Cooperative and selective redox doping switches single-molecule magnetism

The controlled manipulation of electronic and magnetic states in single-molecule magnets (SMMs) is crucial for their implementation in molecular electronics, spintronics, and quantum computation. In typical SMMs, key properties like magnetic anisotropy and slow magnetic relaxation are imposed by complex ligand shells, whose bulky and three-dimensional structures hamper efficient manipulation of the molecular magnetism by chemical methods. This work demonstrates highly selective redox doping of an Fe4 nanomagnet on a Pb(111) surface using lithium atoms. Scanning tunneling microscopy, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and ab initio calculations reveal the cooperative incorporation of three Li atoms per Fe4 molecule, resulting in a selective, threefold reduction of its iron-based magnetic core. The doping modifies the intramolecular exchange interaction, turning from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic, and changes the molecular magnetic anisotropy from easy-axis to easy-plane. This study demonstrates successful chemical redox doping of individual polynuclear molecular magnets, exploits a rare showcase of cooperative binding, and highlights a route for tuning magnetic properties of complex SMMs.publishe

Let's Chat about This : A Template for Well-Aligned AI Integration in Schools

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in general and chatbots in particular are gaining more and more attention in education. However, there are several barriers hindering teachers from using chatbots in the classroom. Based on existing empirical research on the use of chatbots in the classroom, we identify these barriers and derive systemic requirements. We suggest Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems as an adequate solution. Unfortunately, commercial RAG systems fail to harness the full potential of this technology. Based on a requirement and market analysis, we present a locally hosted open-source, lowcode RAG system template, which fulfills the requirements for use in school. We report lessons learned from our work with a Professional Learning Community (PLC) with teachers, where we continuously test and discuss our RAG system template.accepte

Luminescent Dinuclear Chromium(III) Complexes with Ferromagnetic Exchange Interactions

Recent advances with luminescent mononuclear chromium(III) complexes have provided important molecular design guidelines for enhancing their photoluminescence properties. Applying these modern aspects of coordination chemistry to dinuclear CrIII complexes, which are mostly not luminescent but show interesting magnetic properties, seems attractive for exploring functional coordination compounds with magnetic exchange interactions and light-induced activity. In this concept, the key structural requirements for dinuclear CrIII complexes with ferromagnetic exchange interactions and with photoluminescence properties, respectively, are analyzed. Rational merger of these key magneto-optical–structural correlations leads to new types of dinuclear CrIII complexes with ferromagnetic coupling and room temperature luminescence, and their photophysical properties make them promising photosensitizers for energy transfer. These design concepts open the door of exploring novel dinuclear CrIII complexes, which can allow the crosstalk of photophysics, photochemistry, and magnetic exchange interactions.publishe

When multilingualism is more than three : On the nature of gender transfer in L3+ acquisition

In this article we investigate transfer in the ab-initio acquisition of grammatical gender in two groups of multilingual learners. The first group knows two gender languages (German and French), which can potentially act as transfer sources; the second group knows three (German, French and Italian). Both groups had to assign gender to nouns in Franco-Provençal, a Romance language which is new to the learners, and which shares similarities with both French and Italian. Based on our data, we address the question whether there is a unique transfer source and what the respective roles of sub-lexical structural similarity, proficiency, and recency of use of the background languages are. The findings of this study reveal that learners of the first group use both French and German as transfer sources, whereas learners in the second group additionally transfer from Italian. We show that the amount of transfer increases with higher proficiency, more recent use of the source language(s), and increasing structural similarity between the source and target language. Finally, not only is the gender feature transferred but also orthographical cues.publishe

From speech signal to syntactic structure : A computational implementation

This paper presents a new computational implementation bridging several modules of grammar from phonetics to phonology to syntax. The system takes as input a speech signal annotated with syllables, interprets the phonetic data in phonological/prosodic terms, matches the data against a lexicon and makes the results available to a linguistically deep computational grammar. The system is showcased by means of syntactically ambiguous structures in German which can be disambiguated based on prosodic constituency information. A system evaluation with the German data showed good results for this new combination of automatic speech signal analysis and computational grammars, which takes a significant step towards a linguistically fine-grained computational analysis and hence towards real automatic speech understanding.publishe

Armed violent conflict and healthcare-seeking behavior for maternal and child health in sub-Saharan Africa : A systematic review

