Sharp Mind Research Articles

Exploring the Global Health Legacy of Dr. Vulimiri Ramalingaswami: A Review of His Life and Contributions.

Dr. Vulimiri Ramalingaswami was an Indian biomedical scientist who rose to fame in the 20th century. He became well-known during his lifetime. Possessing a sharp mind, well-developed communication skills, a love of research and teaching, and a strong commitment to public welfare, he set an unwavering path to success in any field he decided to pursue. He broke new ground in administration, public service, research, and medical education. He was endowed with an enigmatic charm that won the respect of everyone he encountered. He made his students and coworkers leaders by setting a good example. As a result, he excelled in representing Indian biomedical research abroad. He was well known for his ability to think clearly, to present ideas and thoughts either orally or in writing with eloquence, and to do so in a straightforward manner.

Assessing organizational readiness for the Clean Cuts and Sharp Minds Collective: a barbershop health promotion network

BackgroundBlack men have among the lowest life expectancy in the United States. Alarmingly, these men are underrepresented in health promotion efforts. There are well-documented barriers to recruiting and retaining Black men in health promotion efforts, such as exclusionary research practices – many researchers may be hesitant to reach Black men in culturally unique spaces, such as barbershops. Despite these practices, qualitative research among Black men unanimously find that Black men are interested in health promotion efforts. The Clean Cuts and Sharp Minds Collective (CCSMC) was designed to bridge this gap. The objectives of the CCSMC are to train barbers to be lay advocates for their clients, train barbers to be research partners, and serve as a nexus between barbers interested in health promotion at their shops and researchers interested in implementing such efforts. The present study sought to assess the organizational readiness of barbershops in South Carolina (SC) to participate in the CCSMC.MethodsBarbers in SC were invited to complete a modified version of the Readiness Thinking Tool to assess organizational readiness to participate in the CCSMC.ResultsThirty-six (36; mean age = 41.12; 94.4% identified as Black; 91.7% identified as male) barbers completed the organizational readiness assessment. Results indicated that there was a high level of motivation, innovation-specific capacity, and general capacity within barbershops to participate in the CCSMC. Additionally, many barbers indicated that there would be widespread support to join the CCSMC.ConclusionsThe results from the present study highlight exciting opportunities and future directions for barbershop-academic partnerships. Such partnerships have the potential to promote health equity among, and in partnership with, Black men.

The Impact of Academic Self-efficacy, E-learning Adoption and Academic Motivation on Self-rated Academic Performance of University Students

The primary objective of this research was to examine the perception of e-learning among university students, in relation to their skills, learning behaviors, and their levels of academic self-efficacy and motivation under an e-learning environment, and its impact on their academic performance. A sample of 200 undergraduate students from a university of education participated in the study. Utilizing a regression model, it was found that students are more at ease and inclined to learn in an e-learning environment, which improves their comprehension of e-learning, self-efficacy, and motivation for academic performance. The results are significant as they demonstrate the impact of students' academic motivations, self-efficacy and their understanding of e-learning towards academic performance. The study suggests that for students to perform academically in an e-learning environment, they must possess strong and sharp minds and be able to acquire digital skills. The outcomes of this research can be used to guide the counseling of students, instructors, and directors to enhance the effective implementation of e-learning.

ПЕДАГОГІЧНІ ПОГЛЯДИ ГРИГОРІЯ СКОВОРОДИ КРІЗЬ ПРИЗМУ НОВОЇ УКРАЇНСЬКОЇ ШКОЛИ

Personality of Hryhorii Savych Skovoroda exists outside of time and space, and constantly surprises us with a sharp mind, far-sightedness and relevance of ideas. We can make such a conclusion according not on his literary heritage only, but also on the pedagogical beliefs and admonitions. Analyzing philosopher’s pedagogical ideas, we can see clear parallels with today’s tendencies in the development of education, in particular, the problems solved by the New Ukrainian School. The presented article highlights some of the main H. S. Skovoroda’s pedagogical views, which are reflected in the system of the New Ukrainian School.

