Academic literature on the topic 'Chiral Spacer'

The polymer investigated is a comb-shaped polymer with long oligomeric side chains containing a chiral center. The chiral center contains the strongly dipolar nitrile group bound to the aliphatic spacer between aryl units in a stereo-ordered fashion. The chemical structure of the comb polymer is shown below:

The design and synthesis of four large-cavity azobenzenophanes, capable of forming photochemically controllable complexes with organic guest molecules, are described. These azobenzenophanes, possessing m-terphenyl, aromatic carbonyl, and chiral BINOL spacers, were synthesized from the corresponding bisphenols and dibromides using simple O-alkylation methodology. A preliminary photochemical study was carried out on the aromatic carbonyl spacer containing azobenzenophane, and the isosbestic points for the cis–trans isomerization process appeared at 319 and 419 nm.

A bifunctional reagent of terephthaloyl chloride was initially adopted as a spacer reagent to prepare the bonded types of chiral stationary phase (CSP) with cellulose derivatives. (3,5-dimethylphenyl)carbamates of cellulose (CDMPC) regioselectively bonded to small pore (3-aminopropyl)silica gel (APS) were prepared with terephthaloyl chloride as a spacer at the 6-position of the primary hydroxyl group on the glucose unit of cellulose. Enantioseparations of five racemic samples are evaluated on the prepared CSP under normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic mode with hexane- isopropylalcohol as the mobile phase. The influence of flow rates and mobile phase compositions on the resolution were investigated. The prepared stationary phase was exhibited an effective chiral recognition.

Circularly polarized luminescent and photoelectric effect 2D hybrid perovskite crystals incorporating chiral cyclohexanediamine spacer cations have been prepared and systematically investigated by comparing achiral crystals.

Introduction: This is the first report on chiral polymorphic hydrazine-based asymmetric liquid crystal trimers, 1-[4'-(4''-(5-Cholesteryloxy)carbonyl)butyloxy]-3-[N-benzylideneoxy-N'-(4'''-decyloxybenzylidene) hydrazine] butyloxybenzenes, and 1-[4'-(4''-(10-cholesteryloxy)carbonyl)nonyloxy]-3-[N-benzylideneoxy-N'-(4'''- decyloxybenzylidene)hydrazine]butyloxybenzenes., in which the hydrazine and cholesterol arms were connected via two flexible methylene spacers (n = 3-12 units and m = 4 or 9, respectively) to the central resorcinol core. Materials and Methods: FT-IR, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, and CHN microanalysis were used to elucidate the structures of the trimers. Differential scanning calorimetry, polarizing optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction were used to study the transitional and phase properties of the trimers, which were length and spacer parity dependent. Trimers with short spacer length in the cholesteryl arm, m = 4 showed an interesting phase sequence of BP/N*-TGBA*-SmA*. Results and Discussion: The TGBA* phase was sensitive to spacer length as it was only observed in trimers with short ester linkage. For the long analogues, m = 9, characteristic visible reflection and a much simpler phase sequence with only N* and SmA* phases were observed. Conclusion: The X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that layer periodicities of the SmA* phase were approximately half the estimated all-trans molecular length (d/L ≈ 0.44-0.52), thus suggesting that the molecules are either strongly intercalated or bent.

Research in the field of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology on spatial cognition and mental imagery has increased considerably over the last few decades. While at the beginning of the XX century studying imagery was considered an object of derision – a ―sheer bunk‖ (Watson, 1928) – at the present, imagery researchers have successfully developed models and improved behavioral and neurophysiological measures (e.g., Kosslyn et al., 2006). Mental rotation constituted a major advance in terms of behavioral measures sensitive to imaginative operations executed on visual representations (i.e., Shepard & Cooper, 1982). The linearity of modulation between response times and angular disparity of the images allowed a quantitative estimate of imagery processes. The experiments described in the present thesis were motivated by the intent to continue and extend the understanding of such fascinating mental phenomena. The evolution of the present work took initial steps from the adoption of a behavioral paradigm, the hand laterality judgment task, as privileged tool for studying motor imagery in healthy individuals and brain-damaged patients. The similarity with mental rotation tasks and the implicit nature of the task made it the best candidate to test hypotheses regarding the mental simulation of body movements. In this task, response times are linearly affected by the angular departures the hand pictures are shown in, as for mental rotation, and their distributions are asymmetric between left and right hands. Drawing from these task features a widely held view posits that laterality judgment of rotated hand pictures requires participants to imagine hand-arm movements, although they receive no instruction to do so (e.g., Parsons, 1987a; Parsons, 1994). In Chapter 1, I provided a review of the relevant literature on visual and motor imagery. Particular aspects of the mental rotation literature are also explored. In Chapter 2, I examined the hand laterality task and the vast literature of studies that employed this task as means to test motor imagery processes. An alternative view to the motor imagery account is also discussed (i.e., the disembodied account). In Chapter 3, I exploited the hand laterality task, and a visual laterality task (Tomasino et al., 2010) to test motor and visual imagery abilities in a group of healthy aged individuals. In Chapter 4, I described an alternative view that has been proposed by others to explain the pattern of RTs in the hand laterality task: The multisensory integration account (Grafton & Viswanathan, 2014). In this view, hand laterality is recognized by pairing information between the seen hand's visual features and the observer's felt own hand. In Chapter 5, I tested and found evidence for a new interpretation of the particular configuration of response times in the hand laterality task. I demonstrated a spatial compatibility effect for rotated pictures of hands given by the interaction between the direction of stimulus rotation (clockwise vs. counterclockwise) and the laterality of the motor response. These effects changed by following temporal dynamics that were attributed to shifts of spatial attention. In the same chapter, I conducted other psychophysics experiments that confirmed the role of spatial attention and that ruled out the view of multisensory integration as the key aspect in determining the asymmetries of the response times' distribution. In Chapter 6, I conducted a study with patients suffering from Unilateral Neglect in which they performed the hand laterality task and a visual laterality task. The findings indicated that patients failed to integrate visual information with spatially incompatible responses irrespective of the type of task, and depending on egocentric stimulus-response spatial codes. A general discussion is presented in Chapter 7.

