Combination Of Motifs Research Articles

Self-Assembly of Hierarchical Silicon-Containing Block Copolymers with Cross-Linkable 3 nm Smectic Motifs for Nanopatterning and Osmotic Energy Conversion Membranes.

Highly-dense small-feature-size nanopatterns and nanoporous membranes are important in advanced microelectronics, nanofiltration, and biomimic device manufacturing. Here, we report the synthesis and self-assembly of a series of high-interaction-parameter (high-χ) silicon-containing hierarchical block copolymers (BCPs) with cross-linkable subordering chalcone motifs, which possess both an intrinsic native etching contrast for nanofabrication and cross-linkability under ultraviolet light for generating free-standing membranes. BCPs with a volume fraction of chalcone block of 55-74% form ordered primary nanostructures with period 15-22 nm including lamellae, double gyroid, hexagonally packed cylinders, and body-centered cubic spheres of the minority Si-containing block. The majority PChMA block self-assembles into a highly ordered 3 nm smectic sublattice, and cross-linking after self-assembly enables the formation of free-standing isoporous membranes. Both silicon oxide nanopatterns and free-standing nanoporous osmotic energy conversion membranes are generated by etching films of these BCPs. This work demonstrates that the combination of hierarchical ordering and cross-linkable motifs in a high-interaction parameter BCP enables applications in both nanofabrication and free-standing functional porous membranes.

Construction of Porous Aromatic Frameworks with Specifically Designed Motifs for Charge Storage and Transport.

ConspectusPorous frameworks possess high porosity and adjustable functions. The two features conjointly create sufficient interfaces for matter exchange and energy transfer within the skeletons. For crystalline porous frameworks, including metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs), their long-range ordered structures indeed play an important role in managing versatile physicochemical behaviors such as electron transfer or band gap engineering. It is now feasible to predict their functions based on the unveiled structures and structure-performance relationships. In contrast, porous organic frameworks (POFs) represent a member of the porous solid family with no long-range regularity. For the case of POFs, the randomly packed building units and their disordered connections hinder the electronic structural consistency throughout the entire networks. However, many investigations have demonstrated that the functions of POFs could also be designed and originated from their local motifs.In this Account, we will first provide an overview of the design and synthesis principles for porous aromatic frameworks (PAFs), which are a typical family of POFs with high porosity and exceptional stability. Specifically, the functions achieved by the specific design and synthesis of in-framework motifs will be demonstrated. This strategy is particularly intuitive to introduce desired functions to PAFs, owing to the exceptional tolerance of PAFs to harsh chemical treatments and synthetic conditions. The local structures can be either obtained by selecting suitable building units, sometimes with the aid of computational screening, or emerge as the product of coupling reactions during the synthetic process. Radical PAFs can be obtained by incorporating a persistent radical molecule as a building unit, and the rigid and porous framework may facilitate the formation of radical species by trapping spins in the organic network, which could avoid the delocalizing and recombining processes. Alternatively, radical motifs can also be formed during the formation of the framework linkages. The coupling reaction plays an important role in the construction of functional motifs like diacetylene. The highly porous, radical PAFs showed significant performance as anodes of lithium-ion batteries. To improve the charge transport within the framework, the building units and their connecting manner were cohesively considered, and the framework with a fully conjugated backbone was built up. In another case, the explicit product of the cross-coupling reaction ensured the precise assembly of two building units with electron donating and accepting abilities; therefore, the moving direction of photogenerated electrons was rationally controlled. Constructing a fully conjugated backbone or rationally designing a D-A system for charge transfer in porous frameworks introduced exciting properties for photovoltaic and photocatalysis, and their highly porous, stable frameworks improved their functional applications for perovskite solar cells and chemical productions. These investigations shed light on the designable combination of intrinsic functional motifs with highly porous organic frameworks for effective energy storage and conversion.

