bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Quintilian as a Literary Critic
Authors: Chico Rico Francisco
Published: December 2021

This chapter is devoted to the study of the Institutio oratoria as a complex space in which Quintilian, in addition to developing an education manual, a rhetorical treatise, and an essay on the orator’s moral duties and obligations, also includes theoretical reflections on literary criticism as well as analysis and assessments of specific literary works. In this sense, this chapter studies Quintilian as a literary critic. From a general and theoretical point of view, it reviews the relations established within the framework of the Institutio oratoria between literary criticism and poetarum enarratio, or exegesis of poetic texts, which should be practised by grammar students before continuing to the study of rhetoric. This review forces us to reconsider the question of the interdependence that exists between grammar and rhetoric as classical sciences of discourse. From an applicative and practical perspective, the chapter stresses the importance of Book 10 for a better knowledge of the literary critical analyses and evaluations that Quintilian makes of the most important works and authors of Greek and Roman literature, always in relation to its usefulness for the orator’s training through the exercise of reading and on the basis of the principle of imitation of literary models, which not only include poetic texts, but also historical, philosophical, and rhetorical texts. Finally, the chapter reviews the theory of Attic, Asianic, and Rhodian styles in Quintilian’s thinking and his defence of the one which, even defined by hybridization, best adapts itself to the pragmatic-communicative requirements of the rhetorical fact.
Quintilian and Declamation
Authors: Breij Bé
Published: December 2021

This chapter explores Quintilian’s views on declamation, which are rather more nuanced than it is sometimes assumed, against various backgrounds. After an introduction which presents the essential features of suasoriae and especially controversiae to the reader, it zooms in on the conflicting theories with which our ancient sources present us on the origins of declamation. It then offers an extensive tour of Sophistopolis, the fictitious Graeco-Roman city-state in which declamatory conflicts unfold. After a survey of what ancient critics wrote about declamation, the chapter assesses Quintilian’s position among them. What exactly are we to make of the phrase, so often quoted without further comment, that ‘so long as they are adapted to real life and resemble real speeches they are very useful’ (10.5.14)? It will turn out that Quintilian appears to take contradicting positions about this throughout his Institutio, and that this does not harm his teaching but rather enriches it. The chapter concludes with a brief survey of the four extant collections of Roman declamations.
Quintilian and Visual Art
Authors: Masséglia Jane
Published: December 2021

Visual art provides a rich seam of analogy for Quintilian, offering parallels for both the art of rhetoric and the art of training orators. Most famous is his catalogue of artists in Book 12, a list of eleven Greek painters and ten Greek sculptors from the sixth to fourth centuries ce. These he uses to demonstrate variations in personal ‘style’, comparing them with a selection of Roman and Greek orators. At first glance, the passage is not especially novel: this kind of artist–orator analogy, his choice of artists, and many of his comments on their merits all have parallels in other authors. But on closer inspection, we can discern two features which are distinctive of Quintilian the educator: the first is his teacherly appreciation of artists and orators who combine talent with hard work; the second is his method of teaching-by-doing. His catalogue of artists is itself a textbook example of the rhetorical skill he demands of his students: a sustained manipulation of the listener’s opinion, elevated by (just enough) specialist detail to appear authoritative.
Quintilian in the Italian Renaissance
Authors: Cox Virginia
Published: December 2021

The century that followed Poggio Bracciolini’s discovery of a complete manuscript of Quintilian’s Institutio oratoria at the Swiss monastery of St Gall in 1416 represents a vital stage within the text’s transmission and reception. The new text fell on fertile soil, at a time when the classicizing movement known as humanism was rapidly reshaping Italian elite education and literary and intellectual culture, and when the introduction of printing would soon begin to transform practices of editing and dissemination. This chapter traces the editorial and transmission history of the Institutio from 1416 to the early sixteenth century, with some consideration of Petrarch’s earlier, enthusiastic reception of the text. After an initial, general overview of the text’s fortunes in manuscript and print, and its gradual, increasing adoption in educational contexts, more detailed discussions follow of Quintilian’s reception by, and influence on, two of the great humanist thinkers of the period, Lorenzo Valla (1407–1457) and Baldassare Castiglione (1478–1529). The chapter argues that, in Valla, Quintilian’s rhetoric became a model for a modern practice of Christian eloquence, capable of rivalling scholastic theology, while, in Castiglione, Quintilian’s human ideal of the orator was recast as a template for the modern court intellectual.
Quintilian in Europe from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century
Authors: Schirren Thomas
Published: December 2021

