Amorphization under fracture surface in hydrogen-charged and low- temperature tensile-tested austenitic stainless steel

ABSTRACT

The microstructure just below the fracture surface in hydrogen-charged stable austenitic SUS 316L stainless steel, which was subjected to a low strain rate tensile test at ?70°C, was studied by a combination of the focused-ion-beam method and transmission electron microscopy. An amorphous region with a chemical composition almost identical to that of the polycrystalline region was found under the lath-like structure on the fracture surface, although no deterioration of tensile properties by hydrogen appeared. In the amorphous region, band-like regions with wavy contrasts were observed, which were often accompanied by cracks at the boundaries. The presence of the amorphous region with band-like regions implies that amorphization occurred due to high-density vacancies accompanied by agglomerations of excess vacancies in the hydrogen-charged SUS 316L stainless steel that was tensile-tested at low temperatures.     

The effect of Kana literacy acquisition on the speech segmentation unit used by Japanese young children

Three experiments were undertaken to investigate whether young children's segmentation units would change as they learned to read kana letters, which represent morae (subsyllabic rhythmic units). The first 2 experiments used a vocal-motor segmentation task to examine whether 4- to 6-year-olds preferred to segment spoken words containing the special syllables CVN, CVQ, or CV: into syllables or into morae. The third experiment used a target monitoring task for CVN to examine whether children's detection of the target syllable in a series of words would vary depending on the moraic constitution of the target and the moraic-syllabic status of the word initial in which the target was embedded. Results indicated that the children's conscious segmentation of words, except for those having a geminate stop consonant (CVQ), developed from being a mixture of syllable- and mora-based to being predominantly mora-based as they learned to read kana letters. The tendency toward mora-based segmentation was also found in the target monitoring task, which required segmentation at a less conscious level.     

Sound sequence discrimination learning motivated by reward requires dopaminergic D2 receptor activation in the rat auditory cortex

We have previously reported that sound sequence discrimination learning requires cholinergic inputs to the auditory cortex (AC) in rats. In that study, reward was used for motivating discrimination behavior in rats. Therefore, dopaminergic inputs mediating reward signals may have an important role in the learning. We tested the possibility in the present study. Rats were trained to discriminate sequences of two sound components, and licking behavior in response to one of the two sequences was rewarded with water. To identify the dopaminergic inputs responsible for the learning, dopaminergic afferents to the AC were lesioned with local injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). The injection attenuated sound sequence discrimination learning, while it had no effect on discrimination between the sound components of the sequence stimuli. Local injection of 6-OHDA into the nucleus accumbens attenuated sound discrimination learning. However, not only discrimination learning of sound sequence but also that of the sound components were impaired. SCH23390 (0.2 mg/kg, i.p.), a D1 receptor antagonist, had no effect on sound sequence discrimination learning, while it attenuated the licking behavior to unfamiliar stimuli. Haloperidol (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.), a D2 family antagonist, attenuated sound sequence discrimination learning, while it had no clear suppressive effect on discrimination of two different sound components and licking. These results suggest that D2 family receptors activated by dopaminergic inputs to the AC are required for sound sequence discrimination learning.     

The Gettier Intuition from South America to Asia

Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research - This article examines whether people share the Gettier intuition (viz. that someone who has a true justified belief that p may nonetheless fail...     

Applicability of the Somatomorphic Matrix computer program in Japanese and Australian Caucasian males in relation to measured body composition

The Somatomorphic Matrix (SM) is a computer-based body image assessment program that allows assessment of the individual's body image in relation to known body composition values. To date, no study has compared the SM results to the measured body composition and assessed the usefulness in multi-ethnic samples. Japanese and Australian Caucasian males underwent testing to examine the SM body image results to their measured body composition. Japanese males showed significant (p < 0.01) discrepancy in their measured and the perceived ‘current’ muscularity compared with Australians. Both groups showed wide variability in the perception of their ‘current’ body composition in relation to the measured values, indicating an incomparability of the SM results to the measured results. The study also showed Japanese males to have lower consistency in the SM results than Australian males after a 12-month interval. In order to use the program in multi-ethnic populations further development of the program is recommended.     

Vitalistic causality in young children's naive biology

One of the key issues in conceptual development research concerns what kinds of causal devices young children use to understand the biological world. We review evidence that children predict and interpret biological phenomena, especially human bodily processes, on the basis of 'vitalistic causality'. That is, they assume that vital power or life force taken from food and water makes humans active, prevents them from being taken ill, and enables them to grow. These relationships are also extended readily to other animals and even to plants. Recent experimental results show that a majority of preschoolers tend to choose vitalistic explanations as most plausible. Vitalism, together with other forms of intermediate causality, constitute unique causal devices for naive biology as a core domain of thought.