The First Principle in Late Neoplatonism: A Study of the One's Causality in Proclus and Damascius

One of the main issues that dominates Neoplatonism in late antique philosophy of the 3rd–6th centuries A.D. is the nature of the first principle, called the ‘One’. From Plotinus onward, the principle is characterized as the cause of all things, since it produces the plurality of intelligible Forms, which in turn constitute the world’s rational and material structure. Given this, the tension that faces Neoplatonists is that the One, as the first cause, must transcend all things that are characterized by plurality—yet because it causes plurality, the One must anticipate plurality within itself. This becomes the main mo- tivation for this study’s focus on two late Neoplatonists, Proclus (5th cent. A.D.) and Damascius (late 5th–early 6th cent. A.D.): both attempt to address this tension in two rather different ways. Proclus’ attempted solution is to posit intermediate principles (the ‘henads’) that mirror the One’s nature, as ‘one’, but directly cause plurality. This makes the One only a cause of unity, while its production of plurality is mediated by the henads that it produces. Damascius, while appropriating Proclus’ framework, thinks that this is not enough: if the One is posed as a cause of all things, it must be directly related to plurality, even if its causality is mediated through the henads. Damascius then splits Proclus’ One into two entities: (1) the Ineffable as the first ‘principle’, which is absolutely transcendent and has no causal relation; and (2) the One as the first ‘cause’ of all things, which is only relatively transcendent under the Ineffable. Previous studies that compare Proclus and Damascius tend to focus either on the Ineffable or a skeptical shift in epistemology, but little work has been done on the causal framework which underlies both figures’ positions. Thus, this study proposes to focus on the causal frameworks behind each figure: why and how does Proclus propose to assert that the One is a cause, at the same time that it transcends its final effect? And what leads Damascius to propose a notion of the One’s causality that no longer makes it transcendent in the way that a higher principle, like the Ineffable, is? The present work will answer these questions in two parts. In the first, Proclus’ and Damascius’ notions of causality will be examined, insofar as they apply to all levels of being. In the second part, the One’s causality will be examined for both figures: for Proclus, the One’s causality in itself and the causality of its intermediate principles; for Damascius, the One’s causality, and how the Ineffable is needed to explain the One. The outcome of this study will show that Proclus’ framework results in an inner tension that Damascius is responding to with his notion of the One. While Damascius’ own solution implies its own tension, he at least solves a difficulty in Proclus—and in so doing, partially returns to a notion of the One much like Iamblichus’ and Plotinus’ One

Isolation and Functional Analysis of PISTILLATA Homolog From Magnolia wufengensis

PISTILLATA (PI) homologs are crucial regulators of flower development in angiosperms. In this study, we isolated the MAwuPI homolog from Magnolia wufengensis, a basal angiosperm belonging to the Magnoliaceae. Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggested that MAwuPI was grouped into the PI/GLO lineages of B-class MADS-box gene with the distinctive PI motif. Further expression profiling analysis showed that MAwuPI was expressed in tepals and stamens but not in juvenile leaves and carpels, similar to the spatial expression pattern of AtPI in Arabidopsis. Interestingly, MAwuPI had higher expression level in inner-tepals than in outer-tepals, whereas the M. wufengensis flower is homochlamydeous. Moreover, ectopic expression of MAwuPI in Arabidopsis pi-1 mutant emerged filament-like structures but had no obvious petals, suggesting a partial phenotypic recovery of pi-1 mutant. The features of MAwuPI in the expression pattern and gene function improved our acknowledgment of B-class genes in M. wufengensis, and contributed to the clarification of M. wufengensis evolution status and relations with other sibling species in molecular perspective

Structure health monitoring of composites joint reinforced by acoustic emission based smart composite fasteners

This paper proposed an Acoustic Emission (AE) based Smart Composite Fastener (SCF) concept for health monitoring of bonded/bolted composite single lap joints. The SCF was made of 3D-printed continuous carbon fibre reinforced thermoplastic materials with an embedded piezoelectric sensor. The SCF detected signals were found to be successfully associated with AE damage sources during the loading period. It was discovered that the adhesive crack/delamination AE sources resulted in burst-type signals with identifiable onset and end, whereas AE sources of frictional sliding between the SCF and fastener holes resulted in continuous-type signals producing broad frequency content. Furthermore, the amplitudes of the burst-type signal measured from the network of SCFs were successfully correlated with the locations of the damages. In the direction away from the damage, the amplitudes of the burst-type voltages measured from the SCF showed a decreasing trend, with 10195mv, 9,995mv, and 7,426mv respectively. Generally, the research in this paper explores the correlation between the voltage signal from a damaged AE source and the SCF, providing the feasibility of using a novel SCF for health monitoring in composite joint structures

