Latin American Influences on Selected Piano Pieces by Louis Moreau Gottschalk and Darius Milhaud

This research document examines selected piano works by Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) and Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) that are influenced by Latin American cultures.The paper traces the influence of Latin American music and the incorporation of characteristic melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic elements in the following compositions: Souvenir de Porto Rico, op. 31 (1857) and Souvenir de la Havane, op. 39 (1859) by Gottschalk; Saudades do Brasil, op. 67 (1920-1921) and Brasileira: Third movement of Scaramouche Suite, op. 165b (1937), for Two Pianos, by Milhaud. After a brief introduction, the study reviews the existing related literature about this topic. Then, Chapters Three and Four discuss Gottschalk and Milhaud, respectively. The outline for each of these chapters features the respective composer’s biography, compositional style, and list of works, along with an overview of the two selected works for each, with recommended pedagogical approaches. Then, Cuban and Brazilian influences on these two composers are discussed. Conclusion and selected bibliography follow

High Aspect Ratio-Nanostructured Surfaces as Biological Metamaterials

Materials patterned with high-aspect-ratio nanostructures have features on similar lengthscales to cellular components. These surfaces are an extreme topography on the cellular level and have become useful tools for perturbing and sensing the cellular environment. Motivation comes from the ability of high-aspect-ratio nanostructures to deliver cargoes into cells and tissues, access the intracellular environment, and control cell behavior. These structures directly perturb cells’ ability to sense and respond to external forces, influencing cell fate and enabling new mechanistic studies. Through careful design of their nanoscale structure, these systems act as biological metamaterials, eliciting unusual biological responses. While predominantly used to interface eukaryotic cells, there is growing interest in non-animal and prokaryotic cell interfacing. Both experimental and theoretical studies have attempted to develop a mechanistic understanding for the observed behaviors, predominantly focusing on the cell – nanostructure interface. Here, we consider how high-aspect-ratio nanostructured surfaces are used to both stimulate and sense biological systems and discuss remaining research questions

One‐Step Generation of Core–Gap–Shell Microcapsules for Stimuli‐Responsive Biomolecular Sensing

The versatile design of stimuli‐responsive microparticles embedding valuable biomolecules has great potential in a variety of engineering fields, such as sensors, actuators, drug delivery, and catalysis. Here, results are reported on thermoresponsive core–gap–shell (TCGS) microcapsules made of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm), which encapsulate hydrophilic payloads in a simple and stable manner. These are realized by a one‐step microfluidic approach using the phase separation of a supersaturated aqueous solution of NIPAm. Various designs of the microcapsules are achieved by individual control of the swelling or by incorporating pH‐responsive comonomers of the inner core and outer shell. The gap, i.e., the space between the inner core and outer shell, can be loaded with cargo‐like nanoparticles. The outer shell can serve as a stimuli‐responsive gateway for the transport of smaller molecules from the external solution. It is shown that the TCGS microcapsules are suitable as temperature controllable glucose sensors and hold promise in the design of controllable enzymatic reactions. The proposed platform provides an avenue for developing a new‐generation of microparticles for diverse and efficient engineering applications

One-Step Generation of Core–Gap–Shell Microcapsules for Stimuli-Responsive Biomolecular Sensing

The versatile design of stimuli-responsive microparticles embedding valuable biomolecules has great potential in a variety of engineering fields, such as sensors, actuators, drug delivery, and catalysis. Here, results are reported on thermoresponsive core–gap–shell (TCGS) microcapsules made of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm), which encapsulate hydrophilic payloads in a simple and stable manner. These are realized by a one-step microfluidic approach using the phase separation of a supersaturated aqueous solution of NIPAm. Various designs of the microcapsules are achieved by individual control of the swelling or by incorporating pH-responsive comonomers of the inner core and outer shell. The gap, i.e., the space between the inner core and outer shell, can be loaded with cargo-like nanoparticles. The outer shell can serve as a stimuli-responsive gateway for the transport of smaller molecules from the external solution. It is shown that the TCGS microcapsules are suitable as temperature controllable glucose sensors and hold promise in the design of controllable enzymatic reactions. The proposed platform provides an avenue for developing a new-generation of microparticles for diverse and efficient engineering applications

Flexible, Low-Power Thin-Film Transistors Made of Vapor-Phase Synthesized High‑<i>k</i>, Ultrathin Polymer Gate Dielectrics

