Updating a steel mill power system to improve reliability anddecrease energy costs

The cost of electricity and operating reliability in heavy industry can be key in determining which processes and plants survive in today's competitive market. This paper provides an insight into the planning and implementation of several significant cost saving and reliability improvements at a turn-of-the-century steel mill in Ohio. A clear understanding of what to look for and how to proceed with such projects should provide motivation for others considering similar improvements     

Multigigabit/s demultiplexing in optical domain using coherence properties of pulse trains from multiple, asynchronous mode-locked lasers

It is shown that the unique coherence properties of mode-locked lasers can be exploited to provide new opportunities for high-speed data transmission. Using passive Mach-Zehnder optical delay stages, very high bit rate optical data streams constructed from asynchronously combined transmitters can be demultiplexed directly in the optical domain, without imposing restrictions on the source wavelength. Potential implementation and performance of the technique are discussed.<>     

Graph‐Theory Approach to Eigenvalue Problem of Large Space Structures

The dynamic analysis and control system design of large space structures involve the solution of the large‐dimensional generalized matrix eigenvalue problem. The computational effort involved is proportional to the third power of the dimension of the matrices involved. To minimize the computational time a graph‐theory approach to reduce a matrix to lower‐ordered submatrices is proposed. The matrix‐reduction algorithm uses the Boolean matrices corresponding to the original numerical matrices and, thus, the computational effort to reduce the original matrix is nominal. The computational savings directly depend upon the number of submatrices into which the original matrix is reduced. A free‐free square plate is considered as an example to illustrate the technique. In this example a matrix of 16th order is reduced to three scalars corresponding to three rigid‐body modes, and three matrices of order three and one matrix of order four.     

Update on the use of percutaneous nephrostomy/balloon dilation for the treatment of renal transplant leak/obstruction

PURPOSE: Retrospective evaluation of the efficacy of percutaneous nephrostomy and nephroureteral stent placement for treatment of post-transplant ureteral leak, and percutaneous nephrostomy and balloon dilation for treatment of post-transplant ureteral obstruction. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data were reviewed for all patients who underwent percutaneous therapy for complications after renal transplantation between January 1985 and June 1995. A total of 61 patients with complications (leak, n = 17; obstruction, n = 44) had been treated. Patients underwent percutaneous nephrostomy followed by antegrade placement of a nephroureteral stent. In addition, all patients with obstruction also underwent ureteral balloon dilation. Follow-up ranged from 9 weeks to 24 months. Positive outcome was defined as nonsurgical closure of leak, significant improvement in renal function, and removal of the nephroureteral stent with maintenance of stable renal function. RESULTS: Regarding ureteral leak, 10 of 17 patients (59%) healed after treatment. Seven patients (41%) did not respond and went on to surgical repair. All patients with early (n = 13) ureteral obstruction (< 3 months after transplantation), had improved renal function (P < .025). Sixty-two percent of patients with early obstruction were cured (tube out with stable renal function) and 38% went to surgery for ureteral repair. In patients with late (n = 31) obstruction (> 3 months after transplantation), renal function improved in only 58% (P < .01). Only 16% of patients with late obstruction were cured (tube out with stable renal function). Ureteral obstruction was persistent in the remaining patients and did not respond to multiple balloon dilations. All complications were minor and included 23 of 61 (38%) patients with urinary tract infections and nine of 61 (14%) patients with limited hematuria. CONCLUSION: Percutaneous nephrostomy is very effective in improving renal function in patients with early obstruction. It is moderately successful in treating ureteral leak. Ureteral balloon dilatation is moderately effective for treatment of obstruction in the early (< 3 months) postoperative period. However, balloon dilation is minimally successful in curing ureteric obstruction occurring more than 3 months after transplantation.     

