Glass forming ability and stability: Ternary Cu bearing Ti, Zr, Hf alloys

Four Cu bearing alloys of nominal composition Zr25Ti25Cu50, Zr34Ti16Cu50, Zr25Hf25Cu50 and Ti25Hf25Cu50 have been rapidly solidified in order to produce ribbons. All the alloys become amorphous after meltspinning. In the Zr34Ti16Cu50 alloy localized precipitation of cF24 Cu5Zr phase can be observed in the amorphous matrix. The alloys show a tendency of phase separation at the initial stages of crystallization. The difference in crystallization behavior of these alloys with Ni bearing ternary alloys can be explained by atomic size, binary heat of mixing and Mendeleev number. It has been observed that both Laves and Anti-Laves phase forming compositions are suitable for glass formation. The structures of the phases, precipitated during rapid solidification and crystallization can be viewed in terms of Bernal deltahedra and Frank-Kasper polyhedra.

Dynamic initiation toughness measu~ment using double Grooved discs

Among the multitude of test specimen geometries used for dynamic fiacture toughness evaluation, the most widely uscd specimen is lhc Chavpy specimen due its simple geomclry and availability of testing machines. The standard Chatpy specimen dimensions may llOl always give plane st~ain condilions and hence, it may be necessary Io coilduct lcs/s using specimens of dillEvcnt thicknesses to establish the plane strain K~a. An axisymmct/ic specimen, on the otlaev hand would always give flow constraints l~n a nominal specimen thickness i~rcspcctive of the test matctial. The notched disk specimen pVOl)oscd by Bcrn:ud ctal. [1] for static and dynamic initiation toughness measurement although p~ovicles plain-strain conditions, the crack plopagatcs at an angle to the direction of applied load. This makes inteq~retation of the test results difficult us it ~Ccluivcs ~actial slices to be cut fiom the fractured specimen to ascertain the angle o1 crack growth and a linite element model l~)r tl);t{ pa~ticulat ctack o~icntalion.

Social media in selected Australian federal and state election campaigns, 2010-15

Campaigning in Australian election campaigns at local, state, and federal levels is fundamentally affected by the fact that voting is compulsory in Australia, with citizens who are found to have failed to cast their vote subject to fines. This means that - contrary to the situation in most other nations – elections are decided not by which candidate or party has managed to encourage the largest number of nominal supporters to make the effort to cast their vote, but by some 10-20% of genuine ‘swinging voters’ who change their party preferences from one election to the next. Political campaigning is thus aimed less at existing party supporters (so-called ‘rusted on’ voters whose continued support for the party is essentially taken for granted) than at this genuinely undecided middle of the electorate. Over the past decades, this has resulted in a comparatively timid, vague campaigning style from both major party blocs (the progressive Australian Labor Party [ALP] and the conservative Coalition of the Liberal and National Parties [L/NP]). Election commitments that run the risk of being seen as too partisan and ideological are avoided as they could scare away swinging voters, and recent elections have been fought as much (or more) on the basis of party leaders’ perceived personas as they have on stated policies, even though Australia uses a parliamentary system in which the Prime Minister and state Premiers are elected by their party room rather than directly by voters. At the same time, this perceived lack of distinctiveness in policies between the major parties has also enabled the emergence of new, smaller parties which (under Australia’s Westminster-derived political system) have no hope of gaining a parliamentary majority but could, in a close election, come to hold the balance of power and thus exert disproportionate influence on a government which relies on their support.

Les formes d’adresse dans un corpus de films français et leur traduction en finnois