Background: Over 630 million women and children worldwide have been displaced by conflict or live dangerously close to conflict zones. While the adverse effects of physical destruction on healthcare delivery are relatively well understood, the effects on healthcare-seeking behavior remain underexplored, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This study aims to better understand the interconnections and knowledge gaps between exposure to armed violent conflicts and healthcare-seeking behaviors for maternal and child health in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: Five key electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycNET, and African Journals Online) were searched for peer-reviewed publications between 2000 and 2022. The review was designed according to PRISMA-P statement and the protocol was registered with PROSPERO database. The methodological quality and risks of bias were appraised using GRADE. A data extraction instrument was modelled along the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews and the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination of Systematic Reviews. Result: The search results yielded 1,148 publications. Only twenty-one studies met the eligibility criteria, reporting healthcare-seeking behaviors for maternal and child health. Of the twenty-one studies, seventeen (81.0%) reported maternal health behaviors such as antenatal care, skilled birth attendance, postnatal care services, and family planning. Nine studies (42.8%) observed behaviors for child health such as vaccination uptake, case management for pneumonia, diarrhea, malnutrition, and cough. While conflict exposure is generally associated with less favorable healthcare-seeking behaviors, some of the studies found improved health outcomes. Marital status, male partner attitudes, education, income and poverty levels were associated with healthcare-seeking behavior. Conclusion: There is a need for multifaceted interventions to mitigate the impact of armed violent conflict on healthcare-seeking behavior, given its overall negative effects on child and maternal healthcare utilization. While armed violent conflict disproportionately affects children’s health compared to maternal health, it is noteworthy that exposure to such conflicts may inadvertently also lead to positive outcomes. Prospero registration number: CRD42023484004.publishe

Success Factors of a Large-Scale In-Service Teacher Training in Computer Science

There is an increasingly strong demand for in-service teacher training, especially in computer science and digitalisation-related fields. However, such post-qualification programmes face significant challenges for both lecturers and participants: Heterogeneity regarding prior knowledge, differing individual timetables, workload of the primary job, and a wide geographic distribution of the participants require programmes that serve a high degree of flexibility. Since 2018, we have addressed these challenges with a blended learning, Bologna-compliant programme, which trains around 200 participants annually. Despite its high workload and comprehensive scope of content, it has a dropout rate of less than 2% and a very high overall satisfaction (94% were satisfied or very satisfied). In this paper, we introduce our programme, recount our lessons learned, and present an evaluation of 327 questionnaires former programme participants have answered. As a result, we identify 27 success factors for large-scale in-service teacher training in blended learning formats.publishe

Too many aporias? : A commentary on Heidrun Friese's essay on institutionalized anti-antisemitism

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Differences in technical and clinical perspectives on AI validation in cancer imaging : mind the gap!

Good practices in artificial intelligence (AI) model validation are key for achieving trustworthy AI. Within the cancer imaging domain, attracting the attention of clinical and technical AI enthusiasts, this work discusses current gaps in AI validation strategies, examining existing practices that are common or variable across technical groups (TGs) and clinical groups (CGs). The work is based on a set of structured questions encompassing several AI validation topics, addressed to professionals working in AI for medical imaging. A total of 49 responses were obtained and analysed to identify trends and patterns. While TGs valued transparency and traceability the most, CGs pointed out the importance of explainability. Among the topics where TGs may benefit from further exposure are stability and robustness checks, and mitigation of fairness issues. On the other hand, CGs seemed more reluctant towards synthetic data for validation and would benefit from exposure to cross-validation techniques, or segmentation metrics. Topics emerging from the open questions were utility, capability, adoption and trustworthiness. These findings on current trends in AI validation strategies may guide the creation of guidelines necessary for training the next generation of professionals working with AI in healthcare and contribute to bridging any technical-clinical gap in AI validation.publishe

Emergence of a novel drinking innovation in an urban population of sulphur-crested cockatoos, Cacatua galerita

The spread of innovation has been proposed as a potentially important source of adaptive behavioural responses to anthropogenic change. Yet, while a diversity of urban innovations have been documented in animals, there are relatively few examples of these spreading to form local traditions. One notable example is the ‘bin-opening innovation’ in sulphur-crested cockatoos (Cacatua galerita), where individuals open household bin lids to access food waste, with this behaviour spreading across southern Sydney, Australia. Here, we describe a second innovation in this species, the ‘drinking-fountain innovation’. Individuals from a population in western Sydney drink from twist-handle public drinking fountains, with this behaviour persisting over at least 2 years. Successful operation requires a coordinated sequence of actions, with only 41% of observed attempts ending in success. Intensive observation at one drinking fountain over 44 days revealed 525 attempts and 46% of marked individuals successfully engaging in the behaviour, with individuals visiting at dawn and dusk in line with expectations for use of a water resource. Public drinking fountains vary in design between local councils but are generally widespread. Yet, to our knowledge, this behaviour has not been observed elsewhere. Altogether, this suggests that this drinking innovation has spread to form a new urban-adapted local tradition.publishe