Search Results (1,351)

This article examines the Filioque controversy as a thousand-year-old aporia in Roman Catholic–Orthodox relations, focusing on the 1995 Vatican Clarification, The Greek and Latin Traditions about the Procession of the Holy Spirit. It explores whether the dispute is a fundamental ontological disagreement regarding the hypostatic origin of the Spirit or a linguistic byproduct of translating the Greek term ekporeusis into the Latin processio. The study analyzes diverse theological responses to “the Clarification”. Roman Catholic perspectives investigate contemporary “reconceptions”—including simultaneous, nonsequential models and nonlinear geometric metaphors—while attempting to reconcile the “Monarchy of the Father” with the dogmatic authority of the Councils of Lyon II and Florence. Conversely, Orthodox theologians emphasize patristic rigor, insisting on a strict distinction between “Theology” (eternal life) and “Economy” (historical actions) while rejecting “Rahner’s Rule”. Ultimately, the research highlights that the unilateral canonical addition of the Filioque remains the primary ecclesiological barrier to unity. The article asserts that only deep, synodal dialogue, rather than administrative clarifications, can resolve this historical impasse and restore a common confession of faith. Full article

This study develops workflows derived from the non-contact survey of small anthropic markers along the northern stretch of Pompeii’s urban walls. For valid reasons currently being verified, these indentations have been attributed to the impact of darts fired by Sulla’s artillery in 89 BC. Consistent with published findings, the morphometric data obtained from the casts of the impressions generated by the metal tips were used to obtain measurement modules suitable for measuring the reconstruction of SCORpiò-NIDI. To achieve this result, calibration formulas handed down directly from the Greeks and Romans were used. The method adopted reverses the usual sequence, starting from the effects and arriving at the causes. According to the principles handed down by ancient treatise writers, typical 2D-3D graphic modeling investigations guided the commensuration of parts. A family of dart-launcher prototypes was created based on the measurement module, to be tested and mechanically analyzed through reverse engineering processes. The creation of virtual models was not based on the dimensions of the findings, but rather on parameters that study the reaction of stone blocks to the impact of blunt objects. The results aim to raise operational criticism, contributing to the debate on “certified” typological families of reconstructions based on objective data and verifiable calculations. Full article

Roman artillery represents a key element of ancient military technology, reflecting the advanced level of technical knowledge achieved in the late Republican and early Imperial periods. However, the operational capabilities and the design methodology of these weapons are not adequately described in historical references. This study investigates the launch performance of Roman Scorpio catapult by integrating archeological evidence from impact craters on Pompeii’s northern walls with analytical modeling of torsion-spring behavior. The present study determines the required release velocity of an arrow capable of creating impact craters reported by applying ballistic and aerodynamic analytical models. Historically cited rope materials for torsion springs are evaluated using experimentally reported mechanical properties and geometric constraints. The integrated analysis highlights how material selection and drag-related energy losses influence projectile velocity, supporting the plausibility of the proposed catapult configuration and offering highlights into ancient artillery design. Full article

Sindhi language models struggle with Romanized Sindhi as there is variation in the spellings of everyday words, and short prompts do not explicitly state the task or target language. In this study, the remaining source record of a small DeepSeek-R1 probe, which was based on seven canonical prompts and fourteen alleged A/B records, was audited. The screenshot captions were compared with the visible inputs and outputs, and duplication of images was checked. It was only relabeled when there was a single unambiguous canonical prompt that matched the visible input to a record. Task choice and exact target-string occurrence were then coded separately. Six records were auditable, three of which were recovered by relabeling; eight records were not auditable due to being duplicated, contaminated with a supplied answer, associated with a different phrase, or missing the user input or lost after label repair. Four of the six audited records adhered to the experimenter’s task, one provided a reasonably good English translation when the experimenter did not include the target language, and one resulted in an incompatible cross-linguistic reading. Five had the target (English/Sindhi) string and one did not. The screenshots do not demonstrate clear “standard” and “chain of thought” conditions: all audited B-labeled inputs are in the form of a simple prompt and there are no paired wrapper texts remaining. These are descriptive counts, not accuracy estimates and do not provide proof of causal benefit of prompt explicitness. The audit demonstrates the necessity of full prompt–response documentation, independently verified linguistic references, reruns, information-matched prompts, and preregistered evaluation plans in studies with low resources. Full article

Janus nanoparticles (JNPs), named after the bi-faced Roman God has emerged as a hot topic in the present era of nanoscience because of their chemical, structural and physical uniqueness. These particles stand out in the crowd as they are composed of two or more faces with contrasting functional properties in the same molecule. The need for two or more functions in a single molecule that can be used in chemical, biological or physical fields, such as delivering drugs combined with imaging, is the need of the hour and JNPs open gates for addressing this issue as these self-tailored particles have found their application in various in vivo and in vitro domains. However, despite their vivid application, a larger sector of application still needs to be explored. Synthesis methods involve masking, self-assembly and microfluidics, and comparative analysis of these methods, listing their pros and cons, would assist in overcoming the difficulties in the commercialisation of these particles. Moreover, the systematic analysis of differences in their structure with reference to their functionality and characterisation methods would lead us to a better understanding of the subject. This review discusses the various synthesis strategies and their comparison, the anisotropic nature of the JNPs conferring various distinguished properties, their application in emulsion stabilisation, bio-imaging, drug-targeting, drug-delivery, and biosensing domains, the characterisation methods involved, challenges and future aspects. The future aspects section maps a few hypotheses that might be useful in expanding the horizons of usage. The novelty of this review lies in the critical analyses of the synthesis methods and characterisation. Each type of JNP has been analysed for its advantages and limitations, and probable hypotheses to address the existing challenges have been jotted down. Full article

This article explores whether the Mariological antinomies presented in three scriptural passages—Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22–25, and Galatians 4:4—can serve as structural paradigms for ecclesial experience. Each passage articulates a distinct antinomic mode: Isaiah offers a biological paradox, uniting virginity and motherhood in a single person; Matthew reveals a historical antinomy, positioning the Virgin at the threshold of the Law as both unbetrothed spouse and Bride of God; and Galatians presents a mystical antinomy, wherein the Woman who gives birth to the Redeemer is simultaneously born into freedom through the One she bears. These three antinomies, biological, historical, and mystical, constitute the “law of the Spirit” (Romans 8:2): a dynamic of communion between the sensible and the intelligible uniquely concentrated in the person of the Theotokos. The article concludes that the Virgin serves as an ecclesial paradigm not by virtue of her unrepeatable experience, but because the same “law of the Spirit” that generated her experience continues to shape the life of the Church. Full article

The archaeological reconstruction of historic monuments from fragmentary remains requires transforming limited evidence into verifiable hypotheses. This study proposes a methodological framework in which structural analysis plays an active interpretative role, rather than serving merely as verification, provided that input data are independently constrained and modelling assumptions align with the available level of knowledge. The framework is designed to be replicable and transferable to archaeological contexts characterised by incomplete preservation. It combines non-invasive survey techniques—high-resolution digital documentation and ground-penetrating radar (GPR)—to establish reliable geometric and physical constraints. Thrust-based limit analysis, following the Heyman Safe Theorem, is then applied to evaluate reconstruction hypotheses through static equilibrium under self-weight. The methodology is tested on the cavea of the Circus of Maxentius in Rome, a Roman concrete construction in which significant portions of the vaulted substructure are collapsed or buried. Three typological cross-sections are virtually reconstructed using construction-archaeology reasoning, measured geometry, and geophysical evidence. Their stability is assessed through thrust-line admissibility and geometric safety factors. Only one section approaches limit equilibrium when analysed independently, while the others prove inadmissible, suggesting that rear backfills, transverse supporting walls near the imperial corridor, and vaulted structures were essential to the original structural system. Overall, the study demonstrates how integrating non-invasive data and limit analysis reduces interpretative uncertainty in reconstructing partially preserved Roman architecture. Full article

We compare six purposively selected term pairs using an English-language web corpus composed mainly of encyclopedic sources: engawa/veranda, tsuboniwa/impluvium, shōji/fusuma, tokonoma/chigaidana, ma/mu, and wabi/sabi. The pairs form three groups: cross-cultural comparisons, related Japanese architectural elements, and conceptual or aesthetic pairings. The study applies an audited corpus-based Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) analysis. Each pair is tested across predefined seed-based fields under FULL corpus conditions and CLEAN conditions that remove glossary-like and explicitly definitional sentences. In the tested corpus, the pairs do not behave as simple equivalents or oppositions. In cross-cultural comparisons, engawa is more strongly associated with indoor–outdoor boundary vocabulary, while narrowly specified boundary and transitional probes also favor engawa; veranda is more strongly linked to circulation and sheltered outdoor use. Tsuboniwa leans toward meanings of miniature gardens, whereas impluvium is strongly associated with water, basins, and Roman domestic systems. Within Japanese architectural vocabulary, fusuma dominates partition-related fields, whereas tokonoma and chigaidana remain mostly weak or non-separating. Among abstract terms, ma and mu show an asymmetric bidirectional pattern, with correction-supported separation more consistent for ma-directed than for mu-directed fields. Wabi and sabi show high contextual similarity in the selected English-language corpus, with correction-supported separation only for impermanence and melancholy. The field comparisons identify where the paired terms differ, where no difference was detected, and where one term was more strongly associated with several fields. The findings concern contextual usage in this corpus rather than definitive architectural, historical, or philosophical meanings of the terms. Full article

