Relationships between people and texts form the focus of the studies collected in this book. It was presented to Erik Kooper in recognition of his lifelong efforts to bring together people from universities worldwide. It will be of special interest to scholars and students of Arthurian and Middle English literature, codicologists, scholars interested in medieval Latin sermons and the Gesta Herewardi, in medieval drama and in texts in Middle English, among them Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Wynnere and Wastoure, Sir Eglamour, the Tale of Gamelyn, a nd, in Scots, the metrical chronicle of William Stewart. Articles on early twentieth-century Chaucerian scholarship and on many of the Old French Arthurian romances as well as the writings of Wace and Benoit de Sainte-Maure are also included. Contributors are Bart Besamusca, Frank Brandsma, Rolf H. Bremmer, Jr., Keith Busby, D.J. Curnow and Ad Putter, Juliette Dor, Frans N.M. Diekstra, Karen Hodder and John Scattergood, Geert van Iersel, Douglas Kelly, Edward Donald Kennedy, Jane Roberts, Elsa Strietman and Thea Summerfield.

Nanotechnology is opening up new avenues in all scientific and technological fields. Among the novel applications, bioactives and nutraceuticals are fast-growing areas of nano research for better healthcare solutions. A variety of nanoformulations, such as polymeric nanoparticles, nanocapsules, nanoemulsions, transferosomes and ethosomes, liposomes, lipospheres, and lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles have proved valuable in bioactive delivery and food materials. Further, new herbal drugs and nutraceuticals are reported to have remarkable advantages over conventional formulations of plant actives and extracts, including enhanced solubility, bioavailability, multiple drug delivery, greater stability, sustained delivery, improved tissue macrophage distribution, protection from toxicity, enhancement of pharmacological activity and protection from physical and chemical degradation. This book focuses on the advanced nanomaterials that are utilized for the encapsulation of nutrients/vitamin/phytoconstituents, as well as their other healthcare benefits.

The History of Civilizations traces the history of man in this vast region from the Palaeolithic beginnings to circa 700 B.C. when the foundations for the formation of the great Empire were laid. Many different elements must come together before a human community develops to the level of sophistication commonly referred to as civilization. The first is the existence of settlements classifiable as towns or cities. This requires food production to be efficient enough for a large minority of the community to be engaged in more specialized activities-such as the creation of imposing buildings or works of art, the practice of skilled warfare, and above all the administration of a centralized bureaucracy capable of running the machinery of state. Despite the major role played by Central Asia in shaping the history of the past and of today, this vast region, stretching from the Caspian Sea to Mongolia and western China, had not been studied as a whole cultural entity in time and space. This multi-volume History of Civilizations of Central Asia, published in English, is the first attempt to present a comprehensive picture of the cultures that flourished and vanished at the heart of the Eurasian continent from the dawn of civilization to the present day. The book is an engaging and thought-provoking philosophical account that demonstrates that critical inquiry is an ongoing process with strains of continuity and evolution of Civilizations.

Rainbows Shadow and the tablets of fate is an adventure/fantasy tale about two novels, Rainbow Alley and The Sorcerers Shadow which have been mysteriously melded together creating an alternative dimension that has begun to write itself. The first novel, Rainbow Alley, is a mythical and magical novel of pure paradise as told and written by Joseph Collins to his grandson, Will Collins. The second novel, The Sorcerers Shadow is an adventure filled novel full of evil, sorcery and mayhem spewed throughout its pages and is the favorite story of Wills brother, Bryan Collins. As these two novels unify, they become more then mere pages, as a blend of good and evil begin to emerge into reality. Rainbow Alley is a surreal paradise Grandpa Joe has claimed to actually visited when he was younger. It can only be accessed through a golden portal by bringing four critical elements together. One magical night, as the four elements are sought to come together to gain access to Rainbow Alley, the unthinkable happens. By accidentally placing The Sorcerers Shadow novel underneath theRainbow Alley novel during the joining of only three of the four critical elements, Bryan has unknowingly set off the melding of these two stories. This creates their access to a new story and a land unlike anything the boys could ever imagine. However, this access would prove to be near fatal for Grandpa Joe, as he is stricken by a mythical force that sends him into a mysterious coma. Will and his best friend and neighbor, Jimmy Foster, set off on a journey, through the golden portal and into the merged stories in an effort to save his stricken grandfather While in this new and sometimes foreboding and pleasurable land, Will is driven by a voice, claiming to show him the way to heal his grandfather. What the boys encounter is incomprehensible, as they experience a blend of paradise, infiltrated by evil, sorcery and mayhem first hand.

Many have pursued, and continue to pursue, real immortality by seeking to prolong their lives on this earth. Others pursue symbolic or proxy immortality, through children, fame or being part of something long-lasting. One can imagine these different forms of immortality as a menu of options of how to live forever: you click the one that appeals to you most and best fits your beliefs, hopes, values and worldview.