Homogeneous Environment Research Articles

Controlled release of Ag+ ions to human cancer cells selectively neutralized with silver nanoparticles of different sizes produced by a green synthesis method

We present a facile green method to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with different sizes and uniform size distributions using an extract of Rhododendron mucronulatum flowers. Here, AgNPs were utilized to modify the release of Ag+ ions and selectively annihilate human cancer cells. AgNPs were prepared at ambient temperature (RT-AgNPs) and in higher-temperature water baths at 60 °C (W60-AgNPs) and 70 °C (W70-AgNPs) to modify the diameter and uniformity of the AgNPs. The W60-AgNPs were further treated with acid to modify their size and surface state (named AW60-AgNPs). The water-bath technique enabled an alteration of the relative rates of initial nucleation and growth of nanoparticles in a homogeneous environment, promoting the creation of small AgNPs with a uniform diameter distribution. The acid treatment eroded the surface particles to reduce their diameter and simultaneously introduced functional groups. The Ag+-ion release efficiency of the prepared nanoparticles and the toxicity of Ag+ ions on cancer cells were examined. Among the prepared samples, the AW60-AgNPs released the greatest amount of Ag+ ions and produced the largest amount of reactive oxygen species (O2̇−, ˙OH, and H2O2). All of the AgNP samples were applied to tumor cells (K562 and HT1080) and healthy cells (LO2) in vitro. In the presence of K562 cells, AW60-AgNPs showed the most efficient dose- and time-dependent early and late apoptosis as well as reduced viability. A crystal violet assay showed that the synthesized particles preferentially attack HT1080 cancer cells rather than LO2 normal cells. We found that Ag+ ions release efficiency and selectivity varied with particle size, and that DNA damage in tumor cells was due to the formation of Ag+-coordinated complexes within DNA base pairs.

Dynamics of consumer-resource reaction-diffusion models: single and multiple consumer species.

A consumer-resource reaction-diffusion model with a single consumer species was proposed and experimentally studied by Zhang et al.(Ecol Lett 20:1118-1128, 2017). Analytical study on its dynamics was further performed by He et al.(J Math Biol 78:1605-1636, 2019). In this work, we completely settle the conjecture proposed by He et al.(J Math Biol 78:1605-1636, 2019) about the global dynamics of the consumer-resource model for small yield rate. We then study a multi-species consumer-resource model where all the consumer species compete with each other through depression of the limited resources by consumption and there is no direct competition between them. We show that in this case, all consumer species persist uniformly, which implies that "competition exclusion" phenomenon will never happen. We also clarify its dynamics in both homogeneous and heterogeneous environments under various circumstances.

Uncoupling system and environment simulation cells for fast-scaling modeling of complex continuum embeddings.

Continuum solvation models are becoming increasingly relevant in condensed matter simulations, allowing to characterize materials interfaces in the presence of wet electrified environments at a reduced computational cost with respect to all atomistic simulations. However, some challenges with the implementation of these models in plane-wave simulation packages still persists, especially when the goal is to simulate complex and heterogeneous environments. Among these challenges is the computational cost associated with large heterogeneous environments, which in plane-wave simulations has a direct effect on the basis-set size and, as a result, on the cost of the electronic structure calculation. Moreover, the use of periodic simulation cells is not well-suited for modeling systems embedded in semi-infinite media, which is often the case in continuum solvation models. To address these challenges, we present the implementation of a double-cell formalism, in which the simulation cell used for the continuum environment is uncoupled from the one used for the electronic-structure simulation of the quantum-mechanical system. This allows for a larger simulation cell to be used for the environment, without significantly increasing computational time. In this work, we show how the double-cell formalism can be used as an effective periodic boundary conditions correction scheme for nonperiodic and partially periodic systems. The accuracy of the double-cell formalism is tested using representative examples with different dimensionalities, both in vacuum and in a homogeneous continuum dielectric environment. Fast convergence and good speedups are observed for all the simulation setups, provided the quantum-mechanical simulation cell is chosen to completely fit the electronic density of the system.

