Radical Potential Research Articles

Research on the Potential of Persistent Free Radicals Triggering Open-Pit Coal Oxidation and Spontaneous Combustion

ABSTRACT This study attempts to reveal the triggering pathways of open-pit coal oxidation and spontaneous combustion from the perspective of persistent free radicals (PFRs). To this end, electron spin resonance technology, spin trap technology, and quantum chemical calculations were combined to study the occurrence characteristics of PFRs in coal and their photoreaction characteristics. Based on typical coal molecular fragments, the mechanism of PFRs triggering open-pit coal oxidation was further revealed. The results indicate that coal contains abundant PFRs, which produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) after exposure to sunlight, mainly including hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and superoxide anion radicals (O2 •−). Among them, the higher the initial content of PFRs or the longer the time of sunlight exposure, the more favorable it is for the production of •OH, the concentration of photoinduced •OH remains at the level of 1011 spin/mm3. Compared to O2 in the air, these photoinduced •OH have stronger oxidizing properties and can trigger free radical chain reactions of coal oxidation at room temperature (activation energies ＜ 40 kJ/mol), releasing reaction heat (average enthalpy change is −65.53 kJ/mol). As a common oxidant in coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) process, O2 does not possess these abilities (activation energies greater than 190 KJ/mol and enthalpy change greater than 160 KJ/mol). From the perspectives of thermodynamics and kinetics, PFRs in coal have the potential to indirectly trigger open-pit coal oxidation and spontaneous combustion. Therefore, the efficient quenching of PFRs or inhibiting the production of •OH will be beneficial for preventing the oxidation and spontaneous combustion of open-pit coal. This study provides a new perspective on revealing the mechanism of CSC and developing new inhibitors.

BRAINWASHING SCHEMES AMONG ADOLESCENTS WITH RADICAL POTENTIAL THROUGH STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS IN HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

This study aims to examine the psychological aspects of brainwashing schemes among adolescents with radical potential within student organizations at University X. Adolescence is a period of contradictions, where psychological stability is often fragile, and emotions can be difficult to control. This instability can lead to behaviors that undermine national unity, as evidenced by the growing tendency of youth toward religious radicalism. According to data from Babel Review (2019), based on a 2017 survey by the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), the Bangka Belitung Islands Province ranks fifth nationally in radicalism potential within educational settings. The rise of religious radicalism is often rooted in fragmented religious understanding, misinterpretation of religious texts, and political and economic deprivation, as noted by Azyumardi Azra. This study employs a qualitative methodology to explore the internal cadre training processes within radical organizations, particularly focusing on the brainwashing techniques used in recruiting new members. The findings reveal that these brainwashing practices are systematically and structurally implemented within such organizations, posing a serious threat to social harmony and national unity. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of the radicalization process among adolescents and provides insights into more effective preventive strategies through educational and psychological interventions.

Responding to the West’s environmental security paradox: organic national security and the contemporary state embrace of severe anthropogenic environmental degradation, contamination, and vanishing (SEDCOV)

ABSTRACT Western nations ultimately rely for all aspects of their security and survival upon the natural, non-human world, yet they are currently degrading and depleting it to an extreme and potentially terminal extent. Recognizing this security paradox, scholars and policymakers have, in recent years, begun to renew and expand upon the West’s decades-old uneasy acknowledgement of the national security relevance of global anthropogenic environmental decline. However, important gaps in this renewed discourse remain. Approaches rooted in environmental science and environmental studies tend to frame the problem in simple biophysical terms instead of using the political and power frames of reference of actual states. On the other main side of the renewed discourse, Western national security apparatuses themselves (and their adjacent expert communities) have adopted a problematic neo-traditional approach, focusing on predicting which new strategic conditions and threats global environmental decline will generate, and how a largely status quo, intact state should prepare to respond to these conditions. This side of the renewed discourse arguably grossly underestimates environmental decline’s truly radical potential to destabilise the domestic state as well as external powers, and also avoids the central problem that a key origin of this decline is mundane Western state behaviour. This paper aims to introduce two new elements into Western national security community approaches to global environmental decline. First, I introduce a new way of defining organic national security and suggest why this may be a useful concept in evaluating and pursuing national security in the 21st century. Second, I lay out how re-attaining a modicum of organic national security will require that the West first reappraise its own contemporary embrace and normalisation of severe anthropogenic environmental degradation, contamination, and vanishing (SEDCOV) across nearly every policy domain.