This feminist oral history project records, interprets, and analyzes the educational experiences of seven Ismaili college women in Chitral, Pakistan. Chitral is a part of the world where educating girls and women is not a priority. Yet in the scarce literature available one can observe an increase in the literacy rates, especially amongst the Ismaili Muslims in the North of Chitral District. This thesis introduces students' accounts of their personal educational journeys. I argue that the students' accounts exemplify third space feminism. They negotiate contradictions and social invisibility in their daily lives in quiet activism that shadows but changes the status quo of the society. Through their narratives the narrators see themselves as devout Muslim women who are receiving Western-style education through which they have learned to be women's rights advocates. The narrators now wish to pay forward their knowledge and help their families financially. Analysis of the oral histories revealed six themes: (1) distance from educational institutions, (2) sacrifices by the family, (3) support from family, (4) narrators as the first generation of women to attend school, (5) early memories of school including severe winters and corporal punishment, and (6) feminist touchstones. While honoring their families and communities, the narrators plan to become educators and advocates to empower girls and women in their own villages. In response to these oral histories, I recommend that the government of Pakistan, non-government organizations working in Pakistan, men and women, and teachers in schools work together to improve the educational journeys of future Chitrali women. Education for women needs to be introduced as a universal human right in Chitral so women, too, can get financial and psychosocial support from their families as well as communities to achieve their educational goals.

Multiplicity is a key challenge and opportunity of world politics, yet scholars continue to struggle to do it justice. One way of reducing the challenge multiple times and spaces present us with has been to organise them allochronically, to align spatial difference in temporal sequence. The effect is a story where others are not different, they are just behind. Scholars have criticised this thinking as it appears in “Western thought”. In recent years, suggestions have emerged that Chinese thought may offer an alternative that escapes allochronic thinking, most notably through the foreign policy-driven concept “harmonious world”. Scholars have studied this term with the aim of finding out its true meaning. This thesis asks instead what “harmony” – and more specifically “harmonious world” – does when it is deployed in contemporary China. It traces the concept across several contexts: the policy documents and speeches that launched it as an official term; the academic literatures that asked what a harmonious world might look like; the propaganda at Expo 2010 Shanghai China that aimed to illustrate it; and the online spoofing culture egao that was used to criticise, resist and avoid “harmonisation”.The key claim of this thesis is that “harmonious world”, as articulated in the contexts examined here, has not taken place, is not taking place and will not take place. Ways of thinking about time, space and multiplicity in China’s relation to the world, and particularly “harmonious world”, repeat the allochronising logic recognisable from “Western” discourses, which disallows the openness of the future and reduces the possibilities of harmony and of the political. As an effect of its excessive proliferation harmony disappears as an imagined metaphysical possibility . The harmonious system is not based on co-operation or non co-operation, but works according to what this thesis calls an onco-operative logic: the quasi-suicidal logic of cancer and the (auto)immune. Ultimately, the aim and most important contribution of this thesis is to bring the onco-operative uncertainty of the political back into the harmonious world concept in order to elucidate the negotiation of danger and necessity of multiplicity.

Den här uppsatsen undersöker gestaltningar av rumslighet i Yxta Maya Murrays roman Locas och i Helena María Viramontes novell ”The Cariboo Cafe”. Utifrån en lefebvriansk förståelse av det sociala rummets produktion görs en feministisk, postkolonial läsning av rummets betydelse i texterna. Med utgångspunkt i detta teoretiska ramverk diskuteras tematiseringen av plats, rum och identitet i berättelserna. Vidare används en narratologisk analys av texternas användning av deixis och fokalisering för att visa hur språket fungerar som en granskande skildring av olika platsers och rums villkor. En sådan läsning tillåter texterna att träda fram som avslöjare av specifika maktordningar och som kritik mot dessa.
This essay examines the spatial descriptions in Yxta Maya Murray’s novel Locas and in Helena María Viramontes’ short story “The Cariboo Café”. Based on Henri Lefebvre’s understanding of the production of social space, a post-colonial, feminist reading of the texts’ spaces is executed. Rooted in this theoretical framework, the texts’ thematization of space, place and identity is discussed. Furthermore, a narratological analysis is added to the investigation through a scrutiny of the usage of deixis and focalization. It is shown how the usage of language in the texts functions to further expose different bodies’ divergent access to different spaces. This reading permits the texts to appear both as revealers of specific power systems, and as critics of them.

