Palaeoenvironmental controls on the distribution of Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaurs

Previous attempts to determine palaeoenvironmental preferences in dinosaurs have generally been qualitative assessments based upon data from restricted geographical areas. Here, we use a global database of Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaurs to identify significant associations between clades and broad palaeoenvironmental categories (‘terrestrial’, ‘coastal’, ‘marine’). Nodosaurid ankylosaurs and hadrosaurids show significant positive associations with marine sediments, while marginocephalians (Ceratopsia, Pachycephalosauria), saurischians (herbivorous theropods, Sauropoda) and ankylosaurid ankylosaurs are significantly positively associated with terrestrial sediments. These results provide quantitative support for the hypothesis that some clades (Nodosauridae, Hadrosauridae) were more abundant in coastal and/or fluvial environments, while others (e.g. Marginocephalia, Ankylosauridae) preferentially inhabited more distal environments. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Phylogeography of Australia’s king brown snake (Pseudechis australis) reveals Pliocene divergence and Pleistocene dispersal of a top predator

King brown snakes or mulga snakes (Pseudechis australis) are the largest and among the most dangerous and wide-ranging venomous snakes in Australia and New Guinea. They occur in diverse habitats, are important predators, and exhibit considerable morphological variation. We infer the relationships and historical biogeography of P. australis based on phylogenetic analysis of 1,249 base pairs from the mitochondrial cytochrome b, NADH dehydrogenase subunit 4 and three adjacent tRNA genes using Bayesian, maximum-likelihood, and maximum-parsimony methods. All methods reveal deep phylogenetic structure with four strongly supported clades comprising snakes from New Guinea (I), localities all over Australia (II), the Kimberleys of Western Australia (III), and north-central Australia (IV), suggesting a much more ancient radiation than previously believed. This conclusion is robust to different molecular clock estimations indicating divergence in Pliocene or Late Miocene, after landbridge dispersal to New Guinea had occurred. While members of clades I, III and IV are medium-sized, slender snakes, those of clade II attain large sizes and a robust build, rendering them top predators in their ecosystems. Genetic differentiation within clade II is low and haplotype distribution largely incongruent with geography or colour morphs, suggesting Pleistocene dispersal and recent ecomorph evolution. Significant haplotype diversity exists in clades III and IV, implying that clade IV comprises two species. Members of clade II are broadly sympatric with members of both northern Australian clades. Thus, our data support the recognition of at least five species from within P. australis (auct.) under various criteria. We discuss biogeographical, ecological and medical implications of our findings.Electronic Supplementary Material  Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at     

Design and evaluation of an atomization-based cutting fluid spray system in turning of titanium alloy

Tool life has been a vital issue in machining titanium alloys. Recently, an atomization-based cutting fluid (ACF) application has been found to be an effective approach for cooling and lubrication in micromachining operations. In this study, an ACF spray system is developed for macro-scale turning of Ti–6Al–4V. The spray system is designed to minimize interaction between the fluid droplets, and the gas nozzle to control the divergence of the fluid droplets. Experiments are conducted to study the effect of five specific ACF spray parameters including fluid flow rate, spray distance, impingement angle, and type and pressure level of the droplet carrier gas on cutting forces, tool life, and chip characteristics. It has been observed that the combination of lower pressure (150 psi) air-mixed CO₂ with a higher flow rate (20 ml/min) and a larger spray distance (35 mm) produces a significantly longer tool life and broken chips. The results also reveal that the ACF spray system can extend tool life up to 40–50% over flood cooling.     

Environmental and socio-economic impacts of institutional reforms on the agricultural sector of Vietnam: Land suitability assessment for Robusta coffee in the Dak Gan region

After the reunion of North and South Vietnam in 1975, the area under small-holder, irrigated cultivation of Robusta coffee increased by a factor of 10 in the Central Highlands. The actual coffee acreage in Dak Lak province is estimated to be over 260,000 ha, representing 60% of the national production, with 405,000 t year⁻¹ for the world market. Vietnam is presently the second largest exporter worldwide and expansion is still going on. In cooperation with the National Institute for Agricultural Planning and Projection (NIAPP), a 5-year development project “Land Evaluation for Land Use Planning and Development of Sustainable Agriculture in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam” was set up, with a goal of diagnosing the sustainability of the rapidly expanding Robusta coffee sector in Central Vietnam. This paper describes the reasons for this quick expansion and investigates the consequences in ecological and social terms. This is done based on a large-scale natural resources inventory, land suitability analysis for Robusta coffee and participatory rural appraisal combined with secondary statistical records from Dak Gan commune. It is representative of the Central Highlands in terms of geomorphological and pedological variability, ethnic identity and with regard to trade-offs between forest conservation and coffee expansion at the cost of available water stocks. Local institutional reforms in the eighties have accelerated coffee expansion in three ways: demographic resettlement, socio-economic liberalization and legislation towards land ownership. Interaction between these three factors has induced a second spontaneous migration flow towards the Highlands in the nineties. Forest area declined by 19% and was converted to coffee plantations, encouraged by the high economic return of this cash crop. The results indicate that this has happened in an haphazard manner and led to a mismatch between the present land use pattern and the natural resource base. Unsustainable land use manifests itself at four levels. (i) The areal limits for sustainable coffee production have been exceeded. (ii) As a consequence over 74% of the present coffee stand is situated on sub-optimal land units. (iii) An excessive coffee area in combination with over-irrigation is likely to deplete groundwater resources. (iv) And paradoxically 24.3% of suitable soils for coffee production is still under forest in Dak Gan. In turn this leads to large-scale environmental and socio-economic decline: soil erosion, water scarcity and social inequity resulting in conflicts between migrants and the indigenous tribes. Besides local reforms, world trade liberalization changed the global coffee market in the late nineties from a regulated system to a free trade market. This fostered global oversupply, which in combination with a stagnant coffee demand suppressed the world market price. Since Vietnam became the second world producer of Robusta, prices have declined by a factor of 3, not only affecting the local sector but households worldwide.     

Light-dependent magnetic compass in Iberian green frog tadpoles

Here, we provide evidence for a wavelength-dependent effect of light on magnetic compass orientation in Pelophylax perezi (order Anura), similar to that observed in Rana catesbeiana (order Anura) and Notophthalmus viridescens (order Urodela), and confirm for the first time in an anuran amphibian that a 90° shift in the direction of magnetic compass orientation under long-wavelength light (≥500 nm) is due to a direct effect of light on the underlying magnetoreception mechanism. Although magnetic compass orientation in other animals (e.g., birds and some insects) has been shown to be influenced by the wavelength and/or intensity of light, these two amphibian orders are the only taxa for which there is direct evidence that the magnetic compass is light-dependent. The remarkable similarities in the light-dependent magnetic compasses of anurans and urodeles, which have evolved as separate clades for at least 250 million years, suggest that the light-dependent magnetoreception mechanism is likely to have evolved in the common ancestor of the Lissamphibia (Early Permian, ~294 million years) and, possibly, much earlier. Also, we discuss a number of similarities between the functional properties of the light-dependent magnetic compass in amphibians and blue light-dependent responses to magnetic stimuli in Drosophila melanogaster, which suggest that the wavelength-dependent 90° shift in amphibians may be due to light activation of different redox forms of a cryptochrome photopigment. Finally, we relate these findings to earlier studies showing that the pineal organ of newts is the site of the light-dependent magnetic compass and recent neurophysiological evidence showing magnetic field sensitivity in the frog frontal organ (an outgrowth of the pineal).     

A new clade of archaic large-bodied predatory dinosaurs (Theropoda: Allosauroidea) that survived to the latest Mesozoic

Non-avian theropod dinosaurs attained large body sizes, monopolising terrestrial apex predator niches in the Jurassic–Cretaceous. From the Middle Jurassic onwards, Allosauroidea and Megalosauroidea comprised almost all large-bodied predators for 85 million years. Despite their enormous success, however, they are usually considered absent from terminal Cretaceous ecosystems, replaced by tyrannosaurids and abelisaurids. We demonstrate that the problematic allosauroids Aerosteon, Australovenator, Fukuiraptor and Neovenator form a previously unrecognised but ecologically diverse and globally distributed clade (Neovenatoridae, new clade) with the hitherto enigmatic theropods Chilantaisaurus, Megaraptor and the Maastrichtian Orkoraptor. This refutes the notion that allosauroid extinction pre-dated the end of the Mesozoic. Neovenatoridae includes a derived group (Megaraptora, new clade) that developed long, raptorial forelimbs, cursorial hind limbs, appendicular pneumaticity and small size, features acquired convergently in bird-line theropods. Neovenatorids thus occupied a 14-fold adult size range from 175 kg (Fukuiraptor) to approximately 2,500 kg (Chilantaisaurus). Recognition of this major allosauroid radiation has implications for Gondwanan paleobiogeography: The distribution of early Cretaceous allosauroids does not strongly support the vicariant hypothesis of southern dinosaur evolution or any particular continental breakup sequence or dispersal scenario. Instead, clades were nearly cosmopolitan in their early history, and later distributions are explained by sampling failure or local extinction.     

