Comb copolymer-like systems obtained by hydrogen bonding between flexible polymers and nonmesogenic amphiphiles represent a class of supramolecular materials with interesting self-organizing properties. Here we present the first results of transmission electron microscopy applied to mesomorphic systems of poly(4-vinyl pyridine)-4-nonadecylphenol as a characteristic example. Phase contrast imaging of iodine-stained samples confirms the highly ordered lamellar structures with a long period of around 40 Å inferred also from small-angle X-ray scattering data.

Great apes give gestures deliberately and voluntarily, in order to influence particular target audiences, whose direction of attention they take into account when choosing which type of gesture to use. These facts make the study of ape gesture directly relevant to understanding the evolutionary precursors of human language; here we present an assessment of ape gesture from that perspective, focusing on the work of the “St Andrews Group” of researchers. Intended meanings of ape gestures are relatively few and simple. As with human words, ape gestures often have several distinct meanings, which are effectively disambiguated by behavioural context. Compared to the signalling of most other animals, great ape gestural repertoires are large. Because of this, and the relatively small number of intended meanings they achieve, ape gestures are redundant, with extensive overlaps in meaning. The great majority of gestures are innate, in the sense that the species’ biological inheritance includes the potential to develop each gestural form and use it for a specific range of purposes. Moreover, the phylogenetic origin of many gestures is relatively old, since gestures are extensively shared between different genera in the great ape family. Acquisition of an adult repertoire is a process of first exploring the innate species potential for many gestures and then gradual restriction to a final (active) repertoire that is much smaller. No evidence of syntactic structure has yet been detected.

Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. ABSTRACT: Recently, it has been shown that the properties of flexible and semi-rigid polyelectrolytes can be tailored by using specific surfactants. In these cases, mesomorphic structures in bulk and in solution and network morphologies in blends have been achieved. In polyelectrolytes, the available electrostatic interaction to bond the surfactants is large due to the charges bound to the polymer backbone. In this work, we show that mesomorphic behavior of even noncharged flexible polymers can be achieved if the interaction between the polymer and the surfactant is selected properly. The model system is atactic poly(4-vinyl pyridine) (P4W) in combination with zinc dodecyl benzene sulfonate (Zn(DBS)Z). FTIR measurements indicate that transition metal coordination between the Zn cation and the pyridine amines takes place: SAXS and birefringence show that mesomorphic structures are obtained, the long period being 27.8 A in the nominally fully complexed case and 26.1 A when the degree of complexation is 25%. Also pure Zn(DBS)Z is mesomorphic with the long period of 23.7 A. The difference between the layer thicknesses of Zn(DBS)Z and P4W(Zn(DBS)z), can be explained by the atacticity of the polymer.

Great apes give gestures deliberately and voluntarily, in order to influence particular target audiences, whose direction of attention they take into account when choosing which type of gesture to use. These facts make the study of ape gesture directly relevant to understanding the evolutionary precursors of human language; here we present an assessment of ape gesture from that perspective, focusing on the work of the ''St Andrews Group'' of researchers. Intended meanings of ape gestures are relatively few and simple. As with human words, ape gestures often have several distinct meanings, which are effectively disambiguated by behavioural context. Compared to the signalling of most other animals, great ape gestural repertoires are large. Because of this, and the relatively small number of intended meanings they achieve, ape gestures are redundant, with extensive overlaps in meaning. The great majority of gestures are innate, in the sense that the species' biological inheritance includes the potential to develop each gestural form and use it for a specific range of purposes. Moreover, the phylogenetic origin of many gestures is relatively old, since gestures are extensively shared between different genera in the great ape family. Acquisition of an adult repertoire is a process of first exploring the innate species potential for many gestures and then gradual restriction to a final (active) repertoire that is much smaller. No evidence of syntactic structure has yet been detected.

No abstract