Similarities Across Difference: Consequences of Intersectional Sexual Stereotypes for Black and Latinx Women and Men in the United States

Complexity in the structure of power relations is a fruitful site of analysis that an intersectional framework brings to bear in articulating radical Black feminisms. The psychological literature utilizing an intersectional approach to study stereotyping has illuminated the importance of moving beyond a single-identity or single-axis lens. For instance, there is burgeoning literature showing that there are unique social categorizations and perceptions that vary by combinations of multiple group memberships (e.g., race and gender together). Further, an intersectional approach also draws attention to similarities and connections across different groups with unique relationships to systems of power and oppression. Focusing on these areas of similarities across difference provides insight into contexts that reinforce social inequality and are powerful avenues for building collective power through coalitions to address inequity. Therefore, the current investigation sought to address how Black and Latinx people in New York City discuss these sites of similarities and differences in power and privilege as they relate to their understanding of sexual stereotypes and their consequences in their everyday lives. We conducted 11 focus groups with 75 participants. Using thematic analysis, we identified four major themes highlighting shared and distinct stereotype-based experiences, including microaggressions and discrimination, double standards, interpersonal relationships, and emotional and behavioral responses. Beyond illuminating harmful consequences of sexual stereotypes, findings underscore the radical potential for achieving collective liberation by amplifying oppressed groups’ commonalities and differences simultaneously.

Unravelling the role of silver in addressing the nitrate radical induced photocatalytic oxidation of olefins to epoxides or carbonyl compounds

Nitrate radicals possess the unique capability to add to unsaturated bonds, leading to the formation of carbon-centred radicals evolving to organic compounds, which cannot be achieved through more common reactive oxygen centred species. Therefore, the possibility of generating nitrate radicals through heterogeneous photocatalysis endows this technology with unprecedented possibilities in the field of green organic synthesis. In particular, previous research showcased the promising potential of nitrate radicals in selectively conducting the photocatalytic oxidative cleavage of limonene to limononaldehyde. However, the role of silver ions, required for the reaction to occur, remained uncertain. This study aims at elucidating the role of silver in determining conversion of limonene and selectivity towards the corresponding oxidized compounds. In particular, it has been demonstrated that silver ions efficiently scavenge photogenerated electrons, thus making molecular oxygen available for the nitrate radical induced production of limononaldehyde, obtained with selectivity values up to 60%. In this study it is shown that, nitrate radical formation is as well boosted by silver nanoparticles, in the absence of silver ions. However, in this case, the consequent oxidation of limonene produced both 1,2-limonene epoxide and limononaldehyde. Notably, in the absence of silver ions, molecular oxygen is the main electron scavenger and its lower availability for the oxidative cleavage mechanism addresses the reaction towards the epoxide. Ab initio calculations, confirmed this hypothesis, showing that, while formation of limononaldehyde is thermodynamically and kinetically favoured, formation of the epoxide is kinetically limited. Therefore, its formation takes place when the formation of limononaldehyde is hindered by factors such as the reduced availability of molecular oxygen. The identification of key parameters governing the process offers possibilities to tune the selectivity of the reaction towards oxidative cleavage or epoxidation. Moreover, it allows to further optimize this reaction, which may become an appealing and versatile method of chemicals green synthesis.

