In previous studies the slotted orifice plate has demonstrated superior performance characteristics to those of the standard orifice plate. In this study, these comparisons are investigated further. The response characteristics of the slotted orifice plate to the standard orifice plate and V-Cone for two-phase flows of water and air at various qualities, flow rates, and pressures are shown visually. The effect of oil as it flows through a slotted orifice plate and standard orifice plate are visually documented. The effect of manufacturing accuracy on the slotted orifice plates is investigated as to the effect on the coefficient of discharge, percent change in pressure, and Reynolds number. The slotted orifice plate mixes two-phase flow better than the standard orifice plate and V-Cone. There is a manufacturing effect on the slotted orifice plates; the larger the area of the slots, the larger the discharge coefficient.

The slotted plate flow meter has been widely tested as an obstruction flow meter during the past several years. It has been tested for both single-phase flows as well as for two-phase flows. Previous studies have revealed that the slotted plate flow meter is always better in performance and accuracy than the standard orifice plate flow meter. This study is primarily based on how a slotted plate responds to horizontal two-phase flow with air and water being used as the working fluids. The plates under consideration are those with beta ratios of 0.43 and 0.467. Experiments have been performed with six different configurations of the slotted plate test sections. The performances of the slotted plate flow meters will be compared to that of a standard orifice plate flow meter and then with a venturi. The effects of varying the upstream quality of the two-phase flow on the differential pressure and the coefficient of discharge of the slotted plates, the standard orifice plate and the venturi will be evaluated. Response characteristics at low differential pressures will be investigated. Tests for repeatability will be performed by studying the effects of the gas Reynolds number and the upstream quality on the differential pressure. The differential pressures across the slotted plates, the standard orifice plate and the venturi will be compared. Reproducibility will be evaluated by comparing the data obtained from all six different configurations. One of the main objectives of this study is to arrive at the best suitable procedure for accurately measuring the flow rate of two-phase flow using the slotted plate flow meter.

This study measured the current characteristics of faculty development in public two-year colleges in Texas. Current characteristics were determined by an electronic questionnaire completed by the responding staff or faculty member designated by each Texas two-year college as the person most responsible for faculty development. In the case when faculty development responsibility was divided by technical and academic faculty, both designees at the college were sent electronic questionnaires. Of the 78 colleges, 6 colleges, or 8 percent, divided faculty development responsibilities between two individuals at the college. Those six identified colleges were sent two questionnaires each for the two selected representatives. Of those 6 colleges, 4 responded or 67 per cent. Overall, of the 78 colleges sent electronic questionnaires, 57 responded, yielding a 73 percent return. The major results of the study indicate: 1. The majority of colleges studied do not designate a faculty development space at the college.2. A large percentage of two-year public colleges in Texas, 49.2 percent of the total respondents, had no staff member responsible for faculty development who spent more than 51 percent of the time on faculty development duties. 3. Two-year public colleges budget relatively few funds for faculty development. 4. Of all respondents 42.6 percent report that they did not perform a needs assessment. 5. Most Texas two-year public colleges, 92.7 percent of respondents, claimed that their colleges evaluated faculty development activities. However, almost 25 percent of those respondents did not use an evaluation instrument. Of those respondents using an instrument, the most selected area of measurement was participant satisfaction. Performance outcomes measure was the least selected category at 5.8 percent.

During the final approach and landing phase of the X-38/Crew Return Vehicle, a steerable parafoil is used to maneuver and land at a targeted ground base under autonomous control. To simulate and verify performance of the onboard Parafoil Guidance, Navigation and Control system (PGNC), a commercial powered parafoil- vehicle, called the Buckeye consisting of a parafoil and vehicle two-body system like the X-38/CRV was modified to accommodate the avionics and scale-downed parafoil for aerodynamic similarity and a series of flight tests were conducted. Dynamic modelling and system identification results for the Buckeye are de- scribed in this dissertation. The vehicle dynamics are modelled as all 8 degrees-of- freedom system comprising 6 states for the parafoil and 2 states for the relative pitch and yaw motion of the vehicle with respect to the parafoil. Modal analysis for the linearized model from the nonlinear model shows the number and order of dynamic modes as well as the system is controllable and observable. For system identifica- tion, the overparameterized Observer/Kalman Filter Identification (OKID) method is applied to identify a linear model of the Buckeye two-body system from the flight data assuming that disturbances at a calm day are represented as periodic distur- bances. The identification results show that the overparameterized OKID works well for powered parafoil-vehicle two-body system identification under calm day condi- tions using flight data. For the data with possible discrete gusts the OKID shows limitation to identify a linearized model properly. Several sensor packages including airdata and Inertial Measurement Unit are designed and installed for the parameters for identification. The sensor packages successfully supply data of the parameters for identification and suggest a feasible, low cost method for the parafoil-vehicle two-body dynamic parameters.

