A necklace of pearl in high altitude medicine and hypoxic physiology in Yushu Earthquake

During Yushu Earthquake,a large number of rescuers flocked to the mountainous quake areas. Under such a very specific circumstance,a high incidence of acute altitude illness was observed in rescuers who rapidly traveled from near sea level to an altitude of 4 000 m. It is evident that acute altitude illness leads to a significant human and economic toll,and also seriously influences the mountain rescue operation. So what does this teach us about mountain rescue in Yushu? Professor Wu Tianyi and many other authors collected shining points of the experiences and drew the lessons from the Yushu Earthquake into this special issue in Engineering Sciences which is like to thread pearl beads for a necklace. What readers learn from this special issue will have implications for the health and well-being of all high altitude populations all over the world.     

Development and study on automatic balancer based on counter weight by magnetic force

Rotating machines are very sensitive to mass unbalance which has a harmful effect on its running accuracy and service life. Therefore,a variety of dynamic balancing methods and devices are studied to reduce the vibration caused by mass unbalance. On-line active balancing is a new balancing procedure which is more convenient and precise than the previous methods. In this paper,an electromagnetic balancer based on ring coils and permanent magnets is presented. The balancer has a simple structure and the self-locking function without clutch,and transfers power by the non-contact electromagnetic field. In order to justify the rationality of its design,a two-dimension(2D) electromagnetic finite element model is conducted to verify that this magnetic circuit has no flux leakage and saturation. A three-dimension (3D) 1/10 model of the balancer is built to obtain the self-locking torque and driving torque. Based on the research work above,an electromagnetic balancer is developed. By testing the balancer using COCO80,it is verified effective to reduce the rotor unbalance at the speed of 1300 r/min.     

Tandem addition-cyclization reaction catalyzed by ytterbium chloride: An efficient one-step synthesis of 2-amino-4H-3,1-benzothiazine

A clean,efficient method to synthesize 2-amino-4H-3,1-benzothiazines by ytterbium chloride-catalyzed tandem addition-cyclization reaction of o-aminocinnamate and isothiocyanates under solvent-free conditions is developed.     

Effects of ausforming strain on bainite transformation in nanostructured bainite steel

The effects of ausforming strain on bainite transformation in high-carbon low-alloy nanobainite steel were investigated using a Gleeble 3500 thermomechanical simulator machine. The bainite transformation speed at 300℃ was found to be accelerated by ausforming at 300, 600, and 700℃ under applied strains ranging from 10% to 50% followed by isothermal transformation at 300℃. The ausformed bainite volume fraction varied with the ausforming strain because of the mechanical stabilization of the deformed austenite. Ausforming at low temperatures not only enhanced the bainite ferrite volume fraction but also refined the microstructure substantially. Although the amount of bainite ferrite might have been reduced with increasing strain, the microstructures were refined by ausforming.     

Effect of scanning speed during PTA remelting treatment on the microstructure and wear resistance of nodular cast iron

The surface of nodular cast iron (NCI) with a ferrite substrate was rapidly remelted and solidified by plasma transferred arc (PTA) to induce a chilled structure with high hardness and favorable wear resistance. The effect of scanning speed on the microstructure, microhardness distribution, and wear properties of PTA-remelted specimens was systematically investigated. Microstructural characterization indicated that the PTA remelting treatment could dissolve most graphite nodules and that the crystallized primary austenite dendrites were transformed into cementite, martensite, an interdendritic network of ledeburite eutectic, and certain residual austenite during rapid solidification. The dimensions of the remelted zone and its dendrites increase with decreased scanning speed. The microhardness of the remelted zone varied in the range of 650 HV_0.2 to 820 HV_0.2, which is approximately 2.3–3.1 times higher than the hardness of the substrate. The wear resistance of NCI was also significantly improved after the PTA remelting treatment.     

