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Abstract We present an efficient strategy for on-surface engineering of organic metal-free supramolecular complexes with long-term spin protection. By vacuum deposition of azafullerene (C59N•) monomers on a pre-deposited template layer of [10]cycloparaphenylene ([10]CPP) nanohoops on Au(111) surface we exploit the molecular shape matching between the C59N• and [10]CPP for the azafullerene encapsulation with nanohoops in a guest-host complexation geometry. C59N•⊂[10]CPP supramolecular complexes self-assemble into an extended two-dimensional hexagonal lattice yielding a high density network of stable spin-1/2 radicals. We find compelling evidence for electronic coupling between the guest C59N• and the host [10]CPP in supramolecular species. At the same time, [10]CPP effectively protects the radical state of encapsulated azafullerenes against dimerization and inhibits C59N• coupling to the Au substrate. Azafullerene encapsulation by nanohoops represents a viable realization of molecular spin protection while simultaneously demonstrating exceptional self-assembling properties by which large-scale 2D architectures of molecular spins can be realized.

International education has focused on the learning processes of minority, low-income college students and learners of color. This study analyzes the experiences of nine minority, first-generation U.S. undergraduates from a four-year college in the southeastern U.S. who pursued study abroad and Global Studies during 2015-2022. Global Studies is an enrichment opportunity offered to students to build their linguistic and intercultural competence. Closed-ended questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, and course materials were collected. Canagarajah's (2013) notion of transcultural practice, in conjunction with Kramsch's (2009) concept of symbolic competence and Norton's (1995) theory of investment were used to explore these students' experiences while interacting with the target language and culture. The findings reveal how the student participants' linguistic and sociocultural identities developed as they negotiated their different positionings. Students demonstrated a newfound meaning and symbolic value in the language and culture that they engaged with. Students' reflections on issues of inclusiveness and social justice are discussed.

Silver (Ag) doped titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles are promising photocatalysts for the degradation of emerging pollutants. These nanocomposites enhance the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 in visible light, suppress the e-/h+ rearrangement, and enhance their bactericidal properties. This review proposes a bibliometric analysis that elucidates research trends, and important topics on contaminant degradation, analyzes the advantages and limitations of different synthesis techniques (solvothermal, photochemical reduction, sol-gel, and others), their properties to produce Ag/TiO2, and their potential for pollutant degradation. Thus, depending on the technique chosen, Ag doping of TiO2 can offer high stability, recyclability for more than 3 cycles, customized morphologies and sizes, among others. Applications of Ag/TiO2 include wastewater treatment, antibacterial surfaces, food packaging, implants, and others. Advances in the synthesis of Ag/TiO2 photocatalysts offer excellent photocatalytic degradation, between 80 % and 100 %, for organic dyes, hormones, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and other emerging pollutants. Ag/TiO2 photocatalysts show superior degradation rates compared to pure TiO2, with some achieving up to 99 % pollutant removal. The bibliometric analysis performed by Methodi Ordinatio, classifying 267 articles, reveals a foundation of relevant articles, around 35 % of articles published on these topics were published between 2019 and 2021. A complete cost analysis of Ag/TiO2 is considered to determine the feasibility for pilot and large-scale experimentation. These nanocomposites offer a promising solution to address the growing concern about emerging pollutants, disinfection of water, and in the inactivation of pathogenic microorganisms.

Objective: UPD(16)mat is a rare genetic condition characterized by intrauterine growth deficiency and multiple congenital malformations. To the best of our knowledge, neurodevelopmental disorders have never been described in association with UPD(16)mat, nor a comprehensive neuropsychological profile of a UPD(16)mat child has never been delineated. We present a young patient diagnosed with UPD(16)mat, and provide clinical description, comprehensive neurodevelopmental, neuropsychological and neurological assessment. Method: Neuropsychological examination included global neurodevelopment and intelligence scales, as well as specific trials for gross-motor, fine-motor and perceptual motor abilities, and language skills. Results: The patient shows multiple congenital anomalies, including oesophageal atresia, mild bone alterations, hypospadias, persistent left superior vena cava. The neurodevelopmental evaluation demonstrates a speech disorder, signs of gross and fine motor skills difficulties, balance and visuo-motor deficit. Conclusion: Evidence from this study indicates that UPD(16)mat may present neuropsychological and/or minor neurological abnormalities. Monitoring both the early and late neurodevelopmental outcomes during childhood is recommended for the chance of an early intervention.