ОСНОВАНИЯ И КОМПАРАТИВИСТСКИЙ АНАЛИЗ РУССКОГО ЭПОСА

The investigation of Russian folklore has not yet been fully institutionalized in literature, cinema, and theater. In Russian literature, for example, there are no novels about Koshchei the Immortal, Ivan the Prince, heroes of Slavic pagan culture and many other characters of this genre. Meanwhile, these are deep, colorful images organically integrated into an equally vivid context. Many great writers, such as Thomas Mann, have written about such gaps. The goal is to identify the main typological characteristics of the Russian epic, which, in our opinion, has been studied in this sense very one-sidedly. The methodology is a comparative analysis of various approaches (mythological, historical, structural, etc.) closely interconnected with the characteristic features and structure of epics. At the same time, considerable attention is the harmonious combination of various motifs of the epic: heroes, Kalik-passers-by, epic time, pagan influences, hyperbolization, etc. An attempt is made not to accept, but to take into account various influences on such studies (pre-revolutionary, post-revolutionary, inspired by the Marxist approach, structural analysis, which began to be used in the study of Russian epic since the 1970s). The Russian epic, thanks to a huge number of historical, social, and cultural connections, naturally interacts with the epics of the republics (union and autonomous) that were part of the former USSR, which opens up wide opportunities for comparative studies of various types. Paths are outlined for a comparative analysis of the Russian epic with the epics of the East Slavic peoples, as well as with the Yakut heroic epic Olonkho. The authors' further plans involve continuing the study of Russian folklore in the genre of fairy tales and the field of culture of Slavic paganism. The first of them has been studied quite fully, but the structural and systemic approaches to research need to be further developed. The culture of Slavic paganism is a little-studied area where there are still no established approaches, and there are different points of view on many issues. Here you can apply the methodological approaches outlined in our monograph “Philosophy of Olonkho”.

Exploring Ethnomathematics on The Batik Patterns of Jember In Mathematics Concept

This study aims to identify and describe mathematical concepts and describe the results of ethnomathematics exploration contained in Jember batik motifs. The type of research used in this study is qualitative research with an ethnographic approach. The research instruments used were observation, tests, and interviews with batik artisans. The results of this study indicate that the combination of coffee bean and tobacco leaf motifs has applied mathematical concepts of geometry. In the motif of coffee beans and tobacco leaves from the Nhora Pangetu hand-written batik production house, there are mathematical concepts of curves, points, circles, and the concept of dilation. The motif of coffee beans and tobacco leaves from the Gangsar Ngaidin batik production house contains mathematical concepts of reflection (mirroring), congruence, and flat shapes of circles, triangles, and rhombuses.

A Photodynamic and Photochemotherapeutic Platinum‐Iridium Charge‐Transfer Conjugate for Anticancer Therapy

AbstractThe novel hetero‐dinuclear complex trans,trans,trans‐[PtIV(py)2(N3)2(OH)(μ‐OOCCH2CH2CONHCH2‐bpyMe)IrIII(ppy)2]Cl (Pt‐Ir), exhibits charge transfer between the acceptor photochemotherapeutic Pt(IV) (Pt‐OH) and donor photodynamic Ir(III) (Ir‐NH2) fragments. It is stable in the dark, but undergoes photodecomposition more rapidly than the Pt(IV) parent complex (Pt‐OH) to generate Pt(II) species, an azidyl radical and 1O2. The Ir(III)* excited state, formed after irradiation, can oxidise NADH to NAD⋅ radicals and NAD+. Pt‐Ir is highly photocytotoxic towards cancer cells with a high photocytotoxicity index upon irradiation with blue light (465 nm, 4.8 mW/cm2), even with short light‐exposure times (10–60 min). In contrast, the mononuclear Pt‐OH and Ir‐NH2 subunits and their simple mixture are much less potent. Cellular Pt accumulation was higher for Pt‐Ir compared to Pt‐OH. Irradiation of Pt‐Ir in cancer cells damages nuclei and releases chromosomes. Synchrotron‐XRF revealed ca. 4× higher levels of intracellular platinum compared to iridium in Pt‐Ir treated cells under dark conditions. Luminescent Pt‐Ir distributes over the whole cell and generates ROS and 1O2 within 1 h of irradiation. Iridium localises strongly in small compartments, suggestive of complex cleavage and excretion via recycling vesicles (e.g. lysosomes). The combination of PDT and PACT motifs in one molecule, provides Pt‐Ir with a novel strategy for multimodal phototherapy.

