Search Results (97)

This article examines the scholarship of John Allegro on the Dead Sea Scrolls and the role his status as a scholar has played in the reception of his The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. While the Dead Sea Scrolls play no prominent role in the book, people promoting Sacred Mushroom and its unorthodox proposals stress that Allegro is a respected scholar with great philological acumen by appealing to status as an expert on the Dead Sea Scrolls. But Allegro’s contribution to the field is much more mixed than is often acknowledged by proponents of Sacred Mushroom. Allegro was also one of the first to promote the corrosive conspiracy theory that the rest of the editorial team was being controlled by the Vatican. Recognizing that Allegro’s scholarship is infused with a kind of conspiratorial ideation helps understand his method and approach in Sacred Mushroom—that the evidence that Christianity began as a sacred mushroom cult was intentionally obscured by New Testament authors. To agree with Allegro, one must grant that the evidence is hidden and below the surface. The renewed popularity for Allegro’s work, which is out of sync with his reputation among Qumran scholars, can be understood as one example of the broader phenomenon of the popularity of conspiratorial theories in contemporary culture Full article

The archaeological complex of Sambor Prei Kuk is identified with Īśānapura, the capital of the Chenla Kingdom in the early 7th century, a political predecessor to the Angkor Empire. Previous studies have largely focused on the eastern temple zone, where numerous Hindu religious structures are concentrated, while the western moated city area—presumably the core of urban and political activity—has remained underexplored. This paper presents the results of recent archaeological excavations at a large central mound within the city zone, which is hypothesized to have functioned as a key administrative facility. The excavation revealed a large-scale and uniquely configured terraced structure, unprecedented within the site, and radiocarbon dating suggests its construction dates from the mid 6th to mid 7th century. Notably, a Chinese historical source from the same period, the Book of Sui, describes a “Great Hall” in Īśānapura where the king administered state affairs. The characteristics and spatial context of the excavated structure suggest a possible correspondence with this account. In addition, LiDAR-derived topographic data identified multiple linear and structural features extending eastward from the mound, indicating that it may have stood at the rear of a more extensive administrative compound. These findings offer new insights into the urban structure of Īśānapura and the political architecture of early Khmer civilization. Full article

Salvation through Refinement (liandu 鍊度) is a distinctive Daoist rite aimed at rescuing the souls of the deceased from hell, enabling their rebirth, and ultimately facilitating their transcendence. The Golden Writings on the Great Achievement of Deliverance by the Numinous Treasure of Highest Clarity (Shangqing Lingbao Jidu Dacheng Jinshu 上清靈寶濟度大成金書), compiled by Zhou Side 周思得 (1359–1451), preserves a wealth of material related to Salvation through Refinement. This content can be divided into two parts: the ritual procedures of Salvation through Refinement and the associated internal practices (neishi 内事). Zhou explicitly stated that the Salvation through Refinement ritual originated from the Golden Book of Salvation according to the Lingbao Tradition (Lingbao Lingjiao Jidu Jinshu 靈寶領教濟度金書), compiled by Lin Lingzhen 林靈真 (1239–1302), whereas the internal practices are not attributed to any specific source. Comparative analysis confirms that the section on internal practices derives from the Brief Discussions of Inner Method of Taiji for Sacrificing to and Sublimating [the Souls of the Deceased] (Taiji Jilian Neifa Yilüe 太極祭鍊內法議略), compiled by Zheng Sixiao 鄭思肖 (1241–1318). Zheng Sixiao’s Salvation through Refinement method centers on Visualization and Actualization (cunxiang 存想), with the entire process taking place internally within the ritual master’s body. Building upon this foundation, Zhou Side incorporated additional ritualized actions and recitations, striving to integrate external ritual with internal practice. In doing so, he constructed a model of Salvation through Refinement characterized by the union of inner methods and outer rites. Inner Sublimation emerged during the Southern Song period, likely influenced in both principle and method by the then-prevalent School of the Mind (xinxue 心學). It sought to counter the increasing complexity of ritual practices at that time. Meanwhile, the continued practice of traditional forms of Retreats (zhai 齋) and Offerings (jiao 醮) reflected the Ming (1368–1644) rulers’ emphasis on the didactic function of such rituals. In his compilation, Zhou cited the views and materials of others under the name of Tian Sizhen 田思真 (fl. early 12th century) to articulate the inner meanings and core doctrines of the Numinous Treasure (lingbao 靈寶) rites. By positioning Tian Sizhen as an intermediary, Zhou not only established a line of transmission between the rites he compiled and the orthodox Numinous Treasure lineage represented by Lu Xiujing 陸修靜 (406–477) but also affirmed his conscious identification with the Daoist ritual tradition and his stance regarding its lineage. Full article

