bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
T/P92: The Future of High Energy Power Plant Piping?
Authors: Dobson P. Jason
Published: October 2008

There is a great deal of pressure being put on power generators to produce more power more efficiently with lower emissions, while minimizing capital costs and maximizing profits. To achieve the desired higher efficiencies with lower emissions, the operating pressures and temperatures for power, plants must increase. New piping materials are therefore being sought to handle these elevated pressures and temperatures. One such material currently in consideration is T/P92, which has been in use in European and Japanese power plants since the 90’s (European standard X 10CrWMoVNb9-2 and Japanese standard STBA29-STPA-29), and has been approved by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME BPVC) for Sections I and VIII, Division 1 construction (ref. ASME Code Case 2179-3). This paper will compare T/P92 with the current alternative, T/P91, and will discuss similarities and differences between the two materials in terms of engineering, fabrication and installation.
Overall Performance of Advanced H2/Air Cycle Power Plants Based on Coal Decarbonisation
Authors: Gambini M. , Vellini M.
Published: October 2008

In this paper the overall performance of a new advanced mixed cycle (AMC), fed by hydrogen-rich fuel gas, has been evaluated. Obviously, hydrogen must be produced and here we have chosen the coal gasification for its production, quantifying all the thermal and electric requirements. At first, a simple combination between hydrogen production section and power section is performed. In fact, the heat loads of the first section can be satisfied by using the various raw syngas cooling, without using some material streams taken from the power section, but also without using part of heat, available in the production section and rejected into the environment, in the power section. The final result is very poor: over 34%. Then, by using the Pinch Technology, a more efficient, even if more complex, solution can be conceived: in this case the overall efficiency is very interesting: 39%. These results are very similar to those of a combined cycle power plant, equipped with the same systems and analyzed under the same hypotheses. The final result is very important because the “clean” use of coal in new power plant types must be properly investigated: in fact coal is the most abundant and the cheapest fossil fuel available on earth; moreover, hydrogen production, by using coal, is an interesting outlook because hydrogen has the potential to become the main energy carrier in a future sustainable energy economy.
Characterization of Air Flow Management and Control in a Fuel Cell Turbine Hybrid Power System Using Hardware Simulation
Authors: Tucker David , Lawson Larry , Gemmen Randall
Published: October 2008

Air flow management and control in a fuel cell gas turbine hybrid power system is evaluated using the Hybrid Performance (Hyper) hardware simulation facility at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), U.S. Department of Energy. The Hyper facility at NETL is a hardware simulation of a fuel cell gas turbine hybrid power system capable of emulating systems in the range of 300kW to 900kW. The hardware portion is comprised of a modified single-shaft gas turbine, a high performance exhaust gas recuperator, several pressure vessels that represent the volumes and flow impedances of the fuel cell and combustors, and the associated integration piping. The simulation portion consists of a real time fuel cell model that is used to control a natural gas burner which replicates the thermal output of a solid oxide fuel cell. Thermal management in the fuel cell component of the hybrid system, especially during an imposed load transient, is improved through the control of cathode air flow. This can be accomplished in a fuel cell turbine hybrid by diverting air around the fuel cell system. Two methods for air flow control are presented in the paper. In this paper, the use of bleed air by-pass and cold air by-pass are characterized quantitatively in terms of compressor inlet flow, process limits, system efficiency and system performance.
Design of a Moderate Speed-High Capacity Centrifugal Compressor With Application to PSA and VPSA Air Separation Processes
Authors: Abdelwahab Ahmed
Published: October 2008

The performance of the PSA (Pressure Swing Adsorption) or VPSA (Vacuum Pressure Swing Adsorption) cycle in an oxygen air separation process is significantly dependent upon the working capacity and working selectivity afforded by the adsorbent. These parameters in turn are dependent on the adsorption pressures employed in the VPSA cycle. Despite the increasing demand for increased capacity and pressure in VPSA air separation plants, they have conventionally used rotary-type positive displacement blowers as the process machinery. These blowers, while most adapted to the oscillating nature of the pressure swing cycles, have increasing high cost per capacity at higher capacities and become very inefficient as the cycle pressures are increased. A new low cost and more efficient process machinery solution is introduced through the use of a moderate speed direct coupled integrated feed and vacuum centrifugal compressor with inlet guide vanes to achieve high efficiencies during the varying operating conditions of the VPSA cycle. In this paper the fundamentals of a VPSA cycle as it applies to a centrifugal compressor operation is presented. A model of the design and predicted performance of a feed and vacuum VPSA centrifugal compressor is presented. A discussion of the proposed design in comparison to a conventional blower is presented. The model and predictions indeed show the superiority of the new design concept to the conventional process machinery equipment in terms of power savings and capacity increase. This new design however requires a feedback control system for the inlet guide vanes.
A Dynamic Analysis for the Loose Lashing Wire Grouped Blade
Authors: Chai Shan , Gang Xianyue , Sun Yigang , Yu Ensun
Published: October 2008

