bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Means and Meanings: Methodological Issues in Africanist Interdisciplinary Research
Authors: Quayson Ato 
Published: May 2006

Interdisciplinarity has become a sort of buzzword in academic circles. It is quite common to hear graduate students respond, in answer to a question as to what they are doing, that their work is “sort of interdisciplinary.” This answer might be construed as concealing some measure of confusion as to what exactly is being researched. But, on the other hand, there is little doubt that the most adventurous students are increasingly defining their areas of concern at the boundaries between disciplines. The matter seems to take on a particularly acute inflection in relation to Africanist research. This may be traced partly to the fact that from the very beginning of interest in African matters, much scholarly work on Africa in Western universities has been done under the rubric of “African studies.” Anthropology and history, arguably the disciplines most active in popularizing knowledge about Africa, have themselves always shared a common concern on the ways in which knowledge about Africa can be constituted. The monumental work of Jan Vansina and others in the 1960s in focusing on oral traditions and making them a respectable source for the construction of historical knowledge about Africa was thoroughly interdisciplinary in its own way.Despite the implicit interdisciplinarity of African Studies, the theoretical implications of interdisciplinary study and the issues that it generates for questions about different types of knowledge does not seem to have engaged the attention of scholars. It is in this direction that I propose to go. I propose to engage with issues concering interdisciplinarity from the perspective of my own research on Nigerian literature. The issues that concern me relate to the question: what do specific configurations of disciplines within the interdisciplinary model have for the nature of the knowledge that is produced? But a series of subsidiary questions might be asked in relation to this major one, such as: are we being interdisciplinary when we borrow metaphors from other fields? or concepts? or whole paradigms? Or is it when we join different methods of analysis from two or more disciplines such that what finally emerges cannot be limited to any one of them?
Twentieth-Century Transformations in Notions of Gender, Parenthood, and Marriage in Southern Ghana: A Critique of the Hypothesis of “Retrograde Steps” for Akan Women
Authors: Boni Stefano 
Published: May 2006

In the course of the 1970s, one of the principal focuses of the emerging feminist anthropology was the reassessment of issues of gender inequality. Drawing their inspiration from Marxist theory going back to Engels, some works historicized female oppression and analyzed its political and economic determinants. To demonstrate that gender inequality was the product of specific historical formations, the observable gender relations were, at times, opposed to a prior egalitarian social order in which value differentiation was not attached to the gendered labor division (e.g., Leacock 1981). The approach was criticized by those who believed that female subordination characterized present and past societies on which solid documentary evidence was available (e.g., Rosaldo 1974). The idea that gender realtions in some non-western societies were marked by parity prior to the degradation produced by colonization was not abandoned, however, and influenced neighboring disciplines.Recent studies concerned with the transformations of gender relations in sub-Saharan Africa over the twentieth century tend to stress the decline in social and economic position of women. Ethnographic, economic, and historical studies state that the traditional value attached to being female is threatened by the economic and political developments of the last century. Women are said increasingly to lose their previous independence, to have to cater for children and elderly by themselves, and to lose ground in productive activities (Robertson and Berger 1986; Mikell 1997a; Baerends 1998).
Of Trees and Earth Shrines: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Settlement Histories in the West African Savanna
Authors: Lentz Carola , Sturm Hans-Jürgen 
Published: May 2006

For a vegetation geographer and an anthropologist to come together to write on the settlement histories of segmentary societies in the West African savanna is unusual or at least rare. A few words on the origin of this cooperation therefore seem appropriate. For over ten years, in the context of an interdisciplinary research program at the Universität Frankfurt am Main, archeologists, anthropologists, linguists, botanists and geographers have been working together on the history of cultures, languages, and natural environment of the West African savanna, especially the interaction between human activity and the natural environment. That one should actually be speaking in many cases of a culturally mediated “landscape” rather than a “natural environment” is one of the outcomes of the research projects, which have focused mainly on different regions of Burkina Faso (in the sahel and Sudanese zone) and the Lake Chad area of northeast Nigeria.The present paper has emerged from a botanical and an anthropological-historical project on the history of vegetation and of settlement in south and southwest Burkina Faso. This history has been shaped by the great expansion of the Dagara-speaking population. In the last two hundred years (possibly longer), small groups of Dagara patrilineages, related and allied to one another, have migrated north and northwest, probably from the region around Wa in present-day Ghana, and have founded numerous new settlements—a process of land appropriation that is still going on today, though with changed circumstances regarding land rights (see map 1).
The Challenge of the Past: The Quest for Historical Legitimacy in Independent Eritrea
Authors: Reid Richard 
Published: May 2006

In the 1960s a host of African nations discovered their independence and, with it, rediscovered the pleasure and the pain of the past. States such as Nigeria and Ghana, Tanzania and Uganda, using both local and expatriate scholars, embarked on the reconstruction of “national histories,” with an enthusiasm which, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, seems enviable. From an academic point of view, this period witnessed the rejection of the colonial distortion of Africa's past—i.e., the idea that basically the continent had none worth talking about—and the historiographical offensive which was thus launched may be seen to have been ultimately successful.In terms of African politics, history was seen in many new states as a means of nation-building and the fostering of national identity. In Tanzania, for example, precolonial leaders such as Mirambo and Nyungu-ya-Mawe, the relative linguistic unity provided by Swahili, and the anticolonial Maji Maji uprising were used, both consciously and subliminally, to encourage the idea that Tanzanians had shared historical experiences which straddled both the precolonial and the colonial eras.It must be conceded that history did not always prove as reliable an ally to African politicians as to scholars of Africa. Penetration into the Nigerian past served, indirectly at least, to magnify the regionalism which had already troubled the decolonization process in that territory, and underlined the distinct historical experiences of, for example, the Yoruba in the south and the Hausa-Fulani in the north.
A Neglected Source for the History of Little Popo: The Thomas Miles Papers ca. 1789–1796
Authors: Strickrodt Silke 
Published: May 2006

During the era of the slave trade, Aného (in modern Togo), which was known to Europeans as “Little Popo” or simply “Popo,” was normally marginal to English commercial interest on the west African coast. This lack of interest is reflected in the sources that exist in British archives today. Documentary material for trade at Aného is scarce, and references to the town rarely go beyond the mentioning of a ship going there to complement its cargo of slaves. However, there is a major exception: the papers of Thomas Miles, which document the activity of the “Popo Factory” of the English firm of Messrs Miles & Weuves in the 1790s. These papers, which are kept in the Public Record Office in London (PRO), comprise a large body of material, including accounts, inventories and commercial and private correspondence. Full of detail, they offer a unique glimpse of Aného and its external trade at a time when the town was at the height of its economic power.In spite of their great value for the history of Aného and the kingdom of Ge (Genyi/Guin), however, the Thomas Miles papers are virtually unknown to historians of the area. The object of this paper is therefore to draw attention to the existence of this material and make historians aware of the unparalleled wealth of information that it contains. The first part of this paper comprises an explanation of the background and a description of the documents, which is followed by a brief discussion of their special strengths and limitations. In the second part, I focus on one aspect, which is the African side of the trade. Here I look at the question of what these documents tell us about Popo society. I have compiled a list of the African traders that frequented the factory, whom I then tried to identify.
