Study on Active Drive System for Colonoscope

The paper deals with active drive system for colonoscope. The system is mainly composed of soft mobile mechanism for earthworm locomotion and turning mechanism based on shape memory effect. The soft mobile mechanism contacts colon wall with airin inflatable balloons, so the robot has better soft and non invasive properties. The turning mechanism can be actively bent by shape memory alloy components. It ensures the colonoscope to adapt to the tortuous shape of colon. Some experiment results are given in the paper.     

Neural correlation of item recognition and voice source retrieval

An experiment was conducted using event-related potentials to investigate the old/new effects of the item recognition and the voice source retrieval tasks on drawing. The results indicated that (1) the old/new effect for the voice source retrieval task was much wider than that of the item recognition task; (2) the distributive characteristics of the voice source memory effect were different from those in previous studies; (3) the old/new effects for target and non-target-old drawings were similar. These results demonstrated that the voice source retrieval task is more difficult than the item recognition task for drawing, which supports the dual-process model. The experimental material and the source characteristic regulate the spatial and temporal distributions of the old/new effect for the voice source retrieval task together.     

Leaching of lead from zinc leach residue in acidic calcium chloride aqueous solution

A process with potentially reduced environmental impacts and occupational hazards of lead-bearing zinc plant residue was studied to achieve a higher recovery of lead via a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process. This paper describes an optimization study on the leaching of lead from zinc leach residue using acidic calcium chloride aqueous solution. Six main process conditions, i.e., the solution pH value, stirring rate, concentration of CaCl₂ aqueous solution, liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio, leaching temperature, and leaching time, were investigated. The microstructure and components of the residue and tailing were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). On the basis of experimental results, the optimum reaction conditions were determined to be a solution pH value of 1, a stirring rate of 500 r·min-1, a CaCl₂ aqueous solution concentration of 400 g·L-1, a liquid-to-solid mass ratio of 7:1, a leaching temperature of 80℃, and a leaching time of 45 min. The leaching rate of lead under these conditions reached 93.79%, with an iron dissolution rate of 19.28%. Silica did not take part in the chemical reaction during the leaching process and was accumulated in the residue.     

Effect of Mg and Si on infiltration behavior of Al alloys pressureless infiltration into porous SiCp preforms

The effect of Mg and Si additon to Al matrix on infiltration kinetics and rates of Al alloys pressureless infiltration into porous SiCp preform was investigated by observing the change of infiltration distance with time as the Al alloys infiltrate into SiCp preforms at different temperatures. The results show that infiltration of SiCp preforms by Al melt is a thermal activation process and there is an incubation period before the infiltration becomes stable. With the increase of Mg content in the Al alloys from 0wt% to 8wt%, the infiltration will become much easier, the incubation period becomes shorter and the infiltration rate is faster, but these effects are not obvious when the Mg content is higher than 8wt%. As for Si addition to the Al alloys, it has no obvious effect on the incubation period, but the infiltration rate increases markedly with the increase of Si content from 0wt% to 12wt% and the rate has no obvious change when the content is bigger than 12wt%. The effect of Mg and Si on the incubation period is related to the infiltration mechanism of Al pressureless infiltration into SiCp preforms and their impact on the infiltration rate is a combined result from viscosity and surface tension of Al melt and SiC-Al wetting ability.     

Microstructure characterization of a pressureless infiltrating oxidized SiCp preform by Al-8Mg

The microstructure of a pressureless infiltrating 55vol% oxidized SiC preform by Al-8Mg alloy was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high resolution TEM (HRTEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and X-ray diffraction. The TEM image of the interface between Al and SiC shows that the surface of SiC is covered by a rough nanocrystal layer of MgAl₂O₄, Al₂O₃, and Si, produced by the interfacial reaction of Al, Mg, and SiO₂ on the surface of SiC. The Al-SiC interface is also examined by HRTEM to be better understood how MgAl₂O₄ and Al₂O₃ are produced. Dendritic Al₂O₃ crystals are embedded in the pores of the composite generated from the mutual bonding of SiO₂ on the surface of SiC. Columnar AlN crystals of about 250 nm in length are bunched vertically on the SiC particle surface.     

Preparation, crystallization, and wetting of ZnO-Al2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramics for sealing to Kovar

A novel type of ZnO-Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂ glass-ceramics sealing to Kovar in electronic packaging was developed, whose thermal expansion coefficient and electrical resistance are 5.2×10-6/℃ and over 1×1013 Ω·cm, respectively. The major crystalline phases in the glass-ceramic seals were ZnAl₂O₄, ZnB₂O₄, and NaSiAl₂O₄. The dielectric resistance of the glass-ceramic could be remarkably enhanced through the control of alkali metal ions into crystal lattices. It was found that crystallization happened first on the surface of the sample, leaving the amorphous phase in the inner, which made the glass suitable for sealing. The glass-ceramic showed better wetting on the Kovar surface, and sealing atmosphere and temperature had great effect on the wetting angle. Strong interracial bonding was obtained, which was mainly attributed to the interracial reaction between SiO₂ and FeO or Fe₃O₄.     

Study on orientation fracture blasting with shaped charge in rock

On the basis of the theories of mechanics of explosive and rock fracture mechanics, the mechanism of crack initiation and its expansion of directional fracture controlled blasting with shaped charges in rock were studied, then the blasting parameters were designed and tested by a model test in laboratory and field experiment. The experimental and test results showed that the energy from blasting is directionally concentrated for the cumulative action. The directional expansion of cracks is satisfactory, the results of the model test and field test suggested that the orientation fracture blasting with shaped charge is a good means of excavating tunnels or cutting rock.     

α-1,3-Fucosyltransferase-VII stimulates the growth of hepatocarcinoma cells via the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27Kip1

After the transfection of -1,3-fucosyltransferase (FucT)-VII cDNA into H7721 human hepatocarcinoma cells, the protein expression of some cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors (CDIs) p16^INK4 and p21^waf1/Cip1 were unchanged. However, CDI p27^Kip1 protein, both the total amount and the amount that bound to CDK2, but not its mRNA, was significantly reduced. The de-inhibited CDK2 stimulated the phosphorylation of retinoblastoma (Rb) protein and facilitated the G1/S transition and growth rate of the cells. The decrease of p27^Kip1 protein, the increase of CDK2 activity and Rb phosphorylation, as well as the cell growth and percentage of S phase cells were correlated to the increased amount of cell surface sialyl Lewis X (SLe^x) antigen in cells with different -1,3-FucT-VII expression. The reduction in p27^Kip1 and the difference in its expression among different transfected cells were blocked by the SLe^x antibody KM93 in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that p27^Kip1 expression was influenced by -1,3-FucT-VII and its product SLe^x. The MEK/MAPK signaling pathway was more important than the PI-3K pathway in the regulation of p27^Kip1 expression.Received 5 August 2004; received after revision 25 October 2004; accepted 11 November 2005     

Research on the rheological properties of pesticide suspension concentrate

This study reports research on pesticide suspension rheology and a new rheologicaI parameter, the relative value of approach, which has great advantage for judging the physical stability of a pesticide suspension concentrate. Experiments showed that the system can form stable dispersions when the value of the relative value of approach (St) is less than 0.1.