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Graphical abstract Highlights • A new nanocomposite magnet (H c = 9.7 kOe and σ sat. = 171 emu/g) was developed. • High-pressure torsion was applied to nanocomposite magnets to induce texture. • The microstructures were investigated by TEM and FIB-SEM both in 2D and 3D. • The size and shape of the individual α-Fe phase particles were quantitatively analyzed. • The multi-phases microstructure was significantly distorted by HPT. Abstract A newly developed isotropic Nd 2 Fe 14 B/α-Fe nanocomposite magnet was subjected to a series of investigations of its microstructure and magnetic properties. The performance of the optimally annealed sample was found to be H c = 9.7 kOe and σ sat. = 171 emu/g. Moreover, an attempt was made to produce anisotropic nanocomposite magnets by a high-pressure torsion (HPT) experiment performed at room temperature. The microstructural analyses by TEM in 2D and by FIB-SEM serial sectioning in 3D elucidated that the two-phases microstructure is not distorted homogeneously but shear bands (SBs) are formed. It was found that both the hard magnetic Nd 2 Fe 14 B and soft magnetic α-Fe phases are distorted significantly near those SBs even though the crystallographic orientations of the Nd 2 Fe 14 B grains are randomized therein. The relationships between this microstructure developed by HPT and the corresponding magnetic properties are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the performance of a superconducting nanowire that can be operated in two detection modes: (i) as a kinetic inductance detector (KID) or (ii) as a single-photon detector (SPD). Two superconducting nanowires developed for use as single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) are embedded as the inductive (L) component in resonant inductor/capacitor (LC) circuits coupled to a microwave transmission line. The capacitors are low loss commercial chip capacitors and limit the internal quality factor of the resonators to approximately Q i = 170 . The resonator quality factor, Q r ≃ 23 , is dominated by the coupling to the feedline and limits the detection bandwidth to on the order of 1 MHz. When operated in KID mode, the detectors are AC biased with tones at their resonant frequencies of 45.85 and 91.81 MHz. In the low-bias, standard KID mode, a single photon produces a hot spot that does not turn an entire section of the line normal but only increases the kinetic inductance. In the high-bias, critical KID mode, a photon event turns a section of the line normal and the resonance is destroyed until the normal region is dissipated. When operated as an SPD in Geiger mode, the resonators are DC biased through cryogenic bias tees and each photon produces a sharp voltage step followed by a ringdown signal at the resonant frequency of the detector which is converted to a standard pulse with an envelope detector. We show that AC biasing in the critical KID mode is inferior to the sensitivity achieved in DC-biased SPD mode due to the small fraction of time spent near the critical current with an AC bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Facultad de Ingeniería - UPTC is the property of Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia, Facultad de Ingenieria and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The researcher working in the field of illumination can use a number of measurement methods, depending on the requirement. Many practical evaluation methods employ varieties of a configuration where test stations are positioned next to or opposite each other for comparison purposes. Test stations can consist of test booths or even full-sized test rooms when using indoor evaluations. The number of test booths for indoor application may differ from one to three. Most colour and light perception studies thus depend on human observers to provide some feedback or input. It is the human observer who uses illumination devices and it is important that human response to these products be measured. Results achieved from these measurements can, in turn, be used by the lighting designer to optimize the design of illumination products. Many studies in the field of colour perception and/or matching rely on the method of "psychophysics" where humans are used. Reliability of results achieved when using human observers can be questioned. Results achieved with psychometric testing cannot be compared with an established benchmark and/or standard as such a benchmark was itself generated using human observers, endangering the researchers to become entangled in a closed circle of cause and effect where one depends on the other. This study investigated the reliability of human observers when studying colour perception. Repeatability of results achieved when using human observers was measured. A test was repeated using the same set of observers. Even this approach is not safe as human memory may serve the observer so well, that results can be selected, or at least influenced, on the basis of memory and not perception. The solution was to implement extended time between measurements, thereby hoping that sufficient time will lapse to erase details from the observer's memory. A colour matching task had to be completed to test observers of two distinct age groups. One group was older than 50 years of age and the second group was younger than 40 years of age. The two groups were tasked to complete the same colour matching test at the beginning of a year and after one year. Test procedures and test equipment were identical