bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Biological fabrication of zinc oxide nanoparticles from Nepeta cataria potentially produces apoptosis through inhibition of proliferative markers in ovarian cancer
Authors: Gu Wenli , Li Haining , Niu Xianyi , Zhou Jianyun
Published: April 2022

This study evaluated the biological fabrication and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) using Nepeta cataria (NC) and their anticancer activity against ovarian cancer cells (SKOV3). This study synthesized ZnONPs using leaf extract of N. cataria through a biological method. The synthesized particles were characterized in several ways such as zeta potential, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrum, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis. UV-Vis spectrum exhibited that maximum spectra were found to be 380 nm. The size of the material was shown to be 75.9 nm confirmed by dynamic light scattering measurement. Moreover, XRD, SEM, and transmission electron microscopic analysis were confirmed by the synthesized materials as crystal-based ZnONPs. FTIR studies represent that several biologically active functional groups existed in the synthesized nanoparticles. In addition, the anticancer ability and the inhibitory role of ZnONPs-NC against SKOV3 cells were investigated. We found that ZnONPs-NC causes efficient toxicity in SKOV3 cells by increasing cytotoxicity depending on reactive oxygen species production and nuclear fragmentation in SKOV3 cells. ZnONPs-NC activates Bax and Caspases while inhibiting Bcl-2 proteins in SKOV3 cells. Furthermore, we discovered that ZnONPs-NC inhibits the proliferative markers PCNA, cyclin-D1, matrix metallo proteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-9) in SKOV3 cells. Thus, biologically synthesized ZnONPs-NC were found to be effectively inhibiting ovarian cancer cell growth.
Desalination technology for energy-efficient and low-cost water production: A bibliometric analysis
Authors: Naseer Muhammad Nihal , Zaidi Asad A. , Khan Hamdullah , Kumar Sagar , Owais Muhammad Taha Bin , Wahab Yasmin Abdul , Dutta Kingshuk , Jaafar Juhana , Uzair Muhammad , Johan Mohd Rafie , Badruddin Irfan Anjum
Published: April 2022

Over the last few decades, steady growth in desalination literature has been observed. However, conducting a quantitative analysis of this literature is still a novelty. This study aimed at carrying out a quantitative analysis of desalination literature published during the last 30 years, using bibliometric and content analysis techniques, based on the Web of Science database. The bibliometric analysis revealed that desalination has received much attention after the year 2000, as 95.4% of literature has been published in two decades after 2000. The text mining analysis showed that the hot themes of desalination research are reverse osmosis optimization, graphene implications, interfacial polymerization, capacitive deionization, carbon nanotube implications, and antifouling techniques. Furthermore, it was observed that many desalination technologies have emerged recently that make it a challenge to choose the right desalination technology for industrialization. Therefore, this study also contributed to identifying the factors that are important for the industrialization of desalination technologies and, based on these identified factors, this study has compared different desalination technologies to unearth the energy-efficient and low production cost technology. Analytical hierarchy process was used for comparing existing desalination technologies based on eight different parameters and it demonstrated that reverse osmosis is the best available technology for desalination.
Competitive ability of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) breeding material under Cyperus rotundus infestation
Authors: Anwar Kohli Shoaib , Rauf Saeed , Khalid Muhammad Waqas , Kainat Wardah , Paderweski Jakub , Munir Hassan , Hassan Ali , Noorka Ijaz Rasool , Khan Niazi Imtiaz Akram
Published: April 2022

Weed infestation induces intense competition with the sunflower crop for soil nutrients, space and light causing significant yield losses of the sunflower. Therefore, study was undertaken during the year 2013–15 at College of Agriculture, University of Sargodha, Pakistan to determine the effect of Cyperus rotundus infestation on various morphological and biochemical traits. Initially a screening experiment was carried out to screen against C. rotundus infestation. Later on, cross combinations of selected cytoplasmic male sterile and restorer lines were attempted to develop F1 progenies which were compared with commercial hybrids along with parents. There were 6 parental lines (3 A and 3 R lines) along with 9 single cross combinations obtained from these parents. Experiment was carried out in complete randomized design having factorial arrangement with three replications. Weed in one of regime latter called as control were completely absent, while in weed infestation regimes 5 and 10 plants of C. rotundus were maintained. Results showed that C. rotundus infestation causes significant damage to the sunflower plants. Generally cross combination showed a decrease of leaf area by 440% and 264%, 61% and 49% for chlorophyll contents, 133% and 191% for head weight under low and high weed infestation regime respectively. However, antioxidant activity increased by 44% and 49% under low and high infestation regime induced by C. rotundus. Sunflower genotypes also showed variability in competitive ability against C. rotundus weed. Cross combinations coded as (A10, A7 and A2) showed lower comparative decrease for seed yield and oil contents when compared with standard hybrids under the presence of C. rotundus. Development of sunflower hybrids with better competitive ability under the presence of weeds such as C. rotundus may able to enhance plant development and lower yield losses in sunflower field with minimum the use of herbicide.
Entwicklungen bei PVD-Verschleißschutzschichten*
Authors: Matthews A. , Leyland A.
Published: April 2022

