Blind source separation aided characterization of the γ′ strengthening phase in an advanced nickel-based superalloy by spectroscopic 4D electron microscopy

The γ’ strengthening phase in an advanced nickel-based superalloy, ATI 718Plus, was characterized using a blind source separation applied to a four dimensional X-ray microanalysis dataset obtained by scanning transmission electron microscopy. Selected patterns in the X-ray spectra identified by independent component analysis were found to be spatially and chemically representative of the matrix (γ) and precipitate phases (γ’) present in the superalloy, enabling their size, shape and distribution to be determined. The three dimensional chemical reconstruction of the microstructure may provide insight into the role of the various alloying elements in the evolution of the microstructure at the nano-scale.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme under Grant Agreement 312483 - ESTEEM2 (Integrated Infrastructure Initiative-I3), as well as from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC grant agreement 291522 - 3DIMAGE. D.R. acknowledges support from the Royal Society’s Newton International Fellowship scheme. RKL acknowledges a Junior Research Fellowship at Clare College. RK acknowledges financial support from Rolls-Royce, EPSRC and the BMWi under EP/H022309/1, EP/H500375/1 and grant number 20T0813. F.d.l.P. and C.D. acknowledge 26 funding from the ERC under grant no. 259619 PHOTO EM. Special thanks to Giorgio Divitini and Lech Staniewicz for preparation of the FIB needle specimen and to Stephen A Croxall for SEM/FIB imaging.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actamat.2016.01.04

The potential remedial function of the law in the deteriorating public education system of South Africa

Hierdie artikel maak daarop aanspraak dat die Suid-Afrikaanse regstelsel sowel die vermoë as die verpligting het om die nodige remediërende funksie te vervul, sodat verdere agteruitgang van die openbare onderwysstelsel gestuit word. Daadwerklike optrede vanuit die regstelsel word in die vooruitsig gestel om openbare amptenare, onderwysvakbondlede en politici wat die reg verontagsaam, te dwing om die heerskappy van die reg en oppergesag van die Grondwet te erken en te respekteer. Die artikel wys daarop dat daar dringende optrede nodig is teen vakbonde soos SADOU, wat volgens alle getuienis die reeds kwesbare onderwysstelsel verder ondermyn. Sowel die aanstigting van gewelddadige optrede tydens langdurige stakingsaksies as die beskerming van lede wat hulle deurlopend skuldig maak aan substandaard-onderrig, moet teengewerk word. Sodanige onprofessionele, onetiese optrede tas die reg van leerders op onderwys ernstig aan. Die Staat se aandeel aan mislukte onderhandelinge en die gevolglike nywerheidsaksies in die openbare sektor, insluitend die onderwys, moet egter nie misgekyk word nie. Die eerste aanbeveling is dat belanghebbendes by die onderwys moet saamwerk om die nodige respek vir die heerskappy van die reg te vestig en af te dwing. In gevalle waar versuim onder amptenare, vakbondlede of politici om die reg te respekteer opgemerk word, moet die belanghebbendes nie skroom om hofsake teen die oortreders aanhangig te maak nie. Die tweede aanbeveling hou verband met die potensieel kragdadige optrede van die howe, soos in Coetzee v National Commissioner of Police 2011 2 SA 227 (GNP) gedemonstreer is. Daar word aanbeveel dat, waar openbare amptenare hulle aan mala fide-optrede skuldig maak, hulle in hul persoonlike hoedanigheid aanspreeklik gehou sal word vir die volle regskoste, eerder as om dit vanuit Staatsfondse te laat vereffen. Dit sal as ’n gepaste straf dien, en ook as ’n afskrikmiddel om ander amptenare te keer om hulle aan soortgelyke wangedrag skuldig te maak

Transformational Ethics of Film

What is ‘the good’ of the film experience? And how does the budding field of ‘film as philosophy’ answer this question? Charting new routes for film ethics, Martin P. Rossouw develops a critical account of the transformational ethics at work within the ‘film as philosophy’ debate. Whenever philosophers claim that films can do philosophy, they also persistently put forward edifying practical effects – potential transformations of thought and experience – as the benefit of viewing such films. Through rigorous appraisals of key arguments, and with reference to the cinema of Terrence Malick, Rossouw pieces together the idea of an inner makeover through cinema – a cinemakeover – which casts a distinct vision of film spectatorship as a practice of self-transformation

