The oxidation of porus carbon: the development of porosity of a cellulose carbon by reaction with oxygen

The work reported in the thesis is an examination of the influence of temperature of activation on the development of microporosity in a polymer carbon. It involves the investigation of the rate of reaction with oxygen over the temperature range 400 - 726 C and the measurement of the porosity produced by adsorptive methods. It was concluded from experimental activation energies obtained for the reaction that the temperature ranges 400 - 460 C and 480 - 726 C were in Zones II and III respectively of the classification of Heddon and Wicke*. These conclusions were supported by investigation of the influence of partial pressure of oxygen, sample weight and crucible geometry on the rate of reaction. Analysis of adsorption isotherms shows that the development of porosity depends on the temperature of activation. In Zone III where reaction is on the external surface of the carbon there is little or no development of porosity whereas in Zone II where the reaction occurs within the pores of the carbon, substantial development of porosity occurs. A method for the determination of the thermodynamic criterion, ΔS < 0, for the applicability of the Dubinin Theory to the adsorption isotherms was developed. Application of the Dubinin Equation to the regions of the isotherms where the Thermodynamic criterion was shown to apply gave lines that were not generally straight as originally postulated. However analysis of the results in terms of the Dubinin Equation in general confirmed the effects of temperature of activation on the development of porosity. Comparison of oxygen and carbon dioxide as activating gasses was made by reference to Rowan’s work and showed that under comparable conditions of activation carbon dioxide is a more efficient activating gas

Development of Fast Algorithms Using Recursion, Nesting and Iterations for Computational Electromagnetics

In the first phase of our work, we have concentrated on laying the foundation to develop fast algorithms, including the use of recursive structure like the recursive aggregate interaction matrix algorithm (RAIMA), the nested equivalence principle algorithm (NEPAL), the ray-propagation fast multipole algorithm (RPFMA), and the multi-level fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA). We have also investigated the use of curvilinear patches to build a basic method of moments code where these acceleration techniques can be used later. In the second phase, which is mainly reported on here, we have concentrated on implementing three-dimensional NEPAL on a massively parallel machine, the Connection Machine CM-5, and have been able to obtain some 3D scattering results. In order to understand the parallelization of codes on the Connection Machine, we have also studied the parallelization of 3D finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) code with PML material absorbing boundary condition (ABC). We found that simple algorithms like the FDTD with material ABC can be parallelized very well allowing us to solve within a minute a problem of over a million nodes. In addition, we have studied the use of the fast multipole method and the ray-propagation fast multipole algorithm to expedite matrix-vector multiplication in a conjugate-gradient solution to integral equations of scattering. We find that these methods are faster than LU decomposition for one incident angle, but are slower than LU decomposition when many incident angles are needed as in the monostatic RCS calculations

Integrated stratigraphy of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper Jurassic) based on exposures and boreholes in south Dorset, UK

For the purposes of a high-resolution multi-disciplinary study of the Upper Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation, two boreholes were drilled at Swanworth Quarry and one at Metherhills, south Dorset, UK. Together, the cores represent the first complete section through the entire formation close to the type section. We present graphic logs that record the stratigraphy of the cores, and outline the complementary geophysical and analytical data sets (gamma ray, magnetic susceptibility, total organic carbon, carbonate, [delta]13Corg). Of particular note are the new borehole data from the lowermost part of the formation which does not crop out in the type area. Detailed logs are available for download from the Kimmeridge Drilling Project web-site at http://kimmeridge.earth.ox.ac.uk/. Of further interest is a mid-eudoxus Zone positive shift in the [delta]13Corg record, a feature that is also registered in Tethyan carbonate successions, suggesting that it is a regional event and may therefore be useful for correlation. The lithostratigraphy of the cores has been precisely correlated with the nearby cliff section, which has also been examined and re-described. Magnetic-susceptibility and spectral gamma-ray measurements were made at a regular spacing through the succession, and facilitate core-to-exposure correlation. The strata of the exposure and core have been subdivided into four main mudrock lithological types: (a) medium-dark–dark-grey marl; (b) medium-dark–dark grey–greenish black shale; (c) dark-grey–olive-black laminated shale; (d) greyish-black–brownish-black mudstone. The sections also contain subordinate amounts of siltstone, limestone and dolostone. Comparison of the type section with the cores reveals slight lithological variation and notable thickness differences between the coeval strata. The proximity of the boreholes and different parts of the type section to the Purbeck–Isle of Wight Disturbance is proposed as a likely control on the thickness changes

