Classical Culture Research Articles

Other Writings/Traditions

Other Writings/Traditions Christopher T. Begg, William J. Urbrock, Brian J. Meldrum, Richard A. Taylor, and Thomas Hieke Christopher T. Begg Catholic University of America William J. Urbrock University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Brian J. Meldrum Catholic University of America Richard A. Taylor Dallas Theological Seminary Thomas Hieke Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz 739. [Angels in the Mäṣḥafä Qәddase and Its Andәmta] Tedros Abraha, "The Place of the Angels in the Mäṣḥafä Qәddase (The Book of Hallowing) and in Its Andәmta," Angelic Beings, 151-74 [see #810]. A.'s contribution focuses on angelology in the Ethiopic work of his title, with particular attention to the roles and locations within the heavenly hierarchy according to that document. The 81 canonical books of the OT and NT in the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches and their mainly allegorical interpretation known as andәmta are key to the interpretation of the angelology of the above document as well as those found in the canonical 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and the Apocalypse of Ezra. Outside of its biblical sources, other important sources for the document in question are the Hexaemeron, Mäṣḥafä Aksimaros, and De Coelesti Hierarchia (Περὶ τῆς οὐρανίας Ἱεραρχίας)by Pseudo-Dionysius the Aeropagite (5th cent. a.d.). Drawing on these and still other later sources, the Mäṣḥafä Qәddase offers details regarding the creation of angels, their numbers, their organization, and their role as part of the innermost circle of the Holy Trinity. In this document, angels are linked to the founding of churches, which are built wherever drops of blood of the crucified Christ fell or were sprinkled by an angel. Despite the massive presence of angels in all aspects of religious and secular life among Ethiopians and Eritreans, it is striking that in the Geʿez work Mäṣḥafä Qәddase taken as a whole angels do not play as prominent a role as one might expect. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 740. [The Torah's Dietary Laws in the Letter of Aristeas] Anna Angelini, "The Reception and Idealization of the Torah in the Letter of Aristeas: The Case of the Dietary Laws," HeBAI 9 (4, 2020) 435-47. In the Letter of Aristeas (LA), the dietary laws are presented as a paradigm for the entire Torah. However, the summary of the dietary laws given by the author in ¶¶128-171 does not, for the most part, literally quote the biblical texts in question, but rather reflects a considerable degree of interpretation regarding these laws. This paper examines the relationship between biblical traditions and Greek cultural referents in the Letter's presentation [End Page 246] of the dietary and sacrificial laws against the background of other Second Temple period texts which feature a reception of these laws, e.g., Philo, Josephus, and the Qumran materials. I argue that while the presentation of the dietary laws in the Letter attests to the considerable authority this section of the Torah had for the author from a symbolic point of view, it nonetheless offer little evidence for the practice and content of a dietary halacha. See ##679, 695. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] Google Scholar 741. [Philo's Exegesis of the Dream of Jacob (Gen 28:10-22) in Somn. 1,1-188] Anne Boiché, "La place de l'Écriture dans l'exégèse du rêve de Jacob (Somn. 1,1-188)," Religion et rationalité, 9-27 [see #796]. B.'s study on the place of Scripture in the exegesis of Philo highlights the methodical fashion in which Philo develops his thought, not only taking the text of Scripture as his starting point, but also, and especially, proceeding in company with it. The dialogue between the scriptural text and Philo's interpretation of this unfolds by way of Philo's close work with scriptural citations, which sometimes are abbreviated or even implicit, as required by the nature of the Philonic commentary, but also via a process of reciprocal clarification on the basis of classical culture, this leading to an exegesis that is Philo's own, but always closely linked to the text of Scripture. [Translated and adapted...

ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Ḥammouda’s Modernist Critical Theory as a Combination of Classical Arab Heritage and Modernist Western Culture

The Egyptian critic ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Ḥammouda grew in an important period of the twentieth century that is characterized by benefitting from the Western critical theories. The Arab critics’ responses to them varied in attitude and interaction. In that period, the Arab critic stood at a sharp turning point, torn by his desire to keep up with modernism, and his tendency to create an Arab modernism that establishes a modern critical method. Western modernism fascinated a lot of Arab critics and thus, it prevailed and abolished the identity of the classical and modern Arab critic, who got lost amidst the various critical trends. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Ḥammouda’s project embodied one of the most important theoretical references of modern Arab criticism in which he drew from the Arab classical culture and Western cultural wells, combining between the originality of the Arab heritage and the modernism of the incoming Western knowledge. This study discusses in detail Hammouda’s theory and makes conclusions, which are mainly based on his views in his two main books: al-Maraya al-Muḥadaba. Min al-Bunyawiya ila al-Tafkikiya (1999), which was considered by some critics to be antagonistic to the modernistic critics; and al-Maraya al-Muqa ʿara naḥwa Naẓariya Naqdiya ʿArabiya (2001). The study concludes that Ḥammouda’s theory constitutes a visionary promising solution that can help get the modernist Arab critics and criticism out of their labyrinth.

A Comparative Study of the Translation of “Xiao” in The Analects of Confucius Based on LancsBox

“ Xiao” is the foundation of traditional Chinese culture, and The Analects of Confucius, as an important part of traditional Chinese classical culture, is an indispensable sample for the study of Chinese “Xiao” culture, and has an irreplaceable position in the history of the foreign dissemination of Chinese classics. The English translation of The Analects of Confucius by Chinese and Western translators has its own distinctive features. This paper takes the English translations of The Analects ofConfucius by Ku Hung-Ming and James Legge as an example, and uses LancsBox, a new corpus analysis tool, to compare the similarities and differences of their translations of the core concept word “Xiao” and the reasons for the differences in translation. The author also proposes some suggestions for the future translation and dissemination of the Chinese classics from the English translation of “Xiao”.

The use of bacteriophages against saprophytic mesophilic bacteria in minimally processed food [pdf

The use of bacteriophages against saprophytic mesophilic bacteria in minimally processed food [pdf

The use of bacteriophages against saprophytic mesophilic bacteria in minimally processed food.

The use of bacteriophages against saprophytic mesophilic bacteria in minimally processed food.

Fixed nature and dynamic processes in Hahnemann's thought

Background and Aims. At least since classical Greek philosophy two opposite vews are facing, the one of Heraclitus, affirming that all things are in a continuous flux, and the other of Parmenides, the assertor of changelessness. The aim of present contribution is to consider if and how the tension between such views continues to permeate several features of the culture, including the thought of S. Hahnemann.
 Methods. This will be achieved through the examination of some cases in the natural sciences and human sciences, including Hahnemann’s writings.
 Few examples are presented here. The living being can be viewed as a thing genetically determined, or as an open and dynamic complex of processes interacting mutually and with the environment at metabolic and informational levels. The central nervous system is seen to underlie both automatic, and creative behaviours. A species is considered a pure ideal type, or a historically varying population of similar individuals. The basic traits of human behaviour are attributed to an unchanging nature (better, a nature undergoing slow Darwinian changes), or to a culture evolving in a rapid Lamarckian way. Within an integrated view of the person one may consider both the four fixed human constitutions (see H. Bernard; M. Martiny; N. Pende; A. Negro), and their four changing constitutional stages (see H. Bernard). Classical culture highlights the paramount importance of universal principles, while postmodern culture highlights proteanism, liquid state, patchwork.
 In particular, we may encounter such two views in the thought of Hahnemann on diseases. They are found in his writings respectively on the chronic diseaes, and on the so-called non-miasmatic diseases. About chronic diseases, he wrote that they are primitive, deeply-rooted, underlying external symptoms, old, universal, always recurring, internal, and do not desappear even when external symptoms of acute diseases desappeared, while the whole symptoms of them must be extensivery taken into account. About non-miasmatic diseases, he wrote that the complex of symptoms of a single case, which is always different for each individual case, cannot be foreseen, nor schematized, nor taken as a model, nor treated by an a priori chosen remedy or with a priori rules different from the strict application of the so-called law of similars, experimentally established.
 Conclusions. We may conclude that Hahnemann’s integrated consideration of diseases takes into account both the fixed characteristics of the chronic ones and the dynamic processes of the acute ones, so that the two above views appear to be not opposed, but perfectly integrated.

