Davidson College

Abstract Purpose This study examines how Chinese social media platform RedNote and the Ne Zha film franchise mediate cross-cultural communication, specifically how algorithmic curation, cultural narratives, and diasporic perspectives shape visibility and interpretation. Design/methodology/approach Using a mixed-method approach, the study combines hashtag analysis with in-depth interviews with Chinese and diasporic users, developing a cultural tariff framework of affective resonance, cultural commodification, cultural knowledge, and cultural empathy, to explain layered barriers in cultural circulation. Findings RedNote functioned as a hybrid space where marketing, politics, and personal interests shaped visibility. Affective resonance explained Ne Zha’s emotional force but also revealed divides in reception. Commodification privileged marketable, politically aligned content. Cultural knowledge highlighted that perceptions are rooted in childhood imprints but never static, as reimagination and fandom practices reshape and extend meanings. Cultural empathy diverged by positionality, as domestic audiences affirmed pride, whereas diasporic interviewees reflected on representativeness and recognition. Practical implications The layered model explained how cultural tariffs define both the possibilities and limits of Chinese cultural products crossing borders. For creators, platforms, and policymakers, this calls for intercultural strategies beyond translation, emphasizing collaboration, mutual adaptation, and sensitivity to political and algorithmic filters. Social implications The study highlights how cultural products like Ne Zha can serve as bridges for intercultural understanding, while also revealing structural barriers rooted in nationalism, censorship, and unequal global media hierarchies. Originality/value This research introduces the concept of cultural tariffs to analyze digital and mass media circulation, offering a new framework for understanding intercultural communication, digital diasporas, and Chinese soft power in a contested global media ecosystem.

Introduction: Cultural engagement and connection are integral to Indigenous health and well-being yet there is limited protocol for eliciting community-based needs to develop and implement culture focused health interventions. This paper details findings from a tribally based participatory research study that documented the level of knowledge and interest Cherokee citizens have in key components of their culture. The study also collected participants’ program design preferences. This information will inform the creation of a Cherokee cultural intervention to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Methods: Indigenous and decolonizing research methodologies were central to the conceptualization, design, and implementation of this research. Data collection was conducted using a cross-sectional, self-report, online survey developed and tested by a Cherokee community advisory board. The study population included enrolled Cherokee citizens over the age of 18 (n=355). Chi-square (X2) analysis, t-tests for continuous variables, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized to assess sample demographic differences of primary variables of interest. Results: Most respondents self-reported limited knowledge of important periods in Cherokee history, a low level of knowledge of traditional beliefs, values, lifeways and feelings of tribal connection, and a limited ability to understand, use, and/or speak more than a few Cherokee words (0-9 words). Most participants across all ages, genders, and locations wanted to know more about their history, traditions, and language and reported that they were willing to commit time, over a prolonged period, to further their learning and cultural engagement. Conclusions: The improved understanding of cultural knowledge, interests, and preferences resulting from this study will play a central role in the development of acceptable, appropriate, and feasible interventions that are grounded in Cherokee community needs and desires for the future. The results also expand upon existing knowledge about optimizing the design and implementation of cultural interventions focused on improving the health and well-being of Indigenous communities.

Advancing methods to control and characterize the local cation arrangements on mixed metal oxide surfaces can afford opportunities for designing catalysts with tunable chemical properties. Here, we show that IrxRu1–xO2(110) solid solutions with variable near-surface cation arrangements can be synthesized by annealing IrO2/RuO2 layered structures under mild oxidizing conditions in ultrahigh vacuum. Temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of adsorbed N2 and atomic O provides a quantitative probe of the Ir and Ru populations in coordinatively unsaturated (cus) binding sites (Mcus) and their nearest-neighbor subsurface sites (Msubcus), due to the strong, highly localized influence of these cations on N2 and O binding. The resulting Mcus/Msubcus configurations remain stable up to at least 650 K, a temperature range relevant for catalytic studies. Heating IrO2/RuO2 layered structures to ∼800 K induces rapid Ru–Ir intermixing and drives Ru enrichment in the near-surface region. TPD measurements show that Ru strongly favors incorporation into cus-sites during our heating protocol and begins to occupy subcus-sites only after the Rucus population approaches saturation. After extended heating, the surface is dominated by Rucus over Rusubcus motifs (Ru/Ru2) characteristic of pure RuO2(110), with small populations of Ru/Ir2 and Ru/IrRu. Density functional theory (DFT) predicts binding-site distributions for O-terminated surfaces that closely match those determined from TPD. DFT reveals that enhanced O binding on Rucus relative to Ircus, along with stabilization by neighboring Irsubcus atoms, drives Ir–Ru interchange to selectively form Ru/Ir2 motifs and promote Ru occupation of subcus sites after cus sites are filled. Together, these results provide insight into the synthesis and characterization of mixed IrxRu1–xO2(110) surfaces and demonstrate that controlling near-surface cation arrangements offers a promising route to tuning the chemical properties of mixed-oxide catalysts.

