bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Impact response of lightweight steel foam concrete composite slabs: Experimental, numerical and analytical studies
Authors: Meng Linghui , Wang Lei , Chen Jinbo , Xu Qiang , Liu Bowen , Yang Minghao , Yang Shuwang , Zhang Zhenhui
Published: January 2024

This paper presents a study on the low-velocity impact response of lightweight steel foam concrete (LSFC) composite slabs. The LSFC composite slab consisted of a W-shaped steel plate, foam concrete and oriented strand board (OSB). Low-velocity impact tests on the LSFC composite slabs were conducted by employing an ultra-high heavy-duty drop hammer testing machine. The tests revealed the failure mode, impact force and displacement response of LSFC composite slabs. The effects of density and thickness of foam concrete and drop height on the peak impact force and energy absorption ratio were investigated. A finite element (FE) model was set up to predict the impact resistance of the LSFC composite slabs, and a good agreement between simulation and test results was achieved. In addition, an equivalent-single-degree-of-freedom (ESDOF) model was set up to predict the displacement response of the LSFC composite slabs under impact loading.
Testing biasedness of self-reported microbusiness innovation in the annual business survey
Authors: Han Luyi , Tian Zheng , Wojan Timothy R. , Goetz Stephan J.
Published: January 2024

This study tests for potential bias in self-reported innovation due to the inclusion of a research and development (R&D) module that only microbusinesses (less than 10 employees) receive in the Annual Business Survey (ABS). Previous research found that respondents to combined innovation/R&D surveys reported innovation at lower rates than respondents to innovation-only surveys. A regression discontinuity design is used to test whether microbusinesses, which constitute a significant portion of U.S. firms with employees, are less likely to report innovation compared to other small businesses. In the vicinity of the 10-employee threshold, the study does not detect statistically significant biases for new-to-market and new-to-business product innovation. Statistical power analysis confirms the nonexistence of biases with a high power. Comparing the survey design of ABS to earlier combined innovation/R&D surveys provides valuable insights for the proposed integration of multiple Federal surveys into a single enterprise platform survey. The findings also have important implications for the accuracy and reliability of innovation data used as an input to policymaking and business development strategies in the United States.
The incidence, characteristics, impact and risk factors of post-COVID chronic pain in Thailand: A single-center cross-sectional study
Authors: Wangnamthip Suratsawadee , Zinboonyahgoon Nantthasorn , Rushatamukayanunt Pranee , Papaisarn Patcha , Pajina Burapa , Jitsinthunun Thanawut , Promsin Panuwat , Sirijatuphat Rujipas , Fernández-de-las-Peñas César , Arendt-Nielsen Lars , de Andrade Daniel Ciampi
Published: January 2024

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions of individuals worldwide. Pain has emerged as a significant post-COVID-19 symptom. This study investigated the incidence, characteristics, and risk factors of post-COVID chronic pain (PCCP) in Thailand. A cross-sectional study was conducted in participants who had been infected, including those hospitalized and monitored at home by SARS-CoV-2 from August to September 2021. Data were collected for screening from medical records, and phone interviews were done between 3 to 6 months post-infection. Participants were classified into 1) no-pain, 2) PCCP, 3) chronic pain that has been aggravated by COVID-19, or 4) chronic pain that has not been aggravated by COVID-19. Pain interference and quality of life were evaluated with the Brief Pain Inventory and EuroQol Five Dimensions Five Levels Questionnaire. From 1,019 participants, 90% of the participants had mild infection, assessed by WHO progression scale. The overall incidence of PCCP was 3.2% (95% CI 2.3–4.5), with 2.8% (95% CI 2.0–4.1) in mild infection, 5.2% (95% CI 1.2–14.1) in moderate infection and 8.5% (95% CI 3.4–19.9) in severe infection. Most participants (83.3%) reported pain in the back and lower extremities and were classified as musculoskeletal pain and headache (8.3%). Risk factors associated with PCCP, included female sex (relative risk [RR] 2.2, 95% CI 1.0–4.9) and greater COVID-19 severity (RR 3.5, 95% CI 1.1–11.7). Participants with COVID-19-related exacerbated chronic pain displayed higher pain interferences and lower utility scores than other groups. In conclusion, this study highlights the incidence, features, and risk factors of post-COVID chronic pain (PCCP) in Thailand. It emphasizes the need to monitor and address PCCP, especially in severe cases, among females, and individuals with a history of chronic pain to improve their quality of life in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
On-demand ride service platform with differentiated services
Authors: Ma Lina , Tao Zhijie , Wei Qiang
Published: January 2024

The rapid growth of on-demand ride service platforms has made it increasingly important for these platforms to efficiently match services by understanding driver characteristics and consumer preferences. This paper aims to investigate the pricing strategy by considering the impact of consumer preference heterogeneity and the different service types offered by drivers. The findings of this study reveal the need for the platform to strike a balance between service cost and the benefits of high-quality drivers, which can be referred to as the “cost-performance ratio”. If the “cost-performance ratio” that attracts high-quality drivers is high, the platform will attract high-quality drivers or drivers of all types to participate while offering differentiated services. Otherwise, the platform will only provide services through low-quality drivers. Furthermore, the platform will also consider when to offer differentiated services based on network externalities and service quality. When the network externalities of the two types of services are similar, the platform will differentiate them based on service quality differences. Overall, considering consumer preference heterogeneity, drivers of service types, and network externalities, this paper provides guidance for platforms to make optimal decisions that enhance their service offerings and improve overall customer satisfaction.
The impact of the newly developed school-based ‘Digital Health Contact’—Evaluating a health and wellbeing screening tool for adolescents in England
Authors: Porter Alice , d’Apice Katrina , Albers Patricia , Woodrow Nicholas , Fairbrother Hannah , Breheny Katie , Mills Clare , Tebbett Sarah , De Vocht Frank
Published: January 2024