Profile of Volatile Compounds in Dessert Yogurts Prepared from Cow and Goat Milk, Using Different Starter Cultures and Probiotics.

The purpose of this study was to determine the profile of volatile compounds (aroma) and overall flavor in dessert yogurts prepared from cow and goat milk, using three different, commercially available starter cultures, in the presence or absence of probiotic bacteria and to correlate this to organoleptic evaluation results obtained using a consumer acceptability method. The extraction of volatile compounds was carried out by solid phase micro-extraction; separation and analysis by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Variations among the different classes of compounds (i.e., aldehydes, alcohols, ketones, volatile acids, hydrocarbons, and terpenes) were recorded for different treatments. The results showed that the main volatiles in the cow milk dessert yogurts without Bifidobacterium BB-12 were: acetaldehyde, 2,3-butanedione, 2,3-pentanedione, 3-OH-2-butanone, 2-propanone, hexanoic acid and limonene). Respective volatiles in cow milk dessert yogurts with Bifidobacterium BB-12 were: acetaldehyde, pentanal, hexanal, the same ketones, acetic acid and limonene). The volatiles in goat milk dessert yogurts without Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 were: acetaldehyde, the same ketones, no carboxylic acids, limonene, camphene, α- and β-pinene. Respective volatiles in goat milk dessert yogurts with Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5 were: aldehydes acetaldehyde, the same ketones, butanoic acid, α-pinene and camphene varying in concentration in different samples. Based on the results of volatiles and organoleptic evaluation, it can be concluded that dessert yogurts from cow milk without probiotic bacterial strains using the mild and classic starter cultures, and dessert yogurts from goat milk with probiotic bacterial strains using the classic and acidic starter cultures are found to be more organoleptically acceptable by consumers. In most cases, a positive correlation was found between dessert yogurt organoleptically determined flavor and volatiles (aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids).

Culture-Independent Survey of Thermophilic Microbial Communities of the North Caucasus.

Simple SummaryThe Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, located in the southern part of the North Caucasus, possess a number of hydrothermal habitats, including both subterranean thermal reservoirs and terrestrial hot springs. At the same time, reports on microbiology of numerous geothermal sites are rather scarce for the whole North Caucasus region. In this paper, we report on the first culture-independent metabarcoding study of thermal habitats in the North Caucasus, coupled with a chemical analysis of the elemental composition of water. The results of this work include the conclusions regarding key metabolic characteristics of these habitats as well as detection of few but abundant deep lineages of uncultivated microorganisms which could be regarded as endemic. This study may represent a first step in closing the knowledge gap in extremophilic microbial communities of the North Caucasus.The Greater Caucasus is a part of seismically active Alpine–Himalayan orogenic belt and has been a center of significant volcanic activity during the Quaternary period. That led to the formation of the number of hydrothermal habitats, including subterranean thermal aquifers and surface hot springs. However, there are only a limited number of scientific works reporting on the microbial communities of these habitats. Moreover, all these reports concern only studies of specific microbial taxa, carried out using classical cultivation approaches. In this work, we present first culture-independent study of hydrotherms in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, located in the southern part of the North Caucasus. Using 16S metabarcoding, we analyzed the composition of the microbial communities of two subterranean thermal aquifers and terrestrial hot springs of the Karmadon valley. Analysis of correlations between the chemical composition of water and the representation of key taxa allowed us to identify the key factors determining the formation of microbial communities. In addition, we were able to identify a significant number of highly abundant deep phylogenetic lineages. Our study represents a first glance on the thermophilic microbial communities of the North Caucasus and may serve as a basis for further microbiological studies of the extreme habitats of this region.

