Predicting the orientation of lipid cubic phase films

Lipid cubic phase films are of increasingly widespread importance, both in the analysis of the cubic phases themselves by techniques including microscopy and X-ray scattering, and in their applications, especially as electrode coatings for electrochemical sensors and for templates for the electrodeposition of nanostructured metal. In this work we demonstrate that the crystallographic orientation adopted by these films is governed by minimization of interfacial energy. This is shown by the agreement between experimental data obtained using grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GI-SAXS), and the predicted lowest energy orientation determined using a theoretical approach we have recently developed. GI-SAXS data show a high degree of orientation for films of both the double diamond phase and the gyroid phase, with the [111] and [110] directions respectively perpendicular to the planar substrate. In each case, this matches the lowest energy facet calculated for that particular phase.

Detection of nitroaromatic vapours with diketopyrrolopyrrole thin films: exploring the role of structural order and morphology on thin film properties and fluorescence quenching efficiency

Sensitive optical detection of nitroaromatic vapours with diketo-pyrrolopyrrole thin films is reported for the first time and the impact of thin film crystal structure and morphology on fluorescence quenching behaviour demonstrated.

At the Front: common traitors in West German war films of the 1950s

The article looks at the figure of the traitor in 1950s’ West German films about World War II. It focuses on the representation of Wehrmacht soldiers who entertain relations with the Soviet enemy and are therefore seen to betray their nation. The discussion of three well-known films – 08/15, Der Arzt von Stalingrad, and Unruhige Nacht – shows these ‘traitors’ to have a highly ambivalent function: their narrative punishment is part of German post-war exculpation, yet they are also reminders of German guilt and ethical responsibility towards the ‘other’.

International films and international markets: the globalisation of Hollywood entertainment, c.1921-1951

The international appeal of Hollywood films through the twentieth century has been a subject of interest to economic and film historians alike. This paper employs some of the methods of the economic historian to evaluate key arguments within the film history literature explaining the global success of American films. Through careful analysis of both existing and newly constructed data sets, the paper examines the extent to which Hollywood's foreign earnings were affected by: film production costs; the extent of global distribution networks; and also the international orientation of the films themselves. The paper finds that these factors influenced foreign earnings in quite distinct ways, and that their relative importance changed over time. The evidence presented here suggests a degree of interaction between the production and distribution arms of the major US film companies in their pursuit of foreign markets that would benefit from further archival-based investigation.