This chapter offers a panoramic view of the significant and diverse reception of the Institutio from the eighteenth to the twentieth century in Europe. A central figure on the European continent in the eighteenth century was the pedagogue and rhetorician of Belles Lettres Charles Rollin (1661–1741), who stressed the importance of the Institutio for education, but who also claimed that it is too long and needs to be abridged in order to be useful for Rollin’s time. Other major figures who used Quintilian’s ideas on pedagogy and the vir bonus or aspects of his rhetorical theory in various ways are the Italian G.B. Vico (1668–1744), the Scotsmen Hugh Blair (1718–1800) and George Campbell (1719–1796), the Irishman Gilbert Austin (1753–1837), the Germans Friedrich Andreas Hallbauer (1692–1750), Johann Andreas Fabricius (1696–1769), Johann Matthias Gesner (1691–1761), who produced a critical edition of the Institutio, and Johann Christian Gottsched (1700–1766). Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) is discussed to show how his education in rhetoric through Quintilian informed his views on poetry. For the nineteenth and twentieth century, the work of five German scholars is discussed to highlight the importance of the Instutito in classical and literary studies and in philosophy: Richard Volkmann’s Die Rhetorik der Griechen und Römer (1885), Ernst Robert Curtius’s Europäische Literatur und lateinisches Mittelalter (1948), Heinrich Lausberg’s Handbuch der literarischen Rhetorik (1960), Hans-Georg Gadamer’s Wahrheit und Methode (1960), and Otto Seel’s Quintilian oder die Kunst des Redens und Schweigens (1977).
Quintilian’s Concept and Classifications of Rhetoric
Authors: Manuwald Gesine
Published: December 2021

This chapter provides an overview of Quintilian’s views on the categories of rhetoric (in relation to existing positions) as outlined in the second part of Book 2 and in Book 3. Concepts discussed include the definition, function, and character of rhetoric, comments on the history of rhetoric and rhetorical theory, the parts of rhetoric, the theory of status, as well as the different types of speeches and their characteristics. It can be shown that this part of the Institutio oratoria is an important source and illustrates how an educated and well-read professional rhetorician in the early Imperial period reacts to views expressed by predecessors, especially since Quintilian, as a true researcher, aims to offer a panorama of views from which both he and his readers can choose.
Stepping out of the Shadow
Authors: van der Meulen Nicole
Published: December 2021

After the discovery of the Morris Worm in November 1988, the first Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) was established. During the following years, other CERTs or Computer Security Incident Response Teams (CSIRTs) were established in different parts of the globe. Now, three decades later, CSIRTs have become an integral part of the cyber security ecosystem. This chapter aims to provide an insight into the evolution of CSIRTs by describing their historical background, their different types and services, as well as the challenges they are encountering as the topic of cyber security becomes more pertinent and political.
The ‘Insider Threat’ and the ‘Insider Advocate’
Authors: Steinmetz Mike
Published: December 2021

Discussion of the insider threat gains more attention every day. Much of the debate concerns the dysfunctional actions and behaviours of the malicious insider, whose ability to cause harm commands headlines on a regular basis. Technological strides have been made to identify the behaviours that could locate the malicious insider threat and even predict the likelihood of such behaviours before they take place. This chapter addresses areas beyond those frequently explored when discussing the methods and means of discovering dysfunctional behaviour by examining the entire workforce and the factors affecting the entire workplace environment. Are there opportunities where leadership could better measure and shape the work environment, thereby creating a different work environment for employees? What happens when companies fail to utilize every metric available and every opportunity to shape the work environment? Are there opportunities not just to identify the malicious insider threat but to create measurable insider advocacy?
Maturing Autonomous Cyber Weapons Systems
Authors: Heinl Caitríona
Published: December 2021

This chapter identifies significant policy and military intersections between the evolving international cybersecurity and autonomous weapons systems (AWS) policy regimes that should receive deeper policy attention. So far, within policy discussions on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), there seems to have been less focus on related cyber implications compared with other policy questions. This is mirrored within the international cybersecurity policy community where AWS, maturing autonomous cyber technologies, and component technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) have not yet garnered extensive attention publicly. So far, most of the focus on AWS has centred on physical platforms for land, sea, air, space, and undersea, and not the cyber domain. Discussions surrounding AWS have generally been held under the rubric of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW). Nevertheless, threat assessment reports and analysts are highlighting this subject more frequently. This chapter addresses these gaps by first unpacking the nature of so-called AWS and then highlighting a number of potential arms race considerations as well as consequences of the widespread adoption of autonomous technologies for warfare. It then proposes a framework to deal with the impact of autonomy on international security policies—namely strengthening technical safeguards and addressing the policy implications for international cyber stability. Lastly, the chapter argues for a need to ensure norm coherence and careful analysis of the implications arising from either banning or legitimizing maturing autonomous capabilities for international cybersecurity and AWS regimes.
The Future of Democratic Civil Societies in a Post-Western Cybered Era
Authors: Demchak Chris
Published: December 2021

