Surface properties of ZSM-5 modified by phosphorus

Phosphorus modification of ZSM-5 leads to extra framework P⁵⁺ and probably incorporation of +3 valence state of P in the framework. The resulting system has increased Brønsted acidity. Theoretical calculations also favour the postulate that phosphorus in +3 valence state can be incorporated into the lattice.     

Alkylation of naphthalene with alcohols over mesoporous MCM-41

Mesoporous MCM-41 is found to promote alkylation of naphthalene by alcohols. In addition to the preferred branched side chain productsn-alkylated product is also observed in the case of propylation of naphthalene.     

Substrate-mediated interactions and intermolecular forces between molecules adsorbed on surfaces

Adsorbate interactions and reactions on metal surfaces have been investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy. The manners in which adsorbates perturb the surface electronic structure in their vicinity are discussed. The effects these perturbations have on other molecules are shown to be important in overlayer growth. Interactions of molecules with surface steps are addressed, and each molecule's electron affinity is shown to dictate its adsorption sites at step edges. Standing waves emanating from steps are demonstrated to effect transient molecular adsorption up to 40 A away from the step edge. Halobenzene derivatives are used to demonstrate how the surface is important in aligning reactive intermediates.     

Patterns in the crustacean zooplankton community in Lake Winnipeg,Manitoba: Response to long-term environmental change

Changes in the crustacean zooplankton community composition and abundance in Lake Winnipeg (1969–2006) provide a rare opportunity to examine their response to environmental changes in the largest naturally eutrophic lake on the Canadian prairies. Since 1929, zooplankton species composition in Lake Winnipeg has changed little except for the addition of the invasive cladoceran, Eubosmina coregoni in 1994. The dominant taxa in the lake in summer include: Leptodiaptomus ashlandi, Acanthocyclops vernalis, Diacyclops thomasi, Daphnia retrocurva, Daphnia mendotae, Diaphanosoma birgei, Eubosmina coregoni, and Bosmina longirostris. Climate-accelerated nutrient loading to southern Lake Winnipeg over the last two decades has led to increased phytoplankton abundance and higher frequency of cyanobacterial blooms especially in its northern basin. Crustacean zooplankton have likewise increased especially in the North Basin, but less so in the more nutrient rich South Basin, possibly as a consequence of higher densities of pelagic planktivorous fish and light-limited primary production compared with the more transparent North basin (Brunskill et al., 1979, 1980). Calanoid copepods play a larger role in the South basin food web in contrast to cyclopoid copepods and Cladocera in the North basin. The study begins to fill the recognized gap in understanding of Lake Winnipeg's food web structure and provides a baseline for evaluating ongoing changes in the zooplankton community with the arrival of new non-indigenous taxa, e.g. Bythotrephes longimanus and Dreissena polymorpha. It reinforces previous work demonstrating that zooplankton provide valuable indices toward evaluating the health of an ecosystem.     

Rheological,mechanical, and morphological studies of epoxy/poly(methyl methacrylate) semi‐interpenetrating polymer networks

Semi‐interpenetrating polymer networks (semi‐IPNs) of epoxy resin and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were synthesized. Methyl methacrylate (MMA) was polymerized by free radical mechanism with azo‐bis‐isobutyronitrile in the presence of oligomeric epoxy resin (DGEBA), and hexahydrophthalic anhydride as crosslinking agent. The gelation and vitrification transitions during cure/polymerization processes have been examined using parallel‐plates rheological technique. From differential scanning calorimetry and rheological techniques, it was suggested that both curing and polymerization processes occur simultaneously. However, the gelation time was longer for the semi‐IPN than those observed for the cure of pure DGEBA or polymerization of MMA. The gelation time increased significantly when 5% of MMA was employed, suggesting a diluent effect of the monomer. Higher amount of MMA resulted in a decrease of gel time, probably because of the simultaneous polymerization of MMA during the curing process. Structural examination of the semi‐IPNs, using scanning electron microscopy, revealed phase separation in nanoscale size for semi‐IPNs containing PMMA at concentrations up to 15%. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Natural rubber–isotactic polypropylene thermoplastic blends

