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Local ecological knowledge (LEK) can be a valuable source of information about species’ biology and their conservation, especially for threatened and poorly known species, such as the Brazilian three-banded armadillo (Tolypeutes tricinctus). Here, we gathered information about the natural history and human–fauna relationships of T. tricinctusbased on the LEK of residents from a rural community in northeast Brazil, where a population of T. tricinctushas been recently discovered. To understand LEK, we used participatory transect walks, semi-structured interviews, and a member-checking workshop. T. tricinctuswas considered a locally abundant and widespread species, primarily nocturnal, highly popular, and not among the most hunted species. Our findings have important implications for the understanding of T. tricinctusbiology and conservation. First, they show that, although T. tricinctusis highly threatened by hunting, there are still localities where it is not among the most hunted species, where it may still be common. Second, as T. tricinctusis a locally common and popular species, research and participatory science projects may be feasible in the area. Moreover, to increase sampling effectiveness, research projects can consider aspects of T. tricinctusbiology identified in this study. In conclusion, our findings reinforce the importance of ethnobiology assessments to improve knowledge about species’ biology and inform local research and conservation efforts.

This study examines the influence of customer due diligence (CDD) process and bank employees' expertise on their judgement and decision making when assessing money laundering risk. The authors utilised an experimental approach where a case-based questionnaire was gathered from 122 employees in three major banks in Malaysia. Results indicated a significant relationship between the extent of the CDD process with bank employees' judgement and decision-making in assessing money laundering risk. This relationship is moderated by employees expertise, which indicates that it is crucial for the right employees with suitable qualifications to be employed as CDD process can be done better with enhanced articulation and informed judgement. The findings could provide useful insights into the judgement capabilities of bank employees with reference to the rigorousness of the CDD process and their expertise in assessing risk.

AbstractForcibly displaced populations are among the most vulnerable groups in disasters. They experience poorer health conditions compared with nondisplaced individuals. However, a clear picture is lacking regarding the overall health problems encountered by disaster-induced mid- to long-term displaced people. This study investigated these disorders prevalence and identified their correlates among long-settled displaced populations worldwide. The current scoping review follows the PRISMA-ScR guidelines; a systematic search was conducted on PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL and included original peer-reviewed studies, commentary, reviews, and grey literature published in English between January 1990 to June 2022. In the thematic and content analysis, the authors applied the narrative review approach to identify themes and sub-themes. Forty-eight documents were identified as fully relevant to this study. The largest number of published papers were from Asia, followed by the Middle East, the United States, and Europe. IDPs in developed countries were the most researched populations. Human-made disasters were addressed by 89% of the included studies. The four main thematic categories included were “physical health,” “mental health,” “inadequate facilities,” and “lack of healthy behaviour.” The worsening of noncommunicable diseases had the highest prevalence, followed by communicable diseases. Due to their condition, forcibly displaced migrants face a triple burden of communicable diseases and noncommunicable diseases such as mental health issues. Health-related research and policy need to consider the links among disasters, health problems, and forced migration as a determinant of health in the new era of climate change-driven displacements.

In the study AVL BOOST™ is used to perform a thermodynamic simulation of a six-stroke engine, being built by a research team based in Saudi Arabia. The six-stroke cycle consists of a standard four-stroke Otto Cycle followed by a heat recovering steam expansion cycle. Water is injected into the hot combustion chamber towards the end of the Otto expansion stroke producing steam, which is used to perform work on a piston. This process produces power using waste heat and therefore increases the overall efficiency of the engine. The Robin EY28D engine, which is a single cylinder, four-stroke, gasoline engine was used for this simulation study. The engine was modelled and converted into six-stroke engine in AVL BOOST. The results show that six-stroke engine is more efficient than four-stroke engine. In six-stroke engine, the engine power is increased by 33.1% and brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC) is decreased by approximately 16%. Where emissions are concerned, Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emission from six-stroke engine is reduced by 80%, while the Hydrocarbon (HC) emission increases by 85% compared with the original 4-stroke. Moreover, the most efficient camshaft was found and designed according to the most efficient valve profile for this engine, which is combination of 60CA° of valve duration and 10 mm of valve lifting.

Ultraviolet Nanosecond Laser Annealing (UV-NLA, XeCl laser, 308 nm, 145 ns) was performed on 30 nm-thick Si0.8Ge0.2 epitaxial layers. The various regimes encountered after single pulse UV-NLA are described and discussed, including submelt, SiGe layer partial and total melt, as well as melt beyond the SiGe epi-layer. Energy densities around 2.00 J/cm2 and above led to the formation of pseudomorphic layers with strong Ge redistribution. Starting from uniform Si0.8Ge0.2 layers, Ge segregation towards the surface resulted in the formation of a Ge-rich surface layer with up to 55% Ge for 2.00 J/cm2. Such pseudomorphic SiGe layers with graded composition and a Ge-rich surface layer may find some promising applications such as contact resistance lowering in doped layers.

We have assessed, in 300mm Reduced Pressure - Chemical Vapour Deposition chambers from major suppliers, the advantages and drawbacks of disilane for the low temperature growth of Si and SiGe. Si growth rates are, for T < 575degC, approximately ten times higher with Si2H6 than with SiH4, which are in turn roughly ten times higher than with SiH2Cl2. For given GeH4 and Si precursor mass-flow ratios, lower Ge contents and much higher SiGe growth rates are obtained at 550degC, 20 Torr with Si2H6 than with SiH4 and especially SiH2Cl2. Growth rates (Ge concentrations) are with SiH4 and SiH2Cl2 lower (slightly lower) in Supplier A than in Supplier B chamber. The situation is the opposite with Si2H6. This is assigned to (i) a ~ 5degC offset between the two and(ii) effective precursor flows which are different, most likely due to chamber geometry differences. Growth rate activation energies and relationships linking Ge concentration to precursor mass-flow ratios are quite similar, however, making process transfer between the two rather easy. Finally, we have compared ex-situ "HF-Last" wet cleanings and in-situ surface preparation processes for Si surface conditioning prior to epitaxy. Surfaces are after the latter always under high purity N2. This results in a threshold H2 bake temperature (above which there is no O interfacial contamination anymore) which is shifted downwards by ~ 25degC (from 775degC down to 750degC). Below that threshold, O sheet concentrations are with in-situ processes typically one third those associated with "HF-Last" wet cleanings and epitaxial surfaces are smoother.

The article offers information on the poet Gillian Clarke's poetry, which features in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) syllabus. It mentions a podcast of her Desert Island Discs from December 15, 2013, referencing her love for nature. It also mentions her poem "That spring was late," which recalls impact of natural and unnatural phenomena on weather.

We have benchmarked germane and digermane for the low temperature growth of SiGe and SiGe:B (with disilane as the Si gaseous precursor). At 500degC, 20 Torr, the SiGe growth rate increased linearly with the Ge flow. It was 8 to 10 times higher with Ge2H6 than with GeH4, however. Ge atoms were otherwise 4 times more likely to incorporate in SiGe films with Ge2H6 than with GeH4. The use of GeH4 led to an exponential increase of the 20 Torr SiGe growth rate with temperature (42 kcal. mol.-1 activation energy), together with a slight linear decrease of x. The situation was different with Ge2H6. As T increased, we had a slight exponential increase of the SiGe growth rate (Ea = 15 kcal. mol.-1) and a huge linear decrease of the Ge content. Adding HCl to Si2H6 + Ge2H6 otherwise led at 500 degC, 20 Torr to a significant decrease of the growth rate, together with a significant Ge concentration increase. Finally, we have investigated the 500degC, 20 Torr growth of SiGe:B layers (with a Si2H6 + Ge2H6 + B2H6 chemistry). A marked increase of the SiGe:B growth rate with the B2H6 flow was observed, together with a less than linear decrease of the Ge concentration. The lowest resistivity, e.g. 4.3x10-4 O.cm, was obtained for F(B2H6)/F(H2) = 2.5x10-6. For higher B2H6 flows, we had a resistivity re-increase, which was likely due to the crystalline quality degradation then the transformation into poly-SiGe:B evidenced in X-Ray Diffraction.

We have studied at temperatures 350 degC and less, the 100 Torr epitaxy of heavily in-situ phosphorous doped Ge and high Sn content (> 6 %) GeSn alloys in a 200 mm industrial Reduced Pressure - Chemical Vapor Deposition tool. A dedicated low temperature Ge precursor, digermane (Ge2H6), was used here in order to promote Sn or P incorporation. We have first of all quantified the impact of the phosphine (PH3) flow on the structural and electrical properties of Ge:P layers. We have then investigated the epitaxy of high Sn content GeSn binaries with tin tetrachloride (SnCl4).

This article is related to the development of a protocol for the characterization of the behavior of high aspect ratio through silicon via (TSV) during advanced three dimension (3D) integration. The time-of-flight (TOF)-SIMS profile measurement along the sidewall of the TSV with advanced samples preparations is described. This technique allows studying the efficiency of a low temperature, 200degC metallorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) titanium nitride (TiN) film as a barrier to copper diffusion into silicon. Then the thermo-mechanical stresses induced by the TSV in the surrounding silicon were studied by micro-Raman spectroscopy. Different TiN films were studied according to subsequent plasma treatments and compared with a reference deposited by ionized physical vapor deposition (i-PVD). The thermal stress in the silicon was found to decrease as a function of distance from an isolated TSV. The iPVD and MOCVD TiN barrier involved a more compressive stress than non-plasma treated MOCVD TiN.

Paul Barnes' contribution to the conference Conceptual Type – Type led by ideas, Copenhagen, 19. November 2010.Where are the idealistic fonts, the artsy fonts, the non fonts, the political fonts, the funny fonts, the difficult fonts, the fonts that do not look like fonts, fonts that are frontiers of new belief?We would like to focus on the ideas and concepts behind type. Rather than talk about type by asking who made it and what does it look like, we will start a new decade by asking why do we make it and what does it mean?In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work. When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes art.'Sol LeWitt. 'Paragraph on Conceptual art', Artforum, 1967.We would like to borrow from Sol LeWitt's vision and replace ‘art’ with ‘type’, looking for the idea-type-machines of our time.[From the conference call]

Abstract

Interfacial reactivity between CGO layer and YSZ substrate was characterized by ToF-SIMS depth profiles and XRD. No reactivity between CGO and YSZ was detected after heat treatment at 800 degC for 2 h in air. Whereas, after 1500 degC for 10 h in air a solid solution was detected in homogeneous composition, with low Ce and Gd content, at least on 6 um. An ageing investigation at 700 degC of LSCF/CGO/YSZ half cell was performed for different CGO buffer layer thickness (0, 0.45 and 2 um), using EIS. Electrical properties of the half cell are dependent on the CGO thickness.

Templates made of a thin single crystal GaAs layer on CTE-matched substrate (sapphire) have been realized using the Smart CutTM technology. These templates can withstand high processing temperatures thanks to the CTE matching between the GaAs thin film and its support, and therefore can be used for many applications since they require no specific restriction concerning thermal treatments. The GaAs templates have been compared to conventional bulk GaAs substrates. TEM images and XRD spectra show similar crystalline quality. AFM measurements show a similar surface microroughness. Photoluminescence of a AlGaAs double heterostructure grown by MOCVD on the GaAs template shows the same intensity as a reference structure on bulk GaAs. Therefore, the GaAs templates can replace GaAs bulk substrates in various domains such as photonics devices (solar cell, laser) or high frequency electronics.