The reactivity of organic radicals in the performic, peracetic, perpropionic acids-based advanced oxidation process: A case study of sulfamethoxazole

Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) based on peracetic acid (PAA) displayed great potential in removing emerging contaminants by generating HO• and organic radicals. Performic and perpropionic acids (PFA and PPA) also act as disinfectants, but their application potential has not been investigated yet. Here, we investigated the degradation mechanism and kinetics of sulfamethoxazole (SMX) by HO•, RC(O)O• species (including HC(O)O•, CH3C(O)O• and CH3CH2C(O)O•) and RC(O)OO• species (including HC(O)OO•, CH3C(O)OO• and CH3CH2C(O)OO•). The results show that the calculated reaction rate constants of SMX follow the order of HC(O)O• > CH3C(O)O• > CH3CH2C(O)O• > HO• > HC(O)OO• > CH3C(O)OO• > CH3CH2C(O)OO•. The reactivity towards SMX is strongly correlated with the redox potentials of reactive radicals. Hence, the RCOO• species play dominant roles in the purification of SMX in PFA/PAA/PPA-based AOPs. The degradation of SMX mainly proceeds via addition at the benzene ring, the hydrogen abstraction from the -NH2 group as well as the single electron transfer reaction. This study highlights the fundamental aspects of PFA, PAA, and PPA in the purification of sulfamethoxazole and enhances the role of organic radicals in the AOPs based on organic peracetic acids.

‘I Have a Folder in My Email Called Hate Mail’: Academic Public Engagement, Digital Hate and the Unequally Distributed Risks of Visibility

Public engagement through ‘traditional’ and social media is an increasingly important way for scholars to communicate research with wider audiences, with academics encouraged to maintain a public profile to disseminate work. This has important activist potential for radical knowledge production, but only if all voices can participate on equal, safe terms. Existing work on digital hate rarely accounts for the diversity of the academic community, and therefore we cannot adequately account for how certain voices are being excluded from public debate. Drawing on data from eighty-five survey responses and thirteen in-depth interviews with UK academics across disciplines, this article argues that the risks of visibility are unevenly distributed in ways that exacerbate harm to already marginalised groups. Our data challenges popular notions that visibility is its own reward. We demonstrate how visibility exposes academics to the kinds of online misogyny, racism, ableism, classism, xenophobia, homophobia, fatphobia and transphobia that characterise cultures of online hate. We reflect upon how academics in the ‘wrong’ body are denied intellectual authority in public debate through abuse targeting their intersectional identities and right to belong. Our data finds that digital hate not only affects academics’ careers, but also causes significant physical and mental harms that seep into academics’ personal lives. There cannot be meaningful, radical potential in public knowledge sharing if we cannot protect those most at risk of harm in the process.

On Uncomfortable Theatre and Cozy Revolution

This article examines the contemporary trend of participatory performance pieces that seek to arouse discomfort in spectators and contemplates the radical potential of pieces that instead solicit coziness. Through it, Lynch highlights and deconstructs common assumptions about affect and politics in participatory theatre. The author begins by delineating the terms of the discussion, defining participatory performance broadly: as works that directly or indirectly invite the physical and/or intellectual participation of their audiences. In doing so, she connects more conventional forms of participatory theatre (which ask for spectators’ physical involvement), with modes of performance like direct audience address that more subtly call for participation and are often left out of discussions of participation and performance. Noting that “cozy” modes of affect associated with warmth and care may more often be scrutinized for their political potential, Lynch argues that performances that employ discomfort as part of their political strategies, which might be similarly limited, are often not subject to the same scrutiny. Using Adam Lazarus’s bouffon piece Daughter as a grounding example, she then explores some of the limits of discomfort as an approach to political engagement. Lynch discusses how discomfort can be deployed in reductive ways that may in some cases undermine the political points these pieces strive to make by centring the status quo and disproportionately distributing discomfort across heterogeneous audiences. Finally, as a counterpoint to the way uncomfortable theatre is often conceptualized, she offers some brief thoughts on what revolutionary theatre that engages with coziness might look like or be.

Caring for/with Modernist Playthings: Fidgeting with Objects in Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie.