Thermoplastic elastomers, prepared by melt blending of natural rubber (NR) and isotactic polypropylene (PP) through a dynamic vulcanization technique, were developed during the later 1970s. However, they have certain drawbacks due to thermal degradation and higher molecular weight of NR. In the study reported here, NR was masticated to different levels prior its addition to isotactic polypropylene to improve the flow properties and to reduce the incompatibility resulting from molecular weight mismatch of NR/PP thermoplastic blends. Mixing energy curves of uncrosslinked blends and those of dynamically vulcanized blends crosslinked using different cure systems were compared. The mixing energy curves of blends containing NR of different molecular weight (M _n) and two grades of PP (injection and film grades) were also compared. Technological and processing properties of the dynamically vulcanized (sulphur and peroxide cure systems) and unvulcanized blends were compared with those of the samples containing unmasticated NR. The results indicated that a number average molecular weight in the range 4 × 10⁵ for NR increased the procoessability without significantly affecting the technological properties of NR/PP thermoplastic blends. Among the three cure systems studied Luperox 101 and dicumyl peroxide gave better technological properties than the sulphur‐cured samples. Two antioxidants, viz. quinoline (TDQ) and imidazole (MBI) type, were tried in NR/PP blends. It was found that TDQ imparts better aging resistance compared to MBI. The improvement in processability due to the reduction in molecular weight of natural rubber by mastication is more noticeable in the case of peroxide vulcanized blends compared to sulphur vulcanized samples. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 2063–2068, 2004     

Behavioural responses to risk on remote outcomes

Computer mediation of communication allows interaction with events remote in space or time. However, the uptake and use of videotechnology requires an understanding of its effects upon willingness to take risks. To understand how responses to remote events are influenced by computer mediation, the present study compared responses to collocated outcomes with those conveyed over a videolink or as pre-recordings. Willingness to risk on an outcome was quantified using wagering behaviour during a simulated game of roulette: measuring preferred outcome format, levels of risk sought, and times required to make decisions. Participants tended to be more confident of winning and preferred the collocated version of roulette. Participants took greater risks with pre-recorded video outcomes and tended to spend more time locating bets. For videolinked outcomes, participants were more cautious, hedging their bets, and taking more time deliberating the odds. Although the amounts wagered did not change, a potential predictability in pre-recordings appears to encourage risk taking, while the reduced presence inherent in real-time videolinks engenders caution.     

Kolmogorov Width of Discrete Linear Spaces: an Approach to Matrix Rigidity

A square matrix V is called rigid if every matrix \({V^\prime}\) obtained by altering a small number of entries of V has sufficiently high rank. While random matrices are rigid with high probability, no explicit constructions of rigid matrices are known to date. Obtaining such explicit matrices would have major implications in computational complexity theory. One approach to establishing rigidity of a matrix V is to come up with a property that is satisfied by any collection of vectors arising from a low-dimensional space, but is not satisfied by the rows of V even after alterations. In this paper, we propose such a candidate property that has the potential of establishing rigidity of combinatorial design matrices over the field \({\mathbb{F}_2.}\) Stated informally, we conjecture that under a suitable embedding of \({\mathbb{F}_2^n}\) into \({\mathbb{R}^n,}\) vectors arising from a low-dimensional \({\mathbb{F}_2}\)-linear space always have somewhat small Kolmogorov width, i.e., admit a non-trivial simultaneous approximation by a low-dimensional Euclidean space. This implies rigidity of combinatorial designs, as their rows do not admit such an approximation even after alterations. Our main technical contribution is a collection of results establishing weaker forms and special cases of the conjecture above.     

Do Men Advance Faster Than Women? Debunking the Gender Performance Gap in Two Massively Multiplayer Online Games

Prior research on digital games illustrates a perceived gender gap in participation and performance, suggesting men as playing more and better than women. This article challenges the gender gap using longitudinal behavioral data of men and women in 2 MMOs in the United States and China. Results show that women advance at least as fast as men do in both games. Thus, perceived gender‐based performance disparities seem to result from factors that are confounded with gender (i.e., amount of play), not player gender itself. We conclude that the stereotype of female players as inferior is not only false, but also a potential cause for unequal participation in digital gaming.