Search

AbstractWe report on research in progress on the e-book phenomenon in Sweden, the aim of which is to explore the impact of the e-book at every stage, from authorship, through publishing, library lending and bookselling to readership. Here two aspects of the research are covered, the attitudes of authors and publishers towards e-books, to demonstrate the ‘early adoption’ stage of the e-book in the Swedish market. Interviews with authors reveal that most regard e-books favourably, although most of those who have a contract with publishers see it as a by-product of print publishing. Most authors do not have much experience in e-book publishing or self-publishing. The survey of publishers reveals ambivalence towards e-books and in their relationships with libraries and booksellers. The main ‘drivers’ in the uptake of e-books are consumers’ demands for portable, convenient formats and the search for more economic solutions to the provision of textbooks.

This paper presents a brief review, followed by some new results from recent diffusion simulations in Ni-base superalloy systems, performed by means of a thermodynamic and kinetic modeling approach as taken in the commercial finite-difference code DICTRA. The DICTRA code solves the multi-component diffusion equations, combining assessed thermodynamic and kinetic data in order to determine the full composition dependent interdiffusion matrix. The link between fundamental physics based models and critically assessed data allows simulations to be performed with realistic conditions on alloys of practical importance. Emphasis in this paper is on modeling and simulation of interdiffusion occurring between NiAl coatings and Ni-base superalloy substrates. For this purpose we have used the so-called homogenization approach to diffusion in multi-phase systems, recently implemented into the DICTRA software. The simulation results have been validated against experimental data and the agreement is very satisfactory given the complexity of the problem.

Not Available

Thermodynamic and kinetic data are generally essential for quantitative modeling of materials processing, structure, and property. Thermo-Calc program interfaces, including TQ, TCAPI, and TC MATLAB Toolbox, provides a hierarchy of APIs for application programmers to access thermodynamic and kinetic data via the kernel of Thermo-Calc and DICTRA, the most widely used software and database system for multi-component phase equilibrium and phase transformation calculations. With these program interfaces, variation of thermodynamic and kinetic properties can be directly obtained in real time as the local temperature, pressure, or composition changes. The structure and usage of the Thermo-Calc program interfaces will be introduced in this article. Successful application examples will be illustrated.

This article reports on an exploratory analysis of existing data obtained through a national survey carried out in Sweden. The survey questionnaire seeks information on a wide range of issues, including healthcare, library use and Internet use. The analysis presented here explores the relationship among these variables and the concept of trust in healthcare institutions. The results indicate that most of the correlations theoretically suggested were very small and that trust in health institutions in general is high but not strongly related to standard demographic variables found in a general survey of a large population. This exploratory study suggests that more specific indicators of health, experience from health institutions and health-related media exposure are needed to test, in greater depth, the relationships between information exposure, health and attitudes towards health institutions.

Abstract: In the present paper, a general survey of the diffusion-controlled transformations (DICTRA) software is given. DICTRA is an engineering tool for diffusion simulations in multicomponent alloys. The simulations are based on multicomponent diffusion and thermodynamic data, both obtained by analyzing and assessing experimental information. This allows for many different cases to be studied as soon as the underlying data are available. DICTRA is not a complete simulation tool because only geometries that can be transformed into one space variable can be treated, but many well posed problems of practical interest may be solved. The program contains several different models, which are discussed in the present paper. Each model has its own applications and several examples from recent simulations are given in order to demonstrate the usage of the particular models.

Not Available

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) activities in gills and venous blood, acid-base balance, and haematological variables were studied during environmental hypercapnia in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). Batches of 8–10 fish were exposed to about 3 or 13 mmHg $$P_{{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} } $$ in flow-through tests of various duration from 4 h to 80 days.

Abstract: The dissolution of cementite at 910 �C in an Fe-2.06Cr-3.91C (at. pct) alloy is investigated experimentally. The Cr concentration profiles in austenite and cementite are measured by means of the scanning transmission electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectrometry (STEM/EDS) technique at different dissolution times. The measurements show the Cr enrichment in the cementite during the dissolution process. The measurements suggest that the main part of the reaction for this alloy is controlled by Cr diffusion in the cementite or in the austenite matrix. This observation is in agreement with predictions of the local equilibrium hypothesis. The carbide fraction and average particle diameter are evaluated as functions of dissolution time. The Cr enrichment of the cementite results in a supersaturation and a possible decomposition of the cementite. Microstructural evidence for such a decomposition is found by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A new program package called DICTRA,[11] which is suitable for the simulation of diffusional reactions in multicomponent alloys, has been applied to the present case. The simulation is compared with the experimental data, and a good agreement between the two is found.

A general model to treat multicomponent diffusion in multiphase dispersions is presented. The model is based on multicomponent diffusion data and basic thermodynamic data and contains no adjustable parameters. No restriction is placed on the number of components or phases that take part in the calculations, as long as the necessary thermodynamic and kinetic data are available. The new model is implemented into the DICTRA software, which makes use of THERMO-CALC to handle the thermodynamics. The model is applied to carburization of Ni alloys and heat treatment of welded joints between dissimilar materials. In both cases, the diffusion is accompanied by carbide formation or dissolution. A good agreement between experiments and calculations is found, despite the fact that no adjustable parameters are needed.