A Photodynamic and Photochemotherapeutic Platinum-Iridium Charge-Transfer Conjugate for Anticancer Therapy.

The novel hetero-dinuclear complex trans,trans,trans-[PtIV(py)2(N3)2(OH)(μ-OOCCH2CH2CONHCH2-bpyMe)IrIII(ppy)2]Cl (Pt-Ir), exhibits charge transfer between the acceptor photochemotherapeutic Pt(IV) (Pt-OH) and donor photodynamic Ir(III) (Ir-NH2) fragments. It is stable in the dark, but undergoes photodecomposition more rapidly than the Pt(IV) parent complex (Pt-OH) to generate Pt(II) species, an azidyl radical and 1O2. The Ir(III)* excited state, formed after irradiation, can oxidise NADH to NAD⋅ radicals and NAD+. Pt-Ir is highly photocytotoxic towards cancer cells with a high photocytotoxicity index upon irradiation with blue light (465 nm, 4.8 mW/cm2), even with short light-exposure times (10-60 min). In contrast, the mononuclear Pt-OH and Ir-NH2 subunits and their simple mixture are much less potent. Cellular Pt accumulation was higher for Pt-Ir compared to Pt-OH. Irradiation of Pt-Ir in cancer cells damages nuclei and releases chromosomes. Synchrotron-XRF revealed ca. 4× higher levels of intracellular platinum compared to iridium in Pt-Ir treated cells under dark conditions. Luminescent Pt-Ir distributes over the whole cell and generates ROS and 1O2 within 1 h of irradiation. Iridium localises strongly in small compartments, suggestive of complex cleavage and excretion via recycling vesicles (e.g. lysosomes). The combination of PDT and PACT motifs in one molecule, provides Pt-Ir with a novel strategy for multimodal phototherapy.

Studies of the Functionalized α-Hydroxy-p-Quinone Imine Derivatives Stabilized by Intramolecular Hydrogen Bond.

In this work, reactions between 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-diones with different benzohydrazides were studied. Nucleophilic substitution at C(6) was followed by isomerization and led to α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine derivatives. Synthesized compounds represent a combination of several structural motifs: a benzimidazole core fused with α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine, which contains a benzamide fragment. X-ray crystallography analysis revealed the formation of dimers linked through OH···O interactions and stabilization of the imine form by strong intramolecular NH···N hydrogen bonds. The protonation/deprotonation processes were investigated in a solution using UV-Vis spectroscopy and a 1H NMR titration experiment. Additionally, the electrochemical properties of 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-dione and its α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine derivative as cathode materials were investigated in acidic and neutral environments using cyclic voltammetry measurements. Cathode material based on 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-dione could act as a potentially effective active electrode in aqueous electrolyte batteries; however, further optimization is required.

Contemporaneity of the Tree of Life Image in the Towels of Poltava Region of the 19th and 20th Centuries