Rotavirus (RV) is an etiologic agent of viral gastroenteritis in children and infants worldwide, accounting for an estimated 500,000 deaths annually. NSP4, the first described viral enterotoxin, contributes to RV pathogenesis by mobilizing intracellular calcium through multiple mechanisms that promote abnormal ion transport and subsequent secretory diarrhea. NSP4 and the enterotoxic peptide 114-135 preferentially interact with model membranes mimicking caveolae in lipid composition and radius of curvature. Our laboratory has recently reported the colocalization and coimmunoprecipitation of NSP4 with caveolin-1, the structural protein of caveolae. Moreover, the caveolin-1 binding domain of NSP4 has been localized to the enterotoxic peptide. We now report that caveolin-1 binds NSP4 via the N- and C-termini and one terminus is sufficient for binding. A panel of caveolin-1 deletion mutants was expressed in a yeast two-hybrid assay against an NSP4 bait. Caveolin-1 mutants retaining at least one terminus were capable of binding the NSP4 bait. An in vitro binding assay confirmed the two-hybrid results and localized the NSP4 binding domains to caveolin-1 residues 2-22 and 161-178. These data support the hypothesis that caveolin-1 mediates NSP4 signaling and/or intracellular trafficking.

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumping of single and two-phase media is attractive for terrestrial and outer space applications since it is non-mechanical, lightweight, and involves no moving parts. In addition to pure pumping purposes, EHD pumps are also used for the enhancement of heat transfer, as an increase in mass transport often translates to an augmentation of the heat transfer. Applications, for example, include two-phase heat exchangers, heat pipes, and capillary pumping loops. In this research, EHD induction pumping of liquid film in annular horizontal and vertical configurations is investigated. A non-dimensional analytical model accounting for electric shear stress existing only at the liquid/vapor interface is developed for attraction and repulsion pumping modes. The effects of all involved parameters including the external load (i.e. pressure gradient) and gravitational force on the nondimensional interfacial velocity are presented. A non-dimensional stability analysis of EHD induction pumping of liquid film in a vertical annular configuration in the presence of external load for repulsion mode is carried out. A general non-dimensional stability criterion is presented. Stability maps are introduced allowing classification of pump operation as stable or unstable based on the input operating parameters. An advanced numerical model accounting for the charges induced throughout the bulk of the fluid due to the temperature gradient for EHD induction pumping of liquid film in a vertical annular configuration is derived. A non-dimensional parametric study including the effects of external load is carried out for different entrance temperature profiles and in the presence of Joule heating. Finally, a non-dimensional theoretical model is developed to investigate and to understand the EHD conduction phenomenon in electrode geometries capable of generating a net flow. It is shown that with minimal drag electrode design, the EHD conduction phenomenon is capable of providing a net flow. The theoretical model is further extended to study the effect of EHD conduction phenomenon for a two-phase flow (i.e. a stratified liquid/ vapor medium). The numerical results presented confirm the concept of liquid film net flow generation with the EHD conduction mechanism.

Liquid-metal Rankine power conversion systems (PCS) coupled with a fission reactor remain an attractive option for space power applications because system specific power and efficiency is very favorable for plant designs of 100 kW(e) or higher. Potential drawbacks to the technology in a reduced gravity environment include two-phase fluid management processes such as liquid-vapor phase separation. The most critical location for phase separation is at the boiler exit where only vapor must be sent to the turbine because blade erosion occurs from high velocity liquid droplets entrained by vapor flow. Previous studies have proposed that rotary separators be used to separate the liquid and vapor from a two phase mixture. However these devices have complex turbo machinery, require kilowatts of power and are untested for high vapor flow conditions. The Interphase Transport Phenomena (ITP) laboratory has developed a low-power, passive microgravity vortex phase separator (MVS) which has already proven to be an essential component of two-phase systems operating in low gravity environments. This thesis presents results from flight experiments where a Rankine cycle was operated in a reduced gravity environment for the first time by utilizing the MVS for liquid and vapor phase separation. The MVS was able to operate under saturated conditions and adjust to system transients as it would in the Rankine cycle by controlling the amount of liquid and vapor within the device. A new model is developed for the MVS to predict separation performance at high vapor flow conditions for sizing the separator at the boiler, condenser, and turbine locations within the cycle by using a volume limiting method. This model factors in the following separator characteristics: mass, pumping power, and available buffer volume for system transients. The study is concluded with overall Rankine efficiency and performance changes due to adding vortex phase separation and a schematic of the Rankine cycle with the integration of the MVS is presented. The results from this thesis indicate the thermal to electric efficiency and specific mass of the cycle can be improved by using the MVS to separate the two phases instead of a rotary separator.

