The PHENIX Experiment at RHIC

The physics emphases of the PHENIX collaboration and the design and current status of the PHENIX detector are discussed. The plan of the collaboration for making the most effective use of the available luminosity in the first years of RHIC operation is also presented.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. Further details of the PHENIX physics program available at http://www.rhic.bnl.gov/phenix

Experimental Investigation of Two-Phase Refrigerant Distribution in a Microchannel Manifold

The affects of microchannel protrusion, mass flux, quality and inlet distance on the distribution of two phase refrigerant R-134a was studied through a series of experiments conducted in two different horizontally oriented microchannel manifolds. One manifold was constructed in such a manner that the cross sectional area was rectangular in nature, with dimensions of 12.7 x 18.5 mm. The second manifold was constructed using a transparent PVC tube in order to achieve a circular cross-section; the inner diameter of this manifold was 20.4 mm. Both manifolds fed a linear array of 15 microchannels with hydraulic diameter of 1.54 mm. In the rectangular manifold, three different uniform microchannel protrusion schemes were studied; the microchannels protruded one-quarter, one-half, and three-quarters of the flow field depth. While in the circular manifold the same three uniform schemes were studied, two staggered schemes were studied as well. In each manifold the expansion device was put at two different lengths from the microchannel array. In the case of the rectangular manifold, these lengths were 50 mm and 250 mm, and in the case of the circular manifold 89 mm and 267 mm. Flow parameters were also varied in this study. The inlet quality of the refrigerant was varied from 0-0.35, and the mass flow rate from 15-35g/s. Liquid refrigerant distribution was measured through the use of a series of a collection tanks, in which a time averaged mass flow rate could be obtained.Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Project 15

Design, testing and modeling of a high-gain magnetic flux-compression generator

Using a simultaneously initiated cylindrical explosive, a coaxial magnetic flux-compression generator (FCG) was designed to test high-current-gain limitations. A coaxial design with a lossless gain of approx.100:1 was chosen for its efficiency, relative simplicity, and calculability. Theoretical design included modeling as well as 1-D and 2-D hydrodynamic and MHD calculations. A 69.3-cm cylinder of PBX-9501 high explosive, 20.3 cm in diameter, was used to drive the Al armature into a Cu stator. The initial current supplied by a capacitor bank was approx.3 MA which produced a final current approx.75 MA. Details of the experiment and a comparison with calculations are presented

Future directions in the evaluation of c-MET-driven malignancies

The c-MET (mesenchymal–epithelial transition factor) receptor tyrosine kinase is an exciting novel drug target in view of its key role in oncogenesis, as well as its association with disease prognosis in a number of malignancies. Several drugs targeting c-MET are currently showing promise in clinical trials and will hopefully validate positive observations from preclinical studies. The potential efficacy of these different therapeutic agents is expected to be influenced by the mechanism of aberrant hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/c-MET signaling pathway activation in a particular cancer, but presents a promising strategy for cancer treatment either as a single agent or as part of a combination therapeutic approach. However, there is an ongoing need to improve and accelerate the transition of preclinical research into improved therapeutic strategies for patients with cancer. The main challenges facing the development of HGF/c-MET-targeted agents for cancer treatment include the discovery of rationally designed anticancer drugs and combination strategies, as well as the validation of predictive biomarkers. This paper discusses these issues, with a particular focus on future directions in the evaluation of c-MET-driven malignancies