Teaching technical communication and English Language to potential engineers

Conference Theme: Beyond Borders: Communicating GloballyGraduates' communication skills and English language proficiency have long been a concern of employers in Hong Kong. In order to equip engineering students with the expected English language and communication skills in the workplace, institutions should develop specific programmes to meet their needs. This paper attempts to demonstrate how the Professional and Technical Communication courses at two universities in Hong Kong help their engineering students develop their language and technical communication skills. A comparison and appraisal of the pedagogy will be presented, illustrated with empirical data and examples of classroom practice. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate insights from technical communication professionals, which can help us design quality English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses for nurturing engineering talents. © 2013 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Mössbauer hyperfine parameters of iron species in the course of Geobacter-mediated magnetite mineralization

Amorphous ferric iron species (ferrihydrite or akaganeite of <5 nm in size) is the only known solid ferric iron oxide that can be reductively transformed by dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria to magnetite completely. The lepidocrocite crystallite can be transformed into magnetite in the presence of abiotic Fe(II) at elevated pH or biogenic Fe(II) with particular growth conditions. The reduction of lepidocrocite by dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria has been widely investigated showing varying results. Vali et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:16121-16126, 2004) captured a unique biologically mediated mineralization pathway where the amorphous hydrous ferric oxide transformed to lepidocrocite was followed by the complete reduction of lepidocrocite to single-domain magnetite. Here, we report the 57Fe Mössbauer hyperfine parameters of the time-course samples reported in Vali et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:16121-16126, 2004). Both the quadrupole splittings and linewidths of Fe(III) ions decrease consistently with the change of aqueous Fe(II) and transformations of mineral phases, showing the Fe(II)-mediated gradual regulation of the distorted coordination polyhedrons of Fe 3+ during the biomineralization process. The aqueous Fe(II) catalyzes the transformations of Fe(III) minerals but does not enter the mineral structures until the mineralization of magnetite. The simulated abiotic reaction between Fe(II) and lepidocrocite in pH-buffered, anaerobic media shows the simultaneous formation of green rust and its gradual transformation to magnetite plus a small fraction of goethite. We suggested that the dynamics of Fe(II) supply is a critical factor for the mineral transformation in the dissimilatory iron-reducing cultures. © 2011 The Author(s).published_or_final_versionSpringer Open Choice, 21 Feb 201

Time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy and density functional theory investigation of the CH2I-I isomer and CH2I2⋯I molecular complex products produced from ultraviolet photolysis of CH2I2 in the solution phase

The CH2I-I isomer and CH2I2···I molecular complex products produced from ultraviolet photolysis of CH2I2 in the solution phase was analyzed by using time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy. The structure and properties of the CH2I-I species and the CH2I2···I molecular complex and their reaction towards ethylene were compared. The results showed that the CH2I-I isomer reacts with ethylene to produce a cyclopropane product and I2 leaving group via a single step and low barrier to reaction.published_or_final_versio

Dynamic response of buried heterostructure and stripe geometry λ/4 DFB semiconductor lasers

A comparison between different lateral confinement structures in DFB laser is analyzed with identical material parameters and structure in transverse and longitudinal directions. Results show that stripe geometry DFB lasers offer better dynamic response than buried heterostructure DFB lasers.published_or_final_versio

Polymorphism and association of microsatellite SJ01 with birth weight and early growth traits in pigs

Myostatin is a negative regulator of animal skeletal muscle development and SJ01 is a microsatellite locus flanking porcine myostatin gene. In the present study, the polymorphism of microsatellite SJ01 in three pig populations, that is, Duroc (n = 420), Yorkshire (n = 414) and Landrace (n = 119), were investigated, and its associations with birth weight and early growth traits were analyzed. The results indicated that genotype BB was predominant in Yorkshire pigs and allele B was predominant in both Yorkshire and Landrace pigs, whereas allele A was more prevalent in Duroc pigs. Among the three pig breeds, Duroc population had the highest heterozygosity and deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P < 0.05). The average daily gain from 28 d to 70 d in Yorkshire pigs and the body weight at 70 d in Landrace pigs were significantly different between SJ01 genotypes (P < 0.05). These resultssuggest that microsatellite SJ01 is a potential DNA marker for early growth trait selection in Yorkshire and Landrace pigs as well as for refining QTL for early growth traits on SSC15

Challenges faced when energy meets water: CO2 and water implications of power generation in inner Mongolia of China

The number of energy–water nexus studies has been increasing recently due to the significant linkages between energy generation and water consumption, but no study has looked at water quantity and quality impacts as well as carbon emissions associated with electricity production. Using integrated hybrid life cycle analysis, this study examines the life cycle impacts of pulverized coal, wind power and solar power on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, water consumption and water quality in Inner Mongolia, China. Our research findings show that pulverized coal emits 1213.5 g of CO2 per kilowatt-hour (g/kW h) of electricity output, compared with 34.4 g/kW h for wind power and 67.4 g/kW h for solar photovoltaic. Water consumption for pulverized coal, wind power and solar photovoltaic are 3.3, 0.7 and 0.9 l/kW h, respectively. The water requirement to dilute the life cycle chemical oxygen demand (COD) discharge would increase water consumption during production processes of pulverized coal, wind power and solar photovoltaic systems by 0.11, 0.09 and 0.19 l/kW h, respectively. Given that the State Grid Corporation of China aims to increase the power generation capacity that provides power supply to regions outside Inner Mongolia to 120 GW by 2020, electricity outflows could contribute 520 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, which would be similar to the CO2 emissions of the UK in 2010, and 1460.8 million m3 of water. This study reveals that substantial reductions in CO2 emissions and water consumption can be attained if the existing coal-dominated power generation was substituted by wind power in Inner Mongolia

Structure of mitochondrial DNA control region of Argyrosomus amoyensis and molecular phylogenetic relationship among six species of Sciaenidae

The structure of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of Argyrosomus amoyensis was examined in this study. TAS, cTAS, CSB-D to CSB-F and CSB-1 to CSB-3 segments were detected in the species. The results indicated that the structures of these parts were different from that of most fishes. All the mtDNA control region sequences examined had missing tandem repeat sequences downstream of CSB-3, which were the same as most fishes’. In addition, part of the COI gene was used to analyze the phylogenetic relationships of six Sciaenids species. The phylogenetic tree results supported the classification by traditional morphology, and COI barcodes were useful for identifying these six species of Sciaenids.Key words: Control region, structure, Argyrosomus amoyensis, COI, phylogenetic relationship, Sciaenidae

Cooling and sensing using whispering gallery mode resonators

This thesis reports on a detailed exploration of the optomechanical interaction between a tapered optical fibre and a silica microsphere mounted on a cantilever. The amount of light evanescently coupled from the fibre into the optical whispering gallery mode of the sphere is exquisitely sensitive to their separation allowing fast measurement of picometre displacements of both the microsphere-cantilever and the fibre. By exploiting this enhanced transduction, strong active feedback damping/cooling of the thermal motion of both the fibre and microsphere-cantilever have been demonstrated to the noise limit of the system. The cavity enhanced optical dipole force between the fibre and the sphere was used to damp multiple mechanical modes of the tapered fibre, while a piezo-stack at the clamped end of the microsphere-cantilever allowed for cooling of its centre-of-mass motion and the second mechanical eigenmode. The effect of noise within the feedback loop was shown to invert the measured mechanical mode spectrum at high feedback gain as the noise itself is fed into the resonator. A rich variety of feedback induced spring stiffening and softening of the mode is measured when time delays are introduced. Cooling of the mechanical modes of the taper, which are ubiquitous to many whispering gallery mode experiments and are considered as unwanted noise, has not been achieved previously. Simultaneous operation of both feedback schemes was demonstrated for the first time, providing stabilization of the system. By using the microsphere-cantilever as an inertial test mass, measurement of its displacement induced by acceleration can resolve micro-g accelerations at high bandwidth

The cultivation, bioactive components and pharmacological effects of Armillaria mellea

Armillaria mellea, a symbiotic fungus in the underground tubers of Chinese medicinal orchid Gastrodia elata, is one of the main biological active components and pharmaceutical effects of its host gastrodia. The purpose of this review is to bring attention to the biological properties of this unique A. mellea mushroom and its constituents, as well as to suggest the potential for the development of new drugs related to this fungus. It contains various known and untapped bioactive metabolites such aspolysaccharides, sesquiterpene aryl esters, steroids and fibrinolytic enzymes. It could be exploited as an important source of new biological natural products with anticonvulsant, immunomodulatory andantimicrobial functions. The batch culture is preferred as an alternative means of getting bioactive components from Armellaria fermentation. Challenges in investigations on A. mellea include the optimization of culture parameters, the further elucidation of the molecular pharmacological mechanism and relationship between structure and function of their secondary metabolites

A unified constitutive model for asymmetric tension and compression creep-ageing behaviour of naturally aged Al-Cu-Li alloy

A set of unified constitutive equations is presented that predict the asymmetric tension and compression creep behaviour and recently observed double primary creep of pre-stretched/naturally aged aluminium-cooper-lithium alloy AA2050-T34. The evolution of the primary micro- and macro-variables related to the precipitation hardening and creep deformation of the alloy during creep age forming (CAF) are analysed and modelled. Equations for the yield strength evolution of the alloy, including an initial reversion and subsequent strengthening, are proposed based on a theory of concurrent dissolution, re-nucleation and growth of precipitates during artificial ageing. We present new observations of so-called double primary creep during the CAF process. This phenomenon is then predicted by introducing effects of interacting microstructures, including evolving precipitates, diffusing solutes and dislocations, into the sinh-law creep model. In addition, concepts of threshold creep stress σth and a microstructure-dependant creep variable H, which behave differently under different external stress directions, are proposed and incorporated into the creep model. This enables prediction of the asymmetric tension and compression creep-ageing behaviour of the alloy. Quantitative transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and related small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) analysis have been carried out for selected creep-aged samples to assist the development and calibration of the constitutive model. A good agreement has been achieved between the experimental results and the model. The model has the potential to be applied to creep age forming of other heat-treatable aluminium alloys