Ancient DNA and metagenomic studies provide valuable insights into microbial evolution, host–microbe interactions, and the ecology of ancient microbial communities; however, data from urban archaeological contexts remain limited. This study investigated microbial DNA preserved in paired petrous bone and adjacent sediment samples recovered from the Bath–Gymnasium complex of Stratonikeia, a Hellenistic–Roman city in western Anatolia, to characterize microbial diversity and functional gene profiles in an archaeological context. DNA was extracted under contamination-controlled conditions and analysed using high-throughput shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Bioinformatic analyses included taxonomic profiling, microbial diversity assessment, differential abundance analysis, and characterization of virulence-associated and antimicrobial resistance-related genes. The RH1MK1 (Tepidarium) samples exhibited greater microbial diversity and a higher relative abundance of bacterial taxa with recognized pathogenic potential, including Escherichia coli, Shigella flexneri, Vibrio cholerae, and Clostridioides difficile, compared with the SRH1PPG (Palaestra) samples. Virulence-associated genes, including Shiga toxin-, cholera toxin-, and type III secretion system-related sequences, together with antimicrobial resistance-associated genes, were more abundant in RH1MK1, consistent with differences in depositional and microenvironmental conditions between the two archaeological contexts. Comparative analyses revealed both shared and site-specific microbial profiles relative to other Anatolian archaeological sites. These findings demonstrate the potential of shotgun metagenomics for investigating preserved microbial DNA in archaeological materials while emphasizing that the detected microbial taxa and functional genes should be interpreted within their archaeological and depositional context rather than as direct evidence of ancient infectious diseases or epidemic events. Full article

This study presents the critical contribution of digital survey and representation to the interdisciplinary SCORPiò-NIDI research project. By adopting a reverse analytical sequence—from measurable impact effects to mechanically and historically compatible causes—the investigation integrates high-resolution 3D survey, morphometric characterization, reverse modeling, and numerical simulation within a structured Information System, together with the reconstruction of experimental demonstrators calibrated on the obtained datasets. Rather than proposing a definitive reconstruction of the Sullan siege, the study establishes a reproducible and transferable workflow for the analysis of ancient siege evidence, grounded in metrically reliable data and integrated within a shared digital research environment designed to manage evidence-based interpretive scenarios. Full article

The study of ancient sculptural polychromy increasingly relies on non-invasive analytical approaches capable of identifying pigments and reconstructing original decorative schemes while preserving the integrity of archaeological objects. This paper presents the investigation of the polychromy, extraordinarily preserved, on two Roman marble statues discovered in the forum of Formia (southern Latium) and currently housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Formia: a togate statue (inv. 147614) and a headless draped female figure (inv. 147680). Both sculptures retain exceptionally well-preserved traces of pigments, offering a rare opportunity to investigate materials and painting techniques applied to Roman marble statuary. The analytical protocol combined multiband imaging (Visible-Induced Luminescence and Ultraviolet Luminescence), optical microscopy, Fiber Optic Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS), portable X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (Raman-SERS) applied to two micro-samples. The analyses allowed the identification of Egyptian blue, iron-based pigments, gilding, and an organic red lake on the palettes used for the statues. Raman-SERS measurements provided additional information on the composition of the organic lake detected on the female statue’s himation, supporting its attribution to a natural vegetal-derived dye, as madder lake. The results highlight the success of integrated non-destructive methodologies for the study of Roman sculptural polychromy and contribute to the reconstruction of complex decorative schemes on marble statuary. Full article

