Carbon Aerogel Based Waterborne Ultra-Black Coatings with High Light Absorption

In this paper, we wish to report the preparation of ultra-black films via spraying coatings composed of waterborne binders and low-cost carbon aerogels on pre-treated tinplate. The CAs were prepared by annealing resorcinol-formaldehyde resin (RF resin) and the following CO2 activation, of which the reflectance was less than 0.4% in a wide wavelength range. The reflectance of different coatings, which using CAs as functional pigments, ranged from 1.8% to 4.3% in the visible light region (400−760 nm), while it ranged from 1.9% to 4.2% in the near-infrared region (760–1100 nm). Further studies revealed the relationship between the pigment-to-binder ratio and reflectance and found the best ratio to be 0.96, and the minimum reflection was less than 1.8%. Outstanding adhesion to the tinplate substrate was also achieved using a two-component polyurethane binder after the thermal cycling test carried out from −100 °C to 100 °C. The fabrication process of ultra-black coatings is particularly convenient to remove the constraints of high costs and complex processes, making it instructive guidance for industrial production.

Potential of soil cover with plastic film for the setting of sweet orange orchards

Soil cover with plastic film is a practice used to optimize the agronomic performance of different crops, but its behavior in the citrus growing conditions of Brazil remains unknown. Five experiments in commercial orchards located in the state of São Paulo, in rainfed or irrigated systems, were carried out to evaluate the effect of soil cover with plastic film (white/black or silver/black color) on the vegetative growth and initial production of sweet orange trees up to 3.5 years after planting. In each location and experiment, completely randomized design was used, with four to ten replicates and five to twelve useful trees per plot. Considering the set of results, soil cover with plastic film increased the average canopy volume by 27% and the average production per tree by 33% compared to control trees without plastic cover. The positive effect of plastic cover was observed until the third year of its application, gradually decreasing with its degradation. In general, greater relative increases were observed in variables evaluated with the use of plastic cover in rainfed experiments than irrigated ones, while the effect of white/black either silver/black films was similar.

Political Economy and the Global-Local Nexus of Hollywood

Applying a political economy lens to image production suggests that the US film industry, namely, Hollywood, prioritizes financial considerations over racial justice and equity. Decisions made in the production and marketing processes aim to minimize financial risks, but they often limit the participation of filmmakers and actors of color. At the same time, Hollywood incorporates foreign-born directors and actors to entice international audiences. This chapter assesses how Hollywood “going global” impacts local racial-ethnic politics in the US film industry. The authors closely examine films from the past two decades in which people of color constitute the majority of the cast or films in which nonwhites are the lead actors. The authors argue that the incorporation of foreign-born directors and actors inadvertently undermines the efforts of US filmmakers of color to tell cinematic narratives from a critical perspective. Concurrently, Hollywood fails to promote Black films and Black actors on the basis of the assumption that they cannot appeal to international audiences, even though Black films directed by Black directors perform well domestically and show great potential for international success with proper support from Hollywood.

Plant growth, yield, and fruit quality of tomato affected by biodegradable and non-degradable mulches

Research in southern Italy assessed the effects of biodegradable mulch on fruit yield and quality of two greenhouse tomato cultivars, ‘Coronel F₁’ and ‘Kero F₁’. Three mulching types (two MaterBi biodegradable black films, MB N2/12 amnd MB N8; black polyethylene film, low-density polyethylene (LDPE)) and not mulched control were compared. ‘Coronel F₁’ showed higher values of fruit yield, total crop biomass and leaf area index (LAI). MB N8 and LDPE films led to the highest fruit yield and growth indexes, whereas not mulched control to the lowest. Fruit dry residue and soluble solids were highest under MB N2/12 and MB N8, titratable acidity was highest under MB N8. Fruits grown under MB N8 and LDPE mulches attained the highest levels of colour components “L” and “b” respectively, and MB N8 the highest fruit firmness. MB N2/12 and MB N8 showed the highest levels of antioxidants and antioxidant activity. Biodegradable polymers improved root growth conditions and fruit quality, showing suitable features for sustainable vegetable production.

Hollywood’s Global Expansion and Racialized Film Industry

A theory on the political economy of image production argues that the U.S. film industry, namely, Hollywood, prioritizes financial considerations over racial justice or political correctness. Decisions made in the production and marketing processes are to minimize financial risks, but they often limit the representation of racial–ethnic minority filmmakers and actors. At the same time, Hollywood incorporates foreign-born directors and actors to reach international audiences. This article assesses how Hollywood’s “going global” impacts local racial–ethnic minority politics in the U.S. film business. As a part of a larger study examining the 100 top-grossing films in the United States from 1995 to 2014, we closely examine films where racial–ethnic minorities comprise the majority of the cast or films where minorities are the lead actors. We argue that the incorporation of foreign-born directors and actors undermines U.S. racial–ethnic minority filmmakers’ efforts to tell cinematic narratives from a critical perspective. Also, Hollywood fails to promote black films and black actors based on the assumption that they cannot appeal to international audiences, but our findings illustrate that black films directed by black directors perform well domestically and they show great potential with more support from Hollywood.

Labeling Black Unbankable

The Hollywood Jim Crow marks Black and racial minority movies culturally and economically inferior using the unbankable label—a presumption that they will not perform sufficiently well at the box office, especially in foreign markets. This chapter highlights how the unbankable label is present in Sony emails between Hollywood insiders. Unbankable becomes a new way to discriminate and explicitly use race to make decisions about moviemaking. Hollywood insiders suggest that Black cast movies will make less money and attract smaller audiences compared to white cast movies. Subsequently Black directors work on films with smaller budgets and targeted advertising and promotion to niche audiences. Hollywood decision makers overlook successful Black films as exceptions and still apply the unbankable label to Black cinema as a whole, limiting opportunities for Black and racial minority directors.

Conclusion

This chapter summarizes the main argument of the Hollywood Jim Crow. Hollywood insiders deploy economic and cultural logics that Black films will not make sufficient enough money to be viable financial investments, especially in foreign markets. This justification is used to devalue films with Black casts and directors, leading to racial marginalization, segregation, and stigma in film production and distribution processes. The chapter also highlights implications of systemic and explicit racial bias in a major culture industry, namely the legal barriers to access employment, cultural citizenship, and equality of opportunities and outcomes. In addition, the racial hierarchies a Jim Hollywood erects between groups can be replicated to produce racial bias in other fields, within culture industries and beyond. Furthermore, the chapter suggests directions for future research.