The loose lashing wire grouped blade, all blades of which are linked by a loose lashing wire, is a kind of damped blade. The linear analysis method cannot be used for the dynamic analysis of loose lashing wire grouped blade because of the contact between loose lashing wire and blades. A non-linear dynamic analysis method is advanced and an application of the method to a kind of loose lashing wire grouped blade is shown in this paper. First, the nonlinear transient dynamic analysis and maximum entropy spectrum analysis methods for loose lashing wire grouped blade are studied. Then, an algorithm to calculate the dynamical stress of loose lashing wire grouped blade with transient dynamical analysis method is proposed. The proposed method provides a useful numerical calculating method for the calculation of dynamical frequency and dynamical stress of loose lashing wire grouped blades.
Study of Blade Sweep Effects of Compressor
Authors: Xu C. , Amano R. S.
Published: October 2008

The three dimensional blading had been used for years in the process of turbomachine designs. In need of turbine blade designs in an efficient manner, the current advancement of CFD technologies allows effective 3D predictions of a complex 3D flow field in turbine blade passages, which can improve the turbine blade performances. Since numerous advantages of 3-D CFD usage had been reported in the open literature, many industries already started to use 3D blading in their turbomachines. In addition, a blade lean and a sweep for the blade design had been also implemented to increase the blade row efficiency. Experimental studies have shown some advantages of these lean and sweep features. Most of the experimental results combine many other features together. However, it is difficult to determine what the effects of different features should be. In this study, detailed numerical analyses were developed and these were used to present the results to gain better understanding of different feature of 3D blading for turbine designers and engineers. Throughout this paper performance impacts on different 3D features are presented and the superiority of the present approach is discussed.
Orbit Shape Automatic Recognition Based on Artificial Neural Network
Authors: Du Dongmei , He Qing
Published: October 2008

Orbit is a significant symptom in the fault diagnosis of rotating machine. The orbit is a 2-D image and can be described by moment invariants, the shape property of 2-D image, which is a description with translating-, rotating-, and scaling-invariants for 2-D image. The descriptive method of orbit image is investigated and an automatic orbit shape recognition based on artificial neural network (ANN) with moment invariants is proposed in this paper. The ANN of orbit shape recognition is trained by the training patterns generated by computer simulation for plenty of orbit shapes. It is shown that the trained ANN is of good recognition performance and generalization capability when applied to recognition of the measured orbits. This method can be used to the intelligent expert system of fault diagnosis to obtain automatically online orbit symptom in shafts vibration monitoring of turbine generator, which will improve the automatization of obtaining fault symptom and the automatic diagnosis in the expert system.
Economic Evaluation on GTCC Inlet Air Cooling With Absorption Chiller
Authors: Yang Cheng , Yang Zeliang , Cai Ruixian
Published: October 2008

Inlet air temperature increase results in a considerable reduction in GTCC power output. Present design of inlet air cooling system usually applied static method, which considered a constant depression of inlet air temperature, an approximate estimate of runtime, output power increase and fuel consumption variation per temperature depression, etc. However, to a crumb, at least another two problems should be studied. One is GTCC performance variation with inlet air temperature, since the kilowatt increment per centigrade is not a constant; the other is off design performance of inlet air cooling system, since the inlet air temperature depression through the cooling system varies with the actual operation conditions, such as ambient air temperature and cooling water temperature, etc. This paper presents an economic evaluation with numerical integration method on GTCC inlet air cooling with absorption chiller. For a typical GTCC composed of series E gas turbine and combined components, their non-dimensional performance curves are fitted with regression equations. Associating with these equations, the inlet air temperature characteristics of GTCC are simulated; and the fitted analytical expressions for GTCC inlet air temperature characteristics are also presented. The simulation method of off design performance of a typical absorption chiller is described. For a typical GTCC with inlet air cooling in south China area, integrated with the everyday typical weather data, GTCC everyday average output power and fuel consumption, output power increment and GTCC fuel consumption increment are simulated. The simulation results show that, for every 1°C depression in inlet air temperature, the GTCC output power increases 0.5%, while heat rate varies slightly and trends towards a rise at the inlet air temperature of about 15°C. Research on inlet air cooling scheme (Scheme 10°C, cooling the ambient air temperature from ambient temperature 30°C to 10°C) shows that, Scheme 10°C yields annual average 16°C of inlet air temperature depression. Economic evaluation based on numerical integration indicates that, in the case of Scheme 10°C, annual output power increases by 8.27%, fuel consumption rate increases by 1.03%; payback period approximately amounts to 2.0 years when power price is 12 cent/(kW.h) and fuel cost is $265/t.
Guangdong Electric Power Sustainable Development Strategy
Authors: Ma Bin , Yang Hua , Liao Hongkai
Published: October 2008

This article introduces the current situation of Guangdong energy supply and electricity consumption, analyses the electricity structure and existing problems and points out that in order to meet the social demand for electricity and sustainable development of Guangdong province, it must expand the scale of West-East electricity transmission, build large-scale super-critical generation units, accelerate building nuclear power station, build LNG generation units in the load centers, promote the growth of wind- electricity, develop flue gas desurlphurization and denitrification technology, etc.
Improvement on Dynamic Combustion Model of Dense-Phase Zone in Circulating Fluidized Bed Boiler Furnace
Authors: Yan Weiping , Yu Xining , Yin Libao
Published: October 2008

A novel method for predicting the dynamic combustion performances of dense-phase zone in CFB furnace are proposed based on the improvements of the previous models. The coal particle heating process, the time delay and the subsequent heat release as raw coal with wide size distribution admitted into the furnace are adequately taken into account in the proposed model. The bed temperature responses to the variations of coal firing rates are predicted and compared to the measured data from a 220t/h CFB boiler.
NOx Formed Specialty of Biomass Fuel in HTAC
Authors: Luo Bo , Ma Xiao-Qian
Published: October 2008

