Colour Plates Research Articles

A rare Philippine plant found again after almost a century: the rediscovery and lectotypification of Acranthera philippinensis (Rubiaceae)

A floristic excursion in Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines led to the rediscovery of Acranthera philippinensis, an endemic Rubiaceous taxon with very limited information since 1905. This study provided a detailed description, a color plate, a distribution map of A. philippinensis, and information on its habitat and phenology. Based on the IUCN guidelines, A. philippinensis is provisionally categorized as Endangered (EN). In addition, a lectotype is also designated for this name. The findings of this study demonstrate the urgent need for more botanical research to be conducted in the Philippines, where numerous species await recollection and discovery.

Notre-Dame of Amiens: Life of the Gothic Cathedral by Stephen Murray

Reviewed by: Notre-Dame of Amiens: Life of the Gothic Cathedral by Stephen Murray Michael T. Davis Notre-Dame of Amiens: Life of the Gothic Cathedral. By Stephen Murray. (New York: Columbia University Press. 2021. Pp. xii, 440. Numerous color and black-and-white illustrations. $40.00. ISBN 9780231195768.) Beginning with the first stories, writers have guided readers through the built environment. The author of The Epic of Gilgamesh transports us to the third [End Page 190] millennium BC and the Mesopotamian city of Uruk urging us to, “Look at its wall which gleams like copper, inspect its inner wall, the like of which no one can equal! (Tablet 1)” Some, like Abbot Suger in his “little books” (libelli), or Frank Lloyd Wright in the Autobiography, take center stage to explain the political and spiritual motivations or the creative processes that informed their active roles in building projects. Others offer a shared experience emulating Pliny the Younger, who wrote of his Tuscan villa to his friend Domitius Apollinaris: “I . . . set out in this letter to take you with me round every corner of my estate. . . (Pliny, Epistulae, 5.6), ” or John the Evangelist, who reports the vision of “the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven” shown to him by an angelic chaperon (Rev. 21: 10–21). Scholarly writers, on the other hand, tend to stand discreetly in the wings directing buildings to tell their stories supported by a cast of patrons, craftsmen, documents, and institutions. Stephen Murray, in Notre-Dame of Amiens: Life of the Gothic Cathedral, inspired by John Ruskin’s The Bible of Amiens (1864), revives the role of the interlocutor—“the person who points and talks and guides” (p. 14)—to narrate the long life of an edifice that has been called “the Parthenon of Gothic architecture.” In an earlier book, Notre-Dame, Cathedral of Amiens: The Power of Change in Gothic (Cambridge, 1996), Murray foregrounded construction of the thirteenth-century structure, significantly refining understanding of the sequence of building and the sources behind its design. The present volume recalculates the narrative path while extending coverage into the sixteenth century to include the additions and urgent repairs that created the cathedral that, by and large, we see today. Chapter 1, “Visiting the Cathedral” (pp. 14–98) briskly reviews the history of the city from its Roman origins as Samarobriva to its florescence as a prosperous and strategically vital node of the Capetian kingdom. With the historical background in place, Murray then steps across the temporal threshold to tour the present cathedral as a whole, first circling the exterior, then moving into the interior, and finally ascending to thread through the triforium and around the flying buttresses. Black-and-white plans and photographs, many of them also reproduced as color plates, follow the verbal commentary, but the true companion to the text is the Columbia University Media Center for Art History website (https://projects.mcah.columbia.edu/amiens-arthum/content/home-page), which contains a comprehensive and dynamic dossier of high-resolution photographs, panoramas, and sound recordings. The panoramas, especially, afford a measure of independence, permitting the viewer to look up and down, zoom in and out, or explore space in a non-sequential route. Chapter 2 (pp. 99–158) surveys the five portals of the cathedral. The three west portals capture the arc of history from the Old Testament prophets on the outer faces of the buttresses to the Virgin portal and the Incarnation of Christ on the right, Saint Firmin the Martyr, venerated as the principal saint of the city, to the left, culminating with the Last Judgment in the center. Here, Murray stresses [End Page 191] the active relation of sculptural subjects to the liturgical life of the cathedral. For example, the Invention and Translation of the relics of Saint Firmin on January 13 was staged in procession, while the lush foliate band that rings the cathedral interior recalls the accompanying miracle of the leaves. As past and present, sculpted images and living actors merge across space, the cathedral reveals “the wider power of the Gothic to transform physical observation and sensation into religious and spiritual affect” (p. 226). Chapters 3, 4, and...

