Control of carbon content in WC-Co hardmetal by heat treatment in reducing atmospheres containing methane.

Pressed WC-Co hardmetal compacts of two different compositions, 6 and 10 wt.% Co, were heat treated under flowing atmospheres of nitrogen, hydrogen and methane at temperatures from 500 to 900 °C prior to sintering under argon. Microstructural examination showed excessive carburisation up to 2.5 mm into the compacts with regions most exposed to heat treatment atmospheres showing greatest carburisation. η-phase was present in the 6 wt.% Co samples heat treated at low temperatures without methane but was not present with heat treatment temperatures of 700 °C or above with methane present. The hardness of both materials was significantly lower in highly carburised regions, highlighting the need for careful control of heat treatment parameters

Physiological and behavioural responses to hypoxia in an invasive freshwater fish species and a native competitor

The spread of invasive species is one of the major environmental concerns which can have negative effects on biodiversity. While several life history traits have been identified as being important for increasing the invasiveness of introduced species, the physiological factors that allow certain species to become successful invaders remain poorly understood. It has been speculated that good invaders are thriving in disturbed environments. In unfavourable conditions, as during hypoxic events, invasive species might be better adapted in their physiological and behavioural responses towards this stressor. We compared physiological and behavioural traits between two freshwater fish species: the European bullhead (Cottus gobio), an invasive fish species in Scotland, and its native competitor the stone loach (Barbatula barbatula) over different dissolved oxygen concentrations (DO). Contrary to expectations, bullhead displayed a reduced hypoxia tolerance as compared to stone loach, indicated by a higher threshold (Pcrit) for the maintenance of standard metabolism. Avoidance behaviour during progressive hypoxia was similar between bullhead and stone loach. When given a choice between an open normoxic zone and a shelter located in hypoxia, both species spent most of their time hiding under the shelter in hypoxic conditions (bullhead: 100%; stone loach: 93.93%–99.73%), although stone loach showed brief excursions into normoxic conditions under 25% DO level. These results suggest that stone loach might be more resistant to hypoxia as compared to bullhead, and thus that increased hypoxia tolerance is likely not a trait by which bullhead have been able to expand their range within the United Kingdom

Emerging Biomarkers of Illness Severity: Urinary Metabolites Associated with Sepsis and Necrotizing Methicillin‐Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Pneumonia

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138419/1/phar1973.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138419/2/phar1973_am.pd

The correlation of indentation behaviour with ballistic performance for spark plasma sintered armour ceramics

AbstractThe Knoop and Vickers indentation behaviour of spark plasma sintered SiC–5wt.% B4C, B4C and SiC–2.5wt.% AlN–3wt.% C armour ceramics have been investigated and observations correlated with ballistic performance. Surface and sub-surface indentation-induced damage has been characterised via cross-sectioning and serial ceramographic polishing techniques. The nature of the damage appears to be less influential than hardness in relation to ballistic performance, but variability in indentation behaviour appears to correlate with variability in ballistic performance. Examination of the indentation size effect curves shows that both Knoop hardness and predicted transition velocities correlate with V50 ballistic performance against an armour-piercing threat, further supporting the importance of hardness and the potential for indentation to be used as a screening method for armour materials

The “Exceptional” Physics Girl:A Sociological Analysis of Multimethod Data From Young Women Aged 10–16 to Explore Gendered Patterns of Post-16 Participation

Female underrepresentation in postcompulsory physics is an ongoing issue for science education research, policy, and practice. In this article, we apply Bourdieusian and Butlerian conceptual lenses to qualitative and quantitative data collected as part of a wider longitudinal study of students’ science and career aspirations age 10–16. Drawing on survey data from more than 13,000 year 11 (age 15/16) students and interviews with 70 students (who had been tracked from age 10 to 16), we focus in particular on seven girls who aspired to continue with physics post-16, discussing how the cultural arbitrary of physics requires these girls to be highly “exceptional,” undertaking considerable identity work and deployment of capital in order to “possibilize” a physics identity—an endeavor in which some girls are better positioned to be successful than others

Control of carbon content in WC-Co hardmetal by heat treatment in reducing atmospheres containing methane.