In den zurückliegenden zwei bis drei Jahrzehnten ist ein bemerkenswerter Fortschritt bei der Entwicklung von PVD-Verschleißschutzschichten erreicht worden. Die Beschichtungen wurden in die Großserienfertigung (wie der Automobilindustrie) jedoch nur langsam übernommen. Dafür gibt es mehrere Ursachen. Eine Ursache ist, dass der Schwerpunkt vieler Forscher offensichtlich bei der Entwicklung harter Schichten lag. Diese „superharten“ oder „ultraharten“ Schichten (und die zugehörigen Verfahren) sind häufig für die billigen (und vergleichsweise weichen) Substrate nicht geeignet, die in der Großserie oft verwendet werden. Die Entwicklungen im Verständnis tribologischer Kontaktvorgänge führten zu der Erkenntnis, dass die Härte (H) möglicherweise nicht die einzige Eigenschaft ist, die den Verschleißwiderstand bestimmt. Wir besprechen hier die Bedeutung des Elastizitätsmoduls (E) und des Verhältnisses H/E für die Bestimmung der Widerstandsfähigkeit einer Oberflächenbeschichtung, insbesondere für deren Fähigkeit, Verformungen des Substrats unter Last auszugleichen. Damit ist die Diskussion neuer mehrschichtiger und Nano-Verbund-Beschichtungen verbunden, mit denen ein vergleichsweise niedriger Elastizitätsmodul bei ausreichender Härte eingestelltwerden kann. Weiterhin werden die Vorteile von Vorbehandlungen und Zwischenschichten beschrieben, mit denen die Tragfähigkeit des Substrats für die Beschichtung verbessert werden kann. Insgesamt stellt die Veröffentlichung einen Überblick über die Möglichkeiten dar, wie heute PVD-Verschleißschutzschichten entwickelt werden können, welche die Anforderungen von Reibungs- und Verschleißbeanspruchungen in der praktischen Anwendung vollständig erfüllen.
Ökobilanz von Nitrocarburierverfahren*
Authors: Buchgeister J. , Fritzsche A. , Horvath G. , Wittkowsky A.
Published: April 2022

Die Ökobilanz ist sowohl für die Prozessanalyse zur Optimierung als auch für den ökologischen Vergleich von Wärmebehandlungsverfahren ein geeignetes Instrument. Am Beispiel der Gas- und Salzbadnitrocarburierverfahren wird die Vorgehensweise beschrieben und eine Analyse für einen 3,6 und 6 m 3 großen Gasofen sowie eine Salzbadanlage vorgestellt. Dabei werden Hinweise und Möglichkeiten hinsichtlich ökologischer Optimierungen beider Verfahren aufgezeigt und eine vergleichende ökologische Bewertung der Verfahren vorgenommen.
Untersuchungen zur haftfesten Abscheidung von kubischem Bornitrid (cBN) auf Werkzeugstahl mit dem IBAD-Verfahren
Authors: Döring J.-E. , Stock H.-R. , Mayr P.
Published: April 2022

Schichten aus kubischem Bornitrid (cBN) wurden mittels IBAD (ion beam assisted deposition) auf Substraten aus dem Werkzeugstahl S 6-5-2 abgeschieden und hinsichtlich ihrer physikalischen und mechanischen Eigenschaften charakterisiert. Die dünnen cBN-Filme wurden durch Verdampfen von elementarem Bor mittels eines Elektronenstrahlverdampfers bei gleichzeitiger Bestrahlung mit einem Gemisch aus Stickstoff- und Argonionen abgeschieden. Zur Erhöhung der Haftfestigkeit wurden zum einen Multilayer-Zwischenschichtsysteme untersucht, die auf Titannitrid unterschiedlicher Stöchiometrie basieren. Zum anderen wird die nachträgliche Ionenimplantation von Stickstoffionen zur Haftfestigkeitssteigerung vorgestellt. Die so erhaltenen Schichtverbunde wurden durch XPS, FTIR REM, Ultramikrohärte- und Reibwertmessungen charakterisiert. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass sich durch Einbringen einer Titannitrid-basierten Zwischenschicht chemische Bindungen von Zwischenschicht- und Funktionsschicht-Werkstoff ausbilden. Des Weiteren ergibt sich mit zunehmendem Stickstoffgehalt ein geringerer Stress und eine bessere Haftfestigkeit in den Schichten. Die nachträgliche Ionenimplantation erhöht die Haftfestigkeit zusätzlich.
Induktionshärtung von Zahnstangen für Servolenkungen*
Authors: Düsseldorf M.
Published: April 2022

Seit Einführung von servounterstützten Zahnstangenlenkungen für PKW wurde die Zahnstange traditionell induktiv gehärtet. Mit steigenden Anforderungen an die Bauteilfestigkeit der Zahnstange wurden im Laufe der Jahre verschiedene induktive Härtungsverfahren entwickelt.

Die Ergebnisse der verschiedenen Verfahren werden beschrieben. Darüber hinaus wird eine moderne und vollautomatisch arbeitende Fertigungszelle zum induktiven Härten und Anlassen von Zahnstangen gezeigt. Hervorstechende Eigenschaft dieser mit 7 NC-Achsen ausgerüsteten Zwillingsmaschine ist eine in Echtzeit arbeitende Induktor-Zentriereinrichtung, die einen gleichförmigen Kopplungsabstand des Induktors trotz vor der Härtung vorliegendem oder während der Härtung entstehendem Rundlauffehler des Werkstücks erlaubt.
Randschichthärten von Großwerkzeugen mit dem 4 kW Diodenlaser*
Authors: Dierken R. , Gropp S. , Kugler P. , Gottschling S. , Hoffmann P.
Published: April 2022

