Studies on Thin Liquid Film of Annular-mist Two-phase Flow : I. Wave Characteristics and Heat Transfer

This paper presents measurements both of the heat transfer coefficient and wave characteristics of liquid film in an annular-mist two-phase two component flow. The liquid film surface waves were obtained by a two-wire conductance method. Comparing the increasing tendency of the heat transfer coefficient on the liquid flow rate with that of the wave height, the enhancement of the heat transfer coefficient is found to correspond to the onset of disturbance waves. Additionally, the relationship between the wave velocity and its height was obtained, using two sets ofconductance probes. The velocity of ripple increases with its height, while the velocity of disturbance wave increases with apparent gas phase velocity, regardless of its height

Ionic Liquid Fluorohydrogenates and Their Applications

The recent results are described on the developments of ionic liquid (IL) fluorohydrogenates with high ionic conductivities and wide electrochemical windows. Several cyclic ammonium cations have been found to be combined with fluorohydrogenate anions giving a vacuum stable ionic liquid fluorohydrogenates, Cat+[(FH)2.3F]−. N-ethyl-N-methylpyrrolidinium fluorohydrogenate, EMPyrro(FH)2.3F, and N-allylpyrridinium fluorohydrogenate, APyrrid(FH)2.3F, exhibit wide electrochemical windows of around 5 V. A fluorohydrogenate fuel cell (FHFC) using HF-deficient IL, 1-ethyl-3-methyl- imidazolium fluorohydrogenate, EMIm(FH)1.3F, as the electrolyte operates at 120{degree sign}C without humidification. The maximum output power so far obtained in the preliminary cell test is 41 mWcm-2 (0.41 V and 100 mA cm-2) at 40{degree sign}C without humidification

Study on successive superconducting transitions in Ta2_{2}S2_{2}C from electrical resistivity and nonlinear AC magnetic susceptibility

Ta$_{2}$S$_{2}$C compound undergoes superconducting transitions at $T_{cl} = 3.60 \pm 0.02$ K and $T_{cu} = 9.0 \pm 0.2$ K. The nature of successive superconducting transitions has been studied from electrical resistivity, linear and nonlinear AC magnetic susceptibilities. The resistivity $\rho$ at $H$ = 0 shows a local maximum near $T_{cu}$, a kink-like behavior around $T_{cl}$, and reduces to zero at below $T_{0}$ = 2.1 K. The $\ln T$ dependence of $\rho$ is observed at $H$ = 50 kOe at low temperatures, which is due to two-dimensional weak-localization effect. Below $T_{cu}$ a two-dimensional superconducting phase occurs in each TaC layer. The linear and nonlinear susceptibilities $\chi_{1}^{\prime\prime}$, $\chi_{3}^{\prime}$, $\chi_{5}^{\prime}$, and $\chi_{7}^{\prime}$ as well as the difference $\delta\chi$ ($= \chi_{FC} - \chi_{ZFC}$) between the FC and ZFC susceptibilities, start to appear below 6.0 K, the onset temperature of irreversibility. A drastic growth of the in-plane superconducting coherence length below 6.0 K gives rise to a three-dimensional superconducting phase below $T_{cl}$, through interplanar Josephson couplings between adjacent TaC layers. The oscillatory behavior of $\chi_{3}^{\prime\prime}$, $\chi_{5}^{\prime\prime}$, and $\chi_{7}^{\prime\prime}$ below $T_{cl}$ is related to the nonlinear behavior arising from the thermally activated flux flow.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figures, Physical Review B (accepted for publication

Fluoride Ion Interactions in Alkali-Metal Fluoride-Diol Complexes

The activity of F⁻ is an important factor in the design of both inorganic and organic reactions involving fluorine compounds. The present study investigates interactions of F⁻ with diols in alkali-metal fluoride–diol complexes. Increases in the reactivities of alkali-metal fluorides and their solubilities in alcohols is observed with increasing cation size. The difference in alkali-metal ion size produces different structural motifs for F⁻-diol complex salts. The CsF complex salt with ethylene glycol (EG), CsF-EG, has a layered structure, whereas the Rb and K complex salts, (RbF)₅-(EG)₄ and (KF)₅-(EG)₄, form columnar structures. Comparison of the CsF complex salts with three different diols— EG, 1, 3-propylene glycol (PG₁₃), and 1, 4-butylene glycol (PG₁₄)—revealed that the diol chain length affects the bridging mode in their layered structures. EG bridges two OH oxygen atoms within the same CsF layer in CsF-EG, whereas PG₁₃ and BG₁₄ bridge two OH oxygen atoms in different CsF layers in (CsF)₂-PG₁₃ and CsF-BG₁₄, respectively. The F⁻ ion coordination environment involves interactions between alkali-metal ions and H atom(s) in the diol OH groups, where the F⁻···H interactions are more dominant than the F···M⁺ interaction, based on Hirshfeld surface analyses. The O–H bond weakening observed by infrared spectroscopy also reflects the strengths of the F⁻···H interactions in these complex salts