Interpretations of the Book of Revelation were extremely popular in the 16th century, not least due to the precarious situation of Protestantism in Europe. In these contexts, the Revelation of John was of utmost importance to the issue of pastoral care in the early modern period, despite the intensive discussions about its canonicity. It contained the most detailed explanations of what awaited Christians after their death and how the events of the end times would unfold until the return of Christ. The perspective of what to expect after death was of great pastoral, and therefore, theological importance. One of the most important commentaries was the ‘Hundred Sermons on the Apocalypse’ by the Zurich-born reformer Heinrich Bullinger. This article examines the biblical concepts of the future that Bullinger identified, as well as the reformer’s own emphases and their practical implications. This article combines, therefore, the flourishing history of the reception of the Bible with the history of Christian conceptions of the future—and its pastoral implications—that have yet to be applied to the Swiss Reformation. Full article

Knowledge graphs have shown great potential in alleviating the data sparsity problem in recommendation systems. However, existing graph-attention-based recommendation methods primarily focus on user–item–entity interactions, overlooking potential relationships between users while introducing noisy entities and redundant high-order information. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a graph-attention-based recommendation method that enhances user features using knowledge graphs (KGAEUF). This method models user relationships through collaborative propagation, links entities via similar user entities, and filters highly relevant entities from both user–entity and user–relation perspectives to reduce noise interference. In multi-layer propagation, a distance-aware weight allocation mechanism is introduced to optimize high-order information aggregation. Experimental results demonstrate that KGAEUF outperforms existing methods on AUC and F1 metrics on the Last.FM and Book-Crossing datasets, validating the model’s effectiveness. Full article

In Measure for Measure Shakespeare addresses a question that is both straightforward and hard to answer: how do we make people obey the law? Over the course of the play, this simple question gives way to a complex set of problems about human will, political legitimacy, and the origins of sovereign power. Measure for Measure is concerned with illicit activity and ineffective government. But in this comedy—this “problem play”—Shakespeare is especially interested in the political mechanism by which authority and obedience are restored. How is a delinquent population, used to license, brought under control? Shakespeare examines one strategy in this play, one he has seemingly adapted from the Florentine political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli. Multiple critics have recognized that the story of Duke Vincentio and his deviant deputy, Lord Angelo, bear a striking resemblance to the story Machiavelli tells about Cesare Borgia and Remirro de Orco in Chapter 7 of The Prince. Here, I build upon these analyses to offer a new account of Shakespeare’s relationship to Machiavelli and political realism more generally. The Cesare story provides Shakespeare with an opportunity to explore how spectacle and theatricality can be used—not only to subdue an unruly population but to legitimate sovereign authority. However, Shakespeare delves deeper than Machiavelli into the mechanism whereby political authority is reestablished, first by considering the psychological conditions of the Duke’s subjects (both before and during his spectacular display of power), and second, by emphasizing the need for individual citizens to will sovereign authority into being. As we will see, in Shakespeare’s Vienna, order can only be restored once the delinquent people beg to be governed. Full article

Wulfila (c. 311–c. 383) translated the Bible into Gothic, creating the first literary text in a Germanic language. His biography is contested; his parentage, place of birth, episcopal consecration, and theological position are all disputed. The fourth century saw heated debates about the Trinity, and the Goths were often termed ‘Arians’, despite the fact that the teachings of the African presbyter Arius (c. 256–336) were not directly transmitted to them. This article notes a rebirth of interest in Wulfila, his mission, and the Gothic Bible, employing the notion that ‘Homoian’ (a more neutral term than ‘Arian’) theology was a possible bridge between Catholic monotheism and Gothic polytheism as the starting point for a re-examination of Wulfila’s evangelism as both an imperially mandated strategy and the creation of a route into civilization and modernity for the Goths. Christianity was modern and fashionable in the fourth century; Germanic tribes wishing to abandon their status as pagani (rustics) or heathens (heath-dwellers, not civilized city dwellers), viewed conversion as a move ‘up’. The Gothic Bible played a role in developing Gothic literacy, but was also a magical object, the first of its kind, a book/roadmap for a people undergoing a great cultural transformation. Full article

