European Remanufacturing Council

Abstract Tungsten‐doped diamond‐like carbon (W‐DLC) films were prepared by magnetron sputtering, followed by annealing in the temperature range of 100–500°C. The effects of the annealing treatment on the chemical compositions, mechanical properties and tribological behaviours of annealed W‐DLC films with a base oil were tested by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, x‐ray diffraction and nanoindenter tests. The results indicated that increasing the annealing temperature led to a decrease in the thicknesses and hardness values of the W‐DLC films due to the graphitization and oxidation of the film surfaces. However, the structures of the W‐DLC films annealed at 500°C were destroyed. Under poly‐alpha olefin lubrication, when the annealing temperature was lower than 300°C, the tribological properties of the W‐DLC films were stable. This occurred because the graphitization of the sample surface was conducive to the removal of abrasive particles.

Recent work investigating the possible impact of the introduction of the UK National Minimum Wage (NMW) in April 1999 has focused on the analysis of care homes, a sector particularly associated with low-wage employment. In this article we attempt to add to these findings by utilising the Earnings Top-up Evaluation (ETUE) survey which was carried out in 1996, 1997 and 1999, and aimed to over-sample establishments operating in low-wage sectors. Initially, we utilise the panel element of the ETUE to carry out a similar analysis to that adopted for the care homes data. However, in addition to this ‘establishment-level’ analysis, we also utilise information on wages and employment in three non-managerial skill groups, within this panel of establishments, to carry out an analysis at the level of the skill group. In this second set of analyses we are able to reject the null hypotheses of parameter insignificance, identifying a negative employment effect of the 1999 NMW, although this is only true of one of our indicators of NMW impact and its magnitude is small. In the conclusion to the article, we discuss our results in light of the findings from other similar studies.

Malignant melanoma can be a difficult lesion to differentiate clinically. However, when it spreads to regional lymph nodes, there is usually a characteristic pigmentation of the node. We describe a case of an incidental finding of a pigmented lymph node while operating on an inguinal lymph node, which raised the possibility of there being a metastatic melanoma of unknown origin. Histologically, the observed pigmentation was due to the migration of a decorative tattoo pigment instead of malignant cells.