Annealing-Induced Structural Behavior of Mn Dopant Ions in Calcium Orthovanadate Ca3(VO4)2Single Crystals

The crystal and local structures of Czochralski-grown calcium orthovanadate (Ca3(VO4)2) single crystals doped with over-stoichiometric 0.05 wt % Mn2O3 (CVO:0.05Mn) and annealed under different conditions are studied by single-crystal conventional and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and electron paramagnetic resonance for the first time. Bottom (annealing in air) and top (annealing in air and in vacuum) parts of the CVO:0.05Mn crystal differ in the manganese content (higher in the bottom part), formal charge (Mn4+ and Mn(3+)+, respectively), and color (orange bottom part; light orange and yellow top parts annealed in air and vacuum, respectively). Manganese ions are located in one (Ca3, distorted two-capped trigonal prism) of five crystallographic Ca sites and have octahedral coordination, which is consistent with crystal-chemical properties of transition-metal ions. The presence of vacancies in one of three V sites is revealed. Formal charge 5+ for vanadium ions is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Different colors of CVO:Mn crystals and different formal charges of manganese are explained depending on the growth and post-growth treatment conditions. © 2022 American Chemical Society

Paramagnetic centers in detonation nanodiamonds studied by CW and pulse EPR

Dispersed detonation nanodiamonds have been studied by continuous-wave (CW) and pulse EPR techniques. The spectrum of bulk radicals (g = 2.0025 +/- 0.0002, a Lorentz line shape with Delta H-pp = 0.95 +/- 0.05 mT) dominated in CW EPR and prevented to record spectra from other paramagnetic species. The pulse EPR-spectrum was the superposition of the distorted P1-center spectrum with parameters (g = 2.0025, A(xx) = 2.57 mT, A(yy) = 3.08 mT, A(zz) = 4.07 mT), the H1-center spectrum (g = 2.0028) and the single line (g = 2.0025, DHpp = 0.40 +/- 0.05 mT) from other centers which may be assigned to surface radicals. The concentration of P1-centers has been estimated by CW EPR as 2 +/- 1 ppm N.Original Publication:A.V. Fionov, Anders Lund, Weimin Chen, N.N. Rozhkova, Irina Buyanova, G.I. Emelyanova, L.E. Gorlenko, E.V. Golubina, E.S. Lokteva, E. Osawa and V.V. Lunin, Paramagnetic centers in detonation nanodiamonds studied by CW and pulse EPR, 2010, Chemical Physics Letters, (493), 04-Jun, 319-322.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cplett.2010.05.050Copyright: Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam.http://www.elsevier.com

Linguistic Means in Conflict Resolution

Konflikti ir neizbēgami un tie ir dabīgs rezultāts cilvēku mijiedarbībā. Kad divi vai vairāku cilvēku intereses, vērtības vai ticība atšķiras, var rasties konflikts, bet tikpat bieži konflikti var rasties pārpratumu dēļ. Neatkarīgi no tā, kāpēc, kur un kad notiek konflikti, ir svarīgi saprast, ka visiem konfliktiem ir sekas. Piemēram, konflikti darbā var mainīt noskaņu un pat pazemināt produktivitāti, tāpēc šī darba mērķis ir izpētīt skaidras izteiksmes nozīmi konfliktu risināšanā darbā. Izmantojot naratīvās analīzes metodi un aptaujas anketas, tika izpētītas trīs dažādas konfliktu situācijas, lai noskaidrotu, vai konflikti ir radušies konfliktā iesaistīto cilvēku tiešo izteikumu līmeņa dēļ, kā rezultāta ir noticis pārpratums. Rezultāti atklāja, ka nevis izteikumu tiešuma līmenis nosaka konflikta rezultātu, bet gan tas, cik līdzīgi ir konflikta dalībnieku izteikumu tiešuma līmenis. Tie dalībnieki, kuri izmanto tiešo komunikācijas stilu, vislabāk sadarbosies ar tiem, kuriem ir līdzīgs līmenis, bet tie, kuriem ir netiešs saziņas stils, vislabāk sadarbosies ar tiem, kas arī dod priekšroku netiešās komunikācijas metodēm. Turklāt pētijuma rezultāti norādija, ka viena no trim konflikta situācijām notika tikai tāpēc, ka konflikta dalībniekiem bija ļoti dažādi komunikācijas tiešuma līmeņi.Conflicts are inevitable and a natural part of human interaction. When two or more people of different interests, values, beliefs meet, a conflict may occur. However, often conflicts happen just because of misunderstandings. Regardless of why, when and where conflicts happen, it is important to understand that all conflicts have consequences. For instance, conflicts at work may change the atmosphere and even affect the production process and therefore the purpose of this paper is to study the importance of direct and indirect communication as a source of conflict at work. Three different conflict situations were studied using narrative analysis and questionnaires to see whether conflicts occur because the level of indirectness of people involved in the conflict is too high. The results showed that it is not the level of indirectness itself that is important but rather how similar the level of directness of communication of the people involved in the conflict. Those participants who use a more direct communication style will best cooperate with those who have a similar level of directness, but those with indirect communication style will be best understood by those who prefer using indirect communication methods. The research findings suggest that one out of three conflict situations analyzed, occurred just because members of the conflict had very different levels of directness