Unsteady flow and heat transfer of a ferrofluid between two rotating,vertical moving and stretching disks

Unsteady flow and heat transfer of a magnetic fluid between two rotating disks is investigated. Both the disks are stretchable and the lower disk moves in the vertical direction. A new approach of similarity transformation is adopted to transform the equation of continuity, momentum, and the energy equation into ordinary nonlinear coupled differential equations. The numerical solution of the converted nonlinear differential equations is obtained using the finite element method. The effects of magnetization force, rotational viscosity, Prandtl number, and Eckert number on the velocity and temperature distributions are studied. The impact of stretching, movement, and rotation of the disk is also considered in this computational study. The skin friction coefficients and heat transfer rate on the lower disk for different physical parameters are calculated. Different types of motion of the disks and the magnetization force are crucial aspects in the stress distribution and heat transfer rate near the lower disk.     

Performance of a solar collector/storage water heater

This paper presents a general analytical model of a solar collector/storage water heater in which water is flowing at a constant rate between the glass cover and the absorbing plate. The effects of the variations of the depth of water, its flow velocity and the length of the absorbing plate on the performance of the collector have been studied.     

Optimum size of non-convective zone for improved thermal performance of salt gradient solar pond

The salt gradient solar pond is a long-term heat storage system with a considerable warm-up time. A pond is efficient when it reaches the desired temperature quickly and maximum heat is subsequently retrieved at steady state. This requires optimum sizing of the non-convective zone. In the present work, the optimum size of the non-convective zone for fast warm-up is determined. This is found to differ considerably from the optimum size of the steady state criterion. The possibility of achieving both performance parameters, i.e. fast warm-up and maximum heat collection later on, is analyzed. It is suggested that when commissioning a pond, the size of the non-convective zone should at first be the optimum value from the warm-up rate criterion, but may later be changed to the optimum size from the steady state criterion.     

Measurements of neutron shielding properties of heavy concretes using a Cf-252 source

This investigation reports the experimental results of neutron transport and shielding properties of heavy concretes made from locally available ilmenite and magnetite sand. The experiment has been carried out with a ²⁵²Cf source and a BF₃ detector as a long counter. The thickness dependent removal cross section has been investigated and found to vary from 0.0936 cm⁻¹ at 5 cm to 0.0346 cm⁻¹ at 100 cm and 0.0990 cm⁻¹ at 5 cm to 0.0366 cm⁻¹ at 100 cm for ilmenite and magnetite concretes respectively. The results illustrate the effectiveness of ilmenite and magnetite heavy concretes so far as their sheilding properties are concerned. These materials may be used as a neutron shield in reactors, accelerators and neutron sources.     

Stress reactions of children and adolescents in war and siege conditions

OBJECTIVE: This was a study of posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents during siege conditions in Sarajevo. METHOD: Seven hundred ninety-one students aged 7-15 years were surveyed to assess symptoms of posttraumatic stress and level of deprivation. RESULTS: Girls reported more stress than boys. Loss of family members and deprivation of basic needs were associated with more symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Personal experiences of siege are related to increased stress.     

Interleukin 13 inhibits growth of human renal cell carcinoma cells independently of the p140 interleukin 4 receptor chain

Interleukin-13 (IL-13) is a cytokine produced primarily by activated T lymphocytes. It exerts a variety of effects on different cell types, including monocytes, B lymphocytes, mast cells, and keratinocytes. The effects of IL-13 on target cells are often similar to the effects of IL-4, which is another cytokine product of activated T lymphocytes. We recently described the expression of intermediate- to high-affinity receptors for IL-13 (IL-13R) on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cells. In the present study, we examined the effect of IL-13 on the growth of RCC cells as measured by [3H]thymidine uptake and a clonogenic assay. In addition, we used an IL-4R-specific antibody to examine the specificity of IL-4R and IL-13R binding and function. We observed that IL-13 inhibited RCC cell proliferation by up to 50% and colony formation by up to 32% when compared with cells cultured in medium alone. A combination of IL-4 and IL-13 did not have an additive or synergistic effect on the growth of RCC cells. These cells expressed mRNA for IL-13 and secreted immunoreactive IL-13 protein in culture. The growth-inhibitory effects of IL-13 were specific, because they were not affected by antibodies to IL-4 or to the 140-kilodalton subunit of IL-4R. Furthermore, polyclonal antibodies to IL-4R failed to inhibit the binding of 125I-IL-13 to RCC cells. These results indicate that IL-13 has significant antiproliferative effects on human RCC cells, and the inhibition of IL-13 effects by anti-IL-4R antibody previously reported in lymphoid cells does not occur in RCC cells.     