Animal behaviour on the move: the use of auxiliary information and semi-supervision to improve behavioural inferences from Hidden Markov Models applied to GPS tracking datasets

BackgroundState-space models, such as Hidden Markov Models (HMMs), are increasingly used to classify animal tracks into behavioural states. Typically, step length and turning angles of successive locations are used to infer where and when an animal is resting, foraging, or travelling. However, the accuracy of behavioural classifications is seldom validated, which may badly contaminate posterior analyses. In general, models appear to efficiently infer behaviour in species with discrete foraging and travelling areas, but classification is challenging for species foraging opportunistically across homogenous environments, such as tropical seas. Here, we use a subset of GPS loggers deployed simultaneously with wet-dry data from geolocators, activity measurements from accelerometers, and dive events from Time Depth Recorders (TDR), to improve the classification of HMMs of a large GPS tracking dataset (478 deployments) of red-billed tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus), a poorly studied pantropical seabird.MethodsWe classified a subset of fixes as either resting, foraging or travelling based on the three auxiliary sensors and evaluated the increase in overall accuracy, sensitivity (true positive rate), specificity (true negative rate) and precision (positive predictive value) of the models in relation to the increasing inclusion of fixes with known behaviours.ResultsWe demonstrate that even with a small informed sub-dataset (representing only 9% of the full dataset), we can significantly improve the overall behavioural classification of these models, increasing model accuracy from 0.77 ± 0.01 to 0.85 ± 0.01 (mean ± sd). Despite overall improvements, the sensitivity and precision of foraging behaviour remained low (reaching 0.37 ± 0.06, and 0.06 ± 0.01, respectively).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that the use of a small subset of auxiliary data with known behaviours can both validate and notably improve behavioural classifications of state space models of opportunistic foragers. However, the improvement is state-dependant and caution should be taken when interpreting inferences of foraging behaviour from GPS data in species foraging on the go across homogenous environments.

Friction and Stiffness Dependent Dynamics of Accumulation Landslides with Delayed Failure.

We propose a new model for landslide dynamics under the assumption of a delay failure mechanism. Delay failure is simulated as a delayed interaction between adjacent blocks, which mimics the relationship between the accumulation and feeder part of the accumulation slope. The conducted research consisted of three phases. Firstly, the real observed movements of the landslide were examined to exclude the existence or the statistically significant presence of background noise. Secondly, we propose a new mechanical model of an accumulation landslide dynamics, with introduced delay failure, and with variable friction law. Results obtained indicate the onset of a transition from an equilibrium state to an oscillatory regime if delayed failure is assumed for different cases of slope stiffness and state of homogeneity/heterogeneity of the slope. At the end, we examine the influence of different frictional properties (along the sliding surface) on the conditions for the onset of instability. Results obtained indicate that the increase of friction parameters leads to stabilization of sliding for homogeneous geological environment. Moreover, increase of certain friction parameters leads to the occurrence of irregular aperiodic behavior, which could be ascribed to the regime of fast irregular sliding along the slope.

Adaptive active Brownian particles searching for targets of unknown positions

Developing behavioral policies designed to efficiently solve target-search problems is a crucial issue both in nature and in the nanotechnology of the 21st century. Here, we characterize the target-search strategies of simple microswimmers in a homogeneous environment containing sparse targets of unknown positions. The microswimmers are capable of controlling their dynamics by switching between Brownian motion and an active Brownian particle and by selecting the time duration of each of the two phases. The specific conduct of a single microswimmer depends on an internal decision-making process determined by a simple neural network associated with the agent itself. Starting from a population of individuals with random behavior, we exploit the genetic algorithm NeuroEvolution of augmenting topologies to show how an evolutionary pressure based on the target-search performances of single individuals helps to find the optimal duration of the two different phases. Our findings reveal that the optimal policy strongly depends on the magnitude of the particle’s self-propulsion during the active phase and that a broad spectrum of network topology solutions exists, differing in the number of connections and hidden nodes.