The use of forms of address in French films and their Finnish translations The use of forms of address constitutes an integral part of speakers’ communicative competence. In fact, they are not only used to assign to whom the speech is addressed, but also to construct the relationship between speakers. However, the choice of a suitable form is not necessarily evident in modern, pluralistic society. By the notion form of address, I refer to pronouns of address (tu vs. vous) and different nouns of address like names, titles (Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle), kinship terms, occupational terms, terms of endearment and insults. The purpose of the present thesis is, first, to study the semantic and pragmatic values of forms of address in dialogues of modern French films, and, second, their translation in Finnish subtitles. It is evident that film language is not spontaneous, but only a representation of authentic speech, and that subtitles are a written version of the original spoken language. Consequently, this thesis studies spoken fictive dialogues and their written translations. The methods applied in the study are the Interactional and Pragmatic Approach as well as Translatology. The role of forms of address in an interpersonal relationship is studied with dimensions of distance and power (Brown and Gilman 1960, Kerbrat-Orecchioni 1992), whereas the pragmatic dimension permits studying in particular the use of forms of address in speech acts (Kerbrat-Orecchioni 2001). The translation strategies are studied with the help of Venuti’s (1995) notions of foreignizing and domesticating strategies. The results of the thesis suggest that the pronoun use in the studied films is usually reciprocal. However, the relations of power have not disappeared, but are expressed in a more discrete manner with nouns of address (for instance vous + Docteur vs. vous + Anita). The use of the pronoun of address vous seems still to be common, but increased intimacy is expressed by accompanying familiar nouns of address like first names. The nominal forms of address accompany different speech acts, but not in a systematic manner. In a dialogue they appear usually in the first speech act, and more rarely in the response, but not in both. In addition, they have an important role in the mechanics of conversation. The translators here face multiple demands, and their translations seem mostly to be a compromise between foreignizing and domesticating strategies.

Depth profile composition studies of thin film CdS: Cu,S solar cells using XPS and AES

Surface composition and depth profile studies of hemiplated thin film CdS:CuzS solar cells have been carried out using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) techniques. These studies indicate that the junction is fairly diffused in the as-prepared cell. However, heat treatment of the cell at 210°C in air relatively sharpens the junction and improves the cell performance. Using the Cu(2p3p)/S(2p) ratio as well as the Cu(LVV)/(LMM) Auger intensity ratio, it can be inferred that the nominal valency of copper in the layers above the junction is Cut and it is essentially in the CUSS form. Copper signals are observed from layers deep down in the cell. These seem to appear mostly from the grain boundary region. From the observed concentration of Cd, Cu and S in these deeper layers and the Cu(LVV)/(LMM) ratio it appears that the signals from copper essentially originate partly from copper in CuS and partly from Cu2t trapped in the lattice. It is significant to note that the nominal valence state of copper changes rather abruptly from Cut to Cuz+ across the junction.

Structured model-following neuro-adaptive design for attitude maneuver of rigid bodies

A new structured model-following adaptive approach is presented in this paper to achieve large attitude maneuvers of rigid bodies. First, a nominal controller is designed using the dynamic inversion philosophy. Next, a neuro- adaptive design is proposed to augment the nominal design in order to assure robust performance in the presence of parameter inaccuracies as well as unknown constant external disturbances. The structured approach proposed in this paper (where kinematic and dynamic equations are handled separately), reduces the complexity of the controller structure. From simulation studies, this adaptive controller is found to be very effective in assuring robust performance.

Use of electronic portal imaging devices for electron treatment verification

This study aims to help broaden the use of electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) for pre-treatment patient positioning verification, from photon-beam radiotherapy to photon- and electron-beam radiotherapy, by proposing and testing a method for acquiring clinicallyuseful EPID images of patient anatomy using electron beams, with a view to enabling and encouraging further research in this area. EPID images used in this study were acquired using all available beams from a linac configured to deliver electron beams with nominal energies of 6, 9, 12, 16 and 20 MeV, as well as photon beams with nominal energies of 6 and 10 MV. A widely-available heterogeneous, approximately-humanoid, thorax phantom was used, to provide an indication of the contrast and noise produced when imaging different types of tissue with comparatively realistic thicknesses. The acquired images were automatically calibrated, corrected for the effects of variations in the sensitivity of individual photodiodes, using a flood field image. For electron beam imaging, flood field EPID calibration images were acquired with and without the placement of blocks of water-equivalent plastic (with thicknesses approximately equal to the practical range of electrons in the plastic) placed upstream of the EPID, to filter out the primary electron beam, leaving only the bremsstrahlung photon signal. While the electron beam images acquired using a standard (unfiltered) flood field calibration were observed to be noisy and difficult to interpret, the electron beam images acquired using the filtered flood field calibration showed tissues and bony anatomy with levels of contrast and noise that were similar to the contrast and noise levels seen in the clinically acceptable photon beam EPID images. The best electron beam imaging results (highest contrast, signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios) were achieved when the images were acquired using the higher energy electron beams (16 and 20 MeV) when the EPID was calibrated using an intermediate (12 MeV) electron beam energy. These results demonstrate the feasibility of acquiring clinically-useful EPID images of patient anatomy using electron beams and suggest important avenues for future investigation, thus enabling and encouraging further research in this area. There is manifest potential for the EPID imaging method proposed in this work to lead to the clinical use of electron beam imaging for geometric verification of electron treatments in the future.

