Heat pipes for wing leading edges of hypersonic vehicles

Wing leading edge heat pipes were conceptually designed for three types of vehicle: an entry research vehicle, aero-space plane, and advanced shuttle. A full scale, internally instrumented sodium/Hastelloy X heat pipe was successfully designed and fabricated for the advanced shuttle application. The 69.4 inch long heat pipe reduces peak leading edge temperatures from 3500 F to 1800 F. It is internally instrumented with thermocouples and pressure transducers to measure sodium vapor qualities. Large thermal gradients and consequently large thermal stresses, which have the potential of limiting heat pipe life, were predicted to occur during startup. A test stand and test plan were developed for subsequent testing of this heat pipe. Heat pipe manufacturing technology was advanced during this program, including the development of an innovative technique for wick installation

Serum eosinophil cationic protein (S-ECP) in a population with low prevalence of atopy

AbstractThe study is a part of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. A random sample (n=351) of 20–44-year olds and persons of the same age with asthma-like symptoms or current asthma medication according to a postal questionnaire (n=95) were studied. Interview was taken, methacholine challenge was done and ECP, total and specific IgE were measured from serum. The median S-ECP value was 8.0 μg/l in the random sample. The geometric mean of S-ECP was higher in subjects with, than without atopy (10.2. vs 8.9 μg/l, P<0.01) and in subjects with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) than in subjects without BHR (9.9 vs 8.0 μg/l,P <0.01). The levels correlated weakly to forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) (r=0.13, P<0.01) and were not independently correlated with respiratory symptoms, asthma or FEV1 after adjusting for BHR, IgE, sensitisation and smoking. Our results indicate that the level of eosinophil activation is low in a population with a low prevalence of atopy, even when BHR is common

Primary malignant melanoma of breast: A unique case report

Malignant melanoma is a clinical entity that occurs commonly in the skin, mucous membrane, and choroid; its occurrence in breast tissue is extremely rare. Evidence suggests that most malignant melanoma cases present as a metastatic manifestation of primary cutaneous melanoma. It is rare to find primary malignant melanoma of breast tissue. There is a dearth of data on this topic in the academic literature; moreover, there are no standard guidelines or consensus statements available on the management of primary malignant melanoma of the breast. Therefore, we, herein, report one such rare case of malignant melanoma with breast as its primary site

The Role of miRNAs, miRNA Clusters, and isomiRs in Development of Cancer Stem Cell Populations in Colorectal Cancer.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) have a critical role in regulating stem cells (SCs) duringdevelopment and altered expression can cause developmental defects and/or disease. Indeed,aberrant miRNA expression leads to wide-spread transcriptional dysregulation which has beenlinked to many cancers. Mounting evidence also indicates a role for miRNAs in the developmentof the cancer SC (CSC) phenotype. Our goal herein is to provide a review of: (i) current researchon miRNAs and their targets in colorectal cancer (CRC), and (ii) miRNAs that are differentiallyexpressed in colon CSCs. MicroRNAs can work in clusters or alone when targeting different SC genesto influence CSC phenotype. Accordingly, we discuss the specific miRNA cluster classifications andisomiRs that are predicted to target theALDH1,CD166,BMI1,LRIG1, andLGR5SC genes.miR-23bandmiR-92Aare of particular interest because our previously reported studies on miRNA expressionin isolated normal versus malignant human colonic SCs showed thatmiR-23bandmiR-92aareregulators of theLGR5andLRIG1SC genes, respectively. We also identify additional miRNAs whoseexpression inversely correlated with mRNA levels of their target genes and associated with CRCpatient survival. Altogether, our deliberation on miRNAs, their clusters, and isomiRs in regulationof SC genes could provide insight into how dysregulation of miRNAs leads to the emergence ofdifferent CSC populations and SC overpopulation in CRC