High Temperature Air Combustion (HTAC) is appropriate to biomass fuel combustion, but the problem of NOx emission should be played attention. Temperature field in furnace is uniform with HTAC, and there is no higher temperature point, so it can reduce NOx formation. If HTAC combines with low-oxygen combustion, emission of NOx is further restrained. The rules of NOx emission for Biomass fuel: sawdust, rice husk combusting with high temperature air are discussed in 600–1200°C air temperature and 10%–21% oxygen content in air and about 1000°C furnace temperature, especially the influence of parameters such as air temperature and oxygen content in air and water content of biomass fuel is researched. The main results are: (1) since the fixed carbon in rice husk is higher than in sawdust, deoxidisation is more marked and NOx release in rice husk combustion is 20% less than in sawdust combustion in experiment. (2) Oxygen content in air has a great influence. Low-oxygen Combustion has a low NOx emission, which is lower than 150ppm in experimental condition. (3) Water content in biomass fuel has a great influence too, the more of water content, the less of NOx engendering among 7%–46% water content. There are two reasons, first one is water in biomass have depressed the temperature in flame, second is water can react with carbon in high temperature to form a deoxidising environment in furnace, especially in high-temperature Low-oxygen Combustion, the phenomenon is much in evidence. Base on experiments, the results confirmed that HTAC could do a low NOx combustion with biomass fuel.
Development and Verification of 3000 rpm 48 Inch Integral Shroud Blade for Steam Turbine
Authors: Kaneko Yasutomo , Mori Kazushi , Ohyama Hiroharu
Published: October 2008

The 3000 rpm 48 inch blade for steam turbine was developed as one of the new standard series of LP end blades. The new LP end blades are characterized by the ISB (Integral Shroud Blade) structure. In the ISB structure, blades are continuously coupled by blade untwist due to centrifugal force when the blades rotate at high speed. Therefore, the number of the resonant vibration modes can be reduced by virtue of the vibration characteristics of the circumferentially continuous blades, and the resonant stress can be decreased due to the additional friction damping generated at shrouds and stubs. In order to develop the 3000 rpm 48 inch blade, the latest analysis methods to predict the vibration characteristics of the ISB structure were applied, after confirming their validity to the blade design. Moreover, the verification tests such as rotational vibration tests and model turbine tests were carried out in the shop to confirm the reliability of the developed blade. As the final verification test, the field test of the actual steam turbine was carried out in the site during the trial operation, and the vibration stress of the 3000 rpm 48 inch blade was measured by use of telemetry system. In the field test, the vibratory stress of the blade was measured under various operating conditions for more than one month. This paper first presents the up-to-date design technology applied to the design of the 3000 rpm 48 inch blade. In the second place, the results of the various verification tests carried out in the shop are presented as well as their procedure. Lastly, the results of the final verification tests of 3000 rpm 48 inch blade carried out in the site are presented.
Comparison of Hybrid Configurations of Power Generation and Refrigeration Cycles Using Ammonia-Water Mixture
Authors: Takeshita Keisuke , Tomizawa Masao , Nagashima Akinori , Amano Yoshiharu , Hashizume Takumi
Published: October 2008

This paper describes performance comparison of two types of hybrid configuration of power generation and refrigeration cycles using ammonia-water mixture by simulation calculation. Difference between two configurations is the ammonia mass fraction of solution from the turbine system (power generation cycle) to the ammonia absorption refrigerator (refrigeration cycle). The newer configuration (configuration 2) supplies higher mass fraction solution to the refrigerator. As a result, both configurations show larger system net power than separate operations when the basic composition (the ammonia mass fraction of the evaporator in the turbine system) is 0.45 kg/kg. The performance gains of configuration 1 and 2 are 13.6% and 13.8%, respectively.
R&D on Gasification and Reforming Technology of Waste Wood as a Hydrogen Fuel Process of MCFC
Authors: Wu Wei , Kawamoto Katsuya , Kuramothi Hidetoshi
Published: October 2008

The purpose of this study is to establish a fuel process for an advanced power generation system where hydrogen-rich synthesis gas, meeting the tolerance level of fuels for the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), can be efficiently extracted from biomass via gasification and reforming technologies. Experiments on architectural salvages gasification were performed using a bench-scale gasification system. The main factors influencing hydrogen generation in the non-catalytic process and catalytic process were investigated, and temperature was identified as the most important factor. At 950°C, without employing catalyst, about 54% (V/V) content of hydrogen-rich synthesis gas was extracted from feedstock with appropriately designed operation parameters for the steam/carbon ratio (S/C) and the equivalence ratio (ER). However, by employing a commercial steam reforming catalyst into the reforming process, the similar results were generated at 750°C.
The Development of the Hybrid Vaporization and Power Generation System for the Gas Turbine Using LNG Cold
Authors: Hisazumi Yoshinori , Yamashita Seiji , Fukuyoshi Yasuhiro , Nakamura Keizo
Published: October 2008

We have been developing a hybrid LNG vaporization and power generation system which generates approximately −100°C air and natural gas fuel of a steady heating value since March 2004. In this study, three types of intake-cooling process for the Gas Turbine Combined Cycle (GTCC) ranging from several MW to several hundred MW are reviewed. • Cold air is directly introduced as gas turbine intake air and cooled down to approximately 10°C. • Cold air is compressed to about 5 bars and injected into the middle stage of the compressor as an inter-cool medium. • Cold air is compressed, recuperated and injected into the combustor as a power augmentation medium. In this paper, we describe an outline of the test equipment, configurations of the hybrid vaporization and power generation system for the gas turbine and discuss the possibilities based on exergy analysis for the above three cases.
CS-8958, a Prodrug of the New Neuraminidase Inhibitor R-125489, Shows Long-Acting Anti-Influenza Virus Activity
Authors: Yamashita Makoto , Tomozawa Takanori , Kakuta Masayo , Tokumitsu Akane , Nasu Hatsumi , Kubo Shuku
Published: October 2008

Two neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors, zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir phosphate (Tamiflu), have been licensed for the treatment of and prophylaxis against influenza. In this paper, the new potent NA inhibitor R-125489 is reported for the first time. R-125489 inhibited the NA activities of various type A and B influenza viruses, including subtypes N1 to N9 and oseltamivir-resistant viruses. The survival effect of R-125489 was shown to be similar to that of zanamivir when administered intranasally in a mouse influenza virus A/Puerto Rico/8/34 infection model. Moreover, we found that the esterified form of R-125489 showed improved efficacy compared to R-125489 and zanamivir, depending on the acyl chain length, and that 3-(
O
)-octanoyl R-125489 (CS-8958) was the best compound in terms of its life-prolonging effect (
P
< 0.0001, compared to zanamivir) in the same infection model. A prolonged survival effect was observed after a single administration of CS-8958, even if it was given 7 days before infection. It is suggested that intranasally administered CS-8958 works as a long-acting NA inhibitor and shows in vivo efficacy as a result of a single intranasal administration.
Polysorbate 80 Inhibition ofPseudomonas aeruginosaBiofilm Formation and Its Cleavage by the Secreted Lipase LipA
Authors: Toutain-Kidd Christine M. , Kadivar Samoneh C. , Bramante Carolyn T. , Bobin Stephen A. , Zegans Michael E.
Published: October 2008

Surface-associated bacterial communities known as biofilms are an important source of nosocomial infections. Microorganisms such asPseudomonas aeruginosacan colonize the abiotic surfaces of medical implants, leading to chronic infections that are difficult to eradicate. Our study demonstrates that polysorbate 80 (PS80), a surfactant commonly added to food and medicines, is able to inhibit biofilm formation byP. aeruginosaon a variety of surfaces, including contact lenses. Many clinical isolates ofP. aeruginosa, as well as gram-negative and gram-positive clinical isolates, were also inhibited in their ability to form biofilms in the presence of PS80. AP. aeruginosamutant able to form biofilms in the presence of this surfactant was identified and characterized, and it was revealed that this mutant overexpresses a lipase, LipA. Surfactants such as PS80 can be cleaved by lipases, and we demonstrate that PS80 is cleaved by LipA at its ester bond. Finally, polyethoxylated(20) oleyl alcohol, a chemical with a structure that is similar to that of PS80 but that lacks the ester bond of PS80, can inhibit the biofilm formation ofP. aeruginosastrains, including the mutant overexpressing LipA. Our results demonstrate that surfactants such as PS80 can inhibit bacterial biofilm formation on medically relevant materials at concentrations demonstrated to be safe in humans and suggest that the understanding of the mechanisms of bacterial resistance to such surfactants will be important in developing clinically effective derivatives.
The Electricidal Effect: Reduction of
Staphylococcus
and
Pseudomonas
Biofilms by Prolonged Exposure to Low-Intensity Electrical Current
Authors: del Pozo Jose L. , Rouse Mark S. , Mandrekar Jayawant N. , Steckelberg James M. , Patel Robin
Published: October 2008

The activity of electrical current against planktonic bacteria has previously been demonstrated. The short-term exposure of the bacteria in biofilms to electrical current in the absence of antimicrobials has been shown to have no substantial effect; however, longer-term exposure has not been studied. A previously described in vitro model was used to determine the effect of prolonged exposure (i.e., up to 7 days) to low-intensity (i.e., 20-, 200-, and 2,000-microampere) electrical direct currents on
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
,
Staphylococcus aureus
, and
Staphylococcus epidermidis
biofilms. Dose- and time-dependent killing was observed. A maximum of a 6-log
10
-CFU/cm
2
reduction was observed when
S. epidermidis
biofilms were exposed to 2,000 microamperes for at least 2 days. A 4- to 5-log
10
-CFU/cm
2
reduction was observed when
S. aureus
biofilms were exposed to 2,000 microamperes for at least 2 days. Finally, a 3.5- to 5-log
10
-CFU/cm
2
reduction was observed when
P. aeruginosa
biofilms were exposed to electrical current for 7 days. A higher electrical current intensity correlated with greater decreases in viable bacteria at all time points studied. In conclusion, low-intensity electrical current substantially reduced the numbers of viable bacteria in staphylococcal or
Pseudomonas
biofilms, a phenomenon we have labeled the “electricidal effect.”
GRL-02031, a Novel Nonpeptidic Protease Inhibitor (PI) Containing a Stereochemically Defined Fused Cyclopentanyltetrahydrofuran Potent against Multi-PI-Resistant Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 In Vitro
Authors: Koh Yasuhiro , Das Debananda , Leschenko Sofiya , Nakata Hirotomo , Ogata-Aoki Hiromi , Amano Masayuki , Nakayama Maki , Ghosh Arun K. , Mitsuya Hiroaki
Published: October 2008

