Innovation through Migration: The Settlements of Calvinistic Netherlanders in Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century Central and Western Europe

Nearly one hundred thousand Calvinists driven out of the Southern Netherlands between the 1530s and the 1590s settled in many parts of western Europe. This study examines their influence in western Germany. Including both skilled craftsmen and large businessmen, they were a major force in the economic modernization of their new homes. They remained socially isolated, however. As modernizing entrepreneurs, they came into conflict with both elites and guild members in the older towns. As Calvinists, they were excluded from political power in both Lutheran and Catholic areas, though sometimes encouraged by princely territorial governments interested in economic growth. Their position as an "early modern business bourgeoisie" owed less to their Calvinist religion than to their social and political isolation and the strong family networks which resulted and sometimes survived into the nineteenth century. Près de cent mille calvinistes ont été chassés des Pays-Bas du Sud à partir de 1530 environ jusqu’au début du XVIIe siècle et sont allés s’établir dans diverses régions d’Europe de l’Ouest. Le présent article traite de leur influence, en Allemagne occidentale surtout. Les émigrants, qui comprenaient à la fois des artisans qualifiés et des hommes d’affaires importants, ont été pour leur pays d’adoption des agents de modernisation déterminants, sur le plan économique. Sur le plan social, cependant, ils sont demeurés isolés. En tant qu’entrepreneurs progressistes, ils sont entrés en conflit tant avec les élites locales qu’avec les membres des guildes des cités anciennes. Comme calvinistes, ils ont été exclus du pouvoir politique en territoire luthérien aussi bien qu’en territoire catholique. Dans certaines principautés, toutefois, d’aucuns ont pu, à l’occasion, jouir de l’appui d’un prince intéressé au développement économique. Ainsi, c’est moins à leur foi calviniste qu’à leur isolement politique et social et aux solides réseaux de relations familiales qui en sont issus, et qui ont parfois survécu jusqu’au XIXe siècle, que l’on peut attribuer leur statut de bourgeoisie d’affaires du début de la période moderne

Calvinist and Catholic cities – urban architecture and ritual in confessional Europe

This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Urban history, at least in Germany, has mainly concentrated on the Medieval and Reformation cities on the one hand and Industrial and Contemporary cities on the other. However, recent debates among Early Modernists have produced the view that ‘confessionalization’, that is the formation of three or four modern church systems based on specific confessions of faith, was one of the most influential factors in producing the fundamental changes that occurred between 1550 and 1650 in Europe. This had a huge effect on the cities of Europe and their inhabitants. This paper compares Catholic and Protestant cities in Europe around 1600 with regard to their specific architecture and their religious and civic rituals. Rites and other religious functions or institutions have always been an important part of urban life. Lewis Mumford refers to religious funeral rites in his magisterial analysis of urban life in a universal perspective: ‘The city of the dead antedates the city of the living. In one sense, indeed the city of the dead is the forerunner, almost the core, of every living city.’ In Europe, the relationship between the Church and the towns or cities was especially close and, in a sense, fundamental because of the medieval history of the European towns and the structure and profile of pre-modern European societies in general. We start with a brief overview of these preconditions for urban life during Europe's confessional period, and then go on to take a closer look at the confessional city itself.Peer Reviewe

Le Saint-Empire à l’époque moderne : un système partiellement modernisé résultant d’une adaptation incomplète à l’émergence, dans les principautés territoriales allemandes et les pays européens voisins, de l’État de la première modernité

I. Prononcer, devant un tel aréopage d’experts du Saint-Empire, un exposé portant un titre aussi monstrueux revient pratiquement à s’immoler en public. Et ce d’autant plus qu’il me faut prendre la parole à la fin d’un colloque si riche en nuances et en enseignements, et immédiatement après une intervention dont l’intitulé, aussi bref que stylistiquement et esthétiquement convaincant (« L’Empire à l’époque moderne : l’État de la nation allemande »), véhiculait un message dont on peut envier le..

The neural basis of video gaming

Video game playing is a frequent recreational activity. Previous studies have reported an involvement of dopamine-related ventral striatum. However, structural brain correlates of video game playing have not been investigated. On magnetic resonance imaging scans of 154 14-year-olds, we computed voxel-based morphometry to explore differences between frequent and infrequent video game players. Moreover, we assessed the Monetary Incentive Delay (MID) task during functional magnetic resonance imaging and the Cambridge Gambling Task (CGT). We found higher left striatal grey matter volume when comparing frequent against infrequent video game players that was negatively correlated with deliberation time in CGT. Within the same region, we found an activity difference in MID task: frequent compared with infrequent video game players showed enhanced activity during feedback of loss compared with no loss. This activity was likewise negatively correlated with deliberation time. The association of video game playing with higher left ventral striatum volume could reflect altered reward processing and represent adaptive neural plasticity. Translational Psychiatry (2011) 1, e53; doi: 10.1038/tp.2011.53; published online 15 November 2011</p

The MID1 protein: a promising therapeutic target in Huntington's disease

Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by an expansion mutation of a CAG repeat in exon 1 of the huntingtin (HTT) gene, that encodes an expanded polyglutamine tract in the HTT protein. HD is characterized by progressive psychiatric and cognitive symptoms associated with a progressive movement disorder. HTT is ubiquitously expressed, but the pathological changes caused by the mutation are most prominent in the central nervous system. Since the mutation was discovered, research has mainly focused on the mutant HTT protein. But what if the polyglutamine protein is not the only cause of the neurotoxicity? Recent studies show that the mutant RNA transcript is also involved in cellular dysfunction. Here we discuss the abnormal interaction of the mutant HTT transcript with a protein complex containing the MID1 protein. MID1 aberrantly binds to CAG repeats and this binding increases with CAG repeat length. Since MID1 is a translation regulator, association of the MID1 complex stimulates translation of mutant HTT mRNA, resulting in an overproduction of polyglutamine protein. Thus, blocking the interaction between MID1 and mutant HTT mRNA is a promising therapeutic approach. Additionally, we show that MID1 expression in the brain of both HD patients and HD mice is aberrantly increased. This finding further supports the concept of blocking the interaction between MID1 and mutant HTT mRNA to counteract mutant HTT translation as a valuable therapeutic strategy. In line, recent studies in which either compounds affecting the assembly of the MID1 complex or molecules targeting HTT RNA, show promising results.Functional Genomics of Muscle, Nerve and Brain Disorder

Physical and Sensory Properties of Vegan Organic Microalgae Pasta with High Protein and/or Fiber Content

Market opportunities for microalgae pasta increase if an added health value can be declared. This work aimed to develop organic, vegan, protein- and/or fiber-rich microalgae pasta. Chlorella vulgaris (CV) at 3% and 5%, denatured wheat gluten (dG) and/or apple fibers (AF) were added to the dough and processing, cooking behavior, color, firmness, and sensory properties were investigated to test the influence of increasing protein and fiber contents and the impact of combined ingredients in comparison with the individual ingredients. For dG, the lowest impact on color and sensory changes (unaltered acceptance) was observed, but in combination with CV and AF, the overall effects were higher than with CV or AF alone. In addition, all dG-containing samples showed reduced water absorption and increased firmness, most likely due to a condensed protein network. CV and AF alone had no effect on firmness, but combinations did. AF slightly and 3% CV strongly affected odor, taste, and acceptance (27%) of the pasta. Combinations of CV with dG or AF increased the acceptability (45% and 36%, respectively), combinations of all ingredients worsened it (18%). We conclude that high protein and/or fiber Chlorella pasta is technically feasible, but that CV’s taste must be improved for greater acceptance.This research was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme [grant agreement No 862980].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio