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AbstractThe process of standardisation of small specimen creep testing techniques, specifically the impression creep test requires the repeatability of the test method. In this study it is accomplished through a round robin programme involving four different labs which have slightly different test set-ups adhering to predefined recommendations stated in previous work. The labs all conducted the same stepped stress test on a reference heat of grade 91 power plant steel and the displacement traces of the tests are analysed to outline the effects of different test set-ups and their efficacies. Main differences are in temperature control and loading application and control.

Small specimen creep testing techniques are novel mechanical test techniques that have been developed over the past 25 years. They mainly include the sub-size uniaxial test, the small punch creep test, the impression creep test, the small ring creep test and the two-bar creep test. This paper outlines the current methods in practice for data interpretation as well as the state-of-the-art procedures for conducting the tests. Case studies for the use of impression creep testing and material strength ranking of creep resistant steels are reviewed along with the requirement for the standardisation of the impression creep test method. A database of small specimen creep testing is required to prove the validity of the tests.

Study design:This is a mixed-method consensus development project.Objectives:The objective of this study was to identify a top ten list of priorities for future research into spinal cord injury (SCI).Setting:The British Spinal Cord Injury Priority Setting Partnership was established in 2013 and completed in 2014. Stakeholders included consumer organisations, healthcare professional societies and caregivers.Methods:This partnership involved the following four key stages: (i) gathering of research questions, (ii) checking of existing research evidence, (iii) interim prioritisation and (iv) a final consensus meeting to reach agreement on the top ten research priorities. Adult individuals with spinal cord dysfunction because of trauma or non-traumatic causes, including transverse myelitis, and individuals with a cauda equina syndrome (henceforth grouped and referred to as SCI) were invited to participate in this priority setting partnership.Results:We collected 784 questions from 403 survey respondents (290 individuals with SCI), which, after merging duplicate questions and checking systematic reviews for evidence, were reduced to 109 unique unanswered research questions. A total of 293 people (211 individuals with SCI) participated in the interim prioritisation process, leading to the identification of 25 priorities. At a final consensus meeting, a representative group of individuals with SCI, caregivers and health professionals agreed on their top ten research priorities.Conclusion:Following a comprehensive, rigorous and inclusive process, with participation from individuals with SCI, caregivers and health professionals, the SCI research agenda has been defined by people to whom it matters most and should inform the scope and future activities of funders and researchers for the years to come.Sponsorship:The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre provided core funding for this project.

Comprehensive data on grain yield responsiveness to applications of the major nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur in Australian cropping experiments have been assembled in the Better Fertiliser Decisions for Cropping (BFDC) National Database for scrutiny by the BFDC Interrogator. The database contains the results of individual field experiments on nutrient response that need to be collectively integrated into a model that predicts probable grain yield response from soil tests. The potential degree of grain yield responsiveness (relative yield, RY%) is related to nutrient concentration in the soil (soil test value, STV) across a range of experimental sites and conditions for each nutrient. The RY% is defined as RY=Y0/Ymax *100, where Y0 is the yield without applied nutrient, and Ymax is the yield which could be attained through adequate application of the nutrient, given sufficiency of all other nutrients. The raw data for RY and STV are transformed so that a linear regression model can be applied. The BFDC Interrogator uses the arcsine-log calibration curve (ALCC) algorithm to estimate a critical soil test value (CSTV) for a given nutrient. The CSTV is defined as the value that would, on average for the broad agronomic circumstances of the incoming crop, lead to a specified percentage of Ymax (e.g. RY=90%) without any application of that nutrient. This paper describes the ALCC algorithm, which has been developed to ensure that such estimated CSTVs, with safeguards, are reliable and to as high a precision as is realistic.

AbstractSequential sampling schemes for testing a paddock for infestation by grass grub (Costelytra zealandica(White) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae)) larvae are developed. Instead of taking a fixed number of samples per paddock, decisions are made during sampling as to whether sampling needs to be continued. The hypothesis that the larvae have a negative binomial distribution is tested and accepted. The performance of the schemes is assessed theoretically for larvae populations with varying degrees of clumping. Their performance in practice is compared with that of schemes which use a fixed number of samples, and it is found that the sequential schemes significantly reduce the number of samples required with little loss of accuracy.

DISClJSSION Model studies air entrainmentin of the Muela drop shaft D. Stephenson and1. Metcalf R. Proc. Instn Civ. Engrs Wat., Marit. &Energy, 1992, 96, Sept, 209-210 Paper 9686 C . Dyson, Aeration Systems 55. The geology and topography of the site As I have investigated the air entraining probably dictated the possible design options, properties of vertical drop shafts from a fed but as an alternative to the long de-aeration vortex chamber, I well appreciate the time the chamber, would not a hydro-cyclone type Authors spent assessing the results published separator have been more compact? by others, and the frustration felt when correlations across the whole range could not be M...

Biologically active residues of the herbicides metsulfuron-methyl, chlorsulfuron and triasulfuron were estimated with field pea bioassays in soil samples to 80 cm depth from 4 field trials in south-eastern Australia situated on neutral to highly alkaline soil. Residues were both mobile and persistent at low levels. Leaching occurred beyond the lowest sampling depth during the winter–spring growing season. Metsulfuron-methyl was the most mobile of the 3 herbicides. Plant-back experiments involving susceptible crop and pasture species on 2 of the sites showed that the rates of decline of these residues in the sampling zone were slower than might be inferred from label plant-back recommendations in 1 of 2 seasons.