bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of Tamarind Gum and Poly (N‐isopropyl acrylamide)‐based Copolymer through Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization for Dual‐responsive Release Study
Authors: Karmakar Puja Das , Pal Aniruddha 
Published: December 2023

AbstractOver the past decades, thermoresponsive polymers are attracted much scientific attention and can be widely used in a wide range of applications. Synthesis of polymers throughCfunctionalization of polysaccharide using synthetic materials paves the way for producing much desirable natural biopolymer‐based copolymers. Therefore, this study reported about synthesis of thermo and pH‐responsive polymers, based on tamarind kernel polysaccharide (TKP) and poly (N‐isopropyl acrylamide) (pNIPAM) through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) with controlled polymer chain length. The chemical structure and surface morphology have been investigated by different characterization techniques. Lower Critical Solution Temperature (LCST) confirmed the thermo‐responsive nature of the copolymer. The self‐aggregation among the polymer chains was found above LCST (34 °C). Rheological characterizations suggested that our prepared copolymers are non‐Newtonian shear thinning in nature. Finally, the developed material shows worthy efficacy towards the thermo‐responsive release of encapsulated dye at pH 7.4 (53 % and 65 % at 37 °C and 25 °C, respectively) suggesting that our prepared material could be a good candidate for therapeutic release in tissue engineering application.
Low‐Temperature Vapor‐Phase Growth of 2D Metal Chalcogenides
Authors: Zhang Kenan , Zhang Tianyi , You Jiawen , Zheng Xudong , Zhao Mei , Zhang Lijie , Kong Jing , Luo Zhengtang , Huang Shaoming 
Published: December 2023

Abstract2D metal chalcogenides (MCs) have garnered significant attention from both scientific and industrial communities due to their potential in developing next‐generation functional devices. Vapor‐phase deposition methods have proven highly effective in fabricating high‐quality 2D MCs. Nevertheless, the conventionally high thermal budgets required for synthesizing 2D MCs pose limitations, particularly in the integration of multiple components and in specialized applications (such as flexible electronics). To overcome these challenges, it is desirable to reduce the thermal energy requirements, thus facilitating the growth of various 2D MCs at lower temperatures. Numerous endeavors have been undertaken to develop low‐temperature vapor‐phase growth techniques for 2D MCs, and this review aims to provide an overview of the latest advances in low‐temperature vapor‐phase growth of 2D MCs. Initially, the review highlights the latest progress in achieving high‐quality 2D MCs through various low‐temperature vapor‐phase techniques, including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), metal‐organic CVD, plasma‐enhanced CVD, atomic layer deposition (ALD), etc. The strengths and current limitations of these methods are also evaluated. Subsequently, the review consolidates the diverse applications of 2D MCs grown at low temperatures, covering fields such as electronics, optoelectronics, flexible devices, and catalysis. Finally, current challenges and future research directions are briefly discussed, considering the most recent progress in the field.
Mesophilic Argonaute‐Based Single Polystyrene Sphere Aptamer Fluorescence Platform for the Multiplexed and Ultrasensitive Detection of Non‐Nucleic Acid Targets
Authors: Lu Yingying , Wen Junping , Wang Chengming , Wang Mengjiao , Jiang Feng , Miao Lin , Xu Minggao , Li Yingjun , Chen Xiaohua , Chen Yiping 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe rapid, simultaneous, and accurate identification of multiple non‐nucleic acid targets in clinical or food samples at room temperature is essential for public health. Argonautes (Agos) are guided, programmable, target‐activated, next‐generation nucleic acid endonucleases that could realize one‐pot and multiplexed detection using a single enzyme, which cannot be achieved with CRISPR/Cas. However, currently reported thermophilic Ago‐based multi‐detection sensors are mainly employed in the detection of nucleic acids. Herein, this work proposes a Mesophilic Argonaute Report‐based single millimeter Polystyrene Sphere (MARPS) multiplex detection platform for the simultaneous analysis of non‐nucleic acid targets. The aptamer is utilized as the recognition element, and a single millimeter‐sized polystyrene sphere (PSmm) with a large concentration of guide DNA on the surface served as the microreactor. These are combined with precise Clostridium butyricum Ago (CbAgo) cleavage and exonuclease I (Exo I) signal amplification to achieve the efficient and sensitive recognition of non‐nucleic acid targets, such as mycotoxins (<60 pg mL−1) and pathogenic bacteria (<102 cfu mL−1). The novel MARPS platform is the first to use mesophilic Agos for the multiplex detection of non‐nucleic acid targets, overcoming the limitations of CRISPR/Cas in this regard and representing a major advancement in non‐nucleic acid target detection using a gene‐editing‐based system.
Photocatalytic Enhancement Strategy with the Introduction of Metallic Bi: A Review on Bi/Semiconductor Photocatalysts
Authors: Song Yankai , Bao Zongqi , Gu Yingying 
Published: December 2023