Niewygodne dziedzictwo?

Uncomfortable Heritage? The Meaning of Pagan Antiquity in the Space of Christian Rome The decline of paganism in Late Antiquity contributed to the transformation of culture of the roman society. With the victory of Christianity, which became firstly a dominant and later the only accepted religion, the objects of the classical culture became a problematic heritage. The aim of the paper is to present the Christians’ shifting attitude towards the material remains of the pagan culture and the way in which they influenced and shaped the identity of the Christian community. These processes are analyzed on the example of Rome in the period from the 4th to the 6th century. Special attention is paid to the area of the Roman Forum, which was characterized by exceptional accumulation and density of the monuments which constituted the pagan heritage. Since it was the central and representative space, the symbolical character of the forum was very important for the leaders of the local community and its transformations reflect very well the changing attitude of the Christians towards the pagan heritage.

Talus: Etymology of a Ludonym and how the Names of an Ancient Gaming Practice could be Indicative of Processes of Cultural Transmission and Stratification

This paper presents the complex history of the names given to knucklebones by different ancient civilizations. During the whole of antiquity these particular gaming tools had precise cultural and symbolical connotations, which influenced their gaming use and crossed many social, chronological, geographical and cultural boundaries.The peculiar role played by knucklebones within human gaming practices stretches across several millennia. In western Europe during the early Middle Ages, their use went into decline in favour of cubic dice. Over the centuries scholarship has overlapped and confounded the terminology relating to these two different gaming traditions, causing many misunderstandings and translation issues.However, thanks to advances in the field of game studies and through the examination of literary, iconographic and archaeological data, it is possible to establish the original names given to games using astragals and also the complex signifiers and implications that they had for classical culture.

Diagnostic methods for the etiological assessment of infectious corneal pathology (Review).

Infectious keratitis is a leading cause of visual morbidity, including blindness, all across the globe, especially in developing countries. Prompt and adequate treatment is mandatory to maintain corneal integrity and to recover the best possible final visual acuity. Although in most of the cases practitioners chose to employ empirical broad-spectrum antimicrobial medication that is usually effective, in some instances, they face the need to identify the causative agent to establish the appropriate therapy. An extensive search was conducted on published literature before December 2020 concerning the main laboratory investigations used to identify the microbial agents found in infectious keratitis, their indications, advantages, and disadvantages, as well as the results reported by other studies concerning different diagnostic tools. At present, the gold standard for diagnosis is still considered to be the isolation of microorganisms in cultures, along with the examination of smears, but other newer techniques, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), next-generation sequencing (NGS), and in vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) have gained popularity in the last decades. Currently, these newer methods have proved to be valuable adjuvants in making the diagnosis, but technological advances hold promise that, in the future, these methods will have increased performance and availability, and may become the new gold standard, replacing the classic cultures and smears.

The Saharo-Canarian Circle: The forgotten Prehistory of Euro African Atlantic façade and its lack of eastern demic diffusion evidences

