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Thermal safety issues of batteries have hindered their large‐scale applications. Nonflammable electrolytes improved safety but solvent evaporation above 100 °C limited thermal tolerance, lacking reliability. Herein, fire‐tolerant metal‐air batteries were realized by introducing solute‐in‐air electrolytes whose hygroscopic solutes could spontaneously reabsorb the evaporated water solvent. Using Zn/CaCl2‐in‐air/carbon batteries as a proof‐of‐concept, they failed upon burning at 631.8 °C but self‐recovered then by reabsorbing water from the air at room temperature. Different from conventional aqueous electrolytes whose irreversible thermal transformation is determined by the boiling points of solvents, solute‐in‐air electrolytes make this transformation determined by the much higher decomposition temperature of solutes. It was found that stronger intramolecular bonds instead of intermolecular (van der Waals) interactions were strongly correlated to ultra‐high tolerance temperatures of our solute‐in‐air electrolytes, inspiring a concept of non‐van der Waals electrolytes. Our study would improve the understanding of the thermal properties of electrolytes, guide the design of solute‐in‐air electrolytes, and enhance battery safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal safety issues of batteries have hindered their large‐scale applications. Nonflammable electrolytes improved safety but solvent evaporation above 100 °C limited thermal tolerance, lacking reliability. Herein, fire‐tolerant metal‐air batteries were realized by introducing solute‐in‐air electrolytes whose hygroscopic solutes could spontaneously reabsorb the evaporated water solvent. Using Zn/CaCl2‐in‐air/carbon batteries as a proof‐of‐concept, they failed upon burning at 631.8 °C but self‐recovered then by reabsorbing water from the air at room temperature. Different from conventional aqueous electrolytes whose irreversible thermal transformation is determined by the boiling points of solvents, solute‐in‐air electrolytes make this transformation determined by the much higher decomposition temperature of solutes. It was found that stronger intramolecular bonds instead of intermolecular (van der Waals) interactions were strongly correlated to ultra‐high tolerance temperatures of our solute‐in‐air electrolytes, inspiring a concept of non‐van der Waals electrolytes. Our study would improve the understanding of the thermal properties of electrolytes, guide the design of solute‐in‐air electrolytes, and enhance battery safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sample holders for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) based on micro‐electro‐mechanical systems (MEMS) have recently become popular for investigating the behavior of nanomaterials under in situ or environmental conditions. The accuracy and reproducibility of these in situ holders are essential to ensure the reliability of experimental results. In addition, the uniformity of an applied temperature trigger across the MEMS chip is a crucial parameter. In this work, it is measured the temperature homogeneity of MEMS‐based heating sample supports by locally analyzing the dynamics of heat‐induced alloying of Au@Ag nanoparticles located in different regions of the support through quantitative fast high‐angle annular dark‐field scanning TEM tomography. These results demonstrate the superior temperature homogeneity of a microheater design based on a heating element shaped as a circular spiral with a width decreasing outwards compared to a double spiral‐shaped designed microheater. The proposed approach to measure the local temperature homogeneity based on the thermal properties of bimetallic nanoparticles will support the future development of MEMS‐based heating supports with improved thermal properties and in situ studies where high precision in the temperature at a certain position is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3‐based ceramics with high remnant polarization Pr have shown outstanding potential in the application of high‐power ferroelectric transducers. However, low depolarization temperature Td is an obstacle for their application. Here, a composition design strategy was proposed to simultaneously improve the Td and Pr in BNT‐based materials. Ultrahigh Pr of 40.56 µC/cm2 and relative high Td of 184°C were synergistically achieved in (Bi0.5Na0.5)(Ti0.995Mn0.005)O3 (BNMT) ceramics by adding 1.0 mol% BiGaO3 (BG), which is superior to other reported lead‐free systems. The excellent ferroelectric properties were attributed to strengthen ferroelectric order as evidenced by increased rhombohedral distortion. Meanwhile, the enhanced depolarization temperature, increasing from 168°C for x = 0% to 184°C for x = 1.0%, can be ascribed to the suppression of the thermal‐induced ferroelectric‐relaxor phase transition by adding BG. Those results enable the BNMT‐BG systems ceramics to be an attractive candidate for application in high‐power supplies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the melting conditions and furnaces used to the obtained final colors has always been a question raised when investigating formulations and recipes of historical glasses. The focus of the present work is the reproduction of three recipes of red enamel glass of the manuscript by Neri, L'arte vetraria (1612) following the translation and comments by Kunckel's in Ars Vitraria Experimentalis (1679). The reproductions include the production of each individual compound of the selected recipes following instructions, and the final glass production in electric and wood‐fire furnaces to assess the effect of different melting conditions. A multianalytical approach was used to fully characterize the produced samples allowing the study of the enamel chemical composition, color, crystals formations, and thermal properties. The results indicate that no significant color differences may be attributed to the melting conditions. However, it revealed that the samples produced in the electric furnace at 1200°C present a high crystallinity degree and the formation of white crystals at room temperature in a short period of time. The formation of crystals on glass is critical, and historically, to avoid it, these recipes must have been made at temperatures between 1050 and 1100°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animals breeding in nest‐boxes experience nesting environments in which they did not originally evolve. Despite the central importance of nesting microclimate for offspring fitness, little is known about the thermal properties of human‐provided nest sites compared to natural ones. In particular, comparisons with offspring in the nest are lacking. Here, we compare microclimate (temperature and absolute humidity) from the onset of breeding, thus starting with nest‐site choice and ending with the post‐fledging stage, quantified in natural cavities and nest‐boxes used by several species of hollow‐nesting birds in a temperate deciduous forest. We confirm that across all nesting stages, nest‐boxes were thermally unstable when compared to natural cavities, with higher temperature maximums, larger amplitudes and worse insulation from maximum ambient temperatures relative to natural cavities. Surprisingly, as average humidity of natural cavities was previously shown to be higher than in nest‐boxes, in the presence of actively thermoregulating young, nest‐boxes were more humid than natural cavities. When offspring were in the nest, internal microclimatic shifts were mitigated three times more effectively in natural cavities than in nest‐boxes (in terms of mean daily differences from ambient temperature). Artificial cavity microclimate is likely to amplify the adverse effects of projected temperature increases by compromising thermoregulation of developing animals. We stress that conservation efforts should focus on the protection of areas offering natural breeding‐hollows to reduce the potential impacts of climate change on breeding animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although KNN‐based ceramics with high electrical properties are obtained through a variety of strategies, the temperature sensitivity is still one of the key technical bottlenecks hindering practical applications. Here, we use a new strategy, meticulously tailoring phase boundary, to refine the ferroelectric boundary of KNN‐based ceramics, leading to high piezoelectricity companied with improving temperature stability. The highest d33 value in this system reaches 501 pC/N with a TC ∼ 240°C, whereas a large strain of ∼0.134% can be kept with 10% lower deterioration until 100°C. The origin of high piezoelectricity is mainly attributed to the well‐preserved multiphase coexistence and the appearance of nanodomains, which greatly facilitate the polarization rotation. Instead of the changed intrinsic thermal insensitivity, the precision phase boundary engineering plays an important role in strengthening the temperature stability of electric‐induced strain. This work provides a simple and effective method to obtain both high electrical properties and excellent thermal stability in KNN‐based ceramics, which is expected to promote the practical applications in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medium frequency transformer (MFT) plays a key role in future power systems and new energy systems. It is very important for the safe operation of MFT to correctly calculate the temperature rise and hot spot position. According to the heat dissipation of transformer, the equivalent thermal network model of the core-type transformer is established in this paper. The traditional thermal network model ignores the heat dissipation of the magnetic core column and the inner surface of the yoke to the air. In this paper, the magnetic core column is divided into the air surrounding part and winding surrounding part. The heat dissipation on the inner surface of the yoke is further considered. The improved thermal network model is verified by finite element simulation. The results show that compared with the traditional thermal network model, the improved thermal network model proposed in this paper can more comprehensively analyse the temperature field distribution and calculate the node temperature more accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cold Pool feature of the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) is a body of cold bottom water that develops in the spring and persists through the summer‐autumn months. It is maintained by northerly currents and can be traced back to Arctic water masses. The Cold Pool provides habitat for many boreal species at latitudes far south of their normal range and plays an important role in the population dynamics of lower and upper trophic level organisms. Here, we describe changes in the extent and thermal properties of the Cold Pool using both observations and models. Two indices are developed based on a gridded, interpolated bottom temperature dataset; the first is a mean temperature indicator, and the second is a spatial extent indicator. The temperature indicator showed a significant increasing trend over the study period 1968–2019 and a single change point in 2008. Similarly, the area indicator declined significantly, also displaying a change point in 2008. Cold Pool maximum temperature and minimum size were observed in 2017, which is also known as a heatwave year in the MAB. The indices presented here support the view of a rapidly warming Cold Pool that is being limited in its spatial extent. Changes in Cold Pool hydrography will likely affect boreal species distributions and total ecosystem productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fused filament fabrication (FFF) process of polymer‐based composites has been developed due to its capability to make complex geometries and shapes with reasonable mechanical properties. However, the improvement of mechanical properties of the obtained parts and products are still under study and are interesting for designers. There are several strategies to enhance these desired properties of produced pieces, for example optimizing the process parameters and/or using different architecting designs. This paper presents the effect of some overriding process parameters (liquefier temperature, print speed, layer height, and platform temperature) on the temperature evolution and mechanical behavior of PA6 reinforced with chopped carbon fibers produced by FFF. Due to deposition of multilayers, there is a cyclic profile of temperature in the FFF process, which is a considerable note related to fabrication and consequently the strength of the manufactured parts. In parallel with the study of process parameters effect, this cyclic temperature profile has been measured. The preliminary results related to physicochemical and mechanical properties revealed that differences in crystallinity percentage exist and failure stress/strain can be considered as an indicator to evaluate the mechanical properties of FFF manufactured products. Moreover, measuring the temperature profile of the deposited filaments revealed that process parameters have a considerable influence on the cooling process of deposited filaments which itself affects the bonding of adjacent filaments. The higher temperatures led to slower cooling rate. Finally, the results confirm the impact of mentioned parameters roles on the bonding formation in the FFF process and also the subsequent obtained mechanical properties of the printed parts. Therefore, selection of the optimized and suitable process parameters is an important design consideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermophysical properties of carbon fiber‐based ultra‐high temperature ceramic matrix composites have been determined to aid designers who need these properties when considering using the composites in ultra‐high temperature aerospace applications. The coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and thermal diffusivity of the composites were measured parallel and perpendicular to the ply direction; the thermal conductivity was measured using the laser‐flash method and the heat capacity calculated from the relationship between the thermal diffusivity, density, and thermal conductivity. Both the CTE and thermal conductivity showed higher values across the ply and increased with increasing temperature as expected, whilst the thermal diffusivity showed higher values parallel to the ply and increased smoothly with temperature. In addition, two different but related oxyfuel torch tests, based on oxyacetylene and oxypropane, were used to evaluate the thermo‐ablation behavior of the composites. The tests showed how good the composites were at withstanding the ultra‐high temperatures, high heat fluxes, and gas velocities involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The room temperature reaction of Na4Sn2S6·5H2O with CoCl2·6H2O and 2‐(aminomethyl)pyridine (2‐AMP) or trans‐1,2‐diamino‐cyclohexane (DACH) leads to crystallization of two compounds with the compositions [Co(2‐(aminomethyl)pyridine)3]2 Sn2S6·10H2O (1) and [Co(trans‐1,2‐diaminocyclohexane)3]2Sn2S6·8H2O (2). In both compounds [Sn2S6]4– anions are present that are charge balanced each by two Co2+ centered complexes. Each of the two CoII cations are sixfold coordinated by six N atoms of three 2‐AMP or DACH ligands within slightly distorted octahedra. In compound 1, the two complexes are linked by one [Sn2S6]4– anion via strong N–H···S hydrogen bonds into centrosymmetric charge neutral trimeric units, that are further linked by weak C–H···S and N–H···S hydrogen bonds into chains that are directed along the a axis. These chains are further joined by N–H···O and O–H···O hydrogen bonds into a 3D network, with the H2O molecules forming chains along the b axis. The crystal structure of 2 is similar to that of 1 featuring trimeric units which are also linked into chains. Between the chains water molecules are embedded that link the chains into a 3D network. Upon heating 2 in a thermobalance the water and ligand molecules are removed in discrete steps, indicating that compounds with more condensed thiostannate networks will form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key challenges in the development of high‐temperature energy harvesting (HTEH) technology is to clarify the relationship between temperature‐dependent material parameters and device power generation capabilities. However, at present, the research on temperature stability of piezoceramics mainly relies on thermal annealing technology, which cannot follow the actual temperature dependence of the piezoelectricity, and it is even more difficult to predict the temperature stability of HTEH. To shed light on this field, here, (1−x)BiScO3–xPbTiO3 system was chosen for building HTEH material, and the temperature‐dependent electrical parameters, such as d33, εr, and g33, have been measured by multiple in situ techniques. It was found that the synergistic effect of d33 and εr with temperature helps to obtain a stable g33 value in a wide temperature range. Moreover, in the mode of the cantilever‐type energy harvester, a stable output voltage was obtained at x = 0.64 harvester with <20% change over a broad temperature range of 100‐250°C, and it was verified that the temperature stability of g33 is crucial to the operation stability of HTEH devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modulated temperature techniques allow to separate the reversing and non‐reversing contributions of material transitions. To investigate reversible crystallization and melting of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) at microstructural level, in this research, modulated temperature Fourier transform infrared (MTFTIR) and quasi‐isothermal FTIR (QIFTIR) analyses are used. By following the intensity variation of iPP regularity bands, associated with 31 helix structures of different lengths (n repeating units), MTFTIR evidences that, independently from helix length, a reversing coil–helix transition takes place few degrees below the non‐reversing crystallization onset. By comparing spectroscopic and differential scanning calorimetry experiments performed in quasi‐isothermal conditions, the reversing transition was found to be associated with the reversible melting‐crystallization phenomenon. Moreover, QIFTIR evidences that helices of different lengths contribute differently to the reversible transition: the helices composed of n = 10 and n = 12 are active into all the explored temperature range (30–130 °C) whereas the shortest (n = 6) and the longest (n > 15) helices contribute to reversibility at T > 100 °C. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019, 57, 922–931 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The additional 0.5 °C warming from 1.5 to 2°C global target has a significant impact on the occurrence of extreme temperature events. While the arid and semi‐arid areas (ASA) and humid areas (HA) present different response characteristics to the additional global mean 0.5 °C warming due to their differences in thermal properties. In this study, both the stabilized and transient 1.5 °C (2 °C) global warming scenarios projected by the Community Earth System Model (CESM) are used to compare the extreme temperature responses between the ASA and HA to the 2 and 1.5 °C global warming targets over East–central Asia. The results indicate that cold fixed‐threshold indices (frost days [FD] and icing days [ID]) will decrease more rapidly in ASA, by approximately 10 days (1.5 °C) and 15 days (2 °C) compared to the historical period, respectively. Warm fixed‐threshold indices (summer days [SU] and tropical nights [TR]) will become more common in HA, especially southeast of China. Under 1.5 °C target, the increase of intensity indices is equal to the average temperature warming response (1.5 °C), while the additional 0.5 °C warming makes the response of intensity indices much greater than 0.5 °C. Under 0.5 °C warmer world, the daily temperature range (DTR) will experience a 0.5 °C increase in most HA and a 0.2–0.5 °C decrease in ASA during winter. As a whole, the additional 0.5 °C warming has an amplified effect and the 1.5 °C global warming target could reduce the extreme temperature events significantly over East–central Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual temperature- and light-responsive C2H2/C2H4 separation switch in a diarylethene metal-organic framework (MOF) is presented. At 195 K and 100 kPa this MOF shows ultrahigh C2H2/C2H4 selectivity of 47.1, which is almost 21.4 times larger than the corresponding value of 2.2 at 293 K and 100 kPa, or 15.7 times larger than the value of 3.0 for the material under UV at 195 K and 100 kPa. The origin of this unique control in C2H2/C2H4 selectivity, as unveiled by density functional calculations, is due to a guest discriminatory gate-opening effect from the diarylethene unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Physical scaling ( SP) method is a statistical downscaling approach where model-based climate data are downscaled taking into consideration large-scale climate, elevation and land-cover at the location of interest. In this study, the downscaling skills of an ensemble of SP method and its variants and Statistical DownScaling Model ( SDSM) towards downscaling North American Regional Reanalysis ( NARR) temperature data are compared. Two downscaling approaches: direct and indirect, two versions: SP and surrounding pixel information and three functional forms: linear regression, quantile regression and generalized additive models are considered to prepare the method ensemble. To evaluate method performance, a leave-one-out cross-validation approach is adopted. Results indicate that SP method and its variants have comparable skill to SDSM. Further method skill is found to be only marginally influenced by the choice of method version and functional form, and considerably influenced by the choice of approach. The ensemble of models is thereafter used to downscale future air temperature projections made by a global climate model: FGOALS-s2. It is found that downscaled future projections are most significantly influenced by the choice of version, followed by the choice of approach and the choice of functional form in the decreasing order of importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature-dependent development of the European larch bark beetle, Ips cembrae, was studied under long-day conditions L:D 16:8 at three temperature regimes, 15°C, 20°C and 25°C, using the sandwich plate method. By observing the individual developmental progress, we calculated the developmental times and lower developmental thresholds of one entire generation and various ontogenetic stages. The mean developmental time of one generation was about 120, 64 and 37 days at 15°C, 20°C and 25°C, respectively. The egg stage comprised about 9% of the total development or about 16% of the pre-imaginal development. The larval stages took about 39% of the entire and about 66% of the pre-imaginal development. The pupal stage needed about 11% of the total or about 18% of the pre-imaginal development. The lower developmental threshold for one generation was 11.2°C. The egg stage had the highest lower developmental threshold of 12.0°C, the pupa the lowest of 9.8°C and the total larval stages showed a value of 11.2°C. The thermal requirements for I. cembrae have never been studied in detail before. The results will be a valuable contribution for monitoring and risk assessment models to estimate the beetle's phenology and its potential impacts on forest ecosystems under changing climate conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The influence of the comonomer in the synthesis of poly(propylene- co−1-pentene) copolymers, with rac-(dimethylsilylbis(1-indenyl))ZrCl2/Methylaluminoxane at low temperature, has been studied. Changes in the catalyst activity and molecular weight have been analyzed as a function of copolymer composition, and associated with both content and nature of chain defects. The thorough characterization of chain-end double bonds by means of the 1H NMR technique highlights the particular chain termination pathway, which underlies the so-called comonomer effect. A specific termination mechanism is proposed based on the preferential regio-irregular interaction of the active site with 1-pentene molecules, instead of the one related to the β-H atom of the last regular inserted unit, either propene or 1-pentene. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 843-854 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Silk fibroin exhibits excellent mechanical properties, good biocompatibility, and biodegradability combined with benign processing conditions, attracting considerable research interest for the application as biomedical materials. Among the diverse forms of sponges, hydrogels, films, and mats manufactured from silk fibroin, films are especially appealing due to the high water and oxygen permeability, good cell attachment, and low immunogenicity. Fabrication of silk fibroin films with novel properties has been successfully developed simply by incorporating various functional components into it. In the present study, the properties of thermal insulation and temperature monitoring for the silk fibroin film are demonstrated for the first time through the incorporation of thermochromic microcapsules within it. Moreover, the silk fibroin film is also endowed with improved mechanical properties in terms of tension strength and elongation at break because of the reinforcing effect of thermochromic microcapsules. The silk fibroin film fabricated with novel features in this study can be a good candidate for the application of wound dressings, tissue engineering scaffolds, and bio-related devices in the future. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016, 54, 1846-1852 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Temperature and pressure corrections are necessary to account for the varying mass of air in the sensitive volume of a vented ionization chamber (IC) when performing absolute dose measurements. Locations commonly used to measure the presumed IC air temperature may not accurately represent the chamber cavity air temperature, and phantoms undergoing temperature changes further compound the problem. Prior studies have characterized thermal equilibrium in separate phantoms for Farmer chambers alone. However, the purpose of this study was to characterize the cavity air temperature dependence on changes in the ambient temperature and phantom geometry configuration for a wider and more modern variety of chambers to determine if previously published wait times apply to these chambers as well. Methods: Thermal conduction properties were experimentally investigated by modifying a PTW 0.3 cm3 Semiflex IC with a thermocouple replacing the central electrode. Air cavity temperature versus time was recorded in three phantom geometries characteristic of common absolute dose measurements. The phantoms were (15 ± 1) C before measurement with an IC at the treatment vault temperature of (21 ± 1) C. Simulations were conducted to provide a theoretical basis for the measurements and to simulate temperature response of a PTW PinPoint® and Farmer chamber. The simulation methods were first validated by comparison with measured Semiflex chamber thermal response curves before extension to the other chambers. Results: Two thermal equilibria curves were recorded on different time scales. IC temperature initially dropped to the colder phantom temperature but subsequently increased as the phantom itself equilibrated with the warmer room temperature. In a large phantom of dimensions (25.5 25.5 23.4) cm³, 3 min was required before the IC temperature reached within 0.5 C of its equilibrium within the phantom. Similarly, wait times of 2 min were needed for 7.5 and 2 cm slab phantoms. Conclusions: Recording of temperature in the phantom was deemed far more accurate than measurement in ambient air due to the air cavity thermally equilibrating with phantom temperature instead of the vented ambient air. Wait times of 3 and 2 min are needed for a cube and 7.5 cm slab phantom, respectively, to achieve 0.2% dosimetric accuracy (temperature accuracy of 0.5 C). Chamber volume alone did not determine wait times, as a 0.3 cm³ IC required a longer wait time than a Farmer chamber, suggesting wall thickness as an important variable as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Black garlic is a type of garlic product that is generally produced by heating raw garlic at high temperature with controlled humidity for more than 30 days. Black garlic has appeared on the market for many years. It is crucial to investigate the characteristics of quality formation of black garlic during processing at various temperatures. RESULTS In this study, fresh garlic was processed to black garlic at temperatures of 60, 70, 80 and 90 °C. Moisture, amino acid nitrogen and allicin contents decreased gradually during thermal processing of various temperatures. Reducing sugar, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, total phenols, total acids contents and browning increased. The changing rate of quality indicators and flavour of black garlic varied at different temperatures. Browning intensity reached about 74 when black garlic aged. The sensory score was significantly higher in black garlic aged at 70 °C (39.95 ± 0.31) compared with that at other temperatures, suggesting that 70 °C might facilitate formation of good quality and flavour of black garlic during processing. CONCLUSION Temperature had a remarkable impact on the quality and flavour of black garlic. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synthesis of the 2-phosphathioethynolate anion, PCS-, under ambient conditions is reported. The coordination chemistry of PCO-, PCS- and their nitrogen-containing congeners is also explored. Photolysis of a solution of W(CO)6 in the presence of PCO- [or a simple ligand displacement reaction using W(CO)5(MeCN)] affords [W(CO)5(PCO)]- ( 1). The cyanate and thiocyanate analogues, [W(CO)5(NCO)]- ( 2) and [W(CO)5(NCS)]- ( 3), are also synthesised using a similar methodology, allowing for an in-depth study of the bonding properties of this family of related ligands. Our studies reveal that, in the coordination sphere of tungsten(0), the PCO- anion preferentially binds through the phosphorus atom in a strongly bent fashion, while NCO- and NCS- coordinate linearly through the nitrogen atom. Reactions between PCS- and W(CO)5(MeCN) similarly afford [W(CO)5(PCS)]-; however, due to the ambidentate nature of the anion, a mixture of both the phosphorus- and sulfur-bonded complexes ( 4a and 4b, respectively) is obtained. It was possible to establish that, as with PCO-, the PCS- ion also coordinates to the metal centre in a bent fashion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homogeneous temperature regions are necessary for use in hydrometeorological studies. The regions are often delineated by analysing statistics derived from time series of maximum, minimum or mean temperature, rather than attributes influencing temperature. This practice cannot yield meaningful regions in data-sparse areas. Further, independent validation of the delineated regions for homogeneity in temperature is not possible, as temperature records form the basis to arrive at the regions. To address these issues, a two-stage clustering approach is proposed in this study to delineate homogeneous temperature regions. First stage of the approach involves (1) determining correlation structure between observed temperature over the study area and possible predictors (large-scale atmospheric variables) influencing the temperature and (2) using the correlation structure as the basis to delineate sites in the study area into clusters. Second stage of the approach involves analysis on each of the clusters to (1) identify potential predictors (large-scale atmospheric variables) influencing temperature at sites in the cluster and (2) partition the cluster into homogeneous fuzzy temperature regions using the identified potential predictors. Application of the proposed approach to India yielded 28 homogeneous regions that were demonstrated to be effective when compared to an alternate set of 6 regions that were previously delineated over the study area. Intersite cross-correlations of monthly maximum and minimum temperatures in the existing regions were found to be weak and negative for several months, which is undesirable. This problem was not found in the case of regions delineated using the proposed approach. Utility of the proposed regions in arriving at estimates of potential evapotranspiration for ungauged locations in the study area is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background While most research on temperature and mortality has focused on the elderly, little has concentrated on infants, who may also lack thermoregulatory responses to heat exposure. Methods We examined mean daily apparent temperature, a combination of temperature and humidity, and infant deaths in California during the warm season of May through October 1999 to 2011. Deaths from all causes and specifically from congenital malformations, sudden infant death syndrome, abnormal gestation duration, respiratory causes, and circulatory causes were considered in a time-stratified case-crossover analysis of 12 356 infant deaths. Results For all-cause mortality, excess risk was 4.4% (95% confidence interval −0.3, 9.2) per 5.6° C increase for average of same day and previous 3 days apparent temperature (lag 03). The associations for apparent temperature and both all-cause mortality and deaths caused by gestation duration were highest for Black infants (13.3%, 95% CI 0.6, 27.6 and 23.7%, 95% CI −3.3, 58.2, respectively), while White infants had elevated risk for deaths from respiratory causes (44.6%; −0.7, 110.5). We further observed differential effects for neonates (infants aged 28 days and under) and post-neonates (infants above 28 days and under 1 year), and coastal and non-coastal regions. These associations remained even after considering criteria air pollutants. Conclusions This study suggests that infants are a vulnerable subgroup to heat exposure. Further studies should be conducted with a sufficient number of cases of infant deaths in other locales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work studies the effects of temperature, voids at or near the interface on the interfacial fracture behavior, and mechanisms of the Si/a-Si3N4 bilayer systems via molecular dynamics simulations. Under mode I loading, at 300 K, the interfacial strength of the bilayer system without voids is ∼22.5 GPa and it undergoes brittle fracture at the interface. However, at 600 K, failure occurs in the a-Si3N4 layer in a ductile mode. With the existence of void in the Si layer, crack initiates at the void and propagates toward the interface when the temperature is 300 K. However, as temperature increases to 600 K, the defected bilayer system undergoes brittle fracture at the interface at a significantly lowered interfacial strength. With the presence of void at the interface, the bilayer system fractures at the interface with a deteriorated strength regardless of temperature. Under mode II loading, the Si/a-Si3N4 system undergoes three deformation processes: elastic deformation, followed by plastic deformation in the a-Si3N4 layer, and subsequently, interfacial sliding. The presence of voids at different locations and the increase in temperature lower the stresses required for interfacial sliding but do not have significant effect on the shear deformation processes. This study provides an insight to fracture behavior of Si/a-Si3N4 system at certain operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Changes in annual and seasonal temperatures were studied from 18 stations, distributed all over the Basilicata region (southern Italy), for the 1951-2010 period. The analysis is based on high-quality and homogenous daily minimum and maximum temperatures. Both minimum ( Tmin) and maximum ( Tmax) temperatures increase, especially after 1971. Seasonal results show upward trends in Tmin in winter, spring and summer, whereas they show downward trends in Tmin in autumn, especially in the last normal 1981-2010. Tmax also shows upward trends in spring and summer, whereas it tends to decrease during winter and autumn. The intra-annual extreme temperature range (ETR) index also shows a general positive trend, especially during spring. Eleven indices were used to assess the changes in both the cold and warm tails of the daily temperature distribution. The presence of trends was assessed by means of the Mann-Kendall test. The results reveal a general upward tendency on warm days (TX90), warm nights (TN90) and tropical nights (T20) especially because of an increase in temperature after 1971. This datum is fully confirmed in summer which is the season mainly responsible for this trend. The annual occurrence of summer days (SU) and very warm days (TX99) is weakly increasing. The majority of cold extremes, i.e. very cold nights (TN1), cold days (TX10), cold nights (TN10), frost days (FD) and ice days (ID) showed negative trends, thus confirming the overall warming trend in the Basilicata region. This negative trend could stem from the strong increase of Tmin during winter, spring and summer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental changes during seed production are important drivers of lot-to-lot variation in seed behaviour and enable wild species to time their life history with seasonal cues. Temperature during seed set is the dominant environmental signal determining the depth of primary dormancy, although the mechanisms though which temperature changes impart changes in dormancy state are still only partly understood., We used molecular, genetic and biochemical techniques to examine the mechanism through which temperature variation affects Arabidopsis thaliana seed dormancy., Here we show that, in Arabidopsis , low temperatures during seed maturation result in an increase in phenylpropanoid gene expression in seeds and that this correlates with higher concentrations of seed coat procyanidins. Lower maturation temperatures cause differences in coat permeability to tetrazolium, and mutants with increased seed coat permeability and/or low procyanidin concentrations are less able to enter strongly dormant states after exposure to low temperatures during seed maturation., Our data show that maternal temperature signalling regulates seed coat properties, and this is an important pathway through which the environmental signals control primary dormancy depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Temporal and spatial changes in the annual and seasonal temperatures in a typical basin of the Qiantang River were analysed based on the time series databases of daily temperatures from 14 meteorological stations. Both the Mann-Kendall ( MK) trend test and simple linear regression analyses were employed to detect trends in the mean and extreme temperatures. The temperature changes during the three periods of 1960-1990, 1960-2000 and 1960-2006 were investigated at each meteorological station and over the entire basin as an average. The spatial and temporal changes were characterized by significant warming throughout the region, with the minimum temperature (Tn) increasing the most, particularly after 1990. Various percentiles of extreme temperatures, as well as their corresponding frequencies, were chosen to explore the trends of extreme climate change in this region. Linear regression analyses showed a significant warming trend in cold events both on an annual and seasonal basis, especially in the winter. Conversely, the hot events were dominated by an insignificant warming trend ( p > 0.05). When comparing the time series before and after 1990, trend shifts were apparent in both the mean and extreme temperatures, particularly in the spring and winter. In addition to the large-scale circulation, regional factors may have influenced the observed climate change in the studied region. Climate change has already influenced human society by, for example, increasing the frequency of haze in the study region. We conclude that the warming here is mainly attributed to changes in the minimum temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Variability is a very important inherent characteristic of climate and it varies on all timescales. It is also considered an important factor regarding changes of extreme events. On the basis of daily temperature records at 63 stations in the eastern and central Tibetan Plateau during 1960-2008, we examine changes of temperature mean, variability and extremes for the region, and study correlations between multiscale temperature variability and various extreme temperature events. Results show that considering the entire study region, a significantly decreasing trend is observed for intra-annual temperature variability ( StdD), whereas a significantly increasing trend is observed for interannual temperature variability ( IVT). Further relationships between multiscale temperature variability and temperature extremes over the past 49 years show that IVT is positively correlated with cold/warm nights ( TN10/ TN90) and warm days ( TX90), whereas StdD is positively correlated with cold extremes ( TN10/ TX10) and negatively correlated with warm extremes ( TN90/ TX90). Nevertheless, annual mean temperature also plays an important role in the relationships between temperature variability and temperature extremes, for correlations between IVT and cold temperature extremes in two warming periods are quite different. Stations with different temperature trends for mean, variability and extremes in the two warming periods are categorized in the study region, and these temperature characteristics in each category are also affected by local effects, such as elevation, topography and urbanization. However, in strong warming periods, the change of mean temperature still has a dominant effect on extreme temperature events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Knowing the mechanical properties of UV-curable resins at cryogenic conditions is important to ongoing fusion-energy research and to emerging aerospace applications. The tensile and interfacial shear strengths of two commercially available UV-curable resins were measured at room-temperature and cryogenic conditions for both bulk and reduced (subnanoliter) specimen volumes. The tensile properties of cured specimens are remarkably sensitive to both testing temperature and specimen size. For one type of resin, the cold (−150 °C) tensile strength of subnanoliter specimens is ∼9× larger (179 ± 19 MPa) than bulk values at room temperature. The interfacial shear strength between SiC fibers and small volumes of resin volumes is comparable to the bulk, room-temperature tensile strength, but it varies over a wide range at −150 °C (15-53 MPa). All resins were fully cured, and an analysis of fractured surfaces revealed microstructural features. The enhanced strength in microscopic specimens may be related to inhomogeneous stress fields that develop during cure. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014, 52, 936-945 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY The structure of a proportional-to-absolute-temperature (PTAT) voltage reference with MOSFETs operating in the subthreshold region is proposed. It is based on the conventional structure, operation equivalent to which is achieved from the viewpoint of relations between the voltages and currents of MOSFETs. The derived structure relaxes the occupied area. Experimental results of a PTAT voltage reference implemented on a chip as an example are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1-D through-the-thickness transient heat transfer model is built to simulate the curing process of thick-walled glass-fibre-reinforced anionic polyamide-6 (APA-6) composites. The temperature and the degree of polymerisation through the thickness of the composite are calculated and compared to the experimentally obtained results. The kinetic models describing the polymerisation behaviour of APA-6 are implemented in the model. The kinetic model not taking into account the convection in the polymerisation process shows the best results. It is found that the predicted temperature profiles agree well with the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable work has been done on the phase equilibria and physical properties of thermal cements heated directly to high temperatures. In thermal recovery oil wells the cement sheath is, however, cured for days to years at temperatures of 40°C or less before it is subjected to steam injection temperatures of up to about 320°C. The effects of this alternative curing regime have not been well documented. Here, the impact of pre-curing samples for 1, 14, and 28 days at 35°C before heating to 230°C on phase assemblages, morphologies, and physical properties of thermal cement were investigated. Control samples included thermal cements heated directly to high temperature as well as samples cured only at 35°C. Xonotlite formed the predominant phase in the pre-cured thermal cements instead of the tobermorite found in the control sample heated directly to 230°C. Although all pre-cured samples were predominantly xonotlite, their morphological characteristics of the phase assemblages were found to vary distinctly with pre-curing time. Significant differences between the pre-cured and directly cured samples were also observed in terms of porosity, permeability, and mechanical behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rehydroxylation (RHX) dating has recently been proposed as a new chronometric dating tool for use on archeological fired-clay ceramics. The technique relies upon the well-known characteristic of reheated porous ceramic vessels to regain water through a two-stage process (rehydration and RHX), where the kinetics of second stage has been shown to follow a (time)1/4 power law at temperatures of 13°-50°C. In this study, experiments were conducted in which the mass measurements taken from 19th-century ceramic artifacts could be described by the (time)1/ n power law over a wide range of temperatures. This finding has led to the formulation of a new empirical equation, which describes the observed ceramic's rehydration and RHX behavior without the need for identification of RHX stage. As part of this study, the mineralogy of the ceramics and their thermal properties have been evaluated. The instantaneous effect of humidity on mass measurements was demonstrated to be the principal source of error. RHX dating shows promise, and after more research, the technique could become an important archeometric tool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

- We present a case modeling study of impact crater formation in H2O-bearing targets. The main goal of this work was to investigate the postimpact thermal state of the rock layers modified in the formation of hypervelocity impact craters. We present model results for a target consisting of a mixture of H2O-ice and rock, assuming an ice/water content variable with depth. Our model results, combined with results from previous work using dry targets, indicate that for craters larger than about 30 km in diameter, the onset of postimpact hydrothermal circulation is characterized by two stages: first, the formation of a mostly dry, hot central uplift followed by water beginning to flow in and circulate through the initially dry and hot uplifted crustal rocks. The postimpact thermal field in the periphery of the crater is dependent on crater size: in midsize craters, 30-50 km in diameter, crater walls are not strongly heated in the impact event, and even though ice present in the rock may initially be heated enough to melt, overall temperatures in the rock remain below melting, undermining the development of a crater-wide hydrothermal circulation. In large craters (with diameters more than 100 km or so), the region underneath the crater floor and walls is heated well above the melting point of ice, thus facilitating the onset of an extended hydrothermal circulation. These results provide preliminary constraints in characterizing the many water-related features, both morphologic and spectroscopic, that high-resolution images of Mars are now detecting within many Martian craters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree cavities likely vary in their thermal quality for cavity-nesting animals, which could be especially important during winter. We conducted a winter field experiment to test whether cavities vary either in their buffering capacity or in their mean temperature according to predictable characteristics. We found that cavities buffered temperature and that there was a lag effect in temperature that appeared to be related to heating and cooling. Diameter at breast height was the most important variable influencing cavity temperature during the day, with smaller trees warming up more. During the night, diameter at breast height and tree decay class were important, such that larger, live trees cooled down less. Maintaining live trees with cavities in managed forests should be considered in addition to snag retention, because live trees appear to provide warmer structures during winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tree cavities likely vary in their thermal quality for cavity-nesting animals, which could be especially important during winter. We conducted a winter field experiment to test whether cavities vary either in their buffering capacity or in their mean temperature according to predictable characteristics. We found that cavities buffered temperature and that there was a lag effect in temperature that appeared to be related to heating and cooling. Diameter at breast height was the most important variable influencing cavity temperature during the day, with smaller trees warming up more. During the night, diameter at breast height and tree decay class were important, such that larger, live trees cooled down less. Maintaining live trees with cavities in managed forests should be considered in addition to snag retention, because live trees appear to provide warmer structures during winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transition State Theory, with Wigner tunneling correction, was employed to determine the thermal rate coefficients for the first excited state of the H+ + LiH reaction using the potential energy surface calculated and fitted by Martinazzo et al. [Martinazzo et al., J Chem Phys 2003, 119, 11241]. The calculated thermal rate coefficients, in the temperature range of 500–1,000 K, are near to the value of 10-9 cm3 s-1 and tend to a constant value (10-8 cm3 s-1) at lower temperatures (200 K). These results support the recent investigation of Bulut et al. that showed the TRC to be nearly independent of temperature. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Temperature and many other physical and chemical factors affecting CO2 production in lake sediments vary significantly both seasonally and spatially. The effects of temperature and sediment properties on benthic CO2 production were studied in in situ and in vitro experiments in the boreal oligotrophic Lake Pääjärvi, southern Finland. 2. In in situ experiments, temperature of the water overlying the shallow littoral sediment varied seasonally between 0.5 and 15.7 °C, but in deep water (≥20 m) the range was only 1.1–6.6 °C. The same exponential model ( r2 = 0.70) described the temperature dependence at 1.2, 10 and 20 m depths. At 2.5 and 5 m depths, however, the slopes of the two regression models ( r2 = 0.94) were identical but the intercept values were different. Sediment properties (wet, dry, mineral and organic mass) varied seasonally and with depth, but they did not explain a significantly larger proportion of variation in the CO2 output rate than temperature. 3. In in vitro experiments, there was a clear and uniform exponential dependence of CO2 production on temperature, with a 2.7-fold increase per 10 °C temperature rise. The temperature response (slope of regression) was always the same, but the basic value of CO2 production (intercept) varied, indicating that other factors also contributed to the benthic CO2 output rate. 4. The annual CO2 production of the sediment in Lake Pääjärvi averaged 62 g CO2 m−2, the shallow littoral at 0–3 m depth releasing 114 g CO2 m−2 and deep profundal (>15 m) 30 g CO2 m−2. On the whole lake basis, the shallow littoral at 0–3 m depth accounted for 53% and the sediment area in contact with the summer epilimnion (down to a depth c. 10 m) 75% of the estimated total annual CO2 output of the lake sediment, respectively. Of the annual production, 83% was released during the spring and summer. 5. Using the temperature-CO2 production equations and climate change scenarios we estimated that climatic warming might increase littoral benthic CO2 production in summer by nearly 30% from the period 1961–90 to the period 2071–2100. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat can be released or consumed in particles in a nearly adiabatic way due to phase transformation, thermal fluctuation, etc. In this case a temperature field, strongly varying in space and time, develops in the particle in addition to the global temperature field. Analytical as well as numerical solutions for this additional temperature field are presented for identical and different thermal properties of both the particle and its environment. The case of heat conduction and of heat transfer is dealt with. Consequences for nanoparticles are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Most models of thermal adaptation ignore biotic interactions, and those that do consider biotic interactions assume that competitors or predators cannot respond to adaptation by the focal species. Nevertheless, real biotic interactions involve responsive entities, which can be more accurately modelled using evolutionary game theory. 2. We present a two-part analysis of a thermal game between prey and predators. First, we model a game in which prey choose patches on the basis of operative temperature and predation risk, whereas predators choose patches on the basis of prey density. Second, we consider how this thermal game influences the evolution of the prey's thermal physiology. 3. The solution of the thermal game is an evolutionarily stable Nash equilibrium in which prey divide their time equally among a range of thermal patches while predators bias their hunting efforts toward warmer patches, even though they derive no thermoregulatory benefit from doing so. Furthermore, the optimal range of temperatures selected by prey and predators increases as the lethality of predators increases. 4. This thermal game potentially influences the evolution of the prey's thermal physiology. When predators are less lethal, prey should thermoregulate over a narrower range of temperatures, resulting in selection for thermal specialization of physiological performance. But when predators are very lethal, prey should thermoregulate over a broad range of temperatures; in this case, prey pay no fitness cost for being thermal generalists. 5. Evolutionary game theory provides a powerful tool for generating hypotheses about the effects of biotic interactions on evolution in heterogeneous environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the use of negative ridge regression parameters to improve the covariance structure of multivariate downscaling models. It states that regression coefficients are approximated immediately via a matrix equation, while ridge parameters, which are free of taking positive or negative values, are aligned iteratively. Results from precipitation and multi-site temperature data indicate that the proposed method is capable to constrain the portended covariance matrix to closely matched the observed.

It is normally assumed that a commercial gaseous nitrogen cold-stream provides a sample environment near 100 K and that the force of the cold-stream does not induce movement in the sample. As might be expected, the reality is much more complex. Here, an investigation of one cold-stream, starting with the temperature profile, is presented. Using silicon single crystals and flexible mounting loops, an approximate force/vibration profile of the cold-stream is obtained. Results indicate that the center of the temperature profile is offset from the position suggested by the manufacturer-supplied alignment tool and coincides with the area within the cold-stream that has the most consistent force profile. Tests indicate that this region is only about one-third of the width of the cold-stream nozzle opening. To verify that the results were relevant to protein crystallographic data collection, the impact of cold-stream position on the final data quality for lysozyme crystals was analyzed. On the basis of the observations it is recommended that users perform a temperature profile of their cold-streams to ensure proper alignment instead of relying only on the alignment tool for setup. In addition, suggestions are made on what users can look for in data processing to identify problems with loop movement and what users can do to minimize the impact of these problems on their experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Production of heat-shock proteins (Hsps) is a key adaptation to acute heat stress and will be important in determining plant responses to climate change. Further, intraspecifc variation in Hsps, which will influence species-level response to global warming, has rarely been examined in naturally occurring plants. To understand intraspecific variation in plant Hsps and its relevance to global warming, we examined Hsp content and thermotolerance in five naturally occurring populations of Chenopodium album L. from contrasting thermal environments grown at low and high temperatures. As expected, Hsp accumulation varied between populations, but this was related more to habitat variability than to mean temperature. Unexpectedly, Hsp accumulation decreased with increasing variability of habitat temperatures. Hsp accumulation also decreased with increased experimental growth temperatures. Physiological thermotolerance was partitioned into basal and induced components. As with Hsps, induced thermotolerance decreased with increasing temperature variability. Thus, populations native to the more stressful habitats, or grown at higher temperatures, had lower Hsp levels and induced thermotolerance, suggesting a greater reliance on basal mechanisms for thermotolerance. These results suggest that future global climate change will differentially impact ecotypes within species, possibly by selecting for increased basal versus inducible thermotolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the impact of different averaging algorithms on daily maximum and minimum temperature. The authors found out that some surface climate networks produced a systematic warming or cooling bias in daily maximum or minimum temperature observation which led to resulting biases making the diurnal temperature range more biased in extreme climate studies, in comparison to the longest recorded and standard liquid-in-glass maximum and minimum thermometers. They recommend providing an accurate description of daily maximum and minimum temperatures to prevent the uncertainties in the observed climatology.

The positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) characteristics of donor-doped BaTiO3 fired in a reducing atmosphere and reoxidized in air are investigated. The result reveals that conventional semiconducting BaTiO3 ceramics fired in a reducing atmosphere and reoxidized at a low temperature of 800°C in air show minimal PTCR characteristics, as reported earlier; however, Ca-doped BaTiO3 with compositions in the range of 1.005≤(Ba+Ca+La)/Ti≤1.010 exhibit pronounced PTCR characteristics, even when reoxidized at such a low temperature. The semiconducting BaTiO3 ceramics with {(Ba+Ca+La)/Ti}=1.005 and Ca-doped to 20 mol% exhibit remarkable PTCR characteristics with a resistivity jump of two orders of magnitude when they have been reoxidized at 800°C after firing in a reducing atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Equilibrium Model" has provided new tools for describing and investigating enzyme thermal adaptation. It has been shown that the effect of temperature on enzyme activity is not only governed by ΔG‡cat and ΔG‡inact but also by two new intrinsic parameters, ΔHeq and Teq, which describe the enthalpy and midpoint, respectively, of a reversible equilibrium between active and inactive (but not denatured) forms of enzyme. Twenty-one enzymes from organisms with a wide range of growth temperatures were characterized using the Equilibrium Model. Statistical analysis indicates that Teq is a better predictor of growth temperature than enzyme stability (ΔG‡inact). As expected from the Equilibrium Model, ΔHeq correlates with catalytic temperature tolerance of enzymes and thus can be declared the first intrinsic and quantitative measure of enzyme eurythermalism. Other findings shed fight on the evolution of psychrophilic and thermophilic enzymes. The findings suggest that the description of the Equilibrium Model of the effect of temperature on enzyme activity applies to all enzymes regardless of their temperature origins and that its associated parameters, ΔHeq and Teq, are intrinsic and necessary parameters for characterizing the thermal properties of enzymes and their temperature adaptation and evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we present the development of a new adjusted dataset composed of the 22 longest and most reliable Spanish daily temperature records (maximum and minimum temperatures and derived daily mean temperature) covering the period 1850-2003. The paper describes the approaches followed for compiling, controlling the quality and homogenising these 22 daily Spanish records, leading to the creation of a dataset called 'Spanish Daily Adjusted Temperature Series' (SDATS). An assessment of the sources of data and metadata used is followed by a reliability assessment of the selected network. Data quality control (QC) procedures applied to raw daily maximum ( Tmax) and minimum ( Tmin) temperatures and their results are then considered. For the very first time, an empirical minimisation of the bias related to the impact of changing exposure of thermometers on the records has been undertaken. The application of the Standard Normal Homogeneity Test (SNHT) to check homogeneity of raw Tmax and Tmin data on a monthly basis is presented, together with a discussion of the causes, magnitudes and timings of the various inhomogeneities. All 22 records contained a number of inhomogeneities (2.6 on average), mainly associated with documented station relocations confirmed by the metadata available. Monthly adjustments calculated for both screen developments and from the SNHT were linearly interpolated to a daily basis following the Vincent et al. () scheme. Finally, the procedures adopted for creating the regional average, the Spanish Temperature Series (STS), together with an exploratory analysis of long-term trends of each Tmax and Tmin records, are provided. The final analysis shows that over mainland Spain highly significant rates of temperature increases have occurred for Tmax and Tmin (0.12 °C/decade and 0.10 °C/decade, respectively) over 1850-2003. Copyright © 2006 Royal Meteorological Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A negative relationship between rearing temperature and adult size is widespread in ectotherms yet its causes remain poorly understood. It has been suggested that summer generations of some aquatic insects provide exceptions to this temperature size rule (TSR). The hypothesis that seasonal time constraints are responsible for these exceptions was tested using the mayfly Cloeon dipterum. Simulating early-season conditions by varying photoperiod and temperature, we found that this species followed the TSR. However, under simulated seasonal time constraints, the species omitted most of its summer adult generation (delaying completion of nymphal development till the next year), which limited the scope and applicability of the hypothesis for this species. Even those animals that completed nymphal development before winter showed no weakening of the negative temperature size relationship that was predicted by the hypothesis. Moreover, these animals did not increase rates of development or growth in response to simulated time constraints. We then analysed further the study that originally indicated aquatic insect exceptions to the TSR and suggest that gaps in the data and/or experimental design can explain the apparent exceptions. From these analyses and a survey of other exceptions, we conclude that time constraints do not account for any reported counter-TSR relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]