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The article discusses research on the use of the Yaskawa CSDA10F dual-arm robot in automating life science laboratory sample preparation. Topics explored include the programming of this robot for the specified operation, the integration of the SAMI Workstation EX process control software in the automation program, and the analysis and processing of laboratory samples prepared by the robot.

Background: Colonoscopy is a valuable tool for diagnosing various colonic pathologies. There is little recent research regarding the use of colonoscopy in South Africa. Objective: To describe the findings of the audit done on the practice of colonoscopy in a specialised gastroenterology unit (GEU) of a tertiary teaching hospital. Design: A retrospective audit of colonoscopies performed between the 01 January 2008 and 31 March 2010 in a single gastroenterology unit at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital(CMJAH) was conducted. Details of colonoscopy records were obtained from an administrative database of patient files. No patient specific inclusion or exclusion criteria were applied. Results: In total 1143 colonoscopies were performed during the study period, and 989 were analysed. The mean age was 63.04 years (10 - 93), 61.58% female, 61.48% were Caucasians and 25.88% were of black ethnicity. The indications for colonoscopies were; screening for colorectal cancer (22.95%), case findings (14.16%) and surveillance (14.96%). Caecal intubation rate (CIR) was 80.08%. Findings included macroscopically normal colons (38.12%), polyps (28.18%) and diverticular disease (23.15%). Of the biopsies obtained during colonoscopy procedures 30.50% were reported as normal colonic mucosa, 10.40% revealed adenocarcinoma and 55.37% were tubular adenomas. Conclusions: The audit identified a number of shortfalls, which include: poor colonoscopy performance quality as reflected by the low CIR, non standardised colonoscopy reporting format resulting in paucity of information on scope reports, underrepresentation of the black community, to mention a few. It therefore would appear, based on the findings from this study that there is room for improvement in a number of areas in the practice of colonoscopy in this unit. Further studies may be of value to identify reasons behind these shortfalls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Syntheses of Mn 3 O 4 involve either high sintering temperatures to produce well crystallized products or the use of water-soluble precursors, surfactants, and organic solvents to generate nanocrystalline products. Mechanochemical approaches are known to be effective in the preparation of fine-grained or nanoscaled materials, while also being environmentally friendly because no solvents and no sintering at high temperatures are required. We report the solvent free mechanochemical synthesis of Mn 3 O 4 nanocrystals at room temperature, from a mixture of MnO and Mn 2 O 3 . The single-phase product was characterized by Rietveld refinement and SEM images. The obtained crystallite size was 14.2(2) nm, which is among the smallest ever produced crystallite sizes of Mn 3 O 4 . The obtained product reveals an enormous increase in lithium intercalation capability, which was proven via chemical lithium intercalation at room temperature. More than 50% lithiation of nanocrystalline Mn 3 O 4 is observed after a reaction time of 1 h, while coarse-grained material from a solid-state reaction shows no intercalation under the same reaction conditions. Therefore, the produced manganese oxide has a high potential in lithium battery applications.