In a previous paper, we used powder X-ray diffraction and changes in magnetic susceptibility to argue the importance of pedogenic maghemite to soils and the efficacy of the chemical extractant citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite (CBD) to preferentially remove pedogenic maghemite from soil samples while not removing coarse-grained magnetite. Although X-ray diffraction provides strong support for this contention, Mössbauer spectroscopy is the method of choice for determining the oxidation state of iron in minerals and for inferring mineralogy of the iron oxide phases. Our objective in this work was to seek confirming evidence of the importance of maghemite as a pedogenic mineral and the usefulness of the CBD procedure in separating pedogenic maghemite from lithogenic magnetite. We present Mössbauer data on magnetic fractions from pre- and post-CBD treated soil samples. Six of the 10 samples had only maghemite as the sextet component and after CBD treatment, four lost between 96 and 100% of the magnetic susceptibility. Two samples were interpreted as highly oxidized magnetite or a mixture of magnetite and maghemite. We cannot distinguish between these with Mössbauer spectroscopy. In the remaining two samples, iron existed as hematite, ilmenite, magnetite and minor (<10%) amounts of maghemite. Our results provide additional support for pedogenic maghemite in soils and for the preferential removal of maghemite by the CBD procedure.

With the spread of a new invasive plant species, it is vital to determine the effectiveness of removal strategies as well as their advantages and disadvantages before attempting widespread removal. While thousands of dollars have been spent to curtail the spread of wavyleaf basketgrass [Oplismenus undulatifolius (Ard.) P. Beauv.], a relatively new invasive species, the lack of a cohesive management plan and funding has made controlling this species especially difficult. We assessed the efficacy of a variety of chemical control methods and hand weeding for this species and followed select methods over time. We also assessed the potential for ecosystem recovery following removal by measuring total and native species richness in response to treatments. Our pilot study revealed a wide breadth of responses to our eight herbicides, with fluazifop plus fenoxaprop, imazapic, quizalofop, and sulfometuron methyl being the least effective. In our follow-up experiments, hand weeding, glyphosate, and clethodim treatments were effective at reducing O. undulatifolius percent cover, density, and biomass, with an average reduction of at least 48% in the first year. However, we found substantial variation in the effectiveness of clethodim between our two experiments, which was likely driven by site differences. We also found that all three of these removal methods were effective at reducing the number of O. undulatifolius flowering stems and the height of those stems, which will likely reduce the spread of this species to new areas. Finally, we found that these methods have the potential to restore total and native species richness, but that glyphosate-treated plots did not fully recover until 2 yr after treatment.

Analyses of mitochondrial (mt) DNA control region sequences from 175 leatherback turtles Dermochelys coriacea from 10 nesting colonies revealed shallow phylogenetic structuring of maternal lineages on a global scale. Eleven haplotypes were observed, and mean estimated sequence divergence, p = 0.00581, is much lower than the deepest nodes reported in global mtDNA surveys of the green turtle Chelonia mydas, loggerhead Caretta caretta, and ridley turtles Lepidochelys spp. The leatherback turtle is the product of an evolutionary trajectory originating at least 100 million years ago, yet the intraspecific phylogeny recorded in mitochondrial lineages may trace back less than 900 000 years. The gene genealogy and global distribution of mtDNA haplotypes indicate that leatherbacks may have radiated from a narrow refugium, possibly in the Indian–Pacific during the early Pleistocene glaciation. Analysis of haplotype frequencies revealed that nesting populations are strongly subdivided globally (FST = 0.415), and within ocean basins (FST = 0.203–0.253), despite the leatherback's highly migratory nature. Within the Atlantic significant differences in haplotype frequency distributions and Nm values < 2 are observed in pairwise comparisons between St. Croix (U.S. Virgin Islands) and mainland Caribbean populations, and between Trinidad and the same mainland populations. These findings provisionally support the natal homing hypothesis for leatherback turtles, although several proximal nesting populations were indistinguishable, suggesting recent colonization or less precise natal homing behaviour than documented for other marine turtle species. The evidence of natal homing, manifested on ecological time scales, may be erased in some populations by rapid rookery turnover resulting from climatic fluctuation and the ephemeral nature of nesting habitat on a geological time scale. The evolutionary effective population size (Ne) is estimated from mtDNA data to be between 45 000 and 60 000, a value that exceeds current global census estimates of 26 000 to 43 000 adult females.

