Between Commemoration and Living Memory: Symbolic Acts of the Teutonic Knights in Light of Cultural Theory

The present article investigates the function of ritual acts as a form of communication vis-à-vis cultural meaning in the life of the Teutonic Knights. As a condensed form of communal expression, rituals exhibit an acute potential to render present collective identity and shape the lives of the communities that practice them. Such potential is manifest in the institutional arrangement of the Teutonic Order in various forms with particular reference to their dual standing in society, insofar as they drew upon the societal models of the oratores and the bellatores. Particularly relevant to the current study, considerations of cultural historian and social analyst Jan Assmann regarding symbolic acts and collective living memory assist in creating the theoretical framework for the study’s deliberations. With Assmann’s insights in mind, ritual is understood as a communicative vector of cultural meaning – so to speak – of living memory. The analysis then turns to an examination of select representative examples from diverse scenarios in the existence of the Teutonic Knights, thereby taking into account internal, public, and participatory contexts of symbolic moments. The study thus explores how, while rituals can commemorate memorialised events from the past, they are also able to enact the living memory of a collective entity, ultimately claiming that the examined symbolic acts exhibited both communicative and transformative potential.

Water Group Exospheres and Surface Interactions on the Moon, Mercury, and Ceres

Water ice, abundant in the outer solar system, is volatile in the inner solar system. On the largest airless bodies of the inner solar system (Mercury, the Moon, Ceres), water can be an exospheric species but also occurs in its condensed form. Mercury hosts water ice deposits in permanently shadowed regions near its poles that act as cold traps. Water ice is also present on the Moon, where these polar deposits are of great interest in the context of future lunar exploration. The lunar surface releases either OH or H2O during meteoroid showers, and both of these species are generated by reaction of implanted solar wind protons with metal oxides in the regolith. A consequence of the ongoing interaction between the solar wind and the surface is a surficial hydroxyl population that has been observed on the Moon. Dwarf planet Ceres has enough gravity to have a gravitationally-bound water exosphere, and also has permanently shadowed regions near its poles, with bright ice deposits found in the most long-lived of its cold traps. Tantalizing evidence for cold trapped water ice and exospheres of molecular water has emerged, but even basic questions remain open. The relative and absolute magnitudes of sources of water on Mercury and the Moon remain largely unknown. Exospheres can transport water to cold traps, but the efficiency of this process remains uncertain. Here, the status of observations, theory, and laboratory measurements is reviewed.

Reductive Functionalization of Amides in Synthesis and for Modification of Bioactive Compounds

In this review, applications of the amide reductive functionalization methodology for the synthesis and modification of bioactive compounds are covered. A brief summary of the different protocols is presented in the introduction, followed by the synthetic application of these in late-stage functionalization, leading to known pharmaceuticals or to their derivatives, including bioisosteres, with potential higher activity as the main axis of the article. The synthetic approach to natural products based on amide reduction is also discussed; however, this is given in a condensed form focusing on recent or as yet unexplored applications due to a number of recently published excellent reviews covering this topic. The aim of this review is to illustrate the potential of reductive functionalization of amides as an elegant and useful tool in the synthesis of bioactive compounds and inspire further work in this field.

Unraveling fundamental active units in carbon nitride for photocatalytic oxidation reactions

Covalently bonded carbon nitride (CN) has stimulated extensive attention as a metal-free semiconductor. However, because of the complexity of polymeric structures, the acquisition of critical roles of each molecular constituent in CN for photocatalysis remains elusive. Herein, we clarify the fundamental active units of CN in photocatalysis by synthesizing CN with more detailed molecular structures. Enabled by microwave synthesis, the as-prepared CN consists of distinguishable melem (M1) and its incomplete condensed form (M2). We disclose rather than the traditional opinion of being involved in the whole photocatalytic processes, M1 and M2 make primary contributions in light absorption and charge separation, respectively. Meanwhile, oxygen molecules are unusually observed to be activated by participating in the photoexcited processes via electronic coupling mainly to M2. As a result, such CN has a higher activity, which was up to 8 times that of traditional bulk CN for photocatalytic oxidation of tetracycline in water.