Inferential, non-parametric statistics to assess quality of probabilistic forecast systems

Many statistical forecast systems are available to interested users. In order to be useful for decision-making, these systems must be based on evidence of underlying mechanisms. Once causal connections between the mechanism and their statistical manifestation have been firmly established, the forecasts must also provide some quantitative evidence of `quality’. However, the quality of statistical climate forecast systems (forecast quality) is an ill-defined and frequently misunderstood property. Often, providers and users of such forecast systems are unclear about what ‘quality’ entails and how to measure it, leading to confusion and misinformation. Here we present a generic framework to quantify aspects of forecast quality using an inferential approach to calculate nominal significance levels (p-values) that can be obtained either by directly applying non-parametric statistical tests such as Kruskal-Wallis (KW) or Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) or by using Monte-Carlo methods (in the case of forecast skill scores). Once converted to p-values, these forecast quality measures provide a means to objectively evaluate and compare temporal and spatial patterns of forecast quality across datasets and forecast systems. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of providing p-values rather than adopting some arbitrarily chosen significance levels such as p < 0.05 or p < 0.01, which is still common practice. This is illustrated by applying non-parametric tests (such as KW and KS) and skill scoring methods (LEPS and RPSS) to the 5-phase Southern Oscillation Index classification system using historical rainfall data from Australia, The Republic of South Africa and India. The selection of quality measures is solely based on their common use and does not constitute endorsement. We found that non-parametric statistical tests can be adequate proxies for skill measures such as LEPS or RPSS. The framework can be implemented anywhere, regardless of dataset, forecast system or quality measure. Eventually such inferential evidence should be complimented by descriptive statistical methods in order to fully assist in operational risk management.

Nonverbal predication in Erzya : Studies on morphosyntactic variation and part of speech distinctions

This dissertation consists of four articles and an introduction. The five parts address the same topic, nonverbal predication in Erzya, from different perspectives. The work is at the same time linguistic typology and Uralic studies. The findings based on a large corpus of empirical Erzya data, which was collected using several different methods and included recordings of the spoken language, made it possible for the present study to apply, then test and finally discuss the previous theories based on cross-linguistic data. Erzya makes use of multiple predication patterns which vary from totally analytic to the morphologically very complex. Nonverbal predicate clause types are classified on the basis of propositional acts in clauses denoting class-membership, identity, property and location. The predicates of these clauses are nouns, adjectives and locational expressions, respectively. The following three predication strategies in Erzya nonverbal predication can be identified: i. the zero-copula construction, ii. the predicative suffix construction and iii. the copula construction. It has been suggested that verbs and nouns cannot be clearly distinguished on morphological grounds when functioning as predicates in Erzya. This study shows that even though predicativity must not be considered a sufficient tool for defining parts of speech in any language, the Erzya lexical classes of adjective, noun and verb can be distinguished from each other also in predicate position. The relative frequency and degree of obligation for using the predicative suffix construction decreases when moving left to right on the scale verb adjective/locative noun ( identificational statement). The predicative suffix is the main pattern in the present tense over the whole domain of nonverbal predication in Standard Erzya, but if it is replaced it is most likely to be with a zero-copula construction in a nominal predication. This study exploits the theory of (a)symmetry for the first time in order to describe verbal vs. nonverbal predication. It is shown that the asymmetry of paradigms and constructions differentiates the lexical classes. Asymmetrical structures are motivated by functional level asymmetry. Variation in predication as such adds to the complexity of the grammar. When symmetric structures are employed, the functional complexity of grammar decreases, even though morphological complexity increases. The genre affects the employment of predication strategies in Erzya. There are differences in the relative frequency of the patterns, and some patterns are totally lacking from some of the data. The clearest difference is that the past tense predicative suffix construction occurs relatively frequently in Standard Erzya, while it occurs infrequently in the other data. Also, the predicative suffixes of the present tense are used more regularly in written Standard Erzya than in any other genre. The genre also affects the incidence of the translative in uľ(ń)ems copula constructions. In translations from Russian to Erzya the translative case is employed relatively frequently in comparison to other data. This study reveals differences between the two Mordvinic languages Erzya and Moksha. The predicative suffixes (bound person markers) of the present tense are used more regularly in Moksha in all kinds of nonverbal predicate clauses compared to Erzya. It should further be observed that identificational statements are encoded with a predicative suffix in Moksha, but seldom in Erzya. Erzya clauses are more frequently encoded using zero-constructions, displaying agreement in number only.