Multiple biomarkers improve diagnostic accuracy across Lewy body and Alzheimer's disease spectra
Authors: Plastini Melanie J. , Abdelnour Carla , Young Christina B. , Wilson Edward N. , Shahid‐Besanti Marian , Lamoureux Jennifer , Andreasson Katrin I. , Kerchner Geoffrey A. , Montine Thomas J. , Henderson Victor W. , Poston Kathleen L. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractObjectiveMore than half of neurodegenerative disease patients have multiple pathologies at autopsy; however, most receive one diagnosis during life. We used the α‐synuclein seed amplification assay (αSyn‐SAA) and CSF biomarkers for amyloidosis and Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathological change (ADNC) to determine the frequency of co‐pathologies in participants clinically diagnosed with Lewy body (LB) disease or AD.MethodsUsing receiver operating characteristic analyses on retrospective CSF samples from 150 participants determined αSyn‐SAA accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for identifying clinically defined LB disease and predicting future change in clinical diagnosis. CSF biomarkers helped determine the frequency of concomitant Lewy body pathology, ADNC, and/or amyloidosis in participants with LB disease and AD, across clinical spectra.ResultsFollowing a decade‐long follow‐up, the clinically or autopsy‐defined diagnosis changed for nine participants. αSyn‐SAA demonstrated improved accuracy (91.3%), sensitivity (89.3%), and specificity (93.3%) for identifying LB disease compared to all non‐LB disease, highlighting the limitations of clinical diagnosis alone. When examining biomarkers of co‐pathology, amyloidosis was present in 18%, 48%, and 71% (χ2(2) = 13.56, p = 0.001) and AD biomarkers were present in 0%, 8.7%, and 42.9% (χ2(2) = 18.44, p < 0.001) of LB disease participants with different stages of cognitive impairment respectively. Co‐occurring biomarkers for αSyn‐SAA and amyloidosis were present in 12% and 14% of AD compared to 43% and 57% LB disease participants with different stages of cognitive impairment (χ2(3) = 13.87, p = 0.003).InterpretationOur study shows that using a combination of αSyn‐SAA and AD biomarkers can identify people with αSyn, ADNC, and co‐pathology better and earlier than traditional clinical diagnostic criteria alone.
Ultralong‐Term High‐Density Data Storage with Atomic Defects in SiC
Authors: Hollenbach M. , Kasper C. , Erb D. , Bischoff L. , Hlawacek G. , Kraus H. , Kada W. , Ohshima T. , Helm M. , Facsko S. , Dyakonov V. , Astakhov G. V. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThere is an urgent need to increase the global data storage capacity, as current approaches lag behind the exponential growth of data generation driven by the Internet, social media, and cloud technologies. In addition to increasing storage density, new solutions should provide long‐term data archiving that goes far beyond traditional magnetic memory, optical disks, and solid‐state drives. Here, a concept of energy‐efficient, ultralong, high‐density data archiving is proposed, based on optically active atomic‐size defects in a radiation resistance material, silicon carbide (SiC). The information is written in these defects by focused ion beams and read using photoluminescence or cathodoluminescence. The temperature‐dependent deactivation of these defects suggests a retention time minimum over a few generations under ambient conditions. With near‐infrared laser excitation, grayscale encoding and multi‐layer data storage, the areal density corresponds to that of Blu‐ray discs. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the areal density limitation of conventional optical data storage media due to the light diffraction can be overcome by focused electron‐beam excitation.
3D Stackable Vertical‐Sensing Electrochemical Random‐Access Memory Using Ion‐Permeable WS2 Electrode for High‐Density Neuromorphic Systems
Authors: Lee Kyumin , Hwang Seungkwon , Kim Dongmin , Yoon Jongwon , Kwon Jung‐Dae , Kim Yonghun , Hwang Hyunsang 
Published: March 2024

AbstractIon‐based electrochemical random‐access memory (ECRAM) is proposed for synaptic applications owing to its promising characteristics that have the potential to accelerate data processing through neuromorphic systems. However, attaining ideal synaptic functionalities and constructing high‐density vertical synapse arrays are challenging due to issues related to uncontrolled ion migration and constraints in 3D multi‐stacking. Here, a breakthrough using 3D stackable Li ion‐based vertical‐sensing ECRAM (VS‐ECRAM) is presented with an ion‐permeable ultrathin WS2 electrode synthesized through low‐temperature (200 °C) atmospheric‐pressure plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition (AP‐PECVD). The direct AP‐PECVD of the WOx channel layer induces WS2 formation in the surface region, which exhibits sufficient electrical conductivity to function as an electrode. By utilizing the WS2 electrode as an ion‐barrier layer in the VS‐ECRAM synapse, excellent weight update linearity and cycling variability are achieved due to the finely controlled ion migration. Furthermore, a two‐layer stacked 3D VS‐ECRAM is successfully fabricated through the vertical WS2 formation, and independent weight updates without any disturbance are confirmed. Finally, a high pattern recognition accuracy of 95.22% is obtained using a multi‐layer perceptron‐based neural network. Therefore, the proposed 3D stackable WS2‐based VS‐ECRAM exhibits a strong potential for application in high‐density neuromorphic devices with excellent synaptic performances.