PANDANGAN MAHASISWA STKIP YAPIS DOMPU TERHADAP NILAI-NILAI MULTIKULTURALISME DALAM PROGRAM PERTUKARAN MAHASISWA MERDEKA

Indonesia, with its complex level of pluralism, is always challenged to find new ways to instill citizens' awareness of the reality of the existing pluralism. Educational institutions are tasked with carrying out social engineering in creating a harmonious and peaceful society amidst the various differences that exist. Even though the number is small, the existence of non-Muslim minority students at STKIP Yapis Dompu still requires the cultivation of awareness and values of multiculturalism as the responsibility of the world of education. The participation of STKIP Yapis students in the Independent Student Exchange (PMM) activities in 2022 provides important experience in viewing the reality of pluralism both on campus and in society. The Nusantara module is one of the program materials that aims to provide participants with a multicultural perspective. In this module students are invited to visit various houses of worship, destinations and historical sites in the destination campus area. For students, this experience gives a different impression, especially for those who grew up in a homogeneous environment. PMM will also encourage campuses to formulate inclusive and protective policies to prevent the "Three Sins of Higher Education" from acts of bullying, sexual violence and intolerance. This policy is a response to create an atmosphere and educational environment that is safe and respects differences. Therefore, it is important to know the views of STKIP Yapis students regarding the spirit of diversity so that it can be used as best practices in building social harmony. This qualitative research uses data collection techniques through document study and descriptive data analysis. This study concluded that the PMM program gave a positive impression to STKIP Yapis students in responding to differences and fostering a spirit of brotherhood and nationalism.

A comparative analysis of multi-biomarker responses to environmental stress: Evaluating differences in landfill leachate and pathogenic oomycete effects between wild and captive Salmo trutta

Phenotypic plasticity is one of the major means by which organisms can manage with environmental factor changes. Captivity-related stress and artificial rearing settings have been shown to dramatically alter fish response plasticity in terms of physiology, behavior, and health, potentially reducing overall fitness and fish survival. Understanding the variations in plasticity between captive-bred (kept in a homogenous environment) and wild fish populations in response to varied environmental pressures is becoming increasingly important, particularly in risk assessment research. In this study, we investigated whether captive-bred trout (Salmo trutta) are more susceptible to stress stimuli than their wild counterparts. In both wild and captive-bred trout, we investigated a battery of biomarkers that depicts the effects at various levels of biological organization in response to landfill leachate as a chemical pollutant, and after exposure to pathogenic oomycetes Saprolegnia parasitica. According to the findings, wild trout were more susceptible to chemical stimuli based on cytogenetic damage and catalase activity changes, whereas captive-bred trout were more sensitive to biological stress as evidenced by changes in overall fish activity and increasing cytogenetic damage in gills erythrocytes. Our findings emphasize the significance of exercising caution when conducting risk assessments of environmental pollutants using captive-bred animals, especially when seeking to extrapolate hazards and better understand the consequences of environmental contamination on wild fish populations. Additional comparative studies are required to investigate the impact of environmental stressors on multi-biomarker responses in both wild and captive fish populations in order to uncover changes in the plasticity of various traits that can result in adaptation or maladaptation to environmental stimuli within these fish populations, affecting data comparability and transferability to wildlife.

Effects of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Crowding on Translational Diffusion of Rigid Bovine Serum Albumin and Disordered Alfa-Casein.

Intracellular environment includes proteins, sugars, and nucleic acids interacting in restricted media. In the cytoplasm, the excluded volume effect takes up to 40% of the volume available for occupation by macromolecules. In this work, we tested several approaches modeling crowded solutions for protein diffusion. We experimentally showed how the protein diffusion deviates from conventional Brownian motion in artificial conditions modeling the alteration of medium viscosity and rigid spatial obstacles. The studied tracer proteins were globular bovine serum albumin and intrinsically disordered α-casein. Using the pulsed field gradient NMR, we investigated the translational diffusion of protein probes of different structures in homogeneous (glycerol) and heterogeneous (PEG 300/PEG 6000/PEG 40,000) solutions as a function of crowder concentration. Our results showed fundamentally different effects of homogeneous and heterogeneous crowded environments on protein self-diffusion. In addition, the applied "tracer on lattice" model showed that smaller crowding obstacles (PEG 300 and PEG 6000) create a dense net of restrictions noticeably hindering diffusing protein probes, whereas the large-sized PEG 40,000 creates a "less restricted" environment for the diffusive motion of protein molecules.

Changes in the Amount and Distribution of Soil Nutrients and Neighbours Have Differential Impacts on Root and Shoot Architecture in Wheat (Triticum aestivum).

Plants exhibit differential behaviours through changes in biomass development and distribution in response to environmental cues, which may impact crops uniquely. We conducted a mesocosm experiment in pots to determine the root and shoot behavioural responses of wheat, T. aestivum. Plants were grown in homogeneous or heterogeneous and heavily or lightly fertilized soil, and alone or with a neighbour of the same or different genetic identity (cultivars: CDC Titanium, Carberry, Glenn, Go Early, and Lillian). Contrary to predictions, wheat did not alter relative reproductive effort in the presence of neighbours, more nutrients, or homogenous soil. Above and below ground, the plants' tendency to use potentially shared space exhibited high levels of plasticity. Above ground, they generally avoided shared, central aerial space when grown with neighbours. Unexpectedly, nutrient amount and distribution also impacted shoots; plants that grew in fertile or homogenous environments increased shared space use. Below ground, plants grown with related neighbours indicated no difference in neighbour avoidance. Those in homogenous soil produced relatively even roots, and plants in heterogeneous treatments produced more roots in nutrient patches. Additionally, less fertile soil resulted in pot-level decreases in root foraging precision. Our findings illustrate that explicit coordination between above- and belowground biomass in wheat may not exist.

Modulating the local coordination environment of cobalt single-atomic nanozymes for enhanced catalytic therapy against bacteria.

Single-atomic nanozymes (SANZs) characterized by atomically dispersed single metal atoms have recently contributed to breakthroughs in biomedicine due to their satisfactory catalytic activity and superior selectivity compared to their nanoscale counterparts. The catalytic performance of SANZs can be improved by modulating their coordination structure. Therefore, adjusting the coordination number of the metal atoms in the active center is a potential method for enhancing the catalytic therapy effect. In this study, we synthesized various atomically dispersed Co nanozymes with different nitrogen coordination numbers for peroxidase (POD)-mimicking single-atomic catalytic antibacterial therapy. Among the polyvinylpyrrolidone modified single-atomic Co nanozymes with nitrogen coordination numbers of 3 (PSACNZs-N3-C) and 4 (PSACNZs-N4-C), single-atomic Co nanozymes with a coordination number of 2 (PSACNZs-N2-C) had the highest POD-like catalytic activity. Kinetic assays and Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicated that reducing the coordination number can lower the reaction energy barrier of single-atomic Co nanozymes (PSACNZs-Nx-C), thereby increasing their catalytic performance. In vitro and in vivo antibacterial assays demonstrated that PSACNZs-N2-C had the best antibacterial effect. This study provides proof of concept for enhancing single-atomic catalytic therapy by regulating the coordination number for various biomedical applications, such as tumor therapy and wound disinfection. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The use of nanozymes that contain single-atomic catalytic sites has been shown to effectively promote the healing of bacteria-infected wounds by exhibiting peroxidase-like activity. The homogeneous coordination environment of the catalytic site has been associated with high antimicrobial activity, which provides insight into designing new active structures and understanding their mechanisms of action. In this study, we designed a series of cobalt single-atomic nanozymes (PSACNZs-Nx-C) with different coordination environments by shearing the Co-N bond and modifying polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The synthesized PSACNZs-Nx-C demonstrated enhanced antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains, and showed good biocompatibility in both in vivo and in vitro experiments.

Adaptive Jamming Attack Detection Under Noise Uncertainty in mmWave Massive MIMO Systems

This paper addresses jamming attack detection issue in a millimeter Wave (mmWave) massive MIMO system under noise uncertainty. Specifically, we apply the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) to develop a one-step GLRT scheme for detecting jamming attack under the homogeneous and partially homogeneous noise environments, and exploit training data to estimate the unknown noise statistical information and replace it with resulting estimation in deriving GLRT procedure to obtain adaptive GLRT detection scheme. We also design a two-step GLRT scheme, where we first assume the unknown noise statistical information is known, and derive GLRT based on test data, and then replace it by the sample covariance matrix based on training data only to achieve a fully adaptive jamming attack detector. With the help of statistical signal subspace analysis and composite hypothesis testing theories, we further examine the statistical distributions of the jamming attack detection schemes and present the closed-form expressions of false alarm and detection probabilities for the proposed schemes under different noise environments. Finally, we implement extensive simulations to validate the theoretical results and evaluate the detection efficiency under various parameters.

Maize planting date and maturity in the US central Great Plains: Exploring windows for maximizing yields

Region-specific guidelines for maize in the US Great Plains are needed to account for variability in farmer practices and inherent soil and climate differences. Therefore, it becomes critical to define environment tailored management strategies for maize crop to improve and sustain yields over time. The aims of this study were to: i) define homogenous maize yield environments classified as related to the maximum yield and its stability over time in the US central Great Plains region; ii) explore the combinations of planting date and hybrid maturity that lead to optimal yield for each of the previously defined homogenous maize yield environments; and iii) identify environments presenting different windows for maximizing yields (combinations of planting date by hybrid maturity). Hybrid maturity (growth cycle) by planting date combinations were explored at 70 sites within central and eastern Kansas and northern Oklahoma (herein defined as the US central Great Plains region) using 30 years of historical weather data. In addition to the analysis of an extensive maize field dataset, a crop growth model, Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM), was utilized to evaluate the crop yield and phenology of all hybrid maturity by planting date combinations to define environment tailored management strategies. The simulated yields were spatially clustered based on attainable yield and stability over time to delimit more homogeneous productivity environments. Overall, greater yields were attained with long-maturing hybrids (comparative relative maturity, CRM, 101 and 115). Delaying the planting date from April to mid-May decreased yield in eastern environments. Moreover, late planting maintained yields and increased stability in central environments. For central Kansas and Oklahoma, anticipation of physiological maturity date (3–16 days) with reduced yield penalties (<5%) were possible by using short-season hybrid maturities (CRM 85). Future scenarios for intensification could be explored in those environments presenting more windows for maximizing yields, either with early planting and harvest dates or via late planting providing time for a short crop before maize. Adoption of more region-specific guidelines for maize management could help to optimize yield and its stability over time and seek further opportunities to diversify risk and intensify our current maize-based farming systems in the US central Great Plains.

SOCIOLOGICAL SURVEY FOR ASSESSING THE MEDIA FORMATION OF ARCHITECTURAL OBJECTS AND SPACES OF LVIV

The media formation of architecture and urban spaces is their informative essence, their content and symbolic richness for people. If we consider architecture from the perspective of information transmission, there arises a need to study the influence of its physical and mental characteristics on society. The media formation of Lviv's architectural environment affects the frequency of visits to certain places, people's well-being in urban spaces, and the semiotic significance of the city's architecture for people. Therefore, conducting a sociological study is necessary to analyze the media formation of architecture and urban spaces in Lviv. The research tasks involved identifying the most mediatic objects in Lviv, assessing people's perception of the media formation of various architectural styles at different hierarchical levels, and the type of information conveyed by these objects. It also aimed to determine citizens' attitudes towards changes in the media formation of the city's architectural space by comparing different architectural environments. Additionally, the study sought to understand people's vision of Lviv's architectural mediacy in the future. The research results showed that Lviv's mediacy is characterized by historical diversity, evokes semiotic associations, and influences people's well-being in urban spaces and the popularity of certain locations. Based on the assessment of citizens regarding the media formation of architecture and spaces in Lviv, conclusions have been shown that homogeneous environments, such as historical or contemporary ones, are perceived much better. The combination of diverse architectural styles can lead to confusion and added tension. Therefore, it is important to emphasize the need for a thoughtful approach to designing new architecture within established environments since it has a direct impact on how it is perceived by people.

Effects of physiological integration on nitrogen use efficiency of moso bamboo in homogeneous and heterogeneous environments.

Moso bamboo is one of the important clonal plants with complex underground rhizome-root system. Ramets connected by rhizome can translocate and share nitrogen (N), which may affect the nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) of moso bamboo. The aims of this study were to investigate the mechanisms of N physiological integration and its relationship with NUE of moso bamboo. A pot experiment was conducted to trace the movement of 15N between the connected ramets of moso bamboo in both homogeneous and heterogeneous N environments. Results showed that N translocation within clonal fragments of moso bamboo was detected in both homogeneous and heterogeneous environments. The intensity of physiological integration (IPI) was significantly lower in homogeneous environments than that in heterogeneous environments. 15N translocation between the connected ramtes of moso bamboo was determined by the source-sink relationship in heterogeneous environments, and the 15N allocation of the fertilized ramet was higher than that of the connected unfertilized ramet. The NUE of connected treatment was significantly higher than that of severed treatment, which suggested that physiological integration significantly improved the NUE of moso bamboo. In addition, the NUE of moso bamboo was significantly higher in heterogeneous environments than that in homogeneous environments. The contribution rate of physiological integration (CPI) on NUE in heterogeneous environments was significantly higher than that in homogenous environments. These results will provide theoretical basis for precision fertilization in moso bamboo forests.

Sparsity-Based Classification Approaches for Radar Data in the Presence of Clutter Edges and Discretes

Modern radars face challenging scenarios characterized by high levels of heterogeneity that make conventional detection/estimation algorithms no longer effective since most of them rely on the well-known homogeneous environment. In this paper, we propose innovative classification schemes capable of identifying the radar operating scenario in terms of clutter properties. To this end, different situations are accounted for at the design stage ranging from the homogeneous environment to the simultaneous presence of clutter edges and clutter discretes/outliers. Then, we conceive decision rules based upon the so-called penalized log-likelihood ratio test that exploits the inherent sparse nature of the observed scene. In this context, two different sparsity-promoting priors are used to model the behavior of clutter discretes/outliers and the unknown parameters are estimated by means of cyclic procedures. The performance analysis, conducted on both simulated and real-recorded data, highlights the effectiveness of the proposed classifiers at least for the considered operating parameter values. Remarkably, radar systems can take advantage of such classification results by selecting homogeneous data that can yield reliable estimates (namely, that are functions of homogeneous data) of the unknown interference parameters and, hence, enhanced detection performance with respect to the case where unclassified heterogeneous data are used.

Persymmetric subspace Gradient-based detectors for distributed targets in homogeneous and partially homogeneous environments

In this paper, we consider the problem of adaptive detection for distributed targets in zero-mean Gaussian clutter with unknown persymmetric covariance matrix. The target signal is assumed to locate in a known subspace with unknown coordinates. Two persymmetric subspace detectors are designed by utilizing the Gradient criterion in homogeneous and partially homogeneous environments, respectively. Additionally, the proposed detectors are theoretically confirmed to be constant false alarm rate to the clutter covariance matrix and the power level. Moreover, numerical results show that the proposed detectors perform better than the existing competitors, especially in training-limited scenarios.

A diminutive snake species can maintain regional heterothermy in both homogeneous and heterogeneous thermal environments.