Introduction

Supporting adolescents with their health and wellbeing is an international public health priority. Schools are well placed to universally detect unmet health needs and support pupils. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a digital health and wellbeing screening tool, called the ‘Digital Health Contact’ (DHC) implemented in schools in the East Midlands of England. The DHC, delivered by Public Health Nurses (School Nurses) (PHN(SN)), aims to identify pupils with unmet health needs (via a ‘red flag’ system) and provide appropriate support.

Materials and methods

Using data from 22 schools which took part in the DHC and 14 schools which did not take part, across three academic years (2018–2020), we conducted a controlled interrupted timeseries analysis with negative binomial regression to explore the effect of the DHC on the number of annual referrals to PHN(SN). Using DHC data from 164 pupils, we further conducted a Difference-in-Difference analysis to explore the impact of ‘red flag’ and referral via the DHC in Year 9 (age 13–14) on the number of red flags in Year 11 (age 15–16).

Results

Across all schools, the mean annual number of referrals increased over the three year follow-up period. In the adjusted model, the number of referrals was comparable between schools taking part in the DHC and non-participating schools (0.15 referrals [95% CI -0.21, 0.50]). Red flag score was not significantly different among Year 11 pupils, after being referred via the DHC in Year 9 (-0.36 red flags [95% CI -0.97, 0.24]).

Discussion

The DHC, and similar screening tools, have the potential to raise awareness of the health and wellbeing support in schools and provide an additional pathway of referral to this support for pupils with unmet health needs, without replacing the traditional pathway where pupils refer themselves or are referred by teachers.
Transcriptome and small RNAome profiling uncovers how a recombinant begomovirus evades RDRγ-mediated silencing of viral genes and outcompetes its parental virus in mixed infection
Authors: Jammes Margaux , Golyaev Victor , Fuentes Alejandro , Laboureau Nathalie , Urbino Cica , Plissonneau Clemence , Peterschmitt Michel , Pooggin Mikhail M.
Published: January 2024

Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV, genus Begomovirus, family Geminiviridae) causes severe disease of cultivated tomatoes. Geminiviruses replicate circular single-stranded genomic DNA via rolling-circle and recombination-dependent mechanisms, frequently generating recombinants in mixed infections. Circular double-stranded intermediates of replication also serve as templates for Pol II bidirectional transcription. IS76, a recombinant derivative of TYLCV with a short sequence in the bidirectional promoter/origin-of-replication region acquired from a related begomovirus, outcompetes TYLCV in mixed infection and breaks disease resistance in tomato Ty-1 cultivars. Ty-1 encodes a γ-clade RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDRγ) implicated in Dicer-like (DCL)-mediated biogenesis of small interfering (si)RNAs directing gene silencing. Here, we profiled transcriptome and small RNAome of Ty-1 resistant and control susceptible plants infected with TYLCV, IS76 or their combination at early and late infection stages. We found that RDRγ boosts production rates of 21, 22 and 24 nt siRNAs from entire genomes of both viruses and modulates DCL activities in favour of 22 and 24 nt siRNAs. Compared to parental TYLCV, IS76 undergoes faster transition to the infection stage favouring rightward transcription of silencing suppressor and coat protein genes, thereby evading RDRγ activity and facilitating its DNA accumulation in both single and mixed infections. In coinfected Ty-1 plants, IS76 efficiently competes for host replication and transcription machineries, thereby impairing TYLCV replication and transcription and forcing its elimination associated with further increased siRNA production. RDRγ is constitutively overexpressed in Ty-1 plants, which correlates with begomovirus resistance, while siRNA-generating DCLs (DCL2b/d, DCL3, DCL4) and genes implicated in siRNA amplification (α-clade RDR1) and function (Argonaute2) are upregulated to similar levels in TYLCV- and IS76-infected susceptible plants. Collectively, IS76 recombination facilitates replication and promotes expression of silencing suppressor and coat proteins, which allows the recombinant virus to evade the negative impact of RDRγ-boosted production of viral siRNAs directing transcriptional and posttranscriptional silencing.
Long COVID-19 Syndrome and Frailty: Cause or Consequence or Both?
Authors: Marks Ray
Published: January 2024

Background
Many older adults remain vulnerable to COVID-19 infections. They are also often at risk for frailty and poor health outcomes.

Aim
This exploratory review examines the correlates of long COVID and frailty and their association insofar as the older adult’s wellbeing may be jeopardized.

Methods and procedures
Articles that emerged between January 1 2022 and 2023 in major electronic data bases that addressed the current topic of interest were sought using the key words: Long COVID and Frailty. Those deemed relevant were duly downloaded, analyzed and summarized in narrative form.

