Large eddy simulation of two-phase reacting turbulent flow in a pilot-scale pulverized coal combustion furnace with flamelet model

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - A three-dimensional numerical simulation was performed to investigate the physics and combustion characteristics of a two-phase reacting turbulent...     

Liberation of phospholipids from Z-disks of chicken skeletal muscle myofibrils by 0.1 mM calcium ions: weakening mechanism for Z-disks during post-mortem aging of meat

Weakening of the Z-disks of skeletal muscle myofibrils contributes to the tenderization of meat during post-mortem aging. To elucidate the weakening mechanism, we compared Z-disks weakened by post-mortem aging of chicken breast muscle with those of myofibrils treated with a solution containing 0.1 mM CaCl2 and 1 microM calpastatin domain I. In both cases, the Z-disks were weakened with a corresponding liberation of their constituent phospholipids (PLs). The liberation of PLs specific to 0.1 mM calcium ions was minimal at pH 6.5 and maximal at 35 degrees C together with the Z-disk weakening. Binding of calcium ions to PLs in the Z-disks was determined by 45Ca-autoradiography. Acidic PLs were strongly radioactive and neutral PLs were appreciably radioactive. It is very probable that acidic PLs would bind electrostatically to alpha-actinin under physiological conditions, and that this interaction would be broken by the binding of calcium ions at 0.1 mM to PLs, resulting in the partial liberation of PLs from Z-disks. We conclude, therefore, that the liberation of PLs by the binding of 0.1 mM calcium ions was the main cause for Z-disk weakening during the post-mortem aging of chicken.     

NO/cGMP pathway is involved in exocrine secretion from rat pancreatic acinar cells

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated with the initiation of breast-feeding in a predominantly Puerto Rican population living in inner-city Hartford, Conn. DESIGN: Retrospective study of 144 Latino women (mean +/- standard deviation age = 26.3 +/- 5.7 years) with children at least 1 year old but younger than 6 years old (mean +/- standard deviation age = 3.0 +/- 1.2 years) at the time of the survey. Women were recruited from agencies sponsoring health programs for mothers and children. They were interviewed in their homes (69%) or at the Hispanic Health Council, Hartford, Conn (31%). SUBJECTS/SETTING: Low-income Latino women who had at least 1 preschooler at the time of the interview. The women lived in inner-city Hartford, and the overwhelming majority were Puerto Rican and received welfare assistance and food stamps. Seventy-eight percent of the women chose to be interviewed in Spanish; the other 22% were interviewed in English. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: Explanatory variables that related to breast-feeding initiation (P < or = .2) in bivariate chi 2 analyses were entered into a multivariate logistic regression model that was reduced using backward stepwise elimination procedures. RESULTS: Multivariate analyses indicated that breast-feeding the previous child, shorter length of maternal residence in the United States, not receiving prenatal bottle-feeding advice, more recent birth, and higher birth weight were positively associated with breast-feeding initiation. A major reason for choosing not to breast-feed was that women felt socially uncomfortable doing it. APPLICATIONS: Breast-feeding initiation was more likely in Latino women who received prenatal breast-feeding counselling and postpartum support. Mothers of low-birth-weight infants and women breast-feeding for the first time may need additional help. These findings can be used by programs like the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children to increase breast-feeding initiation.     

Tribological Properties of Langmuir–Blodgett Films on Silicon Surface in Microscale Sliding Contact

Microtribological properties of Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) films transferred from behenic acid (BehA), 2,4-heneicosanedione (HD) and its copper complex ((HD)₂Cu) onto silicon surface were examined. To better understand the wear resistance performance of these LB monolayers, a comparison was made with a chemically grafted octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) monolayer. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) was used for identification of the chemical composition of the monolayers, worn areas and counterpart surfaces. We observed that the studied LB films in microscale sliding contact exhibited stable friction properties comparable to OTS, and better wear performance than OTS at high contact pressure. The tribological properties of these LB monolayers were explained in terms of molecular packing density and molecular transfer to the counterpart surface. The relationship between the wear resistance of the studied LB films and the degree of molecular packing of the surfactants indicated that the wear properties of the LB films are strongly associated with the degree of molecular packing. We suggest that the steady low friction and high wear resistance of the BehA monolayer may partly be attributed to the transfer of the amphiphilic molecules to the counterpart surface in the contact region.     