Chapter 1. A Brief Overview of Gemini Surfactants and Low Molecular-Weight Gelators (LMWGs) The first part of this chapter gives a brief account of the research done in the area of aqueous 3D-(ca. micelles and vesicles etc.) and 2D-aggregates (ca. Langmuir film) formed from different types of gemini surfactants. It also provides classification of surfactants and critical packing parameter associated with the morphology of various aggregates. The second part of this chapter encompasses a literature survey about the low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) endowed with specific functions to promote anisotropic growth of the supramolecular aggregates by means of various non-covalent interactions such as van der Waals, π-π stacking, H-bonding etc. and their potential applications in the area of self-assembly of LMWGs. It demonstrates how structural variations in the design of LMWGs lead to evolution of various interesting properties. It discusses various platforms of organic molecules which are used extensively to produce various LMWGs in recent years. It further presents a comprehensive discussion on stimuli-responsive gel-to-sol transition process associated with fascinating structural and morphological transformation of the LMWGs (Figure 1). It briefly delves into in situ synthesis of various inorganic/organic nano composites and nanocarbon composites by redox-active LMWGs. Towards the end, two-component gelator systems designed to avoid the laborious time-consuming synthetic strategy based on salt (ion-pair) formation and charge-transfer interaction are discussed. Figure 1. Schematic illustration of stimuli-responsive gel-sol transition process. Chapter 2A. SANS Studies of Mixed Micellar Structures made of Dimeric Surfactants having Imidazolium and Ammonium Headgroups This chapter describes the results of detailed structural investigation and comparison of micelles formed from two different series of surfactants, [16-Am-n-Am-16], 2Br- and [16- Im-n-Im-16], 2Br- in aqueous media (D2O) (Figure 2a). The role of the rigid and electronically delocalized imidazolium headgroup vis-à-vis ammonium headgroup on the micelle forming ability has been investigated using small-angle neutron-scattering (SANS) technique. The SANS data, containing the information of aggregation behavior of such surfactants in the molecular level have been analyzed on the basis of Hayter and Penfold model for macro ion solution to compute inter-particle structure factor S(Q) taking into account the screened Coulomb interactions between the dimeric surfactant micelles. Figure 2. (a) Molecular structures of the various monomeric and gemini surfactants used in the present study. (b) Schematic illustration of ideal mixing of gemini surfactants. The effect of temperature on the neutron cross-sections of both classes of surfactant has been examined. The variation of neutron cross-sections of the mixed micelles composed of monomeric and gemini ammonium and imidazolium surfactants, [16-A0, 16-Am-n-Am-16 (where n = 4), 16-I0 and 16-Im-n-Im-16 (where n = 4)] in aqueous media (D2O) has been also analyzed to understand whether they form different domains or form randomly mixed micelles. The aggregate composition matches with that predicted from the ideal mixing model (Figure 2b). Chapter 2B. How does Spacer Length of Imidazolium Gemini Surfactants Control the Fabrication of 2D-Langmuir Films of Silver- Nanoparticles at the Air-Water Interface? This chapter explores the synthesis of cationic and planar imidazolium gemini surfactants [Im-n-Im], 2Br- of variable spacer lengths (n = 2, 5, 6 and 12), which are capable of stabilizing silver nanoparticles (Ag-nps) in aqueous media (Figure 3a). Their ability to stabilize silver nanoparticles (Ag-nps) in aqueous media has been investigated. The resulting colloids have been characterized first by UV-Vis spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Depending on the spacer lengths of geminis, the shapes of the Ag-nanoparticles were found to vary. These colloids could be then transferred from the naqueous layer to chloroform layer by brief sonication followed by vortexing (Figure 3b). These colloids could also spread at the air/water interface to allow stable monolayer formation unlike the gemini surfactants themselves which have been used for capping the silver nanoparticles (Figure 3c). The role of spacer methylene units [-(CH2)n-] to adopt different supramolecular assemblies at the air/water interface depending on the internal packing arrangements has been explored in detail by Langmuir film balance method and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). Next these have been then transferred to mica surface by Langmuir-Blodgett technique at their associated collapse pressure and the morphologies of these monolayers were investigated further by atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique. We have also optimized gas phase geometry of the geminis using B3LYP/6- 31G* to get an idea about their packing in monolayers which were also compared with the AFM results. The number of spacer methylene units [-(CH2)n-] of the gemini surfactants exerted critical influence in modulating the solubility as well as the characteristics of the resulting two-dimensional supramolecular Ag-np assemblies at the air/water interface. Figure 3. (a) Molecular structures of the various monomeric and gemini imidazolium surfactants used in the present study. (b) Extraction of Ag-np from aq. to organic layer and (c) schematic illustration of Langmuir film formation of Ag-np. Chapter 3A. Induction of Supramolecular Chirality in the Self assemblies of Lipophilic Pyrimidine Derivatives by Choice of the Amino acid based Chiral Spacer This chapter deals with the synthesis and investigation of the supramolecular assemblies formed by a family of orgaogelators (1-5) based on amino acid derivatives of 2,4,6- trichloro-pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde, which is also capable of immobilizing various aliphatic hydrocarbons. Naturally occurring, chirally pure amino acids are inserted as a spacer between the pyrimidine core and the long hydrocarbon tails to acquire information about the packing and growth of the molecules in the self-assembled aggregates (Figure 4a). Moreover, the number of the amino acid moiety is varied to see the effect of it on the self-assembly process (Figure 4a). The role of aromatic moiety on the chiral spacer is also explored by introducing L-phenyl alanine moieties. Presence of the inter-molecular hydrogen bonding leading to the chiral self-assembly has been probed by concentration dependent FT-IR, UV-Visible and circular dichroism (CD) studies. Investigation on the mode of aggregation of these molecules using temperature- and concentration-dependent CD-spectroscopy ascribes to the formation of the β-sheet type of hydrogen bonded networks. Generally, β-sheet type arrangement of molecules is quite regular in the self-assemblies of the peptides in aqueous solution. But this work describes a rare example where extensively hydrogen bonded self-assembly of small organic molecules in aliphatic hydrocarbons mimic the β-sheet type organization that occurs in polypeptides in water. Figure 4. (a) Molecular structures of various amino acid based gelators derived from 2,4,6-trichloropyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde. AFM images of the xerogels derived from (b) 1, (c) 3, (d) 4 and (e) 5 respectively in n-dodecane. Morphological investigation of the self-assembled aggregates using atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that L-alanine substituted gelators exhibited left-handed helical nanofibers of high aspect ratio while L-phenylalanine derivatives produced nanofibers with no helicity (Figure 4b-e). Thus, incorporation of L-alanine spacer appears to be just right for the manifestation of molecular chirality in macroscopic level because of feasible supramolecular packing. Calculation of the length of each molecular system by energy minimization in its extended conformation and comparison with the small angle XRD pattern reveals that this class of gelator molecules adopts a lamellar organization. Rheological experiments also show that the presence of L-alanine in the system imparts higher viscoelasticity compared to that of L-phenylalanine probably due to the larger size of the phenyl side chain which induces steric crowding to compromise with the compact packing required for manifestation of higher viscoelasticity. Examination of the supramolecular aggregation of these molecules in solid state by polarized optical microscopy (POM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) indicates that the phase behavior for the supramolecular aggregation of these molecules in solid state however depends on the choice and number of the amino acid residues. Chapter 3B. Differential Response of Cholesterol based Pyrimidine Systems with Variable Spacers to Gelation and Mesogen Formation in Presence of Alkali Metal Ions This chapter encompasses the synthesis and self-assembly properties of a new series of cholesterol derivatives based on 2,4,6-trichloro-pyrimidine-5-carbaldehyde as scaffold (Figure 5a). The role of spacer oxyethylene units [(-OCH2OCH2)n] inserted between the pyrimidine core and the cholesterol backbone, in gelation process has been examined by varying its length (n = 2, 3 and 4). The chiral supramolecular assembly associated with the cholesteric backbone has been probed by temperature-dependent UV-Vis and CD spectroscopy. Morphological investigations of the self-assembled aggregates present in the freeze-dried gels using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy(AFM) revealed the presence of fibrous