Study of flow instability in off design operation of a multistage centrifugal pump

In recent years, attempts have been made to make multistage centrifugal pumps smaller in size and more efficient. However, such designs are known to cause positive-slope phenomena in the Q-H curve, especially under low-flow conditions. These phenomena, which have thus far been studied experimentally and numerically, stem from flow instability in the pump. However, their mechanisms have not yet been clarified because it depends on various parameters. In this study, we focused on diffuser rotating stall, observed in positive Q-H characteristics. This study elucidates the mechanism of positive-slope generation through experimental results and two-dimensional numerical analysis.     

Neonatal lupus erythematosus: maternal IgG antibodies bind to a recombinant NH2-terminal fusion protein encoded by human alpha-fodrin cDNA

IgG antibodies to a cleavage product of alpha-fodrin (120 kDa alpha-fodrin) have recently been identified as organ-specific autoantibodies in primary Sj?gren's syndrome. In this study, we examined seroreactivity of mothers and infants with neonatal lupus erythematosus (NLE) to a recombinant NH2-terminal protein (120 kDa alpha-fodrin) of human alpha-fodrin. Serum samples were collected during the perinatal period in seven pregnancies of five mothers delivering offspring with NLE. Anti-120 kDa alpha-fodrin antibodies were identified by immunoblotting in six of seven perinatal maternal sera of offspring with NLE: one of two congenital heart block offspring and all five offspring with cutaneous NLE. These antibodies were placentally transmitted to infants. One of the five mothers had primary Sj?gren's syndrome, and four were asymptomatic. One asymptomatic mother did not demonstrate anti-120 kDa alpha-fodrin activity at the time of the first delivery of a congenital heart block infant, but was found to be positive at the time of subsequent delivery of a second child with cutaneous NLE. We propose that maternal antibodies to 120 kDa alpha-fodrin may be an additional serologic marker for the risk of NLE in anti-Ro/SS-A positive women.     

Swelling of hydrophilic polymers. IV

The swelling of five types of spherical crosslinked dextrans (Sephadex) that are either nonionic (G) or ionic [carboxymethyl (CM), sulphopropyl (SP), diethylaminoethyl (DEAE), and diethyl-(2-hydroxypropyl)aminoethyl (QAE)] in the same skeleton has been studied in water at different dissolved oxygen concentrations by microscopic observation and by dilatometry. The maximum specific volume, V_max/V₀ obtained by microscopic observation increased with the lowered dissolved oxygen concentration for each Sephadex. The change of the maximum specific volume was closely related to the changes of the dissolved oxygen concentrations. The maximum changes of the total volume took the larger negative values at the lower dissolved oxygen concentration. The effect of the difference in the dissolved oxygen on the change of the total volume with swelling was closely related to the viscosity B coefficient of the Jones-Dole equation. From these results, we conclude that the structure of water on the inside of the gel differs from that on the outside of the gel. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Tumor growth modulation by sense and antisense vascular endothelial growth factor gene expression: effects on angiogenesis, vascular permeability, blood volume, blood flow, fluorodeoxyglucose uptake, and proliferation of human melanoma intracerebral xenografts

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), also known as vascular permeability factor, has been investigated as a potent mediator of brain tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth. We evaluated the effect of VEGF expression on the pathophysiology of tumor growth in the brain. Human SK-MEL-2 melanoma cells, with minimal VEGF expression, were stably transfected with either sense or antisense mouse VEGF cDNA and used to produce intracerebral xenografts. Vascular permeability, blood volume, blood flow, and tumor fluorodeoxyglucose metabolism were assessed using tissue sampling and quantitative autoradiography. Tumor proliferation was assessed by measuring bromodeoxyuridine labeling indices. Tumor vascular density and morphological status of the blood-brain barrier were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. SK-MEL-2 cells transfected with sense VEGF (V+) expressed large amounts of mouse and human VEGF protein; V+ cells formed well-vascularized, rapidly growing tumors with minimal tumor necrosis. V+ tumors had substantial and significant increases in blood volume, blood flow, vascular permeability, and fluorodeoxyglucose metabolism compared to wild-type and/or V- (antisense VEGF) tumors. VEGF antisense transfected V- expressed no detectable VEGF protein and formed minimally vascularized tumors. V- tumors had a very low initial growth rate with central necrosis; blood volume, blood flow, vascular permeability, and glucose metabolism levels were low compared to wild-type and V+ tumors. A substantial inhibition of intracerebral tumor growth, as well as a decrease in tumor vascularity, blood flow, and vascular permeability may be achieved by down-regulation of endogenous VEGF expression in tumor tissue. VEGF-targeted antiangiogenic gene therapy could be an effective component of a combined strategy to treat VEGF-producing brain tumors.     

Multiple overlapping Wiktor stenting for the treatment of diffuse lesions of small coronary arteries]

The plastic qualities and vascular reliability of the frontal flap have been widely used for reconstruction of facial tissue. We revised the files of 105 patients who had undergone surgical repair of facial tissue loss with frontal flaps. The epidemiology, etiology of the repaired tissue loss and indications for frontal flap as well as the various techniques were analyzed: 66.7% of the patients were over 60 years of age; 74% had ambulatory surgical repair; 54.4% of the repaired tissue losses were situated in the nasal region; 80% of the losses were due to tumoral formations. The median flap was the most widely used (23.2%).     

A 2/3-in 2 million pixel STACK-CCD HDTV imager

A 2/3-in optical format 2 M pixel STACK-CCD imager has been developed. The STACK-CCD imager, overlaid with an amorphous silicon photoconversion layer, realizes a large signal charge handling capability of 1.0×10⁵ electrons, a -140 dB smear noise and a 90 dB dynamic range with a newly introduced device configuration and its unique operation. The 5.0 μm(H)×5.2 μm(V) unit pixel imager with sufficiently low image lag has been realized by a novel bias charge injection scheme These device performances are the best ever achieved by a CCD HDTV imager. This is the first such imager satisfying the device performances required for a practical use 2/3-in 2 M pixel HDTV imager     

New method of domain inversion in LiNbO/sub 3/ using thermal oxidation of Ti film

A new technique for fabricating domain inversion regions in -c face LiNbO/sub 3/ by thermal oxidation of Ti is reported. This technique can minimise refractive index changes in such regions, thus it is suitable for quasiphase-matching (QPM) second harmonic generation (SHG). A prototype QPM waveguide SHG device is also demonstrated.<>