Chemical studies of the passivation of GaAs surface recombination using sulfides and thiols

Steady-state photoluminescence, time-resolved photoluminescence, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have been used to study the electrical and chemical properties of GaAs surfaces exposed to inorganic and organic sulfur donors. Despite a wide variation in S2–(aq) concentration, variation of the pH of aqueous HS–solutions had a small effect on the steady-state n-type GaAs photoluminescence intensity, with surfaces exposed to pH=8, 0.1-M HS–(aq) solutions displaying comparable luminescence intensity relative to those treated with pH=14, 1.0-M Na2S·9H2O(aq). Organic thiols (R-SH, where R=–CH2CH2SH or –C6H4Cl) dissolved in nonaqueous solvents were found to effect increases in steady-state luminescence yields and in time-resolved luminescence decay lifetimes of (100)-oriented GaAs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that exposure of GaAs surfaces to these organic systems yielded thiols bound to the GaAs surface, but such exposure did not remove excess elemental As and did not form a detectable As2S3 overlayer on the GaAs. These results imply that complete removal of As0 or formation of monolayers of As2S3 is not necessary to effect a reduction in the recombination rate at etched GaAs surfaces. Other compounds that do not contain sulfur but that are strong Lewis bases, such as methoxide ion, also improved the GaAs steady-state photoluminescence intensity. These results demonstrate that a general class of electron-donating reagents can be used to reduce nonradiative recombination at GaAs surfaces, and also imply that prior models focusing on the formation of monolayer coverages of As2S3 and Ga2S3 are not adequate to describe the passivating behavior of this class of reagents. The time-resolved, high level injection experiments clearly demonstrate that a shift in the equilibrium surface Fermi-level energy is not sufficient to explain the luminescence intensity changes, and confirm that HS– and thiol-based reagents induce substantial reductions in the surface recombination velocity through a change in the GaAs surface state recombination rate

The MindLab Project. Local Museums Supporting Community Wellbeing Before and After UK Lockdown

Catalyst is a science discovery centre and independent museum based in Widnes, United Kingdom. Since 2018, it has collaborated with mental health charity Mind Halton on MindLab, a science-inspired wellbeing project for local residents in an area with low access to mental health support. As twenty-first century museums are being increasingly regarded as community resources capable of producing valuable social impact, this article considers the role of museums in harnessing this potential to enhance community health and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reflects on the challenges encountered during this unprecedented lockdown, as well as the emerging opportunities, through the perspectives of those delivering MindLab

Mechanisms generating biological diversity in the genus Platypleura Amyot & Serville, 1843 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in southern Africa: implications of a preliminary molecular phylogeny

Truly understanding biological diversity requires a move from descriptive studies to mechanistic interpretations based on comparative biology and a thorough recognition of the natural history of the focal organisms. A useful step in such comparative studies is the generation of a phylogeny, so that one can assess the phylogenetic independence of the focal taxa and trace the evolutionary significance of their characteristics. As a preliminary to such studies on the platypleurine cicada genus Platypleura, we sequenced 498 bases of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene from thirteen African species. To circumvent problems with outgroup selection, we also included sequences from representatives of the platypleurine genera Brevisiana, Capcicada, Munza, Oxypleura, Severiana, and Systophlochius, all of the subtribe Platypleuriti, and two species of the genus Ugada, of the subtribe Hainanosemiiti. The resulting phylogenies support the synonymization of the monotypic genus Systophlochius with the widespread, speciose genus Platypleura; confirm the placement of Platypleura sp. 7 in that genus; and confirm the independence of Capcicada and Platypleura. Although the preliminary phylogeny lacks strong support at many nodes, it suggests that three radiations of Platypleura have occurred in southern Africa and that there was progressive southward speciation of these radiations. A novel modification of the ancestral area analysis further suggests that the group has an ancestral association with acacias but there were five independent speciation events associated with host- switching. These insights can be summarized by a general hypothesis that the mechanisms underlying platypleurine biodiversity in southern Africa involve two ancient vicariance events and subsequent speciation by vicariance, switching of plant associations, and changes of habitat preferences. We offer this example to illustrate how analysis of preliminary data can help to generate hypotheticodeductive research hypotheses, to provoke interest in testing these hypotheses, and to illustrate the utility of phylogenies beyond systematics

Climate model and proxy data constraints on ocean warming across the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

Constraining the greenhouse gas forcing, climatic warming and estimates of climate sensitivity across ancient large transient warming events is a major challenge to the palaeoclimate research community. Here we provide a new compilation and synthesis of the available marine proxy temperature data across the largest of these hyperthermals, the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM). This includes the application of consistent temperature calibrations to all data, including the most recent set of calibrations for archaeal lipid-derived palaeothermometry. This compilation provides the basis for an informed discussion of the likely range of PETM warming, the biases present in the existing record and an initial assessment of the geographical pattern of PETM ocean warming. To aid interpretation of the geographic variability of the proxy-derived estimates of PETM warming, we present a comparison of this data with the patterns of warming produced by high pCO2 simulations of Eocene climates using the Hadley Centre atmosphere-ocean general circulation model (AOGCM) HadCM3L. On the basis of this comparison and taking into account the patterns of intermediate-water warming we estimate that the global mean surface temperature anomaly for the PETM is within the range of 4 to 5°C