structures of high aspect ratio in such aggregates. Thermotropic properties of these compounds and their associated alkali metal ion complexes have been investigated by polarized optical microscopy (POM) and differential =scanning calorimetry (DSC). Remarkable changes in the birefringence and the morphology of these compounds were observed under POM owing to the complexation with a specific alkali metal ion (Figure 5b). This result has been further supported by appearance of completely different signatures in the DSC traces of the alkali metal complexes compared to that of the compounds only. Analysis of the wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) data reveals the existence of hexagonal columnar (Colh) organization in the supramolecular aggregates composed of dimeric molecular assembly (Figure 5c). Interestingly, the mesophases of the metal ion complexes of these compounds are also stabilized in a hexagonal columnar (Colh) structure. However, coil-like oxyethylene linkers transform to elongated conformation due to coordination with the alkali metal ion, leading to increase in the column slices. Figure 5. (a) General molecular structure of cholesterol and oxyethylene based pyrimidine derivatives (1a-c); (b) Changes in the POM texture of 1c upon complexation with Li+ or Na+; (c) Graphical representation of hexagonal columnar (Colh) arrangement of molecules. Chapter 4A. Evidence of Aggregation Induced Emission Enhancement and Keto-enol-tautomerism in Gallic acid derived Salicylideneaniline Gels This chapter covers the synthesis and self-assembly properties of Schiff bases based on 3, 4, 5-(tri-dodecyloxy)benzoyl group possessing different diamines, 1-4 (Figure 6a). Amenability of gelation of such systems opens opportunities of further exploration of their interesting properties either as a sol or as a gel. These gallic acid appended low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs) are capable of immobilizing various aromatic/aliphatic hydrocarbons depending upon the choice of the core part of the gelator. Investigation of properties and mode of aggregation in the gel phase of the gelators containing aromatic core leads to a nice correlation of the gel-to-sol transition phenomenon with the keto-enol-tautomerism, which is an important characteristic of the thermochromic salicylideneanilines. The origin of thermochromism of these gels has been investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy and temperature-dependent 1H-NMR analysis in [D6]benzene at minimum gelator concentration (Figure 6b). Figure 6. (a) Molecular structures of various 3, 4, 5-(tri-dodecyloxy)benzamide based Schiff bases (1-4). (b) Temperature-dependent partial 1H-NMR spectra of 1 in [D6]benzene at 2 mM. (c) Photographs of the gel and hot sol of 1 in toluene at 2 mM under 365 nm UV light. Furthermore, strong aggregation induced green fluorescence emission and red shift in the fluorescence spectra have been observed in the gel phase relative to the hot sol at the same concentration because of the formation of J-aggregates (Figure 6c). Investigation by temperature-dependent UV-Vis, fluorescence, and concentration-dependent FT-IR spectroscopy clearly ascribes that the aggregation pattern of the self-assemblies is promoted by hydrogen bonding, aromatic π-π stacking among the individual salicylideneaniline units. Calculation of molecular length by energy minimization of single molecule and comparison with small-angle X-ray diffraction pattern reveals that gelator molecules arrange themselves in interdigitated lamellar structure. The interdisciplinary interest in the discovery and the investigation of LMWGs enhances the probability of diverse applications as molecular switches, devices, and advanced materials. Chapter 4B. Ag+-Induced Reverse Vesicle to Nano helix Transformation in a Self-assembly of Salicylideneaniline having Pyridine and L-alanine Spacer This chapter illustrates the first report of an amphiphilic salicylideneaniline having a terminal pyridine and L-alanine based spacer, which exhibits spherical morphology in toluene due to the formation of reverse vesicles (Figure 7). Addition of Ag+ to this suspension, however, reversibly transforms these reverse vesicles into left-handed helical nanofibers which is also accompanied by spontaneous gel formation at room temperature (Figure 7). Figure 7. Molecular structure of amphiphilic salicylideneaniline having a terminal pyridine and L-alanine based spacer and schematic illustration of Ag+ induced reverse vesicle to left-handed helix transformation. The molecular chirality originated due to the presence of L-alanine as a part of the molecule, transforms into supramolecular helicity in the gel nanofibers by selective Ag+- response. The ensuing structural transformation has been investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction techniques. Additionally, the enol form predominates in the practically colorless sol and the keto form is found exclusively in the yellowish gel phase. Keto-enol-tautomerism associated with then reversible sol-to-gel transition has been evidenced from a visible color change, UV-Vis and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Chapter 5A. A Mechanistic Insight into the Growth of Supramolecular-assembly of Viologen and L-alanine derived Redox active Hydro gelator using Structural Analysis and Electrochemistry This chapter depicts a redox triggered gel-to-sol transition of a salt type two-component hydro gelator (16-A)2-V2+, comprising of a L-alanine based amphiphile and redox responsive viologen system (Figure 8a). Supramolecular hydrogelation has been achieved by mixing (carboxymethyl)-4,4’-bipyridinium dibromide (V2+) and N-hexadecyl-Lal aninamide (16-A) in 1:2 ratio in aqueous medium. The formation of such hydrogel depends on the acid-amine stoichiometry and could be modulated by variation of the Laminoacid group and hydrocarbon chain length integrated with the L-amino acid moiety. To induce charge-transfer (CT) interaction between the phenyl ring and the viologen moiety, the role of the aromatic moiety in the amino acid part has been examined by incorporating L-phenylalanine (Figure 8b). The influence of CT-interaction and salt formation in the gelation process has been further investigated by stoichiometry-dependent 1H-NMR spectroscopy in D2O and FT-IR spectroscopy. Morphological investigations by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) demonstrate strong dependence of the formation of different three-dimensional structures depending on the acid-to-amine ratio. Calculation of the molecular length of (16-A)2-V2+ by energy minimization in its extended conformation and comparison with the SAXD pattern reveals that the gelator molecules adopt a lamellar type arrangement in the hydrogel phase. The rheological properties provide a clear evidence that viscoelasticity of this two-component system could be modulated by varying the acid to- amine ratio. The electrochemical behavior of this two-component system has been characterized by stepwise electrochemical reduction of the viologen nucleus (V2+/V+• and V+•/V0). The half-wave reduction potentials (E1/2) associated with the viologen ring shift to more negative values with increasing amine proportion. This emphasizes that higher extent of salt formation hinders reduction of the viologen moiety. Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) could also be successfully dispersed in the hydrogel phase of (16-A)2-V2+ and the redox characteristics of the resultant SWNT-composite have been analyzed by cyclic voltammetry. Interestingly, incorporation of SWNTs in the electrochemically irreversible hydrogel transforms it to a quasi-reversible system. Figure 8. (a) Molecular structure and the non-covalent interactions involved in the hydrogelation of (16-A)2-V2+. (b) Digital photographs of hydrogel of (16-A)2-V2+ and sol of (16-F)2-V2+. Chapter 5B. Two-component Hydrogelation by Self-assembly of an Electroactive Donor-Acceptor Complex derived from Pyranine and Viologen This chapter demonstrates a donor-acceptor type two-component hydrogelation (Figure 9a and 9b) from an electroactive co-assembly of 8-hydroxy-1,3,6-pyrene-trisulfonic acid trisodium salt (pyranine) and n-dodecyl-functionalized methyl viologen (DMV). Charge transfer (CT) interaction involved in the process of sol-to-gel transition has been explained with the help of UV-Vis, fluorescence, and Raman spectroscopy. This is the first report where a CT-phenomenon involved in the sol-to-gel transition has been characterized by a perceptible shift in the Raman spectra. Investigation of the microstructures formed from the xerogel by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) discerns presence of well-organized and dendritic structures, maintaining high degree of ordering in the packing of the two components (Figure 9c). Furthermore, this is the first time it has been possible to probe the systematic growth of the hydrogelation process by successive increase in the extent of donor-acceptor interaction using cyclic voltammetry. The half-wave reduction potentials (E1/2) associated with the viologen core shift to more negative values with increasing pyranine stoichiometry accompanied by concomitant broadening of the peaks and drop in the peak current intensity. Increase in the stoichiometry of pyranine promotes charge transfer process to a greater extent and negative charge density of the surrounding of the viologen moiety increases, thereby hindering the reduction (loss of positive charge) of the viologen core. Figure 9. (a) Molecular structures of the donor (pyranine) and the acceptor (DMV) and their cartoon representation; (b) Photograph and (c) SEM image of the CT hydrogel.