The juridification of sport: A comparative analysis of children’s rugby and cricket in England and South Africa

This article takes as its point of departure the notion of juridification in sport and, in particular, the perspective that the term has previously often been used in sport and law literature in a too narrow and limiting sense. Using the work of Ken Foster as a platform, the article examines a more nuanced notion of juridification. It does this by first unpacking two levels of juridification – the more well-known notion of increased legal intervention is considered before moving on to a more sophisticated application of the idea in terms of its impact upon rules and practices in sport. Foster termed this juridification as domestication. The article then applies these ideas in a practical context by examining two applications of the two children’s sports (rugby and cricket) in England and South Africa. The article concludes as to the future developments that are likely to occur. Despite the economic and cultural differences it seems likely that South Africa will continue to follow England, as is the case with the first level of juridification, and that the rules and their enforcement will themselves become more domesticated. It is likely that coaches and educators will find themselves under increased pressure to conform from both a general fear of litigation and a changing internal regulatory regime of sport codes

Impact of Hormone Replacement Therapy on Exercise Training-Induced Improvements in Insulin Action in Sedentary Overweight Adults

Exercise training (ET) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are both recognized influences on insulin action, but the influence of HRT on responses to ET has not been examined. In order to determine if HRT use provided additive benefits for the response of insulin action to ET, we evaluated the impact of HRT use on changes in insulin during the course of a randomized, controlled, aerobic ET intervention. Subjects at baseline were sedentary, dyslipidemic, and overweight. These individuals were randomized to six months of one of three aerobic ET interventions or continued physical inactivity. In 206 subjects, an insulin sensitivity index (SI) was obtained with a frequently sampled intravenous glucose tolerance test pre- and post-ET. Baseline and post-intervention fitness, regional adiposity, general adiposity, skeletal muscle biochemistry and histology, and serum lipoproteins were measured as other putative mediators influencing insulin action. Two-way analyses of variance were used to determine if gender or HRT use influenced responses to exercise training. Linear modeling was used to determine if predictors for response in SI differed by gender or HRT use. Women who used HRT (HRT+) demonstrated significantly greater improvements in SI with ET than women not using HRT (HRT-). In those HRT+ women, plasma triglyceride change best correlated with change in SI. For HRT- women, capillary density change, and for men, subcutaneous adiposity change, best correlated with change in SI. In summary, in an ET intervention, HRT use appears associated with more robust responses in insulin action. Also, relationships between ET induced changes in insulin action and potential mediators of change in insulin action are different for men, and for women on or off HRT. These findings have implications for the relative utility of ET for improving insulin action in middle-aged men and women, particularly in the setting of differences in HRT use. Address Originally published Metabolism, Vol. 57, No. 7, July 200

The Herts and Minds study: Evaluating the effectiveness of Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) as an intervention for children in foster care with emotional and/or behavioural problems: a phase II, feasibility, randomised controlled trial.

Trial registration at https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN90349442 © The Authors 2017. Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Nick Midgley, Sarah Jane Besser, Helen Dye, Pasco Fearon, tim Gale, Kiri Jefferies-Sewell, Karen Irvine, Joyce Robinson, Solange Wyatt, David Wellsted and Sally Wood, 'The Herts and minds study: evaluating the effectiveness of mentalization-based treatment (MBT) as an intervention for children in foster care with emotional and/or behavioural problems: a phase II, feasibility, randomised controlled trial', Pilot and Feasibility Studies, Vol. 3(12, February 2017. The published version is available online at doi: 10.1186/s40814-017-0127-xBackground A significant proportion of children in the social care system in England present with mental health problems, with the majority experiencing some form of emotional and behavioural difficulties. The most effective treatments for these children are currently unknown, partly due to a lack of robust, controlled studies. Researchers have identified a number of obstacles to conducting well-designed research with this population, making the need to test the feasibility of a randomised controlled trial especially important. Methods/design This protocol outlines a two-arm, randomised control feasibility trial to explore the acceptability and credibility of mentalization-based treatment (MBT) as a treatment for reducing emotional and behavioural difficulties in looked after children and to test the possibility of addressing a number of methodological challenges to conducting high-quality research with this population. MBT is a relatively new intervention which, in the adaptation of the model tested here, includes many of the features of therapy identified in NICE guidelines as necessary to support children in care. The two arms are MBT and usual clinical care (UCC). The study will take place in Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust with follow-up at 12 and 24 weeks. Discussion This study will aim to ascertain whether it is worthwhile and feasible to progress to testing the intervention in a full-scale definitive randomised controlled trial (RCT). This study therefore has the potential to improve our understanding of the obstacles to conducting high-quality research with this very vulnerable population, and in the medium term, could help to improve the stability of foster placements and the emotional well-being of children in care. Trial registration ISRCTN90349442Peer reviewe