We generated a novel nonpeptidic protease inhibitor (PI), GRL-02031, by incorporating a stereochemically defined fused cyclopentanyltetrahydrofuran (Cp-THF) which exerted potent activity against a wide spectrum of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) isolates, including multidrug-resistant HIV-1 variants. GRL-02031 was highly potent against laboratory HIV-1 strains and primary clinical isolates, including subtypes A, B, C, and E (50% effective concentration [EC
50
] range, 0.015 to 0.038 μM), with minimal cytotoxicity (50% cytotoxic concentration, >100 μM in CD4
+
MT-2 cells), although it was less active against two HIV-2 strains (HIV-2
EHO
and HIV-2
ROD
) (EC
50
, ∼0.60 μM) than against HIV-1 strains. GRL-02031 at relatively low concentrations blocked the infection and replication of each of the HIV-1
NL4-3
variants exposed to and selected by up to 5 μM of saquinavir, amprenavir, indinavir, nelfinavir, or ritonavir and 1 μM of lopinavir or atazanavir (EC
50
range, 0.036 to 0.14 μM). GRL-02031 was also potent against multi-PI-resistant clinical HIV-1 variants isolated from patients who had no response to the conventional antiretroviral regimens that then existed, with EC
50
s ranging from 0.014 to 0.042 μM (changes in the EC
50
s were less than twofold the EC
50
for wild-type HIV-1). Upon selection of HIV-1
NL4-3
in the presence of GRL-02031, mutants carrying L10F, L33F, M46I, I47V, Q58E, V82I, I84V, and I85V in the protease-encoding region and G62R (within p17), L363M (p24-p2 cleavage site), R409K (within p7), and I437T (p7-p1 cleavage site) in the
gag
-encoding region emerged. GRL-02031 was potent against a variety of HIV-1
NL4-3
-based molecular infectious clones containing a single primary mutation reported previously or a combination of such mutations, although it was slightly less active against HIV-1 variants containing consecutive amino acid substitutions: M46I and I47V or I84V and I85V. Structural modeling analysis demonstrated a distinct bimodal binding of GRL-02031 to protease, which may provide advantages to GRL-02031 in blocking the replication of a wide spectrum of HIV-1 variants resistant to PIs and in delaying the development of resistance of HIV-1 to GRL-02031. The present data warrant the further development of GRL-02031 as a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of infections with primary and multidrug-resistant HIV-1 variants.
OPT-80 Eliminates
Clostridium difficile
and Is Sparing of
Bacteroides
Species during Treatment of
C. difficile
Infection
Authors: Louie Thomas J. , Emery Judy , Krulicki Walter , Byrne Brendan , Mah Manuel
Published: October 2008

During a 10-day treatment for
Clostridium difficile
infection, OPT-80 and vancomycin were comparably effective in reducing
C. difficile
counts.
Bacteroides fragilis
group counts appeared unaffected with increasing dosages of OPT-80, whereas vancomycin was markedly suppressive. Retention of components of the normal microflora might lower the risk of recurrent disease.
Human Polymorphonuclear Neutrophil Responses to
Burkholderia pseudomallei
in Healthy and Diabetic Subjects
Authors: Chanchamroen Sujin , Kewcharoenwong Chidchamai , Susaengrat Wattanachai , Ato Manabu , Lertmemongkolchai Ganjana
Published: October 2008

The major predisposing factor for melioidosis is diabetes mellitus, but no immunological mechanisms have been investigated to explain this. In this study, polymorphonuclear neutrophil (PMN) responses to
Burkholderia pseudomallei
, the causative agent of melioidosis, in healthy and diabetic Thai subjects were determined by flow cytometry. The results showed that
B. pseudomallei
displayed reduced uptake by PMNs compared to
Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium and
Escherichia coli
. Additionally, intracellular survival of
B. pseudomallei
was detected throughout a 24-h period, indicating the intrinsic resistance of
B. pseudomallei
to killing by PMNs. Moreover, PMNs from diabetic subjects displayed impaired phagocytosis of
B. pseudomallei
, reduced migration in response to interleukin-8, and an inability to delay apoptosis. These data show that
B. pseudomallei
is intrinsically resistant to phagocytosis and killing by PMNs. These observations, together with the impaired migration and apoptosis in diabetes mellitus, may explain host susceptibility in melioidosis.
Xylogenèse chez les Dicotylédones arborescentes. I. Modalités de la remise en activité du cambium et de la xylogenèse chez les Hêtres et les Chênes âgés
Authors: Lachaud Suzanne , Bonnemain Jean-Louis
Published: November 2008

The pattern of cambial reactivation and xylogenesis has been studied in trees at least 30 years old. In the oak, a ring-porous tree, the cambium becomes active simultaneously throughout the bole; at the same time cambial reactivation, coming from swelling buds, proceeds from the upper part of the branches down the twigs. In the beech, a diffuse-porous tree, cambial reactivation first proceeds downwards at the rate of 5 to 10 cm a day in the branches; later, cambial reactivation occurs simultaneously throughout the bole. This simultaneous reactivation of the cambium in the whole trunk of the beech is independent of events occurring in the branches; the cambium may produce earlywood members in the trunk, whereas it may be resting in the lower part of the branches. Thus, there is no fundamental difference in the pattern of cambial reactivation between those two species, since the two sorts of cambial reactivation (the basipetal and the simultaneous reactivation) coexist in both aged beeches and oaks.
Early diagenetic processes in Labrador Sea sediments: uranium-isotope geochemistry
Authors: Gariépy C. , Ghaleb B. , Hillaire-Marcel C. , Mucci A. , Vallières S.
Published: October 2008

The concentration and isotopic composition of U dissolved in pore waters from hemipelagic sediments of the Labrador Sea were determined by thermal ionization mass spectrometry in two 30 cm long box cores. The present fluxes of seawater U that diffuses across the sediment–seawater interface are on the order of 2–4 μg/(cm2∙ka). This diffusion imposes decreasing gradients of dissolved U downwards, but the U concentration in pore waters immediately below the surface is much lower than that of open-ocean seawater. This is a primary feature that cannot be explained by carbonate precipitation due to decompression during core retrieval. More likely, it reflects the presence of a stagnant benthic boundary layer above the sediment–water interface, in which molecular diffusion of U is slower than in the overlying turbulently mixed seawater, and (or) of microzones near the interface where U is bioaccumulated. Uranium is adsorbed at depths onto the solid phase in response to changes in the redox conditions within the sediments. In the Labrador Sea, this occurs at the onset of iron reduction and corresponds to a colour transition from brown to grey. Adsorption of U is sufficiently large to alter the initial content and the isotopic composition of U in the detrital component. Accumulation of authigenic U on the solid phase does not proceed at a steady state. This is due to the uneven burial rates of organic matter, which is essential to the establishment of redox conditions appropriate for U reduction, and concomitant stepwise displacement of the redox fronts. This indicates that discrete periods of enhanced primary productivity recurred over the last millenium in the Labrador Sea, inducing U fluxes to the sediments greater than they are now. Measured pore-water U concentrations are greater than the overlying seawater at depth in the cores, despite the fact that none of the conditions necessary to release U under reducing conditions are present in the sediments. More likely, U-bearing particles < 0.45 μm were transferred with the solution phase through the filtering device, artificially increasing the pore-water U content.
Flow resistance in large-scale roughness condition
Authors: Pagliara Stefano , Das Rajib , Carnacina Iacopo
Published: November 2008

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the flow resistance in long chutes with a slope of up to 9% and large-scale roughness. Rock chutes generally have steep slopes and the presence of large rocks induces great resistance to the flow. The chute bed was characterized by different sizes of crushed stones with protruding boulders. The proposed relationship correlates the flow resistance in terms of the Darcy–Weisbach friction factor with and without protruding boulders. The proposed logarithmic law is a function of the relative submergence, the slope, and the boulder concentration. A comparison of the data calculated using the proposed logarithmic law with those from earlier experiments shows a reasonable agreement in the tested experimental range.
LOGARITHMIC KNOT INVARIANTS ARISING FROM RESTRICTED QUANTUM GROUPS
Authors: MURAKAMI JUN , NAGATOMO KIYOKAZU
Published: November 2008

We construct knot invariants from the radical part of projective modules of the restricted quantum group [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text], and we also show a relation between these invariants and the colored Alexander invariants. These projective modules are related to logarithmic conformal field theories.
TRANSIENT PROPERTIES OF A BISTABLE KINETIC SYSTEM WITH TIME-DELAYED FEEDBACK AND NON-GAUSSIAN NOISE: MEAN FIRST-PASSAGE TIME
Authors: WANG CAN-JUN , MEI DONG-CHENG
Published: November 2008

The transient properties of a bistable system with time-delayed feedback and non-Gaussian noise are investigated. The explicit expressions of the mean first-passage time (MFPT) are obtained. The numerical computations show that the MFPT of the system is affected by the delay time τ, the non-extensive index q and the color noise correlation time τ0. That is, q can induce the MFPT from a complex behavior to a simple monotonous behavior with τ increasing (i.e. from two extrema to no extremum). But with the q increasing, the MFPT has a extremum, which is more large as τ increases.
Damage control
Authors: Hoffmann Leah
Published: October 2008

The U.S. patent system is overdue for reform, but what needs fixing, and how, is a matter of some dispute.
Polaris
Authors: Stolte Chris , Tang Diane , Hanrahan Pat
Published: October 2008

During the last decade, multidimensional databases have become common in the business and scientific worlds. Analysis places significant demands on the interfaces to these databases. It must be possible for analysts to easily and incrementally change both the data and their views of it as they cycle between hypothesis and experimentation.

In this paper, we address these demands by presenting the Polaris formalism, a visual query language for precisely describing a wide range of table-based graphical presentations of data. This language compiles into both the queries and drawing commands necessary to generate the visualization, enabling us to design systems that closely integrate analysis and visualization. Using the Polaris formalism, we have built an interactive interface for exploring multidimensional databases that analysts can use to rapidly and incrementally build an expressive range of views of their data as they engage in a cycle of visual analysis.
SP1
Authors: Sward Ricky E.
Published: October 2008

Level - Intermediate.