The purpose of the article consists in identifying and analysing the ornaments of traditional towel embroidery of the Poltava region of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the peculiarities of the technique and technology of their production with a focus on the Tree of Life motif for the full reproduction of its authentic meaning in contemporary design.
 Research methodology is based on the methods of comparison, analysis and analogies used for a detailed literature analysis. Induction and deduction methods were useful for identifying the characteristic manifestations of the Poltava tradition against the background of embroidered towels of Ukraine. The typological and comparative methods were used in the study of the Poltava region territorial features. The historical method made it possible to study and identify the sequence of embroidery formation, symbolic and semantic features in embroidered towels. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the comparison of the principles of depicting the Tree of Life in embroidered towels of Podillia, Polissia, and Poltava region of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; in the formation of a semiotic meanings list of the Tree of Life in towels of Poltava region, which have been scattered in various scientific works. The article provides recommendations for compliance with the authentic content in the interpretation of the symbolic elements of the Tree of Life image in the products of modern designer clothing brands. Conclusions. The Tree of Life is a complex ornamental element of embroidery, especially evident in the Poltava region, and has a wide range of symbolic meanings: a cosmogonic model of the world, the trinity of the three worlds, Family Tree, Mother Guardian, Holy Trinity, and Our Lady Oranta. In the Poltava region, the image of the Tree of Life in towels has been a well-established tradition since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with characteristic details in the form of fancy flowers. One of the reasons for the levelling of the sacred and magical load of the Tree-Flower in the ornamental compositions of modern clothing brands can be considered a tendency to generally lighten the informational and philosophical content of the product following consumer tastes. Some Ukrainian designers and brands demonstrate options for models of a successful combination of folklore motifs and authentic tradition with modern fashion trends. Individual Ukrainian designers and brands demonstrate variants of models that successfully combine folklore motifs and authentic tradition with modern fashion trends. Brands recreate traditional embroidery in their own interpretation, so the variety of techniques and technologies for demonstrating embroidery has a rich potential for development.

Transcription termination and readthrough in African swine fever virus.

African swine fever virus (ASFV) is a nucleocytoplasmic large DNA virus (NCLDV) that encodes its own host-like RNA polymerase (RNAP) and factors required to produce mature mRNA. The formation of accurate mRNA 3' ends by ASFV RNAP depends on transcription termination, likely enabled by a combination of sequence motifs and transcription factors, although these are poorly understood. The termination of any RNAP is rarely 100% efficient, and the transcriptional "readthrough" at terminators can generate long mRNAs which may interfere with the expression of downstream genes. ASFV transcriptome analyses reveal a landscape of heterogeneous mRNA 3' termini, likely a combination of bona fide termination sites and the result of mRNA degradation and processing. While short-read sequencing (SRS) like 3' RNA-seq indicates an accumulation of mRNA 3' ends at specific sites, it cannot inform about which promoters and transcription start sites (TSSs) directed their synthesis, i.e., information about the complete and unprocessed mRNAs at nucleotide resolution. Here, we report a rigorous analysis of full-length ASFV transcripts using long-read sequencing (LRS). We systematically compared transcription termination sites predicted from SRS 3' RNA-seq with 3' ends mapped by LRS during early and late infection. Using in-vitro transcription assays, we show that recombinant ASFV RNAP terminates transcription at polyT stretches in the non-template strand, similar to the archaeal RNAP or eukaryotic RNAPIII, unaided by secondary RNA structures or predicted viral termination factors. Our results cement this T-rich motif (U-rich in the RNA) as a universal transcription termination signal in ASFV. Many genes share the usage of the same terminators, while genes can also use a range of terminators to generate transcript isoforms varying enormously in length. A key factor in the latter phenomenon is the highly abundant terminator readthrough we observed, which is more prevalent during late compared with early infection. This indicates that ASFV mRNAs under the control of late gene promoters utilize different termination mechanisms and factors to early promoters and/or that cellular factors influence the viral transcriptome landscape differently during the late stages of infection.

Культурный код Великого Новгорода: современность исторического города. Экспертное интервью

The expert interview is devoted to the analysis of the cultural code of Veliky Novgorod and to the architectural techniques, which represent it in the urban environment. The expert considers the general concept of cultural code and examines the modern situation of Veliky Novgorod, where only a small part of authentic objects has been preserved, as most of the structures were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Also, the expert evaluates various city objects and projects in terms of combination of Novgorod architectural motifs and modern solutions in them, and emphasizes that the design code, which has been introduced in Veliky Novgorod since 2024, is very poorly connected with the cultural identity of the city. The key thesis of the interview is that all urban objects that are located outside the historic part of the city (outside the berm boundaries) should be resolved in a modern architectural language. In addition, the creation of new projects in contrast with the existing urban environment is described as one of the possible and productive strategies for working in the historical area of the city. In this way, contemporary architects and urban planners can make their original, authorial contribution to the historical city and leave their mark on the urban texture.