TRANSFORMATION OF THE FEMALE DETECTIVE IMAGE IN THE19thAND 20thCENTURIES ENGLISH FEMALE DETECTIVE PROSE

The article deals with the peculiarities of the image of the female detective in the English female detective prose of the 19thand 20thcenturies. We have traced the changes in theportrayal of the female detective in English literature and singled out the factors which influenced them. First of all, every writer’s experience and life conditions make an impact on the construction of their images. It is obvious that S.Hopley couldn’t but work secretly as her creator C.Crowe wrote detective using the other name. It was the trend of the nineteenth century. In the first part of the twentieth century, women started to obtain different professions alongside men. A.Christie and D.Sayers had an opportunity to be not only writers but even theoreticians of the genre. That is why Miss Marple and H.Vane were able to show their achievements together with men. And the second part of the twentieth century presented women with total freedom. So, we can read about Sharon McCone who is a successful private detective. The second important fact is the situation in the society which for sure is reflected in the realistic literary works and can be easily noticed in the behaviour of the characters. And the last efficient thing is the plot of the story because it dictates the actions which sometimes do not depend on the personality.The article analyzes the characteristic features of the female detectives belonging to three stages of detective development: detective classics(until the early twentieth century), detective modernism(1910–the 1970s), and detective postmodernism(after the1970s).The female detective of detective classics is clever and kind but lacks self-confidence and support. Detectivemodernism shows us an intelligent, smart, very brave, and attentive detective. The woman detective of the postmodern period is smart, courageous, emotional, and hard-working. Thus, we have suggested the canonic image of the female detective. She has a sharp mind, a very high level of knowledge, a sense of responsibility, a strong wish to work, and a little time for her personal life. This woman is pretty, careful, witty, and ready to investigate at any time

Technology Focus: EOR Modeling (January 2022)

No one will be surprised to learn of the reduction in the produced literature on enhanced oil recovery (EOR) this past year measured in terms of papers produced through various SPE forums. The constraints created by the COVID-19 pandemic have been unprecedented. More encouraging and noteworthy is the fact that, even in such hard times, the wheels of knowledge have kept turning. Statistics are important in knowing where the sharp minds of SPE members are investing their energies. Typically, this is also in proportion to what those members need. Hence, it is noteworthy that more than a fifth of the papers were about CO2-based EOR, indicating not only renewed interest but also the motivation for carbon capture, use, and storage. You will find CO2-based EOR represented in the recommended-reading papers by a paper that describes use of simple techniques to predict fieldwide behavior using the Pulser method. What’s more, old is new again. In an enhanced shale gas recovery technique, as summarized in this issue, you will recognize repurposing of a much-discussed coalbed-methane method from a couple of decades ago. CO2-EOR literature is closely followed by continued momentum in the area of data science (DS) and machine learning but with a perceptible degree of maturity in the types of application. As opposed to the “everything goes in the Wild West” approach of a couple of years ago, more and more researchers are realizing that a practical application of DS must respect the underlying fundamentals. No wonder, then, that we are seeing a gradual return of physics, though now strengthened with the power of DS. A good examples of this is found in a paper summarized here that presents data-driven approaches for waterfloods. The other two inclusions presented in this feature combine learnings from other areas to extend and strengthen the frontiers of EOR modeling—namely, a coupled geomechanical and wellbore model, and an elegant manner of simulating phase appearance/disappearance in thermal simulations in the recommended-reading papers. I hope this brief primer will not only bring you up to date with the trends in the EOR literature but also equip you with a good sense of emerging tools and their applications. Recommended additional reading at OnePetro: www.onepetro.org. SPE 200390 - Pulser Model: Updated Framework and Lessons Learned From Applications in Forecasting CO2 Flood Performance by Deepanshu Kumar, Occidental Petroleum, et al. SPE 203912 - Development of a Thermal Stability Method for Phase Appearance and Disappearance Handling in Thermal Compositional Simulators by Mohammad Reza Heidari, Schlumberger, et al.

