Synthesis, Structure, and Heat Capacity of Some Basic Hydroxohalide Glasses of Zirconium and Hafnium.

This work highlights the synthesis and properties of novel basic hydroxohalide glasses of zirconium and hafnium. The hydroxohalide glasses are M(OH)4-αXα·(n)H2O where M represents either zirconium or hafnium, and X represents either chloride or bromide. The chemical structure is investigated using X-ray diffraction, total scattering, and the pair distribution function method to identify the local structure and any short-range connectivity. The thermodynamic properties of the glasses are probed using low-temperature heat capacity, where a gap in the phonon density of states is discussed and related to boson peaks in the heat capacity of the glasses. These results represent the first published synthesis and thermodynamic properties of zirconium and hafnium basic hydroxohalide glasses. Synthesis methods, structural determination, and analysis of the heat capacity data allow for a comprehensive look at the makeup and unique properties of these novel glassy materials. Values of the standard thermodynamic functions Cp,m°, Δ0TSm°, Δ0THm°, and Φm° are also reported.

Predictors of compliance with COVID-19 related non-pharmaceutical interventions among university students in the United States.

The world is currently dealing with a devastating pandemic. Although growing COVID-19 case numbers, deaths, and hospitalizations are concerning, this spread is particularly alarming in the United States where polarizing opinions, changing policies, and misinformation abound. In particular, American college campuses have been a venue of rampant transmission, with concerning spillover into surrounding, more vulnerable, communities. We surveyed over 600 college students from across the United States and modeled predictors of compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions. We identified concern with severity, constitutionalism, news exposure, and religiosity as significant positive correlates with compliance, and general trust in science as a significant negative correlate. To determine how applicable nationwide modeling might be to individual local campuses we also administered this same survey to nearly 600 students at two large universities in Utah County. In this population, concern with severity was the only significant positive correlate with compliance; Additionally, feelings of inconvenience were negatively correlated. The effects of feelings of inconvenience, and news exposure were significantly different between populations. These results suggest that we should focus our efforts on increasing knowledge about the pandemic's effects on our society and informing about constitutionality amongst college students. However, we also show that nationwide surveys and modeling are informative, but if campuses are to efficiently curb the spread of COVID-19 this coming semester, they would be best served to utilize data collected from their student populations as these might significantly differ from general consensus data.