European Central Bank (ECB) staff have repeatedly justified the carbon bias of the Asset Purchase Programme (APP) in terms of “market neutrality”. Yet this term is not included in the Treaties so its meaning and legal nature are unclear. To clarify the meaning of market neutrality in the euro area’s monetary policy we develop a summative content analysis of the textual data contained in relevant legal and policy documents that are publicly available. We conclude that, in the context of monetary policy, the ECB and its staff have used the term market neutrality with two meanings: (i) the minimisation of any impact on the operation of markets and, in particular, on the operation of the price discovery mechanism; and (ii) the mirroring of the composition of a particular market to guide asset purchases. We then examine the legal nature of market neutrality in each of these two meanings. In its first meaning, we argue that market neutrality is the ECB’s definition of the so-called ‘principle of an open market economy’ (‘OME principle’) and it is therefore primary law. In its second meaning, we argue that market neutrality operationalises the OME principle and is therefore secondary law. Our conclusions differ from those reached by the first academic enquiries into the legal nature of market neutrality and open an academic debate on the matter. A clear understanding of the legal nature of market neutrality is also essential to assess the validity of the ECB’s climate change action plan.

In an increasingly fast-changing and diverse world, the role of socio-emotional skills has become more crucial. These skills are correlated with academic and professional achievement, healthier interactions, and greater well-being. Contrary to commonly believed, socio-emotional skills are not innate and can be taught and learned. Although there are established and accepted standards and curricula available for socio-emotional learning (SEL), they mainly focus on teacher-led instruction in a regular classroom setting, which brings the extra cost of the necessary support and teachers' training. One alternative is using technological resources to develop these skills. However, an open question is which technologies exist for SEL and what is the evidence of their impacts and benefits. This paper presents a systematic mapping to show how socio-emotional skills are being taught using technological resources. We analysed the results and suggested under-explored areas to develop socio-emotional skills with technology and computational artefacts.

Em 2023, o Brasil promulgou sua primeira política nacional de cibersegurança. Esta surgiu como resposta a diagnósticos preocupantes, que colocam a segurança da informação e a cibersegurança entre as vulnerabilidades de alto risco da administração pública brasileira, segundo relatório de 2022 do Tribunal de Contas da União (TCU). O que está por vir para a recém-promulgada Política Nacional de Cibersegurança (PNCiber) do Brasil? Nossa análise visa responder a essa pergunta, primeiro desvendando a estrutura de governança cibernética existente que a nova política herdou e, segundo, analisando a estrutura de governança debatida e promulgada pela política atual. Conclui-se que o Brasil fez diversos esforços para securitizar o ciberespaço por meio de uma coleção ampla, porém desconexa, de documentos, cuja maturidade de implementação não está clara, sem que a PNCiber forneça ferramentas de políticas públicas diretas para enfrentar esses desafios.

We propose an innovative approach to teaching friction. Our approach aims to educate students on its microscopic nature by highlighting its origin in intermolecular interactions. We have designed a teaching sequence (TS) based on a set of experimental investigations of the properties of a gecko-inspired tape at different length scales. The TS has been conceived to unravel the peculiar behavior of this man-made, commercially available biomimetic material and to train students to identify the connection between the micrometer-scale patterning and the peculiar tribological properties. Specifically, our approach compares friction (and adhesion) to wetting, occurring at solid/solid and solid/liquid interfaces, respectively. The aim is to scaffold a correct mental model of real interfaces and disclose the common origin of both phenomena in intermolecular interactions. The TS has been devised according to the design-based research scheme and it was inspired by the Investigative Science Learning Environment (ISLE) and the 5E paradigms. It has been tested and tuned with students at level 3 in the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), during several on-campus stages. We report here the details and results of pre- and post-tests, which demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. Specifically, we measure success in terms of the students' comprehension of the link between contact area and friction and of the role of intermolecular forces. We are confident that the learning experience with our TS will lead students to recognize the enormous potential impact of surface patterning in technological applications, in a curiosity-driven manner that will likely result in students' interest in quantitative studies of science and technology.

The article thematizes the relevance of Paul Kahn’s conception of political sacrifice for contemporary constitutional studies. Kahn’s approach to political sacrifice is compared with another extremely influential theory of sacrifice, René Girard’s theory of sacrifice. The main aim is to show why Kahn’s view of sacrifice in constitutional orders escapes the logic of victimization that affects Girard’s seminal work, and it provides a better understanding of a political conception of modern constitutional orders. In the final section, the article shows that although Kahn’s version of political sacrifice is seen as the embodiment of the principle of sovereignty, it can be expanded beyond it.