This tutorial covers the principles of Service-Oriented Architectures (SOA) including loose coupling, encapsulation, reusability, composibility, etc. The attendee will learn about the Ada Web Server (AWS) and how SOA interfaces, session management, etc. are implemented using AWS. The tutorial will also cover the fundamentals of the Enterprise Service Bus (ESB), a key enabling component of the SOA. Attendees will learn about ESB endpoints, data routing, automatic translations, etc. They will also learn how to connect Ada web services to an ESB, how to expose the web services, and how to use AWS with the ESB through in-class exercises and demonstrations.
From strawman to Ada 2005
Authors: Brosgol Ben
Published: October 2008

Dr. Brosgol will look at Ada's evolution, including the requirements formulation phase that preceded the language design, and highlight key developments.
Dynamic analysis of Ada programs for comprehension and quality measurement
Authors: Safari-Sharifabadi Elaheh , Constantinides Constantinos
Published: October 2008

During maintenance and particularly during corrective and perfective tasks, systems tend to exhibit a weight gain. As a result, their quality tends to degrade. Software comprehension is vital in order to assess system quality. In this paper, we aim at deploying dynamic analysis of Ada programs for obtaining comprehension, and applying measurements to assess their quality. Program instrumentation is performed non-intrusively by AspectAda, an aspect-oriented extension to Ada which we discussed in earlier work. Events which are required for this analysis are captured as execution traces. We have defined a relational database schema to save execution traces, and a set of queries to obtain measures of quality metrics. New Ada-specific metrics are introduced and existing metrics have been adopted from the literature. Automation is also provided as a proof of concept through a prototypical tool which provides information on the run-time behavior of the system, performs measurements and provides visualization of the run-time behavior of the system through a call graph. An open source Ada program is used as a case study to demonstrate our approach.
Durability of Ag‐TiO2 Photocatalysts Assessed for the Degradation of Dichloroacetic Acid
Authors: Menéndez-Flores Víctor M. , Friedmann Donia , Bahnemann Detlef W.
Published: October 2008

The stability of Ag‐TiO2 photocatalysts was examined for the photocatalytic degradation of dichloroacetic acid (DCA) as a function of the recycling times. The photocatalytic activity was investigated by measuring the rate of H+ ions released during the photodegradation of DCA and confirmed by measuring the total organic carbon removal. The photodegradation reactions were studied at pH 3 and pH 10 for a series of Ag‐TiO2 photocatalysts as different with Ag loadings . All the Ag‐TiO2 and bare TiO2 photocatalysts showed a decrease in photocatalytic activity on recycling for the DCA photodegradation reaction. The decrease in activity can be attributed to poisoning of active sites by Cl− anions formed during the photocatalytic DCA degradation. The photocatalytic activity was, however, easily recovered by a simple washing technique. The reversibility of the poisoning is taken as evidence to support the idea that the recycling of Ag‐P25 TiO2 photocatalysts does not have a permanent negative effect on their photocatalytic performance for the degradation of DCA. The choice of the preparation procedure for the Ag‐TiO2 photocatalysts is shown to be of significant importance for the observed changes in the photocatalytic activity of the Ag‐TiO2 particles.
Galanin Preproprotein Is Associated With Elevated Plasma Triglycerides
Authors: Plaisier Christopher L. , Kyttälä Mira , Weissglas-Volkov Daphna , Sinsheimer Janet S. , Huertas-Vazquez Adriana , Riba Laura , Ramírez-Jiménez Salvador , de Bruin Tjerk W.A. , Tusié-Luna Teresa , Aouizerat Bradley E. , Pullinger Clive R. , Malloy Mary J. , Kane John P. , Cruz-Bautista Ivette , Herrera Miguel F. , Aguilar-Salinas Carlos , Kuusisto Johanna , Laakso Markku , Taskinen Marja-Riitta , van der Kallen Carla J.H. , Pajukanta Päivi
Published: November 2008

Objective—

There is increasing physiological evidence in rodents connecting the neuropeptide galanin to triglyceride (TG) levels. We hypothesized that variation in the galanin preproprotein (
GAL
) gene may contribute to hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) in humans.

Methods and Results—

We investigated
GAL
as a TG candidate gene by genotyping 4 tagSNPs in Dutch, Finnish, and Mexican familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL) families as well as in white combined hyperlipidemia cases/controls (n=2471). The common allele of rs2187331, residing in the promoter region of
GAL
, was significantly associated with HTG (probability value=0.00038). In an unascertained population sample of 4463 Finnish males, the rare allele of rs2187331 was associated with higher TGs (probability value=0.0028 to 0.00016). We also observed an allele specific difference with rs2187331 in reporter gene expression and nuclear factor binding in vitro. Furthermore, we detected differential expression of many key lipid genes in adipose tissue based on rs2187331 genotypes.