This chapter discusses cyberspace’s evolution in terms of technical shoddiness and misperceptions. Once cyberspace left the confines of the consolidated democratic societies, their legal systems, and the controls of Western regulated telecommunications firms, it moved beyond the power of Westernized nations’ to keep the world both deeply cybered and guided by the rule of law. With commercialization as it occurred, the Internet was never going to be the utopia. Rather, the globalized Internet became a resource rich frontier and substrate over which nations and organizations would fight overtly, covertly, and in every other way possible. The chapter then identifies two available remediating strategic responses to this new cybered reality (recognition of sovereignty and balancing scale), and offers three possible interstate futures depending upon which of these two responses is chosen. It argues that achieving the best possible future will rest on pursuing strategic well-being and international influence through a ‘cyber operational resilience alliance’ across consolidated democratic civil societies.
Conclusion
Authors: Cornish Paul
Published: December 2021

Cyberspace offers immense benefits and opportunities as well as considerable threats and hazards. It is routinely exploited by a variety of adversaries, aggressors, and predators: hostile states; political extremists and terrorists; businesses practising commercial espionage and theft; individuals and criminal organizations undertaking financial fraud and trafficking in people, armaments, and narcotics; and individual so-called ‘nuisance’ hackers. The efficient and effective response to these threats and hazards is what cybersecurity is all about. The idea that cybersecurity could also have a larger, more comprehensive, and progressive goal might seem to some to be fanciful: an unrealistic and other-worldly response to the very real possibility of encountering substantial harm in and from cyberspace. Yet, the threat/response dynamic, compelling though it is, is surely not all there is to say about cybersecurity: it should be possible for cybersecurity to have a larger goal than the endless pursuit of (defensive) advantage over an adversary. If cyberspace can be valued as much as feared, then the broader purpose of cybersecurity could be not only to disable threats as they arise but also to enable the positive opportunities offered by the information revolution. Cybersecurity must also address the ordering (i.e. safety, security, and governance) of nothing less than a global digital ecosystem that is taking shape rapidly and beneficially, at every level and in every field of human activity. It is both possible and necessary to combine both perspectives—protection from and progress towards—in one account, as this Handbook of Cybersecurity has shown.
Rethinking the Governance of Technology in the Digital Age
Authors: Webb Joëlle
Published: December 2021

The present chapter argues that, to harness the benefits of technology in the digital age, while mitigating the inherent security risks, it has become more pressing than ever to break down siloes between expert communities. Top-down governance alone cannot address all the security risks. Greater attention needs to be paid to horizontal governance mechanisms that bring together policymakers, the private sector, communities of users, law enforcement officials, and scientists. A holistic approach calls for an equal focus on anticipating the risks, seeking to prevent their occurrence, and building systemic capacities to recover from them. The chapter starts by discussing two illustrative security dilemmas—the first is about publishing scientific knowledge in the digital age and the second is the challenge posed by additive manufacturing. It then examines the limits of regulatory approaches to the proliferation of technologies of concern. Next, it presents an argument for an adaptation of norms, policy instruments, and governance institutions to enable societies to continue to enjoy the benefits of science and technology, while mitigating their risks. It concludes by giving examples of horizontal governance mechanisms that bring together policymakers, communities of users, law enforcement officials, and scientists, and by suggesting that such models should become more commonplace to inform government policies.
Climate Change and Human Conflict in the Sahel
Authors: Benjaminsen Tor A.
Published: December 2021

Most climate models predict more rain in the future in the Sahel, but with more concentrated rainfall. Since the droughts of the 1980s, rains have increased, which has led to a regreening of the entire region. There is, however, a dominant narrative postulating that climate change will lead to drier conditions and desertification in the Sahel, which again will lead to resource scarcity, widespread migration, and more conflicts. This chapter critically investigates this narrative based on a review of international research. It considers conflict between farmers and herders, between the state and armed groups, in addition to jihadi violence that has increased in region in recent years. It concludes that the droughts in the 1980s only played a minor role in explaining conflicts, while the root causes were political and historical. State policies tend to lead to the marginalization of pastoralists. In areas where pastoralism and farming overlap as the main forms of land use, there are continuous conflicts of varying scale and intensity. These conflicts are primarily caused by politics, not climate change.
Agricultural Policies and Development in the Sahel
Authors: Serra Renata
Published: December 2021

Few populations in the world are so dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods as much as those in the Sahel—and this remains the case, despite rapid urbanization and environmental change. Agricultural policies that help the agricultural sector become more sustainable, more productive, and more attractive to youth are widely regarded as an essential precondition for spurring rural development and improving food security and nutrition. The challenges are multiple though, and far beyond the technical, as the realm of agricultural sector interventions is characterized by opposing priorities, historical inertia due to colonial and postcolonial legacies, and powerful interest groups. The chapter illustrates the interplay between these complex factors with specific examples on the cotton, rice, and dairy sub-sectors in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Senegal. It concludes with some reflections on the influence of donors, regional organizations, and security crises on the prospect for agricultural development and food security in the region.
The Linguistic Ecology of the Sahel
Authors: Mc Laughlin Fiona
Published: December 2021