Rail fatigue and the role of impact forces

Fatigue of the steel in rails continues to be of major concern to heavy haul track owners despite careful selection and maintenance of rails. The persistence of fatigue is due in part to the erroneous assumption that the maximum loads on, and stresses in, the rails are predictable. Recent analysis of extensive wheel impact detector data from a number of heavy haul tracks has shown that the most damaging forces are in fact randomly distributed with time and location and can be much greater than generally expected. Large- scale Monte-Carlo simulations have been used to identify rail stresses caused by actual, measured distributions of wheel-rail forces on heavy haul tracks. The simulations show that fatigue failure of the rail foot can occur in situations which would be overlooked by traditional analyses. The most serious of these situations are those where track is accessed by multiple operators and in situations where there is a mix of heavy haul, general freight and/or passenger traffic. The least serious are those where the track is carrying single-operator-owned heavy haul unit trains. The paper shows how using the nominal maximum axle load of passing traffic, which is the key issue in traditional analyses, is insufficient and must be augmented with consideration of important operational factors. Ignoring such factors can be costly.

Mapping and characterisation of the inter-reefal benthic assemblages of the Torres Strait

A comprehensive survey of the benthic assemblages of the Torres Strait was conducted in order to provide critical baseline information for regional marine planning, assessing the environmental sustainability of fisheries and understanding the ecosystems of the region. Over 150 sites throughout the region were sampled with a modified prawn trawl, towed underwater video, pipe dredge and epibenthic sled. This manuscript provides a broad overview of the activities undertaken and data collected. Two thousand three hundred and seventy-two different nominal species were sampled by the trawl and sled, only 728 by both gears. The towed video was not able to provide the same level of taxonomic resolution of epibenthic taxa, but was particularly useful in areas where the seabed was too rough to be sampled. Data from the trawl, sled and video were combined to characterise the epibenthic assemblages of the region. Data from the towed video was also used to provide a characterisation of the inter-reefal benthic habitats, which was then analysed in combination with physical covariate data to examine relationships between the two. Levels of mud and gravel in the sediments, trawling effort and seabed current stress were the covariates most significantly correlated with the nature of the seabed habitats.

Clinical signs and duration of cyanide toxicosis delivered by the M-44 ejector in wild dogs

Sodium cyanide poison is potentially a more humane method to control wild dogs than sodium fluoroacetate (1080) poison. This study quantified the clinical signs and duration of cyanide toxicosis delivered by the M-44 ejector. The device delivered a nominal 0.88 g of sodium cyanide, which caused the animal to loose the menace reflex in a mean of 43 s, and the animal was assumed to have undergone cerebral hypoxia after the last visible breath. The mean time to cerebral hypoxia was 156 s for a vertical pull and 434 s for a side pull. The difference was possibly because some cyanide may be lost in a side pull. There were three distinct phases of cyanide toxicosis: the initial phase was characterised by head shaking, panting and salivation; the immobilisation phase by incontinence, ataxia and loss of the righting reflex; and the cerebral hypoxia phase by a tetanic seizure. Clinical signs that were exhibited in more than one phase of cyanide toxicosis included retching, agonal breathing, vocalisation, vomiting, altered levels of ocular reflex, leg paddling, tonic muscular spasms, respiratory distress and muscle fasciculations of the muzzle.

