Corrosion Resistance, Evaluation Methods, and Surface Treatments of Stainless Steels

Stainless steels are widely recognized and find applications in many engineering industries and companies due to their excellent properties including high resistance to corrosion as a result of their minimum 10.5% chromium content, exceptional strength and durability, temperature resistance, high recyclability, and easy formability. In the present book chapter, the basic concepts of stainless steel including its applications, classifications, and corrosion properties will first be discussed. Thereafter, their corrosion behaviour will then be explained. The various methods by which the corrosion resistance behaviour can be significantly improved including surface treatments such as coatings/electrodepositions, alloying, mechanical treatment, and others will be discussed in detail.

A Compendium of Deformation-Mechanism Maps for Metals

Deformation-mechanism maps represent an invaluable guide to predicting the optimum processing conditions for a material. They are also useful in matching a material to a given engineering application. The present book summarizes recent research results in the field. The book references 106 original resources and includes their direct web link for in-depth reading.

Ersatz Rigor

The natural evolution of language that can capture nature’s varied behaviors in effective terms frequently encourages descriptive practices that encode physical data in deviously complex ways. Often this complexity sets in without being overtly noticed by the agents in question. When this happens, “small metaphysics” conundrums frequently arise in the form “what is this bit of language actually telling us about the world beyond?” Historically, many of the familiar systems of grander metaphysics arose from these puzzling seeds, and these same schemes frequently place unacceptable restrictions upon the free development of science. To cast off the oppressive yoke often encouraged by this vein of philosophical musing, Rudolf Carnap and others developed a logicized conception of “theory” that claimed to liberate science (and philosophy) from any concern with “metaphysics” whatsoever. This point of view will be called “theory T thinking” in this book. But Carnap’s proposed remedy represents a diagnostic mistake; the real-life complexities of efficient data registration demand direct examinations of the strategic assumptions that underlie the effective forms of word-to-world alignment. The present book rejects the misleading conceptions of “methodological rigor” that Carnap’s conception of “theory” encourages.

Political Conversations in Late Republican Rome

We are familiar with the notion that the Roman political world of the Late Republic included lofty speeches and sessions of the Senate, but also need to remember that another important aspect of Late Republican politics revolved around senators talking among themselves, chatting in the corner. The present book intends to analyse senatorial political conversations and illuminate the oral aspects of Roman politics. It argues that Roman senators and their entourages met in person to have conversations in which they discussed politics, circulated political information, and negotiated strategies; this extra-institutional sphere had a relevant impact both on politics and institutions, as well as determining how the Roman Republic functioned. The main point of this book is to offer a new perspective on Roman politics through the proxy of conversations and meetings. Orality has represented an important component in analysis of Roman institutions: oratory before the people in assemblies and contiones, addresses and discussions in the Senate, speeches in the law courts. Orality was also crucial in rumours and public opinion. The present research posits that, in Rome, oral was the default mode of communication in politics, especially outside institutions. Only when they could not reach each other in person did Roman senators and their peers resort to letters. The book suggests that the study of politics should not be restricted to the senatorial group, but that other persons should be considered as important actors with their own agency (albeit in different degrees), such as freedmen and elite women.

Conclusions

The conclusion sums up the findings of the book and addresses the question whether the political culture of conversations could be applied to previous and later periods of Roman history. The Roman political system ran on conversation and face-to-face meetings. The main objective of this book has been to offer an extra-institutional perspective on Roman politics through the proxy of conversations and meetings. Orality has long been identified as an important component for the analysis of Roman institutions and was also crucial for the circulation of rumours and public opinion. The present book has argued that in Rome, oral communication was the default mode in politics, especially for all politics carried out outside institutions. Only when they could not reach each other in person did Roman senators and their peers resort to letters.

Bio-Mediated Synthesis of Metal Nanomaterials for SERS Application

The discovery of nanomaterials (NMs) caused a great revolution in the field of science especially in material science. The highly exotic and tunable size and shape of NMs have devoted more interest due to their unique physiochemical properties. There are various methods and methodologies involved to prepare NMs in a desired morphology. Among these, the fabrication of bio-molecules mediated NMs are highly attractive because their size and shape can be easily tuned by simple, eco-friendly and reliable way. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is considered to be one of the most promising and well-studied bio-molecule in the fabrication of various types of NMs. The rich functionalities with the double-helix structure of DNA facilitate to accommodate a higher number of metal ions on its surface and results in perfect chain-like nano-assemblies. Moreover, the DNA mediated NMs can be highly useful for the Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) studies with appropriate analytes. The SERS technique provides the fingerprint information of the analyte molecules even at very low concentration (such as even in ppm levels). The SERS intensity is greatly influenced by the size and shape of the NMs prepared using DNA scaffolds due to their assembly in a close proximity and generation of higher number of ‘hot spots’. In this present book chapter, we elaborated the numerous methodologies involved for the synthesis of DNA-based NMs considering their size, shapes, and also highlighted the possible mechanism involved for their growth with DNA scaffolds. In-addition, the possible application of DNA mediated NMs towards SERS studies has also been detailed in this book chapter.

CLARA Review: K. F. B. Fletcher & Osman Umurhan (eds), 2020: Classical Antiquity in Heavy Metal Music.

The concepts ‘classical antiquity’ and ‘heavy metal music’ may appear to be worlds apart. Not only are they separated chronologically but each belongs to an entirely different habitus. While the classical is associated with tradition, good taste and harmony, heavy metal is, at least by some, associated with the very opposite: the breaking of tradition, bad taste and disharmony. And yet, as the present book shows, a very large number of heavy metal bands reference antiquity in various ways, including exponents of Thrash Metal, characterised by speed and aggressiveness; Death Metal, characterised by macabre subject matter and growling vocals; Black Metal with related subject matter but less polished style, and other subgenres. Bands from countries ranging from Greece and Italy to Scandinavia incorporate classical quotations in their lyrics or rewrite ancient texts and myths. Some sing in Greek or Latin, others in Italian or English. The titles of songs, such as Hymn to Apollo, Hymn to Zeus, Medusa and so on, further show the classical inspiration.

Introduction

The regeneration of brownfields in European metropolitan areas represents an important potential to mitigate urban sprawl by increasing density within the existing built fabric and to revitalize portions of cities at the neighbourhood scale. Although research and projects on urban brownfields are active, several issues still need to be overcome, especially regarding the sustainability transition challenge. Based on this observation, we introduce the present book, which proposes an integrated and theoretically grounded approach to highlight how urban brownfield regeneration projects—and the neighbourhood scale that they entail—can effectively contribute to the urban sustainability transitions of metropolitan areas. It is structured in two parts that are both distinct and complementary: the first part aims to clarify the framework of the investigations with definition and analysis and the second part presents a deep analysis of processes, project dynamics, and sustainability assessment approaches of urban brownfield regeneration.

Brand Africa – A Guidebook to Strengthen the Competitiveness of African Tourism

Africa is a diverse continent, with each of its countries endowed with unique features. This offers visitors a wide variety of opportunities to connect with different people, traditions and cultures, making for an unequaled tourism experience. The present book offers guidance on possible strategies and actions that African countries can adopt and implement with a view to strengthening their destination brands and rebuild their tourism sectors stronger. Prepared in collaboration with Africa Tourism Partners, the guidebook collects valuable insights and expertise from African national tourism organizations as well as examples of effective destination branding from Africa and beyond. It concludes with recommendations, operational frameworks and practical tools aimed at supporting African countries in advancing their branding and strengthening their competitiveness towards a stronger Brand Africa and the socioeconomic development of the continent through tourism.