The thermal conductivity of steam in the zero density limit as a function of temperature

An equation for the thermal conductivity of steam at pressures of 1 atmosphere and below is presented. Sources of the experimental data and the actual data used in the analysis are presented. Also included is low density data below 100 C

Chondrogenic potential of human articular chondrocytes and skeletal stem cells: a comparative study

Regenerative medicine strategies have increasingly focused on skeletal stem cells (SSCs), in response to concerns such as donor site morbidity, dedifferentiation and limited lifespan associated with the use of articular chondrocytes for cartilage repair. The suitability of SSCs for cartilage regeneration, however, remains to be fully determined. This study has examined the chondrogenic potential of human STRO-1-immunoselected SSCs (STRO-1+ SSCs), in comparison to human articular chondrocytes (HACs), by utilising two bioengineering strategies, namely ‘‘scaffold-free’’ three-dimensional(3-D) pellet culture and culture using commercially available, highly porous, 3-D scaffolds with interconnected pore networks. STRO-1+ SSCs were isolated by magnetic-activated cell sorting from bone marrow samples of haematologically normal osteoarthritic individuals following routine hip replacement procedures. Chondrocytes were isolated by sequential enzymatic digestion of deep zone articular cartilage pieces dissected from femoral heads of the same individuals. After expansion in monolayer cultures, the harvested cell populations were centrifuged to form high-density 3-D pellets and also seeded in the 3-D scaffold membranes, followed by culture in serum-free chondrogenic media under static conditions for 21 and 28 days, respectively. Chondrogenic differentiation was determined by gene expression,histological and immunohistochemical analyses. Robust cartilage formation and expression of hyaline cartilage-specific markers were observed in both day-21 pellets and day-28 explants generated using HACs. In comparison, STRO-1+ SSCs demonstrated significantly lower chondrogenic differentiation potential and a tendency for hypertrophic differentiation in day-21 pellets. Culture of STRO-1+ SSCs in the 3-D scaffolds improved the expression of hyaline cartilage-specific markers in day-28 explants, however, was unable to prevent hypertrophic differentiation of the SSC population. The advantages of application of SSCs in tissue engineering are widely recognised; the results of this study, however, highlight the need for further development of cell culture protocols that may otherwise limit the application of this stem cell population in cartilage bioengineering strategies

Comparison of Multiple Rain Attenuation Models with Three Years of Ka Band Propagation Data Concurrently Taken at Eight Different Locations

In June 1996, Working Party 3M of the ITU-R presented research comparing the estimations of 10 rain attenuation models with the 186 station years of earth-space propagation data contained within the ITU-R database known as DBSG5. Now, twenty-one station years of new data taken exclusively in the Ka band (20.185 GHz and 27.505 GHz) across North America are measured against many of those same models. Results are presented both in terms of error statistics as well as in comparison to the ITU database results

Double Binds and Double Blinds: Evaluation Tactics in Critically Oriented HCI

Critically oriented researchers within Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) have fruitfully intersected design and critical analysis to engage users and designers in reflection on underlying values, assumptions and dominant practices in technology. To successfully integrate this work within the HCI community, critically oriented researchers have tactically engaged with dominant practices within HCI in the design and evaluation of their work. This paper draws attention to the ways that tactical engagement with aspects of HCI evaluation methodology shapes and bears consequences for critically oriented research. We reflect on three of our own experiences evaluating critically oriented designs and trace challenges that we faced to the ways that sensibilities about generalizable knowledge are manifested in HCI evaluation methodology. Drawing from our own experiences, as well as other influential critically oriented design projects in HCI, we articulate some of the trade-offs involved in consciously adopting or not adopting certain normative aspects of HCI evaluation. We argue that some forms of this engagement can hamstring researchers from pursuing their intended research goals and have consequences beyond specific research projects to affect the normative discourse in the field as a whole

Phase diagrams of Janus fluids with up-down constrained orientations

A class of binary mixtures of Janus fluids formed by colloidal spheres with the hydrophobic hemispheres constrained to point either up or down are studied by means of Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations and simple analytical approximations. These fluids can be experimentally realized by the application of an external static electrical field. The gas-liquid and demixing phase transitions in five specific models with different patch-patch affinities are analyzed. It is found that a gas-liquid transition is present in all the models, even if only one of the four possible patch-patch interactions is attractive. Moreover, provided the attraction between like particles is stronger than between unlike particles, the system demixes into two subsystems with different composition at sufficiently low temperatures and high densities.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Fluid physics, thermodynamics, and heat transfer experiments in space

An overstudy committee was formed to study and recommend fundamental experiments in fluid physics, thermodynamics, and heat transfer for experimentation in orbit, using the space shuttle system and a space laboratory. The space environment, particularly the low-gravity condition, is an indispensable requirement for all the recommended experiments. The experiments fell broadly into five groups: critical-point thermophysical phenomena, fluid surface dynamics and capillarity, convection at reduced gravity, non-heated multiphase mixtures, and multiphase heat transfer. The Committee attempted to assess the effects of g-jitter and other perturbations of the gravitational field on the conduct of the experiments. A series of ground-based experiments are recommended to define some of the phenomena and to develop reliable instrumentation

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Heat-Conducting Near-Critical Fluids

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we study supercritical fluids near the gas-liquid critical point under heat flow in two dimensions. We calculate the steady-state temperature and density profiles. The resultant thermal conductivity exhibits critical singularity in agreement with the mode-coupling theory in two dimensions. We also calculate distributions of the momentum and heat fluxes at fixed density. They indicate that liquid-like (entropy-poor) clusters move toward the warmer boundary and gas-like (entropy-rich) regions move toward the cooler boundary in a temperature gradient. This counterflow results in critical enhancement of the thermal conductivity

The transition to irreversibility in sheared suspensions: An analysis based on a mesoscopic entropy production

We study the shear-induced diffusion effect and the transition to irreversibility in suspensions under oscillatory shear flow by performing an analysis of the entropy production associated to the motion of the particles. We show that the Onsager coupling between different contributions to the entropy production is responsible for the scaling of the mean square displacement on particle diameter and applied strain. We also show that the shear-induced effective diffusion coefficient depends on the volume fraction and use Lattice-Boltzmann simulations to characterize the effect through the power spectrum of particle positions for different Reynolds numbers and volume fractions. Our study gives a thermodynamic explanation of the the transition to irreversibility through a pertinent analysis of the second law of thermodynamics.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures, paper submitted tp phys rev

Critical Dynamics in a Binary Fluid: Simulations and Finite-size Scaling

We report comprehensive simulations of the critical dynamics of a symmetric binary Lennard-Jones mixture near its consolute point. The self-diffusion coefficient exhibits no detectable anomaly. The data for the shear viscosity and the mutual-diffusion coefficient are fully consistent with the asymptotic power laws and amplitudes predicted by renormalization-group and mode-coupling theories {\it provided} finite-size effects and the background contribution to the relevant Onsager coefficient are suitably accounted for. This resolves a controversy raised by recent molecular simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure