Reaction-induced Ni-based interstitial carbon atoms for coke-free dry reforming of methane

Dry reforming of methane on Ni-based catalyst offers an environmentally and economically viable and pivotal route to produce synthesis gas. The accumulation and polymerization of carbon atoms on the surface of Ni eventually deactivate the catalyst because of coke deposition. Here, we establish a reaction-induced method to isolate carbon atoms into the interstitial position of nickel octahedral sites (O-sites) under reaction condition, which can avoid the C−C bond formation. Al2O3 encapsulated Ni3Zn provides expanded space volume of O-sites in nickel to accommodate carbon atoms, and the further transformation to Ni3ZnC0.7 with superstructure feature was achieved under CH4/CO2 reaction. Ni3ZnC0.7/Al2O3 exhibits excellent activity and stability below 600°C with variable CH4/CO2 ratio (1/4−2/1). These active carbon atoms can be replenished and cycled in Ni3ZnC0.7 interior structure rather than depositing as coke on the surface during the reaction as revealed by in situ experiments.

Karyological Diversification in the Genus Lyciasalamandra (Urodela: Salamandridae)

We performed the first cytogenetic analysis on five out of the seven species of the genus Lyciasalamandra, including seven subspecies, and representatives of its sister genus Salamandra. All the studied species have a similar karyotype of 2n = 24, mostly composed of biarmed elements. C-bands were observed on all chromosomes, at centromeric, telomeric and interstitial position. We found a peculiar taxon-specific NOR configuration, including either heteromorphic and homomorphic NORs on distinct regions of different chromosomes. Lyciasalamandra a.antalyana and L. helverseni showed two homomorphic NORs (pairs 8 and 2, respectively), while heteromorphic NORs were found in L. billae (pairs 6, 12), L. flavimembris (pairs 2, 12), L. l. luschani (pairs 2, 12), L. l. basoglui (pairs 6, 12), L. l. finikensis (pairs 2, 6) and S. lanzai (pairs 8, 10). Homomorphic NORs with an additional supernumerary site were shown by S. s. salamandra (pairs 2, 8) and S. s. gigliolii (pairs 2, 10). This unexpected highly variable NOR configuration is probably derived from multiple independent NOR translocations and paracentric inversions and correlated to lineage divergence in Lyciasalamandra. These results support the taxonomic validity of the studied taxa and are consistent with a hypothesized scenario of synchronous evolution in the genus.

Interrogating (neo)colonialism in the contemporary western: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant (2015)

This article analyses Alejandro González Iñárritu’s The Revenant (2015) as a contemporary western, exploring how it interrogates the overt coloniality and Anglocentrism associated with the western genre and the source story of nineteenth-century fur trapper Hugh Glass on which the film is based. Through narrative and textual analysis, the article suggests that the addition of active indigenous characters into Glass’ story, as well as the film’s focus on the genocidal violence inflicted on native peoples and self-conscious realist strategies, challenge the inherent colonialism of the western. It also points out, however, that the scope of these indigenous narratives is limited and made secondary to the narrative of the White fur trapper and how The Revenant falls back on some of the stereotypical representational norms of the generic western. The article argues that this duality, where the film both challenges and reifies the colonialist norms of the western, is a result of the film’s interstitial position in-between the industrial and genre norms of contemporary Hollywood filmmaking and Iñárritu’s specific auteurist, postcolonial and ideological vision.

The formation of TiO2/VO2 multilayer structure via directional cationic diffusion

Alternative TiO2/VO2 nanostructures are self-assembled via directional cationic migration assisted by the interstitial position, which is favorable for reducing the phase transition temperature.

The Vibrational Spectroscopy of the Valence Bonds of Cu-Doped TiO2 Using Electronegativity Principle Quantitative Calculations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of Cu on TiO2 phase transformation and regioselectivity. TiO2 samples doped with different amounts of Cu2+ ions were synthesized by the sol-gel method. The phase and vibrational mode were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The XRD phase analysis shows that the lattice parameters have not changed after Cu incorporation. In addition, the content of rutile increased obviously after Cu doping. This indicated that the addition of Cu obviously promoted the transformation from anatase phase to rutile phase. The vibration frequencies were calculated based on the principle of electronegativity. All types of bonds were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. The content of TiA-O, TiR-O, and H-O in the undoped TiO2 samples is 23.87%, 16.30%, and 7.41%, respectively. In the same way, the content of TiA-O, TiR-O, H-O, Cu A i -O, and Cu R i -O in the 2.5 mol%Cu-doped TiO2 samples is 21.23%, 18.56%, 7.34%, and 0.98%, respectively. For the 5 mol%Cu-doped TiO2 samples, the content of TiA-O, TiR-O, H-O, Cu A i -O, Cu R i -O, Cu A s -O, and Cu R s -O is 18.75%, 20.11%, 7.47%, 2.56%, 3.9%, 1.55%, and 2.35%, respectively. Cu was not present at substitutional sites in the 2.5 mol% doped sample, but Cu was present in the 2.5 mol% doped sample. It is indicated that Cu was more likely to exist in the form of interstitial position in the TiO2 lattice, with the number of Cu atoms in the interstitial position reaching saturation, and this forced Cu to replace Ti. The TEM shows that the stripes of different periods and orientations overlapped each other to form the Moiré patterns. In addition, the diffraction patterns of the Moiré image were slightly different from that of the matrix. The Cu replaced Ti position and the Cu atoms mixed into interstitial sites in the TiO2 lattice. The theoretical calculation was consistent with the experimental results.