Sedimentary ancient DNA reveals past ecosystem and biodiversity changes on the Tibetan Plateau: Overview and prospects

Alpine ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau are being threatened by ongoing climate warming and intensified human activities. Ecological time-series obtained from sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) are essential for understanding past ecosystem and biodiversity dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau and their responses to climate change at a high taxonomic resolution. Hitherto only few but promising studies have been published on this topic. The potential and limitations of using sedaDNA on the Tibetan Plateau are not fully understood. Here, we (i) provide updated knowledge of and a brief introduction to the suitable archives, region-specific taphonomy, state-of-the-art methodologies, and research questions of sedaDNA on the Tibetan Plateau; (ii) review published and ongoing sedaDNA studies from the Tibetan Plateau; and (iii) give some recommendations for future sedaDNA study designs. Based on the current knowledge of taphonomy, we infer that deep glacial lakes with freshwater and high clay sediment input, such as those from the southern and southeastern Tibetan Plateau, may have a high potential for sedaDNA studies. Metabarcoding (for microorganisms and plants), metagenomics (for ecosystems), and hybridization capture (for prehistoric humans) are three primary sedaDNA approaches which have been successfully applied on the Tibetan Plateau, but their power is still limited by several technical issues, such as PCR bias and incompleteness of taxonomic reference databases. Setting up high-quality and open-access regional taxonomic reference databases for the Tibetan Plateau should be given priority in the future. To conclude, the archival, taphonomic, and methodological conditions of the Tibetan Plateau are favorable for performing sedaDNA studies. More research should be encouraged to address questions about long-term ecological dynamics at ecosystem scale and to bring the paleoecology of the Tibetan Plateau into a new era

3D-printed thermoplastic composite fasteners for single lap joint reinforcement

This study presents findings for the strength and failure mechanism of a 3D-printed Continuous Carbon Fibre reinforced Onyx (CCF/Onyx) Thermo-Plastic Composite Fastener (TPCF) and a single lap-joint (SLJ) made of fibre/polymer composite reinforced by the TPCF. The study was carried out by numerical analysis and experiment methods including test sample design, manufacturing process and mechanical test. The 3D-printed fasteners were manufactured and tested in shear mode for two types of joining arrangement: fastened and hybrid bonded/fastened joints. Firstly, experiment was carried out for the TPCF fastened SLJ and the results show that addition of CCF in the Onyx matrix and post heat-treatment process could significant enhance the TPCF strength. The results was then benchmarked against a SLJ with steel fastening. The shear failure load of the SLJ reinforced by heat-treated CCF/Onyx TPCF of 8mm diameter was 36% lower than a SLJ reinforced by a steel bolt of the same size. Numerical model for progressive damage simulation was also created based on the failure theory from Puck and Schürmann achieving good correlation with the experimental data. Secondly, the TPCF fasteners were manufactured with two types of heat-treated countersunk head and pan head forming and used to reinforce bonded SLJ. The test results show that the bonded SLJ reinforced by the TPCF fastener of countersunk head is of 11.7% higher strength and an increase in ultimate deformation by 9.1% compared to a bonded SLJ reinforced by steel fastener of 5mm diameter. From the numerical and experimental study, it was noted that this was attributed to countersunk configuration to reduce out-out-plane bending and provide better crack arresting for the joint bonding

TAR DNA Binding Protein-43 Loss of Function Induced by Phosphorylation at S409/410 Blocks Autophagic Flux and Participates in Secondary Brain Injury After Intracerebral Hemorrhage

This study aimed to determine the role of TAR DNA binding protein-43 (TDP-43) in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH)-induced secondary brain injury (SBI) and its underlying mechanisms. After ICH, expression of TDP-43 in the nucleus was significantly decreased, and its expression in the cytoplasm increased both in vivo and in vitro, which indicates that TDP-43 translocates from the nucleus to the cytoplasm during SBI after ICH. In addition, mutations at S409/410 of TDP-43 could inhibit its phosphorylation, attenuate nuclear loss, and abolish the increase in neuronal apoptosis in the subcortex. Inhibition of TDP-43 phosphorylation attenuated ICH-induced downregulation of mTOR activity and dynactin1 expression, which may relieve blocking of autophagosome-lysosome fusion and the increase of autophagosomal and lysosomal biogenesis induced by ICH. However, knockdown of TDP-43 could worsen ICH-induced SBI. Furthermore, TDP-43 could be dephosphorylated by calcineurin (CN), and CN activity was increased by OxyHb treatment. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that TDP-43 loss-of-function by phosphorylation at S409/410 may block autophagosome-lysosome fusion and induce elevation of LC3II and p62 levels by inhibiting the activity of mTOR and expression of dynactin1. This mechanism may play an important role in ICH-induced SBI, and TDP-43 may be a potential therapeutic target