Room-temperature mechanical properties of a high-entropy diboride

The mechanical properties of a (Hf,Mo,Nb,Ta,W,Zr)B₂ high-entropy ceramic were measured at room temperature. A two-step synthesis process was utilized to produce the (Hf,Mo,Nb,Ta,W,Zr)B₂ ceramics. The process consisted of a boro/carbothermal reduction reaction followed by solid solution formation and densification through spark plasma sintering. Nominally, phase pure (Hf,Mo,Nb,Ta,W,Zr)B₂ was sintered to near full density (8.98 g/cm³) at 2000°C. The mean grain size was 6 ± 2 µm with a maximum grain size of 17 µm. Flexural strength was 528 ± 53 MPa, Young's modulus was 520 ± 12 GPa, fracture toughness was 3.9 ± 1.2 MPa·m^1/2, and hardness (HV_0.2) was 33.1 ± 1.1 GPa. A Griffith-type analysis determined the strength limiting flaw to be the largest grains in the microstructure. This is one of the first reports of a variety of mechanical properties of a six-component high-entropy diboride.     

The essence of conscious conflict: Subjective effects of sustaining incompatible intentions.

Conflict constitutes one of the fundamental “tuggings and pullings” of the human experience. Yet, the link between the various kinds of conflict in the nervous system and subjective experience remains unexplained. The authors tested a hypothesis that predicts why both the “hot” conflicts involving self-control and motivation and the “cooler” response conflicts of the laboratory lead to changes in subjective experience. From this standpoint, these changes arise automatically from the activation of incompatible skeletomotor intentions, because the primary function of consciousness is to integrate such intentions for adaptive skeletal muscle output. Accordingly, the authors demonstrated for the first time that merely sustaining incompatible intentions (to move right and left) in a motionless state produces stronger subjective effects than sustaining compatible intentions. The results held equally strongly for two different effector systems involving skeletal muscle: arm movements and finger movements. In contrast, no such effects were found with conflict in a smooth muscle effector system. Together, these findings illuminate aspects of the nature of subjective experience and the role of incompatible intentions in affect and failures of self-control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When dispositional and role power fit: Implications for self-expression and self–other congruence.

Integrating and extending the literatures on social power and person–environment fit, 4 studies tested the hypothesis that when people's dispositional beliefs about their capacity to influence others fit their assigned role power, they are more likely to engage in self-expression—that is, behave in line with their states and traits—thereby increasing their likelihood of being perceived by others in a manner congruent with their own self-judgments (i.e., self–other congruence). In Studies 1–3, dispositionally high- and low-power participants were randomly assigned to play a high- or low-power role in an interaction with a confederate. When participants' dispositional and role power fit (vs. conflicted), they reported greater self-expression (Study 1). Furthermore, under dispositional-role power fit conditions, the confederate's ratings of participants' emotional experiences (Study 2) and personality traits (Study 3) were more congruent with participants' self-reported emotions and traits. Study 4's results replicated Study 3's results using an implicit manipulation of power and outside observers' (rather than a confederate's) ratings of participants. Implications for research on power and person perception are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Commentary on Dinger et al.: Therapist’s attachment, interpersonal problems and alliance development over time in inpatient psychotherapy.

This short article is a commentary on a research study investigating therapist and client attachment styles and their relationship to alliance development in a 12-week psychodynamic psychotherapy program for nonpsychotic inpatients. The relationship is complex; unsurprisingly, securely attached therapists with less distressed clients formed the strongest alliances. A significant proportion of therapists were insecure, almost entirely in the preoccupied or hyperactivating mode. It is argued that collusive relationships between such therapists and similarly overaroused clients may be common. Therapists need both to accommodate to their client’s attachment style and to confound it if positive change is to result. Therapist self-scrutiny is likely to be a precondition for such positive outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Application of petrographic examination techniques to the assessment of fire-damaged concrete and masonry structures

The number of building fires has doubled over the last 50 years. There has never been a greater need for structures to be assessed for fire damage to ensure safety and enable appropriate repairs to be planned. Fortunately, even after a severe fire, concrete and masonry structures are generally capable of being repaired rather than demolished.By allowing direct examination of microcracking and mineralogical changes, petrographic examination has become widely used to determine the depth of fire damage for reinforced concrete elements. Petrographic examination can also be applied to fire-damaged masonry structures built of materials such as stone, brick and mortar. Petrography can ensure accurate detection of damaged geomaterials, which provides cost savings during building repair and increased safety reassurance.This paper comprises a review of the role of petrography in fire damage assessments, drawing on a range of actual fire damage investigations.     

X-ray computed tomography in large bubble columns

X-ray computed tomography (CT) is used to explore the differences in a semi-batch bubble column operated at superficial gas velocities of U_g=3, 10, and 18 cm/s. Air-water or air-water-cellulose fiber systems comprise the multiphase flow, and the bubble column has a 32.1 cm internal diameter. A CT image of a phantom object composed of several air-filled tubes immersed in water is used to identify several characteristic features of the X-ray CT system. CT images are then compared between air-water and air-water-cellulose fiber systems. When the fiber mass fraction is 0.1%, gas holdup is slightly higher than that of the air-water system in the column center and near the column wall. In 1.0% cellulose fiber slurries, gas holdup is lower than that of air-water results at all radial positions.     

太多概念

一种建立在对理性主义的绝对信仰之上的启蒙－ 原教旨主义在很大程度上主导了当下建筑学科的研究方 法与评价。然而,作为建筑学科的核心,建筑设计具有 艺术和科学的两面性。如果我们要使建筑设计能够成为 研究本身,那么我们必须建立建筑学自身的研究方法论, 而不是依赖于科学或者艺术学科对方法论的限定。对于 建筑学而言,以设计为研究有两个特殊的特征:其一,设 计行为是一种综合化的研究行为,其二,设计行为具有 偶然性。针对这种偶然性,研究需要两个手段来保证: 一方面以意图来主导设计与研究,另一方面保持怀疑的 批判性态度。建筑学研究就在一种有意图的行动和反思 之间的反复过程中得以展开。     

Linking Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) to Abiotic and Biotic Feedbacks in Plant Microbiomes: The Dose Makes the Poison

In nature, plants develop in complex, adaptive environments. Plants must therefore respond efficiently to environmental stressors to maintain homeostasis and enhance their fitness. Although many coordinated processes remain integral for achieving homeostasis and driving plant development, reactive oxygen species (ROS) function as critical, fast-acting orchestrators that link abiotic and biotic responses to plant homeostasis and development. In addition to the suite of enzymatic and non-enzymatic ROS processing pathways that plants possess, they also rely on their microbiota to buffer and maintain the oxidative window needed to balance anabolic and catabolic processes. Strong evidence has been communicated recently that links ROS regulation to the aggregated function(s) of commensal microbiota and plant-growth-promoting microbes. To date, many reports have put forth insightful syntheses that either detail ROS regulation across plant development (independent of plant microbiota) or examine abiotic–biotic feedbacks in plant microbiomes (independent of clear emphases on ROS regulation). Here we provide a novel synthesis that incorporates recent findings regarding ROS and plant development in the context of both microbiota regulation and plant-associated microbes. Specifically, we discuss various roles of ROS across plant development to strengthen the links between plant microbiome functioning and ROS regulation for both basic and applied research aims.