Translanguaging Practices and Ideologies: Lao Students’ Identity Construction on WeChat and Facebook

In the shifting paradigm of the world economy, China has become one of the popular destinations for international students crossing the border and receiving high education. To reinforce the regional cooperation between China and its neighbouring countries, China’s border provinces have been discursively constructed as the platform for intiating international communication. Given the transformed positioning of China’s Southwest provinces, Yunnan has turned itself into an educational hub receiving international students from Southeast and South Asia. Based on a longitudinal ethnography with five Lao students receiving China’s higher education between September 2019 and July 2021, this study examines the ideological meanings of their translanguaing practices on WeChat and Facebook. The multiple types of data were collected through participant observation online and offline, WeChat and Facebook screenshots and semi-structured interviews. The study finds that translanguaging practices are often deployed by Lao students during their stay in China and in Laos. Their translanguaging practices contain different language forms and patterns, and display various types of social meanings including the intertextuality of the local voice, the identity construction of language learners and global citizens, and the sociocultural inbetweenness. This study indicates that Lao students tend to perform their transnational identities online and their translanguaging practices intersects with social, cultural, political and economic factors

Determination of beam incidence conditions based on the analysis of laser interference patterns

Beam incidence conditions in the formation of two-, three- and four-beam laser interference patterns are presented and studied in this paper. In a laser interference lithography (LIL) process, it is of importance to determine and control beam incidence conditions based on the analysis of laser interference patterns for system calibration as any slight change of incident angles or intensities of beams will introduce significant variations of periods and contrasts of interference patterns. In this work, interference patterns were captured by a He-Ne laser interference system under different incidence conditions, the pattern period measurement was achieved by cross-correlation with, and the pattern contrast was calculated by image processing. Subsequently, the incident angles and intensities of beams were determined based on the analysis of spatial distributions of interfering beams. As a consequence, the relationship between the beam incidence conditions and interference patterns is revealed. The proposed method is useful for the calibration of LIL processes and for reverse engineering applications

NASA Polynomial representation of molecular specific heats

So called NASA polynomials are widely used in plasma and combustion models to represent the specific heat of molecules as a function of temperature. In this work, we compute seven-term NASA polynomials for 464 molecules of which 44 are cations and 9 are anions; polynomials are not currently available for almost 200 of these species. Calculation of the NASA polynomials utilises data provided by the ExoMol database, the HITRAN database, the diatomic partition functions computed by Barklem and Collet, and the JANAF thermodynamic tables. Our results are compared against existing polynomial compilations where available, and for cases where there are multiple datasets the recommended polynomials are identified. As proposed in the original compilation, the seven-term polynomials are fitted separately for the temperature ranges 200 – 1000 K and 1000 – 6000 K. In general, different data sources give good agreement in the lower temperature range but there are significant discrepancies at higher temperatures, which can be attributed to the underlying assumptions made about highly excited rotation-vibration energy levels

Polypyrrole Wrapped V2O5 Nanowires Composite for Advanced Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have obtained increasing attention owing to the high safety, material abundance, and environmental benignity. However, the development of cathode materials with high capacity and stable cyclability is still a challenge. Herein, the polypyrrole (PPy)-wrapped V2O5 nanowire (V2O5/PPy) composite was synthesized by a surface-initiated polymerization strategy, ascribing to the redox reaction between V2O5 and pyrrole. The introduction of PPy on the surface of V2O5 nanowires not only enhanced the electronic conductivity of the active materials but also reduced the V2O5 dissolution. As a result, the V2O5/PPy composite cathode exhibits a high specific capacity of 466 mAh g–1 at 0.1 A g–1 and a superior cycling stability with 95% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g–1. The superior electrochemical performance is ascribed to the large ratio of capacitive contribution (92% at 1 mV s–1) and a fast Zn2+ diffusion rate. This work presents a simple method for fabricating V2O5/PPy composite toward advanced ZIBs

Two new limonoids from the seed of Microula sikkimensis H.

374-37

Two new compounds from Polygonum orientale L.