This volume offers an organic discussion of Wang Bing's filmmaking across China’s marginal spaces and against the backdrop of the state-sanctioned 'China Dream'. Wang Bing's cinema gives voice to the subaltern. Focusing on contemporary China, his work testifies to a set of issues dealing with inequality, labour, and migration. His internationally awarded documentaries are considered masterpieces with unique aesthetics that bear reference to global film masters. Therefore, this investigation goes beyond the divides between Western and non-Western film traditions and between fiction and documentary cinema. Each chapter takes a different articulation of space (spaces of labour, history, and memory) as its entry point, bringing together film and documentary studies, Chinese studies, and globalization studies. This volume benefits from the author's extensive conversations with Wang Bing and insider observations of film production and the film festival circuit.

Flows and Frictions in Trans-Himalayan Spaces traces movements and connections in a region known for its formidable obstacles to mobility. Eight original essays and a conceptual introduction engage with questions of networks and interconnection between people across a bordered landscape. Mobility among the extremely varied ecologies of south-western China, Myanmar and north-eastern India, with their rugged terrain, high mountains, monsoon-fed rivers and marshy lowlands, is certainly subject to friction. But today, harsh political realities have created hard borders and fractured this trans-Himalayan terrain. However, the closely researched chapters in this book demonstrate that these borders have not prevented an abundance of movements, connections and flows. Mobility has always coexisted with friction here, but this coexistence has been unsettled, giving this space its historical shape and its contemporary dynamism. Introducing the concept of the ‘corridor’ as an analytical framework, this collection investigates mobility and flows in this unique socio-political landscape.

This edited volume provides a multifaceted investigation of the dynamic interrelations between visual arts and urbanization in contemporary Mainland China with a focus on unseen representations and urban interventions brought about by the transformations of the urban space and the various problems associated with it. Through a wide range of illuminating case studies, the authors demonstrate how innovative artistic and creative practices initiated by various stakeholders not only raise critical awareness on socio-political issues of Chinese urbanization but also actively reshape the urban living spaces. The formation of new collaborations, agencies, aesthetics and cultural production sites facilitate diverse forms of cultural activism as they challenge the dominant ways of interpreting social changes and encourage civic participation in the production of alternative meanings in and of the city. Their significance lies in their potential to question current values and power structures as well as to foster new subjectivities for disparate individuals and social groups.

Travel Writing in Mongolia and Northern China, 1860-2020 invites readers to explore Mongolia as an important cultural space for Western travelers and their audiences over three historical eras. Travelers have framed their experiences and observations through imaginative geographies and Orientalizing discourses, fixing Mongolia as a peripheral, timeless, primitive, and parochial place. Readers can examine the travelers’ literary and rhetorical strategies as they make themselves more credible and authoritative and as they identify themselves with Mongolians and Mongolian culture or, conversely, distance themselves. In this book, readers can also approach travel writing from the perspective of women travelers, Mongolian socialist intellectuals, twenty-first-century travelers, and a Han Chinese writer, Jiang Rong, who promotes cultural harmony yet anticipates the disappearance of Mongolian culture in China.