Regional heterothermy is a pattern whereby different body regions are maintained at different temperatures, often to prioritize the function of certain body parts over others, or to maximize the function of organs and tissues that vary in thermal sensitivity. Regional heterothermy is relatively well understood in endotherms, where physiological mechanisms maintain heterogeneity. However, less is known about regional heterothermy in ectotherms, where behavioral mechanisms are more important for generating thermal variation. In particular, whether small and elongate ectotherms with high surface area to volume ratios such as diminutive snakes can maintain regional heterothermy, despite rapid thermal equilibration, is not yet known. We measured regional variation in body temperature and tested whether environmental heterogeneity is used to generate regional heterothermy in the ring-necked snake (Diadophis punctatus) using both field and laboratory studies. We found that ring-necked snakes have robust regional heterothermy in a variety of contexts, despite their small body size and elongate body shape. Temperature variation along the length of their bodies was not detectable when measured externally. However, snakes had higher mouth than cloacal temperatures both in the field and in laboratory thermal gradients. Further, this regional heterothermy was maintained even in ambient laboratory conditions, where the thermal environment was relatively homogeneous. Our results indicate that regional heterothermy in ring-necked snakes is not solely driven by environmental variation but is instead linked to physiological or morphological mechanisms that maintain regional variation in body temperature irrespective of environmental context.

We’re a good match: Selective political friending on social networking sites

Abstract To date, the role of user behavior in the formation of politically homogeneous online environments (oftentimes called echo chambers) is not fully understood. Building on selective exposure research, we introduce the notion of selective political friending, that is, the preference for political like-mindedness in social affiliations on social networking sites. In a pre-registered laboratory experiment with users of social networking sites in Germany (N = 199), we find that users preferably build connections with those who share their opinions toward controversial political issues. Political like-mindedness outperforms other friending criteria such as popularity or career-related fit with another user. Political friending is pronounced when individuals’ pre-existing opinions are strong. The present study points to the necessity to take the motivational complexity into account when studying phenomena linked to political homogeneity on SNS.

Investigation of thermal decomposition of nitrobenzene: An energetic material

Oxidation and pyrolysis mechanisms of energetic materials shape their macro properties such as autoignition and detonation. The high reaction-enthalpy, microsecond order reaction time, and toxicity necessitate investigation of their detailed chemical kinetics. A shock tube combined with laser absorption diagnostic provides time-resolved, high-sensitivity, and homogeneous environment to study thermal degradation of energetic and hazardous materials. In this work, we investigated the thermal fragmentation of nitrobenzene (C6H5NO2), a prototypical energetic material and nitro-aromatic representative, behind reflected shock waves. We studied its pyrolysis and decomposition branching channels over temperatures of 1155–1434 K and pressures of 0.82–1.78 bar. Channel-specific branching ratio was determined by employing a two-color laser absorption diagnostic. Two decomposition pathways are found to be significant under our experimental conditions. The first channel (k1) produces phenyl radical (C6H5) and NO2 while the second channel (k2) generates phenoxy radical (C6H5O) and NO. We monitored the reaction progress by tracing channel-specific products, i.e., phenyl radical (C6H5) and NO, using ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) and infrared (IR) absorption diagnostics. UV–vis light at 445 nm for phenyl radical detection came from the frequency doubling of 890 nm light, generated by a titanium–sapphire laser, which was pumped by a green (532 nm) Nd:YAG laser. IR light at 5.517 μm for NO detection was generated by an external-cavity quantum cascade laser. We extracted the rate coefficients of the two decomposition channels and fitted them in Arrhenius form (units of s−1):k1=8.49×1014exp(−30476KT)k2=2.31×1013exp(−27618KT)Rate coefficients of both channels show positive temperature dependence while we did not observe discernible pressure dependence over 0.82–1.78 bar. Our measurements agree with a previous theoretical work qualitatively that, under these high-temperature conditions, the decomposition channel producing phenyl radicals and NO2 (k1) prevails over the NO-producing channel. Quantitatively, however, the theoretical work overestimates the importance of k1 channel, particularly at low temperatures. Our rate of production analysis shows that most of the phenyl radicals are consumed through their self-recombination while N atoms are mainly converted to NO2. This work benefits high-fidelity chemical modeling of the relevant safety and ignition aspects of nitrogen-containing energetic/hazardous materials.