New Books across the Disciplines

New Books across the Disciplines

EFFECT OF PROCESSING CONDITIONS ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF GREEN TEA (CAMELLIA SINENSIS) FORTIFIED PINEAPPLE FRUIT LEATHER

The present work aims to study the Effect of Processing Conditions on the Physicochemical attributes of Green Tea (Camellia sinensis) fortified Pineapple Leather. The drying process employed a hot air oven dryer with a blend of pineapple and green tea-fortified pulp, utilizing three distinct drying temperatures (70 °C, 80 °C, and 90 °C). The resulting fruit leather underwent comprehensive assessment for physicochemical, textural, microbial, and sensory properties. These properties encompassed titrable acidity, ascorbic acid content, color, taste, overall acceptability, and total plate count. The results indicate that the incorporation of green tea into the Pineapple Leather led to an increase in titrable acidity and ascorbic acid content. However, as temperatures increased, attributes including color, flavor, and overall desirability began to deteriorate. The analysis further revealed that the maximum values for total soluble solids, moisture content, ash content, ascorbic acid, titrable acidity, and total sugar content were recorded at 70.5° Brix, 18.04% (wet basis), 1.55%, 91.3 mg/100g, 0.42%, 4.88, and 45.96%, respectively. The resultant fruit leather not only enhances the processing value of both pineapple and the underutilized, highly nutritious green tea but also contributes to the amelioration of consumers’ nutritional intake. This study underscores that the optimal temperature setting of the hot air oven substantially enhances the overall nutritional profile and acceptability of the final product.

The Incomparable Monsignor: Francesco Bianchini’s world of science, history, and court intrigue by John L. Heilbron

Reviewed by: The Incomparable Monsignor: Francesco Bianchini’s world of science, history, and court intrigue by John L. Heilbron Christopher M. Graney The Incomparable Monsignor: Francesco Bianchini’s world of science, history, and court intrigue. By John L. Heilbron. (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2022. Pp. vi, 327; 16 color plates. $27.95 hardbound. ISBN: 9780192856654.) Francesco Bianchini (1662–1729) was Superman. “Was there nothing Monsignor Bianchini could not do better than anyone else?” (p. 227) Apparently not. He did archaeology, history, diplomacy, spy craft, engineering, astronomy, and more. J. L. Heilbron has brought us church history through books on Galileo (2010) and on cathedrals as solar observatories (1999)—the latter provided many a Catholic apologist with a cherished quotation in its bold opening statement about the Church’s long support of science. The Incomparable is a readable, illustrated, informative addition to those books. Particularly appealing are The Incomparable’s sections about the meridian line (meridiana) that Bianchini built at Santa Maria degli Angeli church in Rome, and about Bianchini and Isaac Newton each reckoning a date for the sailing of Jason’s ship, [End Page 208] the Argos. The meridiana discussion shows Bianchini’s care for science and for making science interesting to others. He builds the meridiana to be both precise and beautiful. He works on its construction “night and day” (p. 94) for six months, thanks to his abilities (beyond those of ordinary men). He fits it with markers to indicate dates that interest important people. The Argos discussion shows how even supermen reflect their times (pp. 140–156). Newton was sure that all civilization derives from the ancient Jews; thus his dating efforts had to both fit that axiom and satisfy his keen mind. Bianchini had similar interests. Newton kept his to himself, but Heilbron thinks the English superman shared his secrets with the Italian (p. 151)—two keen minds (similarly keen, The Incomparable hints) undertaking an interdisciplinary labor that sought to pull archaeology, astronomy, ancient texts, and faith into a coherent narrative. Heilbron admires his Superman. Upon quoting Bianchini on how well-regulated minds following experts can approach truth, Heilbron marvels, “There spoke a senator of the Republic of Letters” (p. 205). Yet he burdens Superman with the old Kryptonite curse: Copernicus—of course. When the Kryptonite appears, the senator, the mind that thought with Newton, grows weak. He forgets truth. He capitulates to powerful people “unwilling to concede a lost game” (p. 13) who wield “soft arguments” (p. 11) against Copernicus. He accepts “the incomprehensible dogma” (p. 14) of the Church. Why? The Incomparable is a refreshing portrayal of a Catholic man of many talents, supported by and on good terms with his Pope and his Church, none of whom behave incomprehensibly—except for this. At times Heilbron does back off the trope, discussing Tycho Brahe and the parallax of stars and hinting at the complexity of the question of Earth’s motion and the evolving science of Bianchini’s lifetime that all might have made the game seem less than lost. Still, the index of The Incomparable has an entry for “spitoons” but none for “stars,” where lay the hard scientific arguments involved in that complexity. Heilbron treats Argos dating with more sympathy than Bianchini’s (supposed) Kryptonian flaw. The Incomparable’s own Kryptonite is its editing. There are technical errors that should have been caught, most obviously in the description of the meridiana (p. 92): Polaris in AD 2100 is closest to the celestial pole, not farthest; this scrambles at least a paragraph. There are also figures that contain letters indicating details, to which Heilbron often refers at length. The figures are small; the letters are nearly invisible. Some, such as Fig. 23, I could make use of, thanks to my large magnifying glass. Others, such as Figs. 30 and 31, defeated even the magnifier. There are no figures at all of Bianchini’s drawings of Venus, despite much discussion of those drawings. These hurt multiple paragraphs. The overall hurt to the book is not too great, however. Read The Incomparable—with a microscope, and a little skepticism, at hand. [End Page 209] Christopher M. Graney Vatican Observatory Copyright © 2023 The Catholic University...