Physical activity levels of adolescents with congenital heart disease

Regular physical activity prevents chronic disease and moderate to vigorous participation provides additional health benefits. Therefore, adolescents with congenital heart disease risk developing latent diseases due to real or perceived physical activity restrictions. Habitual physical activity levels, psychological determinants and advice received were examined by postal survey of 434 West Australian adolescents aged 12–18 years with congenital heart disease. Survey results (n = 153) were compared with published normative adolescent data. Total activity was classified as vigorous, adequate or inadequate according to metabolic equivalents, reported frequency and duration. Comparable numbers of respondents and healthy peers were active (winter 62% vs 74%; and summer 73% vs 82% respectively, p = 0.27). However, significantly fewer male respondents were classified as vigorously active compared with healthy peers, in both winter (48% vs 67%, p < 0.02), and summer (48% vs 69%, p = 0.04). Similar, but non-significant, trends were found when comparing female respondents with healthy peers and for mild versus severe disease groups. Self-efficacy ratings did not explain differences in physical activity intensity. Congenital heart disease may impact on the intensity of physical activity undertaken by affected adolescents thus denying additional health benefits. Physiotherapists could facilitate these adolescents to achieve more moderate to vigorous physical activity, to offset adult sedentary behaviour

Detecting Fauna Habitat in Semi-Arid Grasslands Using Satellite Imagery

Managing grasslands for biodiversity conservation is a relatively recent phenomenon and there is uncertainty over the most effective strategy. Past research has found that intermediate levels of disturbance (e.g. burning or grazing) may be required to maintain the natural mosaic of small-scale patterning required for a diverse range of flora and fauna species. For sustainable grassland management, appropriate methods of spatial assessment and temporal monitoring are required, to facilitate understanding of how past and present climate, land management and landscape features influence vegetation structure. Due to the expense and time-consuming nature of conventional ground-based monitoring, satellite remote-sensing techniques offer a feasible approach

Ionospheric response to the corotating interaction region-driven geomagnetic storm of October 2002

Unlike the geomagnetic storms produced by coronal mass ejections (CMEs), the storms generated by corotating interaction regions (CIRs) are not manifested by dramatic enhancements of the ring current. The CIR-driven storms are however capable of producing other phenomena typical for the magnetic storms such as relativistic particle acceleration, enhanced magnetospheric convection and ionospheric heating. This paper examines ionospheric plasma anomalies produced by a CIR-driven storm in the middle- and high-latitude ionosphere with a specific focus on the polar cap region. The moderate magnetic storm which took place on 14–17 October 2002 has been used as an example of the CIR-driven event. Four-dimensional tomographic reconstructions of the ionospheric plasma density using measurements of the total electron content along ray paths of GPS signals allow us to reveal the large-scale structure of storm-induced ionospheric anomalies. The tomographic reconstructions are compared with the data obtained by digital ionosonde located at Eureka station near the geomagnetic north pole. The morphology and dynamics of the observed ionospheric anomalies is compared qualitatively to the ionospheric anomalies produced by major CME-driven storms. It is demonstrated that the CIR-driven storm of October 2002 was able to produce ionospheric anomalies comparable to those produced by CME-driven storms of much greater Dst magnitude. This study represents an important step in linking the tomographic GPS reconstructions with the data from ground-based network of digital ionosondes

Merging DNA metabarcoding and ecological network analysis to understand and build resilient terrestrial ecosystems

Summary 1. Significant advances in both mathematical and molecular approaches in ecology offer unprecedented opportunities to describe and understand ecosystem functioning. Ecological networks describe interactions between species, the underlying structure of communities and the function and stability of ecosystems. They provide the ability to assess the robustness of complex ecological communities to species loss, as well as a novel way of guiding restoration. However, empirically quantifying the interactions between entire communities remains a significant challenge. 2. Concomitantly, advances in DNA sequencing technologies are resolving previously intractable questions in functional and taxonomic biodiversity and provide enormous potential to determine hitherto difficult to observe species interactions. Combining DNA metabarcoding approaches with ecological network analysis presents important new opportunities for understanding large-scale ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as providing powerful tools for building ecosystems that are resilient to environmental change. 3. We propose a novel ‘nested tagging’ metabarcoding approach for the rapid construction of large, phylogenetically structured species-interaction networks. Taking tree–insect–parasitoid ecological networks as an illustration, we show how measures of network robustness, constructed using DNA metabarcoding, can be used to determine the consequences of tree species loss within forests, and forest habitat loss within wider landscapes. By determining which species and habitats are important to network integrity, we propose new directions for forest management. 4. Merging metabarcoding with ecological network analysis provides a revolutionary opportunity to construct some of the largest, phylogenetically structured species-interaction networks to date, providing new ways to: (i) monitor biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; (ii) assess the robustness of interacting communities to species loss; and (iii) build ecosystems that are more resilient to environmental change

Effect of various crop and pasture species on the growth of a subsequent wheat crop

83WH29: The effect of various crop and pasture species on the growth of a subsequent wheat crop. Aim: To characterise the effect of various crop and pasture species on the growth and yield components of a subsequent wheat crop with special emphasis on the nitrogen nutrition of that crop. To provide validation data for modelling wheat growth and nitrogen uptake. Measurements: Factors to be monitored through time were; Soil moisture profiles; Mineral nitrogen profiles; Root growth profiles; Top growth and nitrogen uptake; Development score; Incidence of disease and pests. Seasonal notes, trial design, weed diseases and pests. Results: The results are presented in the following tables. As yet they have not been subject to statistical analysis and conclusions drawn from them should be treated with caution. Table 1. Records the rainfall at WHRS in 1984. Table 2. 1983 production and estimates of nitrogen balance. Table 3. Summer dry matter balance. Table 4. Mineral nitrogen levels. Table 5. Anthesis cuts and yield components. Table 6. Dry matter production through time. Table 7. Soil nitrogen profiles. Table 8. Root lengths. Table 9. ZADOK development scores. Table 10. Water use to 2 metres depth. Table 11. Pre anthesis water use by depth. Table 12. Post anthesis water use by depth