Cold-state spout-fluidizing characteristics of high-carbon ferromanganese powders

The spout-fluidizing characteristics of high-carbon ferromanganese powders with different sizes and masses were studied via a plexiglass spout-fluidized bed with an inner diameter of 30 mm and a height of 1000 mm. The relationships between bed voidage and such parameters as bed height, particle size, fluidizing air velocity, and air flow were obtained. Experimental results show that the powder material with high density can be fluidized in the spout-fluidized bed where the particle size is a key factor influencing the quality of fluidization.     

Tert-butylhydroquinone-decorated graphene nanosheets and their enhanced capacitive behaviors

In the present work,tert-butylhydroquinone(TBHQ) was used to decorate graphene nanosheets to obtain a novel and environmentally friendly electrode material for supercapacitors.The fast redox reactions between hydroquinone and quinone generate pseudocapacitance.Graphene layers which have adsorbed TBHQ interact with each other to construct a three-dimensional network.Through this network,electrolyte ions can easily access the surface of graphene to generate electric double-layer capacitance.Electrochemical measurements have shown that using TBHQ as a redox modifier of graphene can obtain a maximum value of 302 F g-1 and provide a 51% enhancement in specific capacitance.Furthermore,excellent rate capability and cycling ability are achieved using the TBHQ-decorated graphene nanosheet electrode.     

Electrochemical behavior of different shelled microcapsule composite copper coatings

Copper/liquid microcapsule composite coatings with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), gelatin or methyl cellulose (MC) as shell materials were prepared by electrodeposition. The influence of shell materials on the corrosion resistance of the composite coatings in 0.1 M H₂SO₄ was investigated by means of electrochemical techniques, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersion spectrometry (EDS). The results show that the participation of microcapsules can enhance the corrosion resistance of the composite coatings compared with the traditional copper layer. Based on the analysis of electrochemical test results, the release ways of microcapsules were deduced. Gelatin and MC as the shell materials of microcapsules are easy to release quickly in the composite coating. On the contrary, the releasing speed of PVA microcapsules is relatively slow due to their characteristics.     

Effects of deoxidizing degree on the pitting corrosion behavior of carbon and manganese steels

Nine steels with different deoxidizing degrees and two comparative steels were selected. Their pitting initiation susceptibility was compared by means of potentiodynamic polarization tests in 3wt% NaCl solution. The pit propagation rate was evaluated in artificial sea water and 3wt% sea salt solution by simulating occluded corrosion cell (SOCC) test and hanging plate test, respectively. The composition of inclusions and corrosive feature were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron probe micro-analysis (EPMA), and optical microscopy (OM). The results indicate that sulfide inclusions in steel are the sites for pit nucleation. The sulphide inclusions vary in shape from short spindle-like to long strip-like with increasing deoxidizing degree. Under the same conditions, the lower the deoxidizing degree gets, the lower the pitting initiation susceptibility becomes, and the stronger the resistance to pit propagation exhibits. For steels with different deoxidizing degrees, their pitting initiation susceptibility is mainly influenced by thermodynamic stability, while the pit propagation rate is primarily subject to the characteristics of inclusions in steel.     

Slip rate along the Lijiang-Ninglang fault zone estimated from repeating microearthquakes

Seismicity and slip rates along the Lijiang-Ninglang fault zone between 1999 and 2006 were investigated with the waveform data recorded by the Yunnan digital Seismic Network. The relocated seismicity by the double difference method clearly exhibits different features between the northern and southern segments. More than 76% earthquakes occurred in the southern segment of the fault near the Lijiang area. The relocated seismicity appears to reflect the crustal velocity structure of the study area. Using cross-correlation analysis, we identified a total of 92 doublets and 70 multiplets that show high waveform similarity. Most of these sequences are aperiodic with recurrence intervals varying from a few minutes to hundreds of days. Using two sequences that occurred regularly over the study period, we obtained a fault slip rate of approximately 5 mm/a at ∼23 km, in good agreement with geologic and surface GPS measurement. Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB418405) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40174014)     

Measurement of the Newtonian gravitational constant based on the principle of free fall

The Newtonian gravitational constant (G) is one of the fundamental physical constants. This paper introduces a method to determine the Newtonian gravitational constant based on the principle of free fall, through measuring the change of gravity from the disturbed mass with an FG5/112 absolute gravimeter. This method has good repeatability. The measurement precision can be improved by error control and a large number of experiments. The constant G is obtained by two experiments, and the measured value is (6.6665±0.0554)×10⁻¹¹ m³/(kg·s²). Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2003CB716300) and Key Project of the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-125)     