A Novel Polymer Nanoparticle Polydimethyl Diallyl Ammonium Chloride as An Adjuvant Enhances the Immune Response of SARS‐CoV‐2 Subunit Vaccine
Authors: Ren Lili , Ouyang Chengcheng , Zhao Shuqing , Zheng Qiqi , Guo Weilu , Fan Baochao , Zhou Jinzhu , Zhang Wei , Hu Mi , Li Jizong , Li Bin 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 has a significant impact on global health and the economy. It has underscored the urgent need for a stable, easily produced and effective vaccine. This study presents a novel approach using SARS‐CoV‐2 spike (S) protein‐conjugated nanoparticles (NPs) in combination with cyclic GMP‐AMP (cGAMP) (S‐NPs‐cGAMP) as a subunit vaccine. When mice are immunized, the antiserum of S‐NPs‐cGAMP group exhibits a 16‐fold increase in neutralizing activity against a pseudovirus, compared to S protein group. Additionally, S‐NPs‐cGAMP induces even higher levels of neutralizing antibodies. Remarkably, the vaccine also triggers a robust humoral immune response, as evidenced by a notable elevation in virus‐specific IgG and IgM antibodies. Furthermore, after 42 days of immunization, there is an observed increase in specific immune cell populations in the spleen. CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+T lymphocytes, as well as B220+CD19+ and CD3−CD49b+ NK lymphocytes, show an upward trend, indicating a positive cellular immune response. Moreover, the S‐NPs‐cGAMP demonstrates promising results against the Delta strain and exhibits good cross‐neutralization potential against other variants. These findings suggest that pDMDAAC NPs is potential adjuvant and could serve as a versatile platform for future vaccine development.
Enhanced CO2/N2 separation in hybrid composite membrane via dispersion of hollow defect‐engineered Zr‐MOF nanoparticles
Authors: Yan Jiahui , Sun Yanwei , Ji Taotao , Wu Mingming , Meng Shengyan , Dong Wenwen , Liu Yi , Yu Kunpeng , Hu Wenjing , Sun Bingbing , Lu Peng , Li Yanshuo , Hu Haoquan , Liu Yi 
Published: March 2024

AbstractHigh‐performance and durable membranes are being sought to enable energy‐efficient CO2 capture. Although representing an appealing candidate for the above application, successful translation of distinct properties of MOF filler into hybrid composite membranes (HCMs) remains challenging. In this study, we synthesized uniform hollow defect‐engineered UiO‐66 nanoparticles as filler for enhancing the CO2/N2 separation performance and durability of Pebax‐2533 membranes. The existence of missing‐linker defects in the framework not only endows HCMs with higher CO2/N2 adsorption selectivity but also provides ultrafast CO2 transport pathways; moreover, hollow structure of UiO‐66 not only contributes to better filler dispersibility in polymeric matrix but also reduces CO2 diffusion path length. Obtained HCMs manifest concurrently increased CO2 permeability (3100 Barrer) and CO2/N2 separation factor (44), far exceeding state‐of‐the‐art 2019 upper bound for polymer membranes; moreover, our membranes exhibit enhanced resistance toward plasticization, physical aging, and water vapors under harsh operation conditions.