Spin-orbital gap of multiorbital antiferromagnet

In order to discuss the spin-gap formation in a multiorbital system, we analyze an e_g-orbital Hubbard model on a geometrically frustrated zigzag chain by using a density-matrix renormalization group method. Due to the appearance of a ferro-orbital arrangement, the system is regarded as a one-orbital system, while the degree of spin frustration is controlled by the spatial anisotropy of the orbital. In the region of strong spin frustration, we observe a finite energy gap between ground and first-excited states, which should be called a spin-orbital gap. The physical meaning is clarified by an effective Heisenberg spin model including correctly the effect of the orbital arrangement influenced by the spin excitation.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, extended versio

Quantitative analysis of thrombopoietin receptors on human megakaryocytes

AbstractThrombopoietin (TPO), or c-MPL ligand, is the primary regulator of megakaryocyte and platelet production. TPO receptors expressed on human megakaryocytes derived from peripheral blood (PB) and cord blood (CB) progenitors cultured in the presence of TPO have now been analyzed quantitatively. Like those on human PB platelets, TPO receptors on the cultured megakaryocytes exhibited a molecular mass of approximately 80 kDa. Various characteristics of PB- and CB-derived megakaryocytes indicated that the former were more mature than the latter. Both PB- and CB-derived megakaryocytes expressed a single class of high-affinity TPO receptors, with 1933±772 (n=3) and 184±48 (n=4) sites per cell, respectively. These data indicate that the number of TPO receptors on human megakaryocytes increases with cell maturation

Safety and efficacy of pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in clinical practice

SummaryBackgroudPrevious pirfenidone trials have only involved patients with mild-to-moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The aim of this study was to investigate the safety and efficacy of pirfenidone in patients with mild-to-severe IPF in clinical practice.MethodsThe clinical records of 76 patients who were diagnosed with IPF and received pirfenidone were reviewed.ResultsThe most frequent adverse event was anorexia, although the grade of anorexia in most patients was mild. Dose reduction of pirfenidone improved anorexia in 84% affected patients, which resulted in a high medication compliance rate. The mean forced vital capacity (FVC) at the initiation of pirfenidone therapy in this study was approximately 10% lower than that in previous clinical trials. The mean change in FVC during the 6-month period prior to the therapy initiation was −188 mL, which improved to −19 mL during the 6-month period after therapy. Significant attenuation in percentage predicted diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide decline was also achieved after pirfenidone therapy initiation. The efficacy of pirfenidone in attenuating the degree of FVC decline was higher in the group with FVC decline of ≥150 mL during the 6-month period prior to therapy initiation. The levels of serum markers, such as KL-6 and SP-D, were also lowered by the therapy.ConclusionsThese results showed that pirfenidone was well-tolerated and had beneficial effects in patients with mild-to-severe and/or progressive IPF. The degree of disease progression prior to the initiation of pirfenidone therapy had an impact on the response to the therapy

Cathepsin G, a Neutrophil Protease, Induces Compact Cell-Cell Adhesion in MCF-7 Human Breast Cancer Cells

Cathepsin G is a serine protease secreted by activated neutrophils that play a role in the inflammatory response. Because neutrophils are known to be invading leukocytes in various tumors, their products may influence the characteristics of tumor cells such as the growth state, motility, and the adhesiveness between cells or the extracellular matrix. Here, we demonstrate that cathepsin G induces cell-cell adhesion of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells resulting from the contact inhibition of cell movement on fibronectin but not on type IV collagen. Cathepsin G subsequently induced cell condensation, a very compact cell colony, resulting due to the increased strength of E-cadherin-mediated cell-cell adhesion. Cathepsin G action is protease activity-dependent and was inhibited by the presence of serine protease inhibitors. Cathepsin G promotes E-cadherin/catenin complex formation and Rap1 activation in MCF-7 cells, which reportedly regulates E-cadherin-based cell-cell junctions. Cathepsin G also promotes E-cadherin/protein kinase D1 (PKD1) complex formation, and Go6976, the selective PKD1 inhibitor, suppressed the cathepsin G-induced cell condensation. Our findings provide the first evidence that cathepsin G regulates E-cadherin function, suggesting that cathepsin G has a novel modulatory role against tumor cell-cell adhesion

Improvement of Electrochemical Stability Using the Eutectic Composition of a Ternary Molten Salt System for Highly Concentrated Electrolytes for Na-Ion Batteries

The increase in the concentration of electrolytes for secondary batteries has significant advantages in terms of physicochemical and electrochemical performance. This study aims to explore a highly concentrated electrolyte for Na-ion batteries using a ternary salt system. The eutectic composition of the Na[N(SO₂F₂]–Na[N(SO₂F)(SO₂CF₃)]–Na[SO₃CF₃] ternary molten salt system increases solubility into an organic solvent, enabling the use of highly concentrated electrolytes for Na-ion batteries. The ternary salt system achieved concentrations of 5.0 m (m = mol kg⁻¹) with propylene carbonate (PC), 2.9 m with dimethoxyethane, 2.0 m with ethylene carbonate/dimethyl carbonate, and 3.9 m with ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate. The highly concentrated electrolyte of 5.0 m in PC suppressed Al corrosion and exhibited better oxidative stability. Stable electrochemical performance using hard carbon/NaCrO₂ in the full-cell configuration introduces a new strategy to explore highly concentrated electrolytes for secondary batteries

Milk Replacers and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in Calves, Japan

Milk Replacers and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy in Calves, Japa