AbstractSemiconductor photocatalysis has great potential in the fields of solar fuel production and environmental remediation. Nevertheless, the photocatalytic efficiency still constrains its practical production applications. The development of new semiconductor materials is essential to enhance the solar energy conversion efficiency of photocatalytic systems. Recently, the research on enhancing the photocatalytic performance of semiconductors by introducing bismuth (Bi) has attracted widespread attention. In this review, we briefly overview the main synthesis methods of Bi/semiconductor photocatalysts and summarize the control of the micromorphology of Bi in Bi/semiconductors and the key role of Bi in the catalytic system. In addition, the promising applications of Bi/semiconductors in photocatalysis, such as pollutant degradation, sterilization, water separation, CO2 reduction, and N2 fixation, are outlined. Finally, an outlook on the challenges and future research directions of Bi/semiconductor photocatalysts is given. We aim to offer guidance for the rational design and synthesis of high‐efficiency Bi/semiconductor photocatalysts for energy and environmental applications.
At the Crossroads of History: The Cohabitation of Past and Present in Kettly Mars’s L’Ange du patriarche
Authors: Sapp Robert 
Published: December 2023

AbstractIn her seminal work Framing Silence: Revolutionary Novels by Haitian Women (1997), Myriam J. A. Chancy posits that Haitian women writers offer a feminized version of Haitian history where fiction serves as a conduit for historical discourse that too often silences women. Similarly, Kettly Mars’s L’ange du patriarche (2018) shifts the emphasis of the Bois-Caïman ceremony from Boukman to the lesser-known woman said to have assisted at the ritual. In the novel, the spirit of Marinette pye chèch, a vengeful lwa believed to have been the woman who slaughtered the black pig at the Bois-Caïman ceremony, haunts the family of the protagonist Emmanuela. Through a close reading of Emmanuela’s reluctant engagement with the spirits that haunt her family, this chapter argues that Mars develops a notion of cohabitation, a willingness to stand at the crossroads of the empirical and the mythical in order to transcend the presumed binaries of past and present. Through Emmanuela, Mars offers a praxis by which one might live with the ghosts of the past, to bring their voices to life, without being dominated by them: a skeptical acceptance of events like the Bois-Caïman ceremony that individuals may simultaneously doubt and accept as truth.
Chronotropic Visions: Conclusion
Authors: Ferly Odile , Zimmerman Tegan 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe twenty-first-century Caribbean women writers featured in Chronotropics: Caribbean Women Writing Spacetime deconstruct androcentric approaches to spacetime inherited from Western modernity. They turn to autochthonous ontologies and epistemologies to restore a temporal connection and expand conceptions of space within and beyond the region. They promote social justice and collective healing through literary acts of archival disruption, radical remapping, and epistemic marronnage. We name this the chronotropics. Julia Alvarez, Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, Vashti Bowlah, Dionne Brand, Erna Brodber, Maryse Condé, Nalo Hopkinson, Rita Indiana, Fabienne Kanor, Karen Lord, Kettly Mars, Pauline Melville, Mayra Montero, Shani Mootoo, Elizabeth Nunez, Ingrid Persaud, Gisèle Pineau, Krystal M. Ramroop, and Mayra Santos Febres intend to repair the present and envision a positive, sustainable future within the Caribbean and its diaspora. They redress the colonial archive and its systemic practice of exclusion, recuperate the old ways of knowing and doing as a means toward remapping spacetime, or engage with other forms of marronnage intimately connected to belief and knowledge systems, in particular spirituality and science. Their literary trajectories and the plurality of their political engagements concord in expressing chronotropic visions that foreground women’s lives and voices in concert with, not in opposition to, the natural-spiritual worlds that we inhabit.
Past Histories and Present Realities: The Paradox of Time and the Ritual of Performance in Mayra Santos Febres’ Fe en disfraz
Authors: Roberts Nicole 
Published: December 2023

