Modelling the small punch tensile behaviour of an aerospace alloy

The small punch (SP) test is a widely accepted methodology for obtaining mechanical property information from limited material quantities. Much research has presented the creep, tensile and fracture responses of numerous materials gathered from small-scale testing approaches. This is of particular interest for alloy down selection of next-generation materials and in situ mechanical assessments. However, to truly understand the evolution of deformation of the miniature disc specimen, an accurate and detailed understanding of the progressive damage is necessary. This paper will utilise the SP test to assess the tensile properties of several Ti–6Al–4V materials across different temperature regimes. Fractographic investigations will establish the contrasting damage mechanisms and finite element modelling through DEFORM software is employed to characterise specimen deformation

IDEAL-CRT: A Phase 1/2 Trial of Isotoxic Dose-Escalated Radiation Therapy and Concurrent Chemotherapy in Patients With Stage II/III Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose To report toxicity and early survival data for IDEAL-CRT, a trial of dose-escalated concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for non-small cell lung cancer. Patients and Methods Patients received tumor doses of 63 to 73 Gy in 30 once-daily fractions over 6 weeks with 2 concurrent cycles of cisplatin and vinorelbine. They were assigned to 1 of 2 groups according to esophageal dose. In group 1, tumor doses were determined by an experimental constraint on maximum esophageal dose, which was escalated following a 6 + 6 design from 65 Gy through 68 Gy to 71 Gy, allowing an esophageal maximum tolerated dose to be determined from early and late toxicities. Tumor doses for group 2 patients were determined by other tissue constraints, often lung. Overall survival, progression-free survival, tumor response, and toxicity were evaluated for both groups combined. Results Eight centers recruited 84 patients: 13, 12, and 10, respectively, in the 65-Gy, 68-Gy, and 71-Gy cohorts of group 1; and 49 in group 2. The mean prescribed tumor dose was 67.7 Gy. Five grade 3 esophagitis and 3 grade 3 pneumonitis events were observed across both groups. After 1 fatal esophageal perforation in the 71-Gy cohort, 68 Gy was declared the esophageal maximum tolerated dose. With a median follow-up of 35 months, median overall survival was 36.9 months, and overall survival and progression-free survival were 87.8% and 72.0%, respectively, at 1 year and 68.0% and 48.5% at 2 years. Conclusions IDEAL-CRT achieved significant treatment intensification with acceptable toxicity and promising survival. The isotoxic design allowed the esophageal maximum tolerated dose to be identified from relatively few patients

What lies beneath? Reconstructing the primitive magmas fueling voluminous silicic volcanism using olivine-hosted melt inclusions

Understanding the origins of the mantle melts that drive voluminous silicic volcanism is challenging because primitive magmas are generally trapped at depth. The central Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ; New Zealand) hosts an extraordinarily productive region of rhyolitic caldera volcanism. Accompanying and interspersed with the rhyolitic products, there are traces of basalt to andesite preserved as enclaves or pyroclasts in caldera eruption products and occurring as small monogenetic eruptive centers between calderas. These mafic materials contain MgO-rich olivines (Fo79–86) that host melt inclusions capturing the most primitive basaltic melts fueling the central TVZ. Olivine-hosted melt inclusion compositions associated with the caldera volcanoes (intracaldera samples) contrast with those from the nearby, mafic intercaldera monogenetic centers. Intracaldera melt inclusions from the modern caldera volcanoes of Taupō and Okataina have lower abundances of incompatible elements, reflecting distinct mantle melts. There is a direct link showing that caldera-related silicic volcanism is fueled by basaltic magmas that have resulted from higher degrees of partial melting of a more depleted mantle source, along with distinct subduction signatures. The locations and vigor of Taupō and Okataina are fundamentally related to the degree of melting and flux of basalt from the mantle, and intercaldera mafic eruptive products are thus not representative of the feeder magmas for the caldera volcanoes. Inherited olivines and their melt inclusions provide a unique “window” into the mantle dynamics that drive the active TVZ silicic magmatic systems and may present a useful approach at other volcanoes that show evidence for mafic recharge