This volume examines the most spectacular struggle for democracy in post-handover Hong Kong. Bringing together scholars with different disciplinary focuses and comparative perspectives from mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, one common thread that stitches the chapters is the use of first-hand data collected through on-site fieldwork. This study unearths how trajectories can create favourable conditions for the spontaneous civil resistance despite the absence of political opportunities and surveys the dynamics through which the protestors, the regime and the wider public responses differently to the prolonged contentious space. The Umbrella Movement: Civil Resistance and Contentious Space in Hong Kong offers an informed analysis of the political future of Hong Kong and its relations with the authoritarian sovereignty as well as sheds light on the methodological challenges and promises in studying modern-day protests.

This volume examines the most spectacular struggle for democracy in post-handover Hong Kong. Bringing together scholars with different disciplinary focuses and comparative perspectives from mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, one common thread that stitches the chapters is the use of first-hand data collected through on-site fieldwork. This study unearths how trajectories can create favourable conditions for the spontaneous civil resistance despite the absence of political opportunities and surveys the dynamics through which the protestors, the regime and the wider public responses differently to the prolonged contentious space. The Umbrella Movement: Civil Resistance and Contentious Space in Hong Kong offers an informed analysis of the political future of Hong Kong and its relations with the authoritarian sovereignty as well as sheds light on the methodological challenges and promises in studying modern-day protests.

This important new study by one of Korea’s leading historians focuses on the international relations of colonial Korea – from the Japanese rule of the peninsula and its foreign relations (1905–1945) to the ultimate liberation of the country at the end of the Second World War. In addition, it fills a significant gap – the ‘blank space’ – in Korean diplomatic history. Furthermore, it highlights several other fundamental aspects in the history of modern Korea, such as the historical perception of the policy-making process and the attitudes of both China and Britain which influenced US policy regarding Korea at the end of World War II.

During the early modern period, objects of maritime material culture were removed from their places of origin and traded, collected and displayed worldwide. Focusing on shells and pearls exchanged within local and global networks, this monograph compares and connects Asian, in particular Chinese, and European practices of oceanic exploitation in the framework of a transcultural history of art with an understanding of maritime material culture as gendered. Perceiving the ocean as mother of all things, as womb and birthplace, Chinese and European artists and collectors exoticized and eroticized shells’ shapes and surfaces. Defining China and Europe as spaces entangled with South and Southeast Asian sites of knowledge production, source and supply between 1500 and 1700, the book understands oceanic goods and maritime networks as transcending and subverting territorial and topographical boundaries. It also links the study of globally connected port cities to local ecologies of oceanic exploitation and creative practices.

Chiral smectic liquid crystals (CSLCs) have microsecond response times due to a first order coupling between their macroscopic polarization and an applied electric field. With homeotropic alignment of the liquid crystal molecules direct analog phase modulation is obtained. [1] The significance of this device structure is that these materials can be fabricated in a Fabry-Perot (FP) cavity, making continuous optical wavelength tuning possible. This results in a low cost, microsecond tuning speed, narrow passband resolution, and potentially large tuning range optical filter for wavelength-divisionmultiplexing based lightwave networks, such as IBM Rainbow Network. [2] The proof-of-principle filter consists of two optical flats coated with mirrors (R= 97%) separated by metal films that operate as both a spacer (2 to 25 pm) and electrode. The cells were then heated up to 100° C and filled with CSLC in its isotropic phase by capillary action. Preliminary results suggest the tuning range is approximately 30 nm with a switching speed of a few psec at λ = 1.55 pm.

Heterotopic space characteristics of urban village in China: Take Guandongdian district in Beijing as an example Lu Tingying¹, Li Jiali2, Peng Ning2 ¹Center of Architecture Research and Design. University Of Chinese Academy Of Sciences. UCAS Youth Apartment, No. 80 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing, China 2Center of Architecture Research and Design. University Of Chinese Academy Of Sciences. UCAS Youth Apartment, No. 80 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing, China E-mail: 1102684155@qq.com, lijiali020020@163.com, pengning18@sina.com Keywords: Heterotopias, space characteristics, urban village, Guandongdian, diversification Conference topics and scale: Urban form and social use of space For the first time in the history of China, more of its mainland population are living in cities than in rural villages. The land acquisition and real estate development have caused rapid disappearance and decline of a large number of traditional villages, resulting in "urban villages" in China. They seem chaotic, but contain rich and colorful social life. The living environment is really harsh, but people always maintain close relationship with each other. They are different from neither the modern urban nor traditional villages, but they have their own unique vitality. Such heterogeneous space is always a symbol of historical change and cultural collision which, according to the French philosopher Michel Foucault, can be called Heterotopias. In order to study this heterotopic phenomenon, the triangular area of Guandongdian district in Beijing has been chosen as the object of this case study. With the in-depth investigation of interviews, observation, statistics and sketches, this paper is trying to interpret the characteristics of the heterotopic state of the urban village from three aspects of social form, urban morphology and architectural feature. Eventually, in order to keep the complexity and diversification of urban village, several strategies are put forward for reference to future transforming practice. References Foucault, M. (1967) Of Other Spaces: Utopias and Heterotopias, Trans. Miskoviec, J.(1984), Architecture /Mouvement /Continuité (http://foucault.info/documents/heteroTopia/foucault.heteroTopia.en.html) Selina Abraham. (2013) ‘The heterotopic space of Chirag Delhi’, unpublished research paper, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi. WANG Su. (2013) ‘Heterotopias versus Cultural Imagination: An Interpretation of the Metropolitan Space of Tianjin from the Perspective of Michel Foucault’ s Of Other Spaces (Heterotopias)’ Journal of Nanyang Normal University 12, 50-53.

Over the past few years, China has displayed a wide range of advances in military capabilities and infrastructure, including its test of a hypersonic glide vehicle coupled with a fractional orbital bombardment system and evidence of new intercontinental ballistic missile silos. While China and the United States remain at political odds, there are indications that China’s strategies in space, cyberspace and nuclear domains are increasingly converging with those of the USA, as well as Russia. A key question is whether this strategic convergence is a stabilizing or destabilizing phenomenon. To answer the question, this paper explores the current state of Chinese discussions on multidomain deterrence and strategic stability, with a focus on active defence and proactive defence. It then examines how these concepts are manifesting themselves in China’s postural and technological indicators, including pre-mating of nuclear warheads to delivery platforms, expanded nuclear arsenal size, possible shifts towards launch on warning, integration of dual-capable systems, and advances in machine learning and autonomy. It concludes with a discussion of what these trends mean for future strategic stability talks.

