Thiol-Functional Polymer Nanoparticles via Aerosol Photopolymerization

Spherical, individual polymer nanoparticles with functional –SH groups were synthesized via aerosol photopolymerization (APP) employing radically initiated thiol-ene chemistry. A series of various thiol and alkene monomer combinations were investigated based on di-, tri-, and tetrafunctional thiols with difunctional allyl and vinyl ethers, and di- and trifunctional acrylates. Only thiol and alkene monomer combinations able to build cross-linked poly(thio-ether) networks were compatible with APP, which requires fast polymerization of the generated droplet aerosol during the photoreactor passage within a residence time of half-minute. Higher monomer functionalities and equal overall stoichiometry of functional groups resulted in the best nanoparticles being spherical and individual, proven by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The presence of reactive—SH groups in the synthesized nanoparticles as a basis for post-polymerization modifications was verified by Ellman’s test.

11-, 12-, and 13½-Bar Blues: Time and African American Country Blues Recordings (1925–1938)

This chapter examines commercially-issued recordings of African American country blues from the early twentieth century, and considers the politics of representation involved with these recordings related to the metric and structural orthodoxies of blues performance. Often featuring solo male singers performing with guitar accompaniment, the recorded country blues of the 1920s–30s are markedly flexible in their approaches to timing. Drawing upon recordings of important country blues artists including Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, and Charley Patton, the chapter considers key issues such as the controversy over the speed at which Johnson’s records were recorded, the flexible approach musicians took to the standard 12-bar format, and the strictures that the three-and-a-half minute 78 rpm record side posed for artists’ songcraft. How these factors challenge musicological orthodoxies over conventional blues structures and historical insights into the practice of the blues is illuminated through the proposal that these recordings struggle with contentious narratives of primitivism, racial stereotyping, and authenticity, whereby canonical 78 rpm records are reified to fit a prevailing narrative of the country blues as atavistic and authentic.

Fetterman and the Forgotten: Dramatism and Democracy after January 6

This essay argues that Lt. Governor John Fetterman (D-PA), in running for the open US Senate seat in Pennsylvania, is attempting to appeal to disaffected Trump voters, showing what the “forgotten men and women” of Pennsylvania might stand to gain by embracing his progressive, Democratic populist appeal. This study examines Fetterman’s announcement advertisement, “Launch,” illustrating how he figuratively and literally enacts Burkean “consubstantiality,” as the candidate not only speaks about and on behalf of the forgotten, but he also appears on camera with the history of Braddock tattooed on his body. Utilizing Burkean theory, we contend that Fetterman’s two-and-a-half-minute video follows the basic formula for Burke’s guilt-redemption cycle. In the wake of the failed insurrection, “Launch” offered the promise of rhetorical redemption through what Burke labeled victimage in the form of factional scapegoating. Additionally, midway through the video, the “Agent” and the “Scene” switch roles, in a unique symbolic move. The analysis concludes that, from Burke’s perspective of purification-redemption, Fetterman uses visuals, text, and context to appeal to an important audience for his candidacy.

Forties Swing, Hollywood Flash

This chapter discusses the Hollywood musical films of the Nicholas Brothers under a five-year contract with Twentieth Century-Fox that brought them to the highest level of notoriety as jazz tap dancers in the Swing era. In Down Argentine Way, despite the mere three-and-a-half-minute scene in which the Brothers appeared, audiences flocked to the theater to see them perform the title song. In Sun Valley Serenade, with Dorothy Dandridge, the Brothers’ Chattanooga Choo Choo number was the aural and visual embodiment of swing music. In Orchestra Wives, Harold performed a run-up-the-wall into a backward flip and split that had never before been seen on film. And in their spectacular Jumping Jive number in Stormy Weather, Fayard jumped down one step and landed in a split, Harold leap-frogged over Fayard and landed on the next step into another split, and the Brothers alternately jumped over each other until they reached the bottom of the stairs—a routine Fred Astaire said was the greatest he had ever seen on film.