before and after the year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discontinuous part production as one of the main defects of single-pass equal channel angular pressing process was almost solved by studies suggesting equal channel multi-angular pressing (ECMAP) process. In the suggested method, multiple pressing operations are performed continuously without bringing the sample out of the mold. Thus, more uniform pieces are produced with less time consumption. In the present study, ECMAP process on strip-type products was done frequently up to three passes. The microstructurally transformed samples after each pass were extracted and compared. Also, to assess possible improvements in mechanical properties, tensile tests were done on all samples. Furthermore, the microstructural evolutions for each pass were investigated by X-ray diffraction analysis. According to the obtained results, the strength of samples was increased up to 49% in the first pass while it was raised by 45% and 13% for second and third passes, respectively. Moreover, 49, 33 and 34% reduction in the grain size were revealed by metallographic outcomes after the first, second and third ECMAP passes, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents characterize structure of the copper alloy CuCr0.6 (C18200) after applying two methods of cyclic deformation: the method of extrusion with the rotating matrix KoBo and compression with oscillatory torsion. The deformation processes were applied on the material after solution and solution and aging.(after saturation and aging). Shown that applied the SPD metod allows on the fragmentation struture but effects of the framgentation on the structure depends on the method used. As a result of COT deformation, most of the structures obtained are grains with small disorientation angles and high dislocation density inside the grains. After KoBo has been applied to the structure is present in the distribution of recrystallised grains. The test was carried with the use of scanning transmission electron microscope STEM Hitachi HD-2300A. The Metilo programme was used for quantitative analysis. The Future-Tech FM-700 machine was used to perform hardness measurements. The hardness of alloys under a load of 0.1 kg was tested. The mechanical properties after the application of KoBo were evaluated on the basis of a static tensile test carried out on an Instron 4505/5500R machine. Mechanical properties after the application of the COT, the tensile strength of the micro samples was determined on the basis of a static tensile test on the MST QTest/10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Golden age myths as an answer to political crises are a recurrent phenomenon. This article demonstrates how the idea of a past golden age as the answer to a crisis of society was employed in the discourses of the Third Way: At the turn of the 20th century, the Social Democrats (SPD) in Germany and New Labour in Britain employed a golden age myth to define their politics. Analysing a corpus of texts from the Labour Party and the SPD between 1990 and 2005, this article demonstrates how global ideological trends are locally legitimized differently through the use of local political myths. The major contribution to the field of political discourse analysis lies in the discussion of mythopoesis as a legitimatory strategy, as well as in the analysis of the local adaptation of the golden age myth, which draws on Laclau's discourse theory and its idea of empty signifiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) isolates of the clonal complex 398 are often resistant to a number of antimicrobial agents. Studies on the genetic basis of antimicrobial resistance in these bacteria identified SCC mec cassettes, various transposons and plasmids of different sizes that harbor antimicrobial resistance genes. While large plasmids that carry multiple antimicrobial resistance genes – occasionally together with heavy metal resistance genes and/or virulence genes – are frequently seen in LA-MRSA ST398, certain resistance genes are also associated with small plasmids of up to 15 kb in size. These small resistance plasmids usually carry only one, but in rare cases also two or three antimicrobial resistance genes. In the current review, we focus on small plasmids that carry the macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin B resistance genes erm (C) or erm (T), the lincosamide resistance gene lnu (A), the pleuromutilin-lincosamide-streptogramin A resistance genes vga (A) or vga (C), the spectinomycin resistance gene spd , the apramycin resistance gene apmA , or the trimethoprim resistance gene dfrK. The detailed analysis of the structure of these plasmids allows comparisons with similar plasmids found in other staphylococci and underlines in many cases an exchange of such plasmids between LA-MRSA ST398 and other staphylococci including also coagulase-negative staphylococci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is a key signaling molecule that mediates a variety of physiological processes and defense responses against abiotic stress in higher plants. In this study, our aims are to clarify the role of H 2 O 2 accumulation induced by the exogenous application of spermidine (Spd) to cucumber ( Cucumis sativus ) seedlings in regulating the antioxidant capacity of roots under salt stress. The results showed that Spd caused a significant increase in endogenous polyamines and H 2 O 2 levels, and peaked at 2 h after salt stress. Spd-induced H 2 O 2 accumulation