Fluid flow and heat transfer of opposing mixed convection adjacent to downward‐facing,inclined heated plates

Experimental investigations were carried out for opposing mixed convective flows of air adjacent to downward‐facing, inclined heated plates. The experiments covered the ranges of the Reynolds and modified Rayleigh numbers from Re_L=400 to 4600 and Ra_L^*=1.0×10⁷ to 5.4×10⁸, and the inclination angles from θ=15 to 75^° from horizontal. The flow fields over the plates were visualized with smoke. The results showed that a separation of forced boundary layer flow occurs first at the bottom edge of the plate, and then the separation point shifts toward upstream with increasing wall heat flux, and finally, reaches the top edge of the plates. It was found that the separations at the bottom and top edges are predicted with a non‐dimensional parameter (Gr_Lθ^*/Re_L^2.5)=0.35 and 1.0, respectively. The local heat transfer coefficients of the inclined plates were also measured and the results showed that the minimum coefficients appear in the separation region. Moreover, it was revealed that forced, natural, and combined convective flows can be classified by the non‐dimensional parameter (Gr_Lθ^*/Re_L^2.5). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Pub‐ lished online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20233     

Cellular Telephone-Aided Real-Time Reporting System for Emergency Laboratory Test Results

The authors established a system for real-time reporting of clinical laboratory test results utilizing the mailing function of a cellular telephone service. The reporting system is composed of systems for sample transportation and automatic analysis, verification of test results, and reporting of test results. The introduction of the system has completely eliminated time delays at all stages of the laboratory testing process from start of testing to reporting of the test result. This has enabled doctors to receive test results in a timely manner wherever they are and to respond promptly to the patient condition.     

Mutational analyses of restriction endonuclease--HindIII mutant E86K with higher activity and altered specificity

We have performed mutational analyses of restriction endonucleaseHindIII in order to identify the amino acid residues responsiblefor enzyme activity. Four of the seven HindIII mutants, whichhad His-tag sequences at the N-termini, were expressed in Escherichiacoli, and purified to homogeneity. The His-tag sequence didnot affect enzyme activity, whereas it hindered binding of theDNA probe in gel retardation assays. A mutant E86K in whichLys was substituted for Glu at residue 86 exhibited high endonucleaseactivity. Gel retardation assays showed high affinity of thismutant to the DNA probe. Surprisingly, in the presence of atransition metal, Mo²⁺ or Mn²⁺, the E86K mutant cleaved substrateDNA at a site other than HindIII. Substitution of Glu for Valat residue 106 (V106E), and Asn for Lys at residue 125 (K125N)resulted in a decrease in both endonucleolytic and DNA bindingactivities of the enzyme. Furthermore, substitution of Leu forAsp at residue 108 (D108L) abolished both HindIII endonucleaseand DNA binding activities. CD spectra of the wild type andthe two mutants, E86K and D108L, were similar to each other,suggesting that there was little change in conformation as aresult of the mutations. These results account for the notionthat Asp108 could be directly involved in HindIII catalyticfunction, and that the substitution at residue 86 may bringabout new interactions between DNA and cations.     

Simultaneous determination of dichlorvos and trichlorfon in agricultural products by GC-FPD

We studied a gas chromatographic method for the determination of dichlorvos (DDVP) and trichlorfon (DEP) in agricultural products. DDVP and DEP were extracted from agricultural products with acetone and re-extracted with ethyl acetate instead of dichloromethane. DDVP and DEP were eluted in one fraction on a silica gel column using n-hexane-acetone (1:1). DEP is a thermally labile compound, so it was derived to a more thermally stable compound by acylation with N-methylbis(trifluoroacetamide) and pyridine in acetone at 60 degrees C for 2 hours. DDVP and the DEP-TFA derivative were determined simultaneously by GC-FPD. The recoveries of DDVP and DEP from agricultural products spiked at levels of 0.1 microgram/g were 72.6-117.7% and 86.2-106.6%, respectively. The detection limits were 0.03 microgram/g in powdered tea and < or = 0.01 microgram/g in other samples. An interlaboratory study by 6 laboratories was conducted to validate this proposed method for 6 crops. Repeatability ranged from 3.1 to 7.8% for DDVP and from 3.4 to 8.3% for DEP, and reproducibility, from 6.9 to 15.5% for DDVP, and from 7.9 to 21.8% for DEP. Precision values were well within statistically predicted levels.