Modernist literature of the early to mid-twentieth century on both sides of the Atlantic is replete with examples of a particular kind of relationship with objects, namely, the touching, collecting, and grasping of small, often highly personal, and ostensibly quotidian objects. From John's glass collection in Woolf's "Solid Objects," Peter Walsh's stroking of his pocket-knife in Mrs. Dalloway, Miriam's frenzied absorption with flowers in Lawrence's Sons and Lovers, to Laura's fiddling of her glass menagerie in Tennessee Williams's eponymous play, fidgeting in modernist literature and drama reveals a particular tendency of not just characters' possession of things but also their possession by things. This phenomenon, I argue, allows characters to practice care as they withdraw from oppressive narratives of normalcy and (economic and biological) productivity, challenging their exclusionary and othering configurations. My paper looks at fidgeting in The Glass Menagerie as a part of this larger ideological and haptic orientation in modernist literature. The care invested by Laura in her intimate relationship with these "playthings" allows her to intercept not only male narrativizing forces and articulation of herself but also the rhetoric of productivity that circulates both within the play and in the larger economic backdrop of post-depression America. My paper attempts to foreground these objects of care in our readings of the play and modernist texts in general and, in so doing, highlight their importance as lenses of analysis that render visible alternate forms of agency and resistance. Lastly, it attempts to reframe fidgeting as an act of embodied refusal, evoking the radical potential of refusal within feminist and disability studies.

The (un)tenable flaneuse: an inquiry into the politics of women walking in war-entrenched Kabul

ABSTRACT The article will trace the interrelations between Kabul’s constructed spatiality and the implications of women’s walks through the landscape in two primary texts – Taran Khan’s Shadow City: A Woman Walks Kabul and Samira Makhmalbaf’s At Five in the Afternoon – to trace the unique discourse and modalities of women’s resistance that they generate against oppressive state-sponsored narratives of history. The first part of this article will attempt to delineate the changes in the spatio-geographical landscape of post-2001 Kabul, which I argue was a twofold project of both architectural and epistemic violence. The subsequent sections will interrogate how the walks of the female protagonist in the texts become an agential assertion of resistance against this project of cultural effacement, as they attempt to reinscribe the history of Kabul in manifold different ways which radically challenge state-sponsored authoritarian narratives. Finally, I will argue how both these women, through their urban presence and walks, inhabit as well as set into motion a ‘third space’, after Bhabha’s theorisation of the same, which repurposes existing spatio-ideological markers and multiplies them with new meaning and radical potentialities.

Coming of age within ‘implosion’

AbstractIn a recent article, Maria Eriksson Baaz and Swati Parashar1 trace the continued salience of Eurocentrism in critical International Relations (IR), demonstrating how the ‘master’s outlook’ continues to stifle the study of global politics; they ultimately encourage an unsettling and even implosion of the discipline. Starting from this proposed ‘implosion’ of critical IR, this article reflects on our hopes, as two current PhD candidates and one early career researcher in global politics, for teaching and learning in this future world. We begin by reflecting on our own complicity in reproducing the Western-centrism of the discipline and consider how this discomfort can be used productively. The article then considers the radical potential of the classroom and the necessity of empathetic, collaborative inquiry to the future of the discipline of global politics. We advocate for an IR which is imaginative, relational, messy, and vulnerable – and are hopeful about how this may animate a meaningful and sustainable implosion. Embracing our discomfort and the possibility of failure, we hope to contribute to the ongoing ‘unsettling’ of academia from the standpoint of incipient feminist scholars and hopeful early-career teachers.

New regulations on platform work: Fragmented responses to issues of work fragmentation

There has been considerable discussion regarding the regulation of platform-mediated forms of work, yet less attention has been paid to the actual impact of regulations already enacted. In this brief analysis, I examine the cases of Spain and Chile, policy benchmarks in their respective regions. While Spain has introduced a presumption of employment, Chile’s legislation leaves this point open but implicitly encourages classifying workers as self-employed. Nevertheless, both countries have encountered significant complications in implementing these laws, stemming either from the narrow scope of the legislation or from corporate strategies aimed at circumventing it, leading to ever more fragmented and prolonged regulatory battles. Looking ahead, trade unions and workers’ organisations should engage more strategically in the regulatory conflict, considering the enforcement problems emerging and, more importantly, preventing regulation from concealing the radical potential of these movements against precarious work more generally.

