Development of High Efficiency Swing Compressor for R32 Refrigerant

In the age of global warming, energy saving features and overall reduction of environmental impact are critical components that must be addressed when developing new HVAC units. We chose the R32 refrigerant, with its lower LCCP as a more sustainable choice than the R410A. However, R32 has its drawbacks. Due to its smaller molecular weight, internal leakage loss is higher for the R32. Moreover, high discharge gas temperature decrease the reliability of the compressor, and make a large overheating loss increase. In this study, we will describe the technologies that were developed to overcome these drawbacks. We will also present the performance and reliability of the newly developed high efficiency swing compressor series for R32 refrigerants

IRF- 1 and IRF-4 Regulate Target Gene Expression via Interaction with DMP 1

Interferon regulatory factor-4 (IRF-4), a member of the IRF gene family, is a lymphoid-specific transcription factor. IRF-4 deficient mice showed severe immunodeficiencies. Both B- and T-cell activation were profoundly affected: serum immunoglobulin concentrations and antibody responses were decreased, and cytotoxic and antitumor responses were absent in IRF-4 knockout mice. Thus, IRF-4 is essential for the functions of mature B- and T-lymphocytes. To analyze IRF-4 function, we searched for IRF-4- interacting factors. A plasmid was constructed to express a LexA-IRF-4 fusion protein from the inducible GAL1 promoter in yeast cells. When this low copy plasmid (pGilda/IRF-4) was introduced into the yeast strain NOY397, cell growth was significantly inhibited. We supposed that this growth inhibition arose from interference with cellular factors essential for cell viability. We isolated several genes that could rescue the growth inhibition phenotype by screening a yeast genomic library. One of the clones, encoding the REB1 protein, interacted with IRF-4 in vitro. The yeast REB1 protein shares homology with the human transcription factor DMP1. IRF-4 was shown to interact in vitro with DMP1, via its DNA binding domain. IRF-1 also interacted with DMP1. These results suggest that IRF-1 and IRF-4 might regulate target gene expression, via interactions with DMP1

Green Tea Epigallocatechin Gallate Exhibits Anticancer Effect in Human Pancreatic Carcinoma Cells via the Inhibition of Both Focal Adhesion Kinase and Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Receptor

The exact molecular mechanism by which epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) suppresses human pancreatic cancer cell proliferation is unclear. We show here that EGCG-treated pancreatic cancer cells AsPC-1 and BxPC-3 decrease cell adhesion ability on micro-pattern dots, accompanied by dephosphorylations of both focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) whereas retained the activations of mitogen-activated protein kinase and mammalian target of rapamycin. The growth of AsPC-1 and BxPC-3 cells can be significantly suppressed by EGCG treatment alone in a dose-dependent manner. At a dose of 100 μM which completely abolishes activations of FAK and IGF-1R, EGCG suppresses more than 50% of cell proliferation without evidence of apoptosis analyzed by PARP cleavage. Finally, the MEK1/2 inhibitor U0126 enhances growth-suppressive effect of EGCG. Our data suggests that blocking FAK and IGF-1R by EGCG could prove valuable for targeted therapy, which can be used in combination with other therapies, for pancreatic cancer

Inverse Optimization of Core Shape of Electromagnetic Devices using Genetic Algorithms

In this paper a new method for the inverse optimization of core shapes of electromagnetic devices using Genetic Algorithms is presented. For the generation of an initial population and its offspring, the available core area is directly encoded using binary technique. Two methods for selection of genes are proposed: non-restricted method and restricted method. Both methods are applied to the optimization of a metal mold cavity inside permanent magnet production equipment. Electromagnetic analysis is performed using the 2-D finite element method. The robustness of the Genetic Algorithm and the accuracy of the obtained results are very promising