Für das Randschichthärten von Bauteilen und Werkzeugen wird neben dem Induktionshärten immer noch das Flammhärten eingesetzt. Das Laserstrahlhärten kommt zwar vereinzelt schon zur Anwendung, der große industrielle Durchbruch ließ jedoch bislang aufgrund hoher Investitionskosten auf sich warten. Durch die Entwicklung von Diodenlasern im Hochleistungsbereich konnten in jüngster Zeit temperaturgeregelte Laserstrahlhärteanlagen aufgebaut werden. Diese stellen beim Randschichthärten eine flexible, prozesssichere und relativ kostengünstige Alternative im Vergleich zu den bisherigen Laseranlagen sowie zu den konventionellen Formen der Wärmebehandlung dar. Im Vergleich zum Laserstrahlhärten mit CO2- oder Nd:WAG-Lasern besitzen Diodenlaser bei der Strahlerzeugung einen um eine Größenordnung höheren elektrischen Wirkungsgrad. Zusätzlich zeichnen sie sich durch ein verbessertes Einkoppelverhalten bei Eisenmetallen aus. Damit erhöht sich der Gesamtwirkungsgrad des Laserhärteprozesses mit dem Diodenlaser deutlich. Die geringe Baugröße des Lasers erlaubt die Adaption an einen Industrieroboter als kostengünstige Lösung einer 3D-Führungsmaschine und ermöglicht so den flexiblen Einsatz sowohl zur Positionierung bei der Serienfertigung kleiner Bauteile als auch bei der Bearbeitung von Einzelstücken des Großwerkzeugbaus. Beispielhaft wird die Bearbeitung mit dem 4 kW-Diodenlasersystem an Großwerkzeugen für den Kunststoffspritzguss und für die Blechbearbeitung gezeigt.
Sammlung Werkzeugschäden*
Authors: Jung I. , Lubich V. , Wieland H.-J.
Published: April 2022

Ziel dieses Arbeitsprojektes ist die Erfassung der verschiedenen Arten von Werkzeugschäden, von der Konstruktion bis zum Einsatz eines Werkzeuges. Dabei ist es Intention dieses Projektes, neben der systematischen Katalogisierung der Werkzeugschäden nach Art und Auftreten gleichzeitig sinnvolle Problemlösungen für die jeweiligen Schadensarten anzubieten.

Produktionsfehler, Betriebsfehler und unvorhergesehene Ereignisse beeinflussen die Standzeiten der Werkzeuge. Die Wärmebehandlung nimmt aufgrund ihres erheblichen Einflusses auf die Werkzeugeigenschaften naturgemäß einen großen Raum ein, da sich die meisten Fehler nach einer Wärmebehandlung zeigen. Insbesondere bei neueren Wärmebehandlungsverfahren besteht Handlungsbedarf. Um optimale Standzeiten eines Werkzeuges zu erzielen, müssen alle Fertigungsschritte während der Werkzeugfertigung möglichst fehlerfrei ausgeführt werden und der Einsatz des Werkzeuges muss sachgerecht erfolgen. Ein Schadenskatalog, der alle diese Fehlerquellen abdeckt, kann daher einen sinnvollen Beitrag zur Optimierung der Werkzeugstandzeiten und damit zu einer wirtschaftlicheren Fertigung leisten.
Bestimmung steiler Spannungsprofile*
Authors: Behnken H. , Hauk V.
Published: April 2022

Als Beitrag zur Bestimmung von zwei- und dreiachsigen Eigenspannungszuständen in Oberflächenbereichen wurde eine Ge­meinschaftsuntersuchung initiiert. Die röntgenographischen Gitterdehnungsmessungen von der Oberfläche aus, also ohne Abtragen von Schichten, wurden von 12 Institutionen von Universitäten, Forschungsinstituten und der Industrie vorgenommen. Proben aus dem einsatzgehärteten Stahl 16MnCr5 und aus der Keramik Si 3N4 wurden durch unterschiedliches Schleifen an der Oberfläche verformt. Abweichungen der absoluten Werte der Linienlagen waren die Folge der teilweise sehr breiten Interferenzen und der Wahl der Interferenz-Lage-Bestimmung. Die von einigen Teilnehmern vorgenommene Auswertung der Eigenspannungsprofile führte nicht zu einem einheitlichen Bild. Vorgegebene Profile der Eigenspannungen in Abhängigkeit von der Entfernung von der Oberfläche wurden für zwei Gitterebenenscharen in entsprechende Verteilungen der Gitterebenenabstände transformiert. Diese wurden nach verschiedenen Ansätzen ausgewertet. Hierbei war die Übereinstimmung der berechneten Spannungsprofile gut. Aus den Ergebnissen der Gemeinschaftsuntersuchung folgen die Bedingungen, der notwendige Messaufwand und die Auswertemethoden zur sicheren Ermittlung von steilen Spannungsgradienten.
Berechnung der Dauerfestigkeit von gekerbten und mehrachsig beanspruchten Proben aus dem einsatzgehärteten Stahl 16MnCrS5*
Authors: Schleicher M. , Bomas H. , Mayr P.
Published: April 2022

Kurzfassungen

Auf der Basis des Fehlstellenmodells wurde ein Berechnungskonzept entwickelt, das über die Ermittlung lokaler Überlebenswahrscheinlichkeiten die Dauerfestigkeit von einsatzgehärteten Proben treffsicher abschätzen kann. Hierzu wurden auf der experimentellen Seite die Dauerfestigkeiten von insgesamt 17 einsatzgehärteten Probentypen aus dem Stahl 16MnCrS5 unter Umlaufbiegung, Zug-Druck-, Zug-Schwell- und Wechseltorsionsbelastung ermittelt. Voraussetzungen zur Anwendung des erweiterten Fehlstellenmodells sind die Kenntnis von Härte- und Eigenspannungsverläufen, der Oberflächenrauheit und der Randoxidationstiefe. Die zur Berechnung notwendigen Modellparameter werden mit Hilfe mehrerer Referenzvarianten ermittelt. Das Berechnungskonzept enthält keine Einschränkung hinsichtlich der Probengeometrie und ist deshalb prinzipiell zur Dauerfestigkeitsabschätzung von Bauteilen aus harten Werkstoffen geeignet.
Thermische Simulation des Sprühkompaktierprozesses
Authors: Bergmann D. , Fritsching U. , Bauckhage K.
Published: April 2022