Shrinkage and fragmentation of grasslands in the West Songnen Plain,China

In the past century, especially the past five decades, the grasslands of the West Songnen Plain, Northeast China, were rapidly converted into croplands and salinized wasteland, and experienced a fragmentation process that is still ongoing. Almost no information is available on the spatial-temporal changes of grasslands in this area. In this study, grassland cover change, agricultural reclamation and salinized wasteland expansion were investigated during the past five decades. Grassland fragmentation was studied based on four landscape metrics. The grassland cover change was detected from a time series of topographic maps from 1954, satellite images of Landsat TM in 1986, 1995, and 2000 using remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS). In addition, the land use changes were analyzed using a transition matrix of land use types, while the driving forces were explored according to climatic changes and socioeconomic developments. The results indicated a significant decrease in grassland area. Of the 1 418 945 ha of native grassland in 1954, approximately 64% was removed by 2000, while the number of patches (NP) increased from 865 to 2035 and the mean patch size (MPS) decreased from 1640 ha to 252 ha. During the whole study period, the average annual decrease rate of grassland was 34 894 ha/year. Cropland and salinized wasteland were the two main land use types into which grassland converted. During the past decades, obvious climatic changes occurred, which supplied a favorable potential environment for agricultural development but damaged grassland productivity. On the other hand, population, GDP and livestock number increased significantly as grassland quality decreased. According to the results, the shrinkage and fragmentation of grasslands may well be explained by socioeconomic development and aided by changing climatic conditions.     

Convergent life-history shifts: toxic environments result in big babies in two clades of poeciliids

The majority of studies on ecological speciation in animals have investigated the divergence caused by biotic factors like divergent food sources or predatory regimes. Here, we examined a system where ecological speciation can clearly be ascribed to abiotic environmental gradients of naturally occurring toxic hydrogen sulfide (H₂S). In southern Mexico, two genera of livebearing fishes (Poeciliidae: Poecilia and Gambusia) thrive in various watercourses with different concentrations of H₂S. Previous studies have revealed pronounced genetic differentiation between different locally adapted populations in one species (Poecilia mexicana), pointing towards incipient speciation. In the present study, we examined female reproductive life-history traits in two species pairs: Gambusia sexradiata (from a nonsulfidic and a sulfidic habitat) and Gambusia eurystoma (sulfide-endemic), as well as P. mexicana (nonsulfidic and sulfidic) and Poecilia sulphuraria (sulfide endemic). We found convergent divergence of life-history traits in response to sulfide; most prominently, extremophile poeciliids exhibit drastically increased offspring size coupled with reduced fecundity. Furthermore, within each genus, this trend increased with increasing sulfide concentrations and was most pronounced in the two endemic sulfur-adapted species. We discuss the adaptive significance of large offspring size in toxic environments and propose that divergent life-history evolution may promote further ecological divergence through isolation by adaptation.     

Energy sector reform in Eritrea: initiatives and implications

The Government of Eritrea gave priority status to the energy sector immediately after the country's independence in May 1991, as manifested by the rapid improvement in electricity and oil supplies. Electricity generation capacity has increased from a total of 30 MW in 1991 to over 130 MW at present. The lengths of transmission and distribution lines have similarly increased from 150 km to 400 km and from 800 to 1300 km respectively. However, as in most Sub-Saharan Africa, this public utility is characterised by inefficient managerial, technical and financial performances, an inability to mobilize the funds needed for expansion, low repair and maintenance capacity, inappropriate tariff rates, and inadequate revenue collection mechanisms. This has led the government to take appropriate reform measures in recent years, including the restructuring of the Eritrea Electric Corporation (EEC) to operate on commercial principles, setting tariffs based on real costs and reasonable profits, effective collection of revenues, the minimization of wastage and loss in the delivery of energy services, facilitating the private sector participation, and ring-fencing the interests of the poor by setting up a Rural Electrification Fund. A Regulatory body has been established to enforce these reform measures. Recognising the role of modern energy in poverty reduction and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the Government with the support of its development partners is expanding energy services to rural areas in an innovative manner. The Government's commitment to diversify energy sources is exemplified by its agreement with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to share the costs of an on-going pilot wind energy project. It has also established an Energy Research and Training Centre to promote the application of renewable energies and improved biomass stoves throughout Eritrea.     