Roman Urdu hate and offensive language detection is difficult because informal social-media posts combine non-standard spelling, code-mixing, local abusive expressions, and severe label imbalance. Existing transformer-based detectors improve contextual modeling, but they often leave lexical threat evidence implicit and rarely address whether model confidence is reliable when large language model teacher signals are used in low-resource training. We propose Dynamic Gated Distillation with Symbolic Evidence (DGDS), a reliability-gated neuro-symbolic learning framework for Roman Urdu hate and offensive language detection. DGDS combines a cross-lingual semantic encoder, a context-modulated symbolic threat profiler, and a reliability-gated dual-stream learner. The key idea is to treat the large language model teacher output as a noisy structured soft-label record rather than as a replacement for gold labels. DGDS therefore uses the teacher probability assigned to the gold class, the current student confidence, and a teacher reliability gate to form a dynamic importance weight for supervised training. Under a leakage-aware evaluation protocol on the RUHSOLD benchmark, the central contribution of DGDS is confidence reliability: it holds macro-F1 at parity with the strongest dual-stream baseline on both the binary and five-class settings while substantially reducing the expected calibration error from 0.0512 to 0.0134 on Task 1 (a 74% relative reduction) and from 0.0813 to 0.0268 on Task 2 (a 67% relative reduction). These calibration gains are statistically significant ($p<0.001$, paired stratified bootstrap) and robust to teacher replacement (GPT-4o-mini yields ECE 0.0158 vs. the 0.0512 baseline on Task 1). These results support a conservative conclusion: large language model soft labels are most useful for Roman Urdu harmful-content detection when they are filtered as uncertain training evidence and deployed through a local calibrated student model. Full article

“Rebellion” and “The Grand Inquisitor,” two adjoining chapters in Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, are usually read as a contest between two theologies: theodicy and anti-theodicy, freedom and obedience, Christ and institutional power. This article reads them instead as a contest between two forms of power over human life, what Foucault called biopolitics: power directed at the life of populations rather than at territory or law. Using Foucault’s account of pastoral power as a vocabulary for care exercised over each soul and the flock as a whole, and Agamben’s analysis of how modern government inherits its structure from theological models of providence, the article argues that Ivan’s rebellion treats suffering as a scandal no providential plan can absorb, while the Inquisitor’s program turns vulnerable life into the object of administration. Ivan’s tortured children do not literally fit the Roman category of homo sacer, the figure who could be killed but not sacrificed; they occupy a structurally analogous position as lives included in creation as the price of “eternal harmony” yet excluded from any justice adequate to their suffering. The Inquisitor’s three temptations, bread, miracle, and authority, function as pillars of biopolitical rule: managing material needs, capturing consciousness, and deciding who belongs to the community. Christ’s silent kiss neither refutes nor replaces the Inquisitor’s regime; it briefly suspends the apparatus by treating the speaker as a body rather than as a function of power. Building on Solovieva’s reading of the Dostoevsky–Agamben relation, this article shifts attention from the Inquisitor as a corruption of Christianity to the Inquisitor as the limit case of pastoral care when care becomes total administration. The result is a revaluation of the Grand Inquisitor legend: Dostoevsky presents Christianity as internally exposed to the risk that solicitude, compassion, and the promise of happiness may become techniques for governing life. Full article

Pompeii preserves rare traces of ballistic marks on the stone ashlars of its northern fortification system, traditionally attributed to the Sullan siege of 89 BC. Although mentioned in the literature, these features have never been systematically documented through metric analysis. This study presents the first georeferenced morphometric dataset of circular cavities along the northern walls using reality-based 3D surveying and reverse-modelling techniques. A multiscale workflow allows the preliminary scoring and identification of potential ballistic imprints, their spatial cataloging, the selection of representative case studies for high-resolution acquisition, and subsequent geometric analysis. By treating each cavity as a geometric constraint, the analysis estimates Maximum Compatible Sphere values for the theoretical impacting projectiles and enables preliminary comparison with known calibers of Roman artillery ammunition. Full article

This paper argues for the Catholic Church to receive and nurture the synod on synodality toward transformative decolonization through stronger and humbler engagement with Indigenous communities (primarily from North and South America) and their worldviews that parallel, augment, or challenge ecclesial doctrines and praxes laid out in the synod. The paper will first analyze the trend toward decolonization in the synodal process and then propose two clear opportunities for decolonial synodality informed by Catholic–Indigenous dialogue: the church as the people of God and as a community firmly rooted in and attentive to local contexts and, thus, place and space. Following these areas of relative harmony, the paper will highlight two regions likely to produce tension. The first is the significantly different worldviews of Indigenous cultures from the West that still dominate the church’s vision, language, and practice. The second is the possible refusal of Indigenous individuals or communities to engage in an “ecclesiology of recognition” that seeks to “include” Indigenous people and perspectives while exploiting them without challenging or changing the imperial and colonial heritages of Christianity. The paper will end by reaffirming the worth and necessity of decolonial synodality imagined, explored, and realized in creative and tense relationships with Indigenous communities. Full article