The topic of this chapter is the linguistic ecology of multilingualism in the Sahel. Based on the premise that named languages are social and often colonial constructs, the chapter focuses on the speaker-centered notion of linguistic repertoire and the ways in which Sahelians use their linguistic resources. French and standard or literary Arabic are important languages in the Sahel, and they reflect strong regimes of language that are reinforced through education, both secular and Quranic. Communication in the multilingual Sahel is facilitated by indigenous languages that have become local or regional lingua francas. There are a number of writing practices generally overlooked in official statistics on literacy, including the use of the Arabic and other scripts to write indigenous languages. Orality is widely valued, and mastery of eloquent language has resulted in the differentiation of a caste of verbal artists or griots within the social hierarchy.
Education, Citizenship, and National Identity in the Sahel
Authors: Villalón Leonardo A. , Bodian Mamadou
Published: December 2021

At independence, Sahelian states inherited educational systems rooted in the colonial French model and based on secularism or laïcité. Both during and after colonialism, these formal public educational systems found little popular appeal, and indeed often faced clear resistance at the popular level. By contrast, a parallel system of Islamic education thrived, expanded, and evolved in the region, ranging from traditional Quranic schools to more modern Franco-Arabic schools. In the 1990s, a number of factors began to call into question the viability of this bifurcated educational system. This chapter surveys the trajectory of educational systems in the Muslim societies of the Sahel, and analyzes the forces shaping new hybrid models that are emerging. It examines how reformed educational systems are evolving in ways that diverge from the historical secular model with the potential for producing new models of citizenship deeply imbued with religious identities. The chapter offers an interpretation of the longer-term implications of these changes for national identity and citizenship in a changing Sahel.
Sahelian Transnational Networks and Diasporas
Authors: Kane Abdoulaye
Published: December 2021

This chapter examines the establishment of Sahelian diasporas in Europe and the United States, their remittances, and the return patterns that have become so important for sending households and communities. Large sums of money are sent by Sahelian migrants to support household budgets that have often come to depend on these remittances. The chapter also addresses the development interventions of hometown associations and other migrant networks that fund community projects and provide social services to their sending communities, and the importance of return migration and its effects on local economies. It examines the sustainability of these vital connections between Sahelian diasporas and their home communities in a context where migration out of the Sahel is increasingly restricted. It concludes with questions about the sustainability of these patterns, given the declining commitment and attachment to place of second- and third-generation migrants.
Toward a History of Ideas in the Sahel
Authors: Sarr Felwine
Published: December 2021

This chapter is an attempt to sketch out a prolegomenon to a “history of thought” in the Sahel. It investigates key periods, historical figures, and a library of documents, while also addressing some of the methodological issues raised by the specific conditions and history of the Sahel. It proposes a cartography of the circuits and networks of transmission of knowledge that developed over the centuries in the region and facilitated the production of ideas. Mapping the production of ideas, the chapter explores historical processes, such as the spread of Islam, and modalities of expression to reveal common matrixes, modes of circulation, and exchanges, and uncover their dominant functions in the sociocultural and political dynamics of the Sahel.
Social Investment
Authors: Garritzmann Julian L.
Published: December 2021

This chapter reviews the paradigm and spread of social investment policies, which come in many variants, and discusses them as key elements of the ‘knowledge economy welfare state’. Social investments are policies that aim to create, preserve, and mobilize human skills and capabilities. The chapter discusses the emergence of social investment as a new social policy paradigm, presents different variants of the social investment approach, provides a mapping of social investment policies around the globe, discusses effects of social investment policies, and weighs in on important debates regarding the politics of social investment. The chapter then closes with an outlook on avenues for future research.
Housing
Authors: Fahey Tony , Norris Michelle
Published: December 2021

This chapter identifies the provision of affordable housing as a key challenge for contemporary welfare states. Rising house prices have undermined many of the mechanisms governments traditionally used to promote housing affordability and have made the challenge of affordability more urgent and more difficult. These forces have also intensified long-standing tensions regarding the role of housing in welfare states, particularly its contribution to achieving two primary distributional aims of social policies: providing a social safety net for the economically vulnerable and mitigating broader social inequalities. Much research on the first aim has focused on policy inputs—particularly social housing provision—rather than on the outcomes they achieve. Consequently, we know less about the affordability benefits generated by social housing than we should. However, in many countries, reductions in exchequer capital subsidies for social housing provision mean that the sector is now largely self-funded from tenants’ rents. Therefore, the large social housing sectors in Western Europe are no longer a guarantee of affordable rents. Subsidies for home ownership are often criticized as a regressive measure, which conflicts with social policy’s equality aim. However, homeowner housing remains the most widely and progressively distributed form of wealth and its contraction in the face of strong house price inflation in recent decades will precipitate increased wealth inequality. Policy responses to this inflation have concentrated on regulating home buyers’ access to mortgage credit, which may impede their ability to buy. Therefore, policies are also needed to improve the supply side of housing and make it more responsive to demand.
The South European Countries
Authors: Ferrera Maurizio
Published: December 2021