Farbenspiel: Die erste Dynamikstudie mit röntgenbeugungsgestützter Computertomographie erfasste die Strukturänderungen während der Präparation millimetergroßer industrieller Hydrierungskatalysatorkörper (siehe Bild; zeitlicher Verlauf von links nach rechts, Farben geben unterschiedliche Katalysatorphasen wieder). Die Methode hat das Potenzial zur chemischen Bildgebung makroskopischer Objekte, die physikochemischen Änderungen unterliegen.

Chemistry by color: The first dynamic study using X‐ray diffraction computed tomography investigates the evolving chemistry and structural changes during the preparation of a millimeter‐sized industrial hydrogenation catalyst body (see picture; time evolves from left to right, and different colors represent different phases). The method has potential for chemical imaging of materials within bulk objects undergoing physicochemical changes.

As a resilience enhancing practice, business continuity management (BCM) can play an important role in aiding preparation of the insurance industry for coping with the losses incurred by major discontinuity incidents: regardless of cause. Acknowledging the increasing frequency of unpredictable man-made disasters and natural catastrophes, the insurance industry would benefit from examining and implementing, where suitable, key elements of BCM. Such strategic decisions would assist insurers and re-insurers collectively to enhance mutual capability to respond to, and recover from, the impact of significant losses. This paper presents a comparison of opinions about BCM practitioners in both retail and re-insurance companies on the importance of generic continuity practices with actual levels of BCM practice across the two industry groups in Southeast Asia. It suggests means by which multi-lateral cooperation across Asian economies and between retail and re-insurance market segments might enhance the viability of the insurance industry in the face of increased stress from major natural and socio-technical hazards.

The wafer direct bonding technique is very sensitive to surface adsorbed water; hence it is a useful way to characterize the impact of wafer drying. We have focused this work on the drying impact on surfaces after innovative solvent exposure, in a liquid or in a vapor phase, compared with standard isopropyl alcohol drying: we report characterization results from different techniques investigating both native and thermal oxide surfaces. We report promising drying through low surface tension solvent exposure, especially in a vapor phase.

In this paper, we report on the solid state reactions of Ni thin films (6nm to 12nm) deposited on Ge (001). Especially, the influence of the substrate dopants (As and BF2) is investigated. TEM and SIMS analyses point out the presence of an additional phase at the NiGe/Ge interface. EELS and SIMS measurements reveal that this phase contains Ni and Ge. On the another hand, ex-situ XRD spectra allows to determine a change in NiGe texture with Ge(001) doped or undoped. In situ XRD confirms that the kinetics shifts from simultaneous to sequential growth of nickel germanides, as predicted previously. Moreover, a recrystallization of NiGe is observed only on the undoped substrate. This recrystallization can be attributed to a contribution of a stress term in addition of the surface energy. This stress term becomes minor when temperature increases and Ni-rich phase is completely consumed. The presence of dopants, probably at the NiGe/Ge interface co uld reduce this stress and thus the recrystallization.

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We have studied the in-situ boron-doping of high Ge content Si1- xGex layers (x = 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5). Those layers have been grown at low pressure (20 Torr) and low temperature (600{degree sign}C to 650{degree sign}C) with a heavily chlorinated chemistry (in order to be selective versus SiO2 (isolation) and Si3N4 (sidewall spacers)). We have quantified the impact of the diborane flow on the SiGe layer crystalline quality, its resistivity, the SiGe:B growth rate and the apparent Ge concentration. We have also probed the in-situ boron and phosphorus doping of Si @ 750 {degree sign} C, 20 Torr with a chlorinated chemistry. All the know-how developed will be most handy for the formation of in-situ doped recessed or raised sources and drains.

We have studied the Ge diffusion in tensile-strained Si on relaxed SiGe. Two Ge concentrations have been used, 30 and 40%, in order to induce two different strain levels in the Si layer. Thermal budgets in-between 750 and 1000oC for four hours have been tested. Higher thermal budgets lead as expected to a higher diffusion of Ge in sSi. The diffusion length is superior to 20 nm at 1000oC, 4 hours. We have observed a slight increase of the diffusion coefficient of Ge in tensile strained silicon when the strain was increased.