In diesem Beitrag werden Modellierungsbausteine für ein integrales Simulationsmodell des Sprühkompaktierens vorgestellt. Hierfür wird zunächst der Übergang vom Spray zum Deposit betrachtet, also das Auftreffen der Materialmasse auf das Deposit. Ausgehend von der Analyse der Erstarrung und Abkühlung von Einzelpartikeln im Sprühkegel werden geeignete Mittelungsmethoden zur Ableitung des integralen thermischen Energieeintrags in das Deposit entwickelt. In der anschließenden Betrachtung der Materialabkühlung im Deposit wird ein Modell für die resultierende Korngröße im gesprühten Produkt vorgestellt, auf bauend auf den Modelldaten aus der Sprühkegelsimulation. Auf der Basis derartiger Teilmodelle wird das thermische Verhalten eines Schmelzeelements beim sukzessiven Durchlaufen der Prozessstufen des Sprühkompaktierens unter Variation wesentlicher Prozessbedingungen analysiert.
Ultrapräzise Fertigung von Kalibriernormalen für Oberflächenmesssysteme
Authors: Brinksmeier E. , Preuß W. , Gessenharter A. , Trumpold H. , Frenzel C.
Published: April 2022

Die Kalibrierung von Oberflächenmesssystemen ist wegen der hohen Preise für zertifizierte Kalibriernormale sehr kostenaufwendig. Sie wird daher auch oft durch Prüflaboratorien, z. B den Deutschen Kalibrierdienst (DKD), durchgeführt. Es ist ein Ziel des EU-Forschungsprojektes SMT4-CT97-2176: „Calibration Standards for Surface Topography Measuring Systems down to Nanometric Range“, mit der Anwendung ultrapräziser Dreh-und Fräsprozesse sowie der Entwicklung geeigneter Replikationsverfahren zur Herstellung und Vervielfältigung von Kalibriernormalen preisgünstige Kalibriernormale im Markt zu etablieren und so einen Beitrag zur Qualitätssicherung in der Prüfmittelüberwachung zu leisten.
Applying metal coatings to dielectric materials by photochemical processes
Authors: Koshkarbaeva Shayzada , Janpaizova Vasilya , Amanbaeva Kalamkas , Sataev Malik , Abdurazova Perizat , Serikbaeva Bagdagul , Raiymbekov Yerkebulan
Published: April 2022

Photochemical processes in thin surface layers of solutions of compounds of the copper subgroup elements leading to the formation of dispersed metal particles on the surface of dielectrics are investigated. It is shown that dispersed particles of elemental gold are formed on dielectrics moistened with AuCl3 solution and exposed to sunlight. At the same time, there is no need to use any chemical reducing agents. On cotton fabrics moistened with solutions of AgNO3, CuBr2, when exposed to sunlight, silver and copper monohalides are formed, respectively. These processes take place with the participation of terminal cellulose molecules and also do not require the use of chemical reducing agents. In addition, it was found that copper monohalides can be converted into elemental copper particles by a photochemical reaction involving ascorbic acid. Examples of metallization of a number of dielectrics using photochemical activation using sunlight are given.
Masking and noise reduction processing of music signals in reverberant music
Authors: Zhang Shenghuan , Cheng Ye
Published: April 2022

Noise will be inevitably mixed with music signals in the recording process. To improve the quality of music signals, it is necessary to reduce noise as much as possible. This article briefly introduces noise, the masking effect, and the spectral subtraction method for reducing noise in reverberant music. The spectral subtraction method was improved by the human ear masking effect to enhance its noise reduction performance. Simulation experiments were carried out on the traditional and improved spectral subtraction methods. The results showed that the improved spectral subtraction method could reduce the noise in reverberant music more effectively; under an objective evaluation criterion, the signal-to-noise ratio, the de-reverberated music signal processed by the improved spectral subtraction method had a higher signal-to-noise ratio; under a subjective evaluation criterion, mean opinion score (MOS), the de-reverberated music signal processed by the improved spectral subtraction method also had a better evaluation.
How is laughter used to create and reinforce food attitudes in Japanese Dairy Taster Brunch conversations
Authors: Szatrowski Polly
Published: April 2022

This paper investigates how participants use laughter to create and reinforce food attitudes in conversations over a Dairy Taster Brunch. Previous conversation analytic research on Japanese conversations about food has focused on food assessments, identification, and categorization. This research addresses the following questions: 1) How does food trigger humor and laughter in conversations over food? 2) What about the situation elicits laughter? 3) How is humor and laughter used to create and reinforce food attitudes in the conversational interaction? and 4) What kinds of food attitudes are created using humor and laughter in talk about food? Results show that food attitudes are not lodged in the individual but rather are created and reinforced moment-by-moment in temporally unfolding multimodal conversational interaction. This research contributes to the growing body of research on language and food, sheds light on the relation between laughter and food, and has implications for healthy eating, and cross-cultural communication.
Japanese L2 learners’ subjective construal: an analysis of expressions of emotion and evaluation in written storytelling found in I-JAS data
Authors: Yabuki-Soh Noriko , Okuno Yukiko
Published: April 2022

