1,043 research outputs found

    Stereoscopic PIV measurement in laminar rotating plane Couette flow

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    Plane Couette flow with spanwise system rotation shows structures of streamwise-oriented roll cells that arise due to the instability by the Coriolis force when the system rotation is in the opposite direction to the mean flow vorticity. The momentum transport caused by such roll cell structures makes the flow tend to exhibit zero absolute vorticity. In the present study, stereoscopic PIV measurements in the rotating plane Couette flow were carried out in order to further illuminate the vortex structures and transport phenomena in this flow. The Reynolds stresses and some terms of its transport equation were evaluated to discuss the transport phenomena caused by the coherent structure. Furthermore, the wall shear stress was evaluated based on the measurement results of the Reynolds and viscous shear stresses and its variation with the system rotation rate is also presented

    The Benefits and Costs of Group Affiliation: Evidence from East Asia

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    business group, group affiliation, East Asian corporations

    Involvement of the epidermal growth factor receptor in epithelial repair in asthma

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    Epithelial damage and airway remodeling are consistent features of bronchial asthma and are correlated with disease chronicity, severity, and bronchial hyperreactivity. To examine the mechanisms that control bronchial epithelial repair, we investigated expression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (c-erbB1, EGFR) in asthmatic bronchial mucosa and studied repair responses in vitro. In biopsies from asthmatic subjects, areas of epithelial damage were frequently observed and exhibited strong EGFR immunostaining. EGFR expression was also high in morphologically intact asthmatic epithelium. Using image analysis, EGFR immunoreactivity (% of total epithelial area, median (range) was found to increase from 9.4 (4.1–20.4) in normal subjects (n=10) to 18.4 (9.3–28.9) in mild asthmatics (P<0.01, n=13) and 25.4 (15.4–31.8) in severe asthmatics (P<0.00, n=5). Epithelial EGFR immunoreactivity remained elevated in patients treated with corticosteroids and was positively correlated with subepithelial reticular membrane thickening. Using 16HBE 14o- bronchial epithelial cells, we found that EGF accelerated repair of scrape-wounded monolayers and that the EGFR-selective inhibitor, tyrphostin AG1478, inhibited both EGF-stimulated and basal wound closure whereas dexamethasone was without effect. Intrinsic activation of the EGFR was confirmed by analysis of tyrosine phosphorylated proteins, which revealed a rapid, damage-induced phosphorylation of the EGFR, irrespective of the presence of exogenous EGF. To assess the relationship between EGFR-mediated repair and tissue remodeling, release of the profibrogenic mediator TGF-ß2 was also measured. Scrape wounding increased release of TGF-ß2 from epithelial monolayers and EGF had no additional stimulatory effect. However, when repair was retarded with AG1478, the amount of TGF-ß2 increased significantly. These data indicate that the EGFR may play an important role in bronchial epithelial repair in asthma and that impairment of this function may augment airway remodeling

    Generalized diagnostic scaling for high-order moments in turbulent boundary layers

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    The present work builds upon the diagnostic plot for the streamwise turbulence intensity [Alfredsson & Örlü, 2010] and generalises it for higher-order (even and odd) moments providing a general description of the probability density distribution of streamwise velocity fluctuations. Turbulent boundary layers (up to a friction Reynolds number of 20'000) are employed and demonstrate its feasibility to scale data throughout the overlap and outer region

    PV architectures for DC microgrids using buck or boost exclusive microconverters

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    DC microgrids can connect directly dc renewable energy sources with increasing amount of dc loads. In this paper it is looked for possible architectures for integrating PV panels into dc microgrids, by means of microconverter strings. Three topologies are considered, featuring only buck microconverters and only boost microconverters, since they promise higher efficiency due to fewer semiconductors in the current path. The topologies under exam are tested with a perturb and observe MPPT, in the cases of abrupt local shading and uneven shading over a solar panels' array. Among the three, the best topology by response time and control ease is found.Accepted Author ManuscriptOld - EWI-ESE-DC&S DC systems & StorageElectrical Power Processin

    Matching PV array output with residential load by optimisation of array orientation

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    Currently PV modules are positioned to receive the highest amount of incident radiation in a year. Therefore, the generation pattern is independent of the consumption and a large storage is required to compensate for the same. This paper studies the possibility of orienting the modules differently in order to match the consumption more efficiently.Accepted Author ManuscriptOld - EWI-ESE-DC&S DC systems & Storag

    Sensitivity of discharge and flood frequency to twenty-first century and late Holocene changes in climate and land use (River Meuse, northwest Europe)

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    We used a calibrated coupled climate–hydrological model to simulate Meuse discharge over the late Holocene (4000–3000 BP and 1000–2000 AD). We then used this model to simulate discharge in the twenty-first century under SRES emission scenarios A2 and B1, with and without future land use change. Mean discharge and medium-sized high-flow (e.g. Q99) frequency are higher in 1000–2000 AD than in 4000–3000 BP; almost all of this increase can be attributed to the conversion of forest to agriculture. In the twentieth century, mean discharge and the frequency of medium-sized high-flow events are higher than in the nineteenth century; this increase can be attributed to increased (winter half-year) precipitation. Between the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, anthropogenic climate change causes a further increase in discharge and medium-sized high-flow frequency; this increase is of a similar order of magnitude to the changes over the last 4,000 years. The magnitude of extreme flood events (return period 1,250-years) is higher in the twenty-first century than in any preceding period of the time-slices studied. In contrast to the long-term influence of deforestation on mean discharge, changes in forest cover have had little effect on these extreme floods, even on the millennial timescale

    Automatic texture segmentation for content-based image retrieval application

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    In this article, a brief review on texture segmentation is presented, before a novel automatic texture segmentation algorithm is developed. The algorithm is based on a modified discrete wavelet frames and the mean shift algorithm. The proposed technique is tested on a range of textured images including composite texture images, synthetic texture images, real scene images as well as our main source of images, the museum images of various kinds. An extension to the automatic texture segmentation, a texture identifier is also introduced for integration into a retrieval system, providing an excellent approach to content-based image retrieval using texture features

    The Design, Construction and Evaluation of a Pilot Project of a Bahay Kubo Inspired Floating Home

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    In the overpopulated deltas of the Philippines people live in are-as that see floods regularly. The floods are being caused by a com-bination of tides, heavy rainfall and land subsidence. The demand for safe and affordable housing is immense, yet available dry land is scarce. By implementing floating homes in vacant former rice fields, demanded new building space is becoming available. To come to a sustainable design that fits in the Pampanga Delta, traditional building designs as the Bahay Kubo have been analysed. Many aspects of this design correspond with modern sustainable development goals. By means of parametric building simulations, key aspects of the Bahay Kubo have been used to provide the home with good performances in indoor climate and structural behavior. Now the first pilot building has been built, the home is being tested for validating the parametric models and to evaluate the building design. The first round of test results has led to proper insights in indoor climate, user friendliness, and affordability. Initial design improvements have been made and will be used in upcoming developments such as the construction of a floating neighborhood and the construction of floating classrooms.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Applied Mechanic
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