Experimental techniques for ductile damage characterisation

Ductile damage in metallic materials is caused by the nucleation, growth and coalesce of voids and micro-cracks in the metal matrix when it is subjected to plastic strain. A considerable number of models have been proposed to represent ductile failure focusing on the ultimate failure conditions; however, only some of them study in detail the whole damage accumulation process. The aim of this work is to review experimental techniques developed by various authors to measure the accumulation of ductile damage under tensile loads. The measurement methods reviewed include: stiffness degradation, indentation, microstructure analysis, ultrasonic waves propagation, X-ray tomography and electrical potential drop. Stiffness degradation and indentation techniques have been tested on stainless steel 304L hourglass-shaped samples. A special interest is placed in the Continuum Damage Mechanics approach (CDM) as its equations incorporate macroscopic parameters that can represent directly the damage accumulation measured in the experiments. The other main objective lies in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of each technique for the assessment of materials subjected to different strain-rate and temperature conditions

Genetic Ancestry-Smoking Interactions and Lung Function in African Americans: A Cohort Study

Background: Smoking tobacco reduces lung function. African Americans have both lower lung function and decreased metabolism of tobacco smoke compared to European Americans. African ancestry is also associated with lower pulmonary function in African Americans. We aimed to determine whether African ancestry modifies the association between smoking and lung function and its rate of decline in African Americans. Methodology/Principal Findings: We evaluated a prospective ongoing cohort of 1,281 African Americans participating in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study initiated in 1997. We also examined an ongoing prospective cohort initiated in 1985 of 1,223 African Americans in the Coronary Artery Disease in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. Pulmonary function and tobacco smoking exposure were measured at baseline and repeatedly over the follow-up period. Individual genetic ancestry proportions were estimated using ancestry informative markers selected to distinguish European and West African ancestry. African Americans with a high proportion of African ancestry had lower baseline forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) per pack-year of smoking (-5.7 ml FEV1/ smoking pack-year) compared with smokers with lower African ancestry (-4.6 ml in FEV1/ smoking pack-year) (interaction P value = 0.17). Longitudinal analyses revealed a suggestive interaction between smoking, and African ancestry on the rate of FEV1 decline in Health ABC and independently replicated in CARDIA. Conclusions/Significance: African American individuals with a high proportion of African ancestry are at greater risk for losing lung function while smoking. © 2012 Aldrich et al

Entrepreneurship in the Controversial Economy: Toward a Research Agenda

This work extends theory about entrepreneurship across formal and informal institutional boundaries. While research has identified formal, informal, and renegade economies, we introduce the concept of the controversial economy, defined as the set of legal but illegitimate (to some large groups) activities through which actors exploit opportunities. We explain the existence of the controversial economy, its prevalence, and provide examples. We explore how and why entrepreneurs may exploit opportunities in the controversial economy based on individual and opportunity-related attributes. Finally, we identify several theoretical perspectives and research questions as an initial research agenda for the controversial economy

The social origins of Japanese nuclear power: a Gramscian analysis

In this paper I seek to contribute to the post-Fukushima literature on Japan, much of which accepts uncritically the orthodox narrative locating Japan’s nuclear origins in the politics of the Cold War and in the passivity of Japanese civil society vis-à-vis a ‘strong’ state. In contrast, I draw upon Gramsci’s work in order to locate these origins within wider processes of global structural transformation associated with the shift from feudalism to capitalism, and the attendant imperialism of the nineteenth century. I treat Japan’s Meiji Restoration as an instance of passive revolution within this context, one outcome of which was the adoption of a specific form of state (the ‘developmental state’) and a specific form of nationalism (techno-nationalism). I further argue that the US Occupation of Japan (1945-52) can be viewed as another instance of passive revolution. In both cases I examine the economic, political and social channels through which state goals were communicated to the Japanese populace and either embraced or resisted in turn. I suggest that Japan’s techno-nationalism survived into the post-war era, but was stripped of its overt military trappings and portrayed instead as a unique combination of ‘pacifism’ and ‘economic developmentalism’. In this way, despite being victims of nuclear weapons, ordinary Japanese people were persuaded to embrace nuclear power