955-95

Higher-order Topological and Nodal Superconductors MS (M = Nb and Ta) Transition-metal Sulfides

Intrinsic topological superconducting materials are exotic and vital to develop the next-generation topological superconducting devices, topological quantum calculations, and quantum information technologies. Here, we predict the topological and nodal superconductivity of MS (M = Nb and Ta) transition-metal sulfides by using the density functional theory for superconductors combining with the symmetry indicators. We reveal their higher-order topology nature with an index of Z4 = 2. These materials have a higher Tc than the Nb or Ta metal superconductors due to their flat-band and strong electron-phonon coupling nature. Electron doping and lighter isotopes can effectively enhance the Tc. Our findings show that the MS (M = Nb and Ta) systems can be new platforms to study exotic physics in the higher-order topological superconductors, and provide a theoretical support to utilize them as the topological superconducting devices in the field of advanced topological quantum calculations and information technologies.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Medial reward and lateral non-reward orbitofrontal cortex circuits change in opposite directions in depression

The first brain-wide voxel-level resting state functional-connectivity neuroimaging analysis of depression is reported, with 421 patients with major depressive disorder and 488 controls. Resting state functional connectivity between different voxels reflects correlations of activity between those voxels and is a fundamental tool in helping to understand the brain regions with altered connectivity and function in depression. One major circuit with altered functional connectivity involved the medial orbitofrontal cortex BA 13, which is implicated in reward, and which had reduced functional connectivity in depression with memory systems in the parahippocampal gyrus and medial temporal lobe, especially involving the perirhinal cortex BA 36 and entorhinal cortex BA 28. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores were correlated with weakened functional connectivity of the medial orbitofrontal cortex BA 13. Thus in depression there is decreased reward-related and memory system functional connectivity, and this is related to the depressed symptoms. The lateral orbitofrontal cortex BA 47/12, involved in non-reward and punishing events, did not have this reduced functional connectivity with memory systems. Second, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex BA 47/12 had increased functional connectivity with the precuneus, the angular gyrus, and the temporal visual cortex BA 21. This enhanced functional connectivity of the non-reward/punishment system (BA 47/12) with the precuneus (involved in the sense of self and agency), and the angular gyrus (involved in language) is thus related to the explicit affectively negative sense of the self, and of self-esteem, in depression. A comparison of the functional connectivity in 185 depressed patients not receiving medication and 182 patients receiving medication showed that the functional connectivity of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex BA 47/12 with these three brain areas was lower in the medicated than the unmedicated patients. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the increased functional connectivity of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex BA 47/12 is related to depression. Relating the changes in cortical connectivity to our understanding of the functions of different parts of the orbitofrontal cortex in emotion helps to provide new insight into the brain changes related to depression, which are considered in the Discussion

Utilisation of dried shiitake, black ear and silver ear mushrooms into sorghum biscuits manipulates the predictive glycaemic response in relation to variations in biscuit physical characteristics

The nutritional quality of gluten-free products is important to the health of individuals with coeliac disease. Mushrooms are good sources of vitamins, dietary fibres and proteins, and are a low-calorie option that can be used in gluten-free diets to improve their nutritional value. The effects of incorporating dried mushrooms on the hydration and pasting properties of sorghum flour, as well as the physicochemical characteristics and in vitro glycaemic response of sorghum biscuits were studied. Sorghum flour enriched with mushroom powders exhibited higher water absorption capacity and swelling power compared with the control (P < 0.05). The addition of shiitake (Lentinula edodes) mushroom significantly decreased the pasting viscosities, while the addition of black ear (Auricularia auricula) and silver ear (Tremella fuciformis) mushroom increased viscosity values (P < 0.05). Biscuit diameter, thickness and weight loss were reduced with increasing mushroom powder addition, and the colour parameters of biscuits were affected significantly. Enrichment with shiitake and black ear mushroom increased the hardness of biscuits (P < 0.05). Inclusion of mushroom powders significantly reduced the predicted glycaemic response of sorghum biscuits (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis was conducted to illustrate that hydration dynamics (such as water absorption capacity and swelling power) were negatively correlated with glycaemic response (P < 0.001)