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Abstract As globalization expands, the idea of “world readiness” becomes an increasing important higher education narrative, prompting the growth of international education university programmes and infrastructures and the resulting expansion of international students. Debates about diversity management especially in cities must therefore take into account this significant minority. This paper compares the experiences of students hosted by three public universities in Singapore, Seoul and Beijing in order to reveal how their life and relationship with the host population is shaped by housing arrangement and their social position within the urban population of these three cities. Drawing from a multinational survey and biographical interviews of international students, this paper presents three effects of mixing based on the difference of housing arrangement for international students: on-campus mixing, off-campus mixing and impact of diversity experience on their plans after graduation. Research findings suggest that international students can play a positive informal role in facilitating a better understanding between hosts and guests. We note that international students form an emerging educated middle class, and their roles may be among urban middle class youth segment. This said, international students are excellent ambassadors of cultural diversity, and resident campuses are effective spaces in promoting social mixing. The central argument we are making in this chapter is that students as migrants are contributors to the cities where they are hosted. Within the framework of everyday cosmopolitan practices, these students, through their multicultural attitudes developed on campus and their involvements in host societies, they contribute informally to urban lifestyles and practices.
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Gold nanospheres (AuNPs) and gold nanoflowers (AuNFs) are widely used as platforms for DNA aptamer functionalization, while conjugation behavior and colloidal tolerance remain important factors affecting subsequent sensing-oriented optimization. In this study, 82-nt thiolated DNA aptamer constructs bearing either 3′-SH or 5′-SH terminal modification were immobilized onto citrate-stabilized AuNPs and AuNFs under matched stepwise salt-aging conditions. Apparent nanoparticle-associated DNA output was estimated by Qubit-based measurement of unbound ssDNA in the supernatant and expressed as mass-based loading output (ng). Under the tested stock-dispersion conditions, AuNP samples showed higher apparent conjugation output than AuNF samples. Specifically, the apparent conjugation yields for AuNPs were 80.65 ± 1.64% (3′-SH) and 84.76 ± 1.98% (5′-SH), whereas those for AuNFs were 66.64 ± 3.36% (3′-SH) and 73.65 ± 1.36% (5′-SH). The corresponding apparent DNA loading outputs were 2329.7 ± 47.4 ng and 2448.7 ± 57.1 ng for AuNPs, and 1925.1 ± 97.0 ng and 2127.4 ± 39.3 ng for AuNFs. DLS size increases and zeta potential shifts toward more negative values were consistent with the formation of a DNA-associated interfacial layer, while TEM images supported morphology retention after conjugation. A qualitative visual salt-challenge assessment indicated that aptamer-functionalized nanoparticles displayed improved resistance to salt-induced aggregation relative to bare particles under the tested conditions. Because the commercially supplied AuNP and AuNF dispersions were not normalized to identical particle number or accessible surface area, the reported values should be interpreted as comparative apparent outputs rather than intrinsic loading capacities. Within this scope, the present study provides a convenient preliminary materials-level evaluation of thiolated aptamer conjugation behavior and may support future glyphosate aptasensor optimization.