Expansion of Calamagrostis villosa in sub-alpine Nardus stricta grassland: Cessation of cutting management or high nitrogen deposition?

Calamagrostis villosa has recently expanded in Nardus stricta-dominated sub-alpine grassland of the Giant Mountains (Krkono?e/Karkonosze, the Czech Republic). To investigate whether this expansion has been promoted by high nitrogen deposition or by the cessation of agricultural management, grassland plots dominated by C. villosa were manipulated with four treatments: control (Con), fertilised (Fer), cut (Cut) and cut–fertilised (Cut–Fer). NH₄NO₃ was used at the rate of 30 kg N ha^?1 and fertilisation and cutting were performed once a year after data collection in late July between 2000 and 2006.Plant species composition (analysed by RDA) was significantly influenced by cutting but not by fertilisation. Cutting reduced the cover, biomass, sward height and tiller density of C. villosa. Seedlings of N. stricta and panicles of C. villosa were recorded only in plots with cutting management.To investigate the effect of treatments on the spread of C. villosa, grassland sods dominated by N. stricta were transplanted into the experimental plots. Six years later, the density and cover of C. villosa spreading into the N. stricta sods were highest in Fer treatment.C. villosa was recognised as a defoliation-sensitive species and this sensitivity cannot be overcome by an increase in N supply. Recent expansion of C. villosa in the sub-alpine grassland can by explained by a long-term succession after the cessation of agricultural management and an increase in the N availability in recent decades.     

Visualizing different uranium oxidation states during the surface alteration of uraninite and uranium tetrachloride

Low-temperature alteration reactions on uranium phases may lead to the mobilization of uranium and thereby poses a potential threat to humans living close to uranium-contaminated sites. In this study, the surface alteration of uraninite (UO₂) and uranium tetrachloride (UCl₄) in air atmosphere was studied by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy using an excitation wavelength of 408 nm. It was found that within minutes the oxidation state on the surface of the uraninite and the uranium tetrachloride changed. During the surface alteration process U(IV) atoms on the uraninite and uranium tetrachloride surface became stepwise oxidized by a one-electron step at first to U(V) and then further to U(VI). These observed changes in the oxidation states of the uraninite surface were microscopically visualized and spectroscopically identified on the basis of their fluorescence emission signal. A fluorescence signal in the wavelength range of 415–475 nm was indicative for metastable uranium(V), and a fluorescence signal in the range of 480–560 nm was identified as uranium(VI). In addition, the oxidation process of tetravalent uranium in aqueous solution at pH 0.3 was visualized by CLSM and U(V) was fluorescence spectroscopically identified. The combination of microscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy provided a very convincing visualization of the brief presence of U(V) as a metastable reaction intermediate and of the simultaneous coexistence of the three states U(IV), U(V), and U(VI). These results have a significant importance for fundamental uranium redox chemistry and should contribute to a better understanding of the geochemical behavior of uranium in nature. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

