BACKGROUND Alpha1 anti-trypsin (α1-AT), a serine protease inhibitor synthesized in the liver, is a major circulating antiprotease that provides defense against proteolytic damage in several tissues. Its deficiency is associated with airflow obstruction. The present study aimed to explore the role of α1-AT as a biomarker of airflow performance in chronic liver disease (CLD). MATERIAL/METHODS S...

Wind affects adversely the cooling tower thermal performance. A field investigation was carried out to study the thermal performance of Heller cooling towers under wind conditions, involving measurement of wind velocity and its direction around the cooling tower, and obtaining water flow rates and temperatures at the cooling tower inlet and outlet. Results show that air suction at the tower top...

This effort summarizes the work performed under Task IV, Sector Rig Pests of the CRT Critical Research and Support Technology Program, a Department of Energy funded project. The rig tests of a can-type combustor were performed to demonstrate two advanced ground power engine combustor concepts: steam cooled rich-burn combustor primary zones for enhanced durability; and variable combustor geometr...

the technique used to control the airflow is based on the electro-hydrodynamic actuator which is also called plasma actuator. this actuator ensures the airflow control thanks to the electric wind created by the electrical corona discharge. this ionic wind is developed at the profile surface tangential to the initial free airflow so that it has a significant effect on the boundary layer flow. th...

Distribution patterns of odorant molecules in the rat nasal olfactory region depend in large part on the detailed airflow patterns in the nasal cavity, which in turn depend on the anatomical structure. To investigate these flow patterns, we constructed an anatomically accurate finite element model of the right nasal cavity of the Sprague-Dawley rat based on horizontal (anterior-posterior) nasal...

This paper aims at systematically investigating the aerodynamics of nasalization in Taiwanese, a language that has a nasality contrast in its vowels but are subject to stricter restrictions on nasality distribution than French. Our results show that i) the onset consonantal effects on nasal anticipatory coarticulation are subtly different between the two languages; in particular, voiced stops a...

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is used to predict natural ventilation flows in an enclosure with upper and lower openings connected to the environment. The natural driving forces are wind combined with buoyancy. CFD simulations were carried out by varying the strengths of buoyancy under a constant assisting wind effect. Simulation results of the volume flow rates through the enclosure, the ...