A series of high-<i>k</i>, ultrathin copolymer gate dielectrics were synthesized from 2-cyanoethyl acrylate (CEA) and di­(ethylene glycol) divinyl ether (DEGDVE) monomers by a free radical polymerization via a one-step, vapor-phase, initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) method. The chemical composition of the copolymers was systematically optimized by tuning the input ratio of the vaporized CEA and DEGDVE monomers to achieve a high dielectric constant (<i>k</i>) as well as excellent dielectric strength. Interestingly, DEGDVE was nonhomopolymerizable but it was able to form a copolymer with other kinds of monomers. Utilizing this interesting property of the DEGDVE cross-linker, the dielectric constant of the copolymer film could be maximized with minimum incorporation of the cross-linker moiety. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis of a cyanide-containing polymer in the vapor phase, where a high-purity polymer film with a maximized dielectric constant was achieved. The dielectric film with the optimized composition showed a dielectric constant greater than 6 and extremely low leakage current densities (<3 × 10^–8 A/cm² in the range of ±2 MV/cm), with a thickness of only 20 nm, which is an outstanding thickness for down-scalable cyanide polymer dielectrics. With this high-<i>k</i> dielectric layer, organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) and oxide TFTs were fabricated, which showed hysteresis-free transfer characteristics with an operating voltage of less than 3 V. Furthermore, the flexible OTFTs retained their low gate leakage current and ideal TFT characteristics even under 2% applied tensile strain, which makes them some of the most flexible OTFTs reported to date. We believe that these ultrathin, high-<i>k</i> organic dielectric films with excellent mechanical flexibility will play a crucial role in future soft electronics

Direct Observation of a Carbon Filament in Water-Resistant Organic Memory

The memory for the Internet of Things (IoT) requires versatile characteristics such as flexibility, wearability, and stability in outdoor environments. Resistive random access memory (RRAM) to harness a simple structure and organic material with good flexibility can be an attractive candidate for IoT memory. However, its solution-oriented process and unclear switching mechanism are critical problems. Here we demonstrate iCVD polymer-intercalated RRAM (i-RRAM). i-RRAM exhibits robust flexibility and versatile wearability on any substrate. Stable operation of i-RRAM, even in water, is demonstrated, which is the first experimental presentation of water-resistant organic memory without any waterproof protection package. Moreover, the direct observation of a carbon filament is also reported for the first time using transmission electron microscopy, which puts an end to the controversy surrounding the switching mechanism. Therefore, reproducibility is feasible through comprehensive modeling. Furthermore, a carbon filament is superior to a metal filament in terms of the design window and selection of the electrode material. These results suggest an alternative to solve the critical issues of organic RRAM and an optimized memory type suitable for the IoT era

Flexible Nonvolatile Polymer Memory Array on Plastic Substrate via Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition

Resistive random access memory based on polymer thin films has been developed as a promising flexible nonvolatile memory for flexible electronic systems. Memory plays an important role in all modern electronic systems for data storage, processing, and communication; thus, the development of flexible memory is essential for the realization of flexible electronics. However, the existing solution-processed, polymer-based RRAMs have exhibited serious drawbacks in terms of the uniformity, electrical stability, and long-term stability of the polymer thin films. Here, we present poly­(1,3,5-trimethyl-1,3,5-trivinyl cyclotrisiloxane) (pV3D3)-based RRAM arrays fabricated via the solvent-free technique called initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) process for flexible memory application. Because of the outstanding chemical stability of pV3D3 films, the pV3D3-RRAM arrays can be fabricated by a conventional photolithography process. The pV3D3-RRAM on flexible substrates showed unipolar resistive switching memory with an on/off ratio of over 10⁷, stable retention time for 10⁵ s, excellent cycling endurance over 10⁵ cycles, and robust immunity to mechanical stress. In addition, pV3D3-RRAMs showed good uniformity in terms of device-to-device distribution. The pV3D3-RRAM will pave the way for development of next-generation flexible nonvolatile memory devices

Solution-Processed Hole-Doped SnSe Thermoelectric Thin-Film Devices for Low-Temperature Power Generation

Owing to the increase in the demand for energy autonomy in electronic systems, there has been increased research interest in thermoelectric thin-film-based energy harvesters. However, the fabrication of such devices is challenging when considering material performance and integration processes. SnSe has emerged as among the best bulk thermoelectric materials capable of functioning at high temperatures; however, the thermoelectric performance of thin films is still limited. Herein, we present a solution-processed fabrication of high-performance Ag-doped SnSe thin films operable in a low-temperature range. The Ag doping induces the preferred crystallographic orientation and grain growth in the b-c plane (in-plane) of SnSe, consequently enhancing thermoelectric performance at low temperatures. Moreover, thin-film wrinkling and photolithography are employed in the fabrication of stretchable and patterned devices, in which power generation performance is then evaluated, thereby demonstrating the feasibility of the proposed thin films as an energy harvester in emerging electronic systems