Learning from the West Coast: Long-Termism and Change – An Interview with Stewart Brand

Stewart Brand has been a key figure in the alternative culture of the US West Coast since the 1960s. The key message in his various publications has been that communities should be enabled to constantly reshape their own environments. In conversation with former Technical Editor of AD Peter Murray , he describes his lifestyle and influences – from the hippy movement, to time working for California Governor Jerry Brown in the 1970s, to writers such as Gregory Bateson, Frank Duffy and Christopher Alexander – and advocates a loose-fit ‘architecture of systems’, rather than a fixed and limiting ‘architecture of moulds’.     

Precipitation behaviors in a quenched high Nb-containing TiAl alloy during annealing

The precipitation of γ phase and heterogeneous nucleation of ω_o phase within β_o phase areas are common phenomena in TiAl alloys. However, detailed explanation on the corresponding phase transformation mechanisms is still lacking. In this study, the precipitation behaviors of γ and ω_o phases in a quenched Ti-45Al-8.5Nb-0.2W-0.2B-0.02Y alloy are investigated. The results show that large γ grains form after quenching whereas small γ particles can directly nucleate within the remaining β_o phase during annealing. Semi-coherent interfaces are observed between γ and β_o phases and the average distance between dislocations is evaluated. The heterogeneous nucleation of ω_o phase at the lamellar colony boundary is imaged by HRTEM. Edge-to-edge method is used to calculate the orientation relationship between γ and ω_o phases. The γ phase grows up faster than ω_o phase within the β_o phase areas during annealing at 800 °C.     

Size effect on IMC growth induced by Cu concentration gradient and pinning of Ag3Sn particles during multiple reflows

Size effect on growth kinetics of interfacial intermetallic compound (IMC), induced by Cu concentration gradient and pinning effect of Ag₃Sn particles during multiple reflows, was investigated in this article. The simulation results, for Cu distributions in solder bulks of different volumes after a single reflow for 60 s at 250 °C, show that Cu concentration gradient in liquid increases with the growing size of solder bump. On the contrary, resistive pressure of nano particles decreases gradually with the increasing bump size. In conclusion, the pinning effect of Ag₃Sn particles on IMC grains plays a dominant role in small samples, whereas the inhibiting effect of Cu concentration gradient is mainly functional in big samples. Combining the two factors, solder bump in an intermediate diameter of 800 μm benefits most and has the largest IMC thickness during multiple reflows.     

A new semiconductor Al2Fe3Si3 with complex crystal structure

Al₂Fe₃Si₃, a new semiconductor with complex triclinic structure was synthesized by arc melting and spark plasma sintering, followed by heat treatment. The nominal compositions of samples have been changed to compensate Al evaporation during synthesis process, and single Al₂Fe₃Si₃ phase has been obtained with the nominal composition of Al: Fe: Si = 26: 37: 37 (6 at.% Al excess against stoichiometry). In this study, we measured the sound velocity, thermal expansion coefficient, Vickers hardness, fracture toughness, electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal conductivity of the new semiconductor Al₂Fe₃Si₃. The Al₂Fe₃Si₃ sample displayed positive Seebeck coefficient from 300 to 850 K, with a maximum Seebeck coefficient of 110 μV/K at 430 K. The Debye temperature of Al₂Fe₃Si₃ was 640 K, which was similar to or higher than those of other Al, Fe, Si based thermoelectric materials, but the lattice thermal conductivity was lower, 4–5 W/mK, due to the complex crystal structure of Al₂Fe₃Si₃. The maximum ZT value was 0.06 at 580 K.     