Phytochemical Analysis, Biological Activities, and Molecular Docking Studies of Root Extracts from Paeonia Species in Serbia.

Without being aware of their chemical composition, many cultures have used herbaceous peony roots for medicinal purposes. Modern phytopreparations intended for use in human therapy require specific knowledge about the chemistry of peony roots and their biological activities. In this study, ethanol-water extracts were prepared by maceration and microwave- and ultrasound-assisted extractions (MAE and UAE, respectively) in order to obtain bioactive molecules from the roots of Paeonia tenuifolia L., Paeonia peregrina Mill., and Paeonia officinalis L. wild growing in Serbia. Chemical characterization; polyphenol and flavonoid content; antioxidant, multianti-enzymatic, and antibacterial activities of extracts; and in vitro gastrointestinal digestion (GID) of hot water extracts were performed. The strongest anti-cholinesterase activity was observed in PT extracts. The highest anti-ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) radical potential was observed in PP extracts, whereas against DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radicals), the best results were achieved with PO extracts. Regarding antibacterial activity, extracts were strongly potent against Bacillus cereus. A molecular docking simulation was conducted to gather insights into the binding affinity and interactions of polyphenols and other Paeonia-specific molecules in the active sites of tested enzymes. In vitro GID of Paeonia teas showed a different recovery and behavior of the individual bioactives, with an increased recovery of methyl gallate and digallate and a decreased recovery of paeoniflorin and its derivatives. PT (Gulenovci) and PP (Pirot) extracts obtained by UAE and M were more efficient in the majority of the bioactivity assays. This study represents an initial step toward the possible application of Paeonia root extracts in pharmacy, medicine, and food technologies.

Unravelling the Role of Free Radicals in Photocatalysis.

Free radicals are increasingly recognized as active intermediate reactive species that can participate in various redox processes, significantly influencing the mechanistic pathways of reactions. Numerous researchers have investigated the generation of one or more distinct photogenerated radicals, proposing various hypotheses to explain the reaction mechanisms. Notably, recent research has demonstrated the emergence of photogenerated radicals in innovative processes, including organic chemical reactions and the photocatalytic dissolution of precious metals. To harness the potential of these free radicals more effectively, it is imperative to consolidate and analyze the processes and action modes of these photogenerated radicals. This conceptual paper delves into the latest advancements in understanding the mechanics of photogenerated radicals.

‘Critical Self-Care’: Reimagining Possibilities of Self-Care as Everyday Resistance in the Context of the Neoliberal University

With the increasing neoliberalization of universities in the United States, current debates question the radical potential of self-care in higher education. Engaging with the work of Audre Lorde and James C. Scott, I argue how discounting self-care as insignificant or co-opted masks the possibilities for everyday forms of resistance through self-care. Broadening beyond a focus on simplistic binaries—individual versus collective, co-opted versus radical—this article offers a different orientation toward self-care—one that I call critical self-care—which recognizes that we can be critical of co-optation by the university, while also understanding self-care as critical to our existence within the university. I develop this conceptualization of self-care in the context of the neoliberal university, by identifying three facets of critical self-care—disruption of the hegemonic academic culture of overwork, building alternative ways of existing within the university, and allowing for the self-care of others—each of which reveals how self-care practices hold the potential for resistance and change to gendered and racialized norms of the institution, even in quiet or informal ways.

The measurement of one‐electron redox potentials of free radicals

AbstractThe paper is devoted to the measurements of one‐electron redox potentials of transient free radicals Eo. These values can be measured in the reversible redox reactions of radicals under investigation with a reference pair, which Eo is known. Several Eo of transient radicals are presented. The convenient and important objects for Eo measurement are quinone/semiquinone radical‐anions. A general problem of measurement of thermodynamic properties of short‐lived transients is discussed.