Results
A high proportion of older adults can be expected to remain vulnerable to COVID-19 long term impacts, plus new variants of infection, along with frailty as both an outcome and mediator. Many too are at risk for persistent long COVID-19 complications and a low life quality if more concerted preventive and rehabilitation efforts to avert frailty early on are not forthcoming in a timely manner.

Conclusion
Prompt and continuing frailty assessments of older adults at risk for COVID-19 or recovering from this disease, especially those with long COVID manifestations who are frail or may become frail are strongly indicated.
Indikátory udržitelnosti kiteboardingu jako nástroj vzdělávání kiteboarderů
Authors: Heuer Dan , Janoušková Svatava
Published: January 2024

Studie se zabývá využitím potenciálu vzdělávacího online nástroje pro osvětu a vzdělávání o udržitelnosti v rámci provozování rekreačního sportu - kiteboardingu. Studie odpovídá na dvě výzkumné otázky, první se týká optimálního obsahu a struktury osvětového nástroje; druhá jeho přínosů pro osvětu a vzdělávání v oblasti udržitelnosti sportu. Ve studii byly využity vědecké metody pro konstrukci indikátorů, které jsou součástí online nástroje, a také kvalitativní výzkumné metody - polostrukturované rozhovory - pro ověření osvětového a vzdělávacího potenciálu online nástroje na vzorku českých kiteboarderů. Výsledky studie ukazují, že potenciál pro informální vzdělávání nástroj s tímto obsahem a strukturou má. Uživatelé nástroje ocenili zejména komplexnost informací a provazbu témat udržitelnosti, které nástroj přináší. Výsledky studie rovněž naznačují, že zatímco informacemi o sociálních a ekonomických tématech udržitelného rozvoje uživatelé disponují, některé nové poznatky pro určité uživatele nástroj zprostředkoval v oblasti environmentální udržitelnosti. Přes všechna omezení výzkumu se zdá, že online nástroj šířený mezi provozovateli kiteboardingu (minimálně v určité věkové skupině), může být vhodným nástrojem informálního vzdělávání.
Zákon na ochranu republiky a ľavicová opozícia vo svetle rozhodovacej praxe Najvyššieho súdu ČSR (prečin „rušení obecného míru“)
Authors: Laclavíková Miriam , Gábriš Tomáš
Published: January 2024

The authors analyse decisions of the Supreme Court of the Czechoslovak Republic regarding the application of the Act on the Protection of the Republic (1923) in cases of disturbing the peace, perceived as manifestations of left-wing radicalism. In addition to the legal-historical analysis of selected representative cases, the authors also address the issue of proportionality within the framework of legislation and its judicial application in the sense of the necessity of the correct assessment of the necessity and adequacy of the state authorities’ interference into the freedom of speech in the changing situation of the 1920s and 1930s.
Specializace radů apelačního soudu v závěru 17. století
Authors: Vacek Josef
Published: January 2024

The present study focuses on the question of the specialization of the councils of the Court of Appeal at the end of the 17th century, i.e. whether individual cases were assigned to judges according to their professional or other specialization. First of all, the paper defines the very notion of specialization as a phenomenon that can be perceived in terms of geography, language, subject matter and personnel. The initial sources are the minutes of the Court of Appeal, which survive for the end of the seventeenth century and from which it is possible to see which councils were assigned which cases to handle. On the basis of these protocols, the author conducts a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the collected sources and concludes that all four types of specialization were applied to a greater or lesser extent in the Court of Appeal, but that they were never fully implemented. Although this is an examination of a phenomenon that has not yet received the attention of the professional community, the results so far appear to be fruitful and may shed light on the internal workings of some courts, as it is a generally actionable phenomenon.
Treffen Junger Romanisten
Authors: Černoch Radek
Published: January 2024

Conference report
Odkryte na nowo
Authors: Olchówka Anna
Published: January 2024

Carlos Beltrán, Prohibidas pero no vencidas. Mujeres pioneras del deporte, Ediciones Desnivel, Madryt 2022, ss. 288.
Krzysztof Szujecki, Sportsmenki. Pierwsze polskie olimpijki, medalistki, rekordzistki, Muza, Kraków 2020, ss. 496.
Madridista o historii rywalizacji Barcelony z Reasclems
Authors: Najtkowski Bartłomiej
Published: January 2024

Recenzja:Alfredo Relaño, Barça vs. Real. Wrogowie, którzy nie mogą bez siebie żyć, tłum. B. Barbara Bardadyn, Wydawnictwo Sine Qua Non, Kraków 2023, ss. 488
Bogactwo szczegółów to nie wszystko
Authors: Mischke Wojciech
Published: January 2024

Recenzja:Manfred Sellink, Bruegel: zbliżenia, przeł. Bożena Mierzejewska, Wydawnictwo Arkady, Warszawa 2020, 288 s., 32 cm
Kilka uwag w związku z kolonią Flawiopolis na Chersonezie Trackim (Plin. HN 4, 47)
Authors: Jurkowski Marek
Published: January 2024