The most recent "Open Doors" report by the Institute of International Education (IIE, 2020) indicates that the number of non-white U.S. study abroad students has been steadily growing over the past 10 years, and now it accounts for 31% of all students pursuing part of their education abroad. This study focuses on four Spanish heritage language learners (SHLLs) of Dominican, Mexican, Peruvian, and Colombian/Venezuelan descent with differing Spanish proficiency who enrolled in a short-term study abroad (SA) program for Spanish in Quito, Ecuador during May-June of 2017, 2018, or 2019. This SA program was sponsored by a four-year college in the southeastern U.S. This study included a closed-ended questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, (classroom) observations, e-portfolios, journals, and e-mails. A poststructuralist lens and Norton's theory of investment were employed to explore the identities of these four undergraduates, their social networks, language, and culture learning opportunities, and how these experiences shaped their individual development. Considerations will be offered in terms of how a social justice-oriented curriculum can be a powerful approach to support the emergence of heritage language identities abroad in socially situated contexts. Civically oriented SA programs have the potential to help SHLLs construct global identities, increase communication skills, and gain global understanding, compassion, and tolerance for social change.

This intervention expands Stefan Eich’s analysis of the parallel between language and money in The Currency of Politics by emphasising the increasing importance of linguistic communication within processes of production. This expansion has had an impact on monetary policy and on the communicative strategies of central banks. The suggestion is to integrate Eich’s call for the politicisation of monetary design with an appraisal of post-fordiist productive processes and the importance of money creation for the valorisation of those processes. If this reading of the expansion of the logic of economic value to linguistic communication is correct, then any call for a monetary design of money that works like public speech ought to be carry forward cautiously, in light of the colonisation of the latter (speech) by market forces

Electrochemical immunosensors are often described as innovative strategies to tackle urgent epidemiological needs, such as the detection of SARS-CoV-2 main biomarker, the spike glycoprotein. Nevertheless, there is a great variety of receptors, especially recombinant antibodies, that can be used to develop these biosensing platforms, and very few reports compare their suitability in analytical device design and their sensing performances. Therefore, this short report targeted a brief and straightforward investigation of the performance of different impedimetric biorecognition surfaces (BioS) for SARS-CoV-2, which were crafted from three commonly reported recombinant antibodies and molecularly-imprinted polymer (MIP) nanoparticles (nanoMIP). The selected NanoMIP were chosen due to their reported selectivity to the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein. Results showed that the surface modification protocol based on MUDA and crosslinking with EDC/NHS was successful for the anchoring of each tested receptor, as the semicircle diameter of the Nyquist plots of EIS increased upon each modification, which suggests the increase of Rct due to the binding of dielectric materials on the conductive surface. Furthermore, the type of monoclonal antibody used to craft the BioS and the artificial receptors led to very distinct responses, being the RBD5305 and the NanoMIP-based BioS the ones that showcased the highest increment of signal in the conditions herein reported, which suggests their adequacy in the development of impedimetric immunosensors for SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein.

In 1919, Eddington and Dyson led two famous expeditions to measure the bending of light during a total solar eclipse. The results of this effort led to the first experimental confirmation of Einstein's General Relativity and contributed to create its unique and enduring fame. Since then, similar experiments have been carried out all around the world, confirming the predictions of the General Relativity. Later, developments in radio interferometry provided a more accurate way to measure the gravitation deflection. We believe that--after more than a century--starlight deflection caused by the Sun's gravity still represents a simple and intuitive way to introduce high-school students to General Relativity and its effects. To this aim, we gathered measurements taken during eight eclipses spanning from 1919 to 2017, and we created a single dataset of homogeneous values. Together with the whole dataset, this article provides a blueprint for a possible group activity for students, useful to introduce the theory in physics classes with a playful approach.

Michael Wilkinson’s Authoritarian Liberalism puts forward a challenging and controversial claim: the history of European integration and the trajectory of the constitutional orders of the founding Member States have always been driven by authoritarian liberalism. This comment focuses on a certain slack, in Wilkinson’s analysis, between the material constitution of European states and authoritarian liberalism as a form of government. More specifically, the comment highlights the need to retrieve a more conflictual relation between, on one hand, the material constitution of the welfare state and its industrial involvement, and on the other hand, the constitutional forms adopted by authoritarian liberalism.

This study is situated in the fields of language education, study abroad (SA) and intercultural communication. The interest in SA is increasing on the part of students, administrators, educators, and business companies for the learning opportunities that it offers. However, SA students are not always prepared to maximize their learning opportunities at the foreign site, to effectively interact with locals, to develop cultural awareness, and to respond to challenging situations occurring abroad. This article recommends preparatory activities to increase students' awareness and exercises on students' own identity as a powerful construct impacting their SA experiences. This article acknowledges that student preparation is only one aspect to be improved in the whole SA experience. Other structural and institutional issues of current SA programs need to be addressed too, including how to extend the length of the trips, how to diversify the destinations and the demographic profile of student participants, how to increase their autonomy, and ultimately how to train faculty and staff for change.