Phase transformation and interface segregation behavior in Si3N4 ceramics sintered with La2O3–Lu2O3 mixed additive

Microstructure and mechanical property of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) ceramic are strongly dependent on the selection of sintering additives. When rare‐earth (RE) oxide is used as the sintering additive, segregation of RE ions at interface between Si₃N₄ grain and intergranular glassy film (IGF) is believed to play a critical role. Although the ionic radius of RE ion is known to be an empirical parameter to modify the mechanical property, the correlation between the segregated ions and their ionic radii is still under controversy. In order to address this issue, (i) rate of α‐β phase transformation and (ii) segregation behavior at the interface were studied for Si₃N₄ ceramics sintered using mixture of La₂O₃ and Lu₂O₃ as additives in this study. Specimens of Lu content 30% and higher exhibited lower activation energies for the α‐β phase transformation as compared with those of Lu content 20% and lower. In terms of the segregation behavior, La was preferably segregated at one site and Lu at the other site along β‐Si₃N₄/IGF interface in the specimens of Lu content 30% and higher. It is understood from these results that Lu segregation site should be more closely related with grain growth.     

Prediction of the capacity of a heat exchanger by a thermal network method: Modified effective specific heat model considering the influence of static pressure distributions of refrigerants

In this paper, we proposed a method to predict the capacity of a heat exchanger by considering static pressure distributions of refrigerants. The thermal network method was modified by adding an equivalent heat generation term into a heat balance equation that was connected with calculated 1D static pressure distributions of refrigerants. An experiment was performed with a heat exchanger having two rows and two passes to verify the accuracy of the proposed method. The result showed the error of the predicted capacity to be less than 1% for an evaporator and less than 2% for a condenser. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(5): 376–390, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10039     

Japanese Barley Meets Australia: Quality Performance of Malting Barley Grown in Different Countries

The aim of this study is to establish whether it is possible to select malting barley showing high quality under Australian conditions on the basis of malting quality data from the crop of the same genotype grown at a breeding station in Japan. Two approaches were taken to analyse the data obtained over several years. The first was a bivariate mixed model used to obtain variety estimates for the various quality traits of interest. The second approach used a univariate mixed model to determine the correlation between the same genotype grown in Australia and Japan, as well as the correlation between the same genotype grown at trial sites within a country. The first analysis found that nitrogen was related to most malting quality traits except for viscosity. The second analysis showed that the performance in Australia and Japan is similar for all malting quality traits. It may therefore be possible to select barley showing high malting quality under Australian conditions on the basis of malting quality data from the Japanese crop of the same genotype.     

An autopsy case of cytokeratin 7-positive minute adenocarcinoma of the lung with systemic metastases

We describe a 60-year-old woman with leg pain. Although metastatic bone tumor and atypical cells mimicking signet-ring cells in the bone marrow picture were observed, systemic survey revealed no primary lesion. The patient died two months after admission from systemic progress of the disease. Autopsy revealed a small focus of adenocarcinoma within the right upper lobe of the lung and systemic metastases without any particular changes in the gastrointestinal tract. The tumor cells of the lung were diffusely positive for cytokeratin 7, whereas cytokeratin 20 immunoreactivity was weak and focal, and that supported the lung origin of the present tumor. Moreover, the tumor cells in the bone marrow showed a similar pattern in immunoreactivity. These findings suggest that cytokeratin 7 and cytokeratin 20 immunoreactivity is helpful for the premortem diagnosis of the metastatic tumor of unknown origin.     

Study on heat transfer characteristics of reservoir embedded loop heat pipe (1st report,Influence of evaporator orientation against gravity and charged liquid weight on heat transfer characteristics)

High‐powered satellites need larger heat rejection areas. A deployable radiator is one of the key technologies for a high‐powered satellite bus. A Reservoir Embedded Loop Heat Pipe (RELHP) is a two‐phase heat transfer device that constitutes a deployable radiator. RELHP has an evaporator core which is used as a liquid reservoir to enhance operational reliability. This paper presents the heat transport characteristics of a RELHP under changing evaporator orientation against gravity and charged ammonia weight by experiment and calculation. Liquid slug position in the reservoir has a great influence on heat transport characteristics, caused by changing heat transfer coefficients between returned liquid into the evaporator and vapor in the reservoir. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 36(3): 143– 157, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20150     

Sarcoidosis associated with acute renal failure and increased levels of interleukin-6 in urine

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of non-specific granulomatous prostatitis (GP) in our series of prostate biopsies and to verify whether there were differences in the features of DRE, PSA and ultrasound findings in patients with GP and patients with prostate cancer that could be used as clinical indications in GP diagnosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Between 1994 and 1996, 835 patients with prostatic syndromes underwent echoguided transrectal biopsy. Neoplasia was diagnosed in 323 (39%) patients, non-specific GP in 11 (1.5%), whereas no malignancy signs were found in the remaining 501 (59.7%). A retrospective comparison of DRE features, PSA levels and the existence of echographic nodes was conducted between cancer patients and GP patients. RESULTS: 55% GP patients had suspicious DRE; in 64% at least one node with different echogeneicity was identified in the transrectal ultrasound, and the mean PSA value was 17.3 ng/ml. When they were compared to the group of patients with prostate cancer, no significant differences were found. CONCLUSION: In our experience we have not found any specific feature in DRE. PSA levels or ultrasound examination that allows to differentiate GP from prostate cancer. Transrectal biopsy of the gland is essential for the differential diagnosis of both entities.     