was blocked under salt stress by pretreatment with a H 2 O 2 scavenger and respective inhibitors of cell wall peroxidase (CWPOD; EC: 1.11.1.7), polyamine oxidase (PAO; EC: 1.5.3.11) and NADPH oxidase (NOX; EC: 1.6.3.1); among these three inhibitors, the largest decrease was found in response to the addition of the inhibitor of polyamine oxidase. In addition, we observed that exogenous Spd could increase the activities of the enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC: 1.15.1.1), peroxidase (POD; EC: 1.11.1.7) and catalase (CAT; EC: 1.11.1.6) as well as the expression of their genes in salt-stressed roots, and the effects were inhibited by H 2 O 2 scavengers and polyamine oxidase inhibitors. These results suggested that, by regulating endogenous PAs-mediated H 2 O 2 signaling in roots, Spd could enhance antioxidant enzyme activities and reduce oxidative damage; the main source of H 2 O 2 was polyamine oxidation, which was associated with improved tolerance and root growth recovery of cucumber under salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminum alloys are widely used in the aeronautical sector due to their good physicochemical properties. Continuous studies are developed in order to optimize suitable properties for differentiated conformation processes, such as the superplastic conformation that targets the ultrafine grain materials. This work aimed to evaluate the potential to promote microstructural and mechanical asymmetry in a 7475-T7351 hot rolled alloy when processing through asymmetric rolling with cylinder ratio of 1.67 compared to conventional rolling at room temperature. However, it observed a contradictory result, since the asymmetric rolling promoted a greater increase, along the thickness, in the microstructural homogeneity and hardening when compared to the conventional rolling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent investigations are focused on microstructure and mechanical properties characterization of Al-33%Cu eutectic alloy after application KoBo method. Samples after casting and turning to 49 mm in diameter were extruded to 9 mm in diameter. Process was performed at torsion angle 8°. Microstructural investigations were performed by using light microscopy Olympus GX71, and scaning electron microscopy (SEM) Hitachi S-340N, and scaning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) Hitachi HD-2300A equipped with FEG gun, allowing analysis of chemical composition. Compression tensile strength were performed on the machine Zwick/Roell Z100. The test was carried out at ambient temperature on the Samales in the shape of cylinders with a diameter of 6 mm and a height of 9 mm, a pressure force of 100 kN was applied. The Future-Tech FM-700 machine was used to perform hardness measurements. The hardness of alloys under a load of 0.1 kg was tested. The electrical conductivity measurements were carried out on the SIGMATEST 2.096 FOERSTER device. The results shows that the KoBo method allows to grain fragmentation and improve plastic properties and mechanical properties of alloy. It was observed differentiation in the size of the phases obtained during casting process and additionally, after KoBo deformation were observed nondeformed microareas. After KoBo deformation increase the strength and plastic properties of alloy. KoBo method can be used to fragmentation eutectic alloys Al-33Cu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussion about reconciliation in post-World War II Germany usually centers on Hitler's Jewish victims or recently enacted programs of restitution for so-called marginalized victim groups. In this paper, I explore the largely neglected domestic reconciliation policy affecting the West German left wing in the postwar period. Initially, on a genealogical, micro-historical basis, I investigate the restitution claim files of former communist and social-democratic printing companies located in Hannover, Lower Saxony. In the light of recent nationwide discourse in Germany about anti-communist measures of the pre-unification Federal Republic of Germany, such as the so-called Berufsverbote (bans on employment of leftists), these sources document negotiations to right past wrongs and shed light on reconciliation policy during the German-German "cold civil war" that followed World War II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: The mechanism of exogenous Spd-induced Ca(NO3)2 stress tolerance in cucumber was studied by proteomics and physiological analyses. Protein-protein interaction network revealed 13 key proteins involved in Spd-induced Ca(NO3)2 stress resistance.Abstract: Ca(NO3)2 stress is one of the major reasons for secondary salinization that limits cucumber plant development in greenhouse. The conferred protective role of exogenous Spd on cucumber in response to Ca(NO3)2 stress cues involves changes at the cellular and physiological levels. To investigate the molecular foundation of exogenous Spd in Ca(NO3)2 stress tolerance, a proteomic approach was performed in our work. After a 9 days period of Ca(NO3)2 stress and/or exogenous Spd, 71 differential protein spots were confidently identified. The resulting proteins were enriched in seven different categories of biological processes, including protein metabolism, carbohydrate and energy metabolism, ROS homeostasis and stress defense, cell wall related, transcription, others and unknown. Protein metabolism (31.2%), carbohydrate and energy metabolism (15.6%), ROS homeostasis and stress defense (32.5%) were the three largest