Performance Testing of Micro Loop Heat Pipes

[[abstract]]A 60 mm×33 mm×0.8 mm micro loop heat pipe (MLHP), consisting of an evaporator, vapor line, condenser and two liquid lines, was fabricated and characterized. The wicking structure consists of parallel V-grooves with a hydraulic diameter of 47 μm, 67 μm and 83 μm, and is formed by bulk silicon etching. The MLHP was realized by bonding a glass wafer onto a silicon substrate, so as to result in a transparent cover for two-phase flow visualization. Water and methanol were used as the working fluids. The test results showed that water demonstrates a wider heat load performance range (3.3W~12.96W) than methanol (1.2W~5.85W) for the MLHP with an evaporator area of 1 cm^2 and condenser temperature of 17℃. The best thermal resistance of the MLHP was 0.106℃/W, 64 times higher than that without fluid filling. The smaller diameter grooves caused the higher liquid capillarity and enhanced transfer capacity. It was observed that the presence of non-condensable gas negatively affected the reliability of the MLHP and significantly reduced the performance.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]A&HC

Using Online Games To Teach Personal Finance Concepts

This case study explores the use of online games to teach personal finance concepts at the college level. A number of free online games targeting such topics as budgeting and saving, risk and return, consumer credit, financial services, and investments were introduced to the experimental group as homework assignments. Statistical results indicate that integrating online games into coursework significantly enhanced student learning outcomes. We suggest extending our successful experience to groups of people who need financial knowledge the most

Anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulatory activities of caffeic acid and ellagic acid in cardiac tissue of diabetic mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Caffeic acid (CA) and ellagic acid (EA) are phenolic acids naturally occurring in many plant foods. Cardiac protective effects of these compounds against dyslipidemia, hypercoagulability, oxidative stress and inflammation in diabetic mice were examined.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Diabetic mice were divided into three groups (15 mice per group): diabetic mice with normal diet, 2% CA treatment, or 2% EA treatment. One group of non-diabetic mice with normal diet was used for comparison. After 12 weeks supplement, mice were sacrificed, and the variation of biomarkers for hypercoagulability, oxidative stress and inflammation in cardiac tissue of diabetic mice were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The intake of CA or EA significantly increased cardiac content of these compounds, alleviated body weight loss, elevated plasma insulin and decreased plasma glucose levels in diabetic mice (<it>p </it>< 0.05). These treatments also significantly enhanced plasma antithrombin-III and protein C activities (<it>p </it>< 0.05); and decreased triglyceride content in cardiac tissue and plasma (<it>p </it>< 0.05), in which the hypolipidemic effects of EA were significantly greater than that of CA (<it>p </it>< 0.05). CA or EA significantly lowered cardiac levels of malondialdehyde, reactive oxygen species, interleukin (IL)-beta, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 (<it>p </it>< 0.05); and retained cardiac activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (<it>p </it>< 0.05). These compounds also significantly up-regulated cardiac mRNA expression of GPX1, SOD and catalase; and down-regulated IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha and MCP-1 mRNA expression in diabetic mice (<it>p </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results support that CA and EA could provide triglyceride-lowering, anti-coagulatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory protection in cardiac tissue of diabetic mice. Thus, the supplement of these agents might be helpful for the prevention or attenuation of diabetic cardiomyopathy.</p

Propylene metathesis with rhenium oxide supported by -alumina as catalyst, including kinetic and initial reaction studies.

There are seven catalysts studied, i.e., NH(, 4)ReO(, 4)/(gamma)Al(, 2)O(, 3), NH(, 4)ReO(, 4)/TiO(, 2), NaReO(, 4)/(gamma)Al(, 2)O(, 3), NH(, 4)ReO(, 4)/3A(K) zeolite, NH(, 4)ReO(, 4)/3A(Ca) zeolite, NH(, 4)ReO(, 4)/13X(Na) zeolite, and NH(, 4)ReO(, 4)/13X(Ca) zeolite. The standard catalyst, NH(, 4)ReO(, 4)/(gamma)Al(, 2)O(, 3), has the highest activity among these seven catalysts. The sodium and potassium ions have negative effect on the activity if zeolite is used as support or NaReO(, 4) is used as promoter. Bronsted acids adjacent to the adsorption site have a promotion effect on the activity.The most stable activity of the NH(, 4)ReO(, 4)/(gamma)Al(, 2)O(, 3) catalyst is obtained at about 50(DEGREES)C reaction temperature, and the highest activity is obtained at about 100(DEGREES)C reaction temperature. The break-in period observed at 0(DEGREES)C is due to the reduction of the catalyst by propene and the formation of organometallic complex, and this break-in period will probably be observed below 8(DEGREES)C. The reaction, and deactivation rates are first order with respect to the active site density. The break-in rate is first order with respect to the adsorption active site density.Temperature programmed desorption studies indicate that both the overall catalyst and the individual adsorption sites are energetically heterogeneous. Due to the adsorption of a mixture, readsorption during TPD run, and migration during TPD run, exact quantitative data are difficult to obtain from the TPD technique. For example, only the rough average value of the heat of desorption may be obtained instead of the exact value.The result of surface titration study with ethylene, the high ratio of ethylene to butenes at the beginning, and the temperature programmed desorption effect on reaction suggest that the carbene mechanism is more reasonable for describing the metathesis reaction. When trans-2-butene is used as the reactant, the result also suggests that carbene mechanism is more reasonable; otherwise the product distribution can not be interpreted