Copper and Cu-Fe (Fe ~2.35 wt%) alloy substrates were thermo-mechanically processed and the biaxial texture development, magnetic properties, yield strength, and electrical resistivity were studied and compared to determine their suitability as substrates for high-temperature superconducting coated conductor applications. Average full width half maximum (FWHM) of 5.5° in Phi scans (in-plane alignment), and 6.6° in omega scans (out-of-plane alignment) was obtained in copper samples. Cu-Fe samples showed 5.9° FWHM in Phi scans and 5.9° in omega scans. Even with the presence of 2.35% Fe in the Cu-alloy, the saturation magnetization (Msat) value was found to be 4.27 emu g?1at 5 K, which is less than in Ni samples by an order of magnitude and comparable to that of Ni-9 at.% W substrates. The yield strength of the annealed Cu-Fe alloy substrate was found to be at least two times higher than that of similarly annealed copper substrates. The electrical resistivity of Cu-Fe alloy was found to be an order of magnitude higher than that of pure copper at 77 K.

We examined the influence of short‐term exposures of different UV wavebands on the elongation and phototropic curvature of hypocotyls of cucumbers (Cucumis sativusL.) grown in white light (WL) and dim red light (DRL). We evaluated (1) whether different wavebands within the ultraviolet B (UV‐B) region elicit different responses; (2) the hypocotyl elongation response elicited by ultraviolet C (UV‐C); (3) whether irradiation with blue light–enriched white light (B/WL) given simultaneous with UV‐B treatments reversed the effect of UV in a manner indicative of photoreactivation; and (4) whether responses in WL‐grown plants were similar to those grown in DRL. Responses to brief (1–100 min) irradiations with three different UV wavebands all induced inhibition of elongation measured after 24 h. When WL‐grown seedlings were irradiated with light containing proportionally greater short wavelength UV‐B (37% of UV‐B between 280 and 300 nm), inhibition of hypocotyl elongation was induced at a threshold of 0.5 kJ m−2, whereas exposure to UV‐B including only wavelengths longer than 290 nm (and only 8% of UV‐B between 290 and 300 nm) induced inhibition of hypocotyl elongation at a threshold of 1.6 kJ m−2. The UV‐C treatment induced reduction in elongation at a threshold of <0.01 kJ m−2for DRL‐grown plants and <0.03 kJ m−2for WL‐grown plants. B/WL caused 50% reversal of the short‐wavelength UV‐B–induced inhibition of elongation in DRL‐grown seedlings but did not reverse the effect of long‐wavelength UV‐B. B/WL caused 30% reversal of the UV‐C–induced inhibition of elongation in WL‐grown seedlings but did not affect the response to short‐wavelength UV‐B. Short‐wavelength UV‐B also induced positive phototropic curvature in both types of seedlings, and this was reversed 60% or completely in DRL‐grown and WL‐grown seedlings, respectively. The similarity of responses between the etiolated (DRL‐grown) and de‐etiolated (WL‐grown) seedlings indicates that the short‐wavelength specific response may be relevant to natural light environments, and the apparent photoreactivation implicates DNA damage as the sensory mechanism for the response.

Abstract This technical note describes the use of time-resolved synchrotron radiation tomographic energy dispersive diffraction imaging (TEDDI) and tomographic X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) for examining ion diffusion in porous media. The technique is capable of tracking the diffusion of several ion species simultaneously. This is illustrated by results which compare the movement of Cs+, Ba2+ and La3+ ions from solution into a typical sample of English chalk. The results exhibited somewhat anomalous (non-Fickian) behaviour and revealed heterogeneities (in 1D) on the scale of a few millimetres.

