Which vessel is more important in the supercharged flap--artery, vein, or both? An experimental study

The supercharged flap is one which is expected to attain better survival, by anastomosing the distal vessels of the flap to the recipient vessels. An experimental study is reported to determine whether the vessel to be anastomosed should be an artery, a vein, or both. The authors advise anastomosing an artery and a vein, but they believe that arterial inflow is more important than venous drainage.     

Measurement of the thermal diffusivity of thin films on substrate by the photoacoustic method

Measurements of the thermal diffusivity of thin films on substrate have been performed by the photoacoustic method. In order to examine the method we have built a new apparatus and proposed (1) a system calibration procedure using optically and thermally thick reference samples and (2) a data analysis procedure based on the RG (Rosencwaig and Gersho) theory. As a result of using a transparent photoacoustic cell, the systematic errors which are caused by stray light have been reduced. With this apparatus, measurements have been performed on platinum, titanium, and stainless steel (SUS304) thin foils (thickness form 50 to 100 µm) with three different liquid backing materials (water, glycerol, and ethyl alcohol). The reproducibility was within ±7% regardless of film thickness and substrate materials.     

Day-night variations of behavioral and autonomic thermoregulatory responses to lipopolysaccharide in rats

This study investigated the day-night differences in behavioral and autonomic thermoregulatory responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats. Male rats were housed individually in cages with a 12: 12 h light dark cycle at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees C. The rats were placed in a box with a temperature gradient and intraperitoneally injected with LPS (10 micrograms/kg). The preferred ambient temperature (Tpr) was estimated by the location of the rats in the box, and intraperitoneal temperature (Tb) was measured by a biotelemetry system. Measurements were taken during the light and dark phases of the day. LPS produced fever in both phases. The magnitude of rise in Tb did not differ between the two periods. In the dark phase, Tpr significantly increased during the development of fever and decreased during the defervescence, while it did not change throughout the febrile course during the light phase. In a separate experiment, rats were loosely restrained and placed in a direct calorimeter. Their colonic temperature (Tcol), evaporative and nonevaporative heat loss and heat production were measured before and after intraperitoneal injections of LPS (10 micrograms/kg). Measurements were taken during the light and dark phases of the day. LPS induced fever in both phases. The magnitude of change in T col, heat loss, and heat production due to LPS did not differ between the two periods. These results suggest that the fertile response of rats to intraperitoneal LPS is not affected by the time of day. However, it seems that during LPS-induced fever, thermoregulatory behavior is not fully activated during the light phase of the day.     

Optimum combination of operating parameters in abrasive cut-off

For optimization of abrasive cut-off operation, wheel wear equation must be identified before the operation is optimized. The equation is obtained by using GMDH algorithm with successive determination of trends containing interactive terms. In the model equation factors of grinding fluid are taken into consideration in addition to the factors of wheel, work material, feed (table speed) and wheel speed. For the identification of the model wheel wear tests are performed under the experimental design treating the above-mentioned factors as independent variables. The grinding ratio (output in the model) can be predicted for combinations of various factors using the model. With the wheel wear equation and machining cost model, the optimum combination of wheel, fluid, feed and wheel speed can be selected for a given work material. The relationships between these variables and the costs are investigated.     