Japanese is considered to be a language in which speakers tend to take a subjective stance by locating themselves within the situation they construe. Previous research indicates that in storytelling, Japanese L2 learners employ fewer expressions of viewpoint than L1 speakers do, and viewpoint tends to shift from character to character. Do Japanese L2 learners, then, typically take an objective stance, or do they use other devices to take a subjective stance? The present study compared Japanese L2 learners’ subjective construal with that of L1 speakers in two types of storytelling. The results indicated that while Japanese L1 speakers typically used passive voice to maintain a viewpoint, L2 learners employed a variety of expressions related to emotion and evaluation to subjectively describe the given events throughout each story. The study suggests the existence of interlanguage in that L2 learners use vocabulary-based devices instead of grammatical devices for subjective construal.
How an utterance is regarded as implying disagreement: an analysis of confirmation requests in Japanese decision-making meetings
Authors: Feng Jiayu
Published: April 2022

This study describes how confirmation requests can be regarded as implying disagreement in Japanese decision-making meetings. By using the methodology of Conversation Analysis, I examined two specific sequential environments where participants in meetings are more likely to imply their disagreements through confirmation requests: (i) after a participant reports on his or her proposal and (ii) after a silence caused by a stalled discussion. The detailed analysis of the composition and sequential location of confirmation requests in these contexts revealed that linguistic items, vocal stress, or even conversational contexts can make a confirmation request heard as implying disagreement. In addition, choosing a confirmation request to imply disagreement is not a random decision but a thoughtful selection depending on the asymmetrical epistemic status or related to the management of topic progression in meetings.
Reexamining Japanese youth language
Authors: Cao Yuning
Published: April 2022

This paper investigates Japanese youth language (abbreviated as “YL” thereafter) from a sociolinguistic approach and discusses whether the terminology itself is felicitous in capturing the group of words or the users it claims to be capturing by focusing on YL usage in real life and collected latest data featuring top-ranking YL words in 2018 and 2019. A closer examination of YL reveals that the usage not always matches users’ age, and that the terminology itself suggests an outsider view, creating a misconception that only young people use it. It is thus argued that age is not the correct label to define YL, and that various types of YL words exist under this umbrella notion that are used in different communities for various purposes. This article intends to promote a more comprehensive and objective understanding of YL.
‘Made the absence shout’: paradox as iconoclasm in Toni Morrison’s Beloved
Authors: Vayo Brendon K.
Published: April 2022

In 1856, Margaret Garner murdered one child, and attempted to murder three others, rather than return them to slavery. Despite the impact traumas like Garner’s had on abolition, history largely forgets or ignores these gruesome details. In their place come racialist markers that obscure Garner’s likeness. Thomas Satterwhite Noble’s The Modern Medea, for example, depicts Garner with a head wrap and wild eyes. Visual cues such as these perpetuate an undifferentiating representation of Garner, categorized as something between asexual “mammy” and angry “slave.” I argue that Toni Morrison recovers Garner by reconfiguring what Hayden White terms the “historical account” with icons to connote paradoxical significations. Like paradoxes, these icons simultaneously embody complementary and yet oppositional significations without one privileged over the other. Morrison’s historiography thus produces in simultaneity a history told and repealed, which functions iconoclastically not only to engravings such as The Modern Medea but also to the linguistic system that structures an incomplete and surreptitious “historical account.”
Embodiment in the diversity of literary experience: a reply to Wolfgang Teubert (2021)
Authors: Gibbs Raymond W. , Rasse Carina
Published: April 2022

This article offers our reply to Wolfgang Teubert. 2021. Embodiment is not the answer to meaning: A discussion of the theory underlying the article by Carina Rasse and Raymond W. Gibbs, Jr. in JLS 50(1). Journey of Literary Semantics 50. 89–106. Teurbert’s article examined discussion of our earlier publication in this journal on metaphorical thinking in people’s literary experiences of J.D. Salinger’s novel “The Catcher in the Rye.” Teubert makes several points about our advocacy of an embodied perspective on literary meaning and interpretation. He argues that literary experience is best characterized in terms of people’s verbalized, reflective statements about the meanings of literary texts. Data from cognitive linguistic analyses and behavioral experiments are less compelling, in his view, because these studies examine embodied metaphors from a discourse-external perspective and mostly focus on people’s fast, mostly unconscious processing of verbal metaphors. Our reply highlights the importance of studying linguistic understanding, and literary experience, along varying time-dimensions, the fact that many linguistic and behavioral studies examine embodied metaphorical thinking in more reflective, social circumstances, exactly as Teubert recommends. Finally, we suggest that looking at literary experience from an embodied perspective is tightly associated with a discourse-analytic point of view. Scholars can never dismiss the reality of embodiment in literary experience because it provides a critical, but not exclusive, constraint on how we express ourselves and enable others to create specific patterns of meaning in the words they read.
Fetal growth regulation via insulin-like growth factor axis in normal and diabetic pregnancy
Authors: Alekseenkova Elena N. , Selkov Sergey A. , Kapustin Roman V.
Published: April 2022

Objectives

Diabetes mellitus (DM) in pregnancy and gestational diabetes remain a considerable cause of pregnancy complications, and fetal macrosomia is among them. Insulin, insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), and components of their signal-transduction axes belong to the predominant growth regulators and are implicated in glucose homeostasis. This study aimed to evaluate the available evidence on the association between the IGF axis and fetal anthropometric parameters in human diabetic pregnancy.

Methods

PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and CNKI databases (1981–2021) were searched.

Results

Maternal and cord serum IGF-I levels are suggested to be positively associated with weight and length of neonates born to mothers with type 1 DM. The results concerning IGF-II and IGFBPs in type 1 DM or any of the IGF axis components in type 2 DM remain controversial. The alterations of maternal serum IGFs concentrations throughout diabetic and non-diabetic pregnancy do not appear to be the same. Maternal 1st trimester IGF-I level is positively associated with fetal birth weight in DM.