functional categories in cucumber root and most of them were significantly increased by exogenous Spd. The Spd-responsive protein interaction network revealed 13 key proteins, whose accumulation changes could be critical for Spd-induced resistance; all 13 proteins were upregulated by Spd at transcriptional and protein levels in response to Ca(NO3)2 stress. Furthermore, accumulation of antioxidant enzymes, non-enzymatic antioxidant and polyamines, along with reduction of H2O2 and MDA, were detected after exogenous Spd application during Ca(NO3)2 stress. The results of these proteomic and physiological analyses in cucumber root may facilitate a better understanding of the underlying mechanism of Ca(NO3)2 stress tolerance mediated by exogenous Spd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of the effect of sample temperature on the electric properties of PI films has been investigated. Surface potential decay (SPD) measurements on PI (Kapton HN, thickness: 50 ?m) films were measured, after negative corona discharge, as a function of sample temperature varying from 27 to 80 ?C. The measurements showed significant increase in the SPD rate with increasing sample temperature. Surface potential profile, return potential appearing after charge neutralization and charging current characteristics have been experimentally recorded for different sample temperatures in order to interpret SPD evolution at high sample temperature. The SPD curves were analyzed by fitting a bi-exponential decay Equation according to the presence of two different decay mechanisms related to shallow and deep traps. The distributions of trapped charges are obtained for different sample temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The current work presents the results on Mg AZ31B alloy sheets subject to four passes using Equal Channel Angular Sheet Drawing (ECASD) at various temperatures (25, 100, and 200 °C). Textures are determined by laboratory X‐ray diffraction and EBSD. EBSD allows the evaluation of the evolution of crystal sizes in function of the distance to the surface and the presence of twinning. Twinning is evident by the analysis of the textures, which show mainly two components, one due to the spin induced by the shearing of ECASD and the other one as a direct product of twinning. Micro‐hardness, by Knoop tests on the lateral face of the sheets, are performed, allowing the determination of the influence of SPD on the hardness from surface to surface, going through the center of the sheet. Almost 50% increase on hardening, with respect to the non‐processed material, is obtained near to the surface after four and six passes. The effectiveness as a hardening technique declined after the first four passes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work compares two deformation techniques, rolling and Equal Channel Angular pressing (ECAP), and the response offered by three different materials that differ in Stacking Fault Energy (SFE): AA1010 Al, commercially pure Cu, and an austenitic stainless steel. The objective of this investigation is to study the effect of each deformation mode on tensile behavior, deformation mechanism, texture, and microstructure and to establish the influence of the stacking fault energy on said effects. The results show that the different strain paths of ECAP and rolling do not affect the strength, but rolling leads to an accentuated texture and thus to elastic and plastic anisotropy. This finding has practical relevance for micro manufacturing techniques. Furthermore, it is observed that lower SFE results in smaller domain size and higher dislocation density, which are microstructural details related to strength and to the work hardening capacity. Finally, both techniques are able to produce a high amount of high angle grain boundaries, a feature that characterizes refined microstructures. These processes operate at different strain rates; thus, in low SFE materials, a more effective grain fragmentation by deformation‐induced twins is observed after the ECAP process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many studies of a spatial game theory have been performed to maintain cooperators because defectors tend to survive in a classical spatial game theory; therefore, various models have been proposed. In this study, the abovementioned problem is tackled using the spatial prisoner's dilemma (SPD) by considering the memory. In the proposed model, all players have a defined memory length related to the strategy update. The strategy for individual players is updated differently from the SPD model only when there are neighboring players whose strategy is the same but whose scores are higher than their own score. Under such conditions, players update to a strategy that is different from the original SPD strategy by considering their own past strategy and by adopting an unlikely strategy. This study is based on the idea of changing own behavior when the situation is not good for players. Consequently, cooperators were easily maintained in the proposed model by forming characteristic spatial patterns. Moreover, the model was unlikely to be affected by a payoff matrix parameter. In the proposed model, all players have a defined memory length related to the strategy update. The strategy for individual players is updated differently from the SPD model under a certain situation. Players sometimes update their strategy with an unlikely strategy. Results show that the proposed model exhibits characteristic spatial patterns and cooperators can survive. • In the proposed SPD model, all players have a defined memory length related to the strategy update. • Players sometimes update to a strategy by adopting an unlikely strategy. • Cooperators were easily maintained in the proposed model by forming characteristic spatial patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among all recognized severe plastic deformation techniques, a new method, called the equal channel forward extrusion process, has been experimentally studied. It has been shown that this method has similar characteristics to other severe plastic deformation methods, and the potential of this new method was examined on the mechanical properties of commercial pure aluminum. The results indicate that approximate 121%, 56%, and 84% enhancements, at the yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, and Vickers micro-hardness measurement are, respectively, achieved after the fourth pass, in comparison with the annealed condition. The results of drop weight impact test showed that the increment of 26% at the impact force, and also decreases of 32%, 15%, and 4% at the deflection, impulse, and absorbed energy, are respectively attained for the fourth pass when compared to the annealed condition. Furthermore, the electron backscatter diffraction examination revealed that the average grain size of the final pass is about 480 nm.

In this article we analyse the development of the of the German Federal Republic policy towards Spain during the three decades that separate the creation of the young federal State and the establishment of the new Spanish Constitution. Rather than covering all the issues that characterised that period, we will try to study the formation of those large vectors that articulated that relationship and its gradual transformation, in line with international evolution and also with the evolution of both countries. | En este artículo se realiza un análisis de la evolución de la política que la República Federal de Alemania (RFA) desarrolló hacia España durante las tres décadas que separan la creación del joven Estado federal y la entrada en vigor de la Constitución Española. Sin tratar de abarcar todos y cada uno de los asuntos que la caracterizaron, se pretende estudiar la conformación de los grandes vectores que la articularon y su paulatina transformación, en sintonía con la evolución internacional y la de ambos países.

In this research accumulative roll bonding process as sever plastic deformation process was applied up to 8 cycles to produce the ultrafine grain copper. Microstructure of cycle 1, cycle 4 and cycle 8 investigated by TEM images. By analyzing TEM images the grain size measured below 100 nm in cycle 8 and it was with an average grain size of 200 nm. Corrosion resistance of rolled copper strips in comparing with unrolled copper strip was investigated in acidic (pH=2) 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution. Potentiodynamic polarization and EIS tests used for corrosion resistance investigations. The corrosion morphologies analyzed by FE-SEM microscopy after polarization test and immersion for 40 hours. Results show that the corrosion resistance decreased up to cycle 2 and increased after rolled for forth time. The corrosion degradation was more intergranular in cycle 2 and unrolled counterpart. It was more uniform rather than intergranular type in cycle 8. Corrosion current density in unrolled sample (2.55 µAcm -2 ) was about two times of that in cycle 8 (1.45 µAcm -2 ). The higher corrosion rate in cycle 2 in comparison with others was attributed to unstable microstructure and increase in dislocation density whereas the uniform corrosion in cycle 8 was due to stable UFG formation

Serious games for health are those that are not aimed solely at entertainment, but rather at supporting health treatments. In this paper, we develop and assess the proposal of a Virtual Reality (VR) game aimed at supporting Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) treatment. SPD is a condition which affects the integration and processing of the various stimuli coming from inside and outside of the body and its treatment involves providing patients with controlled sensory stimuli. Our goal is to investigate whether a Virtual Reality game that can stimulate different sensory systems could be useful in SPD treatment. In order to do so, we have designed and developed Imaginator, a VR Roller Coaster Game connected with a Head Mounted-Display (HMD) which can be customized by therapists to adjust its stimuli to different patients’ needs in therapy. Imaginator was assessed by five occupational therapists through its use in their treatment sessions. Each therapist had the game available in their therapy environment for around 2−3 weeks. They were instructed to use the game whenever they thought it could be interesting to a patient’s treatment. After the trial period, they were interviewed about their experience in using the game and their perception of its impact in therapy sessions. Our results show that therapists in general perceived Imaginator as having a positive effects in patients’ treatment. They noticed that it was able to stimulate different senses, and they reported that in some cases it was able to help patients relax, increase their concentration and even work as an encouragement to explore similar activities in the physical world. There were a few patients who experienced some adverse reactions, such as nausea, but nothing that they felt was worrying or that could prevent the game from being used.