Ingenuity in the Making: Matter and Technique in Early Modern Europe ed. by Richard J. Oosterhoff, José Ramón Marcaida, and Alexander Marr

Reviewed by: Ingenuity in the Making: Matter and Technique in Early Modern Europe ed. by Richard J. Oosterhoff, José Ramón Marcaida, and Alexander Marr Karel Davids (bio) Ingenuity in the Making: Matter and Technique in Early Modern Europe Edited by Richard J. Oosterhoff, José Ramón Marcaida, and Alexander Marr. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2021. Pp. 382. "Ingenuity" was a commonplace term in early modern Europe. References abound in the arts and sciences of the time, although the meaning of the word could differ widely. Historians have scrutinized the concept from various angles, especially studying the history of engineering, the history of rhetoric, and the development of art theory. While acknowledging the important insights produced by these established lines of inquiry, the editors of this volume nonetheless claim that a fresh perspective is needed. The history of ingenuity has in their view been too much subordinated to the history of genius. They aim to redirect research on the subject by looking at all kinds of makers, whether geniuses or not, and probing into the many different ways in which makers engaged with matter and designed ingenious objects. The volume thus offers a very diverse set of papers. There are essays on mining literature, calligraphy, anatomy, medical training, alchemy, the role of vapors in the philosophy of Francis Bacon, the meaning of gems in the writings of Robert Boyle, the uses of minerals set in elaborate metal cups in the shape of coconuts, sculptures with movable parts as an aid to devotion, sundials in Renaissance gardens, and a magical lamp burning human blood described by alchemist Johann Ernst Burggrav. Finally, there are a few contributions that examine changes in the concept of ingenuity over time and how Europeans reflected on, or appropriated, specimens of ingenuity produced in other parts of the world. Sixteen beautiful color plates accompany the texts. All essays are paragons of erudition. All of them are very learned and a pleasure to read. Readers are nevertheless left wondering what this variety of well-crafted case studies eventually contributes to a better understanding [End Page 259] of the concept of ingenuity, apart from the observation that ingenuity in the early modern period was an even more complex and pluriform concept than previously thought. Ingenuity not only had to do with genius—that is a hard fact the contributions in this volume make abundantly clear. However, it would have been helpful if the editors had added a concluding analysis uncovering some patterns in the wealth of empirical evidence. The essay that comes nearest to such an analytical approach is Marieke Hendriksen's excellent piece on the shift of concepts in eighteenth-century theories of art and craft. Hendriksen concentrates on the demise of ingenuity and the rise of genius and technique in German thinking about the visual arts around 1800. She argues that ingenuity lost its central role in art theory as the need arose for a new language to distinguish innate talent and acquired skill in the appreciation of fine art. Genius became the preferred designation for the former, technique for the latter. The concept of ingenuity, which intersected the mind-hand distinction, was not suitable for this purpose, but it retained its use in other areas where making and knowing were seen to be interconnected, such as engineering. Hendriksen's essay also leads us to a fundamental question that the editors, alas, do not address in their introduction. Granted that the concept of ingenuity in the early modern period could be applied to so many makers and artifacts, did it actually have any limits at all? Were there any restrictions to its use? Perhaps there were—if you read between the lines. Although the words "craft" and "artisans" appear a few times in this volume, the case studies do not refer to guilds or guildsmen, nor does the index. None of the case studies discuss the relevance of guild rules for makers or artifacts, which have been the subject of a growing body of historiography of late. The discourse on ingenuity in the early modern period was apparently completely removed from the world of guilds, even if these organizations remained key institutions in many European economies...

