All Disciplines | Encyclopedia MDPI

Subject:

Sort:

Hottest Latest Alphabetical (A-Z) Alphabetical (Z-A)

Type:

All Topic Review Biography

Topic Review

Sophia (Gnosticism)

Sophia (Koinē Greek: Σοφíα "Wisdom", Coptic: ⲧⲥⲟⲫⲓⲁ "the Sophia") is a major theme, along with Knowledge (γνῶσις gnosis, Coptic sooun), among many of the early Christian knowledge-theologies grouped by the heresiologist Irenaeus as gnostikoi (γνωστικοί), ‘knowing’ or ‘men that claimed to have deeper wisdom’. Gnosticism is a 17th-century term expanding the definition of Irenaeus' groups to include other syncretic and mystery religions. In Gnosticism, Sophia is a feminine figure, analogous to the human soul but also simultaneously one of the feminine aspects of God. Gnostics held that she was the syzygy (female twin divine Aeon) of Jesus (i.e. the Bride of Christ), and Holy Spirit of the Trinity. She is occasionally referred to by the Hebrew equivalent of Achamōth (Ἀχαμώθ, Hebrew: חכמה‎ chokhmah) and as Prunikos (Προύνικος). In the Nag Hammadi texts, Sophia is the lowest Aeon, or anthropic expression of the emanation of the light of God. She is considered to have fallen from grace in some way, in so doing creating or helping to create the material world.

3.1K
23 Nov 2022

Topic Review

Increasing demand pressures on the fibre supply are forcing manufacturers to explore using new species in plywood. Here authors investigated aspen and black alder, alone and in combination with birch faces, and with different veneer thicknesses in plywood production.

3.1K
09 Feb 2022

Topic Review

Biocontrol Agents

Biocontrol agents (BCAs) are living organisms and their derivatives that act against plant diseases and pests via direct antagonistic effects but also indirectly via the induction of plant resistance. They have been proposed as an alternative to standard fungicides but their disease management capacity is usually incomplete and heavily relies on uncontrollable environmental conditions. An integrated approach of combining BCAs with fungicides can reduce the fungicide doses to manage plant diseases and thereby their residual effects that affect the environment and human health.

3.1K
16 Dec 2020

Topic Review

Salamanders in Folklore

The salamander is an amphibian of the order Urodela which, as with many real creatures, often has been ascribed fantastic and sometimes occult qualities by pre-modern authors (as in the allegorical descriptions of animals in medieval bestiaries) not possessed by the real organism. The legendary salamander is often depicted as a typical salamander in shape with a lizard-like form, but is usually ascribed an affinity with fire, sometimes specifically elemental fire.

3.1K
17 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Solketal (CAS 100–79–8) has low viscosity at room temperature (~11 cP) and freezing, boiling, and flash points of about −26 °C, 190 °C, and 80 °C, respectively. The density is 1.06 g/cm3 and the vapor pressure is 107.32 mmHg. It has low toxicity, slight odor, and it is non-irritant for humans; due to these characteristics and to the renewable origin, it is considered an environmentally friendly substance. It is completely miscible in water and in most organic compounds, which endows its solvent capacity.

3.1K
07 May 2021

Topic Review

GeForce 4 Series

The GeForce 4 series (codenames below) refers to the fourth generation of GeForce-branded graphics processing units (GPUs) manufactured by Nvidia. There are two different GeForce4 families, the high-performance Ti family, and the budget MX family. The MX family spawned a mostly identical GeForce4 Go (NV17M) family for the laptop market. All three families were announced in early 2002; members within each family were differentiated by core and memory clock speeds. In late 2002, there was an attempt to form a fourth family, also for the laptop market, the only member of it being the GeForce4 4200 Go (NV28M) which was derived from the Ti line.

3.1K
21 Oct 2022

Topic Review

Effects of Planting Density on Tropical Fruit Crops

Plant density refers to the number of individual plants per unit of ground area. In an ideal plant population, the capability of the plant canopy to collect environmental resources, including radiation energy, water, and inorganic nutrients, can be improved. A dense plant population increases the competition between plants for resources, which results in limited resources being depleted. Additionally, improved canopy construction can lead to an optimal leaf area index that can boost photosynthetic ability through efficient solar radiation interception. High densities of plants encourage better productivity; lower densities, in general, allow for the harvesting of more large fruits, resulting in higher pricing on the fresh fruit market. Higher planting density is used for higher yields without increasing production costs.

3.1K
31 Aug 2022

Topic Review

Polyphenols against Skin Aging

Polyphenols représente a superfamily of diverse naturally occurring phytochemicals, which exert a particularly potent antioxidant activity, thereby contributing to delay skin aging.

3.1K
19 Nov 2020

Topic Review

Theravāda (/ˌtɛrəˈvɑːdə/; Pāli, lit. "School of the Elders") is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed Theravādins, have preserved their version of Gautama Buddha's teaching in the Pāli Canon. The Pāli Canon is the only complete Buddhist canon surviving in a classical Indian language, Pāli, which serves as the school's sacred language and lingua franca. For over a millennium, theravādins have endeavored to preserve the dhamma as recorded in their school's texts.[web 1] In contrast to Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna, Theravāda tends to be conservative in matters of doctrine and monastic discipline. Modern Theravāda derives from the Mahāvihāra sect, a Sri Lankan branch of the Vibhajjavādins, a sub-sect of the Indian Sthavira Nikaya, which began to establish itself on the island from the 3rd century BCE onwards. It was in Sri Lanka that the Pāli Canon was written down and the school's commentary literature developed. From Sri Lanka, the Theravāda Mahāvihāra tradition subsequently spread to the rest of Southeast Asia. It is the dominant religion in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand and is practiced by minorities in India, Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Vietnam. The diaspora of all of these groups, as well as converts around the world, also practice Theravāda. During the modern era, new developments have included Buddhist modernism, the Vipassana movement which reinvigorated Theravāda meditation practice [web 1] and the Thai Forest Tradition which reemphasized forest monasticism.

3.1K
05 Dec 2022

Topic Review

Osseous tissue is a kind of hard connective tissue, which is also composed of cells, fibers and matrix. The fibers are bone glue fibers (the same as collagen fibers), and the matrix contains a large amount of solid inorganic salts.

3.1K
13 Sep 2021

Page
of
5358

Featured Entry Collections

>>

Featured Books

>>

Encyclopedia of Social Sciences

Encyclopedia of Social Sciences
Chief Editor:
Michael McAleer

Encyclopedia of COVID-19

Encyclopedia of COVID-19
Chief Editor:
Stephen Bustin

Encyclopedia of Fungi

Encyclopedia of Fungi
Chief Editor:
Luis V. Lopez-Llorca

Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City

Encyclopedia of Digital Society, Industry 5.0 and Smart City
Chief Editor:
Sandro Serpa

ScholarVision Creations

Feedback

Top