Canarians, North Africans and Iberians show a close genetic relatedness. Greeks have a Sub-Saharan gene input according to HLA and other autosomic markers. Also, there is a genetic kinship between both Atlantic Euro Africans and North African/Arabic people. This is concordant with a drying humid Sahara Desert, which may have occurred about 6,000 years BC, and the subsequent northwards emigration of Saharan people may have also happened in Pharaonic times. This genetic input into Atlantic and Mediterranean Europe/Africa is also supported with Lineal Megalithic Scripts in Canary Islands (as well as in Iberia) together with simple Iberian semi-syllabary rock inscriptions both at Canary Islands and Ti-m Missaou (Algeria, Central southern Sahara). Lineal African/European scripts are found in certain languages scripts like Berber/Tuareg, Iberian, Runes, Etruscan, Bulgarian (Sitovo and Gradeshnitza, 6,000 years BP), Italian Old Scripts (Lepontic, Venetic, Raetic), Minoan Lineal A and Vinca scripts (Romania, Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, about 4,000 years BP). The possibility that Megalithic Lineal Scripts have given rise to these languages lineal writing is feasible because admixture of languages rock scripts and Megalithic Lineal Scripts have been found. Thus, resistance of Canarian aborigines (Guanches) to Carthage, Rome and Arabs left a bulk of Canarian-Saharan information which is used to study both Saharan and Canarian Prehistory, and also Atlantic and Mediterranean beginning of European and other civilizations: this preserved prehistoric inheritance may be named the “Saharo-Canarian Circle” of prehistoric knowledge. Also, linguistics-epigraphy, physical anthropology, archaeology, and domesticated cattle shows a close North Africa-Iberia Mesolithic/Neolithic relationship and demonstrates that the demic diffusion model does not exist in Iberia. Also, Tassili Sahara paintings of domesticated cattle appear 1,000 years before those agricultural practices started at Middle East. Finally, it is also inferred that circum-Mediterranean contacts during thousand years between ice and desert constructed Mediterranean cultures from Canary Islands to Ancient Great Persia and this is the origin of Classical Mediterranean cultures that was later exclusively attributed to Rome and Greece.

Peptide or Protein‐Protected Metal Nanoclusters for Therapeutic Application

Comprehensive SummaryMetal nanoclusters have attracted much attention due to their ultra‐small size and unique properties. The integration of protein or peptide can bring a synergistic effect on the physicochemical and physiological properties of metal clusters. Metal nanoclusters protected by peptides or proteins exhibit excellent biocompatibility and better disease therapeutic effects. We focus on developing new metal nanoclusters and exploring their therapeutic mechanism, including inhibiting enzyme activity, mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA strand break, and block of the signal pathway. What is the most favorite and original chemistry developed in your research group?The most favorite and original work we have done is the development of gold nanoclusters for diagnostic and therapeutic application.How do you get into this specific field? Could you please share some experiences with our readers?I have a great passion for research on bioanalytical imaging and the biomedical effects of nanomaterials, which may contribute to early diagnosis and treatment of diseases. My research is focused on exploring the mechanism of protein or peptide‐protected metal nanoclusters in disease diagnosis and treatment with the expectation of leading to superior therapeutic outcomes.What is the most important personality for scientific research?In my opinion, respect for originality, bold imagination, and innovationare the most important qualities of scientific research.What is your favorite journal(s)?My favorite journal is Nature Nanotechnology, where we can see the top and latest research progress on nanomaterials and learn about the superiority of nanomaterials and their potential for development.What are your hobbies?I love classical culture, poetry, the beauty of the mood. I also like history, and enjoy visiting historical places to appreciate the local customs.If you have anything else to tell our readers, please feel free to do so.I hope that people who have just started independent research work will not rush for quick success, plan your own direction systematically from the long‐term development. Never go flat, but keep "climbing".

Haemophilus Influenzae Type B-Diseases

Haemophilus influenzae is a small Gram negative coccobacillus colonizing the respiratory tract of humans. The bacterium may cause direct local infections like otitis media, as well as severe invasive diseases like meningitis. In the prevaccine era, of the 6 capsular serotypes (a–f), type b caused the majority of invasive disease cases, whereas “nontypeable H. influenzae” (NTHi) and other capsular types predominate today. H. influenzae infections affect mainly children <5 years as well as persons >60 years with underlying diseases like COPD. Diagnosis of Hib disease is performed by classical microbiological culture techniques, antigen detection tests and polymerase chain reaction from blood samples, CSF or puncture samples. If untreated or if treatment is delayed, invasive Hib diseases may result in severe consequences such as hearing loss, chronic seizures, learning disabilities, and even death. Safe and effective polysaccharide-conjugate vaccines have been available for children for almost 30 years, reducing invasive Hib-incidences from about 60 to <1 / 105. Today, largely DTP-based Hib-combinations are used. After the primary series with 2 or 3 doses depending on the product and local recommendations, a booster dose in the second year of life is needed to ensure long-term protection.