To achieve the color matching rules for the textiles discovered during Silk Road excavations between the 4th and 8th centuries, this research proposed an image-based matching network modeling method. The Silk Road facilitated trade and cultural exchange between the East and West, and the textiles found along the way depict the development of fabrics in a color scheme with great cultural significance. A total of 165 images with brocade patterns were collected from a book with a detailed description of the Western influences on textiles along the Silk Road. Two different clustering methods, including the K-means clustering method and octree quantization approach, were used to extract the primary and secondary colors. By combining the HSV color space with the PCCS color system, the color distribution was analyzed to discover the features of representative color patterns. The co-occurrence relationship of the auxiliary colors was explored using the Apriori algorithm, and a total of eight association rules were established. The results showed that the K-means clustering algorithm can show a better effect of color classification to obtain three primary colors and nine secondary colors. The matching mechanism with a visualized network model was also proposed, which showed that reddish-yellow tones are the main colors in the brocade patterns, and the light and soft tones separately account for 27% and 20%. Beige and brown are the most common colorways, with a confidence level of 47%. One style of brocade pattern was used to demonstrate different appearances within various color networks, which could be applied to 3D virtual fitting. This image-based matching network modeling approach makes the color matching schemes visible, and can assist fashion design with fabric features influenced by historical and cultural development. Full article

The acceleration of the climate crisis and increased demand for water have caused water stress in many agricultural lands worldwide. This issue is of utmost importance as water stress represents one of the most crucial challenges for the agricultural sector and food security, affecting the growth and yield of crops. Developing agricultural strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of water stress and improve crop stress tolerance and crop yield is therefore crucial. This review aimed to analyze the effect of agricultural practices such as elicitation and biostimulation on mitigating the effects of water stress in vegetables. This manuscript provides relevant and recent information about the studied effects on various vegetable species and their responses under water deficit and agricultural and non-agricultural strategies to mitigate water stress, highlighting the use of elicitors and biostimulants. Inclusion criteria were scientific reports and book chapters published from 2000 to 2024, including keywords as follows: water stress + vegetables, water deficit + effects, drought stress management, agricultural strategies for water stress management, eustressors + water stress, elicitors and biostimulants + water stress mitigation. According to the reported literature, it was found that the physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses of vegetables to water stress depended on factors such as the severity and duration of the water deficit, the plant species, and the phenological state of the plants. Traditional agronomic strategies such as tillage, mulching, and intercropping for crop drought management were evaluated. Recently, alternative strategies for mitigating the effects of water stress have gained significant interest, such as the exogenous application of phytohormones and osmoprotectants, nutrient management, and the use of UV-B light, radiation, and acoustic waves, among others, whose eustressive effects (as biostimulants and elicitors) have been demonstrated. Among these eustressors, those of physical origin show great potential for mitigating water stress. To improve the individual potential of eustressors for water stress mitigation, we proposed the combination of practices such as tillage, mulching, application of hormones and osmoprotectants, and physical elicitors and biostimulants such as gamma rays, He-Ne laser, and UV-B. Further exploration is required to establish doses, application conditions, and effects on water stress mitigation and vegetable yield, underscoring the importance and ongoing nature of this research. Full article

Currently, health tourists primarily rely on independent facilitators to manage and book their medical appointments and vacation plans. There is a notable absence of dedicated booking applications for health tourism packages. This paper proposes HealthTourismHub, an application designed to provide personalized packages that include medical appointments, accommodation options, and recommended tourism activities. It also serves as a platform for medical experts and accommodation providers, allowing health tourists to discover and connect with them, promoting local resources, and contributing to the sustainable growth of health tourism destinations. To incorporate personalization, HealthTourismHub uses an ontology that organizes medical and tourism data, along with a reasoner that generates new knowledge. This approach enables the application to offer customized packages and identify the most suitable providers for each user. Providers are strategically paired and located in close proximity, encouraging shorter travel distances and more efficient travel planning, with the package also including personalized tourism recommendations that benefit the local economy and contribute to a conscious tourism industry. A survey was conducted to assess the usability of the application and general perspectives towards health tourism, including motivations, concerns, and preferences. The results revealed an above-average SUS score, indicating that users found the application user-friendly and effective. Some areas for improvement were identified, such as error handling and additional functionalities. Nonetheless, HealthTourismHub shows great potential as a pioneer in the field of sustainable health tourism applications. Full article

The native Spanish Merino breed was the founder of all the other Merino and Merino-derived breeds worldwide. Despite the fact that this breed was created and improved to produce the highest quality fine wool, the global wool market crisis led to the wholescale crossing of most of the herds with breeds for meat purposes. Nevertheless, there are still some purebred animals with a high potential for producing quality wool. The objective of this study was to characterize the current wool quality of the breed and identify genes associated with these parameters. To achieve this, over 12,800 records from the most representative animals of the breed (registered in the herd book) were analyzed using the Australian OFDA 2000 system, for parameters such as fiber diameter (FD), standard deviation (SD), coefficient of variation (CV), fibers over 15 microns (>15%), staple length (SL), and comfort factor (CRV). Additionally, animals with the most extreme FD values were whole-genome sequenced using NGS. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) determined the association of 74 variants with the different traits studied, which were located in 70 different genes. Of these genes, EDN2, COL18A1, and LRP1B, associated with fibers over 15%, and FGF12 and ADAM17, associated with SL, play a key role in hair follicle growth and development. Our study reveals the great potential for recovering this breed for fine wool production, and identifies five candidate genes whose understanding may aid in that selection process. Full article

