Pregnancy remains, infant remains, or the corpse of a child? The incoherent governance of the dead foetal body in England

This is the final version. Available on open access from Taylor & Francis via the DOI in this recordData availability: due to ethical concerns, participants did not consent to the sharing of their data, and as such the data supporting this publication are not publicly available.In English law, the conventional view is that human personhood is produced by live birth, kinship is produced by relations between persons, and corpses are produced on the death of persons, which are then buried or cremated. Beings produced by human pregnancy which do not fit these discursive categories are classified as ‘pregnancy remains’, have no personhood or kinship, and their disposal is regulated as human tissue. However, this paper argues that the governance of the dead, born, foetal body in England, in fact, produces forms of foetal personhood, through the regulation of the material dead bodies of foetuses and babies. Furthermore, the assignment of responsibility for disposal and post-mortem decisions to kin of the dead foetal being also produces a relational form of foetal personhood. The examination of second-trimester pregnancy loss in England through fieldwork with women who have experienced foetal death, premature labour, and termination for foetal anomaly before 24 weeks’ gestation reveals how governance of the dead, born, foetal body in England is incoherent.It also illustrates the effects of this incoherence on parental choices about the range of actions available after pregnancy loss in relation to the material body of the foetal being or baby.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

A Portable MEMS Gravimeter for the Detection of the Earth Tides

Gravimeters are used for measuring the local gravitational acceleration. The use of current commercially available gravimeters, however, has been limited by their high cost and large size. In this study, a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based relative gravimeter with an acceleration sensitivity of 8 μGall / √ (Hz) is demonstrated. The MEMS gravimeter, along with the custom interface electronics, is embedded on a battery powered portable platform. The portable platform enables continuous recording of the sensor response, while simultaneously measuring critical temperature and tilt parameters. To demonstrate the long-term stability of the system, the reported MEMS gravimeter platform was used to detect the Earth tides. In this paper, the first results from these measurements have been discussed

2H and 27Al Solid-State NMR Study of the Local Environments in Al-Doped 2-Line Ferrihydrite, Goethite, and Lepidocrocite.

Although substitution of aluminum into iron oxides and oxyhydroxides has been extensively studied, it is difficult to obtain accurate incorporation levels. Assessing the distribution of dopants within these materials has proven especially challenging because bulk analytical techniques cannot typically determine whether dopants are substituted directly into the bulk iron oxide or oxyhydroxide phase or if they form separate, minor phase impurities. These differences have important implications for the chemistry of these iron-containing materials, which are ubiquitous in the environment. In this work, 27Al and 2H NMR experiments are performed on series of Al-substituted goethite, lepidocrocite, and 2-line ferrihydrite in order to develop an NMR method to track Al substitution. The extent of Al substitution into the structural frameworks of each compound is quantified by comparing quantitative 27Al MAS NMR results with those from elemental analysis. Magnetic measurements are performed for the goethite series to compare with NMR measurements. Static 27Al spin-echo mapping experiments are used to probe the local environments around the Al substituents, providing clear evidence that they are incorporated into the bulk iron phases. Predictions of the 2H and 27Al NMR hyperfine contact shifts in Al-doped goethite and lepidocrocite, obtained from a combined first-principles and empirical magnetic scaling approach, give further insight into the distribution of the dopants within these phases.J.K., A.J.I., D.M. and N.P. were supported by an NSF grant collaborative research grant in chemistry CHE0714183. An allocation of time upon the NANO computer cluster at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, U.S.A., which is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-98CH10886 is also acknowledged. D.S.M. and C.P.G. thank the EPSRC and the EU-ERC for support.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the American Chemical Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.5b0085

The study of nearest- and next-nearest-neighbour magnetic interactions in seven tetragonal compounds V(IV) containing linear chains and square lattices

A new crystal chemical method was used to calculate the sign and strength not only of the nearest-neighbor (NN)interactions, but also of the next-nearest-neighbor (NNN) ones in tetragonal compounds Zn2(VO)(PO4)2 (I),(VO)(H2PO4)2 (II), (VO)SiP2O8 (III), (VO)SO4 (IV), (VO)MoO4 (V), Li2(VO)SiO4 (VI) and Li2(VO)GeO4 (VII) with similar sublattices of V4+ ions on the basis of the room-temperature structural data. The reason for difference between respective magnetic interactions characteristics of these compounds was established. It is shown that the characteristic feature of these compounds is a strong dependence of the strength of magnetic interactions and the magnetic moments ordering type on slight displacements of XO4 (X = P, Mo, Si or Ge) groups even without change of the crystal symmetry. In addition to extensively studied square lattice, other specific geometrical configurations of V4+ were discovered. These configurations can result in frustration of magnetic interactions, namely linear chains along the c-axis with competing nearest- and next-to-nearest-neighbor interactions; rectangular (in I) and triangular (in II-VII) lattices with non-equivalent nearest-to-neighbor interactions, which can be also considered as n-leg ladders; one extra square lattice in the ab-plane with longer range interactions. It was concluded that virtually all magnetic interactions in these compounds were frustrated.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure, 1 table; numerous grammatical change

Is Carbon Black a Suitable Model Colloidal Substrate for Diesel Soot?

Soot formation in diesel engines is known to cause premature engine wear. Unfortunately, genuine diesel soot is expensive to generate, so carbon blacks are often used as diesel soot mimics. Herein, the suitability of a commercial carbon black (Regal 250R) as a surrogate for diesel soot dispersed in engine base oil is examined in the presence of two commonly used polymeric lubricant additives. The particle size, morphology, and surface composition of both substrates are assessed using BET surface area analysis, TEM, and XPS. The extent of adsorption of a poly(ethylene-co-propylene) (dOCP) statistical copolymer or a polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-co-propylene) (PS–PEP) diblock copolymer onto carbon black or diesel soot from n-dodecane is compared indirectly using a supernatant depletion assay technique via UV spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis is also used to directly determine the extent of copolymer adsorption. Degrees of dispersion are examined using optical microscopy, TEM, and analytical centrifugation. SAXS studies reveal some structural differences between carbon black and diesel soot particles. The mean radius of gyration determined for the latter is significantly smaller than that calculated for the former, and in the absence of any copolymer, diesel soot suspended in n-dodecane forms relatively loose mass fractals compared to carbon black. SAXS provides evidence for copolymer adsorption and indicates that addition of either copolymer transforms the initially compact agglomerates into relatively loose aggregates. Addition of dOCP or PS–PEP does not significantly affect the structure of the carbon black primary particles, with similar results being observed for diesel soot. In favorable cases, remarkably similar data can be obtained for carbon black and diesel soot when using dOCP and PS–PEP as copolymer dispersants. However, it is not difficult to identify simple copolymer–particle–solvent combinations for which substantial differences can be observed. Such observations are most likely the result of dissimilar surface chemistries, which can profoundly affect the colloidal stability

Fuel poverty in the cost of living crisis

Access to energy is being severely restricted by the cost of living crisis, with almost a quarter of households experiencing fuel poverty, despite existing interventions. Here we draw on a large body of evidence on fuel poverty to summarise likely effects on households this winter. We find there is urgent need for further bill support, energy efficiency and targeted advice for vulnerable households

Empowering whose future? A European policy analysis of children in energy poverty

Children experience distinct impacts on their mental and physical health as well as their educational attainment as a result of living in energy poverty, according to multiple sources. International guidelines, such as the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, underline the right of every child to an adequate standard of living and the need for all policies to consider the specific needs of children. This paper aims to understand the extent to which energy policies take explicit account of children in energy poverty and endeavour to address their distinct needs and the impacts they experience. The investigation is based on an analysis of EU-SILC data and policy documents across the 28 countries that (at the end of 2019) formed the European Union. The analysis reveals that children are mostly only considered within the wider family context, with larger families tending to receive greater support, despite evidence that single-parent families are at higher risk of energy poverty. Children are characterised as passive subjects in energy policy; their perspectives and needs are not considered in policy development