Conclusions

Research on the IGF axis should take gestational age of sampling, presence of DM, and insulin administration into account. Maternal 1st trimester IGF-I level might become a predictor for macrosomia development in diabetic pregnancy.
“Climate change” vs. “global warming”: A corpus-assisted discourse analysis of two popular terms in The New York Times
Authors: Liu Ming , Huang Jingyi
Published: April 2022

“Climate change” and “global warming” are two popular terms that may be often used interchangeably in news media. This study proposes to give a corpus-assisted discourse study of the representations of climate change and global warming in The New York Times (2000–2019) in order to examine how they are actually used in the newspaper. The findings show both similarities and differences in their representations in terms of the associated topics/themes, the particular ways of framing, and the perspectivization strategy employed. It is argued that a corpus-assisted discourse study of a large sample of news articles presents a more accurate picture of the actual use of the two terms in news media.
The year’s work in ecolinguistics 2021
Authors: Zhang Ruijie
Published: April 2022

The year 2021 saw significant developments in ecolinguistic studies. Valuable theoretical additions to the position, aim, and scope of ecolinguistics have evinced the continuous evolution of the field beyond its provenance in linguistic studies. Publications on extended ecolinguistic methods drawing on various fields of knowledge have signified the field’s ongoing diversification as an increasingly nuanced (sub)discipline. This article reviews the research areas, communities, events, and publications representative of the year 2021 to demonstrate how ecological issues instigate ecolinguistic scholarship and activism and, conversely, how ecolinguistics contributes to understanding ecological issues. By looking back at the state-of-the-art, the review looks into the future and suggests promising trajectories for the unity and diversity of ecolinguistics.
On second-order fuzzy discrete population model
Authors: Zhang Qianhong , Ouyang Miao , Zhang Zhongni
Published: April 2022

This work is concerned with dynamical behavior of a second-order fuzzy discrete population model:

x

n

=

A

x

n
−
1

1
+

x

n
−
1

+
B

x

n
−
2

,

n
=
1
,
2
,

…

,

{x}_{n}=\frac{A{x}_{n-1}}{1+{x}_{n-1}+B{x}_{n-2}},\hspace{1em}n=1,2,\ldots ,

where

A
,
B

A,B

are positive fuzzy numbers.

x

n

{x}_{n}

is a positive fuzzy number and represents the population size at the observation instant n. According to a generalization of division (

g

g

-division) of fuzzy number, we study the dynamical behaviors including boundedness, global asymptotical stability, and persistence of positive fuzzy solution. Finally, two examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the results obtained.
Tollip promotes hepatocellular carcinoma progression via PI3K/AKT pathway
Authors: Huang Lu , Yang Qiong , Chen Huihong , Wang Zhenggeng , Liu Qi , Ai Shuhua
Published: April 2022

The activation of signaling pathways induced by Toll-like receptor (TLR) has been demonstrated to play essential roles in multiple liver diseases. Toll-interacting protein (Tollip) acts as an endogenous negative modulator of TLR signaling and is implicated in various cardio-metabolic diseases. However, the effect of Tollip in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains elusive. In the current study, enhanced Tollip expression was observed in HCC cells and tissues examined by RT-PCR, western blot, and immunohistochemistry staining. Moreover, the co-immunofluorescence staining demonstrated that increased Tollip expression was primarily located in hepatocytes. Functionally, Tollip overexpression significantly increased proliferation, migration, invasion, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of HCC cells, which ultimately accelerated tumorigenesis. Mechanistically, Tollip overexpression dramatically promoted the activation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in HCC cells which was attenuated by Tollip silencing. Importantly, the inhibition of PI3K/AKT axis can abolish the promoted effects of Tollip on proliferation and EMT of HCC cells. Our current study demonstrated that Tollip played an important role in the regulation of HCC development by engaging PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. These evidences suggested that the blockade of Tollip-PI3K/AKT axis was an ideal therapeutic treatment for management of HCC.
Angularly anisotropic tunability of upconversion luminescence by tuning plasmonic local-field responses in gold nanorods antennae with different configurations
Authors: Pan Chengda , Ma Qiang , Liu Shikang , Xue Yingxian , Fang Zhiyun , Zhang Shiyu , Qin Mengyao , Wu E , Wu Botao
Published: April 2022

Optical polarization has attracted considerable research attention by extra detection dimension in angular space, flourishing modern optoelectronic applications. Nonetheless, purposive polarization controlling at nanoscales and even at the single-particle level constitutes a challenge. Plasmonic nanoantenna opens up new perspectives in polarization state modification. Herein, we report angular-dependent upconversion luminescence (UCL) of rare-earth ions doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) in both emission and excitation polarization via constructing angularly anisotropic plasmonic local-field distributions in gold nanorods (Au NRs) antennae with different configurations at a single-particle level. The UCL of UCNP tailored by plasmonic Au NRs nanoantennae is enhanced and exhibits linear polarization. The highest enhancement factor of 138 is obtained in the collinear Au NR-UCNP-Au NR configuration under parallel excitation. Simultaneously, the maximum degree of linear polarization (DOLP) of UCL with factors of 85% and 81% are achieved in the same structure in emission and excitation polarization measurements, respectively. The observed linear polarizations and UCL enhancements are due to varied resonant responses at 660 nm and the anisotropic near-field enhancement in different nanoantennae-load UCNP. The theoretical simulations reveal the periodic changing of near-field enhancement factors of nanoantennae in angular space with the incident light polarization angles and are well-matched with the experimental results.
Balanced-ternary-inspired reconfigurable vortex beams using cascaded metasurfaces
Authors: Liu Ji , Qi Jurui , Yao Jin , Hu Wenman , Zhang Dajun , Xu He-Xiu , Wang Xiong
Published: April 2022

