Quantifying methane vibrational and rotational temperature with Raman scattering

This work describes the theoretical basis and implementation of the measurement of vibrational (T vib) and rotational (T rot) temperatures in CH4 by fitting spontaneous Raman scattering spectra in the Pentad region. This method could be applied for thermal equilibrium temperature measurements applications, e.g. in combustion, or vibrational-rotational non-equilibrium applications, such as in plasma chemistry. The method of calculating these temperatures is validated against known temperature thermal equilibrium spectra up to 860 K from published data, giving an estimated relative error of 10%. This demonstrates that both the calculated stick spectrum and the algorithm to determine T vib and T rot for CH4 is robust to 860 K, but we expect it is valid to 1500 K. Additionally, a number of non-equilibrium spectra generated with a pulsed microwave plasma are fitted to find T vib and T rot, further demonstrating the applicability of this method in fitting non-equilibrium spectra.</p

Plugged hexagonal templated silica: a unique micro-and mesoporous composite material with internal silica nanocapsules †

We describe in this paper the development of plugged hexagonal templated silicas (PHTS) which are hexagonally ordered materials, with internal microporous silica nanocapsules; they have a combined micro-and mesoporosity and a tuneable amount of both open and encapsulated mesopores and are much more stable than other tested micellar templated structures. Researchers of Mobil published in 1992 a breakthrough report on the synthesis of ordered mesoporous silica materials. All synthesised materials exhibit the typical X-Ray diffraction patterns of the 2D hexagonal pore ordering in the p6mm space group. 2 † The 77 K nitrogen isotherm in High resolution TEM measurements confirm this model. § The rather thick walls (~4 nm) of the large cylindrical mesopores are perforated with micropores. Moreover, the cylindrical mesopores themselves are &apos;plugged&apos; with amorphous silica nanocapsules, which are also microporous. These nanocapsules are created by the large excess of the silica source (TEOS) that is used in the synthesis and by rapid hydrolysis of the silicon alkoxide at the very low pH used. The micropores in the silica walls can be explained by the penetration of hydrophilic poly(ethyleneoxide) chains of the triblock copolymer in the silica wall, as already suggested by Kruk et al. 7 The microporosity of the plugs may have a different origin. It is known that Pluronic triblock copolymers are in fact polydisperse mixtures of several triblock copolymers with a wide range of molecular weights, and that they contain appreciable amounts of diblock copolymers and even free PO chains. Some † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available

Plugged hexagonal templated silica: a unique micro-and mesoporous composite material with internal silica nanocapsules †

We describe in this paper the development of plugged hexagonal templated silicas (PHTS) which are hexagonally ordered materials, with internal microporous silica nanocapsules; they have a combined micro-and mesoporosity and a tuneable amount of both open and encapsulated mesopores and are much more stable than other tested micellar templated structures. Researchers of Mobil published in 1992 a breakthrough report on the synthesis of ordered mesoporous silica materials. All synthesised materials exhibit the typical X-Ray diffraction patterns of the 2D hexagonal pore ordering in the p6mm space group. 2 † The 77 K nitrogen isotherm in High resolution TEM measurements confirm this model. § The rather thick walls (~4 nm) of the large cylindrical mesopores are perforated with micropores. Moreover, the cylindrical mesopores themselves are &apos;plugged&apos; with amorphous silica nanocapsules, which are also microporous. These nanocapsules are created by the large excess of the silica source (TEOS) that is used in the synthesis and by rapid hydrolysis of the silicon alkoxide at the very low pH used. The micropores in the silica walls can be explained by the penetration of hydrophilic poly(ethyleneoxide) chains of the triblock copolymer in the silica wall, as already suggested by Kruk et al. 7 The microporosity of the plugs may have a different origin. It is known that Pluronic triblock copolymers are in fact polydisperse mixtures of several triblock copolymers with a wide range of molecular weights, and that they contain appreciable amounts of diblock copolymers and even free PO chains. Some † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available