The article examines the validity of the view which challenges Pliny the Elder’s information concerning the existence of the colony of Flaviopolis on the Thracian Chersonesus, arguing that its name was unusual for a colony. The author discusses situations in which the title of the colony could have been combined with local place names ending in -polis. Furthermore, attention is drawn to the peculiar character of Natural History as a source for toponomastic research and the fact that the latter work also mentions the colony of Flaviobrica, whose name seems interesting given the doubts surrounding the legal status of the Thracian Flaviopolis.
Algeria’s Strategic Position and Its Implications for the Development of China- Algeria Relations
Authors: Huang Hui , Liu Jing
Published: January 2024

Algeria is an important country in Africa and the Middle East, which plays an active role in African affairs. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, it has maintained a harmonious and friendly relationship with Algeria. In 2014, Algeria became the first Arab country with which China established a comprehensive strategic partnership. Within the framework of China-Algeria comprehensive strategic partnership, the two sides have broad space for cooperation in regional and international affairs. The development of China- Algeria relations is conducive to raising friendly cooperative relations between China and Arab and African countries to a new level, and to the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative in the Middle East and Africa.
Ethnic Entrepreneurship: A Qualitative Study on Entrepreneurial Tendency of Meskhetian Turks Living in the USA in the Context of the Interactive Model
Authors: Ozafsarlioglu Sibel
Published: January 2024

Ethnic entrepreneurship is the phenomenon that individuals from certain ethnic backgrounds participate in entrepreneurial activities. Individuals from those ethnic backgrounds are affected by various factors such as entrepreneurial tendencies, cultural values, social networks, and economic opportunities. Although such factors have the potential to explain ethnic entrepreneurship, it is important to continually update research and definitions in this field as ethnic entrepreneurship is an ever-growing topic. The purpose of this article is to be a part of the studies on ethnic entrepreneurship and to contribute to the field by identifying the conditions that influence the entrepreneurial process of Meskhetian Turks, who immigrated to the USA under special laws and became successful in establishing their own businesses. In order to achieve this purpose, in-depth interviews were conducted with entrepreneurs, and the findings are discussed in the context of the interactional model. According to the findings, social, capital, and ethnic networks play a significant role in business establishment and development, knowledge acquisition for business, and labor supply. In addition, due to the differences in the migration experiences of entrepreneurs, it is seen that both ethnic and non-ethnic networks affect entrepreneurship in the dimension of resource mobility. This study confirms the need to evaluate the benefits of ethnic entrepreneurship as a dynamic field.
Performing laboratory study of the behavior of reactive powder concrete on the shear of RC deep beams by the drilling core test
Authors: Jaafar Azhar Ayad , Hassen Douread Raheem , Mezher Thaer Matlab , Yussof Mustafasanie M.
Published: January 2024

In the past decade, it has been observed that the applications of modern materials have developed a lot, especially effective reactive powder concrete (RPC), due to its superior performance properties. As a result of the superior resistance of RPC, it will give a longer construction life with less maintenance and more resistance to various environmental conditions and exhibits high-performance features such as high porosity, very high strength, and excellent corrosion resistance. The parameters studied in the present research were used to investigate the effect of maximum load, deflection, tensile and strain of concrete, first shear crack, crack pattern, and crack width. Considering the aforesaid cause and objective, one specimen of RPC RC deep beams has a rectangular cross-section of 150 mm in width, 500 mm in depth, and a total length of 1.2 m. One control specimen was tested for comparison. Moreover, 12 control specimens including cylinders and cubes were cast and tested to obtain the mechanical properties of the normal and RPC deep beams. Following the specimens’ processing, they were subjected to two concentrated load pressure tests through a hydraulic jack. Based on the results, the ultimate strength, deflection, and first shear crack capacity for the reactive powder concrete deep beam (RPCDB) have increased by 68, 10.5, and 62.5%, respectively, compared with concrete deep beam (CDB). Moreover, with respect to the width, the delay in the appearance of the first shear crack was reduced by 11 and 78%, respectively, compared with CDB at 65% of the final shear load. In addition, regarding the stress-strain results, RPCDB has increased by 118% at the maximum stress compared with CDB and in contrast, the strain scores for CDB increased by 22.5% at maximum stress compared to RPCDB.
Climate uncertainty, social media certainty: A story-critical approach to climate change storytelling on social media
Authors: Mäkelä Maria
Published: January 2024

The article calls for narratives that would accommodate the collision of two complex forms: climate change and social media. Science communication is currently on the lookout for personal stories that make climate change concrete and relatable for both decision-makers and the general public; similarly, climate activism on social media increasingly draws from personal experiences. Yet climate related stories going viral on social media often end up fostering political polarization and stark moral positioning instead of collective climate action. Building on Caroline Levine’s work on new formalism, I argue that this problem results from the collision between (1) climate change and (2) social media as complex forms that challenge the centrality of embodied experience and individual agency, and (3) the prototypical experiential story as a non-complex form. I analyze some viral climate change stories and focus particularly on experientiality, easily shareable masterplots, and moral positioning.
The nearly missed account of narrative suspense
Authors: Köppe Tilmann , Onea Edgar
Published: January 2024