Vladimir Alexi‐Meskishvili (1941–2021)

Vladimir Alexi‐Meskishvili (1941–2021)

William Irving Taylor

William Irving Taylor, 98, died Aug. 3 in St. Louis, Missouri. “As one of the first chemistry PhDs in New Zealand, Bill pursued his passion for structure determination with Prelog and Todd. He then became a professor of chemistry at the University of New Brunswick before becoming CIBA’s Director of Biochemistry Research. He determined the structure of ibogaine among many natural products and founded the Gordon Conference on Heterocyclic Compounds before joining IFF. He authored 138 papers and a book on indole alkaloids. An avid reader with a sharp mind to the end, he was most happy discussing chemistry, biology, and physics, instilling a love of science and nature in his children and grandchildren.”—John-Stephen, son, and Katherine I. Taylor, granddaughter Most recent title: vice president of research and development, International Flavors and Fragrances Education: BS, chemistry, University of New Zealand, 1944; PhD, chemistry, University of New Zealand, 1948; DSc, University

Smiting Statist Philosophical Philistinism: a Reply to the T. Brooks Review of Escape from Leviathan

It is possible to pose many difficult and fascinating problems and criticisms for the various theses and arguments in Escape from Leviathan (EFL). This occurred while writing it, and various sharp minds did it on reading drafts or the final product. However, some reviews misunderstand, or ignore, what is written and reassert conventional views. But it is best to answer all published criticisms if only to show how they fail, lest anyone thinks they are sound, and even poor criticisms can sometimes elicit elucidation. Thus, we now turn to the review.

Gone

Gone Linda Wastila (bio) The late-May morning I drove east from Chapel Hill, I didn't pay much mind to the tracts of yellowed corn and soy or the tobacco-curing sheds standing derelict. As I headed home, Ma beside me, my junior year and final exams behind me, all that filled my head was catching up on sleep and getting ready for my summer internship at the National Institutes of Health. [End Page 18] Click for larger view View full resolution Photo by Renee Grayson [End Page 19] "Fred Jarvis had a heart attack over Easter," Ma said. "Didn't get the seed in. Probably a good thing, what with this drought." "I hope you made him pay the lease," I said. "Don't be cold, Clayton. Poor man's bedridden." "Jesus, Ma. He has kids to help. We can't afford to take on his twohundred-acre problems." She patted my thigh. "Don't worry. I leased ten acres to a girl from up north. She's farming daylilies." The space behind my eyes pinched. "Flowers? Now there's a real moneymaker." Ma got quiet and scribbled in her sketchpad. I mumbled an apology. She coughed low in her throat, polite, like she was holding back. The AC rattled, working hard. The road curled through Kingsboro, past the Barbeque Lodge and the Purina factory. When we passed the hog-rendering plant, the air took on a sulfuric edge. At the east end of town, I steered right at what had once been the far corner of family land, now a used-car dealership. The town peeled away in the side-view mirror, replaced by red clay. Ma leaned against the window, eyes closed, sketchbook fallen at her feet. Her cheekbones jutted sharp against her skin. The zygomatics, I remembered, from my anatomy final. Yesterday, when we'd met in the cool dim of the art museum, I'd found her sitting on the leather bench, gazing at sepia-colored paintings of tobacco leaves and buds, her botanical creations that she'd donated to the collection. The same spot where I sat when I needed to destress from school. When she stood up and I pulled her into my hug, she felt as insubstantial as a dragonfly wing. The car rolled into the next intersection. An ancient oak anchored the corner. The Kissing Tree, we'd called it in high school, for the mistletoe dripping from its uppermost branches. Fifty feet back, under the oak's shade, stood one of the original slave shacks, modernized with electricity and running water. I'd helped Daddy install the porcelain on my tenth birthday. The year before he passed. Ma stirred. "That's the lily farm," she said. "The owner lives in the cabin." "I hope you're charging rent." "She's hiring," Ma said. "Needs someone with a strong back and a sharp mind." [End Page 20] "Plenty of strong backs around here," I said. "The sharp minds, though, that's a problem." "Don't be a snob—I raised you better than that. There's more to smarts than book learning." Her words stung. Money was tight. My scholarship helped, and if I shaved off a semester and got early admission to med school, all the better. The NIH internship paid a small stipend, but I'd use most of it for room and board. State school was fine, but I aimed higher—Duke, Yale, maybe Harvard. "Sorry, Mama," I said. "I'm tired from finals." "You have all summer to rest up." "I'm leaving for my internship in two weeks," I reminded her. "I'll be back Labor Day." To pack my belongings, share a few meals, and head back to school. Back to the real world. Ma reached over and stroked the back of my neck. "Well, get a haircut before you go," she said, soft-like, then stared back out the window. ________ Too tired to sleep, I wandered the three-bedroom ranch that had never felt like home, flipping through her sketchbooks, the piles of overdue bills, turning the television on, then off. From her bedroom in the back, Ma hacked and wheezed. She...

Рождённый, чтобы спорить и совершать открытия: памяти коллеги и дорогого друга А. А. Бурыкина

This paper was written in commemoration of an outstanding Russian linguist, the member of Editorial Board of the journal «Theoretical and Applied Linguistics» Alexis A. Burykin who passed away too early. More than 30 times he prepared peer reviews for the Journal, and 9 times published with the Journal after being peerreviewed. Linguistic issues that he studied were multiple and complex: he created the largest in Russia Electronic Lexicographer Library, went deep into controversial issues of phonetics and phonology, writing systems, poetry and translation, phraseology, word-building and reconstruction. His sharp mind, encyclopedic knowledge, pure talent and restlessness made him rush to face challenges and make discoveries. With his death, we suffered a terrible loss, and we lost not just a colleague but a dear friend who we would always miss.

Professor Arvind Manilal Shah: Researcher, Teacher and Institution Builder

The shock of Professor A. M. Shah’s (AMS) demise is fresh in our minds as is his memory as an interactive, alert, productive and disciplined scholar at the ripe age of 89. This article tries to summarise his enormous contribution to the discipline of sociology in India. First, it takes up his path-breaking, analytically sharp mind towards conceptual clarity to match with empirical data that questioned many prevailing assumptions. He put forth the household dimension as the processual dimension of family in India, caste division as a feature of many urban castes, besides hierarchy, which alone was assumed to characterise caste in India. Next, it looks at his brand of work with historical and contemporary empirical perspective in the areas of kinship, marriage, lineage, old age and family policy, religion and sects through his research publications. Next, it describes AMS as a simple and upright person and a dedicated teacher who enjoyed teaching and focused on clarity and understanding without fashionable jargon. His strict but compassionate and no-nonsense approach towards students contributed also to the high status of sociology in the Delhi University. This is followed by his selfless commitment to academic administration in the Delhi University and wider institution-building acumen that benefitted Indian Sociological Society among others.

Critical Appraisal: Analysis of a Prospective Comparative Study Published in IJS

Critical appraisal of a published paper is a very important tool every surgeon (and other medical specialists) has to learn. It requires knowledge of various aspects of research methodologies, clinical knowledge, and experience. One has to have a sharp and incisive mind to read carefully and analyze critically. Different types of studies require different types of tools to analyze. Here, a prospective comparative study which was published in a recent issue of the Indian Journal of Surgery (IJS) is chosen for critical appraisal.