Determining the Transpiration Rate of Peach Trees Under Two Trickle Irrigation Regimes

The scientific design and management of a modern irrigation system requires that the designer or manager have knowledge of site and plant criteria such as infiltration, drainage, soil fertility, plant water needs, and plant production under varying conditions. With modern trickle systems water control is very precise and thus precise information on irrigation needs of a crop allow for the optimal use of water supplies. Work has been conducted on the effects of trickle irrigation on peach trees in North Central Texas. Initial data relating trickle irrigation amounts to total production, peach size, and plant growth have indicated that trickle irrigation may provide benefits that would offset costs of the irrigation system and water. Previous work however has related these benefits only to the amount of water applied through irrigation and did not consider the total water use of the tree. Research was undertaken to determine the transpiration rate of peach trees under two trickle irrigation regimes. To determine the transpiration rate a volume of soil around the test trees was instrumented with neutron access tubes. Soil moisture depletion was measured weekly. A soil water balance was conducted equating evapotranspiration to the sum of the change in the soil moisture content (a decrease being positive) plus irrigation applied, plus any rainfall that occurred in the period. For this work runoff and flux across the measurement zone boundaries was assumed zero. Estimates of evaporation from the soil surface were made using a two-stage evaporation process along with values of potential evapotranspiration made with the Penman (1956) equation. The estimates of evaporation from the soil surface were subtracted from total evapotranspiration to give estimates of the transpiration of the peach trees. Estimates of transpiration were not consistent from one measurement period to the next. Errors in the estimation of evaporation from the soil surface directly affect the estimate of transpiration. During latter stages of a rain-free period an estimate of transpiration was made which should not have been influences by the low values of evaporation from the soil surface that existed. This method of estimating transpiration has many errors and can be much improved upon by using a method such as a lysimeter to estimate transpiration more accurately

Registered Replication Report: Rand, Greene & Nowak (2012)

In an anonymous 4-person economic game, participants contributed more money to a common project (i.e., cooperated) when required to decide quickly than when forced to delay their decision (Rand, Greene & Nowak, 2012), a pattern consistent with the “social heuristics” hypothesis proposed by Rand and colleagues. The results of studies using time pressure have been mixed, with some replication attempts observing similar patterns (e.g., Rand et al., 2014) and others observing null effects (e.g., Tinghög et al., 2013, Verkoeijen et al., 2014). This Registered Replication Report (RRR) assessed the size and variability of the effect of time pressure on cooperative decisions by combining 21 separate, pre-registered replications of the critical conditions from Study 7 of the original paper (Rand et al., 2012). The primary planned analysis used data from all participants who were randomly assigned to conditions and who met the protocol inclusion criteria (an intent-to-treat approach that included the 65.9% of participants in the Time Pressure condition and 7.5% in the Forced Delay condition who did not adhere to the time constraints), and observed a difference in contributions of -0.37 percentage points, compared to an 8.6 percentage point difference calculated from the original data. Analyzing the data as the original paper did, including data only for participants who complied with the time constraints, the RRR observed a 10.37 percentage point difference in contributions compared to a 15.31 percentage point difference in the original study. In combination, the results of the intent-to-treat analysis and the compliant-only analysis are consistent with the presence of selection biases and the absence of a causal effect of time pressure on cooperation

Using social and behavioural science to support COVID-19 pandemic response

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. Because the crisis requires large-scale behaviour change and places significant psychological burdens on individuals, insights from the social and behavioural sciences can be used to help align human behavior with the recommendations of epidemiologists and public health experts. Here we review experimental and correlational data from a selection of research topics relevant to pandemics, including work on navigating threats, social and cultural influences on behaviour, science communication, moral decision-making, leadership, and stress and coping. In each section, we note the nature and quality of prior research, including uncertainty and unsettled issues. We identify several insights for effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and also highlight important gaps researchers should move quickly to fill in the coming weeks and months