Nietzschean modes of gender construction in a post-feminist age

An arrogance of certainty besets discourses of gender in today’s culture, and denigrating as well as overly affirming accounts of masculinity leave theindividual man at risk of either self-loathing or self-aggrandizing. This article will look at various lay accounts of masculinity and the dynamics of itsconstruction in opposition to culturally dominant moral codes, and will interrogate the underlying philosophical positions at work through Nietzsche’s Genealogy of Morality. In doing so, we propose that it is helpful to see Nietzsche as an early philosopher of difference, and embrace a less fixed approach to ontologies of gender accordingly

Type 2 Diabetes Risk Alleles Are Associated With Reduced Size at Birth

OBJECTIVE: Low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The mechanisms underlying this association are unknown and may represent intrauterine programming or two phenotypes of one genotype. The fetal insulin hypothesis proposes that common genetic variants that reduce insulin secretion or action may predispose to type 2 diabetes and also reduce birth weight, since insulin is a key fetal growth factor. We tested whether common genetic variants that predispose to type 2 diabetes also reduce birth weight. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We genotyped single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at five recently identified type 2 diabetes loci (CDKAL1, CDKN2A/B, HHEX-IDE, IGF2BP2, and SLC30A8) in 7,986 mothers and 19,200 offspring from four studies of white Europeans. We tested the association between maternal or fetal genotype at each locus and birth weight of the offspring. RESULTS: We found that type 2 diabetes risk alleles at the CDKAL1 and HHEX-IDE loci were associated with reduced birth weight when inherited by the fetus (21 g [95% CI 11-31], P = 2 x 10(-5), and 14 g [4-23], P = 0.004, lower birth weight per risk allele, respectively). The 4% of offspring carrying four risk alleles at these two loci were 80 g (95% CI 39-120) lighter at birth than the 8% carrying none (P(trend) = 5 x 10(-7)). There were no associations between birth weight and fetal genotypes at the three other loci or maternal genotypes at any locus. CONCLUSIONS: Our results are in keeping with the fetal insulin hypothesis and provide robust evidence that common disease-associated variants can alter size at birth directly through the fetal genotype

Development of oedema is associated with an improved glycaemic response in patients initiating thiazolidinediones: a MASTERMIND study

Abstracts of the 51st EASD Annual Meeting, Stockholm, Sweden, 14–18 September 2015This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer VerlagBackground and aims: Oedema is a common and serious side effect of thiazolidinedione therapy. A stratified medicines approach would aim to give thiazolidinediones to patients likely to have a good glycaemic response but to not develop oedema. We investigated whether oedema was associated with glycaemic response to thiazolidinedione therapy. Materials and methods: We retrospectively studied 11,459 patients initiating a thiazolidinedione from UK primary care data (Clinical Practice Research Datalink), and identified medical records of new oedema in the subsequent twelve months. Response was defined as change in HbA1c at twelve months and was adjusted for baseline HbA1c, baseline BMI, gender and compliance (medication possession ratio). In secondary analyses we restricted oedema classification to patients with concomitant weight gain. As a comparison the same analysis was performed in 13,089 patients initiating a sulfonylurea. Results: The 5% of patients with recorded oedema on thiazolidinediones had a mean (CI) 2.2 (1.1-3.2)mmol/mol greater fall in HbA1c (p3 kg (p< 0.001) and a 3.6 (1.8-5.4)mmol/mol greater fall when weight gain >5 kg (p3 kg (p=0.19). Conclusion: Patients with Type 2 diabetes who develop oedema on initiating thiazolidinediones have an improved glycaemic response, and more severe oedema may be associated with greater reductions in HbA1c. An association between oedema and glycaemic response was not observed in patients initiating sulfonylureas. This supports glycaemic lowering and fluid retention being mediated by a common pathway of thiazolidinedione drug action.Supported by: MRC grant MR-K005707-

Indigenous knowledges and development: a postcolonial caution

As a result of the failure of formal top-down development, there has recently been increased interest in the possibilities of drawing upon the indigenous knowledges of those in the communities involved, in an attempt to produce more effective development strategies. The concept of indigenous knowledge calls for the inclusion of local voices and priorities, and promises empowerment through ownership of the process. However, there has been little critical examination of the ways in which indigenous knowledges have been included in the development process. Drawing upon postcolonial theory, this article suggests that indigenous knowledges are often drawn into development by both theorists and development institutions in a very limited way, failing to engage with other ways of perceiving development, and thus missing the possibility of devising more challenging alternatives

Structure and play: rethinking regulation in the higher education sector

This paper explores possible tactics for academics working within a context of increasing regulation and constraint. One suggested tactic is to move outside of a creativity-conformity binary. Rather than understanding creativity and conformity as separable, where one is seen as excluding the other, the authors consider the potential of examining the relationships between them. The theme of 'structure and play' illustrates the argument. In the first part of the paper, using various examples from art and design - fields generally associated with creativity - the authors explore the interrelatedness of creativity and conformity. For example, how might design styles, which are generally understood as creative outcomes, constrain creativity and lead to conformity within the design field? Is fashion producing creativity or conformity? Conversely, the ways in which conformity provides the conditions for creativity are also examined. For example, the conformity imposed by the state on artists in the former communist bloc contributed to a thriving underground arts movement which challenged conformity and state regulation. Continuing the theme of 'structure and play', the authors recount a story from an Australian university which foregrounds the ongoing renegotiation of power relations in the academy. This account illustrates how programmatic government in a university, with its aim of regulating conduct, can contribute to unanticipated outcomes. The authors propose that a Foucauldian view of distributed power is useful for academics operating in a context of increasing regulation, as it brings into view sites where power might begin to be renegotiated

‘I see my section scar like a battle scar’: The ongoing embodied subjectivity of maternity

YesThough many women may be dissatisfied with their bodies, maternity represents a period when the body deviates significantly from Western beauty ideals. However, the developing corpus of literature is contradictory and there is limited knowledge about the longer-term implications of maternity. Further, much of the early postpartum literature focuses on body image, precluding consideration of broader embodiment and other potential issues. Taking account of recent feminist critiques about acknowledging women’s reproductive capacities, the study reported here explores the embodied subjectivity of longer-term bodily changes resulting from pregnancy, childbirth and early mothering. The data explored are from three focus groups. Mothers were recruited from two universities in the North of England, UK. Data were transcribed and analysed thematically and discursively using a feminist and poststructuralist approach, while also taking account of where language was elusive. A number of contradictory, yet interrelated embodied constructions were identified including the aesthetic, the maternal, the suffering/sentient, the strong and the embarrassing body. New insights are offered, in that, not only are the postpartum body and the ‘work of mothering’ inextricably linked, but also that maternal embodied identities are in continuous process across the life course and may have implications for health and well-being

Multilingual gendered identities: female undergraduate students in London talk about heritage languages

In this paper I explore how a group of female university students, mostly British Asian and in their late teens and early twenties, perform femininities in talk about heritage languages. I argue that analysis of this talk reveals ways in which the participants enact ‘culturally intelligible’ gendered subject positions. This frequently involves negotiating the norms of ‘heteronormativity’, constituting femininity in terms of marriage, motherhood and maintenance of heritage culture and language, and ‘girl power’, constituting femininity in terms of youth, sassiness, glamour and individualism. For these young women, I ask whether higher education can become a site in which they have the opportunities to explore these identifications and examine other ways of imagining the self and what their stories suggest about ‘doing being’ a young British Asian woman in London