Global Byzantium is, in part, a recasting and expansion of the old ‘Byzantium and its neighbours’ theme with, however, a methodological twist away from the resolutely political and toward the cultural and economic. A second thing that Global Byzantium – as a concept – explicitly endorses is comparative methodology. Global Byzantium needs also to address three further issues: cultural capital, the importance of the local, and the empire’s strategic geographical location. Cultural capital: in past decades it was fashionable to define Byzantium as culturally superior to western Christian Europe, and Byzantine influence was a key concept, especially in art historical circles. This concept has been increasingly criticised, and what we now see emerging is a comparative methodology that relies on the concept of ‘competitive sharing’, not blind copying but rather competitive appropriation. The importance of the local is equally critical. We need to talk more about what the Byzantines saw when they ‘looked out’, and what others saw in Byzantium when they ‘looked in’ and to think about how that impacted on our, very post-modern, concepts of globalism. Finally, we need to think about the empire’s strategic geographical position: between the fourth and the thirteenth centuries, if anyone was travelling internationally, they had to travel across (or along the coasts of) the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium was thus a crucial intermediary, for good or for ill, between Europe, Africa, and Asia – effectively, the glue that held the Christian world together, and it was also a critical transit point between the various Islamic polities and the Christian world.

Considering silk as a major force of cross-cultural interaction, this book examines the integration of silk production and consumption into various cultures in the pre-modern world.

Silk proteins show excellent biocompatibility, controllable biodegradability and non-immunogenicity, and as such are studied extensively worldwide for biomedical applications. In particular, there is increasing interest in their use for drug delivery systems. This focussed book on silk proteins for drug delivery systems, delves into a key emerging area to outline the concepts and define the field. Covering spider silk and silk worm cocoons, the editors elucidate the extraction, structure and properties of silk sericin and silk fibroin. Showing how these proteins are employed in micro and nano drug delivery systems, their use in pre-clinical and clinical trials, and closing with chapter on sustainability- driven innovation in the pharma industry, this book is ideal for graduates and researchers in biomaterials science and pharmaceutical science.

Reveals how commodity failure, as much as success, can shed light on aspirations, environment, and economic life in colonial societies.

Silk: Processing, Properties and Applications, Second Edition, examines all aspects of silk technology, including its manufacture, processing, properties, structure-property relationships, dyeing, printing and finishing, and applications. This new edition is updated and expanded to include the very latest developments in silk production. Detailed chapters discuss silk reeling and silk fabric manufacture, the structural aspects of silk, its mechanical and thermal properties, and silk dyeing. Further chapters focus on the latest developments in terms of processing and applications, covering emerging topics, such as spider silks, non-mulberry silks, the printing and finishing of silk fabrics, and by-products of the silk industry. This book will be a highly valuable source of information for textile technologists, engineers and manufacturers, fiber scientists, researchers and academics in natural fibers or textile technology. - Offers in-depth coverage of silk production, properties and structure-property relationships - Provides an authoritative reference on sericulture, silk fabric processing and applications of silk - Expanded to include non-mulberry silks, printing and finishing of silk fabrics, and by-products of sericulture

Growing awareness of environmental issues has led to increasing demand for goods produced from natural products, including natural fibres. The two-volume Handbook of natural fibres is an indispensible tool in understanding the diverse properties and applications of these important materials. Volume 1: Types, properties and factors affecting breeding and cultivation is an essential guide to a wide range of natural fibres, and highlights key techniques for their improvement.Part one reviews key types and fundamental properties of natural textile fibres. The production, identification and testing of a range of cotton, bast, silk and wool fibres are discussed, alongside bioengineered natural textile fibres. Part two goes on to explore the improvement of natural fibre properties and production through breeding and cultivation, beginning with a discussion of fibrous flax and cotton. Improved natural fibre production through the prevention of fungal growth is explored, along with the use of genetic engineering and biotechnology to enhance desirable characteristics. Finally, the wider impact of natural textile production is discussed, using wild silk enterprise programs as an example.With its distinguished editor and international team of expert contributors, the two volumes of the Handbook of natural fibres are essential texts for professionals and academics in textile science and technology. - Provides an essential guide to a wide range of natural fibres and highlights key techniques for their improvement - Reviews key types and fundamental properties of natural textile fibres, addressing the production, identification and testing of a range of cotton, bast, silk and wool fibres - Explores the improvement of natural fibre properties and production through breeding and cultivation, beginning with a discussion of fibrous flax and cotton

Aimed at fashion designers, Fabric for Fashion:The Complete Guide is unique in explaining the behaviour, properties and sustainability impacts of a wide range of natural and man-made fabrics. Design is determined by how fabrics work, move, feel and look. Increasingly and out of necessity, design is also led by how fabric choices affect our planet and its inhabitants. The most successful fashion designers are those who truly understand their materials, who match design skill with technical knowledge. This book offers guidance by providing a mix of practical information, including industry vocabulary, and a wealth of stunning visual examples showing how designers, both past and present, have worked with textiles. Highlights of this new edition include additional chapters on: - Sustainable fabrics and fashion - Smart fabrics - Product development - Biosynthetic fibres "This second edition of Fabric for Fashion offers refreshed information on sustainability and smart fabrics. Rather than tacking on a chapter to address these concerns, Hallett and Johnston address these topics appears in every chapter and subchapter, on subjects like fabrics' environmental impacts, for example, as well as notes on eco-friendly fabrics, how "smart" fabric translates into functional designs, the recyclability of individual fabrics, and more... A must for anyone who cares about the fate of fabrics and the goods they become, as well as the fate of our planet." - Booklist

Silk-based Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering, Regenerative and Precision Medicine, Second Edition is a must-have reference, providing comprehensive coverage of silk-based biomaterials and their importance in translational uses and biomedicine. This new edition considers the progress made in the past eight years, featuring many new chapters, including a discussion of cutting-edge fabrication methods and techniques, new and improved blends/composites, and an expanded range of applications in tissue engineering, regenerative and precision medicine. The book holistically reviews the types, structure and properties, processing methods, and specific biomedical applications for silk-based biomaterials. This will be a vital resource for materials and tissue engineering scientists, R&D departments in industry and academia, and academics interested in biomaterials, regenerative, and precision medicine. - Covers all key silk biomaterial types, including mulberry, Bombyx mori and nonmulberry/wild silk protein fibroins, sericins and spider silk, as well as their composite blends and various structures and scaffold platforms - Describes the cutting-edge processing techniques for each silk type, from traditional to nonconventional methods, such as using ionic liquids and engineering nanofibers and other biomedical matrices - Explores a range of applications in tissue engineering and regenerative and precision medicine, including bioprinting, bioelectronics and medical devices

This book presents an authoritative and comprehensive survey of human practice in relation to other animals, together with a Christian ethical analysis building on the theological account of animals which David Clough developed in On Animals Volume I: Systematic Theology (2012). It argues that a Christian understanding of other animals has radical implications for their treatment by humans, with the human use and abuse of non-human animals for food the most urgent immediate priority. Following an introduction examining the task of theological ethics in relation to non-human animals and the way it relates to other accounts of animal ethics, this book surveys and assess the use humans make of other animals for food, for clothing, for labour, as research subjects, for sport and entertainment, as pets or companions, and human impacts on wild animals. The result is both a state-of-the-art account of what humans are doing to other animals, and a persuasive argument that Christians in particular have strong faith-based reasons to acknowledge the significance of the issues raised and change their practice in response.