Structural Analysis of the Western Afar Margin, East Africa: Evidence for Multiphase Rotational Rifting

The Afar region in East Africa represents a key location to study continental breakup. We present an integrated structural analysis of the Western Afar Margin (WAM) aiming to better understand rifted margin development and the role of plate rotation during rifting. New structural information from remote sensing, fieldwork, and earthquake data sets reveals that the N-S striking WAM is still actively deforming and is characterized by NNW-SSE normal faulting as well as a series of marginal grabens. Seismicity distribution analysis and the first-ever borehole-calibrated sections of this developing passive margin show recent slip concentrated along antithetic faults. Tectonic stress parameters derived from earthquake focal mechanisms reveal different extension directions along the WAM (82°N), in Afar (66°N) and in the Main Ethiopian Rift (108°N). Fault slip analysis along the WAM yields the same extension direction. Combined with GPS data, this shows that current tectonics in Afar is dominated by the local rotation of the Danakil Block, considered to have occurred since 11 Ma. Earlier stages of Afar development (since 31–25 Ma) were most likely related to the large-scale rotation of the Arabian plate. Various authors have proposed scenarios for the evolution of the WAM. Any complete model should consider, among other factors, the multiphase tectonic history and antithetic fault activity of the margin. The findings of this study are not only relevant for a better understanding of the WAM but also provide insights into the role of multiphase rotational extension during rifting and passive margin formation in general.</p

“Further education, future prosperity? The Implications of Marketisation on Further Education Working Practices”

© 2017 Association for Research in Post-Compulsory Education (ARPCE). This paper examines how the marketised funding system of vocational further education is affecting lecturers’ working practices and professional integrity. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a number of lecturing staff and managers within two vocational areas at an English FE college to examine the implications of working under the current funding regime. The conclusions drawn reflect the complexity of working within FE showing how lecturers are frequently placed in a professional dilemma between securing future funding (by ensuring high levels of retention and achievement) and compromising their professional integrity and working practices in order to do so. A key finding here was the inherent tension between professional integrity and funding requirements apparently directly opposing ‘good’ practice. This means FE professionals experience what Whitehead called ‘a living contradiction’ in their working lives, increasing stress levels and diminishing their sense of professionalism

Socioeconomic and physical distance to the maternity hospital as predictors for place of delivery: an observation study from Nepal

BACKGROUND: Although the debate on the safety and women's right of choice to a home delivery vs. hospital delivery continues in the developed countries, an undesirable outcome of home delivery, such as high maternal and perinatal mortality, is documented in developing countries. The objective was to study whether socio-economic factors, distance to maternity hospital, ethnicity, type and size of family, obstetric history and antenatal care received in present pregnancy affected the choice between home and hospital delivery in a developing country. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done during June, 2001 to January 2002 in an administratively and geographically well-defined territory with a population of 88,547, stretching from urban to adjacent rural part of Kathmandu and Dhading Districts of Nepal with maximum of 5 hrs of distance from Maternity hospital. There were no intermediate level of private or government hospital or maternity homes in the study area. Interviews were carried out on 308 women who delivered within 45 days of the date of the interview with a pre-tested structured questionnaire. RESULTS: A distance of more than one hour to the maternity hospital (OR = 7.9), low amenity score status (OR = 4.4), low education (OR = 2.9), multi-parity (OR = 2.4), and not seeking antenatal care in the present pregnancy (OR = 4.6) were statistically significantly associated with an increased risk of home delivery. Ethnicity, obstetric history, age of mother, ritual observance of menarche, type and size of family and who is head of household were not statistically significantly associated with the place of delivery. CONCLUSIONS: The socio-economic standing of the household was a stronger predictor of place of delivery compared to ethnicity, the internal family structure such as type and size of family, head of household, or observation of ritual days by the mother of an important event like menarche. The results suggested that mothers, who were in the low-socio-economic scale, delivered at home more frequently in a developing country like Nepal