Acknowledgments

The ideas in this book began as a few notes on the back of a napkin, scribbled together with Alison Phipps, whom I must thank first for our rich and rewarding years of friendship, for her collegiality and support, for her sharp mind, brilliant ideas, and deep humanity, for helping to draw the occasional bright idea out of me, for the inspiration and motivation to think beyond the narrow confines of the language classroom in order to help recognize the potential of language teaching and learning, for showing me that understanding the complexities of language and learning is useless unless it serves the larger purpose of fostering human capabilities, creativity, and compassion. I also want to offer Heidi Byrnes tausend Dank, for encouraging the writing of this monograph beyond the confines of an academic article. Her feedback and guidance early in the project were essential for seeing the big picture of what the book should be about. Thank you to Wander Lowie for his encouragement and support throughout the writing process, and his patience with my delays and many questions. I am also very grateful to David Block and Rick Kern for their rich and detailed feedback and instructions for revising the first draft; I did my best to address all of their concerns and wishes. Thanks, too, to Kate Miller for her skillful editing of the manuscript, and to Shalini Chawla for her patience and attention to detail in the production phase. I am inexpressibly grateful to Bridget Swanson for her keen and brutally honest reading and editing of drafts of this monograph, for what I call her bird's-eye perspective of issues of language teaching, and for her unwavering encouragement throughout! I want to thank Monika Böhme for the many insightful and inspiring conversations we had about language teaching and language learners, which were helpful in focusing many of the discussions in these chapters, as well as keeping them grounded in what teachers actually do, or can do, with their students. Likewise, the many discussions I had on the topics in these chapters were invaluable, and so I am very grateful to Claire Kramsch, Christina Frei, Hiram Maxim, Cori Crane, Chantelle Warner, Steve Thorne, David Gramling, Susanne Rott, Barbara Schmenk, Thor Sawin, Julio Torres, Lisa Parkes, Jerry Won Lee, Bettina Matthias, Carl Blyth, Dave Malinowski, Heather Willis Allen, Friederike Tebben, Per Urlaub, Rosemarie Tracy, Stephan Breidbach, Tessa Wegener, and Sébastien Dubreil. I am forever grateful to all of the graduate students I have had the pleasure to work with over many years, who provided both inspiration and insights through our many interactions about language teaching and my many visits to their classes. Thanks to Eric Blankenship, Kristin Brehm, Patrick Carlson, Matt Cooper, Natalie Eppelsheimer, Jonathan Fine, Friederike Kaufel, Rose Jones, Erin Kelly, Franz Kuzay, David Lamme, Alex Lotz, Susan Morse, Simona Moti, Steven Nave, Yao Pei, Mohammed Rafi, Jaime Roots, Rebecca Schuman, Henrik Sponsel, Jacob Schaubs, Xuxu Song, Magda Tarnawska Senel, Jessica Wood, and Jason Wilby. Also, without the amazing friendship, hospitality, and support of Gail Hart and Dennis Perchak, I am certain I would not have had the peace and quiet I needed at crucial stages of the work. Finally, I want to thank Ursula Levine for the support and encouragement through the years I worked on this book. While writing is a solitary activity, her belief in me was crucial. Just as much, I am grateful to my children, Hanna, Annika, and Sam, especially for their understanding for the many days I was gone in order to research and write. To all of those who gave feedback and comments on parts or all of the book, the usual disclaimer applies: Any shortcomings of the work are entirely on me. Glenn Levine Irvine, California, October 26, 2019

De/Constructing Friedrich Hölderlin: The Year in Germany

De/Constructing Friedrich HölderlinThe Year in Germany Tobias Heinrich (bio) Der große Unbekannte, the big unknown in German literature, is how Rüdiger Safranski introduces Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843) in his new book on the contemporary of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the protégé of Friedrich Schiller, and the schoolmate of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. On the occasion of Hölderlin's 250th birthday, the German publishing house Hanser has put out two books on the poet's life and his legacy that couldn't be more different from each other. Yet at the same time, they both revolve around the Geheimnis, the mystery, that surrounds Hölderlin's literary work as well as his tragic fate. While Safranski's interest in that respect is mainly biographical and thus he discusses the poet's decline into madness, Karl-Heinz Ott traces the dazzling afterlife of Hölderlin's enigmatic oeuvre. The title of Ott's book, Hölderlins Geister, is deliberately ambiguous, as Geist can translate to either spirit, mind, or phantom. The plural form of the noun indicates that it is not just one Hölderlin that we encounter in Ott's extensive essay, but several, ranging from the herald of Greek mythology to the Jacobin revolutionary or the icon of German nationalism. In accordance, the book's five chapters are entitled Tübinger Visionen, visions of Tübingen, Der bräunliche Hölderlin, the brownish Hölderlin, alluding to the brown uniforms of the Nazi's paramilitary troops, Die Wahnsinnsmaske, the mask of madness, Griechisches Licht, Greek light, and Forever Young (in English). Hölderlin thus appears as the often only vaguely discernible center of a wider circle of spiritually akin figures like Friedrich Nietzsche, Stefan George, and most notably Martin Heidegger. From Ott's perspective, this panorama of German philosophical thought is predominantly, if not exclusively, male, which comes as a surprise, taking into account that Bettine von Arnim, one of German Romanticism's sharpest minds and arguably its most prominent female voice, was largely responsible for the fact that Hölderlin's poetic work would not be forgotten. While Ott's critical acknowledgment spreads out and around Hölderlin and his legacy, Safranski opts for a more conventional narrative. This is in accordance [End Page 76] with his books on E. T. A. Hoffmann, Martin Heidegger, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Friedrich Schiller, which have all become bestsellers and turned the author into one of Germany's most distinguished living biographers. In the first chapters, one learns about Hölderlin's childhood in Würtemmberg, in the southeast of Germany. As he lost both his biological father and stepfather quite early on, his mother became the dominant figure in his family, and she remained a central, yet problematic character until the end of the poet's life. Part of the reason is that she administrated her son's considerable inheritance, which she refused to pay out to him until he took up a secure profession, ideally the respected post of a country parson, and found a family of his own. To her great dissatisfaction, Hölderlin had very different ideas for his life. After he graduated in 1793 with a degree in theology, he worked as a private tutor, among others for the son of Charlotte von Kalb, a close friend of Friedrich Schiller's. Through this connection, he was able to publish parts of his epistolary novel Hyperion in Schiller's periodical Die neue Thalia. At this time, Hölderlin also frequented the lectures of Johann Gottlieb Fichte at the University of Jena. Building on the ground-breaking realignment of philosophy by Immanuel Kant, Fichte, through his exploration of the self and human consciousness, became one of the founding fathers of German Idealism. The other two names usually associated with this movement, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, had studied with Hölderlin in Tübingen, where they had become a tight-knit group of friends, united in their adoration of Greek antiquity and their fascination with the political upheavals in nearby France. While both Schelling and Hegel would eventually embark on successful academic careers, Hölderlin...