The Broadview Anthology of Medieval Arthurian Literature, ed. by Kathy Cawsey and Elizabeth Edwards. Peterborough, Ont.: broadview press, 2024, 506 pp., 1 b/w fig., 10 color plates.

Undoubtedly, the genres of Arthurian romances and verse narratives continue to appeal deeply to the current generation, and we can be certain that focusing on those texts in our seminars will help tremendously to attract enough students. Of course, heroic poetry, courtly love poetry, the fabliaux or mæren also prove to be of timeless value. Kathy Cawsey and Elizabeth Edwards here present a hefty anthology of Arthurian texts in modern English translation, hence for English-speaking students. I can well imagine that this book could become very useful for a course at the university level, with no other text editions/translations necessary.

Taxonomic studies of Araceae in Myanmar IV: A new species, a new record and a new synonym for the genus Amorphophallus

Amorphophallus wasa Naive, K. Z. Hein & Hett., is described and illustrated as a species new to science from the Sagaing Region, Myanmar. It is morphologically similar to A. saraburiensis Gagnep., but can be easily distinguished by its unilocular ovaries and lack of staminodes between pistillate and staminate zones. A detailed description, colour plates, phenology, distribution map, provisional conservation status and a key to the Amorphophallus species from Myanmar are provided. In addition, A. elatus Hook. f. is reported as a newly recorded species for Myanmar, and the name A. corrugatus N.E.Br. is newly synonymized under A. kachinensis Engl. & Gehrm.

Curcuma lindstromii (Zingiberaceae: Zingiberoideae), a new species from southeastern Thailand

Curcuma lindstromii Škorničk. & Soonthornk. (Zingiberaceae: Zingiberoideae), a new species from Thailand, is described. It is compared to the morphologically closest species from Curcuma subg. Ecomatae, Curcuma rhomba Mood & K.Larsen. A detailed description, a colour plate and information on its distribution, ecology, phenology and uses are provided. A provisional IUCN conservation assessment of Vulnerable is proposed for this species. Alectotype is designated for the name Curcuma stenochila Gagnep.

RGB‐Color Image Analysis for Determination of Birefringence of Micro‐Films and Columnar Coatings

AbstractThe birefringence analysis of thin m SiO2 films deposited via evaporation at a glancing angle of to the normal on resist pillar arrays on Si and nanopatterned SiO2 substrates is carried out by spectral and color (red–green–blue [RGB]) imaging modes. Retardance and birefringence of the films deposited over flat and structured regions can be distinguished with only ≈1% difference between neighboring regions for the visible spectral range using RGB numerical analysis of images. The Michel‐Lévy color map is used for color rendering of birefringence to make quantitative measurements by numerical RGB color filtering. It is shown that by using at 530 nm waveplate inserted at angle to the cross polarizer‐analyzer setup, the range of changes in chromaticity xy‐coordinates expands approximately twice upon angular rotation of a birefringent sample. This facilitates a better signal‐to‐noise determination of birefringence. The proposed method with ‐plate color shifting can be directly used to determine birefringence from step‐like spectral features in reflection and transmission polariscopy. Direct measurement of birefringence () and retardance of SiO2 chevron film is carried out using Berek compensator as a benchmark.

Wurfbainia rubrofasciata (Zingiberaceae), a new species from Palawan, Philippines

A ginger species collected in Palawan, Philippines was initially thought to be Wurfbainia palawanensis but differs by the dark brown fertile bracts and red spinose fruits. This species is also morphologically similar to the continental Asian Wurfbainia microcarpa but can be distinguished from this by the entire ligule, petiolate lamina, congested rachis, and presence of red stripes at the base of the labellum. Therefore, we here describe Wurfbainia rubrofasciata providing colour plates, data on phenology, distribution, habitat, and a provisional conservation assessment. A key to five species of Wurfbainia in the Philippines is provided and we discuss the likely closest relatives of Wurfbainia palawanensis.