Stress corrosion cracking of X80 pipeline steel exposed to high pH solutions with different concentrations of bicarbonate

Susceptibilities to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of X80 pipeline steel in high pH solutions with various concentrations of HCO₃? at a passive potential of ?0.2 V vs. SCE were investigated by slow strain rate tensile (SSRT) test. The SCC mechanism and the effect of HCO₃? were discussed with the aid of electrochemical techniques. It is indicated that X80 steel shows enhanced susceptibility to SCC with the concentration of HCO₃? increasing from 0.15 to 1.00 mol/L, and the susceptibility can be evaluated in terms of current density at ?0.2 V vs. SCE. The SCC behavior is controlled by the dissolution-based mechanism in these circumstances. Increasing the concentration of HCO₃? not only increases the risk of rupture of passive films but also promotes the anodic dissolution of crack tips. Besides, little susceptibility to SCC is found in dilute solution containing 0.05 mol/L HCO₃? for X80 steel. This can be attributed to the inhibited repassivation of passive films, manifesting as a more intensive dissolution in the non-crack tip areas than at the crack tips.     

Enhanced photocatalytic activity of sponge-like ZnFe2O4 synthesized by solution combustion method

A kind of cubic ZnFe2O4 with spinel structure was synthesized by an improved solution combustion method via a facile and environmentally friendly pathway and their photocatalytic activity under visible light radiation was investigated. The particle synthesized under the ignition temperature of 573 K has a pure phase. While a small amount impurities, a-Fe2O3 and ZnO, were formed in the sample during the combustion process at higher ignition temperature of 623 K. The synthesized ZnFe2O4 has a sponge-like porous structure and wide absorption in the visible-light region. The impurities a-Fe2O3 and ZnO formed in the sample probably enhance the reduction and oxidation ability and promote the separation of photo-generated electrons and holes. Comparing with ZnFe2O4 synthesized by the conventional solid state reaction, the ZnFe2O4 derived by solution combustion method showed the better photocatalytic activity under visible light radiation.     

Structure and mechanism of a glutamate-GABA antiporter

Food-borne hemorrhagic Escherichia coli, exemplified by the strains O157:H7 and O104:H4 (refs?1, 2), require elaborate acid-resistance systems (ARs) to survive the extremely acidic environment such as the stomach (pH?≈?2). AR2 expels intracellular protons through the decarboxylation of L-glutamate (Glu) in the cytoplasm and exchange of the reaction product γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) with extracellular Glu. The latter process is mediated by the Glu-GABA antiporter GadC, a representative member of the amino-acid-polyamine-organocation superfamily of membrane transporters. The functional mechanism of GadC remains largely unknown. Here we show, with the use of an in vitro proteoliposome-based assay, that GadC transports GABA/Glu only under acidic conditions, with no detectable activity at pH values higher than 6.5. We determined the crystal structure of E.?coli GadC at 3.1?? resolution under basic conditions. GadC, comprising 12 transmembrane segments (TMs), exists in a closed state, with its carboxy-terminal domain serving as a plug to block an otherwise inward-open conformation. Structural and biochemical analyses reveal the essential transport residues, identify the transport path and suggest a conserved transport mechanism involving the rigid-body rotation of a helical bundle for GadC and other amino acid antiporters.     

Microstructure and microhardness of nanostructured Al-4.6Cu-Mn alloy ribbons

The microstructural characteristics and microhardness of nanostructured Al-4.6Cu-Mn ribbons produced by melt spinning were investigated using field-emission gun scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and hardness testing, and the results were compared to those of similar ribbons manufactured by direct-chill casting. It is shown that the nanostructure of the as-melt-spun ribbons consists of α-Al dendrites with a secondary dendrite arm spacing of approximately 0.55-0.80 μm and ultrafine eutectic crystals of a nanosized scale of approximately 100-200 nm on dendritic boundaries. The solidification time and cooling rate of 46-μm-thick ribbons were estimated to be 1.3×10-6 s and 4.04×106 K·s-1, respectively. At an aging temperature of 190℃, the coherent θ″ phase in aged ribbons gradually transforms into nanoscale θ'-phase platelets as the aging time is extended from 2 to 8 h; the rod-like morphology of the T (Al₂₀Cu₂Mn₃) dispersoid with 120-160-nm diameter also forms, which results in peak aging hardness. The precipitation behaviors of aged ribbons cannot be changed at the high cooling rates of as-cast ribbons. However, a finer and more uniformly distributed microstructure and a supersaturated solid solution at a high cooling rate can shorten the time required to obtain a certain aging hardness before peak hardness.