Heating energy use management in residential buildings by temperature control

This paper presents the results of analytical investigations to determine the potential heating energy savings that can be achieved in residential buildings by controlling the house temperature through either night setback or night setback plus day zone setback. A typical U.S. single family house is analyzed for different levels of thermal integrity of the building envelope (i.e., levels of insulation, window glazing, and infiltration). Reduced infiltration, insulated interior walls, and various window orientations are also considered. Results are given for four major U.S. climate zones—cool, temperate, hot-humid, and hot-arid. The analysis shows that both types of setbacks are most effective in loose houses, with the greatest absolute savings for the cool climates, and the greatest percent savings for the hot climates. However, the benefits from thermostat setbacks are smaller for tighter houses, and may actually be counterproductive owing to corollary effects such as increased peak loads and degradation of system efficiency.     

Microstructure investigations of ball milled materials

HREM and FEG TEM were emphasized and extensively used to follow the most subtle changes in the structure and composition of ball-milled Cu, Fe-Cu, and thermally decomposed Fe60Cu40. Some significant results are obtained and summarized as follows: HREM shows that the deformation of ball-milled copper proceeds mainly by twinning and shear bands (SBs) formation. The nano-grains formed during ball milling (BM) contain a high density of dislocations. The grain boundaries (GBs) of nanocrystalline (NC) Cu prepared by BM are ordered, curved, and strained, but disordering, lattice distortion, and nanovoids in local regions were frequently observed. Nanoscale composition analysis on mechanically alloyed Fe16Cu84 shows that the average Fe content in both the interior of grains and the GBs is close to the designed composition, which proves that a supersaturated solid solution has really formed. However, the Fe content is rather inhomogeneous between the larger and smaller grains, which infers the inhomogeneous mixing of Fe and Cu during mechanical alloying (MA). NC structure and the mechanical force-enhanced fast diffusion are the reasons of the formation of supersaturated solid solutions in immiscible systems with positive enthalpy of mixing. HREM observations carried out with the thermally decomposed Fe60Cu40 solid solution show that the Nishiyama (N-W) or Kurdyumov-Sachs (K-S) orientation relationships exist between alpha-Fe and Cu. Energy dispersive X-ray spectra (EDXS) results show that the Cu content in these alpha-Fe grains reaches as high as 9.5 at.% even after heating to 1,400 degrees C, which is even higher than the maximum solubility of Cu in gamma-Fe at 1,094 degrees C.     

Lysophosphatidylcholine is involved in the antigenicity of oxidized LDL

Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) is formed by hydrolysis of PC in low density lipoprotein (LDL) and cell membranes by phospholipase A2 or by oxidation. Oxidized (ox) LDL activates endothelial cells, an effect mimicked by LPC. oxLDL also has the capacity to activate T and B cells, and antibody titers to oxLDL are related to the degree of atherosclerosis. The antigen in oxLDL responsible for its immune-stimulatory capacity is not well characterized, and we hypothesized that LPC was involved. We demonstrate herein the presence of antibodies against LPC, both of the IgG and IgM isotype, in 210 healthy individuals. This antibody reactivity was not specifically related to oxidation of the fatty acid moiety in LPC, since LPC containing only palmitic acid showed antibody titers equivalent to those of LPC containing unsaturated fatty acids. Antibody titers to PC were low compared with LPC, and hydrolysis of PC at the sn-2 position is thus essential for immune reactivity. There was a close correlation between anti-oxLDL and anti-LPC antibodies. Furthermore, LPC competitively inhibited anti-oxLDL reactivity, which indicates that LPC may explain a significant part of the immune-stimulatory properties of oxLDL. LPC, being a lipid, is not likely to be an antigen itself. Instead, LPC could form immunogenic complexes with peptides, which may induce and potentiate immune reactions in the vessel wall. This study adds to the evidence that LPC is an important component of oxLDL and emphasizes the potential role of phospholipase A2 in atherosclerosis.     

Physical fitness, physical activity, and functional limitation in adults aged 40 and older

PURPOSE: A cohort of middle-aged and older men and women were followed for an average of 5.5 yr to examine the association between physical fitness, physical activity, and the prevalence of functional limitation. METHODS: The participants received medical assessments between 1980 and 1988 and responded to a mail-back survey regarding functional status in 1990. RESULTS: Among 3495 men and 1175 women over 40 yr of age at baseline, 350 (7.5%) reported at least one functional limitation in daily or household activities at follow-up. The prevalence of functional limitation was higher among women than men. Physically fit and physically active participants reported less functional limitation than unfit or sedentary participants. After controlling for age and other risk factors, the prevalence of functional limitation was lower for both moderately fit (odds ratio = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.2-0.6) and high fit men (odds ratio = 0.3, 95% CI = 0.2-0.4), compared with low fit men. Corresponding figures for women were 0.5 (0.3-0.7) and 0.3 (0.2-0.5) for moderately fit and high fit women. The association between physical activity and functional limitation was similar to the data for physical fitness. CONCLUSIONS: These data support a protective effect of physical fitness and physical activity on functional limitation among older adults and extend this protective effect to middle-aged men and women.     

有机硅建筑密封剂及施工管理

本文介绍了有机硅建筑密封剂特点、品种及应用范围，重点介绍其施工程序及管理。     

有关H－Ⅱ运载火箭的动力学课题研究

重点介绍有关Ｈ—Ⅱ运载火箭（以下简称Ｈ—Ⅱ）的一些动力学课题的研究状况。其中，重要的动力学课题有全箭振动、ＰＯＧＯ、防液体晃动、分离动力学试验、动力学环境试验等。针对这些动力学课题，日本有关部门已研究多年，既作了充分的地面试验，又进行了有效的工程应用研究，最终保证了Ｈ—Ⅱ的首次飞行成功。