In Southern Europe, welfare state building followed a distinct path, characterized by ‘weak Fordism’ in labour markets, a dualistic social insurance, and a faulty and fragmented safety net. The (extended) family thus played a key role as welfare and income provider for its members, penalizing women’s autonomy and employment opportunities. The 1990s and 2000s witnessed substantial efforts to modernize both labour markets and social protection schemes, by recalibrating their coverage both across risks and social groups. However, the economic crisis of the 2010s halted such recalibration and the gap with Europe’s more developed welfare states has again started to widen, especially in Italy and Greece.
Recent Developments
Authors: Hemerijck Anton , Ronchi Stefano
Published: December 2021

The trajectory of developed welfare states in the early twenty-first century is perhaps best understood through the idea of ‘social investment’. The first section of the chapter defines social investment as a sui generis welfare paradigm, distinct from both the Keynesian–Beveridgean welfare state and its neoliberal critique, and analytically rooted in the three interrelated policy functions of lifelong human capital stocks, work–life-balanced flows, and inclusive buffers. The second section identifies the trajectories of (non-)social investment reform that have cross-cut welfare regimes in the past two decades. Section three takes stock of the impact of the economic crisis on recent welfare state developments. The final section concludes by reflecting on the challenges and opportunities for welfare reform after the Great Recession. Most notably, it highlights how high public spending on established social protection commitments seemingly operates as a ‘productive constraint’ that accelerates social investment reform, reinforcing employment and productivity growth, to sustain popular welfare states.
Public and Private Social Welfare
Authors: Adema Willem , Whiteford Peter
Published: December 2021

This chapter contributes to the discussion of public and private social welfare by drawing together recent information on these different ways of providing social benefits. It presents data on public social expenditure for 2015–17 and accounts for the impact of the tax system and private social expenditure to develop indicators on net social expenditure for 2015. The chapter shows that conventional estimates of gross public spending differ significantly from estimates of net public spending and net total social expenditure, leading to an incorrect measurement and ranking of total social welfare effort across countries.

Just as importantly, the fact that total social welfare support is incorrectly measured implies that the outcomes of welfare state support may also be incorrectly measured. Thus, the main objectives of the chapter include considering the implications of this more comprehensive definition of welfare state effort for analysis of the distributional impact of the welfare state and for an assessment of the efficiency and incentive effects of different welfare state arrangements.
Religion, Secularity, and Secularization in Europe
Authors: Davie Grace
Published: December 2021

The first section of this chapter covers the conceptual understandings of secular, secularization, secularity and secularism, together with the rich sources of data available in Europe. It argues that secularization is neither linear nor predictable; it is a complex and contingent process that takes place differently in different places both within Europe and beyond. The second section recalls the long-term evolution of the secular in Europe as a whole. The core of the chapter, however, focuses on the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. This period is considered both chronologically and thematically with the following question in mind: is Europe secular because it is modern, or is Europe secular because it is European? Given the growing conviction that Europe is unusually secular in global terms, it seems that the latter is more likely. Secularization is central to the self-understanding of modern Europe; it should not be assumed, however, that secularization is a necessary—thus universal—concomitant of modernization.
Religion and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Authors: Durham W. Cole
Published: December 2021

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) have played an important role in reinforcing, distilling, and implementing the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in the OSCE region. The CSCE (later OSCE) has engaged in major norm-setting initiatives regarding FoRB. The ODIHR’s Advisory Panel/Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief emerged in 1997, and in ensuing years, produced legislative reviews, ‘Guidelines for Review of Legislation’ (2004); and the Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions or Beliefs in Public Schools (2007). The FoRB Programme at ODIHR followed through with ‘Guidelines on the Legal Personality’ (2014) and ‘Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security’ (2019). These documents are at the core of more extensive institutional promotion of FoRB.
Religion and the United Nations
Authors: Haynes Jeffrey
Published: December 2021

This chapter is concerned with religion at the United Nations (UN), and in particular how it relates to the activities of the UN at its Geneva office. In recent years, the UN has experienced growing concern about religion, including a higher profile in the General Assembly, the Security Council, and several of the UN’s specialized agencies, among them the Human Rights Office, the Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, the Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations. For many, this was unexpected given that it followed decades of religion’s apparent marginalization at the UN. The increased presence of religious actors at the UN reflects a wider phenomenon: the deepening problems of global governance and increased calls for the UN to be ‘democratized’ by drawing on an array of, mainly non-state voices, both secular and religious, to supplement those of states.
Roman Catholicism and Europe
Authors: Kratochvíl Petr
Published: December 2021

This chapter explores the complex relationship between the Catholic Church and Europe over many centuries. It argues that the Catholic Church and Europe played a mutually constitutive role in the early Middle Ages and one would not be conceivable without the other. However, the Church gradually disassociated itself from Europe and vice versa. Since the Reformation, but even more strongly in the last two centuries, the Church’s attitude to Europe has become markedly more ambivalent, due to the rise of the European state, the hostile attitude of the Church to modern European social and political thought, Europe’s ongoing secularization, and the increasingly global nature of the Catholic Church. While the tension between the Church and Europe persists, the process of European unification marked a watershed in the Church’s relationship to Europe, given that integration is a key area in which the Church strongly supports the political developments of the continent.
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in Medieval Europe
Authors: Szpiech Ryan
Published: December 2021

This chapter discusses the interaction between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in medieval Europe. It considers the importance of Augustine’s doctrine of Jews as ‘witnesses’ to Christian truth in the formation of the medieval image of the ‘hermeneutical Jew’. Jews, who lived primarily in the Islamic world in the first millennium, began to migrate into Christian lands in greater numbers from the eleventh century. As Christian ideas about Judaism evolved in the twelfth century, culminating in the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215, Jewish authors responded with detailed critiques of Christian belief. The simultaneous Christian engagement with Muslim sources led to a triangular encounter, especially significant in the Iberian Peninsula, between Jewish, Christian, and Muslim writers, reflected in numerous dialogues and polemics about prophecy and history. Beginning in the thirteenth century, mendicant friars, including converts, played a greater role in engagement with Islam and Judaism, taking on important roles as translators and inquisitors.
Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Europe
Authors: Willis Jonathan
Published: December 2021

This chapter provides an overview of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations in Europe. It begins by establishing the significance of the Reformation and commenting on recent trends in historical scholarship. An outline of theological change during the period follows, before consideration of the political dimension of religious reform across Europe, including the position of religious ‘radicals’, and the development of theories of resistance against persecuting secular rulers. The chapter moves on to consider the impact of the Reformations on religious belief, practice, and identity, looking at the spread of reform through visual and musical means, as well as topics such as education and disenchantment. It ends with the social impacts of Reformation on religious violence, toleration, and gender, and concludes by suggesting that the transformations instigated by the Catholic and Protestant Reformations wrought changes of great magnitude and complexity upon the Churches, nations, and peoples of early modern Europe.
The Enlightenment and Religion in Europe
Authors: Kitromilides Paschalis M.
Published: December 2021

This chapter on Enlightenment and religion in Europe brings together the evidence relating to an understanding of the relationship seen in broader terms. Manichean interpretations arguing for the total incompatibility of Enlightenment and religion are no longer tenable. Evidence from the history of Roman Catholicism, Orthodoxy, Protestantism, and Judaism is discussed in order to illustrate how reflection on ideas of natural religion, natural law, and the interplay of reason and revelation, by thinkers firmly grounded in traditions of religious faith, allowed a broadening of mutual understanding between the Enlightenment and European religious traditions and contributed to the growth of ideas of toleration.
Sphingolipid-Induced Programmed Cell Death is a Salicylic Acid and EDS1-Dependent Phenotype in Arabidopsis Fatty Acid Hydroxylase (Fah1, Fah2) and Ceramide Synthase (Loh2) Triple Mutants
Authors: König Stefanie , Gömann Jasmin , Zienkiewicz Agnieszka , Zienkiewicz Krzysztof , Meldau Dorothea , Herrfurth Cornelia , Feussner Ivo
Published: December 2021

Ceramides (Cers) and long-chain bases (LCBs) are plant sphingolipids involved in the induction of plant programmed cell death (PCD). The fatty acid hydroxylase mutant fah1 fah2 exhibits high Cer levels and moderately elevated LCB levels. Salicylic acid glucoside level is increased in this mutant, but no cell death can be detected by trypan blue staining. To determine the effect of Cers with different chain lengths, fah1 fah2 was crossed with ceramide synthase mutants longevity assurance gene one homologue1-3 (loh1, loh2 and loh3). Surprisingly, only triple mutants with loh2 show cell death detected by trypan blue staining under the selected conditions. Sphingolipid profiling revealed that the greatest differences between the triple mutant plants are in the LCB and LCB-phosphate (LCB-P) fraction. fah1 fah2 loh2 plants accumulate LCB d18:0, LCB t18:0 and LCB-P d18:0. Crossing fah1 fah2 loh2 with the salicylic acid (SA) synthesis mutant sid2-2 and with the SA signaling mutants enhanced disease susceptibility 1-2 (eds1-2) and phytoalexin deficient 4-1 (pad4-1) revealed that lesions are SA- and EDS1-dependent. These quadruple mutants also confirm that there may be a feedback loop between SA and sphingolipid metabolism as they accumulated less Cers and LCBs. In conclusion, PCD in fah1 fah2 loh2 is a SA- and EDS1-dependent phenotype, which is likely due to accumulation of LCBs.
Functions of Melatonin during Postharvest of Horticultural Crops
Authors: Aghdam Morteza Soleimani , Mukherjee Soumya , Flores Francisco Borja , Arnao Marino B , Luo Zisheng , Corpas Francisco J
Published: December 2021