Severe plastic deformation (SPD) can produce ultrafine grained (UFG) and nanocrystalline (NC) materials by imposing intense plastic strain. One of the many options for inducing large plastic strains is to pass the material through a torsional/twist extrusion. The high-strength materials fabricated by SPD has no limit in dimension, and they can even be applied to load-carrying structural materials. Even though the method is quite successful, the industrial transfer has been limited so far because of low production efficiency and high cost. To remedy such difficulties, a new torsional extrusion process called nonlinear twist extrusion (NLTE) is introduced in this study, which has been designed based on two principles; (1) linear arrangement of the production line and (2) effective die geometry resulting in higher and more homogeneous plastic strain evolution which would give better grain refinement. The initial computational study of the designed geometry for the new extrusion process is addressed in the current study. The obtained results are discussed in detail with respect to conventional extrusion process, which is referred to as linear twist extrusion (LTE). The method is expected to offer a great potential for industrial use.

Through a localized nanocrystallization process using surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT), a new method is proposed to build bistable and multistable metallic shells. The impacts from randomly fast-moving balls during the nanocrystallization process accumulate plastic deformations, which induce nanotwins and mesh grains into nanoscales significantly increasing elastic behavior range of the treated shells. The in-plane self-equilibrium residual stress field, which is induced from the stretching plastic deformations in the treated region under the constraint of the untreated region, renders nanostructured shells bistable characteristics. An effective numerical modelling is carried out to analyze the bistable behavior and predict their stable configurations. A flat plate with multiple nanostructured regions is manufactured and numerically studied, which is capable of holding multiple stable configurations. In addition, the developed bistable and multistable shells can be further mechanically processed to modify their stable configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology / Yingyong Shengtai Xuebao is the property of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This work is focused on the effect of rolling with cyclic movement of rolls (RCMR) on microstructure, mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of CuCr0.6 and CuFe2 alloys in states after applying different heat treatments. The mechanical properties were determined by using MST QTest/10 machine equipped with digital image correlation (DIC). Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) was used for microstructural characterization. The RCMR processed alloys shows high mechanical strength (UTS:539 MPa for CuCr0.6 alloy and UTS:393 MPa for CuFe2 alloy) attributed to the high density of coherent precipitates (after aging at 500 °C/2 h) and ultrafine grained structure. Plastically properties as uniform elongation ( A gt ) was about (∼1%) for both alloys after RCMR deformation. The RCMR processing induces a significant reduction of the electrical conductivity for samples, which were quenched before deformation, but for samples which were subjected to aging before deformation, the electrical conductivity was restored thanks to precipitation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Kufa - Physics is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An accumulative swaging and bundling technique is used to prepare composite wires made of Ti and an Al alloy. These wires show reasonable higher yield stresses than expected from the pure material flow curves. The additional strengthening in the composite is analyzed using nanoindentation measurements, tensile testings and investigations of the microstructure. In addition, these properties are analyzed in relation to the fracture surface of the mechanically tested wires. Additional strengthening due to the presence of phase boundaries could be verified. Indications for residual stresses are found that cause a global hardness gradient from the center to the wire rim. Finally, the yield stress of the wires are calculated based on local hardness measurements.