AbstractIn her short historical novel Fe en disfraz (2009), Mayra Santos Febres uses re/presentations of time to re-invoke historical memory and to illuminate the ways in which black women’s lives were eclipsed from the Puerto Rican landscape. The novel offers a bold examination of the consequences of sexual exploitation and abuse on black women during enslavement, a topic which is under-explored in Puerto Rican and Latin American narrative. The intersection between the past and present that occurs through the unraveling of the narrator Fe’s life story reveals how the historical forces that shaped the lives of enslaved women continue to echo across time for contemporary black women. The treatment of time and the questioning of historical archives in the text both question and disrupt the official accounts of history: for instance, the intermittence of Santos Febres’ reconstructed historiography, which appears as a handful of short vignettes disseminated throughout the text, highlights the ways in which official stories have silenced black women’s lives. Countering this erasure, Santos Febres’ text anchors the black female body, depicting it as a site of cultural inscription and resilience.
A Site of Memory: Revisiting (in) Gisèle Pineau’s Mes quatre femmes
Authors: Larrier Renée 
Published: December 2023

AbstractGisèle Pineau’s Mes quatre femmes: récit (2007) is set in a “geôle obscure de la mémoire,” where different generations of the author’s female relatives are confined. Contrary to the reader’s expectations, however, this memory jail functions as a welcoming, nurturing, womb-like space, as conceptualized by Betty Wilson. Scenes from the past are revisioned and at times, reenacted, as Pineau’s eighteenth-century ancestor Angélique, grandmother Julia, mother Daisy, and aunt Gisèle, after whom Pineau is named, tell stories, all the while imparting knowledge about how they navigated enslavement, colonialism, migration, and patriarchy with various degrees of success during a time when Guadeloupean society and history marginalized them and their experiences. These embodiments of memory remain within her and provide models of behavior for shaping her own identity. In this chapter, I analyze this “geôle obscure de la mémoire”—a veritable site of memory that produces an alternative, oral archive—focusing on the role, dynamic, and storytelling gifts of its inhabitants. I argue that the collective presence of these four women in this atypical spatio-temporal landscape not only haunts their descendant Gisèle in a positive way, but their oral storytelling skills anticipate and inform her own talent for writing.
Connecting Diasporas: Reading Erna Brodber’s Nothing’s Mat through African Fractal Theory
Authors: Sairsingh A. Marie 
Published: December 2023