We present the first comprehensive review of 62 migratory shorebird species in Mongolia, covering their ecological status, IUCN assessments at regional or national levels, population trends, threats, and conservation measures. Mongolia hosts a total of 62 shorebird species from twenty-two genera and seven families, with six species classified as globally threatened: the Critically Endangered Sociable Lapwing, the Endangered Siberian Sandplover, the Far Eastern Curlew, the Great Knot, and the Vulnerable Sharp-Tailed Sandpiper. Both national and global IUCN Red List assessments highlight Mongolia’s significance as a breeding and passage migrating site for globally threatened and Near-Threatened shorebirds. Species richness is higher in northern regions compared to the south, with the highest diversity found in areas with complex aquatic ecosystems. Global population trends indicate a decline in 61% of species, with 18% remaining stable, 16% of unknown status, and 5% increasing. At the national level, most species are stable (61%), 34% status is unknown, and 5% are decreasing. Anthropogenic-induced threats, including habitat loss and degradation, pollution, disturbance, and harvesting, pose significant risks to 69% of species, while natural disasters affect 11%. Additionally, 8% of species are impacted by accidental mortality and intrinsic factors, and 5% by changes in native species. Despite these threats, no specific conservation action plans exist for shorebirds in Mongolia. However, general conservation measures are in place, such as environmental and fauna protection laws, regulations on foreign trade in endangered species, and the establishment of protected areas under governmental resolutions. Mongolia also participates in international conventions like the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Ramsar, and Migratory Species (CMS), and has developed national red lists, red books, and publications such as “A Summary Conservation Action Plan for Mongolian Birds”, “Important Bird Areas” to support conservation efforts. Full article

The 19th century saw the important transformation of modern Western concepts into Chinese lexical resources. The missionaries were the initiators and important driving force for the translation of Western books into Chinese in modern China. They promoted ‘translating terms’ and ‘coining terms’ in their translations of Western books and the compilation of dictionaries with the cooperation of Chinese intellectuals. Their work provided a tangible ‘word’ carrier of ‘concepts’ for disseminating modern knowledge from the West to the East. Compiled by missionaries, the English–Chinese bilingual dictionaries introduced a brand-new concept of dictionary compilation and changed China’s history of having zidian (字典, character dictionaries) but no cidian (辞典, specialized dictionaries). In particular, John Fryer applied the translation method of creating new words or characters in the translation of chemical terminology. Members of the School and Textbook Series Committee, including John Fryer and Calvin Wilson Mateer, made great contributions to theories and strategies for translation, which keep inspiring Chinese–English translation of terminology and its theoretical construction. Full article

Monitoring the gas composition in library environments is crucial for the preservation of ancient books. In this study, TiO₂ NTs/CNTs composites were synthesized via a hydrothermal method and utilized as nano-gas sensors for NO₂ detection. The surface morphology and element composition of the samples were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Additionally, the gas sensitivity of the prepared TiO₂ nanocomposites was evaluated at different temperatures, both with and without ultraviolet light irradiation. The results demonstrate that the synthesized TiO₂ NTs/CNTs samples exhibit a large specific surface area due to their titanium dioxide nanotubes (TiO₂ NTs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) composition. Moreover, these samples display excellent gas sensitivity under ultraviolet light irradiation at temperatures of 120 °C. Compared to uncomposited and non-ultraviolet light irradiated samples, the sensor response rate is significantly improved, enabling effective monitoring of NO₂ gas in library environments conducive to preserving ancient books. Overall, our findings highlight that the developed TiO₂ NTs/CNTs nano gas sensor holds great potential for monitoring and safeguarding ancient books. Full article

In the article, the authors discussed the topic of energy and media savings in a public transport company. The article is of a review nature, referring to 100 sources, including scientific papers, books, conference proceedings, and websites. In the first part, a detailed literature review on environmental protection problems in road transport and methods of solving them was conducted. Subsequently, the authors reviewed the literature content on maintenance as a pro-environmental activity in transport companies. The great accent was paid to the problem of saving energy and media in the maintenance of public transport buses. Based on the literature and knowledge, the authors proposed the possibilities of conducting a rational method of managing the operation and maintenance of buses from the point of view of environmental protection, based on the strategy of predictive bus maintenance. Full article