Biaxially cube textured polycrystalline Cu(200) substrate tapes were produced for high temperature superconducting (HTS) coated conductor applications. A comparison is made between Cu substrates fabricated by reverse cold rolling followed by recrystallization, from stock materials that were obtained in the form of extruded rod and rolled plate. Detailed x-ray diffraction (XRD) studies and orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) were performed to measure the in-plane alignment, out-of-plane alignment, and microtexture at various deformation levels and annealing temperatures. The rod starting geometry proved to have superior biaxial alignment with a predominant (220) deformation texture after rolling. Phi (?) scan and psi (?) scan XRD reveals that the best in-plane and out-of-plane alignment, measured in terms of full width half maximum (FWHM) values of 5.4° and 5.8°, were obtained at 99.5% reduction in thickness and 750?°C annealing temperature. OIM microtexture results indicate that more than 97.5% of grains had less than 10° misorientation with no observable twinning.

This paper describes novel uses of synchrotron radiation in examining porosity distributions within porous media. Tomographic energy dispersive diffraction imaging and Tomographic X-ray fluorescence have been combined within one measurement method and used to highlight the porosity distribution in a typical sample of English Chalk.

Synchrotron energy dispersive diffraction has been used to monitor the mineral transformations which occur in the paste hydration of brownmillerite Ca2AlFeO5in a closed hydrothermal environment at temperatures in the range 30 to 150 °C. In the absence of sulfate brownmillerite reacts rapidly to form a metastable hexagonal hydrate with a basal spacing of 1.07 nm. As temperature increases the metastable hydrate transforms to the stable hydrogarnet phase Ca3Al,Fe2OH12with an Al(Al Fe) ratio of about 0.4. The lack of iron in the metastable hydrate suggests a through-solution mechanism while the iron content of the hydrogarnet indicates it must form on the surface of the brownmillerite, probably in contact with the Fe-rich residue remaining after dissolution. The addition of gypsum CaSO4·2H2O increases the rate of brownmillerite hydration. Ettringite Ca6Al2SO43OH12·26 H2O is formed at ambient temperature and is replaced by calcium aluminium monosulfate-14 hydrate Ca4Al2O6(SO4)·14H2O at elevated temperatures 70, 100 and 150 °C. Transient increases in gypsum accompany this transformation and all three phases can co-exist at 70 °C. Monosulfate-14 is stable at 150 °C. Increases in brownmillerite peak intensities accompany the conversion of ettringite to monosulfate and are a result of sedimentation. This has implications for paste rheology and slurry design in oilwell cements at elevated temperatures.

Energy-dispersive (X-ray) diffraction has been used on a third generation synchrotron source to study, in situ, the hydrothermal crystallisation of zirconia from the pre-cursor hydroxide under autoclave conditions. Because the sample and enclosure are highly absorbing, it is necessary to collect data at high energy so that meaningful Avrami-kinetics parameters can be determined over the temperature range of 200–250 °C. A clear lowering of the activation energy for crystallisation is observed when using cerium-doped materials.

Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction has been used on a third generation synchrotron source to study, in situ, the hydrothermal crystallisation of zirconia from the pre-cursor hydroxide under autoclave conditions. Because the sample and enclosure are highly absorbing, it is necessary to collect data at high energy so that meaningful Avrami-kinetics parameters can be determined over the temperature range of 200–250 °C. A clear lowering of the activation energy for crystallisation is observed when using cerium-doped materials.

Synchrotron energy dispersive diffraction has been used to monitor the mineral transformations which occur in the paste hydration of brownmillerite Ca₂AlFeO₅ in a closed hydrothermal environment at temperatures in the range 30 to 150 °C. In the absence of sulfate brownmillerite reacts rapidly to form a metastable hexagonal hydrate with a basal spacing of 1.07 nm. As temperature increases the metastable hydrate transforms to the stable hydrogarnet phase Ca₃(Al,Fe)₂(OH)₁₂ with an Al/(Al + Fe) ratio of about 0.4. The lack of iron in the metastable hydrate suggests a through-solution mechanism while the iron content of the hydrogarnet indicates it must form on the surface of the brownmillerite, probably in contact with the Fe-rich residue remaining after dissolution. The addition of gypsum CaSO₄·2H₂O increases the rate of brownmillerite hydration. Ettringite Ca₆Al₂(SO₄)₃(OH)₁₂·26 H₂O is formed at ambient temperature and is replaced by calcium aluminium monosulfate-14 hydrate Ca₄Al₂O₆(SO₄)·14H₂O at elevated temperatures (70, 100 and 150 °C). Transient increases in gypsum accompany this transformation and all three phases can co-exist at 70 °C. Monosulfate-14 is stable at 150 °C. Increases in brownmillerite peak intensities accompany the conversion of ettringite to monosulfate and are a result of sedimentation. This has implications for paste rheology and slurry design in oilwell cements at elevated temperatures.