AbstractErna Brodber’s 2015 novel Nothing’s Mat foregrounds the African diaspora in ways that differ from the treatment of diaspora in her previous novels, and in her nonfiction work, The Continent of Black Consciousness: On the History of the African Diaspora from Slavery to the Present Day (2003). Her theorization of black ontology takes in a wider swath of Afrodiasporic space, encompassing personal, psychic, and philosophical journeying. She utilizes a fractal paradigm, based on African-inflected cosmogony and aesthetics, to probe how ontology and identity operate across space and time. Examining Afro-Caribbean existence through the construct of African fractal geometry, and focalizing “woman” narratives of history within a liberatory schematic, I discuss how Nothing’s Mat extends the expressive range of the project of emancipation in literary representation. Fractal tropology presents a meta-discursive model that offers possibilities for understanding African and African diaspora cultural phenomena and identity and, specifically, what it means to be woman, black, human. Nothing’s Mat broadens the diasporic terrain significantly, encompassing Britain, Jamaica, Panama (Central America), and the United States, focalizes the genealogy and meaning of the term “African diaspora” and presents a theory for reading Afro-Caribbean realities.
A Framework for Mapping Mechanistic Perspectives
Authors: Cordovil João L. , Santos Gil , Vecchi Davide 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis edited book is the outcome of a conference that was planned to take place in Lisbon at the Centro de Filosofia das Ciências (CFCUL) of the Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa. It was originally organized in the usual on-site form to which we were accustomed before the start of the Covid pandemic. The conference was postponed many times, with the hope to hold it on-site, to no avail. After many postponements, to our disappointment, the conference had unfortunately to be organized in a purely online form between 14th and 15th of October in 2021. The only advantage of all this is that we saved public money.
Fundamental Physics and (New-)Mechanistic Ontologies
Authors: Cordovil João L. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractAccording to Kuhlmann & Glennan, fundamental physics and New Mechanicism do “not fit well together” (Kuhlmann and Glennan, Euro J Phil Sci 4:338, 2014). For two main reasons: (1) Quantum mechanics (QM) challenges the hypothesis that there are objects with definite properties that are related by local causal interactions; (2) since mechanisms are composed of lower-lever mechanisms, then if in fundamental physics the existence of mechanisms can be questioned, and if macroscopic mechanisms supervene on fundamental physics entities and processes, then fundamental physics can even undermine mechanistic ontology and its explanatory ambition.In their paper, Kuhlmann & Glennan tried to argue that the problem of the compatibilisation between fundamental physics and New Mechanicism can be partially addressed since, on the one hand, the quantum decoherence hypothesis allows to defend that the universal validity of quantum mechanics does not undermine New Mechanicism ontological and explanatory claims as they occur within in classical domains. And on the other hand, it is possible to offer a non-classical mechanistic explanation of certain kinds of quantum phenomena.This paper aims to argue that there has always been a problematic relationship between mechanical philosophy and fundamental physics throughout the history of physics. Therefore, in part, the challenges posed by QM to mechanicism are not new; nevertheless, mechanicism prevailed throughout the history of physics. On the other hand, I also aim to argue that although fundamental physics may not be compatible with New Mechanicism, that should not imply a rejection of mechanistic ontology for reasons other than the quantum decoherence hypothesis.
Mit Apps gegen den Tinnitus? Ein systematisches Review zu Qualität, Interventionselementen und Techniken der Verhaltensänderung
Authors: Rinn Alina , Hannibal Sandy , Goetsch Sarah , Weise Cornelia , Lehr Dirk 
Published: December 2023

ZusammenfassungHintergrundÜber App-Stores werden Applikationen (Apps) für Tinnitusbetroffene angeboten und versprechen schnelle Hilfe gegen die Ohrgeräusche. Für Betroffene und Behandelnde ist es jedoch gleichermaßen schwierig, deren Qualität, Potenziale oder Risiken einzuschätzen. Ziel dieser Studie war es, eine Übersicht zu deutschsprachigen Tinnitus-Apps zu erstellen und damit eine Orientierung für Forschung und Versorgung zu geben.MethodenEs wurde eine systematische Recherche (November 2020–April 2021) in den umsatzstärksten Stores (Google Play Store und Apple App Store) durchgeführt. Spezifisch für Tinnitus entwickelte Apps wurden von unabhängigen Wissenschaftlerinnen multiperspektivisch bewertet: (a) ein Qualitäts-Screening erfolgte anhand der deutschen Version der Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS-G), (b) Interventionselemente wurden mittels neu entwickelten Kategoriensystems und (c) implementierte Strategien für aktives Tinnitus-Management anhand von Techniken der Verhaltensänderung (Behavior Change Techniques, BCTs) analysiert.ErgebnisseDie Suche ergab 1073 Apps, wobei 21 Apps in die Analyse eingingen. Die Apps wiesen nach MARS‑G eine mittlere Qualität auf (M = 3,37; SD = 0,39). Die meisten Apps boten Geräusche (n = 18) und Informationen (n = 9) an oder erfassten Charakteristika des Tinnitus (n = 13). 24 der 93 BCTs wurden mindestens einmal identifiziert. Nur eine App wurde in nicht-randomisierten Studien evaluiert.DiskussionWenngleich eine Vielzahl von Apps vorliegt, fokussiert die Mehrzahl auf wenige Elemente (z. B. Geräusche und Informationen). Das Potenzial, über die Apps wichtige, evidenzbasierte Inhalte zur Tinnitusbewältigung zu vermitteln, wird damit nicht ausgeschöpft. Die multiperspektivische Evaluation zeigt Verbesserungspotenzial für Tinnitus-Apps auf.
Topology optimization with text-guided stylization
Authors: Zhong Shengze , Punpongsanon Parinya , Iwai Daisuke , Sato Kosuke 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWe propose an approach for the generation of topology-optimized structures with text-guided appearance stylization. This methodology aims to enrich the concurrent design of a structure’s physical functionality and aesthetic appearance. Users can effortlessly input descriptive text to govern the style of the structure. Our system employs a hash-encoded neural network as the implicit structure representation backbone, which serves as the foundation for the co-optimization of structural mechanical performance, style, and connectivity, to ensure full-color, high-quality 3D-printable solutions. We substantiate the effectiveness of our system through extensive comparisons, demonstrations, and a 3D-printing test.
Uncovering the mechanism of selective stabilization of high-energy diastereoisomers via inclusion
Authors: Oakley Meagan S. , Oakes Madaline R. , Wagner Brian D. , Pearson Jason K. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractSupramolecular systems may be used to stabilize otherwise unstable isomers to find alternative synthetic pathways. It has been reported that cucurbit[8]uril can stabilize trans-I and trans-II Cu$$^{{\textrm{II}}}$$

