Abstract groups of certain orders

Call number: LD2668 .R4 1966 W23

Pride, Sloth, and Lust: A Specific Look at Dante’s Use of the Seven Cardinal Sins in Purgatorio

The Divina Commedia (1308-1321) has been hailed as one of the greatest and most influential literary works in history, and one of the characteristics that puts it in the annals of time is Dante’s mastery of Catholic theological ideals, especially the Seven Cardinal Sins, his artistry in portraying them, and his mix of unique and traditional depictions. Dante utilizes both traditional and unique artistic aspects of the Seven Cardinal Sins to provide both structure and to put moral messages in his greatest work, but in order to be aware of Dante’s deep understanding of the Sins and how he shapes them to his use, a reader should understand the similarities and differences between the general views of the Sins and the view presented by Dante in Purgatorio. Although some of the Sins are also found in Inferno, not all of them can be found, and they are not used to provide structure as in Purgatorio. The first section of this thesis looks at the evolution of the Sins as can be discerned through academic research by tracing key moments beginning with the origins until the Sins became incorporated into Catholic theology. The second section discusses the influence of the Sins throughout Catholic Europe during the medieval ages. The third section discusses the metaphysical philosophy of the Sins given in Purgatorio, which includes what they are, where they come from, and what to do about them, and compares it to other possible philosophies of the Sins. The last section analyzes a few allegories used to strengthen the portrayal of the Sins in the cornices of Pride, Sloth, and Lust, which are used to represent the three categories of misdirected love. The combination of these four aspects of the Sins and Purgatorio allows the reader to achieve a greater understanding of Dante’s mastery of the concept of the Sins in Purgatorio

Don\u27t Take Orpheus without the Lyre: The Intricacies of Using Pagan Myths for Christian Purposes in The Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost

Because of their universal and artistic nature, the classical myths lend themselves well to use in literature, especially poetry. When used properly, as by Dante and Milton, the myths have the ability to enhance the work; when used poorly, they become gaudy ornamentation. It was, and is, this ability to enhance both the artistry and function of literature that pulled so many poets to the myths, despite the difficulties that could arise when the pagan myths did not quite match the Christian setting. My purpose in this thesis is not to explicate every use of myth within The Divine Comedy or Paradise Lost; it is rather to bring greater appreciation to the complexity behind Dante\u27s and Milton\u27s integration of pagan myths within explicitly Christian works, particularly as they use the myths to strengthen the Christian aspects of the poems. But, as modern readers not as closely tuned into the cultural context or the religious tension between the myths and Christian themes, we do not understand the complexity of appropriately adapting pagan myths to Christian works through which both poets had to navigate, nor may we grasp the ingenuity in the methods used. Thus, this thesis establishes the cultural reactions to the classical myths during the Middle Ages and Renaissance and the subsequent attempts to use the myths, mainly through allegory, and then it analyzes multiple instances of mythological imagery in both works and how each instance adds to the entire artistic and theological aspects of the Comedy and Paradise Lost

Sufficient reliability of the behavioral and computational readouts of a probabilistic reversal learning task

Task-based measures that capture neurocognitive processes can help bridge the gap between brain and behavior. To transfer tasks to clinical application, reliability is a crucial benchmark because it imposes an upper bound to potential correlations with other variables (e.g., symptom or brain data). However, the reliability of many task readouts is low. In this study, we scrutinized the retest reliability of a probabilistic reversal learning task (PRLT) that is frequently used to characterize cognitive flexibility in psychiatric populations. We analyzed data from N = 40 healthy subjects, who completed the PRLT twice. We focused on how individual metrics are derived, i.e., whether data were partially pooled across participants and whether priors were used to inform estimates. We compared the reliability of the resulting indices across sessions, as well as the internal consistency of a selection of indices. We found good to excellent reliability for behavioral indices as derived from mixed-effects models that included data from both sessions. The internal consistency was good to excellent. For indices derived from computational modeling, we found excellent reliability when using hierarchical estimation with empirical priors and including data from both sessions. Our results indicate that the PRLT is well equipped to measure individual differences in cognitive flexibility in reinforcement learning. However, this depends heavily on hierarchical modeling of the longitudinal data (whether sessions are modeled separately or jointly), on estimation methods, and on the combination of parameters included in computational models. We discuss implications for the applicability of PRLT indices in psychiatric research and as diagnostic tools

Capping Ligand Vortices as “Atomic Orbitals” in Nanocrystal Self-Assembly

We present a detailed analysis of the interaction between two nanocrystals capped with ligands consisting of hydrocarbon chains by united atom molecular dynamics simulations. We show that the bonding of two nanocrystals is characterized by ligand textures in the form of vortices. These results are generalized to nanocrystals of different types (differing core and ligand sizes) where the structure of the vortices depends on the softness asymmetry. We provide rigorous calculations for the binding free energy, show that these energies are independent of the chemical composition of the cores, and derive analytical formulas for the equilibrium separation. We discuss the implications of our results for the self-assembly of single-component and binary nanoparticle superlattices. Overall, our results show that the structure of the ligands completely determines the bonding of nanocrystals, fully supporting the predictions of the recently proposed Orbifold topological model

Potential of mean force for two nanocrystals: Core geometry and size, hydrocarbon unsaturation, and universality with respect to the force field

We present a detailed analysis of the interaction between two nanocrystals capped with ligands consisting of hydrocarbon chains by united atom molecular dynamics simulations. We analyze large cores (up to 10 nm in diameter) and ligands with unsaturated carbon bonds (oleic acid) and we investigate the accuracy of the computed potential of mean force by comparing different force fields. We also analyze the vortices that determine the bonding, including the case of asymmetric nanocrystals, and discuss effects related to the intrinsic anisotropy of the core. Overall our results are in agreement with the predictions of the recently proposed orbifold topological model

Modern Algebra Illustrated by Number Theoretic Examples

Higher Educatio