Fabrication of Microneedles

[[abstract]]This research paper was performed to study and utilizes two kinds of materials which match with two different fabrications in order to design an ideal shape of microneedles. The technology employs the polymer microneedles and the silicon microneedles with the height of 236 mum and 350 mum respectively. Moreover, the transdermal drug delivery investigation was conducted by using the fabricated samples to estimate the feasibility of the microneedles. Polymer microneedles were formed by molding the V-grooves structure on silicon wafer. The SU-8 negative photoresist was introduced for the subject structural material of the microneedles. Silicon microneedles were formed by KOH etching solution, solely depending on controlling etching time and the principle of fast-etching planes.[[conferencetype]]國際[[conferencedate]]20070116~20070119[[booktype]]紙本[[iscallforpapers]]Y[[conferencelocation]]Bangkok, Thailan

Effects of Chinese Education Style and Self-esteem in Adolescents’ Fashion Innovativeness and Conspicuous Consumption in Young Adults: A longitudinal study in Taiwan

With globalization and economic growth of Asian countries, many Western brands have attempted to better understand Asian consumers, and Chinese consumers in particular. Owing to globalization influence of Western media and economic growth, Chinese societies are in transition from non-consumerism to consumerism societies, where consumers are becoming more innovative and brand conscious than in past decades (Podoshen, Li, & Zhang, 2011)

AMP-activated protein kinase activation mediates CCL3-induced cell migration and matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression in human chondrosarcoma

Chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 3 (CCL3), also known as macrophage inflammatory protein-1α, is a cytokine involved in inflammation and activation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. CCL3 has been detected in infiltrating cells and tumor cells. Chondrosarcoma is a highly malignant tumor that causes distant metastasis. However, the effect of CCL3 on human chondrosarcoma metastasis is still unknown. Here, we found that CCL3 increased cellular migration and expression of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 in human chondrosarcoma cells. Pre-treatment of cells with the MMP-2 inhibitor or transfection with MMP-2 specific siRNA abolished CCL3-induced cell migration. CCL3 has been reported to exert its effects through activation of its specific receptor, CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5). The CCR5 and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibitor or siRNA also attenuated CCL3-upregulated cell motility and MMP-2 expression. CCL3-induced expression of MMP-2 and migration were also inhibited by specific inhibitors, and inactive mutants of AMPK, p38 mitogen activated protein kinase (p38 or p38-MAPK), and nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) cascades. On the other hand, CCL3 treatment demonstrably activated AMPK, p38, and NF-κB signaling pathways. Furthermore, the expression levels of CCL3, CCR5, and MMP-2 were correlated in human chondrosarcoma specimens. Taken together, our results indicate that CCL3 enhances the migratory ability of human chondrosarcoma cells by increasing MMP-2 expression via the CCR5, AMPK, p38, and NF-κB pathways

Interactions Between Reinforcement Corrosion and Chloride Ion Diffusion in Mortar

This study explored the diffusion of the chloride ions influenced by the reinforcement corrosion in the mortar. It is believed that, during the corroding process, a small current is generated at the surface of the reinforcement. Such current is supposed to influence the diffusion of the chloride ions, but the relationship between both was not well studied in the literature. In this study, the corroded reinforcements were prepared by applied currents. Reinforced mortar specimens with w/c of 0.6 were then prepared and cured by either salt or fresh water. Results showed that the chloride ion distribution was likely associated with the reinforcement corrosion. During the early hydration, the chloride ions were attracted by the reinforcement corrosion in the specimens prepared with fresh water and cured in salt water. The concentration of the chloride ions near the surface of the reinforcement was increased with the increases of the charging time during the preparation for the corroded reinforcement. On the contrary, the chloride ions were likely bound in those specimens prepared with salt water and cured by saturated lime water. The concentration of the chloride ions near the surface of the reinforcement was higher than those near the outer surface. However, such influencing effects were not clear in the long term, possibly due to the hydration. The results of this study show that the reinforcement corrosion have influences on the diffusion of the chloride ions and such effect should be considered during the refinement of the traditional chloride ion diffusion models