Electromagnetic vortex carries the orbital angular momentum, one of the most fundamental properties of waves. The order of such vortex can be unbounded in principle, thus facilitating high-capability wave technologies for optical communications, photonic integrated circuits and others. However, it remains a key challenge to generate the high-order vortex beams in a reconfigurable, broadband and cost-effective manner. Here, inspired by the balanced-ternary concept, we demonstrate the reconfigurable generation of order-controllable vortices via cascaded N-layer metasurfaces. We theoretically showed that

3
N

−
1

${3}^{N}-1$

different vortex modes can be generated by cascading N metasurfaces, each one serving as an individual vortex beam generator for the order of

3
k

${3}^{k}$

(k = 0,1,2 …,

N
−
1

$N-1$

). As a proof-of-concept demonstration, a reconfigurable generation of 26 different vortex beams, with orders from 1 to 13 and from −1 to −13, is showcased in a broad millimeter-wave region by a cascade of 3 metasurfaces. Our method can be easily extended to vortex beam generator of arbitrary orders in a reconfigurable and easily implementable manner, paving a new avenue towards tremendous practical applications.
Crystal structure of dimethyl 1,4,6,9-tetraphenylhexahydro-3H-2,7,3,5-(epimethanetriyliminomethanetriyl)cyclopenta[b]pyridine-3,7(2H)-dicarboxylate, C38H34N2O4
Authors: Wang Yin-Xin , Geng Si-Qi , Qin Jia-Rui , Zhang Wen-Li , Zhong Qi-Di
Published: April 2022

C38H34N2O4, triclinic,

P

1
‾

$P\overline{1}$

(no. 2), a = 11.1158(19) Å, b = 11.302(2) Å, c = 12.634(2) Å, α = 72.109(2)°, β = 77.410(2)°, γ = 82.648(3)°, V = 1362.4(5) Å3, Z = 2, R

gt
(F) = 0.0473, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1738, T = 296 K.
Dynamics and simulations of discretized Caputo-conformable fractional-order Lotka–Volterra models
Authors: Yousef Feras , Semmar Billel , Al Nasr Kamal
Published: April 2022

In this article, a prey–predator system is considered in Caputo-conformable fractional-order derivatives. First, a discretization process, making use of the piecewise-constant approximation, is performed to secure discrete-time versions of the two fractional-order systems. Local dynamic behaviors of the two discretized fractional-order systems are investigated. Numerical simulations are executed to assert the outcome of the current work. Finally, a discussion is conducted to compare the impacts of the Caputo and conformable fractional derivatives on the discretized model.
Launching a materials informatics initiative for industrial applications in materials science, chemistry, and engineering
Authors: Ting Jeffrey M. , Lipscomb Corinne E.
Published: April 2022

The advent of materials informatics (MI) with emerging global trends in digitalization, artificial intelligence, and automation has led to promising opportunities for transforming traditional scientific research workflows. However, new MI efforts rely critically on the establishment, management, and accessibility of high-quality thermophysical and chemical data, either by mining existing databases, labelling historical data in archives, or generating sufficient data sets as prerequisites to the creation of predictive machine learning models. For ambitious MI-driven projects, amassing systematic data can be a time-intensive and prohibitively costly endeavor in spaces where data is uncurated or scarce. Here, we describe a MI initiative that started in the 3M Corporate Research Laboratories (CRL), highlighting how we strategically applied MI tools and data-driven methodologies for industrial materials research and product development workflows. Robust web applications and cloud infrastructure were developed to structure, standardize, and aggregate materials data for specific CRL projects. This integrated approach leverages the diverse skills and deep technical expertise of subject-matter experts at 3M to build the foundations for MI through systematic data management in materials research and, ultimately, to advance core technology platforms with innovative, customer-driven product solutions. Key elements that have contributed to the ongoing implementation of this highly versatile MI program, as well as challenges encountered, are presented as lessons learned for the broader MI and cheminformatics communities.
Network structural hardening of polypropylene matrix using hybrid of 0D, 1D and 2D carbon-ceramic nanoparticles with enhanced mechanical and thermomechanical properties
Authors: Uyor Uwa O. , Popoola Patricia A. I. , Popoola Olawale M.
Published: April 2022

Various dimensional structured inorganic nanoparticles have different ways of improving mechanical properties of polymeric materials. However, there are limited studies on hybridization of different nanoparticles with different dimensional structures for optimal enhancement of mechanical properties of polymer matrix. Therefore, this study combined nanoparticles with 0D (barium titanate [BT]), 1D (carbon nanotubes [C]), and 2D (graphene [G] and boron nitride [BN]) to significantly promote the hardness, elastic modulus, tensile strength/modulus, heat deflection and Vicat softening temperature of polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites. The nanoparticles were surface functionalized to take care of good interfacial interaction with the PP matrix. The nanocomposites were fabricated via melt compounding techniques. Although all the developed nanocomposites showed enhanced mechanical and thermomechanical properties, the ones containing hybrid of carbon and ceramic nanoparticles with different dimensional structures showed superior responses. For instance, optimal hardness, elastic modulus, heat deflection and Vicat softening temperature of about 269.5 MPa, 2.9 GPa, 100.7 °C, and 160 °C were measured for the hybrid PP/3 wt%BNG/3 wt%BTC nanocomposite, which are about 239.4%, 77.7%, 19 °C, and 11 °C higher than that of the pure PP, respectively. The significant enhancement in the measured properties is attributed to effective mechanical interlocking and network structural hardening of the PP matrix.
An environment friendly hemp fiber modified with phytic acid for enhancing fire safety of automobile parts
Authors: Zhang Jie , Zhang Han , Wang Xuanyao , Zhang Min
Published: April 2022