The relation between induced abortion and ectopic pregnancy

The present study was conducted to elucidate the effects of tirilazad mesylate (U-74006F), a potent inhibitor of lipid peroxidation, on vessel diameter, capillary perfusion, and contractile function of rat cremaster muscle during a 90-minute reperfusion period that followed 4 hours of warm ischemia. Two groups of 32 animals were treated with either 3 mg/kg U-74006F or the vehicle (citrate buffer) alone 30 minutes before ischemia, 90 minutes after ischemia, and immediately before reperfusion. With use of intravital videomicroscopy, the internal luminal diameters of preselected vessels were measured prior to ischemia and during reperfusion. The area that filled with fluorescein was determined at 15-minute intervals for as long as 90 minutes of reperfusion, and contractile function was examined in vitro in an organ bath at that point. In the U-74006F group, after 90 minutes of reperfusion the vessel diameters returned completely to baseline and the diameters of all three categories of vessels at every time point from 10 to 90 minutes of reperfusion had significantly more rapid recovery than the controls. Although some evidence of more rapid fluorescence was noted in the U-74006F group, the two groups did not differ significantly at any time period of reperfusion. In response to tetanic stimulation, the muscles treated with U-74006F had a significantly greater contractile force at all stimulation frequencies than the control muscles. Our findings indicate that pretreatment with U-74006F can effectively decrease the rise of vascular resistance and preserve the contractile function of skeletal muscle during early reperfusion, thereby attenuating ischemia-reperfusion injury.     

RETRACTED ARTICLE: Development and application of intensified envelope analysis for the condition monitoring system using acoustic emission signal

The application of the high-frequency acoustic-emission (AE) technique in the condition monitoring of rotating machinery has been increasing of late. It has a major drawback, though, the attenuation of the signal, and as such, the AE sensor has to be close to its source. Two signal-processing methods, envelope analysis and wavelet transform, were found to be useful for detecting faults in the rolling element bearing and gearboxes. These methods have a disadvantage, though: their application is focused only on a component of the assembled machine. For example, envelope analysis is a powerful method for detecting faults in the bearing system, but it is not proper for use in the gear system. Thus, these methods could not be used to detect combined faults in the common assembled machines. Therefore, we propose a signal-processing method consisting of envelope analysis and DWT (discrete wavelet transform). In addition, a novel mother function optimized for the AE signal for DWT was extracted through a fatigue crack growth test, and is also proposed herein. Then the proposed method, called intensified envelope analysis (IEA), was used to detect the faults in the rolling element bearing and rotating shaft. According to the results, IEA can be a better signal processing method for the condition monitoring system using AE technique.     

Expectations and interpretations during causal learning.

In existing models of causal induction, 4 types of covariation information (i.e., presence/absence of an event followed by presence/absence of another event) always exert identical influences on causal strength judgments (e.g., joint presence of events always suggests a generative causal relationship). In contrast, we suggest that, due to expectations developed during causal learning, learners give varied interpretations to covariation information as it is encountered and that these interpretations influence the resulting causal beliefs. In Experiments 1A–1C, participants' interpretations of observations during a causal learning task were dynamic, expectation based, and, furthermore, strongly tied to subsequent causal judgments. Experiment 2 demonstrated that adding trials of joint absence or joint presence of events, whose roles have been traditionally interpreted as increasing causal strengths, could result in decreased overall causal judgments and that adding trials where one event occurs in the absence of another, whose roles have been traditionally interpreted as decreasing causal strengths, could result in increased overall causal judgments. We discuss implications for traditional models of causal learning and how a more top-down approach (e.g., Bayesian) would be more compatible with the current findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nanosize cobalt oxides as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries

Nanosize cobalt oxides (Co₃O₄) were synthesised by chemical decomposition of cobalt octacarbonyl in toluene at low temperature. Electrochemical properties of as-prepared Co₃O₄ as anodes in Li-ion cells were tested. The nanosized Co₃O₄ electrode demonstrate a stable reversible lithium storage capacity of 360 mAh/g within 30 cycles. The reactivity of as-prepared Co₃O₄ in Li-ion cells could be attributed to nanosize particles of Co₃O₄ and its lithiation products.