Prediction of heat exchanger performance by the thermal network method (Improvement of an evaporator's performance and restraining air flow bypass by adjusting the refrigerant‐flow path pattern)

This paper presents the influence of latent heat load by changing the relative humidity of air flow distribution in the super‐heated gas region in an evaporator and the effect of the refrigerant flow path pattern. To estimate the influence, we applied the thermal network method that can consider refrigerant quality distribution in the heat exchanger. If the super‐heated gas region spreads to the upper wind row, humid air goes through the heat exchanger without drying, called “air flow bypass.” To suppress this phenomenon and simultaneously obtain the best performance, we chose an optimum path pattern on the basis of this method. As a result, the prediction shows that performance of the evaporator is recovered 5% for a simple 2‐row 2‐path heat exchanger when 40% of the unbalance of air flow rate occurs. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20302     

The Uncertainty in SCHF‐DT Thermal Conductivity Measurements of Lotus‐Type Porous Copper

Lotus‐type porous metals with many straight pores are attractive for use as heat‐sinks because a large heat‐transfer capacity can be obtained, due to the small diameter of the pores. In order to use lotus‐type porous copper effectively as a heat sink, it is important to know the effective thermal conductivity considering the effect of pores on heat conduction in the material. Since these metals have anisotropic pores, a steady‐state comparative longitudinal heat‐flow method for measuring thermal conductivity, referring to an ASTM standard, is better than other methods. So far, the effective thermal conductivity of lotus‐type porous copper has been measured by using specimens of different thickness (the SCHF‐DT method). In this paper, the uncertainty in the effective thermal conductivity of a specimen measured using this method was evaluated by comparison between numerical analysis and current experimental data. The following conclusions were drawn: 1) The uncertainty showed good agreement with the uncertainty analysis; 2) The contribution of the thermal grease thickness was large, based on a combined standard uncertainty analysis; and, 3) The effective thermal conductivity perpendicular to the pores of lotus copper can be measured within 10% uncertainty by this method.     

Altered specificities of genetically engineered {alpha}1 antitrypsin variants

Seven active site variants of human ₁-antitrypsin (₁AT) wereproduced in Escherichia coli following site-specific mutagenesisof the ₁AT complementary DNA. ₁AT (Ala ³⁵⁸), ₁AT (Ile³⁵⁸ and₁AT (Val³⁵⁸), were efficient inhibitors of both neutrophil andpancreatic elastases, but not of cathepsin G. ₁AT (Ala³⁵⁸, Val³⁵⁸)and ₁AT (Phe³⁵⁸ specifically inhibited pancreatic elastase andcathepsin G respectively. The most potent inhibitor of neutrophilelastase was ₁AT (Leu³⁵⁸), which also proved to be effectiveagainst cathepsin G. The ₁AT (Arg³⁵⁸) variant inactivated thrombinwith kinetics similar to antithrombin III in the presence ofheparin. Electrophoretic analysis showed that SDS-stable highmol. wt complexes were formed between the mutant inhibitorsand the cognate proteases in each case. These data indicatethat effective inhibition occurs when the ₁AT P1 residue (position358) corresponds to the primary specificity of the target protease.Moreover, alteration of the P3 residue (position 356) can furthermodify the reactivity of the inhibitor. Two of the variantshave therapeutic potential: ₁AT (Leu³⁵⁸ may be more useful thanplasma ₁AT in the treatment of destructive lung disorders and₁ (Arg³⁵⁸ could be effective in the control of thrombosis.     

Study on heat transfer characteristics of reservoir embedded loop heat pipe (Influence of condenser cooling method on heat transfer characteristics)

As heat generation in satellites increases, securing sufficient radiator panel area is an important problem. Deployable radiators, whose radiator panels are deployed post‐launch in space to increase the effective radiator panel area of the satellite, is becoming an important thermal control technology. A reservoir embedded loop heat pipe (RELHP) is applied to the deployable radiator for a thermal transport device. This paper presents the heat transport dynamic characteristics of a RELHP using a radiant cooling condenser and liquid forced convection cooling condenser by an experimental study. It was found that heat leak into the liquid line, flexible line, and reservoir increases the length of the sub‐cooling region in the condenser. In the case of the radiant cooling condenser, the sub‐cooling region length is shorter than that of a liquid forced convection cooling condenser. Furthermore, vapor temperature is mainly decided by the radiation capacity of the radiator panel, because liquid temperature returned into the evaporator rises with an increase in radiator panel temperature. In addition, time length from start‐up until steady state is greater than the liquid forced convection cooling condenser case, because the radiator panel has a large heat capacity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20229