Ca₃[BN₂]I₃: The First Halide-Rich Alkaline Earth Nitridoborate with Isolated [BN₂]^3- Units

The title compound Ca-3[BN2]I-3 was obtained from reactions of mixtures of the starting materials Ca-3[BN2](2) and CaI2 in a 1:4 ratio in sealed Nb tubes at 1223 K. The crystal structure was solved from powder synchrotron diffraction data. Ca-3[BN2]I-3 is the first example of a halide-rich nitridoborate crystallizing in the rhombohedral space group R32 [no. 155, Pearson code: hR96; Z = 12; a = 16.70491(2) angstrom, c = 12.41024(2) angstrom]. The crystal structure is built up by two interpenetrating networks of condensed edge-sharing [BN2]@Ca-6 and [square]@I-6 trigonal antiprisms (square = void). In Ca-3[BN2]I-3 two crystallograhically distinct [BN2](3-) anions are present with d(B1-N) = 1.393(2) angstrom and d(B2-N) = 1.369(9) angstrom. Their bond angles are practically linear, varying only slightly: N-B1-N = 179(1)degrees and N-B2-N = 180 degrees. Vibrational spectra were interpreted based on the D-infinity h symmetry of the discrete linear [N-B-N](3-) moieties, considering the site symmetry reduction and the presence of two distinct [BN2](3-) groups

Pressure effects in the isoelectronic REFe0.85Ir0.15AsO system

The effect of chemical and hydrostatic pressure has been studied systematically in a selected system belonging to the 1111 family of iron pnictide high-temperature superconductors. The results show a surprising similarity between the trend of critical temperature vs hydrostatic pressure for isoelectronic samples with different rare earths (RE) on the RE site and samples of the SmFeAsO(1-x)F(x) series with different doping levels. These results open new questions about the underlying mechanism for superconductivity in iron pnictides

Comovement Revisited

Recent evidence of excessive comovement among stocks following index additions (Barberis, Shleifer, and Wurgler, 2005) and stock splits (Green and Hwang, 2009) challenges traditional finance theory. Based on a simple model, we show that the bivariate regressions relied upon in the literature often provide little or no information about the economic magnitude of the phenomenon of interest, and the coefficients in these regressions are very sensitive to time-variation in the characteristics of the return processes that are unrelated to excess comovement. Instead, univariate regressions of the stock return on the returns of the group it is leaving (e.g., non-S&P stocks) and the group it is joining (e.g., S&P stocks) reveal the relevant information. When we reexamine the empirical evidence using control samples matched on past returns and compute Dimson betas, almost all evidence of excess comovement disappears. The results in the literature are consistent with changes in the fundamental factor loadings of the stocks. One key element to understanding these striking results is that, in both the examples we study, the stocks exhibit strong returns prior to the event in question. We document the heretofore unknown empirical regularity that winner stocks exhibit increases in betas. Thus, much of the apparent excess comovement is just a manifestation of momentum

Photoelectron core-level spectroscopy and scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of the sulfur-treated GaAs(100) surface

A study of the adsorption of sulfur on the GaAs(100) surface after in situ thermal desorption of a protective As capping layer is presented. The sulfur flux was generated by the decomposition of silver sulfide in an UHV-compatible electrochemical cell. Use of As-capped samples provided a means to study the interaction of sulfur with both the c(2×8) and (4×1) surface reconstructions. Scanning-tunneling-microscopy images of the sulfur-covered surface indicated the formation of disordered surface layers which display a diffuse (1×1) low-energy-electron-diffraction pattern. This (1×1) phase is attributed to the symmetry of the bulk structure visible through the disordered surface overlayer, caused by the adsorbed sulfur breaking the surface dimer bonds. Synchrotron-radiation core-level photoemission spectra indicate evidence of sulfur bonding to both gallium and arsenic at room temperature, but that the relative magnitude of these bonding interactions depends on the Ga/As ratio of the clean surface. Sulfur 2p photoemission spectra from the annealed surfaces show that sulfur diffuses into the topmost atomic layers as well as bonding to the surface. Annealing the sulfur-covered surface above 400 °C results in the formation of a (2×1) low-energy-electron-diffraction pattern with a dimer-row structure clearly visible in scanning-tunneling-microscopy images. Our results would suggest that the adsorption of sulfur on the c(2×8) clean surface results in dimer rows consisting of both arsenic and sulfur dimers, while only sulfur dimers are observed after adsorption on the (4×1) surface. The degree to which the clean surface band bending is altered on these respective surfaces appears to be related to the precise chemical composition of the dimer rows

Galls of the temperate forest of southern South America: Argentina and Chile. In: Neotropical Insect Galls

South American temperate forests are of special conservation concern due to their highly endemic flora and fauna, and the occurrence of unique plant-animal interactions. Yet, knowledge regarding gall inducers diversity is limited although increasing rapidly in the last two decades. Here, we performed a review of the literature, supplemented with field collected data by the authors, in order to provide the most up to date knowledge of gall inducers\u2019 diversity associated with native woody species of the temperate forest of Chile and Argentina. We present data for 90 morphospecies of galls associated with 39 host-plant species (21 genera, 15 families), spanning insects and arachnids of at least 6 orders and nematodes. Most of this richness is associated to the best surveyed host-plant genus, Nothofagus, with up to 43 morphospecies of galls in just 8 dominant tree species. Moreover, we provide evidence that gall species richness across all woody host-plant species decreases with elevation, probably driven by decreased temperature and number of available host-plant species. However, this overall trend vary among host plant species and scales of observation. Overall, the study of gall diversity and the biotic and abiotic factors that shape their distribution in these austral forests offer an exciting and fertile field for future research. Besides emphasizing the need for more in depth taxonomic and diversity studies of the gall fauna of these forests, we propose several future lines of research that promise to further elucidate our understanding of the evolution of plant-gall interactions in these forests