First ceratosaurian dinosaur from Australia

The basal theropod dinosaur clade Ceratosauria, and its subclade Abelisauroidea, is characteristic of late Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate faunas in western Gondwana (South America, Africa, Madagascar, and India) and Europe. Yet unambiguous records of ceratosaurs have hitherto been absent from Australia, where the theropod assemblage appears to include several typically Laurasian clades. Here, we report the first evidence of ceratosaurs (and potentially abelisauroids) from eastern Gondwana––a diagnostic astragalocalcaneum from the Aptian (121–125?Ma) of Victoria, Australia. Ceratosauria thus occurred in both western and eastern Gondwana during the Early Cretaceous. This fossil adds to the poorly known dinosaur fauna of Australia, a major clade of basal theropods, emphasising that its mid-Cretaceous theropod diversity was surprisingly cosmopolitan despite relative geographic isolation, including clades that have been thought to be typical of both Gondwana and Laurasia––Ceratosauria, Spinosauridae, Carcharodontosauria, Tyrannosauroidea, and Deinonychosauria. Such a contemporaneous association of theropod clades is unknown from other Gondwanan continents and questions the views that the late Mesozoic dinosaur fauna of Australia was dominated by Gondwanan or Laurasian elements, extreme isolation, relictualism, and/or novelty as a ‘centre of origin’. The cosmopolitan theropod fauna of Australia probably reflects the global distribution of these clades early in their history, prior to significant continental breakup.     

Molecular phylogeny of cycads inferred from rbcL sequences

The chloroplast gene rbcL was sequenced to elucidate the evolution of the gymnosperm plant order Cycadales. In accordance with traditional systematics, the order Cycadales and the corresponding genera cluster as monophyletic clades. Among them, the genus Cycas forms a basal group. The genetic distances within the genus Encephalartos and between the sister groups Encephalartos, Lepidozamia and Macrozamia, are unexpectedly small, suggesting that the extant species are the result of Miocene and Pliocene speciation. Their distribution in Africa or Australia, respectively, may therefore rather be due to long-distance dispersal than to Cretaceous continental drift, as had previously been assumed. The rbcL sequences also indicate that the colonisation of Madagascar by Cycas thouarsii occurred only recently as the sequences of C. thouarsii and Cycas rumphii from Indonesia are identical. In contrast, the divergence of the Cycadaceae and Zamiaceae apparently occurred in the Mesozoic.     

京津冀城市群城市用地扩张的空间特征及俱乐部收敛分析

我国已进入城市化快速发展阶段,城市群是未来我国城市化的重要载体。以城市群为单元研究城市用地扩张的空间特征及内部分异规律,是提高城市化质量、实现城市群协调可持续发展的关键。论文以京津冀城市群为研究对象,基于空间效应的视角,采用1990、2000、2005和2010年4期遥感影像解译数据和城市扩张相关指数,综合运用探索性空间数据分析方法和空间计量经济学方法,分析了研究区1990—2010年间城市用地扩张的空间格局、区域分异及空间俱乐部收敛等特征。结果表明：1）京津冀城市群城市用地扩张迅速,新增城市用地围绕各市中心和高速公路沿线呈圈层和轴线式扩张;2）城市群内部城市用地扩张具有明显的空间集中性与分异性,并呈现显著空间自相关;3）通过Moran’s I指数对研究区进行内生分组,利用空间面板模型估计,结果发现：L-L和L-H地区城市扩张存在明显的空间俱乐部收敛,H-H地区虽收敛,但结果不显著,H-L地区不收敛。这些研究结果为进一步研究京津冀城市群地区城市扩张动力机制、促进城市理性扩张和京津冀协调一体化相关规划提供科学参考。     

一种平面区域四边形网格生成方法

基于分层发散的思想 ,详尽地阐述了有限元法前处理中的网格生成方法 ;介绍了分层发散的网格生成中的布点、点的存贮、网格的划分、四边形单元质量判断及局部调整等内容 ,并给出了实例。     

A gravid lizard from the Cretaceous of China and the early history of squamate viviparity

Although viviparity is most often associated with mammals, roughly one fifth of extant squamate reptiles give birth to live young. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that the trait evolved more than 100 times within Squamata, a frequency greater than that of all other vertebrate clades combined. However, there is debate as to the antiquity of the trait and, until now, the only direct fossil evidence of squamate viviparity was in Late Cretaceous mosasauroids, specialised marine lizards without modern equivalents. Here, we document viviparity in a specimen of a more generalised lizard, Yabeinosaurus, from the Early Cretaceous of China. The gravid female contains more than 15 young at a level of skeletal development corresponding to that of late embryos of living viviparous lizards. This specimen documents the first occurrence of viviparity in a fossil reptile that was largely terrestrial in life, and extends the temporal distribution of the trait in squamates by at least 30 Ma. As Yabeinosaurus occupies a relatively basal position within crown-group squamates, it suggests that the anatomical and physiological preconditions for viviparity arose early within Squamata.     