Kinetics of the reaction of CH4 gas with liquid iron

In iron bath smelting and other processes that use coal, the effective use of volatile matter can improve the energy efficiency of the process. The reaction of simulated volatile (CH₄) with iron was studied. The rate of carburization of liquid iron by CH₄ gas was measured between 1400 °C and 1700 °C under conditions for which the effect of mass transfer can be corrected with reasonable accuracy. The rate was measured for partial pressures of CH₄ in Ar in the range of 0.02 to 0.06 atm and sulfur contents in the metal from 0.0006 to 0.5 mass pct. The results indicate that the rate of carburization may be controlled by the dissociation of CH₄ on the surface. Sulfur was found to decrease the rate, and the residual rate phenomenon was observed for high sulfur contents. The rate constant may be represented by the following equation: $$ k_C = \frac{{k^\circ }}{{1 + K_S a_S }} + \frac{{K_S a_S k_r }}{{1 + K_S a_S }}$$ wherek ^o ,k _r,K _s, anda _s are the bare surface rate constant, residual rate constant, adsorption coefficient for sulfur, and activity of sulfur in the metal, respectively. The second term in the rate equation represents the rate of dissociation on the adsorbed sulfur. The rate constants and adsorption coefficient were determined as functions of temperature to be $$\begin{gathered} log k^\circ = \frac{{ - 12,000}}{T} + 2.95 (mole/cm^2 s atm) \hfill \\ log k_r = \frac{{ - 14,000}}{T} + 3.45 (mole/cm^2 s atm) \hfill \\ log K_S = \frac{{ - 1800}}{T} + 1.04 \hfill \\ \end{gathered} $$      

Thermodynamic evaluation of Cu– system based on newly determined Gibbs energy of formation of

Thermodynamic evaluation of Cu–Cu₃P system has been conducted by applying subregular solution model with Gibbs energy of Cu₃P formation that was newly determined by means of triple Knudsen cell mass spectrometry. Both the calculated vapor pressure of phosphorus and phase diagram of Cu–P system are excellently consistent with the literature data in the composition range of Cu–Cu₃P, indicating that there is no significant thermodynamic inconsistency between the present work based on the Gibbs energy of Cu₃P formation determined and the literature data.     

Corrosion characteristics of reduced activation ferritic steel, JLF-1 (8.92Cr–2W) in molten salts Flibe and Flinak

Static corrosion tests were performed in molten salts, LiF–BeF₂ (Flibe) and LiF–NaF–KF (Flinak), at 500 °C and 600 °C for 1000 h. The purpose is to investigate the corrosion characteristics of reduced activation ferritic steels, JLF-1 (8.92Cr–2W) in the fluids. The concentration of hydrogen fluoride (HF) in the fluids was measured by slurry pH titration method before and after the exposure. The HF concentration determined the fluoridation potential. The corrosion was mainly caused by dissolution of Fe and Cr into the fluids due to fluoridation and/or electrochemical corrosion. Carbon on the surface might be dissolved into the fluids due to the corrosion, and this resulted to the decrease of carbide on the surface. The corrosion depth of the JLF-1 specimen, which was obtained from the weight losses, was 0.637 μm in Flibe at 600 °C and 6.73 μm in Flinak at 600 °C.     

Effects of extraction solvents,cooking procedures and storage conditions on the contents of ergothioneine and phenolic compounds and antioxidative capacity of the cultivated mushroom Flammulina velutipes

Edible mushrooms contain considerable amounts of the potent natural antioxidant 2‐thiol‐l ‐histidine‐betaine (l ‐ergothioneine, ESH). The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of extraction solvents, common cooking methods and storage conditions on the ESH content, total phenols (TPs) and antioxidant capacity of the edible mushroom Flammulina velutipes fruiting body and its hot water extract that had been stored at different temperatures. Regarding cooking procedures, boiling in water resulted in the highest losses of antioxidant activity of both ESH and TPs. Most of the losses of ESH and TPs were detected in the cooking water. The ESH contents in the raw mushroom fruiting bodies significantly decreased after 8 days of refrigerated storage under both dark and fluorescent lighting conditions. However, the TP content in the raw mushroom stored under fluorescent lighting significantly increased during 10 days of refrigeration. In contrast, the ESH and TP contents as well as DPPH radical scavenging ability of the fruiting bodies remained unchanged for up to 15 days of frozen storage at ?18 °C. The same behaviour was obtained with the mushroom extract packed in plastic tubes. The correlation between DPPH radical scavenging activity and ESH contents was higher than that for TP compounds.