ASTM A668 CL.E材料断口分析

针对ASTM A668 CL.E材料试样出现抗拉强度、伸长率不合格等质量问题,通过扫描电镜分析,判断断口缺陷性质为白点。     

Development and evaluation of a new Eu/SmPd3 source for use with Gd Mössbauer spectroscopy

A ¹⁵⁵Eu/¹⁵⁴SmPd₃ (about 231 MBq) source for use with ¹⁵⁵Gd Mössbauer spectroscopy was developed by a novel method. In the novel method, the isotopically enriched ¹⁵⁴SmPd₃ compound was prepared by the conventional solid state reaction of ¹⁵⁴Sm(HCOO)₃ and PdH_x in a hydrogen atmosphere at 1273 K for 18 h, which is simpler than the previously reported method. In order to increase the reaction areas, palladium fine particles used to synthesize the PdH_x hydride were prepared by a chemical solution process. Performance of the newly developed source was evaluated by observing the ¹⁵⁵Gd Mössbauer spectra of known compounds, GdPd₃ and cubic Gd₂O₃ at 12 K. The obtained results indicated that the developed source is fine enough to investigate the structural characteristic of various materials containing gadolinium.     

双酚A型环氧树脂阳离子紫外光固化动力学的研究

以双酚A型环氧树脂为主体成分构成紫外阳离子光固化体系,用常规的最低光固化速度测试方法和实时傅立叶变换红外光谱法研究了各种条件对体系光固化速度的影响。结果表明,光引发剂的种类和浓度可以有效地改变光固化速度,环氧稀释剂会大幅度降低光固化速度,而羟基化合物的加入只是轻微降低光固化速度。在三元体系中,其光固化速度并不是几种作用的简单叠加,而是更加类似于羟基化合物的性质。使得通过调节合适的组分构成和配合,能够获得具有合适光固化速度的紫外阳离子光固化配方,从而会大大扩展其应用的技术领域。     

国产A508-3钢辐照性能

反应堆压力容器（RPV）作为反应堆寿期内不可更换的核心设备,是防止堆芯放射性泄漏的最主要屏障。本文针对国产压力容器材料A508-3钢,开展了一定剂量水平（约10×10¹⁹ cm^-2,E≥1 MeV）的研究堆加速辐照试验,并进行了辐照后力学性能测试分析,包括拉伸性能和冲击性能测试。结果显示,辐照后在-100、20、288 ℃下,A508-3钢的屈服强度分别增加了83、108、52 MPa,抗拉强度分别增加了58、61、49 MPa,韧脆转变温度T_41J增加了68 ℃,上平台能量降低了61 J。A508-3钢辐照前后性能测试结果表明,在中子辐照至60 a寿期后,A508-3钢仍能满足反应堆使用要求。     

白藜芦醇对肺癌A549细胞的放射增敏作用及其机制研究

摘要采用MTT法检测不同浓度白藜芦醇对肺癌A549细胞的毒性;克隆形成实验测定白藜芦醇对A549细胞增殖抑制作用;碱性单细胞凝胶电泳实验（彗星实验）检测细胞DNA受损情况;采用Westernblot法检测白藜芦醇与辐射联合作用对抑制凋亡蛋白Survivin的影响。结果表明,白藜芦醇对肺癌A549细胞的抑制作用随着白藜芦醇浓度升高及时间延长而增加：白藜芦醇与辐射联合作用可以明显增加辐射所致A549细胞的DNA损伤（p〈0．05）,并降低克隆形成率及抑制凋亡蛋白Survivin的表达。表明白藜芦醇对A549细胞具有放射增敏作用,且放射增敏作用可能是通过抑制Survivin蛋白的表达实现的。     

18F标记的苯乙烯基嘧啶类Aβ显像剂的制备与初步生物评价

为研发新型Aβ正电子显像剂,设计合成对甲苯磺酰氧基取代的苯乙烯基嘧啶化合物Boc-SPm2-OTs和Boc-SPm5-OTs,并通过亲核取代反应进行¹⁸F标记,得到¹⁸F-SPm2和¹⁸F-SPm5,放化纯度均大于99%。¹⁸F-SPm2和¹⁸F-SPm5均具有适宜的亲脂性（LogP=1~2.5）,在生理盐水中可稳定存在3 h以上,能选择性结合Aβ,但其亲和性较弱（K_i分别为246.6 nmol/L和318.2 nmol/L）,体内生物分布实验表明,两者初始脑放射性摄取均相对较高,但正常脑组织清除较慢,而且存在明显脱氟现象。初步的研究结果表明,¹⁸F-SPm2和¹⁸F-SPm5不是理想的Aβ显像剂,需要进行进一步的结构修饰以克服其缺点。