Comparative transcriptomic analysis reveals similarities and dissimilarities in saccharomyces cerevisiae wine strains response to nitrogen availability

Nitrogen levels in grape-juices are of major importance in winemaking ensuring adequate yeast growth and fermentation performance. Here we used a comparative transcriptome analysis to uncover wine yeasts responses to nitrogen availability during fermentation. Gene expression was assessed in three genetically and phenotypically divergent commercial wine strains (CEG, VL1 and QA23), under low (67 mg/L) and high nitrogen (670 mg/L) regimes, at three time points during fermentation (12h, 24h and 96h). Two-way ANOVA analysis of each fermentation condition led to the identification of genes whose expression was dependent on strain, fermentation stage and on the interaction of both factors. The high fermenter yeast strain QA23 was more clearly distinct from the other two strains, by differential expression of genes involved in flocculation, mitochondrial functions, energy generation and protein folding and stabilization. For all strains, higher transcriptional variability due to fermentation stage was seen in the high nitrogen fermentations. A positive correlation between maximum fermentation rate and the expression of genes involved in stress response was observed. The finding of common genes correlated with both fermentation activity and nitrogen up-take underlies the role of nitrogen on yeast fermentative fitness. The comparative analysis of genes differentially expressed between both fermentation conditions at 12h, where the main difference was the level of nitrogen available, showed the highest variability amongst strains revealing strain-specific responses. Nevertheless, we were able to identify a small set of genes whose expression profiles can quantitatively assess the common response of the yeast strains to varying nitrogen conditions. The use of three contrasting yeast strains in gene expression analysis prompts the identification of more reliable, accurate and reproducible biomarkers that will facilitate the diagnosis of deficiency of this nutrient in the grape-musts and the development of strategies to optimize yeast performance in industrial fermentations

Pastorale sorg aan beswaardes en ongeduldiges met die oog op die opbou van die gemeente

Pastoral care for the objectors and the impatient: a church growth perspective The aim of this article is to develop a pastoral theological perspective to a recent pastoral problem. This problem is the growing polarization within churches (with the focus on the Dutch Reformed Church) in South Africa today due to theological, church policy, social, economical and political factors. These factors are outlined and analysed systematically. Special attention is paid to the two poles - the objectors and the impatient. The "objector" is described as the church member who experiences an increasing concern and impasse with the church regarding new directions that are followed, and which are not correct according to his convictions and perceptions. The "impatient" is described as a church member who experiences an Increasing impasse with the church because according to him the church is not going far enough in concretizing the full consequences of church policy (as spelled out in Church and Society for example). The nature, symptoms and needs of both are examined and guidelines for a directed pastoral care are proposed

There's something about Malick:film-philosophy, contemplative style, and ethics of transformation

Philosophers love to write about Terrence Malick. In this meta-critical essay, I examine recent philosophical evaluations of Malick's film style - within the broader context of 'film as philosophy' or 'film-philosophy' - with the aim of laying bare the dominant motifs and values that film philosophers resort to when reflecting on the filmmaker's pronounced stylistic hallmarks. First, I identify Malick's widely perceived 'contemplative style' as a key catalyst behind philosophers' fascination with his films and proceed to detail the diversity of stylistic devices and effects in terms of which philosophers describe it. The second movement of my analysis is to illustrate the decidedly ethical interests that accompany said configurations of Malick's style and effects. I argue that Malick magnifies in philosophers a motive of personal transformation that is more widely at work within the project of film-philosophy. The philosophical achievements of Malick's style, as commentators see it, always entail transformational effects on the viewer: his devices not only move us to contemplation, but potentially transform us to greater awareness, openness and connection. What are essentially value-laden interpretations of style are illustrated with reference to the three stylistic elements that feature most in philosophical writings on Malick: (1) his visual renderings of nature, (2) his uses of voice-over and (3) the 'perspective effects' that he is said to achieve. I conclude with some critical implications of my findings for the procedures and presuppositions underlying the project of film-philosophy