A new correlation for the prediction of the Countercurrent Flow Limitation (CCFL) in a large diameter tube with a falling water lm is proposed. Dierent from previous correlations, it predicts the onset of ooding by considering the relative velocities of the working uids and the lm thickness of the liquid layer. This provides a more complete accounting of the physical forces contributing to CCFL. This work has been undertaken in order to provide a better estimate of CCFL for reactor safety codes such as MELCOR, MAAP, and SCDAP/RELAP. Experiments were conducted to determine the CCFL for a 3-inch inner diameter smooth tube with an annular liquid lm and air injection from the bottom. The size of the test section and the range of working uid ow rates were based on a scaling analysis of the surge line of a PressurizedWater Reactor pressurizer. An experimental facility was designed and constructed based on this analysis in order to collect data on the CCFL phenomenon. In order to capture some of the physical phenomena at the onset of ooding visual pictures were taken at high speed. These pictures provided a new understanding of the process of transition to ooding. The facility also produced a new set of ooding data. This can also lead to a more comprehensive mechanistic model.

Combining traditional source and modern technique in musical composition has become one of the major trends in the contemporary music development. William Bolcom (1938- ) is an important composer in the 20th century, who followed this trend to compose the two-piano work Recuerdos ¡V Three Traditional Latin-American Dances for Two Pianos (1991). Inspired by characteristics of traditional Latin American dance, Bolcom employed the elements of the Latin American music as the structural foundation. In each of the three movements, Bolcom has tried to recall the stylistic features of the folk music in Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela, as well as musical languages of Ernesto Nazareth (1863-1934), Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869), Ramón Delgado Palacios (1863-1902). Bolcom uses a lot of Latin America music materials in Recuerdos, and also applied contemporary compositional technique to this work, such as polytonality, serialism, collage, etc. Chapter One in this paper will introduce Bolcom¡¦s life background and musical composition experience, and the special characteristics of his five two-piano works. Chapter Two contains the historical background of Recuerdos, mainly discussing musical styles of three countries and three composers which Bolcom wanted to evoke in this composition. Chapter Three includes the compositional manners of Choro, Paseo, and Valse Venezolano, and researches how Bolcom intergrating diverse musical materials and still creating the unity among three movements.

Polyalthia longifolia is a lofty evergreen tree found in India and Sri Lanka. Today, P. longifolia var. pendula is in large-scale cultivation in south Taiwan as a landscape plant. A new compound, clerodane diterpenoid 16-hydroxycleroda-3,13-dien-15, 16 -olide¡]CD¡^, was isolated from the bark of Polyalthia longifolia var. pendula. The compound was shown with cell growth inhibitory property at first screen in KMU¡]Kaohsiung Medical University¡^. In our study, antiproliferative activity of CD on human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells¡]HT29 and HCT116¡^were tested and the inhibitory concertration of 50¢Mcell viability¡]IC50¡^is 5 £gg/ml¡]HCT116¡^ and 10 £gg/ml¡]HT29¡^determined by MTT(3-[4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. The caspase 3 and PARP cleavage experiment results indicated that CD induced apoptosis is dose dependent manner. We found that CD induced sub-G1 accumulation and reactive oxygen species(ROS) release by flow cytometry analysis. Pretreatment of N-Acetyl-L-cystine(NAC), an antioxidant agent, can reverse the anti-proliferation effect by CD. We found that CD induced loss of mitochondria membrane potentiol¡]£G£Zm¡^. We also analysis differentially expressed proteins by 2-D electrophoresis and find drug response proteins, e.g. HSP10, Profilin-1, Peroxindoxin-1. RT-PCR and western blot was performed to confirm the protein expression changes. It is interesting to reveal the role of these proteins in the colorectal cancinogenesis and anti-tumor drug response.