Electrochemical Enantiomer Recognition Based on sp3-to-sp2 Converted Regenerative Graphene/Diamond Electrode

It is of great significance to distinguish enantiomers due to their different, even completely opposite biological, physiological and pharmacological activities compared to those with different stereochemistry. A sp3-to-sp2 converted highly stable and regenerative graphene/diamond electrode (G/D) was proposed as an enantiomer recognition platform after a simple β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) drop casting process. The proposed enantiomer recognition sensor has been successfully used for d and l-phenylalanine recognition. In addition, the G/D electrode can be simply regenerated by half-minute sonication due to the strong interfacial bonding between graphene and diamond. Therefore, the proposed G/D electrode showed significant potential as a reusable sensing platform for enantiomer recognition.

Improving the Timing of Conference Presentations Using Web Applications

Four rules are suggested to keep sessions on time. 1: While the current presenter is answering questions about their presentation, the following presenter should be connecting their laptop and loading their presentation. This eliminates about a half minute of dead time between presenters. 2: For other than the plenary presenter, the session chair should only give the name of the next presenter as a cue to start their presentation as other introductory information is on the presenter’s first slide. This saves about a minute. 3: Project a second-accurate time of day display (e.g., time.gov) so everyone knows when the session should start. 4: Show a countdown clock with large digits showing the remaining time (e.g., online-stopwatch.com ) on a monitor in front of the presenter, and make it apparent to the presenter (by flashing the time) and the audience (by ringing a bell) when the presenter should stop.

El paisajismo observacional de James Benning: la representación de Los Angeles en Los (2000)

El James Benning es uno de los grandes cineastas del paisaje norteamericano. Sus películas se sitúan en la interse-cción entre el cine documental y el experimental, y suelen contrastar el me-dio natural con el medio modificado, el campo con la ciudad y el pasado con el presente, siempre a medio camino entre el esplendor de la modernidad y la de-cadencia post-industrial. Su puesta en escena se basa en la observación atenta del territorio, aunque a veces también incluye elementos performativos. La Trilogia de California (1999-2001), en concreto, propone una cartografía crítica del paisaje californiano a través de sus tres partes –El Valley Centro (1999), Los (2000) y Sogobi (2001)– dedicadas respectivamente a los paisajes rurales, urbanos y naturales. Cada una de estas películas consta de treinta y cinco planos fijos de dos minutos y medio cada uno, un dispositivo minimalista capaz de transmitir mucha información sobre el paisaje, la historia y la sociedad norteamericana, así como sobre la propia vida del cineasta. El objetivo de este artículo es, por lo tanto, analizar la representación que Benning ofrece de Los Angeles en Los para comprender las características prin-cipales de su estilo, identificado como paisajismo observacional, y las impli-caciones socio-históricas de su discurso. Abstract: James Benning is one of the great landscape filmmakers in American cinema. His works are located at the meeting point between documentary and experimental film, and they usually compare the natural and built environment, the country and the city, and the past and the present, always halfway between modernity’s heyday and post-industrial decay. His mise-en-scène is based on the attentive observation of the territory, but sometimes it also includes performative elements. The California Trilogy (1999-2001), in particular, offers a critical mapping of the California landscape throughout its three parts –El Valley Centro (1999), Los (2000) and Sogobi (2001)– which are respectively devoted to rural, urban and natural landscapes. Each of these works consists of thirty-five two-and-one-half-minute fixed shots, a minimalist device able to convey much information on American landscape, history and society, as well as on the filmmaker’s personal life.The aim of this paper is therefore to analyse Benning’s representation of Los Angeles in Los in order to understand the main features of his style –which has been identified as observational landscaping– and the socio-historical implications of his discourse.Palabras clave: Paisajismo; cine documental; cine experimental; James Benning; trilogia de California; Los Angeles. Keywords: Landscaping; Documentary Film; Experimental Film; James Benning; California Trilogy; Los Angeles.