A Taxonomic Synopsis of Aldina, a Florally Distinctive and Poorly Collected Amazonian Genus of Papilionoid Legumes

Abstract— We present a taxonomic synopsis of Aldina (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae), a poorly known Neotropical genus of predominantly Amazonian trees with unusual, non-papilionate flowers. Aldina is characterized by the combination of odd-foliolate leaves and flowers with radial symmetry, free and undifferentiated petals, an entire calyx, and free, numerous stamens. Difficulty accessing species in remote areas has led to poor representation in herbaria, and species descriptions based on scant material have led to a doubtful and confused taxonomy. Eighteen species are recognized here: A. aurea, A. auyantepuiensis, A. barnebyana, A. berryi, A. discolor, A. diplogyne, A. elliptica, A. heterophylla, A. insignis, A. kunhardtiana, A. latifolia, A. macrophylla, A. microphylla, A. occidentalis, A. paulberryi, A. petiolulata, A. polyphylla, and A. reticulata. The names A. amazonica, A. latifolia var. pubescens, A. insignis var. retusa, A. stergiosii, A. aquae-negrae, A. rio-negrae, and A. speciosa are newly synonymized. We lectotypify A. discolor, A. heterophylla, A. macrophylla, A. occidentalis, and A. polyphylla, and make a new combination, Aldina auyantepuiensis. All Aldina species are found in the Amazon basin. An identification key for all species, a color plate, diagnostic illustrations, and a map of geographic distribution of the genus are also presented.

<i>Imaging Pilgrimage: Art as Embodied Experience</i> By K. R. Barush (2021)

Imaging Pilgrimage: Art as Embodied Experience By K. R. Barush (2021) New York: Bloomsbury Visual Arts, xiv + 261pp, 15 color plates, 44 figures.

Lophopetalum tanahgambut, a new endemic giant tree species from peat swamp forest of Sumatera, Indonesia, with the first pseudoverticillate leaf arrangement in genus Lophopetalum (Celastraceae)

A new large tree species from peat swamp forest of Sumatera, Indonesia is described here with new notes on vegetative characters for the genus. Colour plates, as well as distribution, habitat, phenology, uses and observation notes are provided.

Review: Legions of Pigs in the Early Medieval West, by Jamie Kreiner

In Legions of Pigs, Jamie Kreiner uses pigs as a lens through which she examines the early medieval West from North Africa to the British Isles and Scandinavia. Pigs are unique among the medieval domestic mammals. Unlike cattle, sheep, goats, horses, and donkeys, pigs do not produce secondary products that can be extracted from live animals, such as milk, wool, hair, traction, and transport. Pigs produce meat and other primary products, such as skin and bone, that can be accessed only when a pig is slaughtered. Pigs are also biologically and behaviorally distinct from the other early medieval farm animals. They are smart and will eat almost anything, but they can be dangerous and require careful management so that they do not destroy agricultural fields and other aspects of the landscape and the built environment. Using pigs as a focal point, the chapters in this volume explore worldview and cosmology, agriculture and ecology, social organization, and religion across the late antique and early medieval West.The research that went into this volume is meticulous, and the scope of the volume is impressive. The geographic range includes North Africa, Iberia, and the Norse colonies in Iceland and Greenland, in addition to the more well-studied regions of early medieval western Europe, such as the British Isles and Francia. Kreiner is a documentary historian, but I was impressed with her knowledgeable and creative use of the archaeological and zooarchaeological data on early medieval animal husbandry and agriculture. She draws on zooarchaeological data to show how the relative importance of pigs in early medieval societies varied across both time and space. For example, while pigs played an important role in many early medieval societies, recent archaeological research has shown that they were introduced to Iceland at the beginning of the Norse settlement, but they declined rapidly thereafter, possible due to the damage that they did to the fragile environment.Kreiner begins by describing pigs as animals that provided meat, a commodity that early medieval people wanted, but also as animals that were intelligent and required management. She then links these animals to broader issues of early medieval cosmology and worldview. Her third chapter focuses on pigs in the early medieval landscape. This is where her interdisciplinary skills really shine. Kreiner draws on archaeological data to show how pig husbandry varied across the early medieval world as a result environmental differences and the choices that early medieval farmers and landowners made. She then explores the complex laws and negotiations that governed access to pannage for pigs in the woodlands during the acorn season. Kreiner’s historical data complement the archaeological evidence to provide a rich picture of early medieval pig management. Her next chapter explores the relationships between pigs and humans, ranging from the role of swineherds to the social context of pork consumption. Her final chapter explores the relationship between pigs and Christianity.The volume is extensively documented with over 50 pages of notes and a wide-ranging bibliography. It is also well illustrated with 32 pages of color plates, 7 useful maps that show the locations of the sites and regions discussed in the volume, and many black-and-white in-text figures.Early medieval studies are by their nature interdisciplinary, drawing on evidence from historical records, archaeological excavations, and art historical studies. This volume is one of the most creatively interdisciplinary volumes that I have had the pleasure to read. Kreiner has produced a truly multispecies history, using the relationships between pigs and people to explore the agrarian, social, and cultural history of the early medieval period. As a result, this book will be of great interest to early medievalists who work with texts and material culture, as well as scholars who work in interdisciplinary fields such as historical ecology and animal studies. I will use this book when I teach both medieval archaeology and zooarchaeology. My archaeology students will appreciate Kreiner’s careful and critical use of archaeological and zooarchaeological data, and they will benefit from her use of pigs as a lens to explore broader issues of early medieval cosmology, religion, and social organization. These issues are nearly impossible to study on the basis of archaeological data alone. The volume is clearly and engagingly written, and I recommend it in the highest possible terms.