Presents a summary for the article "Handling School Conflict: Training Learners for Effective Peer Intervention," by Dalena Vogel, Jeanette Seaberry, Paul Barnes and Kevin Kelley. Importance of the degree to which learners encounter and handle conflict; Escalation of rates of violence in schools in the region and the U.S.; Possible result of interventions in the lives of young people.

Spatially-resolved energy-dispersive diffraction has been used to observe crystallisation gradients occurring during the hydrothermalautoclave synthesis of zeolites. Two systems have been studied: membrane growth and crystallisation of zeolite 4A from bulk gels onto seeded and un-seeded α-alumina substrates, respectively. Both cases clearly show the first manifestations of crystallisation gradients during hydrothermal synthesis and these are described. The results suggest that many more such studies should be conducted to cover a range of systems and to improve synthesis methodology.

Spatially-resolved energy-dispersive diffraction has been used to observe crystallisation gradients occurring during the hydrothermal/autoclave synthesis of zeolites. Two systems have been studied: membrane growth and crystallisation of zeolite 4A from bulk gels onto seeded and un-seeded α-alumina substrates, respectively. Both cases clearly show the first manifestations of crystallisation gradients during hydrothermal synthesis and these are described. The results suggest that many more such studies should be conducted to cover a range of systems and to improve synthesis methodology.

Leaf demography and growth of six common, co-occurring woody plant species that varied in stature (tree vs. shrub) and leaf texture (sclerophyllous, coriaceous, malacophyllous) were examined in a subtropical savanna parkland in southern Texas, USA. We tested the hypotheses that, (a) leaves of plants with evergreen canopies would have longer life spans than those of deciduous species; (b) supplementation of soil moisture would decrease leaf life span in both evergreen and deciduous species; (c) species responses to increased soil moisture availability would be inversely related to leaf longevity; and (d) deciduous growth forms would exhibit a greater growth response to increased soil moisture availability than their evergreen counterparts.A variety of seasonal leaf habits (evergreen, winter-deciduous and summer-deciduous canopies) and leaf life spans (median = 66 to 283 days) were represented by the targeted species, but there was no clear relationship between seasonal leaf habit and leaf longevity. Among species with evergreen canopies, median leaf longevity ranged from short (Zanthoxylum fagara = 116 days; Condalia hookeri = 158 days) to long (Berberis trifoliolata = 283 days) but did not exceed 1 yr. In fact, leaf longevity in evergreen shrubs was often comparable to, or shorter than, that of species with deciduous canopies (Ziziphus obtusifolia = 66 days; Diospyros texana = 119 days; Prosopis glandulosa = 207 days). Augmentation of surface soil moisture had no detectable effect on median leaf life span in any species and there was no clear relationship between leaf longevity and species growth responses to irrigation. Contrary to expectations, species with evergreen canopies responded to irrigation by producing more leaf biomass, longer shoots and more leaf cohorts/year than did deciduous species.Species differences in the annual cycle of leaf initiation, leaf longevity and canopy development, combined with contrasts in root distributions and a highly variable climate, may allow for spatial and temporal partitioning of resources and hence, woody species coexistence and diversity in this system. However, the lack of expected relationships between leaf longevity, leaf habit and plant responses to resource enhancement suggests that structure-function relationships and functional groupings developed in strongly seasonal environments cannot be applied with confidence to these subtropical savannas and thorn woodlands.