Novel Substrate Prediction for the TAM Family of RTKs Using Phosphoproteomics and Structure-Based Modeling.

The TAM family of receptor tyrosine kinases is implicated in multiple distinct oncogenic signaling pathways. However, to date, there are no FDA-approved small molecule inhibitors for the TAM kinases. Inhibitor design and screening rely on tools to study the kinase activity. Our goal was to address this gap by designing a set of synthetic peptide substrates for each of the TAM family members: Tyro3, Axl, and Mer. We used an in vitro phosphoproteomics workflow to determine the substrate profile of each TAM kinase and input the identified substrates into our data processing pipeline, KINATEST-ID, producing a position-specific scoring matrix for each target kinase and generating a list of candidate synthetic peptide substrates. We synthesized and characterized a set of those substrate candidates, systematically measuring their initial phosphorylation rate with each TAM kinase by LC-MS. We also used the multimer modeling function of AlphaFold2 (AF2) to predict peptide-kinase interactions at the active site for each of the novel candidate peptide sequences against each of the TAM family kinases and observed that, remarkably, every sequence for which it predicted a putative catalytically competent interaction was also demonstrated biochemically to be a substrate for one or more of the TAM kinases. This work shows that kinase substrate design can be achieved using a combination of preference motifs and structural modeling, and it provides the first demonstration of peptide-protein interaction modeling with AF2 for predicting the likelihood of constructive catalytic interactions.

Dissection of protein and RNA regions required for SPEN binding to XIST A-repeat RNA.

XIST noncoding RNA promotes the initiation of X chromosome silencing by recruiting the protein SPEN to one X chromosome in female mammals. The SPEN protein is also called SHARP (SMRT and HDAC-associated repressor protein) and MINT (Msx-2 interacting nuclear target) in humans. SPEN recruits N-CoR2 and HDAC3 to initiate histone deacetylation on the X chromosome, leading to the formation of repressive chromatin marks and silencing gene expression. We dissected the contributions of different RNA and protein regions to the formation of a human XIST-SPEN complex in vitro and identified novel sequence and structure determinants that may contribute to X chromosome silencing initiation. Binding of SPEN to XIST RNA requires RRM 4 of the protein, in contrast to the requirement of RRM 3 and RRM 4 for specific binding to SRA RNA. Measurements of SPEN binding to full-length, dimeric, trimeric, or other truncated versions of the A-repeat region revealed that high-affinity binding of XIST to SPEN in vitro requires a minimum of four A-repeat segments. SPEN binding to XIST A-repeat RNA changes the accessibility of the RNA at specific nucleotide sequences, as indicated by changes in RNA reactivity through chemical structure probing. Based on computational modeling, we found that inter-repeat duplexes formed by multiple A-repeats can present an unpaired adenosine in the context of a double-stranded region of RNA. The presence of this specific combination of sequence and structural motifs correlates with high-affinity SPEN binding in vitro. These data provide new information on the molecular basis of the XIST and SPEN interaction.

Cell-type-directed design of synthetic enhancers.

Transcriptional enhancers act as docking stations for combinations of transcription factors and thereby regulate spatiotemporal activation of their target genes1. It has been a long-standing goal in the field to decode the regulatory logic of an enhancer and to understand the details of how spatiotemporal gene expression is encoded in an enhancer sequence. Here we show that deep learning models2-6, can be used to efficiently design synthetic, cell-type-specific enhancers, starting from random sequences, and that this optimization process allows detailed tracing of enhancer features at single-nucleotide resolution. We evaluate the function of fully synthetic enhancers to specifically target Kenyon cells or glial cells in the fruit fly brain using transgenic animals. We further exploit enhancer design to create 'dual-code' enhancers that target two cell types and minimal enhancers smaller than 50 base pairs that are fully functional. By examining the state space searches towards local optima, we characterize enhancer codes through the strength, combination and arrangement of transcription factor activator and transcription factor repressor motifs. Finally, we apply the same strategies to successfully design human enhancers, which adhere to enhancer rules similar to those of Drosophila enhancers. Enhancer design guided by deep learning leads to better understanding of how enhancers work and shows that their code can be exploited to manipulate cell states.