Review: The Thing About Religion: An Introduction to the Material Study of Religions, by David Morgan

David Morgan, a material culturist, takes a fresh look at the role of objects in relationship to religion. He threads the conceit of the web throughout his study: the web of an object’s interactions within the context of its religion, a kind of “ecology” that imbues agency and power into the object. After a philosophically-argued introduction introducing six forms of agency—“external, ritual, mimetic, inherent, instrumental, and aesthetic” (19)—Morgan divides the book into two major sections with three chapters each. In Part One he takes an analytical approach, starting with a chapter on philosophical theories, followed by a somewhat argumentative literature review, and notably, in chapter 3, seven examples of the ways in which religions are material. In Part Two he provides three case studies through which he investigates themes: the power of things with respect to magic wands; religion and time through a history of Notre Dame Cathedral; and words and things by tracing the path of a Polynesian divinity statue from its origin to museums.In the theoretical portions of the book, Morgan shines when he argues passionately for points that he believes in, particularly his thesis that religions should not be dematerialized. When refuting other scholars’ claims, his tone is equally passionate, but his arguments sometimes make logical leaps that reach his own conclusions too quickly or follow tangential strands. Morgan counters foundational scholars (Plato, David Hume, John Calvin) who promote dematerializing religion. He puts other scholars (Clifford Geertz, William James, Maurice Merleau-Ponty) in conversation with each other, providing context for the academic history that contributes to the current material ecosystems to which he attends. He turns a clever phrase, evoking admiration for his poetic language and effective prose. Brief examples of his eloquence include “ideological myopia” (45), “aesthetic engine” (19), his pun on “fabricate shared identity” (72), and “cocktail of feelings” (175). Morgan’s writing style, while still academic, is refreshing.The most engaging sections, chiefly in Part Two, center on specific objects and their agency, history, and interrelationships with the religions associated with them. By investigating an object in depth, Morgan situates that object in both its concrete materiality and its abstract, esoteric context. The blending of concrete and abstract, coupled with the historical narratives of the objects, makes for a nuanced discussion. In the chapter about magic wands, Morgan delves into a fascinating cultural study of comparative mythology. At the same time, the chapter sometimes leans too much towards the expository and not enough towards the analytical. The sociopolitical history of Notre Dame Cathedral in chapter 5 is comprehensive and compelling, providing the clearest support for his ideas about the importance of materiality in religion while simultaneously reiterating the themes of an object’s agency and web of interrelationships. chapter 6, “Words and Things,” associates the changing labels placed on a Polynesian deity object with an evolving perspective on colonialism. While the connection between language and thing seems tenuous at first, by the end of the chapter, the point is quite convincing.Morgan’s conclusion correlates these three case studies, respectively, with the concepts of networks, focal objects, and agency, returning to the initial themes. The book includes fifteen color plates, fifty-four halftones, resources for classroom use (supplemental readings, key terms, online suggestions, and a writing guide), endnotes, bibliography, and index. Course resources have excellent potential to spark curiosity and questions among students, scholars, and general readers, especially the extensive references and insightful writing prompts.This study follows current academic trends in its emphases on agency and webs of interrelationships—think of the rhizome metaphor. In line with the relatively new field of material religion, in which he is a major player, Morgan breaks with traditional approaches to objects as inert artifacts that play little more than a symbolic role in a static religion. Instead, he recognizes objects as dynamic, integral, and even transformative to the history and very nature of their religions.