Pressed WC-Co hardmetal compacts of two different compositions, 6 and 10 wt.% Co, were heat treated under flowing atmospheres of nitrogen, hydrogen and methane at temperatures from 500 to 900 °C prior to sintering under argon. Microstructural examination showed excessive carburisation up to 2.5 mm into the compacts with regions most exposed to heat treatment atmospheres showing greatest carburisation. η-phase was present in the 6 wt.% Co samples heat treated at low temperatures without methane but was not present with heat treatment temperatures of 700 °C or above with methane present. The hardness of both materials was significantly lower in highly carburised regions, highlighting the need for careful control of heat treatment parameters

The Construction of Physics as a Quintessentially Masculine Subject:Young People’s Perceptions of Gender Issues in Access to Physics

The present article investigates explanations for gendered trends in Physics and Engineering access, reporting findings from a large-scale study funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and drawing primarily on data from interviews with 132 15–16 year-old adolescents and their parents. Survey results in our study and elsewhere show strong gender disparities in anticipated pursuit of Physics after completion of compulsory education. In order to explore the constructions of gender and Physics underlying these trends, we focus on qualitative interview data, applying Foucaultian analysis of discourse to investigate gendered narratives underpinning adolescents’ and their parents’ articulations. This analysis reveals three key discourses at work on the topic of women’s access to Physics: (a) equality of opportunity, (b) continued gender discrimination in and around Physics, and (c) Physics as quintessentially masculine. We additionally identify five distinct narratives supporting the discourse of physics as masculine. These various discourses and narratives are interrogated, and their implications explored. We conclude that it is only by disrupting prevalent constructions of the Physical sciences as a masculine and “hard” domain will we increase the presence of women in the sector. Working with young people to analyse and deconstruct the discursive assumptions made in relation to gender and Physics, as well as further work to increase accessibility and broaden representation in Physics, may be fruitful ways to challenge these longstanding associations between Physics and masculinity

Understanding the Ballistic Event: Methodology and Initial Observations

The purpose of the study is to accelerate the development of ceramic materials for armour applications, by substantially increasing the information obtained from a high-energy projectile impact event. This has been achieved by modifying an existing test configuration to incorporate a block of ballistic gel, attached to the strike face of a ceramic armour system, to capture fragments generated during the ballistic event such that their final positions are maintained. Three different materials, representative of the major classes of ceramics for armour applications, alumina, silicon carbide and boron carbide, have been tested using this system. Ring-on-ring biaxial disc testing has also been carried out on the same materials. Qualitative analysis of the fracture surfaces using scanning electron microscopy and surface roughness quantification, via stereoimaging, has shown that the fracture surfaces of biaxial fragments and ballistic fragments recovered from the edges of the tile are indistinguishable. Although the alumina and boron carbide fragments generated from areas closer to the point of impact were also similar, the silicon carbide fragments showed an increase in porosity with respect to the fragments from further away and from biaxial testing. This porosity was found to result from the loss of a boron-rich second phase, which was widespread elsewhere in the material, although the relevance of this to ballistic performance needs further investigation. The technique developed in this work will help facilitate such studies

Stratifying science:a Bourdieusian analysis of student views and experiences of school selective practices in relation to ‘Triple Science’ at KS4 in England

Currently, science in England is distinctive at General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in comparison to most other subjects, in that there is a notable stratification of award routes. The most prestigious of these, ‘Triple Science’ (the route for entry for three separate science GCSEs), is championed by English government and industry, but has received scant critical academic attention to date. Drawing on data collected via a national survey of over 13,000 Year 11 students aged 15/16 years and in-depth longitudinal interviews conducted with 70 students from this cohort (from age 10 to 16), we discuss how most students have little if any choice over which science ‘option’ they take at GCSE. Drawing on Bourdieu’s concept of pedagogic action, we unpick how students are ‘channelled’ into making the ‘right’ choices and come to accept their allocation as legitimate. We explore how selective practices around Triple Science create and perpetuate social inequalities, producing different patterns of student identity, aspiration and attainment. In particular, we discuss the identification of Triple Science as ‘for the clever’ and problematise its relationship with the science ‘pipeline’. We conclude by suggesting potentially more equitable ways forward for science education, reflecting on implications for post-16 participation