One major area of forensic science is to provide identifications of previously unidentifiable individuals. Many of these techniques rely on the accurate interpretation of the morphology of the facial form. An individual's facial form is the result of a complex interaction of their genetic ancestry and the many environmental factors they are exposed to throughout their lives. Facial studies to date have primarily focused on single populations, or on comparing different populations residing in different areas. Very few have looked at the relationships between the facial forms of different populations living in the same area of individuals of mixed population ancestry. In this study the facial morphology of 431 West Australian young adults was analysed, and the relationship between their self reported population affinity and their facial form investigated. The impact of factors such as sexual dimorphism and body mass on facial form were also considered. The relationship between the facial morphology of individuals of mixed population heritage and their parent populations was studied, as was the effect that migration can have on facial form. Strong relationships between self-reported population affinity and facial form were demonstrated over the range of populations in the study. Sex and body mass were seen to have an impact on the morphology of the face; but they did not eclipse the influence of the genetic population affinity. Individuals with ancestry derived from more than one population were seen to resemble one population over another in different areas of the face rather than demonstrating an equal combination of both parent populations. A migration effect was seen in the facial forms of even the first generation offspring of migrants.

Deficits in interval timing have been described in focal brain lesions and in various neuropsychiatric disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to explore brain areas responsible for human time perception and for the timing deficit in PD. We used a time reproduction task (TRT) which consisted of an encoding phase (during which visual stimuli of durations from 5 to 16.6 sec were presented) and a reproduction phase (during which interval durations were reproduced by a button pressing). In our first fMRI study, we used a parametric modulated analysis searching for brain areas with activity, expressed as Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signal, correlated with the duration of time interval. During the encoding phase, there was a gradual deactivation of the left prefrontal cortex (PFC) and cingulate gyrus. During the reproduction phase, there was a gradual deactivation in precuneus and an accumulation of activity in the left PFC, primary motor area, right caudate and supplementary motor area (SMA). The second study aimed at supporting the role of two of these areas, SMA and precuneus in interval timing by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Accuracy and variability of time estimates were compared before and after rTMS. Accuracy of estimates was not...

Deficits in interval timing have been described in focal brain lesions and in various neuropsychiatric disorders including Parkinson's disease (PD). The aim of this study was to explore brain areas responsible for human time perception and for the timing deficit in PD. We used a time reproduction task (TRT) which consisted of an encoding phase (during which visual stimuli of durations from 5 to 16.6 sec were presented) and a reproduction phase (during which interval durations were reproduced by a button pressing). In our first fMRI study, we used a parametric modulated analysis searching for brain areas with activity, expressed as Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signal, correlated with the duration of time interval. During the encoding phase, there was a gradual deactivation of the left prefrontal cortex (PFC) and cingulate gyrus. During the reproduction phase, there was a gradual deactivation in precuneus and an accumulation of activity in the left PFC, primary motor area, right caudate and supplementary motor area (SMA). The second study aimed at supporting the role of two of these areas, SMA and precuneus in interval timing by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Accuracy and variability of time estimates were compared before and after rTMS. Accuracy of estimates was not...

In this study, the possibility of using low pressure hydrogenated steam to simulate primary water reactor conditions is examined. The oxides formed on Alloy 600 (WF675) between 350 Celsius and 500 Celsius in low pressure hydrogenated steam (with a ratio of oxygen at the Ni/NiO to oxygen in the system of 20) have been characterised using analytical electron microscopy (AEM) and compared to oxide that formed in a high pressure water in a autoclave at 350 Celsius with 30 cc/kg of hydrogen. Preferential oxidation of grain boundaries and bulk internal oxidation were observed on samples prepared by oxide polishing suspension (OPS). Conversely, samples mechanically ground to 600 grit produced a continuous, protective oxide film which suppressed the preferential and internal oxidation. The surface preparation changed the form of the oxides in both steam and autoclave tests. The preferential oxidation rate has been determined to be K_{oxide} = Aexp{-Q/RT}with A = 2.27×10^(−3) m^(2)s^(−1) and Q = 221 kJ.mol^(−1) (activation energy) for WF675 and A = 5.04 × 10^(−7) m^(2)s^(−1) and Q = 171 kJ.mol^(−1) for 15% cold worked WF675. These values are consistent with the activation energy of primary water stress corrosion cracking (PWSCC) initiation. Bulk oxygen diffusivities were calculated from the internal oxidation after 500 h exposures. At 500 Celsius the oxygen diffusivity was determined to be 1.79×10^(−20) m^(2)s^(−1) for WF675 and 1.21×10^(−20) m^(2)s^(−1) for 15% cold worked WF675, the oxygen diffusivity at 400 Celsius in 15% cold worked WF675 was calculated to be 1.49×10^(−22) m^(2)s^(−1).The Cr-depletion associated with preferential oxidation has been assessed by AEM. The Cr-depletion was asymmetric and it could not be accounted for by local variations in the diffusion rate. Chemically induced grain boundary migration is suggested as a possible explanation. Constant load SCC tests conducted in hydrogenated steam at 400 Celsius have shown a similar trend to the classical dependency of PWSCC as a function of potential. The SCC samples were also prepared with two surface finishes, OPS and 600 grit. In all SCC tests, significantly more cracking was observed on the OPS surface and all failures initiated from this surface.