In this paper, we specify features of a narrative that are responsible for its suspensefulness. Taking Noël Carroll’s account of erotetic narrative as our point of departure, we argue that a narrative is experienced as suspenseful because it gives rise to so-called potentially inquiry terminating questions. Such questions suggest to readers that they are just about to get the information they are reading for. Due to this highly specific erotetic structure, suspenseful narratives trigger cognitive and emotional mechanisms that are associated with what has been called a “near miss” in studies on gambling behavior: a situation which suggests a player that she has almost achieved a favorable result. In spelling out the details of the theory, we propose both a causal explanation of narrative suspense and defining properties, such that instances of suspense can be distinguished from instances of other states of readerly excitement.
A treetop diner: camera trapping reveals novel arboreal foraging by fishing cats on colonial nesting birds in Bangladesh
Authors: Sadik Allama Shibli , Akash Muntasir
Published: January 2024

Based on camera trap images, we document active foraging attempts on nests of colonial waterbirds by a fishing cat Prionailurus viverrinus. The nests were built in the canopy of an 8-m-tall Indian Oak tree Barringtonia acutangula in the Haor Basin region, northeast Bangladesh. In 2022, two events of fishing cats reaching nests with fledglings were documented. In one event, the cat killed four fledglings. The species primarily follows a piscivorous diet and is evolutionarily adapted for semi-aquatic hunting niches. These records provide the first known evidence of the arboreal hunting behaviour observed in the fishing cat.
Crystal structure of (5R,8R,9R,10R,12R, 13R,14R,17S)-2-(E-3-fluorobenzylidene)-12-hydroxy-4,4,8,10,14-pentamethyl-17-((R)-2,6,6-trimethyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-yl) hexadecahydro-3H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-3-one, C37H53FO3
Authors: Cheng Kuo , Song Ya-Bin , Meng Qing-Guo , Wang Bao-Gang , Hou Yun , Wang Wen-Shui , Jiang Sheng
Published: January 2024

C37H53FO3, orthorhombic, P212121 (no. 19), a = 7.4716(8) Å, b = 15.0009(15) Å, c = 28.065(5) Å, V = 3145.5(7) Å3, Z = 4, R

gt
(F) = 0.0643, wR

ref
(F
2) = 0.1464, T = 293 K.
Crystal structure of bis(μ2-benzenesulfonato-κ2O:O′)-bis(μ2-6,6′-((ethane-1,2-diylbis(azaneylylidene))bis(methaneylylidene))-bis(2-methoxyphenolato-κ6O,O′:O′,N,N′,O′′:O′′,O′′′))disodium(I)dicopper(II)
Authors: Ma Deyang , Zhang Shaoliang , Wang Yanlan , Li Shanshan
Published: January 2024

C48H46Cu2N4Na2O14S2, triclinic, P

1
‾

$\overline{1}$

(no. 2), a = 11.2259(11) Å, b = 11.6492(11) Å, c = 11.7594(12) Å, α = 11.2259(11)°, β = 11.6492(11)°, γ = 11.7594(12)°, V = 1248.5(2) Å3, Z = 1, Rgt
(F) = 0.0554, wRref
(F
2) = 0.1605, T = 173 K.
New generation sequencing: molecular approaches for the detection and monitoring of bioaerosols in an indoor environment: a systematic review
Authors: Onwusereaka Cynthia Oluchi , Jalaludin Juliana , Oluchi Sampson Emilia , Poh Choo Veronica Chua
Published: January 2024

Introduction

The exposure of occupants to indoor air pollutants has increased in recent decades. The aim of this review is to discuss an overview of new approaches that are used to study fungal aerosols. Thus, this motivation was to compensate the gaps caused by the use of only traditional approaches in the study of fungal exposure.

Content

The search involved various databases such as; Science Direct, PubMed, SAGE, Springer Link, EBCOHOST, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane library, Web of Science and Wiley Online Library. It was limited to full text research articles that reported the use of non-viable method in assessing bioaerosol, written in English Language, full text publications and published from year 2015–2022.

Summary and Outlook

A total of 15 articles met the inclusion criteria and was included in this review. The use of next-generation sequencing, which is more commonly referred to as high-throughput sequencing (HTS) or molecular methods in microbial studies is based on the detection of genetic material of organisms present in a given sample. Applying these methods to different environments permitted the identification of the microorganisms present, and a better comprehension of the environmental impacts and ecological roles of microbial communities. Based on the reviewed articles, there is evidence that dust samples harbour a high diversity of human-associated bacteria and fungi. Molecular methods such as next generation sequencing are reliable tools for identifying and tracking the bacterial and fungal diversity in dust samples using 18S metagenomics approach.
Investigation and optimisation of a lithium-drift silicon detector using Si–Li structure and bidirectional diffusion and drift techniques
Authors: Zhang Jing , Japashov Nursultan
Published: January 2024

The research relevance is predefined by the continuous development and improvement of radiation analysis methods and the need for more efficient and accurate detectors for various applications. This research may improve the sensitivity and resolution of Si(Li) detectors, which is important for scientific and industrial research as well as radiation safety monitoring. The research aims to analyse and improve the performance of a Si(Li) lithium-drift silicon detector. The methods used include an analytical method, classification method, functional method, statistical method, synthesis method and others. The results of the two-sided observation of lithium diffusion in silicon monocrystals provided valuable information about the characteristics of the process and its dependence on the method of silicon production. A large-diameter detector detection mode was found to be important for optimising the production of such detectors. The diffusion process in monocrystalline silicon produced by the shadowless zone melting method is relatively fast. This means that lithium ions penetrate the material rapidly and spread evenly throughout its volume. This fast diffusion process can be useful for detectors that need to respond quickly to incoming signals. It was found that in monocrystalline silicon produced by the Czochralski method, there is a delayed penetration of lithium ions.
The germanides ScTGe2 (T = Fe, Co, Ru, Rh) – crystal chemistry, 45Sc solid-state NMR and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy
Authors: Harmening Thomas , Matar Samir F. , Fehse Constanze , Klenner Steffen , Eckert Hellmut , Kösters Jutta , Pröbsting Wilma , Seidel Stefan , Pöttgen Rainer
Published: January 2024