JAPANESE WISTERIA AND KAWUNG MOTIFS AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF BATIK FOR ART WEAR

Batik has various kinds of motifs. They are traditional and developed motifs. The combination of wisteria and kawung motifs for art wear is a work inspired by hokokai batik. It is a result of acculturation between Japan and Indonesia. Japanese wisteria (Wisteria Floribunda) is a kind of flower that grows in Japan. In Japan, it is called Fuji. The wisteria flower symbolizes loyalty, nobility, and immortality. Furthermore, kawung motif is a motif developed in Indonesia, especially in Java. It has a meaning of sedulur papat lima pancer. This article aims to batik by combining two motifs, wisteria, and kawung. These two motifs would be applied in art wear. Exploration is the first stage in creating this work. It starts from looking for some references of kawung motif and wisteria motif. The second is the design stage. In this stage, the creator designs motifs that would be chosen in some alternatives as a motif would be applied in art wear. The last stage is manifestation. Making batik motifs begins with making patterns, nyorek, nyanting, coloring, and, melorod. This creation results in four works. The first is titled Hi. The second is titled Kaze. The third is titled Ki. The fourth is titled Mizu. These four titles represent four elements ruled by the four guardian gods of the cardinal directions. The four gods are legends from Japan.

Aspects of Contemporary Opera Studies

The article explores the paradoxes of using literary sources in opera: literary works, myths and fairy tales, legends and traditions. Among these stories, the author focuses on the theme of the femme fatale, associated with the motif of seduction and the final catastrophe that ends her life story. The theme of the femme fatale is considered in the context of gender issues, the relationship between the male and female worlds. The research is based on the principles of historical poetics. The author analyses the origins of plot motifs, their development in time, the combination of motifs in connection with the system of characters, external and internal motives of their behavior, and, in general, the artistic structure of the work. The analysis of the plots in terms of the existence of common motifs in them and their place in the integral plot structure is based on the operas by composers of different ages. The article first examines the works of Jean-Baptiste Lully, Georg Friedrich Händel, Antonín Dvořák, Georges Bizet, Richard Wagner, and Alban Berg in terms of the common motifs and their place in the integral plot structure. This makes it possible to reveal non-linear connections between opera works belonging to different historical epochs, different genres, and national traditions.

Nanographenes Out of Planarity

AbstractThe combination of different distortion motifs in nanographenes and polycyclic conjugated hydrocarbons has been the focus of significant attention during the last decade. The continual discovery of multiple carbon allotropes has fueled the field. A plethora of research groups around the globe are engaged in developing methods for the preparation of discrete graphene or fullerene fragments and new carbon allotropes. The goal is to fully understand the structure–property relationships in these systems. Herein, we present our journey and contributions to the field, from the development of a synthetic methodology towards functionalized heptagon-containing hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronenes through the preparation of saddle-helix hybrid nanographenes, the study of heptagon-containing cumulenic and open-shell systems, nanographenes embedded with higher order carbocycles, and the study of their electronic properties on-surface and by single-molecule conductance.1 Introduction2 The Finding of a Cornerstone Scaffold3 Saddle-Helix Hybrid Nanographenes4 Cumulenic and Diradicaloid Systems5 Supramolecular Studies6 Octagon- and Nonagon-Embedded Nanographenes7 Molecular Electronics and On-Surface Studies8 Outlook

Decoding the dual recognition mechanism of the glucocorticoid receptor for DNA and RNA: sequence versus shape

Transcription factors (TFs) regulate eukaryotic transcription through selective DNA-binding, can also specifically interact with RNA, which may present another layer of transcriptional control. The mechanisms of the TFs-DNA recognition are often well-characterised, while the details of TFs-RNA complexation are less understood. Here we investigate the dual recognition mechanism of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which interacts with similar affinities with consensus DNA and diverse RNA hairpin motifs but discriminates against uniform dsRNA. Using atomic molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate that the GR binding to nucleic acids requires a wide and shallow groove pocket. The protein effectively moulds its binding site within DNA major groove, which enables base-specific interactions. Contrary, the GR binding has little effect on the grooves geometry of RNA systems, most notably in uniform dsRNA. Instead, a hairpin motif in RNA yields a wide and shallow major groove pocket, allowing the protein to anchor itself through nonspecific electrostatic contacts with RNA backbone. Addition of a bulge increases RNA hairpin flexibility, which leads to a greater number of GR-RNA contacts and, thus, higher affinity. Thus, the combination of structural motifs defines the GR-RNA selective binding: a recognition mechanism, which may be shared by other zinc finger TFs.