Genome-wide distribution of histone H3 acetylation in all- trans retinoic acid induced neuronal differentiation of SH-SY5Y cells

With chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and promoter DNA microarray analyses (ChIP-on-chip), we analyzed the variations of acetylation on histone H3 in all-trans retinoic acid (RA) induced neuronal cell differentiation. Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were treated with RA for 24 h and the acetylation on histone H3 in the promoter region of the genes was detected. Results showed that, after treatment, the level of acetylation on histone H3 elevated in 597 genes in the genome, and reduced in the other 647 genes compared with those of the control. In summary, we have successfully adopted a high throughput technique to detect and analyze variations of acetylation of histone H3 in human genome at the early phage of RA induced neuronal differentiation of the SH-SY5Y cells. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 90408007 and 30721063) and National Key Basic Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2004CB518605)     

Chinese kangs and building energy consumption

Chinese kangs are an integrated system for cooking, sleeping and heating in rural Northern China with more than 2000 years history. In 2004 there were 67 million Chinese kangs used by 44 million rural families or 174 million people. Chinese kangs store surplus heat from stove during cooking and releases it later for both home heating and localized bed heating. Such a widely used heating system has been rarely studied. Understanding kangs is important for developing new effective home heating systems for better energy efficiency and improving indoor air quality in Northern China. In this paper, we review and present some preliminary results from our field measurement and mathematical modeling, and discuss the development of Chinese kangs as related to future energy consumption in rural homes, and building energy consumption in China in general. We suggest that transition and new technologies for rural home heating in Northern China, i.e. the future of Chinese kangs, should be considered as the top priority in managing future building energy consumption in China. Supported by the grant from the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (Grant No. HKU 7154/05E) and National Natural Science Foundation of China 2007 Young Researcher Award (Grant No. 50729803) The work is also a part of the International Energy Agency Annex 44 project on Integrating Environmentally Responsive Elements in Buildings.     

Tunable multiple-channel filters based on photonic heterostructures using single-negative materials

We studied the multiple-channel filters based on photonic heterostructures consisting of single-negative permittivity and single-negative permeability media. The results showed that the number of resonance modes inside the zero-φeff gap increases as the number of heterogenous interface M increases. The number of resonance modes inside the zero-φeff, gap is equal to that of heterogenous interface M, and it can be used as M channels filter. This result provides a feasible method to adjust the channel number of multiple-channel filters. When losses are involved, the results showed that the electric fields of the resonance modes decay largely with the increase of the number of heterogenous interface and damping factors. Besides, the relationship between the quality factor of multiple-channel filters and the number of heterogenous interface M is linear, and the quality factor of multiple-channel filters decreases with the increase of the damping factor. These results provide feasible methods to adjust the quality factor of multiple-channel filters.     

Fine mapping of the red plant gene R1 in upland cotton(Gossypium hirsutum)

Sub 16 is a substitution line with G. hirsutum cv. TM-1 genetic background except that the 16th chromosome (Chr. 16) is replaced by the corresponding homozygous chromosome of G. barbadense cv. 3-79, and T586 is a G. hirsutum multiple gene marker line with 8 dominant mutation genes. The R ₁ gene for anthocyanin pigmentation was tagged in Chr. 16 in T586. The objective of this research was to screen SSR markers tightly linked with R ₁ by using the F₂ segregating population containing 1259 plants derived from the cross of Sub 16 and T586 and the backbone genetic linkage map from G. hirsutum×G. barbadense BC₁ newly updated by our laboratory. Genetic analysis suggested that the segregation ratio of red plants in the F₂ population fit Mendelian 1:2:1 inheritance, confirming that the red plant trait was controlled by an incomplete dominance gene. Preliminary mapping of R ₁ was conducted using 237 randomLy selected F₂ individuals and JoinMap v3.0 software. Then, a fine map of R1 was constructed using the F₂ segregating population containing 1259 plants, and R ₁ was located between NAU4956 and NAU6752, with only 0.49 cM to the nearest maker loci (NAU6752). These results provided a foundation for map-based cloning of R ₁ and further development of cotton cultivars with red fibers by transgenic technology. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30730067) and Programme of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (Grant No. B08025)