The TiMnSi2-type (space group Pbam) germanides ScTGe2 (T = Fe, Co, Ru, Rh) were synthesized from the elements by arc-melting. Single crystals were grown by annealing sequences of the arc-melted buttons in an induction furnace. The structures of ScFeGe2, ScRuGe2 and ScRhGe2 were refined from single-crystal X-ray diffraction data. In ScRuGe2, the ruthenium atoms have distorted octahedral germanium coordination (242–268 pm Ru–Ge). Three trans-face-sharing octahedra form a sub-unit which is condensed via common edges in c direction and connected via common corners with four adjacent blocks, forming a three-dimensional [RuGe2 type] substructure. The two crystallographically independent scandium sites have coordination numbers 15 (Sc1@Ge8Ru4Sc3) and 17 (Sc2@Ge7Ru6Sc4). Electronic band structure calculations for ScCoGe2 and ScRuGe2 show a net charge transfer from the scandium to the transition metal and germanium atoms, leading to a description with polyanionic networks Sc
δ+[TGe2]δ−. The two crystallographically independent Sc sites are easily distinguishable by 45Sc magic-angle spinning (MAS)-NMR spectroscopy. Isotropic chemical shift values and nuclear electric quadrupolar interaction parameters were deduced from an analysis of the triple-quantum (TQ)-MAS NMR spectra. The electric field gradient parameters deduced from these experiments are in good agreement with quantum-chemical calculations using the Wien2k code. Likewise, the two crystallographically independent iron sites in ScFeGe2 could be discriminated in the 57Fe Mößbauer spectra through their isomer shifts and quadrupole splitting parameters: δ = 0.369(1) mm s−1 and ∆E
Q = 0.232(2)  mm s−1 for Fe1 and δ = 0.375(2) mm s−1 and ∆E
Q = 0.435(4) mm s−1 for Fe2 (data at T = 78 K).
[Me3N(C6H3(CF3)2)][BF4] and [Me3N(C6H3(CH3)2)][BF4], as potential synthons for non-covalent supramolecular assembly
Authors: Schmid Jonas R. , Wiesner Anja , Voßnacker Patrick , Jansen Martin , Riedel Sebastian
Published: January 2024

The compounds [Me3N(C6H3(CF3)2)][BF4] and [Me3N(C6H3(CH3)2)][BF4] were synthesized from commercially available starting materials and fully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, NMR, IR and Raman spectroscopy, as well as mass spectrometry. Both ammonium cations show potential for applications in crystal engineering due to their structure directing properties in the solid state.
Synthesis and structure refinement of the zinc hydroxide boracite: Zn3B7O13(OH)
Authors: Ziegler Raimund , Jungmann Sabrina , Huppertz Hubert
Published: January 2024

The new zinc borate Zn3B7O13(OH) crystallizes trigonally in the space groupR3c(no. 161) with the lattice parametersa = 849.76(3),c = 2099.8(2) pm,V = 1.3131(2) nm3, and six formula units per unit cell (Z = 6). It was synthesized at high-pressure/high-temperature conditions in a multianvil device. Single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction experiments were conducted.
“La Memoria de Nuestra Tierra”
Authors: Rivera John-Michael
Published: January 2024

I juxtapose the mid-nineteenth-century era of U.S. expansion with today’s neoliberal era in order to recover the complicated ways in which Mexicans have affected and imagined the political landscape of the United States. Focusing on the political and cultural notions of “landscape” during both these periods, I explore what this cartographic and aesthetic marker reveals about the contradictions inherent in the racial and civic constitution of the U.S. body politic. I argue that the notion of landscape itself generated important founding discourse, which in turn helped shape the emergence, maintenance, and contestation of the people known as Mexican Americans. By juxtaposing these two liminal periods, I hope to render a more complete portrait of the relationships among the civic, racial, and geographic imaginations of Mexican America.
Anti- and Pro-immigrant Entrepreneurs
Authors: Diana Wilson Tamar
Published: January 2024

Almost forty years ago, noted immigration scholar Jorge A. Bustamante published an article in the American Journal of Sociology applying Howard Becker’s labeling theory to the phenomenon of deviantizing and stigmatizing the undocumented. While immigration laws and some of the players involved have changed since his article was published, labeling theory remains an ideal tool for analyzing anti-immigrant and pro-immigrant postulates, arguments, and policies. This essay revisits labeling theory, as seen through Bustamante’s lens, in order to understand the debates around the undocumented over the past two decades. Three types of “moral entrepreneurs” advocating for and against the undocumented worker are examined: the nativist, the economic, and the humanitarian. An expanded moral entrepreneurship model can illuminate social processes affecting a vulnerable population through the insertion of a moral argument component and in this way may act as a catalyst for positive social change.
The Oppositional Consciousness of Yolanda M. López
Authors: Davalos Karen Mary
Published: January 2024