Following the release of a China–Russia joint statement in February 2022, analysts have argued that the two countries have become strategically aligned. While both share security concerns and even use similar terminology on ‘active defence’, the manner in which they address these concerns and operationalize these concepts is not the same—at least not yet. When applied to nuclear deterrence, the Chinese version of active defence suggests retaliatory action against a nuclear attack while the Russian version indicates pre-emption in the face of either non-nuclear or nuclear aggression. In terms of space, while both are jointly pursuing a treaty on non-weaponization, China’s defence white papers tend towards a brief and vague mention of challenges, as opposed to Russia’s pervasive concerns over an attack in its military doctrines. Thus, while there is similarity between the two countries, there remain notable differences. This paper explores China’s and Russia’s most recent official documents and statements on their respective nuclear and space postures, combined with some corresponding technological advances. It then makes recommendations to European Union member states on topics that could be addressed in future strategic stability talks that include either one or both countries.

From March 2020 to September 2021, a herd of approximately 15 Asian elephants left their home in Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve. Along their journey, the herd broke into homes, damaged buildings and infrastructure, and destroyed crops, totaling estimated damage of over $1 million. The migration coincided with a severe drought in the region, indicating that the elephant’s habitat was likely unable to support them. As elephant populations have grown in southern China, habitat size and suitability has been reduced, increasing the likelihood of human-elephant conflict. As pressures such as climate change and population growth further push people and wildlife into shared spaces, management approaches must be tailored to the concept of coexistence. This technical background report for the 2021/2022 edition of the Interconnected Disaster Risks report analyses the root causes, drivers, impacts and potential solutions for the wandering elephants through a forensic analysis of academic literature, media articles and expert interviews.

Recreational vehicles have a lot of potential consumers in China, especially the type C recreational vehicle is popular among consumers due to its advantages, prompting an increase in the production and sales volumes. The type C vehicle usually has a higher air drag than the common commercial vehicles due to its unique appearance. It can be reduced by optimizing the structural parameters, thus the energy consumed by the vehicle can be decreased. The external flow field of a recreational vehicle is analyzed by establishing its computational fluid dynamic (CFD) model. The characteristic of the RV’s external flow field is identified based on the simulation result. The approximation models of the vehicle roof parameters and air drag and vehicle volume are established by the response surface method (RSM). The vehicle roof parameters are optimized by multi-objective particle swarm optimization (MO-PSO). According to the comparison, the air drag is reduced by 2.89% and the vehicle volume is increased by 0.36%. For the RV, the proper geometry parameters can increase the inner space of the vehicle while reducing the air drag.

