The evolution of ultrafine ferrite formation through dynamic strain-induced transformation

Hot torsion testing of a C–Mn–V steel was used to study the evolution of  ultrafine ferrite (UFF) formation by dynamic strain-induced transformation (DSIT) in conjunction with air-cooling for two prior austenite grain sizes. This study evaluated not only the evolution of DSIT ferrite during straining, but also the grain growth behaviour of DSIT ferrite grains during post-deformation cooling. For both austenite grain sizes, the DSIT ferrite initially nucleated on/or near prior austenite grain boundaries at an early stage of transformation followed by the grain interiors. The prior austenite grain size affected the distribution of DSIT ferrite nucleation sites at an early stage of transformation and the subsequent coarsening behaviour of the grain boundary (GB) and the intragranular ferrite (IG) grains during post-deformation cooling. For the fine prior austenite grain size, the distribution of DSIT ferrite grains was more homogenous compared with the coarse austenite and the coarsening occurred not only in the GB ferrite grains but also in the IG ferrite grains. However, the ferrite coarsening mostly occurred for the IG ferrite rather than the GB ferrite grains in the coarse austenite. The result suggests that normal grain growth occurred during the overall transformation in the GB ferrite grains for the coarse initial austenite grain size.

Formation of ultrafine grained microstructures in steel through strain induced transformation during single pass hot rolling

In the present study, wedge-shape samples were used to study the effect of strain induced transformation on the formation of ultrafine grained structures in steel by single pass rolling. The results showed two different transition strains for bainite formation and ultrafine ferrite (UFF) formation in the surface layer of strip at reductions of 40% and 70%, respectively, in a plain carbon steel. The bainitic microstructure formed by strain induced bainitic transformation during single pass rolling was also very fine. The evolution of UFF formation in the surface layer showed that ferrite coarsening is significantly reduced through strain induced transformation combined with rapid cooling in comparison with the centre of the strip. In the surface, the ferrite coarsening mostly occurred for intragranular nucleated grains (IG) rather than grain boundary (GB) ferrite grains. The results suggest that normal grain growth occurred during overall transformation in the GB ferrite grains. In the centre of the strip, there was significantly more coarsening of ferrite grains nucleated on the prior austenite grain boundaries.

Achieving behaviour change: three generations of HIV/AIDS programming and jargon in Thailand

NGOs have played an important role worldwide in the fight to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS through achieving behaviour change. NGOs have often been at the forefront of innovative changes, influencing government and international programming activities. This paper identifies and analyses the evolution of the HIV/AIDS programmes of one NGO in Thailand over a period of ten years. Three generations of programming are identified both through distinct approaches to this area of work and through the changing jargon used to describe the people the programmes are aimed at.

Heterotrimeric G proteins facilitate arabidopsis resistance to necrotrophic pathogens and are involved in jasmonate signaling

Heterotrimeric G proteinshave been previously linked to plant defense; however a role for the Gbg dimer in defense signaling has not been described to date. Using available Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants lacking functional Ga or Gb subunits, we show that defense against the necrotrophic pathogens Alternaria brassicicola and Fusarium oxysporum is impaired in Gb-deficient mutants while Ga-deficient mutants show slightly increased resistance compared to wild-type Columbia ecotype plants. In contrast, responses to virulent (DC3000) and avirulent (JL1065) strains of Pseudomonas syringae appear to be independent of heterotrimeric G proteins. The induction of a number of defense-related genes in Gb-deficient mutants were severely reduced in response to A. brassicicola infection. In addition, Gb-deficient mutants exhibit decreased sensitivity to a number of methyl jasmonate-induced responses such as induction of the plant defensin gene PDF1.2, inhibition of root elongation, seed germination, and growth of plants in sublethal concentrations of methyl jasmonate. In all cases, the behavior of the Ga-deficient mutants is coherent with the classic heterotrimeric mechanism of action, indicating that jasmonic acid signaling is influenced by the Gbg functional subunit but not by Ga. We hypothesize that Gbg acts as a direct or indirect enhancer of the jasmonate signaling pathway in plants.

