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CHINA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2002-19
CHINA
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry of Science and
Technology
People's Republic of China
N0.299 June 30,2002
IN THIS
ISSUE
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*
Scientific Quality Program
* Online Application for R
and D Fund
* Foreign Direct Investment in China's
Civil Aviation
* Genetic Scar Treatment
*
Nanometer Silver Powder
* China Realized
Bose-Einstein Condensation
* China's Talent Power
Strategy
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SPECIAL
ISSUES
Scientific Quality Program
The China Association for Science and
Technology will together with other relevant governmental
agencies launch the research program on Chinese Population's
Scientific Quality. The purpose of the Program is reported
to make the scientific quality of all the Chinese population
at the age of 18 and above reach the expected targets at the
centenary of the founding of the People's Republic of China
(2049).
On June 29, 2002 the PRC Common Law on
Science and Technology was enacted. It is briefed that the
so-called “expected scientific quality” means
the one that should be possessed by a graduate at senior
middle school level, while scientific quality is defined as
“the necessary scientific knowledge a citizen shall be
aware of, scientific spirit and outlook, and attitude and
methods a citizen shall possess in judging and handling
different matters”. Detailed evaluation indicators are
in the process of formulation.
It is reported
that numerous previous investigations on scientific elements
(part of scientific quality) have shown that China saw large
gaps from developed countries. As is shown by the results of
these investigations, in 2001, there were only 1.4 persons
among the 100 investigated Chinese whose scientific quality
reached desired level while the percentage for the same
indicator in the United States already reached 6.9% in 1990
with 4.4% for EU countries in 1989. On the other hand,
Chinese citizens dwelled in some developed areas have
recorded remarkably improved level for the same indicator.
As is shown by the investigation result turned out in May
2002, the same indicator for Beijing has reached 6.6%,
slightly lower than that of the United States in 1990.
The Chinese Population Scientific Quality
Program has worked out 8 sub-action plans targeting at
different population groups and sectors such as the action
plan for the Party and administrative people and public
servants, the action plan for teenagers, the action plan for
enterprises employees, the action plan for urban community
people, the action plan for rural management people and
farmers, mass media's action plan for scientific quality,
the action plan for public S&T education facilities, and
the action plan for S&T education publications.
Online Application for R and D Fund
The Overseas Chinese Students Service Center
subordinated to the Chinese Ministry of Education has
recently decided to open its online application system for
scientific research fund. Chinese graduates
returned from abroad may get acquainted with the fund
application procedure through http://www.cscse.edu.cn. In
addition to online application for the fund, the returned
overseas Chinese graduates may also learn if their
applications are granted via the same web site. Employed
with theso-called online membership application and online
experts evaluation system, the whole application procedure
has become simplified for the convenience of returned
Chinese graduates and employers as well as for the fast and
efficient experts' evaluation. The online system
is so designed that several rounds of examinations can be
organized for evaluating applications in a year. The system
will select experts from both home and abroad so as to make
the evaluation open, fair, just, promoting the scientific
and standardized process of fund management.
Founded in 1990, the said Fund is a
dedicated financing project supporting returned overseas
Chinese graduates to launch their scientific research
activities. The target applicant shall be the one who has
been granted with doctorate, worked abroad at lease one year
under 45 years of age and is currently working for Chinese
universities or research institutes. Up to date, the Fund
has supported 9,456 returned overseas Chinese graduates with
a total amount close to RMB 400 million.
Foreign Direct Investment in China's Civil
Aviation
At the 58th Annual Meeting of
International Air Transport Association held on June 4,
2002, Mr. Bao Peide, Deputy Administrator of China Civil
Aviation expressed that China's civil aviation industry will
seek for and utilize more foreign capital to accelerate its
development. China will further loosen its restrictions on
foreign investment in its civil airport and airline
businesses and allow different flexible investment plans and
financing channels to facilitate direct foreign investment
and cooperation with foreign businesses. In addition, China
will encourage those qualified airports and airlines to
directly utilize foreign capital or raise funds overseas.
Under the ongoing restructuring process,
China's civil aviation industry is witnessing an accelerated
market process and expecting more flow-in foreign capital
for its new round of development, especially through direct
foreign investment and cooperation with foreign businesses.
So far the nation-wide reform to place airports under the
management of local authorities has applauded for its
success.
The reform will take full advantage
of local initiatives in establishing multiple-source based
fund raising and investment system and accelerating the
construction of airports. Foreign capital will be mainly
used in the construction of civil aviation infrastructures,
technical advancement and standardized management as well as
in strengthening security system, establishing or expanding
computer based information management, accounting settlement
system, booking system and departure system and establishing
the global distribution system and e-commerce platform.