Based on an oral history interview, this essay examines the work of Yolanda M. López, one of the most significant Chicana artists of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It posits that her work portrays feminist intersectionality and oppositional consciousness, predating the Chicana feminist literature on these paradigms. Documenting her political activism and the aesthetic strategies that emerged from her involvement in the Chicano movement, the essay illuminates the conceptual, deconstructivist, and semiotic style of the artist, which is frequently overlooked by critics. It concludes with the observation that López’s work recuperates Chicana empowerment.
Queering the Cosmic Race
Authors: Hedrick Tace
Published: January 2024

Despite their differences in place and time, the woman-centered Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral and the Chicana lesbian feminist writer Gloria Anzaldúa both looked to a transnational intellectual American history that frequently connected discourses of esotericism, indigenismo, and mestizaje. My comparative approach shows how both women used these discourses as a way to reconceptualize the subjectivity of the queer, indigenousidentified mestiza in a modern world. Notions of a new cosmic consciousness achieved via racial synthesis echo through twentieth-century Latin American and Chicana/o texts; theosophical ideas about race and spirit were deeply influential in Mistral’s writing and beliefs, and theosophy in turn informed the New Age feminist spirituality that helped shape Anzaldúa’s work. Outlining a history of the connections between these esoteric beliefs and those of mestizaje, and indigenismo, I show how Mistral and, later, Anzaldúa inherited and rewrote these notions by incorporating them into a queer sensibility.
Shaking Hands and Kissing Babies
Authors: Navarro Sharon A.
Published: January 2024

Women often enter judiciary positions through the trial courts, particularly county courts, because they see these courts as a stepping-stone to higher judicial office. As the eligibility pool of experienced female Hispanic lawyers expands, Hispanic women are increasingly taking seats on trial court benches. What political and demographic shifts have fostered this change? Does the intersectionality of ethnicity, class, and gender play any role in shaping Hispanic women’s run for the judiciary? I examine the political and personal experiences of three Hispanic women who ran for and won judgeships at the county court-at-law level in Bexar County, Texas. My findings suggest that Hispanic women experience, and often overcome, the triple barriers of ethnicity, class, and gender as they struggle for political incorporation via the judiciary, particularly at the county court level.
Mestiza Consciousness in Relation to Sustained Political Solidarity
Authors: Barvosa Edwina
Published: January 2024

Two of the most significant themes in Chicana feminist thought are the character of mestiza consciousness and the view that political solidarity—that is, the uniting of diverse people in common cause—should build upon diversity among peoples rather than on a single shared identity. Numerous Chicana and Latina feminists have connected these two themes by emphasizing the role that inner diversity can play in political solidarity. However, questions remain as to the exact relationship between identity, the multiple identities within mestiza consciousness, and the everyday tasks of building political solidarity. This essay asks how the multiple identities within subjectivity can play a role in creating diverse yet cohesive political coalitions or movements. I first survey the concepts of mestiza consciousness and solidarity as Chicana feminists have articulated them in recent decades. Next, I employ these concepts in a case study analysis of the organizing strategies of the farmworkers’ movement led by César Chávez, Dolores Huerta, and others between 1962 and 1976. I conclude by specifying how the formation of a movement-specific identity along with four other practices that incorporate the benefits of diversity reveal the role that multiple identities can play in uniting diverse people in common cause.
Self-Fashioning through Glamour and Punk in East Los Angeles
Authors: McMahon Marci R.
Published: January 2024

Patssi Valdez, one of the most influential yet understudied female artists of the Chicana/o movement, was the only original and long-term female member of the 1970s art collective Asco. Through the visual discourses of pachuca glamour and punk, Valdez negotiated and exploited the gendered ideologies that visually put her at the center of the group. She used self-fashioning, or the intersection of dress with bodily performance, to respond to gendered ideologies of domesticity and a racialized public/private sphere that she confronted as a working-class Chicana in the 1960s and 1970s. Members of Asco were drawn together not only by their mutual interest in visual art and performance but also by a shared sensibility in fashion and dress; it was the sense of each of them becoming a work of art that led the group to extend their work into performance. Yet since fashion is often considered a superficial activity carried out by women and pitted against the serious male world of ideas, it has often been undervalued as a strategy of contestation. This essay closely reads two Asco performances, Instant Mural and A La Mode, to center fashion as an active and crucial element of the group’s public discourse and as a site of political negotiation and critique for Valdez.
Pushing the Boundaries of Border Subjectivity, Autobiography, and Camp-Rasquachismo
Authors: Royba Karen R.
Published: January 2024