Grameen Bank's social performance disclosure : responding to a negative assessment by Wall Street Journal in late 2001

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to establish a linkage between negative global media news towards Grameen Bank (GB), the largest microfinance organisation in the developing world, and the extent and type of annual report social performance disclosures by GB, over the nine-year period 1997-2005.

Design/methodology/approach: Content analysis instruments are utilised to analyse GB annual report social disclosure.

Findings: The study finds that GB's community poverty alleviation disclosures account for the highest proportion of total social disclosures in the period 1997-2005. The results of this study are particularly significant in relation to poverty alleviation – the issue attracting severe criticism from the Wall Street Journal (WSJ?) late in 2001. The community poverty alleviation disclosures by GB are significantly greater over the four years following the negative news in the WSJ than in the four years before. The results suggest that GB responds to a negative media story or legitimacy threatening news via annual report social disclosures in an attempt to re-establish its legitimacy.

Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature because in the past there has been no research published linking global media attention to the social disclosure practices of major organisations in developing countries.

Humanoid traffic control robot

A traffic control device in the form of a humanoid character robot, doll or dummy is used to warn driver of danger ahead on the road. The device can be used on roads, streets and in other sites where there are moving vehicles. The robotic device informs drivers of impending danger by moving its arms and sounding an acoustic alarm. In this way the robot can simulate a policeman or road flagging operator. The device may also include speed detection and preferably speed indication means. The robot may make decisions based on the detected speed of a vehicle and the limit for the area in operating the arms and sound warning means. The robot may also be equipped with a camera or video. The robot may also be controlled wirelessly.

A 'respectful relationships' approach : could it be the answer to preventing gender-based violence?

Electrospun nanofibres

This book deals with an emerging nanofibre-making technology, electrospinning, the functionalities of electrospun nanofibres and their wound healing application. An important fundamental issue, fibre morphological evolution during electrospinning, is clarified. Effective techniques to improve the fibre toughness and control the surface wettability of nanofibre membrane have been developed. These functional nanofibre membranes have been used as dressing materials for healing skin wounds, and shown promising results. This work makes electrospun nanofibre membrane an ideal candidate for wound healing application.

Construction of wavelets and multiwavelets basis : a generalized method

Multiwavelets are wavelets with multiplicity r, that is r scaling functions and r wavelets, which define multiresolution analysis similar to scalar wavelets. They are advantageous over scalar wavelets since they simultaneously posse symmetry and orthogonality. In this work, a new method for constructing multiwavelets with any approximation order is presented. The method involves the derivation of a matrix equation for the desired approximation order. The condition for approximation order is similar to the conditions in the scalar case. Generalized left eigenvectors give the combinations of scaling functions required to reconstruct the desired spline or super function. The method is demonstrated by constructing a specific class of symmetric and non-symmetric multiwavelets with different approximation orders, which include Geranimo-Hardin-Massopust (GHM), Daubechies and Alperts like multi-wavelets, as parameterized solutions. All multi-wavelets constructed in this work, posses the good properties of orthogonality, approximation order and short support.

Stereo vision and wavelets/multiwavelets analysis : 3d reconstruction using wavelets/multiwavelets theory and stereo vision

During the image formation process of the camera, explicit 3D information about the scene or objects in the scene are lost. Therefore, 3D structure or depth information has to be inferred implicitly from the 2D intensity images. This problem is com- monly referred to as 3D reconstruction. In this work a complete 3D reconstruction algorithm is presented, capable of reconstructing dimensionally accurate 3D models of the objects, based on stereo vision and multi-resolution analysis. The developed system uses a reference depth model of the objects under observation to improve the disparity maps, estimated. Only a few features are extracted from that reference model, which are the relative location of the discontinuities and the z-dimensional extremes of objects depth. The maximum error deviation of the estimated depth along the surfaces is less than 0.5mm and along the discontinuities is less than 1.5mm. The developed system is invariant to illuminative variations, and orientation, location and scaling of the objects under consideration, which makes the developed system highly robust.