Samples of ventricular CSF were taken from 52 consecutive patients admitted for psychosurgery for intractable depression. Concentrations of asparagine, aspartate, glutamine, glutamic acid, and serine were determined. Glutamate and aspartate concentrations, implicated in excitotoxic brain damage, were not affected by various types of psychotropic drug treatment. Serine, a modulator of glutamate responses, was significantly elevated in samples from subjects receiving antidepressants. These subjects responded poorly to the operation. Psychotropic drugs are unlikely to be neurotoxic. Nevertheless, antidepressants may influence excitatory neurotransmission.

A dedicated, grower-friendly MBE computer control system is described, and its performance in demonstrated in growth of high resolution doped SiGe structures.

In this paper we address the problem of producing SiGe buffer layers of acceptable quality for the growth of symmetrically strained SiGe structures. Initially we consider SiGe layers grown to well beyond the metastable critical thickness and examine the degree of residual strain both as - grown and post anneal. The defect levels in metastable SiGe layers following high temperature anneal were also studied. A buffer layer was grown consisting of stacked metastable SiGe layers each of which is annealed in situ prior to the growth of the next layer and terminating with a 0.45 SiGe alloy. This produces nearly fully relaxed 1.15pim thick structures with threading dislocation densities of 4 × 106cm−2. Limited area growth on Si suggests that elastically relaxed material free of both threading and misfit dislocations can be produced.

We demonstrate the growth, by MBE, of high sheet density B delta layers in both Si and SiGe epitaxial layers. Double Crystal X-Ray Diffraction is shown to be a non-destructive method of characterising the width of very narrow (0.3 nm) delta layers and the sheet density of the activated B. The ability of delta layers to withstand high temperature anneals is considered and it is found that a 750 °C anneal for 1 hour broadens the delta layer to beyond the width required for carrier confinement.

We report on the further development of an ion source for producing intense, continuous beams of large positive and negative cluster ions comprised of high temperature materials. This device, the Smoke-Ion Source, is the result of combining inert gas condensation methods with techniques for injecting electrons directly into expanding jets. We demonstrate the capability of this ion source to generate strong beams of cluster ions comprised of materials including metals, semiconductors, and metal oxide ceramics.

Good dispersion of oxide ceramics in organic solvents can be achieved using many different dispersants. Several types of dispersants, including fatty acids, coupling agents, polar aromatic compounds and polymers, are discussed to illustrate the important phenomena. Many new problems arise in actual slips during ceramics processing; these are briefly discussed.

A Sr/Ti bimetallic isopropoxide complex was synthesized by two methods. The complex served as a precursor to the production of homogeneous SrTiO3 powders via alkoxide hydrolysis. Infrared spectra were obtained for Sr(OPri)2, Ti(OPri)4, and the product of the syntheses. In addition, the IR spectra of the solutions of each of the alkoxides were followed as hydrolysis reactions proceeded. Detailed analysis of the spectral features support the existence of a 1:1 Sr/Ti bimetallic alkoxide. The new Sr/Ti compound exhibits characteristic absorption bands at (1017, 993, 972, 961 cm−1), (844, 838, 827 cm−1) and (620, 596, and 572 −1). A band at 819−1 might also be associated with the new Sr/Ti bimetallic alkoxide. The infrared spectra suggest that the isopropoxide ligands in the bimetallic alkoxide are in at least three separate local environments. This information offers insight into possible structures for the complex.

The interaction potentials between solutes and grain boundaries in ionic solids are identified as [1] the electrostatic interaction between the charged solutes and grain boundaries and [2] the elastic energy due to size misfit of solutes in the matrix. Equilibrium solute distribution is calculated from the defect distributions leading to the minimum free energy. Space charge distributions near interfaces during kinetic processes are evaluated. We analyze the limiting case of constrained equilibrium in which the vacancy distribution and degree of solute-vacancy association satisfy a minimum free energy under the constraint of no solute redistribution.