Melatonin, a tryptophan-derived molecule, is endogenously generated in animal, plant, fungal and prokaryotic cells. Given its antioxidant properties, it is involved in a myriad of signaling functions associated with various aspects of plant growth and development. In higher plants, melatonin (Mel) interacts with plant regulators such as phytohormones, as well as reactive oxygen and nitrogen species including hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). It shows great potential as a biotechnological tool to alleviate biotic and abiotic stress, to delay senescence and to conserve the sensory and nutritional quality of postharvest horticultural products which are of considerable economic importance worldwide. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the biochemistry of Mel, whose endogenous induction and exogenous application can play an important biotechnological role in enhancing the marketability and hence earnings from postharvest horticultural crops.
Heterologous expression of Bixa orellana cleavage dioxygenase 4–3 drives crocin but not bixin biosynthesis
Authors: Frusciante Sarah , Demurtas Olivia Costantina , Sulli Maria , Mini Paola , Aprea Giuseppe , Diretto Gianfranco , Karcher Daniel , Bock Ralph , Giuliano Giovanni
Published: December 2021

Annatto (Bixa orellana) is a perennial shrub native to the Americas, and bixin, derived from its seeds, is a methoxylated apocarotenoid used as a food and cosmetic colorant. Two previous reports claimed to have isolated the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase (CCD) responsible for the production of the putative precursor of bixin, the C24 apocarotenal bixin dialdehyde. We re-assessed the activity of six Bixa CCDs and found that none of them produced substantial amounts of bixin dialdehyde in Escherichia coli. Unexpectedly, BoCCD4-3 cleaved different carotenoids (lycopene, β-carotene, and zeaxanthin) to yield the C20 apocarotenal crocetin dialdehyde, the known precursor of crocins, which are glycosylated apocarotenoids accumulated in saffron stigmas. BoCCD4-3 lacks a recognizable transit peptide but localized to plastids, the main site of carotenoid accumulation in plant cells. Expression of BoCCD4-3 in Nicotiana benthamiana leaves (transient expression), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) leaves (chloroplast transformation, under the control of a synthetic riboswitch), and in conjunction with a saffron crocetin glycosyl transferase, in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits (nuclear transformation) led to high levels of crocin accumulation, reaching the highest levels (>100 µg/g dry weight) in tomato fruits, which also showed a crocin profile similar to that found in saffron, with highly glycosylated crocins as major compounds. Thus, while the bixin biosynthesis pathway remains unresolved, BoCCD4-3 can be used for the metabolic engineering of crocins in a wide range of different plant tissues.
Predatory Publishing Practices
Authors: Stark Michael , Markowitz Michael , Woods Barrett
Published: December 2021

With open access publishing surging in popularity, it has provided an opportunity for entities to take advantage of the unique business model. Known as predatory journals, these entities accept a large fee in exchange for publication, but do not maintain any form of standards or peer review. This article aims to introduce the history and rise of predatory journals in hopes to further raise awareness and limit their spread.
Cervical Alignment and Proximal and Distal Junctional Failure in Posterior Cervical Fusion
Authors: Pinter Zachariah W. , Karamian Brian , Bou Monsef Jad , Mao Jennifer , Xiong Ashley , Bowles Daniel R. , Conaway William K. , Reiter David M. , Honig Rachel , Currier Bradford , Nassr Ahmad , Freedman Brett A. , Bydon Mohamad , Elder Benjamin D. , Kaye Ian D. , Kepler Christopher , Schroeder Gregory , Vaccaro Alexander , Wagner Scott , Sebastian Arjun S.
Published: December 2021

Study Design:

This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to compare the surgical and radiographic outcomes of patients undergoing posterior cervical fusion (PCF) with constructs extending from C2 to T2 to patients with constructs extending from C3 to T1.

Summary of Background Data:

Limited evidence exists regarding the appropriate level of proximal and distal extension of PCF constructs.

Methods:

A multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent PCF between 2012 and 2020 was performed. Surgical and radiographic outcomes were compared between those who had C3–T1 or C2–T2 constructs.

Results:

A total of 155 patients were included in the study (C2–T2: 106 patients, C3–T1: 49 patients). There were no significant differences in demographics or preoperative symptoms between cohorts. Fusion rates were significantly higher in the C2–T2 (93%) than the C3–T1 (80%, P=0.040) cohort. When comparing the C2–T2 to the C3–T1 cohort, the C3–T1 cohort had a significantly greater rate of proximal junctional failure (2% vs. 10%, P=0.006), distal junctional failure (1% vs. 20%, P<0.001) and distal screw loosening (4% vs. 15%, P=0.02). Although ∆C2–C7 sagittal vertical axis increased significantly in both cohorts (C2–T2: 6.2 mm, P=0.04; C3–T1: 8.4 mm, P<0.001), correction did not significantly differ between groups (P=0.32). The C3–T1 cohort had a significantly greater increase in ∆C2 slope (8.0 vs. 3.1 degrees, P=0.03) and ∆C0–C2 Cobb angle (6.4 vs. 1.2 degrees, P=0.04).

