According to International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines, all species must be assessed against all criteria during the Red Listing process. For organismal groups that are diverse and understudied, assessors face considerable challenges in assembling evidence due to difficulty in applying definitions of key terms used in the guidelines. Challenges also arise because of uncertainty in population sizes (Criteria A, C, D) and distributions (Criteria A2/3/4c, B). Lichens, which are often small, difficult to identify, or overlooked during biodiversity inventories, are one such group for which specific difficulties arise in applying Red List criteria. Here, we offer approaches and examples that address challenges in completing Red List assessments for lichens in a rapidly changing arena of data availability and analysis strategies. While assessors still contend with far from perfect information about individual species, we propose practical solutions for completing robust assessments given the currently available knowledge of individual lichen life-histories.

This editorial considers the value and nature of academic psychiatry by asking what defines the specialty and psychiatrists as academics. We frame academic psychiatry as a way of thinking that benefits clinical services and discuss how to inspire the next generation of academics.

While clozapine has risks, relative risk of fatality is overestimated. The UK pharmacovigilance programme is efficient, but comparisons with other drugs can mislead because of reporting variations. Clozapine actually lowers mortality, partly by reducing schizophrenia-related suicides, but preventable deaths still occur. Clozapine should be used earlier and more widely, but there should be better monitoring and better management of toxicity.

Using the field–particle correlation technique, we examine the particle energization in a three-dimensional (one spatial dimension and two velocity dimensions; 1D-2V) continuum Vlasov–Maxwell simulation of a perpendicular magnetized collisionless shock. The combination of the field–particle correlation technique with the high-fidelity representation of the particle distribution function provided by a direct discretization of the Vlasov equation allows us to ascertain the details of the exchange of energy between the electromagnetic fields and the particles in phase space. We identify the velocity-space signatures of shock-drift acceleration of the ions and adiabatic heating of the electrons arising from the perpendicular collisionless shock by constructing a simplified model with the minimum ingredients necessary to produce the observed energization signatures in the self-consistent Vlasov–Maxwell simulation. We are thus able to completely characterize the energy transfer in the perpendicular collisionless shock considered here and provide predictions for the application of the field–particle correlation technique to spacecraft measurements of collisionless shocks.

A new protocol has been devised for determining elastic properties of natural biocomposites in the form of bivalve shells under wet and dry conditions. Four-point bending on shell slices of Mytilus edulis, Ensis siliqua, and Pecten maximus give generally lower and more reliable values of Young’s modulus, E, than those in the literature from three-point bending, due to the more even distribution of strain. Finite element analysis of the prismatic microstructure of Pinna nobilis, obtained by X-ray tomography, shows that values of E ≈ 20 GPa can be understood in terms of the real microstructure containing a small proportion of organic matrix phase with E ≈ 1 GPa and a dominant proportion of calcite with E ≈ 90 GPa. Higher values of E obtained by nanoindentation give results which are biased toward the properties of the carbonate phase rather than of the biocomposite as a whole.

Terrestrial time-lapse photography offers insight into glacial processes through high spatial and temporal resolution imagery. However, oblique camera views complicate measurement in geographic coordinates, and lead to reliance on specific imaging geometries or simplifying assumptions for calculating parameters such as ice velocity. We develop a novel approach that integrates time-lapse imagery with multitemporal DEMs to derive full three-dimensional coordinates for natural features tracked throughout a monoscopic image sequence. This enables daily independent measurement of horizontal (ice flow) and vertical (ice melt) velocities. By combining two terrestrial laser scanner surveys with a 73 days sequence from Sólheimajökull, Iceland, variations in horizontal ice velocity of ~10% were identified over timescales of ~25 days. An overall decrease of ~3.0 m surface elevation showed asynchronous rate changes with the horizontal velocity variations, demonstrating a temporal disconnect between the processes of ice surface lowering and mechanisms of glacier movement. Our software, ‘Pointcatcher’, is freely available for user-friendly interactive processing of general time-lapse sequences and includes Monte Carlo error analysis and uncertainty in projection onto DEM surfaces. It is particularly suited for analysis of challenging oblique glacial imagery, and we discuss good features to track, both for correction of camera motion and for deriving ice velocities.

This article introduces the use of in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) techniques for the study and development of nanomaterials and their properties. Specifically, it shows how in situ HRTEM (and TEM) can be used to understand diverse phenomena at the nanoscale, such as the behavior of alloy phase formation in isolated nanometer-sized particles, the mechanical and transport properties of carbon nanotubes and nanowires, and the dynamic behavior of interphase boundaries at the atomic level. Current limitations and future potential advances in in situ HRTEM of nanomaterials are also discussed.

In situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies allow one to determine the structure, chemistry, and kinetic behavior of solid–liquid (S–L) interfaces with subnanometer spatial resolution. This article illustrates some important contributions of in situ TEM to our understanding of S–L interfaces in Al-Si alloys and liquid In particles in Al and Fe matrices.Four main areas are discussed:ordering in the liquid at a S–L interface, compositional changes across the interface, the kinetics and mechanisms of interface migration, and the contact angles and equilibrium melting temperature of small particles.Results from these studies reveal that (1)partially ordered layers form in the liquid at a Si{111} S–L interface in an Al–Si alloy, (2)the crystalline and compositional changes occur simultaneously across an Al S–L interface, (3)the Al interface is diffuse and its growth can be followed at velocities of a fewnm/s at extremely low undercoolings, and (4)the melting temperature of In particles less than ~ 10 nm in diameter can be raised or lowered in Al or Fe, depending on the contact angle that the S–L interface makes at the three-phase junction. These results illustrate the benefits of in situ TEM for providing fundamental insight into the mechanisms that control the behavior of S–L interfaces in materials.

Measuring material properties is critical to understanding the behavior of contemporary nanostructured materials. In this paper, we show that as a consequence of the universal binding energy relation (UBER), universal features and strong scaling correlations exist between the volume plasmon energy and cohesive energy, valence electron density, elastic constants and hardness of various materials with metallic and covalent bonding. Based on these relations, we propose novel techniques that allow direct measurement and imaging of material properties in situ using valence electron energy-loss spectroscopy combined with energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy. This is illustrated by evaluation of elastic and cohesive properties of individual metastable nanoprecipitates in structural alloys and hardness of diesel-engine soot particles. The results demonstrate that new plasmon spectro-microscopic techniques have the potential to determine quantitatively and image multiple solid-state properties at the nanoscale, establishing a new capability for material research.

The mechanisms underlying stabilization of the metastable tetragonal (t)-phase in sol-gel derived, nanocrystalline ZrO2 were studied by high-resolution analytical electron microscopy, utilizing parallel electron-energy loss (PEEL) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopies. The powders were synthesized by hydrolysis of Zr (IV) n-propoxide at ratios of molar concentration of water to Zr n-propoxide, R=5 and 60, respectively, followed by calcination at 400°C. Dense particles of the as-precipitated ZrO2 (R=5) revealed 4–11 nm-sized nanocrystals embedded in the amorphous matrix that may serve as nuclei for the t-phase during calcination. The calcined particles consist of 10–100 nm–sized t-crystals. For as-precipitated ZrO2 (R=60), week aggregates (50–100 nm) of largely amorphous 4–20 nm-sized particles after calcination yield a mixture of t-and monoclinic (m-) nanocrystals. PEELS fingerprints of the band structure with the intensity threshold matching the expected position of a direct bandgap at 4–5 eV allow to differentiate between the amorphous and nanocrystalline ZrO2. Stabilization of t-phase (R=5) with sizes up to 16 times larger than reported earlier is likely due to strain-induced confinement from surrounding growing grains, which suppress the volume expansion associated with the martensitic t-m transformation. For R=60, loose nanoparticle agglomerates cannot suppress the transformation. In this case, the t-phase may be partially stabilized due to a crystal size effect and /or to the presence of m-phase.

Quantized high-frequency (∼1016 Hz) correlated longitudinal electron excitations (plasmons) generated in the energy-loss range 0–50 eV by fast electrons passing through any solid enable one to probe various states of matter. Their energy, Ep, is directly related to the density of valence electrons, thus allowing determination of solid-state properties that are governed by ground-state densities. Universal features and scaling in relations between Ep and the cohesive energy per atomic volume, bonding electron density and elastic constants have been established. The resulting correlations follow the universal binding energy relationship, thus providing new insights into the fundamental nature of structure-property relationships. They allow direct in situ determination of local material properties in an analytical electron microscope, as illustrated by examples utilizing Al- and Ti-based structural alloys.

In situ hot-stage high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) provides unique capabilities for quantifying the dynamics of interfaces at the atomic level. Such information is critical for understanding the theory of interfaces and solid-state phase transformations. This paper provides a brief description of particular requirements for performing in situ hot-stage HRTEM, summarizes different types of in situ HRTEM investigations and illustrates the use of this technique to obtain quantitative data on the atomic mechanisms and kinetics of interface motion in precipitation, crystallization and martensitic reactions. Some limitations of in situ hot-stage HRTEM and future prospects of this technique are also discussed.

This paper reviews the effects of chemical bonding, reaction, interfacial structure, fabrication, specimen geometry and testing conditions on the strength and fracture behavior of metal/ceramic interfaces. It is shown that a number of important properties of metal/ceramic interfaces such as the wetting behavior and work of adhesion can be qualitatively predicted from simple bonding models based on the elements in the metal and ceramic. In addition, the interfacial structure can often be predicted from principles of equilibrium thermodynamics and minimization of interfacial energy for relatively thick metal/ceramic layers. More quantitative description of interfacial structure employing atomistic calculations has been performed for simple interfaces and this area is progressing. The fracture behavior of metal/ceramic interfaces is a complicated process which depends on many factors such as the specimen geometry and loading conditions, strength of the interfacial bond, thermal, elastic and fracture properties of the metal and ceramic, thickness of the metal layer and testing environment. Advances in this area include the development of favorable specimen geometries for measuring interface properties and an understanding of the relationship among the phase angle of loading, crack trajectory and interface fracture energy for these geometries. Conversely, little is known about the stress corrosion and fatigue behavior of metal/ceramic interfaces although data on these time dependent failure modes are beginning to appear in the literature. Much progress has been made but considerably more work isneeded to understand the properties of metal/ceramic interfaces.

For materials that are conducive to pre-thinning by mechanical techniques, a combination of dimpling and ion milling is commonly employed to produce TEM specimens. In order to minimize artifacts induced by ion milling and to provide an increased electron-beam transparent area, new instrumentation for mechanical thinning has been developed. Examples illustrating the utilization of this instrument in the preparation of cross-sectional interfaces from layered samples are discussed.

In this investigation, multislice image calculations were used to determine the effects of point defects on image contrast in ARTEM. It is shown that point defects with an atomic number different from the matrix produce a regular change in image contrast. The minimum detectable defect concentration for any system of matrix and solute can be predicted from a simple formula based on a rule of mixtures and the atomic numbers of the matrix and solute. The effects of lattice distortions associated with point defects appears to have minimal effect on image contrast in ARTEM. Optimum specimen and microscope conditions for observing point defects in crystals and the possibility of extending the analyses to interpret atomic-resolution images of larger defects are discussed.