The Investigation of Mycotoxins and Enterobacteriaceae of Cereal-Based Baby Foods Marketed in Turkey.

In this study, a total of 85 cereal-based baby foods with or without milk (four different brands; A, B, C, and D) collected from Ankara local markets, Turkey were analyzed for mycotoxins, total aerobic mesophilic bacteria (TAMB), and Enterobacteriaceae contamination. Baby foods were analyzed for 12 toxicological important mycotoxins such as aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, and G2; fumonisin B1 and B2; ochratoxin A; sterigmatocystin (STE); deoxynivalenol (DON); zearalenone (ZON); and T-2 toxin and HT-2 toxin by LC-MS/MS multi-mycotoxin method. In addition to these mycotoxins, the presence of aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) was investigated in baby foods containing milk. The classical culture method was used for microbiological analysis. Consequently, at least one mycotoxin was detected in 69.41% of the total samples. The most frequently detected mycotoxins were STE (34.12%) and HT-2 (34.12%). However, AFM1 was not detected in any of the baby foods containing milk. Also, TAMB and Enterobacteriaceae were isolated from 30.59% and 10.59% of samples, respectively. As a result, it was determined that the mycotoxin levels in the analyzed samples were in accordance with the mycotoxin levels specified in the Turkish Food Codex.

Single cell-derived spheroids capture the self-renewing subpopulations of metastatic ovarian cancer

High Grade Serous Ovarian cancer (HGSOC) is a major unmet need in oncology, due to its precocious dissemination and the lack of meaningful human models for the investigation of disease pathogenesis in a patient-specific manner. To overcome this roadblock, we present a new method to isolate and grow single cells directly from patients’ metastatic ascites, establishing the conditions for propagating them as 3D cultures that we refer to as single cell-derived metastatic ovarian cancer spheroids (sMOCS). By single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) we define the cellular composition of metastatic ascites and trace its propagation in 2D and 3D culture paradigms, finding that sMOCS retain and amplify key subpopulations from the original patients’ samples and recapitulate features of the original metastasis that do not emerge from classical 2D culture, including retention of individual patients’ specificities. By enabling the enrichment of uniquely informative cell subpopulations from HGSOC metastasis and the clonal interrogation of their diversity at the functional and molecular level, this method provides a powerful instrument for precision oncology in ovarian cancer.

Culture and application of thymic organoids: a review

The thymus is a pivotal immune organ of the human body, and it is the place where T cells differentiate and mature. The damage of thymus would easily induce autoimmune diseases and even malignant tumors. For years, researchers have been exploring the process of T cell development and revealing the mechanism of thymic injury and regeneration generally through the monolayer culture system of T cells in vitro. However, the classic monolayer culture system could neither reproduce the unique three-dimensional epithelial reticular structure of the thymus, nor provide the cytokines and growth factors required for the directed differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into T cells. Thymic organoid technology utilizes cells with stem cell potential to simulate the anatomical structure of the thymus and the signaling pathway mediated by thymic epithelial cells in vitro through three-dimensional culture, which is particularly close to the microenvironment of the thymus in vivo. Thymic organoids show great potential in the study of T cell differentiation and development, thymus-related diseases, reconstruction of immune function, and cell therapy. This paper summarizes the methods for culturing thymic organoids, followed by comparing the advantages and disadvantages of the scaffolds used for culturing. The applications of thymic organoids in the disease model, tumor-targeting therapy, regenerative medicine, and organ transplantation were also discussed, with possible future research directions prospected.