In memoriam: Vuyani Shadrack Vellem† (25 December 1968 – 4 December 2019)

Warm heart; sharp mind; frail body - black prophet treading where others do not dare …. For almost a decade, Prof. Vuyani Vellem sub-edited a special collection on black liberation theology. This year the focus was on James Hal Cone (05 August 1938–28 April 2018), who was an American theologian, best known for his advocacy of black theology and black liberation theology. However, this collection was the last which Prof. Vellem could supervise. Vuyani Shadrack Vellem passed away on 04 December 2019. His body was frail for a long time, as a result of cancer. However, his courage did not allow him to give up. Vuyani and his family fought until the end.

Francisco Umbral: Las negritas de la libertad

El nombre hace al hombre. Recogiendo el tópico y desafiando las normas tipográficas Francisco Umbral (FU) con sus negritas desgranó día a día quién fue quién en España y allende sus fronteras desde su crónica diaria iniciada en El País a mediados de los años 70. Las negritas de Umbral, que luego crearon escuela, despertaron admiración y envidia entre los políticos, los famosos y los famosillos de la jet-set o del mundo del espectáculo que se desvivieron por figurar entre “las letras de oro” de sus columnas; Una columna que no fue sino el telón de fondo del Gran Teatro del Mundo, por cuyo escenario resplandecieron sus negritas o el fulgor de la letra impresa, y que dio vida a la Comedia humana balzaciana/umbraliana. Por ella pasó, fugaz, la vida política, cultural y social, con las variaciones laudativas o despectivas de los cinco presidentes democráticos que siguió paso a paso FU hasta su muerte en 2007: Adolfo Suárez, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Felipe González, José María Aznar y José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. FU nos imparte una clase magistral de Historia de España con un estilo insuperado hasta la fecha en la que destacan tanto el ojo avizor del periodista como la reflexión política.

Sentiments of a British-American Woman: Esther DeBerdt Reed and the American Revolution, by Owen S. Ireland

Esther DeBerdt Reed is best known for her political activism on behalf of the American patriots, in which she was engaged when she died suddenly just before her thirty-fourth birthday. Almost certainly the author of The Sentiments of an American Woman, an influential call to women’s patriotic action, Esther Reed was almost as well known in 1780 as her friend Martha Washington. In this meticulously researched biography, Owen S. Ireland traces how Reed evolved from a proud Londoner to an ardent American. In so doing, he offers fine-grained insight into how one intelligent elite woman negotiated the processes of courtship, family financial and business decisions, and the challenges and rewards of child-rearing amid the upheavals of the imperial crisis. Reed applied her sharp and subtle political mind to shaping her circumstances to pursue the life she envisioned for herself. Her skills and expectations were shaped by her formative years...