Continuous flash suppression (CFS) is a variant of interocular conflict that occurs when one eye views a dynamic high-contrast mask that increases the duration of target suppression. A variant of CFS known as tracking continuous flash suppression (tCFS) was developed, allowing the depth of interocular suppression to be measured. Although previous research has measured how the duration of suppression may be modulated by the contrast and size of the masking stimulus, no study has assessed how mask features impact suppression depth. In our first study, we manipulated mask contrast to measure the consequent impact on suppression depth as measured by the tCFS procedure. We observed that high mask contrast increased the threshold required for a target to break into awareness. Critically, the decrease in contrast required to re-suppress each target was proportionately the same across all conditions so that suppression depth—the ratio of the two thresholds—remained constant. In the second experiment, we manipulated the size of the masking stimulus and found no change in breakthrough/suppression thresholds or suppression depth (i.e., the difference between the thresholds when using log-contrast). These findings clarify that, although changes in mask contrast may alter the threshold to enter awareness, there is no overall change in suppression depth as the changes in breakthrough threshold are reflected by proportionately equivalent changes in suppression threshold. This result matches findings obtained with binocular rivalry showing that suppression depth is constant despite changes in stimulus contrast. Differing levels of mask contrast and size, therefore, can be used by researchers in CFS without altering the strength of suppression, consistent with the perspective that interocular suppression operates in small local spatial zones determined by receptive field size in the primary visual cortex.

The commercialization of zinc metal batteries (ZMBs) for large-scale energy storage is hindered by challenges such as dendrite formation, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and passivation/corrosion, which lead to poor stability of zinc metal anodes. HER is a primary contributor to this instability, and despite efforts to enhance ZMB cyclability, a significant knowledge gap remains regarding the origin of HER in these systems. Prior works, based primarily on theoretical calculations with minimal experimental support, suggest that HER originates from Zn 2+-solvated water. For the first time, by employing scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM), and electrochemical mass spectrometry (ECMS), in real-time the inherently intertwined nature of Zn electrodeposition and H2 liberation is revealed, both exhibiting the same onset potential in voltammetry. The findings show that water molecules surroundingZn2+ ions undergo reduction simultaneously during Zn2+ deposition. Additionally, ECMS conducted under chronopotentiometric/ galvanostatic conditions at battery-relevant current densities elucidates why elevated electrolyte concentrations enhance the prolonged cyclability of ZMBs. Understanding the origin of HER opens avenues for developing high-performance, reliable aqueous ZMBs, addressing key challenges in their commercialization and advancing their technological capabilities.Paper URL: https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/aenm.202402521

Abstract Description A variety of cell lines are used routinely for in vitro studies as fair representation of developmental stages; however, no consistent effort has been made to verify the presumed developmental stage. Here we investigate the AKR1G1 and RLM11 mouse thymoma cell lines that are used as representatives of the double positive (DP) and intermediate (INT) stages of T-cell development, respectively. Using RNAseq and flowcytometry, we compare the two cell lines to each other and to published data from CD4 single positive lymphocytes to determine that they accurately match their assigned developmental stages and refine RLM11 assignment to the late intermediate stage. Funding Sources NIH 1R15AI098001-01A1 NCBC 2010-EEG-6013 instrumentation grant Davidson College Biology Department internal grant Topic Categories Hematopoiesis and Immune System Development (HEM)

Wildfires are an integral component of Mediterranean ecosystems. The forest management practices implemented following such forest fires can significantly influence soil chemistry and metal dynamics. This study investigates the effects of different forest management strategies, including natural regeneration, grading (e.g., gradoni terrace making), and subsoiling with ripper on soil levels of major, trace, and heavy metals in a fire-affected forest in the southwestern part of Türkiye. Soil samples were collected 2.5 years after the containment of the wildfire and analyzed for selected metals (Fe, Ca, Al, Mn, Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, Pb, Co, As, and Hg) concentrations. The findings indicated that subsoiling with a ripper resulted in elevated levels of multiple potentially toxic metals, including Cr (223.22 ± 60.47 mg/kg), Ni (150.54 ± 27.33 mg/kg), Zn (156.18 ± 66.14 mg/kg), and As (6.72 ± 1.30 mg/kg), compared to other treatments. These findings demonstrate that management interventions such as subsoiling with a ripper can significantly alter the distribution and concentration of trace metals. Future research integrating topographic variation and earlier sampling would further strengthen our understanding of post-fire metal dynamics.