Macroeconomic summary Several factors contributed to an increase in projected inflation on the forecast horizon, keeping it above the target rate. These included inflation in December that surpassed expectations (5.62%), indexation to higher inflation rates for various baskets in the consumer price index (CPI), a significant real increase in the legal minimum wage, persistent external and domestic inflationary supply shocks, and heightened exchange rate pressures. The CPI for foods was affected by the persistence of external and domestic supply shocks and was the most significant contributor to unexpectedly high inflation in the fourth quarter. Price adjustments for fuels and certain utilities can explain the acceleration in inflation for regulated items, which was more significant than anticipated. Prices in the CPI for goods excluding food and regulated items also rose more than expected. This was partly due to a smaller effect on prices from the national government’s VAT-free day than anticipated by the technical staff and more persistent external pressures, including via peso depreciation. By contrast, the CPI for services excluding food and regulated items accelerated less than expected, partly reflecting strong competition in the communications sector. This was the only major CPI basket for which prices increased below the target inflation rate. The technical staff revised its inflation forecast upward in response to certain external shocks (prices, costs, and depreciation) and domestic shocks (e.g., on meat products) that were stronger and more persistent than anticipated in the previous report. Observed inflation and a real increase in the legal minimum wage also exceeded expectations, which would boost inflation by affecting price indexation, labor costs, and inflation expectations. The technical staff now expects year-end headline inflation of 4.3% in 2022 and 3.4% in 2023; core inflation is projected to be 4.5% and 3.6%, respectively. These forecasts consider the lapse of certain price relief measures associated with the COVID-19 health emergency, which would contribute to temporarily keeping inflation above the target on the forecast horizon. It is important to note that these estimates continue to contain a significant degree of uncertainty, mainly related to the development of external and domestic supply shocks and their ultimate effects on prices. Other contributing factors include high price volatility and measurement uncertainty related to the extension of Colombia’s health emergency and tax relief measures (such as the VAT-free days) associated with the Social Investment Law (Ley de Inversión Social). The as-yet uncertain magnitude of the effects of a recent real increase in the legal minimum wage (that was high by historical standards) and high observed and expected inflation, are additional factors weighing on the overall uncertainty of the estimates in this report. The size of excess productive capacity remaining in the economy and the degree to which it is closing are also uncertain, as the evolution of the pandemic continues to represent a significant forecast risk. margin, could be less dynamic than expected. And the normalization of monetary policy in the United States could come more quickly than projected in this report, which could negatively affect international financing costs. Finally, there remains a significant degree of uncertainty related to the duration of supply chocks and the degree to which macroeconomic and political conditions could negatively affect the recovery in investment. The technical staff revised its GDP growth projection for 2022 from 4.7% to 4.3% (Graph 1.3). This revision accounts for the likelihood that a larger portion of the recent positive dynamic in private consumption would be transitory than previously expected. This estimate also contemplates less dynamic investment behavior than forecast in the previous report amid less favorable financial conditions and a highly uncertain investment environment. Third-quarter GDP growth (12.9%), which was similar to projections from the October report, and the fourth-quarter growth forecast (8.7%) reflect a positive consumption trend, which has been revised upward. This dynamic has been driven by both public and private spending. Investment growth, meanwhile, has been weaker than forecast. Available fourth-quarter data suggest that consumption spending for the period would have exceeded estimates from October, thanks to three consecutive months that included VAT-free days, a relatively low COVID-19 caseload, and mobility indicators similar to their pre-pandemic levels. By contrast, the most recently available figures on new housing developments and machinery and equipment imports suggest that investment, while continuing to rise, is growing at a slower rate than anticipated in the previous report. The trade deficit is expected to have widened, as imports would have grown at a high level and outpaced exports. Given the above, the technical staff now expects fourth-quarter economic growth of 8.7%, with overall growth for 2021 of 9.9%. Several factors should continue to contribute to output recovery in 2022, though some of these may be less significant than previously forecast. International financial conditions are expected to be less favorable, though external demand should continue to recover and terms of trade continue to increase amid higher projected oil prices. Lower unemployment rates and subsequent positive effects on household income, despite increased inflation, would also boost output recovery, as would progress in the national vaccination campaign. The technical staff expects that the conditions that have favored recent high levels of consumption would be, in large part, transitory. Consumption spending is expected to grow at a slower rate in 2022. Gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) would continue to recover, approaching its pre-pandemic level, though at a slower rate than anticipated in the previous report. This would be due to lower observed GFCF levels and the potential impact of political and fiscal uncertainty. Meanwhile, the policy interest rate would be less expansionary as the process of monetary policy normalization continues. Given the above, growth in 2022 is forecast to decelerate to 4.3% (previously 4.7%). In 2023, that figure (3.1%) is projected to converge to levels closer to the potential growth rate. In this case, excess productive capacity would be expected to tighten at a similar rate as projected in the previous report. The trade deficit would tighten more than previously projected on the forecast horizon, due to expectations of an improved export dynamic and moderation in imports. The growth forecast for 2022 considers a low basis of comparison from the first half of 2021. However, there remain significant downside risks to this forecast. The current projection does not, for example, account for any additional effects on economic activity resulting from further waves of COVID-19. High private consumption levels, which have already surpassed pre-pandemic levels by a large margin, could be less dynamic than expected. And the normalization of monetary policy in the United States could come more quickly than projected in this report, which could negatively affect international financing costs. Finally, there remains a significant degree of uncertainty related to the duration of supply chocks and the degree to which macroeconomic and political conditions could negatively affect the recovery in investment. External demand for Colombian goods and services should continue to recover amid significant global inflation pressures, high oil prices, and less favorable international financial conditions than those estimated in October. Economic activity among Colombia’s major trade partners recovered in 2021 amid countries reopening and ample international liquidity. However, that growth has been somewhat restricted by global supply chain disruptions and new outbreaks of COVID-19. The technical staff has revised its growth forecast for Colombia’s main trade partners from 6.3% to 6.9% for 2021, and from 3.4% to 3.3% for 2022; trade partner economies are expected to grow 2.6% in 2023. Colombia’s annual terms of trade increased in 2021, largely on higher oil, coffee, and coal prices. This improvement came despite increased prices for goods and services imports. The expected oil price trajectory has been revised upward, partly to supply restrictions and lagging investment in the sector that would offset reduced growth forecasts in some major economies. Elevated freight and raw materials costs and supply chain disruptions continue to affect global goods production, and have led to increases in global prices. Coupled with the recovery in global demand, this has put upward pressure on external inflation. Several emerging market economies have continued to normalize monetary policy in this context. Meanwhile, in the United States, the Federal Reserve has anticipated an end to its asset buying program. U.S. inflation in December (7.0%) was again surprisingly high and market average inflation forecasts for 2022 have increased. The Fed is expected to increase its policy rate during the first quarter of 2022, with quarterly increases anticipated over the rest of the year. For its part, Colombia’s sovereign risk premium has increased and is forecast to remain on a higher path, to levels above the 15-year-average, on the forecast horizon. This would be partly due to the effects of a less expansionary monetary policy in the United States and the accumulation of macroeconomic imbalances in Colombia. Given the above, international financial conditions are projected to be less favorable than anticipated in the October report. The increase in Colombia’s external financing costs could be more significant if upward pressures on inflation in the United States persist and monetary policy is normalized more quickly than contemplated in this report. As detailed in Section 2.3, uncertainty surrounding international financial conditions continues to be unusually high. Along with other considerations, recent concerns over the potential effects of new COVID-19 variants, the persistence of global supply chain disruptions, energy crises in certain countries, growing geopolitical tensions, and a more significant deceleration in China are all factors underlying this uncertainty. The changing macroeconomic environment toward greater inflation and unanchoring risks on inflation expectations imply a reduction in the space available for monetary policy stimulus. Recovery in domestic demand and a reduction in excess productive capacity have come in line with the technical staff’s expectations from the October report. Some upside risks to inflation have materialized, while medium-term inflation expectations have increased and are above the 3% target. Monetary policy remains expansionary. Significant global inflationary pressures and the unexpected increase in the CPI in December point to more persistent effects from recent supply shocks. Core inflation is trending upward, but remains below the 3% target. Headline and core inflation projections have increased on the forecast horizon and are above the target rate through the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the expected dynamism of domestic demand would be in line with low levels of excess productive capacity. An accumulation of macroeconomic imbalances in Colombia and the increased likelihood of a faster normalization of monetary policy in the United States would put upward pressure on sovereign risk perceptions in a more persistent manner, with implications for the exchange rate and the natural rate of interest. Persistent disruptions to international supply chains, a high real increase in the legal minimum wage, and the indexation of various baskets in the CPI to higher inflation rates could affect price expectations and push inflation above the target more persistently. These factors suggest that the space to maintain monetary stimulus has continued to diminish, though monetary policy remains expansionary. 1.2 Monetary policy decision Banco de la República’s board of directors (BDBR) in its meetings in December 2021 and January 2022 voted to continue normalizing monetary policy. The BDBR voted by a majority in these two meetings to increase the benchmark interest rate by 50 and 100 basis points, respectively, bringing the policy rate to 4.0%.