Vibrations of a Beam in Variable Contact With a Flat Surface

We study small vibrations of cantilever beams contacting a rigid surface. We study two cases: the first is a beam that sags onto the ground due to gravity, and the second is a beam that sticks to the ground through reversible adhesion. In both cases, the noncontacting length varies dynamically. We first obtain the governing equations and boundary conditions, including a transversality condition involving an end moment, using Hamilton's principle. Rescaling the variable length to a constant value, we obtain partial differential equations with time varying coefficients, which, upon linearization, give the natural frequencies of vibration. The natural frequencies for the first case (gravity without adhesion) match that of a clamped-clamped beam of the same nominal length; frequencies for the second case, however, show no such match. We develop simple, if atypical, single degree of freedom approximations for the first modes of these two systems, which provide insights into the role of the static deflection profile, as well as the end moment condition, in determining the first natural frequencies of these systems. Finally, we consider small transverse sinusoidal forcing of the first case and find that the governing equation contains both parametric and external forcing terms. For forcing at resonance, w find that either the internal or the external forcing may dominate.

Magneto-structural study of a Cr-doped CaRuO3

Temperature-dependent neutron powder diffraction, magnetization and XPS studies were carried out on an optimally Cr-doped CaRuO3, i.e. CaRu0.85Cr0.15O3 (CRC-15). XPS data revealed that Cr exist in 3+ and 6+ oxidation states. The charge dissociation preserves the overall 4+ nominal charge of the Ru site. Although ferromagnetic correlations develop around 100 K, the system exhibits a large coercive field below 50 K. The unit cell volume exhibits negative thermal expansion below 50 K since the lattice expansion due to the magnetostrictive effect outweighs the thermal contraction due to the phonon-driven mechanism.

Association between endometriosis and the interleukin 1A (IL1A) locus

STUDY QUESTION Are single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the interleukin 1A (IL1A) gene locus associated with endometriosis risk? SUMMARY ANSWER We found evidence for strong association between IL1A SNPs and endometriosis risk. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Genetic factors contribute substantially to the complex aetiology of endometriosis and the disease has an estimated heritability of ∼51%. We, and others, have conducted genome-wide association (GWA) studies for endometriosis, which identified a total of nine independent risk loci. Recently, two small Japanese studies reported eight SNPs (rs6542095, rs11677416, rs3783550, rs3783525, rs3783553, rs2856836, rs1304037 and rs17561) at the IL1A gene locus as suggestively associated with endometriosis risk. There is also evidence of a link between inflammation and endometriosis. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION We sought to further investigate the eight IL1A SNPs for association with endometriosis using an independent sample of 3908 endometriosis cases and 8568 controls of European and Japanese ancestry. The study was conducted between October 2013 and July 2014. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS By leveraging GWA data from our previous multi-ethnic GWA meta-analysis for endometriosis, we imputed variants in the IL1A region, using a recent 1000 Genomes reference panel. After combining summary statistics for the eight SNPs from our European and Japanese imputed data with the published results, a fixed-effect meta-analysis was performed. An additional meta-analysis restricted to endometriosis cases with moderate-to-severe (revised American Fertility Society stage 3 or 4) disease versus controls was also performed. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE All eight IL1A SNPs successfully replicated at P < 0.014 in the European imputed data with concordant direction and similar size to the effects reported in the original Japanese studies. Of these, three SNPs (rs6542095, rs3783550 and rs3783525) also showed association with endometriosis at a nominal P < 0.05 in our independent Japanese sample. Fixed-effect meta-analysis of the eight SNPs for moderate-to-severe endometriosis produced a genome-wide significant association for rs6542095 (odds ratio = 1.21; 95% confidence interval = 1.13–1.29; P = 3.43 × 10−8). LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION The meta-analysis for moderate-to-severe endometriosis included results of moderate-to-severe endometriosis cases from our European data sets and all endometriosis cases from the Japanese data sets, as disease stage information was not available for endometriosis cases in the Japanese data sets. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS SNP rs6542095 is located ∼2.3 kb downstream of the IL1A gene and ∼6.9 kb upstream of cytoskeleton-associated protein 2-like (CKAP2L) gene. The IL1A gene encodes the IL1a protein, a member of the interleukin 1 cytokine family which is involved in various immune responses and inflammatory processes. These results provide important replication in an independent Japanese sample and, for the first time, association of the IL1A locus in endometriosis patients of European ancestry. SNPs within the IL1A locus may regulate other genes, but if IL1A is the target, our results provide supporting evidence for a link between inflammatory responses and the pathogenesis of endometriosis. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) The research was funded by grants from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council and Wellcome Trust. None of the authors has competing interests for the study.