Superacid coal chemistry. 2. Model compound studies under conditions of HF:BF3:H2 catalysed mild coal liquefaction

Selected model compounds representing coal structural entities were studied under the conditions of HF-BF₃-H₂ catalysed mild coal liquefaction. Bibenzyl and diphenylmethane gave near quantitative conversion at room temperature without added hydrogen. Biphenyl, however, required hydrogen pressure at 150 °C and gave a conversion of only ≈30%. Among the model compounds containing ether linkages, dibenzyl ether and benzyl phenyl ether gave quantitative conversion at room temperature without added hydrogen. Diphenyl ether in contrast was converted (≈70% yield) only under hydrogen pressure at 155 °C. Sulphur- and nitrogen-containing model compounds were also studied. At 95 °C in the absence of hydrogen, benzyl phenyl sulphide and dibenzyl sulphide gave over 95% conversion. On the other hand diphenyl sulphide and diphenyl disulphide required hydrogen pressure at 150 °C to give conversions of ≈95%. Quinoline gave a conversion of ≈20% under hydrogen pressure at 150 °C. The formation of condensation products in these conversion processes could be suppressed by the use of a good hydrogen donor, such as isopentane.     

Mechanism of constitutive activation of the AT1 receptor: influence of the size of the agonist switch binding residue Asn(111)

The AT1 receptor is a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR); its activation from the basal state (R) requires an interaction between Asn111 in transmembrane helix III (TM-III) of the receptor and the Tyr4 residue of angiotensin II (Ang II). Asn111 to Gly111 mutation (N111G) results in constitutive activation of the AT1 receptor (Noda et al. (1996) Biochemistry, 35, 16435-16442). We show here that replacement of the AT1 receptors TM-III with a topologically identical 16-residue segment (Cys101-Val116) from the AT2 receptor induces constitutive activity, although Asn111 is preserved in the resulting chimera, CR18. Effects of CR18 and N111G mutations are neither additive nor synergistic. The conformation(s) induced in either mutant mimics the partially activated state (R'), and transition to the fully activated R conformation in both no longer requires the Tyr4 of Ang II. Both the R state of the receptor and the Tyr4 Ang II dependence of receptor activation can be reinstated by introduction of a larger sized Phe side chain at the 111 position in CR18, suggesting that the CR18 mutation generated an effect similar to the reduction of side chain size in the N111G mutation. Consistently in the native AT1 receptor, R' conformation is generated by replacement with residues smaller but not larger than the Asn111. However, size substitution of several other TM-III residues in both receptors did not affect transitions between R, R', and R states. Thus, the property responsible for Asn111 function as a conformational switch is neither polarity nor hydrogen bonding potential but the side chain size. We conclude that the fundamental mechanism responsible for constitutive activation of the AT1 receptor is to increase the entropy of the key agonist-switch binding residue, Asn111. As a result, the normally agonist-dependent R --> R' transition occurs spontaneously. This mechanism may be applicable to many other GPCRs.     

Rigorous analysis of multiple coupled rib waveguides

The general problem of multiple coupled rib waveguides, where energy may be leaked from one guide to the other via the substrate and radiation mode, is treated. Rigorous results including substrate and air modes coupling are sought for the general case of coupling of two or more different guides. The analysis, developed in terms of a cascade of the transverse steps, utilizing a variational solution with a single trial function and making explicit use of edge singularities at the dielectric corners in order to produce an effective and rigorous solution, is presented. Multiple coupled rib guides are then reduced to a cascade of interacting step discontinuities in the transverse direction. When comparison is possible, the numerical results obtained by the method are seen to be as accurate as those obtained by the finite element method (FEM)/finite difference method (FDM), but with a fraction of the computer time and memory involved