Nuevo hallazgo de arte mueble de estilo Paleolítico en el Noreste peninsular: la plaqueta grabada de les Coves del Fem (Ulldemolins, Tarragona)

This paper reports the discovery of a schist slab with 7 zoomorphic figures (deer, wild goats and/or bulls) and other engraved remains at Coves del Fem site (Ulldemolins, Priorat, Tarragona) in 2020. This find adds to the limited, although unique, repertoire of portable art of Palaeolithic style found so far in the northeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula. A detailed analysis of this piece and comparison with the artistic record known so far for the Mediterranean side of Iberia are key to establish the relative chronology of this find. The themes (a combination of animals and non-figurative motifs), the formal (simplified representations of animals with elongated bodies), technical (a schist slab with fine incised engravings filled with striated strokes) and compositional patterns of the motifs, with a complex palimpsest of figurative and non-figurative engravings distributed on both sides creating two non-scenic compositions, recall an art from the end of the Paleolithic artistic cycle. To these common elements, this slab adds certain singularities. First, two animals of different species are involved in a mirror symmetry composition,which is not unique to this site, but it is more common in older periods and with the animals distributed on both sides of a vertical axis, rather than horizontal, as in this case. Such distribution has no parallels in this final phase of the artistic sequence. Second, the microscopic analysis of the art reveals the preservation of red pigment inside the engraved grooves, showing the use of a mixed technique, involving a combination of incision and painting. This practice, used probably to enhance motifs and improve visualization, has been recorded in a limited number of Palaeolithic sites, most likely due to conservation problems. Third, the slab includes the first example of an engraved goat known in the Catalan repertoire. Overall, this find contributes to expand the repertoire of Catalan Paleolithic art, confirms the importance of the Tarragona province, concentrating most of the finds of Paleolithic portable art in Catalonia, and opens new perspectives in the study of Coves del Fem, substantially expanding the chronology of this site until the end of the Upper Paleolithic period. Finally, it brings a new example with its own peculiarities (the type of composition) for characterizing the art of the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in south-western Europe.

Synthesis of gem-Difluorinated Isoxazoles via Palladium-Catalyzed Oxylallylation of Alkynone Oxime Ethers.

A novel and reliable palladium-catalyzed oxylallylation of alkynone oxime ethers with fluorine-containing alkenes was accomplished. Using the bulk industrial chemical 3-bromo-3,3-difluoroprop-1-ene as the coupling partner, this synthetic methodology offers the first example for the assembly of structurally diverse gem-difluorinated isoxazole derivatives in moderate to good yields with high atom- and step-economy and excellent functional group compatibility. More importantly, this strategy allows for the direct combination of the isoxazole motifs and gem-difluoroalkene unit, which is not easy to obtain through a general synthetic strategy.

The Girl in the Ape’s House: A folktale in a North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic variety of Urmiya, Russia

Abstract The article discusses dialectal and folkloristic features of an oral narrative in a North-Eastern Neo-Aramaic (NENA) variety recently recorded in the Southern Russian village of Urmiya. The dialect of the tale belongs to the NENA varieties originating in the easternmost regions of Turkey, which is corroborated by the tale’s speaker, who named its places of origin as Lewən, Albaq, and Gawar. These dialects remain largely undescribed and are highly endangered. The plot of the story is not known from hitherto published Neo-Aramaic field texts. Even though it resembles some of the folktales recorded in Iran and India, the story contains a unique combination of narrative motifs.