Between a rock and a hard place: State-led territorial stigmatization, informal care practices and the interstitiality of local community workers in Denmark

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relation between territorial stigmatization and community work in Denmark. In the paper, we firstly explore territorial stigmatization, relating it to the Danish context. We show how territorial stigmatization in Denmark happens via a complex amalgamation of bureaucratic practices which identify particular areas as problematic ‘ghettos’, and how this leads to top–down interventions upon many local residential areas, including local community work. Following this, we draw on participant observations in practices of local community work, and interviews with local community workers, to explore how they practically negotiate these particular political constructions of their work. We argue that local community workers come to take on interstitial roles—that is, they come to be in-between the state and authorities and the local communities themselves. This complex double role is what we call an interstitial position, meant to signify how Danish local community workers are both part of territorial stigmatization and simultaneously trying to escape from and undo this very role.

Evolutionary dynamics of rDNA clusters on chromosomes of buthid scorpions (Chelicerata: Arachnida)

We examined the distribution of genes for major ribosomal RNAs (rDNA) on holokinetic chromosomes of 74 species belonging to 19 genera of scorpions from the family Buthidae using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Our analysis revealed differences between the two main evolutionary lineages within the family. The genera belonging to the ‘Buthus group’, with a proposed Laurasian origin, possess one pair of rDNA mainly in an interstitial position, with the only exceptions being the terminal location found in some Hottentotta and Buthacus species, possibly as a result of chromosome fissions. All the remaining buthid ‘groups’ possess rDNA found strictly in a terminal position. However, the number of signals may increase from an ancestral state of one pair of rDNA loci to up to seven signals in Reddyanus ceylonensis Kovařík et al., 2016. Despite the differences in evolutionary dynamics of the rDNA clusters between the ‘Buthus group’ and other lineages investigated, we found a high incidence of reciprocal translocations and presence of multivalent associations during meiosis in the majority of the genera studied. These phenomena seem to be typical for the whole family Buthidae.

In Search of the Global East: Thinking between North and South

Carving up the world into Global North and Global South has become an established way of thinking about global difference since the end of the Cold War. This binary, however, erases what this paper calls the Global East — those countries and societies that occupy an interstitial position between North and South. This paper problematizes the geopolitics of knowledge that has resulted in the exclusion of the Global East, not just from the Global North and South, but from notions of globality in general. It argues that we need to adopt a strategic essentialism to recover the Global East for scholarship. To that end, it traces the global relations of IKEA’s bevelled drinking glass to demonstrate the urgency of rethinking the Global East at the heart of global connections, rather than separate from them. Thinking of such a Global East as a liminal space complicates the notions of North and South towards more inclusive but also more uncertain theorizing.

Comparison of Luminescence in LiGaO2, Al2O3-Ga and Al2O3-Li Crystals

We have studied luminescence of LiGaO2, Al2O3-Ga and Al2O3-Li crystals in order to reveal the nature of luminescence centres and mechanisms in these crystals. In Al2O3-Ga presence of Ga impurities determines occurrence of the 280 nm emission band, which demonstrates intra-centre character in photoluminescence and recombination character under X-ray irradiation. In Al2O3-Li crystal lithium induced luminescence is presented with the 326 nm band, which has a recombination character. Basing on spectral similarity of the main luminescence bands in pure LiGaO2 crystal with the dopant-induced emission bands in Al2O3, and on peculiarities of the X-ray induced thermoluminescence, the adjustment of the previous luminescence interpretation is done. It is proposed that the donor-acceptor pairs with random separation distribution responsible for the 280 nm emission are represented with gallium Ga (plus an electron) and O (plus a hole) pairs, while the donor-acceptor pairs, producing the 330 nm emission band contain a lithium ion, presumably in the interstitial position Lii0, and a neighbouring oxygen ion with a caught hole.

U1 snDNA chromosomal mapping in ten spittlebug species (Cercopidade, Auchenorrhyncha, Hemiptera)

Spittlebugs, which belong to the family Cercopidae (Auchenorrhyncha, Hemiptera), form a large group of xylem-feeding insects that are best known for causing damage to plantations and pasture grasses. The holocentric chromosomes of these insects remain poorly studied in regards to the organization of different classes of repetitive DNA. To improve chromosomal maps based on repetitive DNAs and to better understand the chromosomal organization and evolutionary dynamics of multigene families in spittlebugs, we physically mapped the U1 snRNA gene with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in 10 species of Cercopidae belonging to three different genera. All the U1 snDNA clusters were autosomal and located in interstitial position. In seven species, they were restricted to one autosome per haploid genome, while three species of the genus Mahanarva showed two clusters in two different autosomes. Although it was not possible to precisely define the ancestral location of this gene, it was possible to observe the presence of at least one cluster located in a small bivalent in all karyotypes. The karyotype stability observed in Cercopidae is also observed in respect to the distribution of U1 snDNA. Our data are discussed in light of possible mechanisms for U1 snDNA conservation and compared with the available data from other species.