“Čut’ živye, v noč’ osennjuju / My s ochoty vozv­ra­ščaemsja…” Secondary predicate in Nekrasov’s poetic texts

The main aim of the article is to examine the grammatical and stylistic functions of the predicative attribute in the poetic work of Nekrasov. The study contributes to the general ‘grammar of poetry’, which has been proposed and developed by Roman Jakobson. The study shows that Nekrasov often used the predicative attribute and it constitutes one of the specific features of his style. Grammatically extended adjectival, participial and adverbial phrases, frequent in Nekrasov’s poetry, cause additional predication, which makes it possible to expand the narrative. The predicative attribute often combines the functions of an attribute with those of the adverbial modifiers of cause and consequence, which gives additional impetus to the narrative plot development. The analysis shows that Nekrasov’s style is characterized by nu­merous long repetitions of functionally similar grammatical elements, taking several lines. These repetitions often set the rhythm and determine the folklore character of his poems. Аttributive chains, paired formulas, synonymization of lexemes in chains, repetitions, in­strumental case in the meaning of comparison and metamorphosis can be found in classical pre-Nakrasov poetry as well. In Nekrasov’s poems these features appear in a concentrated, condensed form; they can be considered only against the background of his work as a whole.

Demokratie

The second, comprehensively updated and expanded edition of this book summarises the findings of research into democracy and democratisation in a condensed form. It provides an easy-to-understand overview of the history of democratic theories, democratic systems of government in comparison and empirical research on the worldwide development of democratisation processes, presenting the findings of all political science sub-disciplines in an integrated manner. Its introductory texts are supplemented with further references, charts and graphs as well as suggestions for discussion on the individual chapters. The book is structured according to modules and is therefore suitable for use in political science teaching.

Gene therapy for tuberous sclerosis complex type 2 in a mouse model by delivery of AAV9 encoding a condensed form of tuberin

Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) results from loss of a tumor suppressor gene - TSC1 or TSC2, encoding hamartin and tuberin, respectively. These proteins formed a complex to inhibit mTORC1-mediated cell growth and proliferation. Loss of either protein leads to overgrowth lesions in many vital organs. Gene therapy was evaluated in a mouse model of TSC2 using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector carrying the complementary for a “condensed” form of human tuberin (cTuberin). Functionality of cTuberin was verified in culture. A mouse model of TSC2 was generated by AAV-Cre recombinase disruption of Tsc2-floxed alleles at birth, leading to a shortened lifespan (mean 58 days) and brain pathology consistent with TSC. When these mice were injected intravenously on day 21 with AAV9-cTuberin, the mean survival was extended to 462 days with reduction in brain pathology. This demonstrates the potential of treating life-threatening TSC2 lesions with a single intravenous injection of AAV9-cTuberin.

Physiological and psychological basis of aesthetics

This essay will be devoted to the presentation of the aesthetic principles of painting, plastics and architecture. All these arts converge with each other mainly in the fact that they are the essence of visual art, that is, their works are perceived by the organ of vision and their aesthetic effects are given together with visual impressions. In the first issue, dedicated to the aesthetic principles of music, the general principles of grace and beauty were established and explained. We consider it not superfluous to formulate them again in a condensed form.

Interdisciplinarity 3.0: The Hub of the Universe or Fantasy Island?

This contribution provides, in a condensed form, the argument on the topic of interdisciplinarity within Law and the Humanities of my recent book Judging from Experience. Law, Praxis, Humanities. It also engages with recent proposals for the future, both in Law and Humanities and as far as the humanities in themselves are concerned. Its main point is that any “Law and” field that remains theoretical and does not seek to inform legal practice will suffer from a lack of impact of the kind university administrators demand from academic researchers. If interdisciplinary fields are to thrive, they need to provide nourishment to the legal professional by combining the findings of academic theory (including but not limited to legal doctrine) with the specifics of doing law.

Phytopythium: origin, differences and meaning in modern plant pathology

The genus Phytopythium is a relatively new group of organisms distinguished from the Pythium genus. These are organisms closely related to Pythium and Phytophthora, with similar structure and biology. Despite many similarities, this genus is characterised by several morphological features that allow it to be easily identified. Until now, more than 20 species belong to this genus, most of which are saprophytic organisms. However, there is also a group of species particularly dangerous to plants. These species include, among others, Pp. litorale, Pp. helicoides and Pp. vexans. The purpose of this work was to collect information about these organisms and present them in a condensed form. The study contains basic information about the history of the type of separation, differences in morphology distinctive genus of Phytopythium, Phytophthora and Pythium and information about diseases and host plants. Information is also provided on the potential threat posed by these organisms to forest ecosystems.