Plant–soil microbe feedbacks depend on distance and ploidy in a mixed cytotype population of Larrea tridentata
Authors: Gerstner Benjamin P. , Laport Robert G. , Rudgers Jennifer A. , Whitney Kenneth D. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractPremiseTheory predicts that mixed ploidy populations should be short‐lived due to strong fitness disadvantages for the rare ploidy. However, mixed ploidy populations are common, suggesting that the fitness costs for rare ploidies are counterbalanced by ecological benefits that emerge when rare. We investigated whether differences in ecological interactions with soil microbes help to maintain a tetraploid–hexaploid population of Larrea tridentata (creosote bush) in the Sonoran Desert, California, United States, where prior work documented ploidy‐specific root‐associated microbes.MethodsWe used a plant–soil feedback (PSF) experiment to test whether host‐specific soil microbes can alter the outcomes of intraploidy vs. interploidy competition. Host‐specific soil microbes can build up over time; thus, distance from a host plant can affect the fitness of nearby plants.ResultsSeedlings grown in soils from near plants of a different ploidy produced greater biomass relative to seedlings grown in soils from near plants of the same ploidy. Moreover, seedlings grown in soils from near plants of a different ploidy produced more biomass than those grown in soils that were farther from plants of a different ploidy. These results suggest that the ecological consequences of PSF may facilitate the persistence of mixed ploidy populations.ConclusionsThis is the first evidence, to our knowledge, that is consistent with plant–soil microbe feedback as a viable mechanism to maintain the coexistence of multiple ploidy levels in a single population.
Public narratives of disadvantage across multiple groups in Australia: A research map and practice reflections
Authors: Bragge Peter , Angus Simon D. , Fischer Alex , Lennox Alyse , Piquero Alex R. , Reddel Tim , Smith Liam , Walsh Lucas , Wickes Rebecca , Wild Abby , Faulkner Nicholas 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis paper provides the first known “heatmap” representing Australian public narratives across a range of groups experiencing disadvantage developed from a comprehensive literature review of primary Australian studies between 2020 and 2021. Eleven narratives were identified across 14 population groups with the most frequent being deficit narratives, misrepresentation of the issue and ‘absent’ narratives (group being described not represented in the narrative). The most frequently described groups were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people living with a disability, racial minorities and women. The heatmap resonated with three global review‐level studies and findings of supplementary qualitative interviews. Examination of relationships between the heatmap and empirical Australian disadvantage data enabled identification of missing and misleading public narratives. Attempts to disrupt such narratives can improve the understanding of disadvantage by more truthfully reflecting the lives, experiences and challenges of groups experiencing disadvantage. Updates to the heatmap can enable analysis of the impact of disruption strategies.
(111) Facet‐oriented Cu2Mg Intermetallic Compound with Cu3‐Mg Sites for CO2 Electroreduction to Ethanol with Industrial Current Density
Authors: Peng Chen , Ma Jiaxing , Luo Gan , Yan Shuai , Zhang Junbo , Chen Yangshen , Chen Ning , Wang Zhiqiang , Wei Wei , Sham Tsun‐Kong , Zheng Yao , Kuang Min , Zheng Gengfeng 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThe efficient ethanol electrosynthesis from CO2 is challenging with low selectivity at high CO2 electrolysis rates, due to the competition with H2 and other reduction products. Copper‐based bimetallic electrocatalysts are potential candidates for the CO2‐to‐ethanol conversion, but the secondary metal has mainly been focused on active components (such as Ag, Sn) for CO2 electroreduction, which also promote selectivity of ethylene or other reduction products rather than ethanol. Limited attention has been given to alkali‐earth metals due to their inherently active chemical property. Herein, we rationally synthesized a (111) facet‐oriented nano Cu2Mg (designated as Cu2Mg(111)) intermetallic compound with high‐density ordered Cu3‐Mg sites. The in situ Raman spectroscopy and density function theory calculations revealed that the Cu3−
−‐Mg−
+ active sites allowed to increase *CO surface coverage, decrease reaction energy for *CO−CO coupling, and stabilize *CHCHOH intermediates, thus promoting the ethanol formation pathway. The Cu2Mg(111) catalyst exhibited a high FEC2H5OH of 76.2±4.8 % at 600 mA⋅cm−2, and a peak value of |jC2H5OH| of 720±34 mA⋅cm−2, almost 4 times of that using conventional Cu2Mg with (311) facets, comparable to the best reported values for the CO2‐to‐ethanol electroreduction.