(Invited) Challenges and Opportunities in Developing Anode Catalysts for Direct Ethanol and Ammonia Fuel Cells

Direct liquid fuel cells (DLFC) are attractive alternatives of batteries and hydrogen fuel cells for applications where high energy density and easy to refill are critical. For example, in powering a 200W-1kWh drone, a DLFC system can weigh only 1/10 of a battery and refill is simpler than hydrogen and faster than battery recharging. Among liquid fuels, ethanol stands out for its high energy density and ammonia is carbon free. A drawback is the lack of anode catalysts for complete oxidation of ethanol and ammonia at low potentials with sufficient activity per mass of platinum group metals (PGM). Dr. Shimshon Gottesfeld is currently leading an ARPA-E project on “Direct ammonia hydroxide exchange membrane fuel cells”, and I am in the team to develop high performance catalysts for ammonia oxidation reaction (AOR) with low PGM contents. While I learned from reading his papers on a wide range of topics and talking with him at conferences in many years, working under his leadership made me further appreciate his contribution in advancing fuel cell technologies. Inspired by his sharp and open mind in choosing and solving technical issues and in pursuing deep fundamental understandings, I’d like to discuss the challenges in developing anode catalysts for ethanol and ammonia oxidation and to illustrate promising directions and opportunities based on new insights in reaction mechanisms and material/structure/performance correlations. The performances of ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) and AOR in alkaline media on the best catalysts that we recently developed will be presented and compared. The results show that facile EOR is possible at ambient temperature when a direct 12-electron EOR pathway is activated. Analyses of in situ infrared reflection absorption spectra indicate that the C-C bond splits via ethanol dissociation and full oxidation completes without CO as poisoning intermediate. However, carbonate formation in alkaline media lowers pH and reduces EOR activity. Carbon-free ammonia circumvents this issue, but AOR activity needs enhancement from elevated temperature due to the high activation barrier for N-N bond formation. Most studies so far focused on Pt-based catalysts and the polarization curves were measured at ambient temperature. Our study of temperature-dependent AOR kinetics found that activity enhancement from 25 to 60 oC is in the order of Ir (5.5) > IrPt (4.2) > Pt (2.0).1 For both EOR and AOR, Ir is effective in promoting dehydrogenation, and thus, in lowering the onset potentials. Thus, Ir-based catalysts are more promising than Pt-based catalysts for AOR. I’ll also show that the C-C bond cleavage in EOR and the N-N bond formation in AOR prefer distinctly different atomic structures. The new insights point out opportunities and directions for future studies. Acknowledgements The author thanks Zhixiu Liang, Liang Song, Jingyi Chen, Shiqing Deng, and Eli Stavitski for their collaborations. The work was funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Energy, under Award Number DE-AR0000805 and by the Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division, US Department of Energy under contract DE-SC0012704. References Song, L. et al. Temperature-Dependent Kinetics and Reaction Mechanism of Ammonia Oxidation on Pt, Ir, and PtIr Alloy Catalysts. J. Electrochem. Soc. 165, J3095–J3100 (2018).

The Function of Traditional Snacks and Fruits at Chinatown Semarang - A Case Study on Semarang Northcoast Maritime Culture

Traditional snacks and fruits are the culinary culture of Chinese community to fulfill Chinese daily consumption and ritual activities in Chinatown Semarang. It is a particular characteristic of social and local culture. As local wisdom, it provides a local value of the food products. This study aims to reveal varieties and functions of traditional snacks and fruits in Gang Baru traditional market Semarang. This research refers to theory and method of naming system and function. It is in a descriptive qualitative manner and describes names and functions of traditional snacks and fruits for ritual functions. The red and golden colors of snacks and fruits symbolize the source of fortune and wealth. Traditional snacks and fruits for the Chinese community function as ritual media to give offerings to ancestors rather than for daily consumption. The meaning and function of traditional snacks and fruits symbolize the fortune, luck, wealth, harmony, love, sharp mind, happiness, long life, calm and steady hearted, sincerity, blessing, and salvation. Hopefully, there would be a social impact to challenge the Industrial Revolution 4.0. It seems to refresh social paradigm and to recognize the high value of local wisdom, local skill, social skill, local ingredients, and local product.