To overcome the pollution to the environment with the application of flame retardants in automobiles, complete environment-friendly flame retardants have aroused wide concern. Furthermore, natural fibers have replaced artificial fibers in various fields due to their excellent performance and environmentally friendly. Thus, in this work, modified hemp fiber (HF-P) via phytic acid was obtained and used as a green flame retardant for automobile parts containing unsaturated polyester resins (UPR). The flame retardance of UPR composites were tested by thermogravimetric analysis, limiting oxygen index (LOI), and cone calorimeter test. A total of 3 wt% HF-P imparted UPR matrix excellent flame retardancy. The LOI value of UPR/HF-P-3 composites was increased from 18.9% of pure UPR to 22.1%, and the values of AHRR and THR were reduced to 401.9 kW/m2 and 150.6 MJ/m2, respectively. TGA test shows that HF-P can effectively improve the carbon-forming ability of UPR composites, which provides a material basis for condensed phase flame retardancy. For mechanical properties, the incorporation of HP-F endows a better enhancement on flexural strength of UPR composite.
Computational study of Cu
n
AgAu (n = 1–4) clusters invoking DFT based descriptors
Authors: Das Shayeri , Ranjan Prabhat , Chakraborty Tanmoy
Published: April 2022

Metallic clusters have shown potential uses in science and technology especially in the domain of photovoltaics, biomedical and catalysis. The noble metal based clusters like Cu, Ag, and Au exhibits notable structural, electronic and optical properties. In this work, we have examined physico-chemical behaviours of tri-metallic clusters Cu
n
AgAu (n = 1–4) by using density functional theory (DFT) technique. Conceptual DFT based descriptors of these clusters are calculated and analysed. HOMO–LUMO gap at n = 2, 3 and 4 are found as 1.667, 1.610 and 1.785 eV, respectively. It states that these clusters can be used in optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices. HOMO–LUMO energy gap, hardness and electronegativity of CunAgAu clusters exhibit an odd–even fluctuation behaviour with the cluster size, n. Molecular hardness of Cu
n
AgAu cluster shows linear relationship with energy gap whereas molecular softness exhibits an inverse relationship.
Increasing the valency of motion verbs: the case of the portative construction
Authors: Messerschmidt Maria
Published: April 2022

This paper surveys the valency-increasing constructions that apply to motion verbs in 49 genetically diverse languages. These include causative constructions, a variety of applicative constructions and the portative construction which is a valency-increasing construction that is lexically restricted to motion verbs. In the portative construction, the verb’s valency is increased by adding theme as a P-argument, but conceptually there is also an element of (co-motional) causation. However, the paper argues that the construction is neither causative nor applicative. Instead, the portative construction, which is frequent in the sample languages, should be considered a distinct type of valency-increasing construction.
miR-22-3p relieves the osteoarthritis by targeting to inflammasome in vivo and in vitro
Authors: Lu Bai , Ling Xia Wang , Qing Bo Li , Ling Zhang , Zhi Fen Fan
Published: April 2022

Objectives

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative disease of the joints. It has become one of the main diseases that cause the disability of the elderly in the world, and it has a severe impact on the quality of life of patients. It has been reported that miRNAs are involved the occurrence and development of OA. In the current work, we evaluated the effects of miR-22-3p on osteoarthritis in vivo and in vitro.

Methods

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope (CLSM), flow cytometry analysis, indirect immunofluorescence (IFA) and Western-blot assays were performed to study the effect of miR-22-3p on osteoarthritis (OA).

Results

An LPS-induced osteoarthritis cell model was first constructed on C28/I2 cells (in vitro), and the model of mice OA was established by operation (in vivo). The results form RT-qPCR indicated that miR-22-3p expression was reduced by LPS (lipopolysaccharides) stimulation. Additionally, inflammatory cytokines and apoptosis-related markers were also obviously elevated with LPS treatment. Furthermore, up-regulation of miR-22-3p relieved the osteoarthritis in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, up-regulation of miR-22-3p obviously reduced the production of proinflammatory factors and cell apoptosis induced by LPS. Further research indicated that miR-22-3p may alleviate osteoarthritis by targeting inflammasome.

Conclusions

In conclusion, the upregulation of miR-22-3p could effectively alleviate osteoarthritis in vivo and in vitro, suggesting that miR-22-3p can be used to treat OA.
Suspects’ opportunities to claim their legal rights in police investigative interviews
Authors: Diepeveen Aafke , Svennevig Jan , Urbanik Paweł
Published: April 2022

When interviewed by the police, suspects are to be informed that they have the right to remain silent and the right to obtain the assistance of a defence counsel. This article presents a conversation analytic study of how it is established in interaction whether a suspect wants to go through with the interview or end it by invoking their legal rights. The data is a corpus of audio recordings of authentic police interviews conducted in Norway. First, we present a quantitative measure of how often suspects are asked explicit questions about whether they want to exercise their right to silence and/or to legal counsel. Second, we investigate variation in the design of such questions, concentrating specifically on expressions involving a preference for one response option over the other. Third, we discuss formulations used while presenting the rights that may legitimise or inhibit a free and independent decision. The results show that suspects are often not asked to take a stance on their rights, and when they are, such questions often involve a bias towards waiving their rights. And although some officers explicitly inform the suspects that they are free to choose whatever option they like, others provide information about the interview that either presupposes willingness to talk or presents the option of waiving one's rights as preferable to invoking them. These findings have important implications for the safeguarding of suspects’ rights and form the basis for recommendations to the police about how to give suspects the opportunity to take a stance on their legal rights.
Global interest meets new perspectives
Authors: Heini Annina , AlAmr Mashael
Published: April 2022

Report of the 15th Biennial Conference of the International Association of Forensic Linguists, hosted by the Aston Institute for Forensic Linguistics, Aston University, UK