The Tumor Necrosis Factor Superfamily of Cytokines in the Inflammatory Myopathies: Potential Targets for Therapy

The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IM) represent a heterogeneous group of autoimmune diseases, of which dermatomyositis (DM), polymyositis (PM), and sporadic inclusion body myositis (IBM) are the most common. The crucial role played by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) in the IM has long been recognized. However, so far, 18 other members of the TNF superfamily have been characterized, and many of these have not yet received the attention they deserve. In this paper, we summarize current findings for all TNF cytokines in IM, pinpointing what we know already and where current knowledge fails. For each TNF family member, possibilities for treating inflammatory diseases in general and the IM in particular are explored

Void fraction measurements of refrigerant flow in small diameter tubes using a capacitive sensor

Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Malta, 16-18 July, 2012.The void fraction is one of the key parameters in two phase flows. Quite a few methods have been proposed to measure this void fraction. Yet many of these methods are quite complex, intrusive and/or are not applicable to all possible void fraction ranges. Capacitance measurements have already been shown to characterize the two phase flow behaviour of refrigerants. Due to the curvature of the electrodes for circular tubes, the measured capacitance does not vary linearly with the void fraction. In this work a method is proposed to calibrate a capacitive sensor and thus determine the void fraction based on capacitive measurements. The proposed method was applied to 270 measurement points. The tube diameter D for all these points is 8mm, the mass flux ranges from 200 to 500 kg/m²s and the vapour fraction ranges between 2.5% and 97.5%. Refrigerants R134a and R410A were used. The results for these data points were compared to the Rouhani-Axelsson drift flux void fraction model. A very good agreement with this model was observed.dc201

Short-term health effects in the general population following a major train accident with acrylonitrile in Belgium

Background: Following a train derailment, several tons of acrylonitrile (ACN) exploded, inflamed and part of the ACN ended up in the sewage system of the village of Wetteren. More than 2000 residents living in the close vicinity of the accident and along the sewage system were evacuated. A human biomonitoring study of the adduct N-2-cyanoethylvaline (CEV) was carried out days 14-21 after the accident. Objectives: (1) To describe the short-term health effects that were reported by the evacuated residents following the train accident, and (2) to explore the association between the CEV concentrations, extrapolated at the time of the accident, and the self-reported short-term health effects. Methods: Short-term health effects were reported in a questionnaire (n=191). An omnibus test of independence was used to investigate the association between the CEV concentrations and the symptoms. Dose-response relationships were quantified by Generalized Additive Models (GAMs). Results: The most frequently reported symptoms were local symptoms of irritation. In non-smokers, dose-dependency was observed between the CEV levels and the self-reporting of irritation (p=0.007) and nausea (p=0.007). Almost all non-smokers with CEV concentrations above 100 pmol/g globin reported irritation symptoms. Both absence and presence of symptoms was reported by non-smokers with CEV concentrations below the reference value and up to 10 times the reference value. Residents who visited the emergency services reported more symptoms. This trend was seen for the whole range of CEV concentrations, and thus independently of the dose. Discussion and conclusion: The present study is one of the first to relate exposure levels to a chemical released during a chemical incident to short-term (self-reported) health effects. A dose-response relation was observed between the CEV concentrations and the reporting of short-term health effects in the non-smokers. Overall, the value of self-reported symptoms to assess exposure showed to be limited. The results of this study confirm that a critical view should be taken when considering self-reported health complaints and that ideally biomarkers are monitored to allow an objective assessment of exposure

Setting a best practice for determining the EGR rate in hydrogen internal combustion engines

Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) is an effective way to reduce NOx-emissions and increase the efficiency of hydrogen fueled internal combustion engines. Knowledge of the exact amount of EGR is crucial to understand the effects of EGR. As the exhaust gas flow is pulsating and chemically aggressive, the flow rate is typically not measured directly and has to be derived from other quantities. For hydrocarbon fuels, the EGR rate is generally calculated from a molar CO2 balance, but for hydrogen engines this obviously cannot be used as there are no CO2 emissions, and consequently no standard practice has been established. This work considers three methods to calculate the amount of EGR in a hydrogen engine. The first one is based upon a volume balance in the mixing section of exhaust gases and fresh air. The second and third method uses a molar balance of O-2 and H2O respectively in this mixing section. The three methods are developed and tested for their accuracy with an error analysis. Additionally, the methods are applied to an experimental dataset gathered on a single cylinder hydrogen engine. Both the theoretical analysis and the experimental results confirm the method based on an O-2 molar balance as the most accurate one. The least practical method is the one based on an H2O balance as it requires additional relative humidity sensors and is less accurate than the others

Analytical calculation of fracture toughness of materials on tests of small-sized samples with a chevron notch

On the example of technical titanium VT1-0, a new technique for determining the crack resistance of materials is described in the data of tests of small-sized samples with a chevron notch. The problem of displacement the points of application of the part load due to the variation in the compliance of the sample during the propagation of a crack is solved. Equations for the calculation of the specific fracture energy from the experimental data of small-sized samples with a chevron notch are obtained

Small diameter fibres as new wick material for capillary-driven heat pipes

Papers presented to the 11th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, South Africa, 20-23 July 2015.Heat pipes with a wick material consisting of small diameter metal fibres of 12 μm are investigated. The container material is copper and the working fluid is water. The fibre mesh heat pipe is compared with two other wick structures: a screen mesh (145 meshes per inch) and a sintered powder wick. All three heat pipes have an outer diameter of 6 mm, a length of 200 mm. The heat pipes are tested in a vertical orientation, both gravity-opposed and gravity-assisted. In the gravity-opposed orientation the heat pipes are tested for a heat input up to 50 W and an operating temperature of 70°C. In the gravity-assisted orientation the heat pipes are tested up to 160 W and 120°C. The thermal resistance and the temperature difference between evaporator and condenser are used as performance indicators. For the gravity-assisted orientation, the screen mesh wick clearly outperforms the fibre and sintered powder wick, due to its higher permeability and better ability to distribute the working fluid over the circumference of the wick. For the gravity-opposed orientation, the fibre and screen mesh heat pipe perform equally well. Both have a lower thermal resistance than the sintered powder heat pipe, as the small diameter fibres and fine mesh create more and very small capillary channels in comparison with the sintered powder wick.am201