土地利用规划对建设用地扩张的管控效果分析——基于一致性与有效性的复合视角

为了研究土地利用规划对建设用地扩张的管控效果,论文从规划目标一致性与实施有效性两个视角出发构建概念模型,选择GIS空间分析方法与Logistic计量模型作为技术支撑,对江苏通州进行案例研究。结果表明:1基于一致性视角,从空间规模与空间结构控制效果来看,通州土地利用总体规划在2002—2010年间对建设用地扩张的管控效果较差,对具体地类而言,新增城镇工矿用地的管控效果要优于农村居民点用地;2基于有效性视角,规划对建设用地扩张具有显著影响,规划确定的建设预留区对建设用地扩张起到了明显的空间引导作用,但与预期相反,规划基本农田保护区却未发挥出应有的约束作用;3综合来看,规划实施的一致性较差,且规划管控仅在一定程度上有效,处于不完全理想的状态;4对比可知,发展到一定阶段之后,空间区位变量对建设用地扩张的驱动作用会相对更强,意味着集聚发展可能成为必然,有必要强化规划实施的空间管控效果。该模型能够较好地评价土地利用规划对建设用地扩张的管控效果,可为完善规划实施评价的理论与技术方法提供参考。     

When signal meets noise: immunity of the frog ear to interference

Sound stimulates the tympanic membrane (TM) of anuran amphibians through multiple, poorly understood pathways. It is conceivable that interactions between the internal and external inputs to the TM contribute to the nonlinear effects that noise is known to produce at higher levels of the auditory pathway. To explore this issue, we conducted measurements of TM vibration in response to tones in the presence of noise in the frog Eupsophus calcaratus. Laser vibrometry revealed that the power spectra (n = 16) of the TM velocity in response to pure tones at a constant level of 80 dB sound-pressure level (SPL) had a maximum centered at an average frequency of 2,344 Hz (range 1,700–2,990 Hz) and a maximum velocity of 61.1 dB re 1 μm/s (range 42.9–66.6 dB re 1 μm/s). These TM-vibration velocity response profiles in the presence of increasing levels of 4-kHz band-pass noise were unaltered up to noise levels of 90 dB SPL. For the relatively low spectral densities of the noise used, the TM remains in its linear range. Such vibration patterns facilitate the detection of tonal signals in noise at the tympanic membrane and may underlie the remarkable vocal responsiveness maintained by males of E. calcaratus under noise interference.     

The earliest modern mongoose (Carnivora, Herpestidae) from Africa (late Miocene of Chad)

We report on the earliest modern mongooses of Africa, from the late Miocene (ca. 7 Ma) of the hominid locality TM 266, Toros-Menalla, Chad. The material is based on fragmentary dentitions of three individuals. The main diagnostic feature of the Chadian species is the great development of the shear in the carnassials, which distinguishes the Chadian specimens from all extant herpestids except Herpestes and Galerella. In comparison with most extinct and extant Herpestes, the species from Toros-Menalla differs by a markedly smaller size and, depending on the species, relatively more elongated carnassials, more transversely elongated M1 and more reduced p4. On the basis of a great morphological similarity and the absence of significant differences, we assign our material to Galerella sanguinea; the Chadian finding therefore represents the earliest appearance of an extant species of Herpestidae. This record ties the first appearance of the genus to a minimum age of ca. 7 Ma, which is consistent with the estimated divergence date of 11.4 Ma known from the literature for the species of Galerella.     

Micro end mill tool temperature measurement and prediction

The objective of this work is to characterize the heat transfer in micro end mill tools during machining operations. This analysis will aid in the design of heat dissipation strategies that could potentially increase tool life and machining precision. Tool temperatures, above the unmachined workpiece surface, have been measured using an infrared camera during slot milling of aluminum (6061-T6) and steel (1018) with 300 μm-diameter two-flute tungsten carbide end mills. The measured temperatures compare favorably with temperature distributions predicted by a two-dimensional, transient, heat transfer model of the tool. The heat input is estimated by applying Loewen and Shaw’s heat partitioning analysis. Analysis of heat transfer in the tool found that 46 s into a cut conduction through the length of the tool, storage in the tool, and convection from the surface account for 41.5%, 45%, and 13.5% of the heat generated during machining. Thermal expansion and cooling strategies are discussed.