Autobiography is a genre that typically generates self-discovery. For “border subjects,” those who must navigate the US-Mexico border in their process of self-discovery, autobiographical representation presents complex issues because of the border’s liminality. As an area that has historically been highly contested, one where people live in a state of ambiguity, the US-Mexico borderlands produce subjects who demonstrate fragmented and layered identities in their autobiographical works. Through a reading of Guillermo Gómez-Peña’s Border Brujo (1989) and Lourdes Portillo’s The Devil Never Sleeps (1994), this essay argues that these representations demonstrate a new subjectivity defined by a hybrid camp-rasquache aesthetic; they also place the US-Mexico border at their core. Through my reading of these documentaries, I (re)introduce a third category that links camp to rasquache sensibilities: the queer. Building upon José Esteban Muñoz’s and Ramon García’s introduction of queer theory in discussions of Chicano camp, the essay expands the political work of queer aesthetic in relation to the space of the US-Mexico border.
Formation of a Latino Grassroots Movement
Authors: Huerta Alvaro , Morales Alfonso
Published: January 2024

When the city of Los Angeles banned gas-powered leaf blowers in 1996, the law sparked one of the most dynamic grassroots campaigns by Latino immigrants in recent history. Latino immigrant gardeners, working with a small group of Chicana/o activists, organized the Association of Latin American Gardeners of Los Angeles (ALAGLA), which pressured city leaders to reverse the ban. ALAGLA pursued its objectives by engaging in the political process, taking direct action, advocating technological adaptations, and reframing the gardeners and their tools in a positive light. Turning public opinion in their favor, they persuaded city leaders to void the draconian elements of the ordinance, which included a misdemeanor charge, a $1,000 fine, and jail time for gardeners using the blowers. ALAGLA’s movement can be compared in some ways to earlier immigrant-organizing efforts by organized labor, notably the United Farm Workers and the Service Employees International Union’s Justice for Janitors campaign, but it is also distinguished from them by ALAGLA’s nonbureaucratic grassroots structure. The association’s campaign for social and economic justice shows the potential for collective action among marginalized immigrant workers and petty entrepreneurs in the informal economy.
Deconstructing US Marijuana Prohibition Policies in the Early Twentieth Century
Authors: Valdez Avelardo , Kaplan Charles D.
Published: January 2024

In the early 1900s, cannabis was used widely as a medicinal drug. However, through the fi rst half of the twentieth century, marijuana became negatively associated with Mexican-origin populations in the United States. Anglo American views of race and class became central to the creation of legislation prohibiting marijuana. This article provides a sociohistorical analysis of the 1910–1930s period, when the cannabis prohibition movement was at its peak. An intersectional theory of marijuana prohibition is used to deconstruct the dominant theories that have been offered. Marijuana prohibition cannot be explained by any single factor, but stems from the intersection of multiple factors. Background factors include the historical use of marijuana in Mexico, immigration to the United States, racism, and the pharma–medical industrial complex. Foreground factors include cultural stereotyping and mass media, governmental bureaucratic entrepreneurship, and moral crusade movements. The intersection of these factors socially constructed both a stigmatized image of the Mexican and the present reality of marijuana prohibition. Research on the complex origins of marijuana prohibition can inform the present policy debate on medical and recreational use of cannabis in the United States.
Toward a Willful Rereading of The Revolt of the Cockroach People
Authors: Escobar Guadalupe
Published: January 2024

A touchstone of Chicano letters, Oscar “Zeta” Acosta’s 1973 novel The Revolt of the Cockroach People is emblematic of a Chicano community’s coming of political age during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Yet the opening church movidas of Gloria Chavez and Duana Doherty, characters modeled partly on historical fi gures, have gone largely unexamined. This essay proposes a “willful” conceptual reading practice as a way of discerning otherwise overlooked Chicana activism. I demonstrate how disparate depictions of Chicana protesters in La Nueva Chicana poetics, the Católicos por la Raza Papers, and Acosta’s novel refl ect philosopher Sara Ahmed’s idea of “willfulness”—a resiliency deemed deviant but also possibly a reclaimed style of politics. Reconsidering Revolt alongside interrelated cultural texts expands our understanding of oppositional agency and the specifi c discursive sites that challenged and accommodated cultural biases of early Chicana activism linked to criminal deviance, vilifi cation (feminist baiting and lesbian stigmatization), and invisibility. I argue that the concept of willfulness renders legible the dynamism of Chicana feminism-in-nationalism within movimiento discourses that might allow us to bridge gulfs between movement-era literature and the activist archive, misogyny and Chicana feminisms, heteronormativity and queerness, faith-based activism and secular social protest.
Rudolfo Anaya’s Maize Narratives
Authors: Arbino Daniel
Published: January 2024

A major figure of Chicano literature, Rudolfo Anaya has often engaged sociocultural issues pertaining to Indohispano groups in the US Southwest. Nevertheless, numerous studies have criticized his work within the context of the Chicano movement on grounds that it evades explicit confl ict with mainstream US society. Calling on decolonial theories as proposed by Roberto Cintli Rodríguez, Jodi Byrd, and Winona Wheeler, I propose that by reading Anaya’s texts through a decolonization lens, we can understand his work not as a counternarrative to the Americanization of the US Southwest, but rather as a narrative of Indohispano resiliency. He expresses this resiliency through the symbolism of maize, and therefore I refer to his works as maize narratives. Throughout his forty-seven-year career, maize serves as a recurring trope whose meaning shifts: from a means of affi rming one’s identity to a vehicle for kinship networks, from a marker of syncretism to a marker of loss in a globalizing world. Examining several representative works, I conclude that Anaya’s maize narratives allow the possibility of moving beyond colonizing discourse to recover communities lost to modern-day nation-states.