Introduction

The graphic design of this issue of The Ignatianum Philosophical Year- book front cover includes the entrance gate to the Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow. The gate itself is transformed into a triumphal arch opening towards the road recognizable to every person who feels a bond with the cultural heritage of the Western world. This road is the via Appia, once built by the will of Appius Claudius Caecus, and considered one of the oldest Roman tracts. Called “the queen of all roads” by the Romans them- selves, it is inseparable from the Eternal City for everyone raised on the values of Western civilization. Mikołaj Sęp-Szarzyński wrote about it in his famous epitaph: “today in Rome defeated, Rome invincible,” express- ing this way the overwhelming awareness of connecting the past with what we experience as the present. It was on this road that the legendary scene recalled by Henryk Sienkiewicz took place, in which the question: quo vadis, Domine? is asked by the apostle Peter, fleeing from the Eternal City, to Christ he meets on the Appian Way. The power of this question is understood by anyone who is able to see in the roots of Classical and Christian culture all that is the most important for the Western culture not only in terms of its past, but also in terms of its future.

Characterization of the Transient Deficiency of PKC Isozyme Levels in Immature Cord Blood T Cells and Its Connection to Anti-Allergic Cytokine Profiles of the Matured Cells.

Cord blood T cells (CBTC) from a proportion of newborns express low/deficient levels of some protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes, with low levels of PKCζ correlating with increased risk of developing allergy and associated decrease in interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) producing T cells. Interestingly, these lower levels of PKCζ were increased/normalized by supplementing women during pregnancy with n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. However, at present, we have little understanding of the transient nature of the deficiency in the neonate and how PKCζ relates to other PKC isozymes and whether their levels influence maturation into IFN-γ producing T cells. There is also no information on PKCζ isozyme levels in the T cell subpopulations, CD4+ and CD8+ cells. These issues were addressed in the present study using a classical culture model of neonatal T cell maturation, initiated with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and recombinant human interleukin-2 (rhIL-2). Of the isozymes evaluated, PKCζ, β2, δ, μ, ε, θ and λ/ι were low in CBTCs. The PKC isozyme deficiencies were also found in the CD4+ and CD8+ T cell subset levels of the PKC isozymes correlated between the two subpopulations. Examination of changes in the PKC isozymes in these deficient cells following addition of maturation signals showed a significant increase in expression within the first few hours for PKCζ, β2 and μ, and 1–2 days for PKCδ, ε, θ and λ/ι. Only CBTC PKCζ isozyme levels correlated with cytokine production, with a positive correlation with IFN-γ, interleukin (IL)-2 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF), and a negative association with IL-9 and IL-10. The findings reinforce the specificity in using CBTC PKCζ levels as a biomarker for risk of allergy development and identify a period in which this can be potentially ‘corrected’ after birth.

Review of Poematica del Principio Tai Chi, by Massimo Mori

This review covers the book Poematica del Principio Tai Chi (Firenze, Italy, 2020) by Massimo Mori, that gather a lifetime multicultural researches converging on the Tai Chi, Supreme Principle coming from the unknowable Dao. When applied to the martial art, tai chi becomes taijiquan, “Punch of the Supreme Principle”. The first chapters provide the coordinates to deepen a holistic paradigm through different trajectories ranging from the classical cultures of the East and the West to the globalized contemporaneity. Complex and fascinating themes are creatively addressed in the subsequent chapters. The book ranges from theology to theoretical philosophy, from physics to literature and art, even to cinema. The chapters on I Qing and Daodejing indicate how the holistic vision of a conscious wisdom can be defined as systemic and essential in the relationship between culture and nature. If the Dao is the Way, this has to be followed in the name of a natural ethic that the Daodejing shows with an enlightening wisdom. Thus, the practice of Taijiquan becomes the “martial art of peace” and the Taiji Supreme Principle, practicable in every activity, is the paradigm of a renewed humanism. Massimo Mori is considered among the masters who have dedicated their existence to the wisdom vision of a New Horizon – as he called his school - and his book is a premise to imagine peace between East and West, between all the people of the globe living under the same sky.