Hypoglycemia and the Origin of Hypoxia-Induced Reduction in Human Fetal Growth

The most well known reproductive consequence of residence at high altitude (HA >2700 m) is reduction in fetal growth. Reduced fetoplacental oxygenation is an underlying cause of pregnancy pathologies, including intrauterine growth restriction and preeclampsia, which are more common at HA. Therefore, altitude is a natural experimental model to study the etiology of pregnancy pathophysiologies. We have shown that the proximate cause of decreased fetal growth is not reduced oxygen availability, delivery, or consumption. We therefore asked whether glucose, the primary substrate for fetal growth, might be decreased and/or whether altered fetoplacental glucose metabolism might account for reduced fetal growth at HA.Doppler and ultrasound were used to measure maternal uterine and fetal umbilical blood flows in 69 and 58 residents of 400 vs 3600 m. Arterial and venous blood samples from mother and fetus were collected at elective cesarean delivery and analyzed for glucose, lactate and insulin. Maternal delivery and fetal uptakes for oxygen and glucose were calculated.The maternal arterial – venous glucose concentration difference was greater at HA. However, umbilical venous and arterial glucose concentrations were markedly decreased, resulting in lower glucose delivery at 3600 m. Fetal glucose consumption was reduced by >28%, but strongly correlated with glucose delivery, highlighting the relevance of glucose concentration to fetal uptake. At altitude, fetal lactate levels were increased, insulin concentrations decreased, and the expression of GLUT1 glucose transporter protein in the placental basal membrane was reduced.Our results support that preferential anaerobic consumption of glucose by the placenta at high altitude spares oxygen for fetal use, but limits glucose availability for fetal growth. Thus reduced fetal growth at high altitude is associated with fetal hypoglycemia, hypoinsulinemia and a trend towards lactacidemia. Our data support that placentally-mediated reduction in glucose transport is an initiating factor for reduced fetal growth under conditions of chronic hypoxemia

Assessment of the health of Americans: the average health-related quality of life and its inequality across individuals and groups

BACKGROUND: The assessment of population health has traditionally relied on the population's average health measured by mortality related indicators. Researchers have increasingly recognized the importance of including information on health inequality and health-related quality of life (HRQL) in the assessment of population health. The objective of this study is to assess the health of Americans in the 1990s by describing the average HRQL and its inequality across individuals and groups. METHODS: This study uses the 1990 and 1995 National Health Interview Survey from the United States. The measure of HRQL is the Health and Activity Limitation Index (HALex). The measure of health inequality across individuals is the Gini coefficient. This study provides confidence intervals (CI) for the Gini coefficient by a bootstrap method. To describe health inequality by group, this study decomposes the overall Gini coefficient into the between-group, within-group, and overlap Gini coefficient using race (White, Black, and other) as an example. This study looks at how much contribution the overlap Gini coefficient makes to the overall Gini coefficient, in addition to the absolute mean differences between groups. RESULTS: The average HALex was the same in 1990 (0.87, 95% CI: 0.87, 0.88) and 1995 (0.87, 95% CI: 0.86, 0.87). The Gini coefficient for the HALex distribution across individuals was greater in 1995 (0.097, 95% CI: 0.096, 0.099) than 1990 (0.092, 95% CI: 0.091, 0.094). Differences in the average HALex between all racial groups were the same in 1995 as 1990. The contribution of the overlap to the overall Gini coefficient was greater in 1995 than in 1990 by 2.4%. In both years, inequality between racial groups accounted only for 4–5% of overall inequality. CONCLUSION: The average HRQL of Americans was the same in 1990 and 1995, but inequality in HRQL across individuals was greater in 1995 than 1990. Inequality in HRQL by race was smaller in 1995 than 1990 because race had smaller effect on the way health was distributed in 1995 than 1990. Analysis of the average HRQL and its inequality provides information on the health of a population invisible in the traditional analysis of population health