China's entire air traffic control system will be
transferred from the program control to radar control. China
will also loosen its restrictions on direct utilization of
foreign capital by Chinese airports and airlines but
encourage them to directly utilize foreign capital or raise
needed funds overseas.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
Cataract Genes Found
Researchers of Shanghai Life Science Institute
under the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced on June 24,
2002 that they have discovered the genes causing children's
cataract. The said development has for the first time in the
world associated heat shock protein with cataract diseases.
The findings were published in the recent issue of
internationally renowned journal Natural Genetics.
Chinese scientists screened out heat shock
transcription factor-4 from 50 and odd patients belonging to
three Chinese families having hereditary children's
cataract. In collaboration with Canadian
scientists in examining a cataract family discovered a
century ago in Denmark, they discovered the said phenomena,
which further confirmed the fact that heat shock
transcription factor-4 is a major gene contributing to
children's cataract.
It is reported that the
gene manipulates the expression of numerous heat shock
protein genes. Its sudden change will affect the DNA
sequence combination of heat shock transcription factor-4
and the expression of the protein controlling genes. As a
result, patients will see a decreased output of heat shock
protein or even ceased synthesizing, which will eventually
lead to hereditary children's cataract.
Nanometer Illuminating Materials
Two projects named “Preparing High Power
Rare Earth Illuminating Materials with Microwave
Approach” and “Preparation and Development of
Nanometer Rare Earth High Power Fluorescent Powder”
passed the experts' approval check on June 23, 2002.
On the basis of comparison studies of
different processes for preparing nanometer rare earth
illuminating materials, Prof. Yuan Ximing of Chinese Geology
University mixed a number of approaches together including
gluing, microwave radiation, supersonic divergence and fixed
phase sintering to prepare high power rare earth
illuminating materials with afterglow. Car plates
made of the said materials are able to send out clear green
reflection in the darkness when shone by light. The
innovative technique has numerous merits such as optimized
manufacturing process, improved production efficiency, lower
sintering temperature and energy efficiency.
AC-DC Integration Technique
A
brand new power generator able to provide both high quality
alternating and direct currents developed by Prof. Ma
Weiming, an academician with Navy Engineering University and
his team passed the approval check on June 10, 2002.
Compared with conventional separate power supply systems for
alternating and direct currents, the new power generator has
reduced both of its size and weight by 40% but a lower
engineering cost by the same percentage.
Prof.
Ma proposed his concept of AC-DC integration for the first
time in the world and found the solutions to a number of key
technical puzzles such as system operation stability,
electric magnetism compatibility, attacking currents of
short circuit in direct current, attacking torsion, real
time failure diagnosing for multiple phased rectifier
components. Prof. Ma and his team also established a
theoretical system for 3-phased and multi-phased rectifier.
On that basis they developed a brand new integrated power
generator made up of 3-phase AC winding, 12-phase rectifying
winding, rectifier, brushless excitation and automatic field
regulator, capable of high quality AC and DC sources.
It is reported that the extensive application
of the said finding will make China see a substantive leap
forward in the field of independent power supply system for
ship, aircraft, mobile telecommunication and oil drilling
platform.
Genetic Scar Treatment
Prof. Liu Wei, Deputy Director of Shanghai
Institute of Plastic Surgery and his team have successfully
employed genetic treatment means to repress scare growing on
animal's wounds. The finding has attracted great attention
at the joint meeting of the 12th US Wounds Healing
Association and the 4th European Tissue Repairing
Association and experts believed that the new technique has
opened up a broad perspective for clinic scar treatment.
In an in-depth study of scar formation
mechanism, Chinese scientists discovered that scar formation
was mainly caused by excessive production of TGF-β by
the cells over the wounds. In this context, interruption of
TGF-β transmission signals will be able to repress the
growth of scar. Applied with gland virus genetic technique,
they injected the treating genes directly into the rat's
wound. The experiment shows that the technique has
effectively interrupted TGF-β signal transmission
within fiber forming cells, depressed the synthesizing
process of TGF-β and made scar formation go down by
70%.
Nanometer Silver Powder
Shenzhen based Qinghua Yuanxing Nanometer
Corp. has recently worked out its clump free anti-bacteria
nanometer silver powder. As is examined by
Stanford University, Tsinghua University and Peking
University under their electronic scanning microscopes, the
diameters of silver grains in brown color range between 1
and 100 nanometers with most sitting at 25 nanometers.