Conclusion:

In patients undergoing PCF, a C2–T2 construct demonstrated lower rates of pseudarthrosis, distal junctional failure, proximal junctional failure, and compensatory upper cervical hyperextension compared with a C3–T1 construct.
Does Cigarette Smoking Affect Cervical Laminoplasty Clinical and Radiologic Outcomes?
Authors: Liu Gabriel , Tan Jun-Hao , Tan Joshua , Ng Jing Han , Chua Jasline , Chan Yiong Huak , Riew K. Daniel
Published: December 2021

Study design:

Retrospective review.

Objective:

This study aimed to investigate if smokers have both poorer early clinical and radiologic outcomes in cervical laminoplasty when compared with nonsmokers.

Summary of Background Data:

Cigarette smoking had been reported to increase rates of pseudoarthrosis following spinal instrumentation with fusion.

Methodology:

A retrospective review of all patients who underwent open-door cervical laminoplasty was performed. Nurick, neck pain visual analog scale, and neck disability index scores were reviewed. Cervical lordosis, range of motion (ROM), and intervertebral disc height were measured. The rates and reasons for revision surgery were recorded and classified according to the etiology of laminoplasty revision surgery.

Results:

Sixty patients were recruited, of which 20 patients (18 males, 2 females) were smokers and 40 patients (27 males, 13 females) were nonsmokers. There was no statistically significant difference between smokers and nonsmokers in preoperative and postoperative visual analog scale, neck disability index, and Nurick scores. A trend was noted toward a greater postoperative reduction in cervical lordosis (13±8 vs. 11±11 degrees). Furthermore, 41% of smokers versus 30% in nonsmokers had >10% loss of postoperative ROM, and 59% smokers versus 50% nonsmokers had >5% loss of postoperative ROM.

Postoperative complications and intervertebral disc deterioration were similar in both groups. A higher reoperation rate was noted in smokers with 6 smokers (30%) as compared with 4 nonsmokers (10%), although this did not reach statistical significance. Among the smokers, 4 (20%) were because of cervical disease progression while 2 were technique related. In nonsmokers, all 4 (10%) were because of cervical disease progression.

Conclusion:

This study showed that while there was a nonstatistically significant trend noted toward higher rates of revision surgery in smokers, the laminoplasty outcomes were not significantly poorer in smokers. In heavy smokers with multilevel cervical myelopathy, laminoplasty may be the treatment of choice over anterior spinal decompression and fusion where a high risk of pseudoarthrosis is anticipated.
Comparison of Outcomes Including or Excluding the Level of Listhesis After ACDF in the Setting of Degenerative Spondylolisthesis
Authors: Karamian Brian A. , Mao Jennifer Z. , Fried Tristan B. , Robinson William A. , Canseco Jose A. , Bowles Daniel R. , Semenza Nicholas C. , Reiter David M. , Lee Joseph K. , Rihn Jeffery A. , Hilibrand Alan S. , Kaye I. David , Kepler Christopher K. , Vaccaro Alexander R. , Schroeder Gregory D.
Published: December 2021

Study Design:

This was a retrospective cohort study.

Objective:

The goal of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of patients with cervical degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) undergoing anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), specifically comparing surgeries that include versus exclude the DS level.

Summary of Background Data:

DS has been extensively studied in the lumbar spine associated with both back and leg pain leading to worse patient quality of life measures. Conversely, there is a relative dearth of literature regarding surgical and clinical outcomes in the setting of cervical DS.

Materials and Methods:

A total of 315 patients undergoing ACDF between 2014 and 2018 with minimum of 1-year postoperative patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were retrospectively reviewed. Forty-six patients were found to have DS and were categorized based on whether an ACDF was performed at the same level (SL) or at a different level (DL) than the spondylolisthesis. Patient demographics, surgical parameters, preoperative and postoperative radiographs, and PROMs were compared between groups.

Results:

Of the 315 patients, a total of 46 met the inclusion criteria including 21 SL and 25 DL patients. There were no significant differences in patient demographics between the groups. The SL cohort had a significantly worse preoperative sagittal vertical axis (SL: 34.4 vs. 26.1, P=0.025) but no difference in postoperative or delta sagittal vertical axis. Both patient cohorts reported significant postoperative improvement in all PROMs, except Short-Form 12 Mental Component Score in the SL group. There were no differences between the groups regarding Visual Analog Scale Neck, Visual Analog Scale Arm, Neck Disability Index, or Short-Form 12 Physical Component Score. Regression analysis demonstrated SL to be a significant negative predictor for improvement in Short-Form 12 Mental Component Score (β: −11.27, P=0.10).

Conclusion:

Patients treated only at their neurologically symptomatic levels, excluding asymptomatic listhesis in their construct, can expect equivalent radiographic as well as physical function, disability, and pain outcomes 1 year after ACDF compared with patients whose listhetic level was included in their construct.

Level of Evidence:

Level III.