Queer/Green collaboration as a radical response to climate crises: foregrounding the green stripe

This article has two aims. Firstly, to highlight a general marginalisation of queer and trans voices within the environmental/ecological movement. Secondly, to identify and explore some contemporary efforts to overcome these tensions and forge closer alliances between queer and green politics. Drawing on queer and trans ecology literatures, we highlight the radical potential that closer synergy between the progressive goals and activities of environmentalist and LGBTQIA2+ politics can bring about. Examining the online content of a number of activist organisations and platforms, we highlight some of the ways in which the queering of green politics and the greening of queer politics are being given practical contemporary expression. In doing so, we highlight the space that this type of politics can create for a reimagining of alternative ecological futures and a more progressive political economy based around a transformation of relationships both within human populations and between humans and other-than-human species and ecologies.

Unconditional basic income and a degrowth transition: Adding empirical rigour to radical visions

Unconditional basic income (UBI) is one of the most discussed policy options for a degrowth transition. Advocates highlight UBI’s theoretical potential to reduce unnecessary material consumption, alleviate poverty and redistribute social wealth, achieve wellbeing within ecological limits, shift activity from wage-labour to meaningful work, and facilitate increased social participation. However, UBI’s radical potential remains under-examined within the empirical research, which focuses more on the policy’s potential to increase the supply of wage-labour and stimulate economic growth. This paper aims to push back against this limiting trend. It begins by outlining some of the characteristics of more sustainable and just societies, based on post-growth perspectives, and outlines the arguments put forward to support UBI’s compatibility with a degrowth transition. It then demonstrates that, despite support from UBI and many post-growth scholars, such arguments are not mainstreamed in the contemporary empirical UBI research. The paper argues that this increases the risk of UBI being captured by capitalist interests. To avoid this outcome, the paper proposes an alternative research agenda to help assess and advance UBI’s radical potential in line with post-growth visions.

Essential oils of Thymus munbyanus subsp. coloratus: chemical variability and evaluation of biological activities

The chemical compositions of Thymus munbyanus subsp. coloratus essential oils, an endemic plant in north Africa, were investigated using gas chromatography with flame ionization detection and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The antioxidant activity of the studied essential oils was evaluated through 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,20-azinobis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) free-radical scavenging assays. Disc diffusion method and minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) determination were applied to investigate the antimicrobial activity of Thymus munbyanus subsp. coloratus essential oil against ten bacterial and fungus strains. Fifty-one compounds were identified accounting for 90.3-95.9% of the total amount. Camphor (04.09-25.92%) was the major component in the essential oils obtained from five localities, followed by myrcene (00.66-17.11%) in four stations, then borneol (07.37-38.96%) in the essential oil obtained from three samples. The chemical variability of Thymus munbyanus subsp. coloratus essential oils was studied using statistical analysis, in which we found a direct relationship between geo climatic conditions and their chemical compositions. Thymus munbyanus subsp. coloratus essential oils exhibited a good radical-scavenging activity with IC50 values up to 0.250 ± 0.51 and 0.596 ± 0.15 (mg/mL) in reductive potential of ABTS and DPPH free radicals, respectively, and a significant antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria and fungal species with MIC up to 0.66 ± 0.28 (mg/mL) against Aspergillus flavus.

Harnessing the Potential of Electron Donor-Acceptor Complexes and N-Centered Radicals: Expanding the Frontiers of Isoquinoline Derivative Synthesis.

Research on synthesizing nitrogen-containing heterocyclic scaffolds is important because these structures are commonly found in Nature, such as in the alkaloids' family. In our study, we propose a new method to synthesize the isoquinoline core using an electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex strategy. Our mechanistic investigations have confirmed that our synthesis process operates through an EDA mechanism, which is not extensively discussed in the literature, particularly regarding its applications on alkynyl substrates. This EDA strategy has proven to be a simple and straightforward way to produce isoquinoline scaffolds and their derivatives without the need for metal catalysts.