As is tested by the Chinese Academy of
Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and
Medical School of Southern California, the nanometer silver
powder is of strong repressing and killing effect on a dozen
of diseases caused by microbes such as colibacillus and
staphylococcus aureus. Compared with currently dominant
anti-infection drugs, this brand new anti-infection product
is of more merits such as wide spectrum, drug resistance
free and bias against pH value.
It is briefed
that Chinese scientists in June 2002 successfully developed
the new generation anti bacteria products made of such
material for a number of common diseases related to men and
women's reproduction system, ulceration and burns. Now they
have established a nanometer silver powder production line
capable of an annual output of 10 tons silver powder and 7
million square meters of anti-bacteria cloth.
China Realized Bose-Einstein Condensation
Thanks to their 3-year efforts, Chinese
scientists of Shanghai Sophisticated Optic Instruments under
the Chinese Academy of Sciences have eventually observed the
phenomena of the so-called Bose-Einstein Condensation in
rubidium atoms.
In March 1999, the Institute
was contracted to the study of Bose-Einstein Condensation
under the support of Chinese National Natural Science
Foundation. On March 19, 2002, Chinese scientists observed
the phenomena of the so-called Bose-Einstein Condensation in
rubidium atoms. It is briefed that it is the first time for
China to realize the experiment on Bose-Einstein
Condensation. The experiment has made itself of important
scientific meanings and potential application values as it
discovered the existence of a new matter status and provided
a unique new medium for experimental physicists in many new
research fields such as generation and magnifying atomic
laser, non-linear atomic optics and condensed vortex status.
When employing the findings in the field of applied
technologies, people may work out atomic clock of high
accuracy and stability and sophisticated atomic interference
instruments in the future.
Progress on Liver
Cancer Treatment
At the 3rd World Conference
on Cancer Melting recently held in Milano, Italy, the paper
presented by Prof. Chen Minhua of Clinic Oncology Institute
under Peking University on radio frequency treatment of
large liver cancer was thought highly of by the
participants.
In her paper named “Radio
Frequency Treatment of Large Liver Cancer with Mathematics
Model”, Prof. Chen for the first time in the world
proposed the method of calculating the minimum number of
melting spots and associated model and program for optimized
melting process. Prof. Chen also briefed the Conference
about the clinic application results under the theory.
Prof. Chen expressed that treating large liver
cancer with radio frequency has found a solution to the
medical puzzle in the field, which is able to make
deactivation of large liver cancer go up from 47.8% in the
past to the current 86.1% and patients' survival rate from
68% to 83% with remarkably reduced recurrence rate but
improved life quality.
NEWS BRIEFS
China's Talent Power Strategy
Mr. Zhang Xuezhong, Chinese Minister of
Personnel recently expressed that in the course of
implementing the so-called talent power strategy, China
would relentlessly absorb and recruit high caliber human
resources from overseas, encourag and welcome talented
people from different countries to pursue their development
in China. He added that developing China's high caliber
human resources contingent should be in line with the
international norms and China would brave the challenges and
grasp the opportunities in the international competition for
talented people, developing and utilizing human resources
market both at home and abroad, paying more attention to
overseas brain resources, absorbing talented people from
abroad and gradually realizing the international process of
evaluating talented people's qualification and assessing
their quality. To meet these targets, Chinese authoriuies in
charge of personnel affairs will together with other
relevant governmental agencies work out recruitment plans
for absorbing talents in dire need and specific process for
employing overseas high caliber talents in public service
and create information network on overseas high caliber
talents, developing and regulating brokerage firms
introducing high caliber talents from abroad.
China's Largest S and T Library
On June 29, 2002, Literature and Information
Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences, the largest of its
kind in the country opened its door to the public. In the
spacious lecture hall, readers from different parts of the
country may search, read or subscribe S and T books or
journals from the web page http://www.las.ac.cn. Equipped
with the latest automatic system in the world and giga level
ether net interfaced with 1,700 network outlets, the library
has embodied the latest world advanced concepts with both of
its automation and networking level rated the first place in
the country.
With an investment of RMB 240
million, the Literature and Information Center Building is
42.4 meters tall with 9 floors above ground and the
basement. From Floor 1 to Floor 7 sits the library while
both Floor 8 and Floor 9 house the archival section. Over a
floor area of 40,000 m2 dotted with 800 readers'seats, the
library has kept 5.2 million books and over 1 million
non-printed literatures. One of the most attracting features
of the Library is its integrated open management mode for
searching, reading and lending over a spacious and connected
area which makes easy and fast services for readers
possible.
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