Conclusions—

The SNP rs2187331 is associated with HTG in FCHL and white combined hyperlipidemia cases/controls and influences TG levels in the population. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the allelic difference observed between FCHL and the general population. Functional evidence shows that rs2187331 has an allele specific cis-regulatory function and influences the expression of lipid related genes in adipose.
c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase 2
Deficiency Protects Against Hypercholesterolemia-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction and Oxidative Stress
Authors: Osto Elena , Matter Christian M. , Kouroedov Alexei , Malinski Tadeusz , Bachschmid Markus , Camici Giovanni G. , Kilic Ulkan , Stallmach Thomas , Boren Jan , Iliceto Sabino , Lüscher Thomas F. , Cosentino Francesco
Published: October 2008

Background—

Hypercholesterolemia-induced endothelial dysfunction due to excessive production of reactive oxygen species is a major trigger of atherogenesis. The c-Jun-N-terminal kinases (JNKs) are activated by oxidative stress and play a key role in atherogenesis and inflammation. We investigated whether
JNK2
deletion protects from hypercholesterolemia-induced endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress.

Methods and Results—

Male
JNK2
knockout (
JNK2
−/−
) and wild-type (WT) mice (8 weeks old) were fed either a high-cholesterol diet (HCD; 1.25% total cholesterol) or a normal diet for 14 weeks. Aortic lysates of WT mice fed a HCD showed an increase in JNK phosphorylation compared with WT mice fed a normal diet (
P
<0.05). Endothelium-dependent relaxations to acetylcholine were impaired in WT HCD mice (
P
<0.05 versus WT normal diet). In contrast,
JNK2
−/−
HCD mice did not exhibit endothelial dysfunction (96±5% maximal relaxation in response to acetylcholine;
P
<0.05 versus WT HCD). Endothelium-independent relaxations were identical in all groups. A hypercholesterolemia-induced decrease in nitric oxide (NO) release of endothelial cells was found in WT but not in
JNK2
−/−
mice. In parallel, endothelial NO synthase expression was upregulated only in
JNK2
−/−
HCD animals, whereas the expression of antioxidant defense systems such as extracellular superoxide dismutase and manganese superoxide dismutase was decreased in WT but not in
JNK2
−/−
HCD mice. In contrast to
JNK2
−/−
mice, WT HCD displayed an increase in O
2
−
and ONOO
−
concentrations as well as nitrotyrosine staining and peroxidation.

Conclusions—

JNK2
plays a critical role as a mediator of hypercholesterolemia-induced endothelial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Thus,
JNK2
may provide a novel target for prevention of vascular disease and atherosclerosis.
Fasting and Nonfasting Lipid Levels
Authors: Langsted Anne , Freiberg Jacob J. , Nordestgaard Børge G.
Published: October 2008

Background—

Lipid profiles are usually measured after fasting. We tested the hypotheses that these levels change only minimally in response to normal food intake and that nonfasting levels predict cardiovascular events.

Methods and Results—

We cross-sectionally studied 33 391 individuals 20 to 95 years of age from the Copenhagen General Population Study. We also studied 9319 individuals 20 to 93 years of age from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, 1166 of whom developed cardiovascular events during 14 years of follow-up. Compared with fasting levels, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and albumin levels were reduced up to 3 to 5 hours after the last meal; triglycerides levels were increased up to 6 hours after the last meal; and non-HDL cholesterol level, apolipoprotein A1 level, apolipoprotein B level, ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, and ratio of apolipoprotein B to apolipoprotein A1 did not change in response to normal food intake. The maximum changes after normal food and fluid intake from fasting levels were −0.2 mmol/L for total cholesterol, −0.2 mmol/L for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, −0.1 mmol/L for HDL cholesterol, and 0.3 mmol/L for triglycerides. Highest versus lowest tertile of nonfasting total cholesterol, non-HDL cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, triglycerides, ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol, and ratio of apolipoprotein B/apolipoprotein A1 and lowest versus highest tertile of nonfasting HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 predicted 1.7- to 2.4-fold increased risk of cardiovascular events.

Conclusions—

Lipid profiles at most change minimally in response to normal food intake in individuals in the general population. Furthermore, nonfasting lipid profiles predicted increased risk of cardiovascular events.
A New Chapter in Medical History
Authors: Hardy Anne
Published: November 2008

Once the domain of physicians intent on recording and memorializing professional achievements, the history of medicine has become fully interdisciplinary, encompassing myriad topics. Oddly, however, the problems that actually generate medicine, the diseases themselves, have—with such notable exceptions as plague, cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis, and hiv/aids—attracted relatively little attention until recently. Disease history now appears ready to enter a new phase.
Philological Contributions to Hattian-Hittite Religion (I)
Authors: Soysal Oğuz
Published: October 2008

In the first part of the present study the frequent Hittite cult phrase d(GN) aku- / eku- "to drink a deity" is discussed as to whether it should be understood in the accusative or dative sense. The drinking act devoted to divine honor is accompanied chiefly by the accusative case of the deity name. There are also some exceptional cases in which the divine proper name is used in the dative case. In the light of a list of Hattian deities in KBo 21.85+ I 12'-25' it is proposed here that the divine name in the expressiond d(GN) aku- / eku- with ending -n may have been originally constructed in the dative case under influence of Hattian. Since the Hattian dative marker -n is formally the same as the Hittite ending -n for the singular accusative, it is possible that the Hittites had adopted this cult expression in their language in a manner where the divine proper name would function as accusative. This use may have been transformed later into the real "Hittite" accusative in -n.The second part deals with the cult object GIŠhalm/puti- (with other cognate designations) and with its possible connection to GIŠkalmuš-. Materially, these tools appear not to have the same functions, but on the philological level, both words may stem from the same Hattian root halwuutti-.