The effect of cytokines, including IL4, IL7, stem cell factor, insulin-like growth factor on childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

We have investigated the effects of some interleukins, such as interleukin (IL) 4, IL7, stem cell factor (SCF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), known to be involved in human lymphopoiesis, on proliferation, clonal growth and differentiation of cells from two acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) derived pre-B cell lines, that is, Nalm 1, Nalm 6 and purified blasts from 37 childhood ALL. IL4 did not display any promoting activity, an inhibitory effect being observed in two patients. IL7 showed an heterogeneous responsiveness, not related to immunophenotype or cytogenetic features, proliferation and clonal growth being observed in a minority of ALL. In other patients no or even inhibitory effects on proliferation were observed. In one case this inhibition of DNA synthesis was accompanied by maturation of the cells, as demonstrated by the induced expression of surface immunoglobulins (slg); other IL7 treated samples failed to express slg, but showed a decreased expression of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and cALL antigen, suggesting that the cells have a potential of limited maturation by IL7. SCF, known to synergize with IL7 in the most primitive stages of normal B cell development, did not enhance the IL7 response in B cell precursor ALL. Finally IGF-1 failed to induce a proliferative response and clonal growth in BCP ALL either alone or in combination with IL7.     

In vivo effects of activated H-ras oncogene expressed in the liver and in urogenital tissues

PURPOSE: The clinical significance of isolated calf vein thrombosis (CVT), particularly with respect to development of the postthrombotic syndrome, remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to define the early natural history of CVT in relation to persistent lower extremity symptoms, propagation, recanalization, and the development of valvular incompetence. METHODS: Over a 116-month period, 499 patients with acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT) were referred to our research laboratory, of whom 58 (12%) had thrombosis confined to the calf veins of at least one extremity. The lower extremities of 268 patients (29 with isolated CVT) were followed-up clinically and with duplex ultrasonography at intervals of 1 day, 7 days, 1 month, every 3 months for the first year, and yearly thereafter. RESULTS: Seventy percent of extremities with CVT were symptomatic at presentation. Although the prevalence of clinical signs and symptoms decreased to 29% by 1 month, 23% of patients had persistent pain, edema, or both at 12 months. In contrast, 9% of uninvolved extremities contralateral to a CVT and 54% of extremities with proximal DVT remained symptomatic at 1 year (p = 0.004). Recanalization proceeded rapidly such that the mean thrombus load was reduced by 50% at 1 month and to zero at 1 year. The prevalence of valvular incompetence progressively increased such that reflux was present in 24% of extremities at 1 year. Although its investigation was not a primary goal of this study, pulmonary embolism was diagnosed at presentation and during follow-up in 11% and 3% of patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The natural history of CVT is complicated by persistent symptoms and the development of valvular incompetence in approximately one-quarter of patients. This potential for persistent lower extremity symptoms should be considered in evaluating the clinical relevance of isolated calf vein DVT.     

Simultaneous design of power stage and controller for switchingpower supplies

This paper develops a method for simultaneously designing the power stage and controller for a switching power supply. The method utilizes a numerical optimization procedure, which facilitates computer-aided design. It is found that better performance can be achieved than with a traditional two-step design process, where the power stage and controller are designed sequentially. Optimization and simulation results for a buck power converter are presented to illustrate the design process and benefits     

'Sheltered disruption' of Neurospora crassa MOM22, an essential component of the mitochondrial protein import complex

MOM22 is a component of the protein import complex of the mitochondrial outer membrane of Neurospora crassa. Using the newly developed procedure of 'sheltered disruption', we created a heterokaryotic strain harboring two nuclei, one with a null allele of the mom-22 gene and the other with a wild-type allele. Homokaryons bearing the mom-22 disruption could not be isolated, suggesting that mom-22 is an essential gene. The mutant nucleus can be forced to predominate in the heterokaryon through the use of specific nutritional and inhibitor resistance markers. Cultivation of the heterokaryon under conditions favoring the mutant nucleus resulted in selective depletion of MOM22. MOM22-depleted cells did not grow and contained mitochondria with an altered morphology and protein composition. Protein import into isolated, MOM22-depleted mitochondria was abolished for most precursor proteins destined for all subcompartments. In contrast, precursors of MOM19, MOM22 and MOM72 became inserted normally into the outer membrane, defining a novel MOM22-independent import pathway which remained intact in mutant mitochondria. Furthermore, the specific binding of the ADP/ATP carrier to the outer membrane was unaffected, but subsequent transport across the outer membrane did not occur. Our data show that MOM22 is an essential component of Neurospora cells specifically required for the biogenesis of mitochondria.