-pressure contexts. Sex and the City proposes a very different model, placing female desire at the centre as a space of autonomy, experimentation, and confrontation with the normative frameworks of late capitalist society. By contrast, The Handmaid’s Tale reimagines desire within a dystopian theocracy, assigning it an overtly political function: here, erotic impulses and affective attachments become acts of resistance against systemic repression and biopolitical control. More recently, Sex Education embodies a cultural shift, presenting desire through a plural and inclusive lens that embraces diversity of sexual orientation, gender identity, and relational practices. These case studies, when viewed collectively, reveal how television series rework cultural codes of sexuality and intimacy, producing new imaginaries of the body, pleasure, and identity. In this perspective, serial narratives emerge as key cultural laboratories, reproducing and challenging dominant ideologies of desire while offering audiences opportunities for recognition, critique, and affective engagement beyond the screen. Full article

This article explores the richly visual vocabulary characteristic of the Platonic corpus. Focusing on Plato’s linkage of seeing and knowing, it will explore a two-fold paradox: first, that the soul’s ascent is consistently depicted as a painful matter by Plato; and second, that it customarily involves some emphatically bodily mechanics. These textual and rhetorical details may, in their turn, call for a significant re-thinking of several truisms regarding Platonic spirituality and “Platonic love.” Four revisions follow. First, Platonic philosophy was not radically dualistic. Second, it was not aggressively rationalist, and secularist, informed by a blanket opposition to myth, to poetry, and to religious images. Third, it aspired to illumination without breezily claiming to bathe in that light. And fourth, it embraced and ennobled the ecstatic transport vouchsafed to embodied creatures by eros, that subtle species of desire that was, if not divine, then surely sublime. Full article

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is critical in aiding cells in ensuring that proteins are folded and processed correctly, particularly during stressful situations. ER oxidoreductin-1 alpha (ERO1α) is an enzyme that is responsible for the formation of disulfide bonds during protein folding, along with protein disulfide isomerase (PDI). This redox pathway is often highly upregulated in cancer cells, allowing tumors to survive harsh conditions such as hypoxia and nutrient deprivation. This review discusses the role of the ERO1α–PDI system in cancer development through the regulation of oxidative stress, redox homeostasis, and tumor plasticity. It further shows the therapeutic potential of interrupting the ERO1α–PDI axis, which could lead to protein misfolding; enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS); and, eventually, cancer cell death. Full article