Smartphone Color Vision Testing as an Alternative to the Conventional Ishihara Booklet.

Introduction Color vision testing was first seen as a parameter to be tested in the 1700s. Nowadays, it is a well-known phenomenon with significant quality-of-life implications. Structures involved in color vision include the lens, pupil, retinal cone photopigments, and several photoreceptor processes that translate the incoming spectrum of different light wavelengths into a processed colored image. An initial color vision assessment was made simply by comparing the color perception of the individual to that of the examiner. The most commonly used tools to screen for color vision defects today are color plates, such as the Ishihara color plates. In the modern age, smartphones have evolved to become an essential part of our everyday lives with applications such as Eye Handbook, which allow easier access to color vision testing using color plates displayed on smartphone screens. In this study, we compared color vision testing on Android and iOS devices to the standard Ishihara booklet. Materials and methods A cross-sectional validation study was performed on patients presenting to the Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology, Rawalpindi, Pakistan for six months. The sample size collected was 162 with a 95% confidence interval. The age range of the sample population was kept at 12-70 years. A patient was selected for participation in the study, and a color vision assessment was performed using the Ishihara color plates and Android and iOS smartphones. The collected data was then entered into IBM SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) Statistics 25 for analysis, with the p-value being kept at 0.05. Results The sample size was 162, with the gender distribution being predominantly male (69.14%). The average age of the participants was 35.94 (SD = 12.04). The result of the two-tailed paired sample z-testwas not significant based on a p-value of 0.565, indicating the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. This finding suggests the difference between the mean of Ishihara and the mean of the iPhone was not significantly different from zero. Similar results were found for comparisons between Android smartphones and the Ishihara booklet. Conclusions Previous studies conducted showed nearly 60% of subjects with normal color vision correctly identified all colors on standard Ishihara color plates. The two-tailed paired sample t-test conducted in our study showed no significant difference between either of the smartphone groups (iPhone or Android) and the Ishihara booklet group, indicating that smartphones present a viable alternative to standard Ishihara booklet testing. However, there are certain limitations to our study. Different types of smartphone screens present a challenge in standardization while testing color vision, something that is not a problem when using the Ishihara booklet. However, smartphones are more widely available, more versatile, and present far greater ease of access. Both these factors should be considered when comparing the two in future studies.

A Scientific Revolution: Ten Men and Women Who Reinvented American Medicine

A Scientific Revolution: Ten Men and Women Who Reinvented American Medicine

Chlorophytum sikkimense (Agavoideae; Asparagaceae): a new species from Sikkim Himalaya

A new species of Chlorophytum is described from Sikkim. The new species is distinct from other closely related species (C. assamicum and C. breviscapum) by its scape with sterile bracts, pedicel articulation above middle, longitudinal anther dehiscence and white ovary. It grows in similar habitat as aforementioned species i.e., floor of tropical mixed deciduous forest at an elevation of 600–700 m and currently known only from Sirisay forest of Sikkim Himalaya. Detailed description and color plates of the new species are provided.

Mapping Abundance for a Planetary Future. By Candace Fujikane. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2021. xx+279 pp. Color plates, notes, bibliography, and index. US$104.95 (cloth); US$27.95 (paper); US$15.37–$27.99 (e-book).

<i>Mapping Abundance for a Planetary Future</i>. By Candace Fujikane. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2021. xx+279 pp. Color plates, notes, bibliography, and index. US$104.95 (cloth); US$27.95 (paper); US$15.37–$27.99 (e-book).