The evolution of the microstructure and texture of polycrystalline nickel, from its initial state to that after a hydrostatic extrusion process to total true strains of 0.5, 1.18, 1.62 and 2.2, were examined. Investigation of the microstructure revealed that the grain size was reduced from ∼32 µm to ∼200 nm. The local texture transformation and major boundary misorientation angles were discussed based on electron backscattered diffraction results, while XRD was used to give a qualitative and quantitative description of the global texture. Microhardness measurements were performed to investigate the changes in the mechanical properties of the deformed material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research paper is to evaluate the position of Germany, including the federal government and the parliamentary opposition, as regards the migration crisis in the European Union in the years 2011-2016. The first part of the article presents the course of the migration crisis in the presented time period. The second part discusses the evolution of the position of the governing coalition and the parliamentary opposition in Germany towards the first phase of the crisis in the years 2011-2014. The third part has been dedicated to analysing the position of the federal government and the parliamentary opposition towards the second phase of the crisis in the years 2015-2016. The fourth part presents the influence of the German government on the reform of the immigration and asylum policies, as well as the dynamics of the migration crisis in the European Union in the years 2015-2016. The author formulates a research hypothesis that the federal government did not control the migration crisis in the European Union but rather acted impulsively, thereby contributing to its deepening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyamines (PAs) have been demonstrated to be involved in plant in response to abiotic stresses including chilling stress. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of seed priming with 5 mM of spermidine (Spd) and 8.5 mM of 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA) on seed polyamines metabolism associated with the improvement of chilling tolerance in two rice cultivars, Zhu Liang You 06 (ZY) and Qian You No.1 (QY). Germination percentage, seedling growth and seedling vigor index was decreased under chilling stress, but this physiological parameters was improved by Spd and ALA priming in both studied cultivars as compared with unprimed seeds. As well, total phenolics, flavonoids and glycine-betaine were improved by priming treatment. Contrarily, significant decrease of α-amylase activity, soluble sugars and soluble protein contents of both cultivars was observed in chilling stressed plants as compared with normal growth condition (25 °C). However, priming with Spd and ALA significantly increased α-amylase activity, soluble sugars and soluble protein contents with more prominent increase in QY cultivar. Results showed that chilling stress significantly improved superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and further enhancement was observed by Spd and ALA-primed seeds. Spd and putrescine (Put) were decreased under chilling stress, while a reverse tendency was observed in case of spermine (Spm) content. The enzymes involved in the PAs biosynthesis, arginine decarboxylase (ADC), ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) and S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) was improved by priming treatment. The relative expressions of genes encoding enzymes involved in PAs biosynthesis increased by Spd and ALA priming. Additionally, priming treatment improved leaf cell and grain structure as compared with the unprimed seeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive suspended particle device (SPD) switchable glazing is promising for low energy building application. SPD glazing allows light passes through it in the presence of applied voltage and block light in the absence of power supply. In this work SPD glazing performance after 3 years of outdoor exposure was evaluated. It was found that contrast ratio of SPD glazing before and after exposures changed from 1:11 to 1:10. SPD glazing surface temperature for any transparency level varies between 13 and 40 °C under indoor and outdoor thermal exposure. SPD glazing's surface temperature variation occurs due to the incident radiation level, not for the transmission level of glazing. Voltage and power requirement of SPD glazing did not vary at elevated glazing surface temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The colour rendering index (CRI) and correlated colour temperature (CCT) of daylight change upon transmission through a variable transmittance suspended particle device (SPD) switchable glazing. The luminous transmittance of SPD glazing was found to vary from 0.02 to 0.55 in opaque and transparent state respectively. Below 0.14 transmittance, the CRI for a particular SPD glazing was less than 80. No strong correlation was found between CCT and CRI. The CRI of SPD glazing in a transparent state was similar to double panes glazing for SPD glazing transmittance greater than 0.24. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional sparse coding (SC) method has achieved good results in image classification. However, one of its serious weaknesses is that it ignores the relationship between features thus losing spatial information. Moreover, in combinatorial optimisation problems, operations of addition and subtraction are involved, and the use of subtraction may cause features to be cancelled. In this paper, we propose a method called non-negativity and locality constrained Laplacian sparse coding (NLLSC) for image classification. Firstly, non-negative matrix factorisation (NMF) is used in the Laplacian sparse coding (LSC), which is applied to constrain the negativity of both codebook and code coefficient. Secondly, we introduce K-nearest neighbouring codewords for local features because locality is more important than sparseness. Finally, non-negativity and locality constrained operators are introduced to obtain a novel sparse coding for local features, and then in the pooling step, we use spatial pyramid division (SPD) and max pooling (MP) to represent the final images. As for image classification, multi-class linear SVM is adopted. Experiments on several standard image datasets have shown better performance than previous algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the dramatic electoral decline of German social democracy since 2003. It argues that the SPD's decision, under the leadership of former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, to engage in welfare state retrenchment and labour market deregulation during the 'Hartz reforms' (2003-05) demoralised the SPD electorate. The SPD subsequently lost half of its former electoral coalition, namely blue-collar voters and socially disadvantaged groups, while efforts to gain access to centrist and middle-class voters have failed to produce any compensating gains. While the SPD's decline from a large to a mid-sized party is part of a larger transformation of the German party system, no political recovery is possible for social democracy without a fundamental change of strategy, namely efforts to regain former voters by offering credible social welfare and redistributive policies. The SPD will not be able to delegate such policies in a 'convoy model' to other parties, such as the Left Party; nor will a modest 'correction' of the earlier course, such as has been attempted since 2009 under the leadership of current party chairman Sigmar Gabriel, be sufficient to recover lost electoral ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Today, many researchers focus on proposing severe plastic deformation (SPD) methods due to the superior mechanical and physical properties of achieved ultra-fine grain material. In all SPD methods a large strain is implied without any substantial dimensional change of work piece to generate UFG and even nanograin (NG) materials. Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) is one of the most successful techniques for industrial applications. Using a long and thin rod is limited in ECAP process .In the present study, a combined process composed of ECAP and Extrusion processes is used on Titanium grade 2. Titanium is extensively used in aviation and other industries because of its high strength to weight value. Using the combined process leads to production of long length and thin nanostructured rod. The main goal of this process is evaluation of the temperature in Extrusion process on nanostructures Titanium rods. At first, Titanium rods were processed for 4 passes by ECAP process at 400°C and then they were processed by Extrusion process at 5 different temperatures including 300, 350, 400, 450 and 500°C. The result showed that the best mechanical properties achieved for the specimen were extruded at 300°C. Strength and hardness were severely improved. Also, the microstructure was very homogenous and refined. The mechanical properties of titanium grade 2 after combined process were equivalent to titanium grade 5 which is used in medical applications and is expensive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ti13Nb13Zr (TNZ) alloys have attracted the interest of researchers as viable and controllable alternatives for biometrics. The research on bioactive coatings of metal alloys has contributed to successful bone therapy by accelerating the osseointegration process. In this context, we present a study on the surface modifications of the TNZ alloy substrate ultrafine-grained (UFG) by severe plastic deformation using high-pressure torsion. Nano-Al 2 O 3 coatings by atomic layer deposition (ALD) and low-temperature hydroxyapatite by electrodeposition (EDP) and simulated body fluid (SBF) were used. We also investigated the cytotoxicity of all surface modifications obtained up to 72 h on osteoblasts. An alumina film was obtained by thermal ALD at 150 °C (nano-Al 2 O 3 -TNZ) to enhance the deposition of HAp on the nanostructured substrate obtained by EDP (HAp1-Al 2 O 3 -TNZ) and SBF (HAp2-Al 2 O 3 -TNZ). The results of the coating processes were analyzed by different techniques such as AFM, SEM, XRD, EDS, and Raman spectroscopy. The coated HAp1-Al 2 O 3 -TNZ and HAp2-Al 2 O 3 -TNZ samples showed dense and uniform bilayer surface formation. We noticed that surface modification directly influenced the roughness of the TNZ sample independently of the method used. Our surface modification of the TNZ alloy using ALD and HAp from two applied methods showed no cytotoxicity and increased cell proliferation. Therefore, these surface modifications represent a strategy for obtaining a bioactive alloy that can be used as a bone implant. [Display omitted] • We processed nanostructured Ti13Nb13Zr alloy by severe plastic deformation using high pressure torsion. • Nano-nano-Al 2 O 3 coatings by atomic layer deposition were deposited on Ti13Nb13Zr alloys. • We also obtained Hydroxyapatite using electrodeposition and simulated body fluid methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]