II

cyclam, whereas trans-III is the only non-substituted trans Cu$$^{{\textrm{II}}}$$

II

cyclam diastereoisomer found outside of the host molecule experimentally. Quantum chemistry methods can provide valuable insight into the intermolecular interactions involved in these inclusion complexes. All five possible trans diastereoisomers of Cu$$^{{\textrm{II}}}$$

II

cyclam were studied within the host molecule to calculate the interaction energy and free energy of association for each complex. The relative free energies of the five free cyclams confirm that trans-I and trans-II are the most energetically accessible diastereoisomers from the initial trans-III starting point. Energy decomposition analysis was used to identify the attractive and repulsive interactions between cyclam and cucurbit[8]uril and showed that trans-II encounters repulsive forces almost three times greater than trans-I, which may explain the 7:3 ratio of trans-I to trans-II within cucurbit[8]uril that occurs experimentally. Optimized complex geometries with trans-III, IV, and V show that the cyclams protrude out of cucurbit[8]uril, whereas trans-I and trans-II become more encapsulated and elongate the host, suggesting that the position of the cyclam is extremely important when forming non-covalent interactions. Our results agree with the experimental findings and provide greater insight into why the most stable isolated cyclam diastereoisomer, trans-III, does not form a complex.
Experimental manipulation of chest spotting alters territorial aggression in urban and rural song sparrows
Authors: Beck Michelle L. , Sewall Kendra B. , Akҫay Ҫağlar 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
In many taxa, melanin-based coloration is a signal of dominance or fighting ability and is associated with concentrations of hormones that may mediate aggressive behavior. Previous studies found that experimental manipulation of melanin-based signals can result in manipulated individuals receiving more social challenges in some but not all species. These differences could arise from mismatches between the signal, behavior, and hormone concentrations. In the present study, we experimentally manipulated the chest spotting of urban and rural male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) following an assessment of their territorial aggression and initial concentrations of corticosterone and testosterone and then assessed their behavior and hormone concentrations 2 weeks later. We found that males generally displayed less territorial aggression in the second trial, consistent with our previous findings. Males in the enlarged treatment decreased aggression to a greater degree than those in the reduced treatment. The effect of the plumage manipulation was similar across the rural and urban habitats. Despite the changes in behavior we detected, we found no effects of the manipulation on concentrations of testosterone or corticosterone. Our results show that melanin-based spotting in male song sparrows is a signal of territorial aggression but the physiological mechanisms that mediate the relationships between chest spotting and behavior remain to be identified.

Significance statement
Many bird species use their plumage to signal their dominance status, fighting ability, or motivation during interactions with other individuals to resolve conflicts without a fight. Here, we asked whether chest spotting is a signal in territorial interactions among male song sparrows. We experimentally increased or reduced the extent of spotting in males and measured the change in their aggression. We found that reduced-spotting males showed a more moderate seasonal decrease of aggression compared to males with enlarged spotting reduced aggression, possibly because the former experienced more intrusions later on in the breeding season while the latter experienced fewer intrusions. These results are consistent with chest spotting size in song sparrows functioning as a signal of territory holding potential of the bearer.