Generation Increases (generation + increase)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Proposal and development of radial air-gap coreless generator suitable for small wind turbine used in urban area

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING IN JAPAN, Issue 1 2009
Toshiyuki Takahashi
Abstract Independent distributed power generation using small wind turbines is becoming more widespread as wind power generation increases. Installation of small wind turbines in densely populated urban areas is not only useful from the viewpoint of extracting wind power sources in weak-wind areas but also for making renewable energy easier to access when power supplies are closer to consumers. It is from this point of view that the authors proposed "urban wind power generation" using a collective system with a number of small vertical wind turbines, and have developed a suitable generator for low-speed vertical wind turbines such as a Savonius windmill. Based on a standard coreless generator, the proposed generator is designed to make the direction of the magnetic flux radial in order to install the magnets and coils on the outer end of the generator. The change of magnet composition and flux direction maximizes the speed of the flux change and output voltage within a limited space. With the above configuration, the power of the proposed generator is independent of the diameter. In this report, the authors describe and evaluate the fundamental performance of a prototype of the proposed generator. Based on the experiments, a maximum output power of 283 W was obtained. The obtained starting torque is small enough to begin rotation under weak wind conditions of no more than 1 m/s. Therefore, it is clear that the proposed "radial" coreless generator is suitable for self-starting and producing high power at low wind speed. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 167(1): 26, 34, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20695 [source]


Thrombin-mediated impairment of fibroblast growth factor-2 activity

FEBS JOURNAL, Issue 12 2009
Pierangela Totta
Thrombin generation increases in several pathological conditions, including cancer, thromboembolism, diabetes and myeloproliferative syndromes. During tumor development, thrombin levels increase along with several other molecules, including cytokines and angiogenic factors. Under such conditions, it is reasonable to predict that thrombin may recognize new low-affinity substrates that usually are not recognized under low-expression levels conditions. In the present study, we hypothesized that fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-2 may be cleaved by thrombin and that such action may lead to an impairment of its biological activity. The evidence collected in the present study indicates that FGF-2-induced proliferation and chemotaxis/invasion of SK-MEL-110 human melanoma cells were significantly reduced when FGF-2 was pre-incubated with active thrombin. The inhibition of proliferation was not influenced by heparin. Phe-Pro-Arg-chloromethyl ketone, a specific inhibitor of the enzymatic activity of thrombin, abolished the thrombin-induced observed effects. Accordingly, both FGF-2-binding to cell membranes as well as FGF-2-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase phosphorylation were decreased in the presence of thrombin. Finally, HPLC analyses demonstrated that FGF-2 is cleaved by thrombin at the peptide bond between residues Arg42 and Ile43 of the mature human FGF-2 sequence. The apparent kcat/Km of FGF-2 hydrolysis was 1.1 × 104 m,1·s,1, which is comparable to other known low-affinity thrombin substrates. Taken together, these results demonstrate that thrombin digests FGF-2 at the site Arg42-Ile43 and impairs FGF-2 activity in vitro, indicating that FGF-2 is a novel thrombin substrate. [source]


Potent therapeutic effect of melatonin on aging skin in pinealectomized rats

JOURNAL OF PINEAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2005
Mukaddes E
Abstract:, It is generally agreed that one of the major contributors to skin aging is reactive oxygen species. As organisms reach advanced age, free radical generation increases and the activity of tissue antioxidant enzyme system decreases. Melatonin is an antioxidant and free radical scavenger. The present study was first aimed to determine the morphometric and biochemical changes caused by long-term pinealectomy in order to investigate the role of melatonin as skin architecture. Secondly, the effect of exogenous melatonin administration on these changes was determined. Rats were pinealectomized or sham operated (control) for 6 months. Half of the pinealectomized rats were treated with 4 mg/kg melatonin during the last month of the experiment. Pinealectomy resulted in important morphometric and biochemical changes in the back, abdominal and thoracic skin. The thickness of epidermis and dermis and the number of dermal papillae and hair follicles were reduced. Melatonin administration to pinealectomized rats significantly improved these alterations in all body areas (P < 0.005). On the contrary, in pinealectomized rats the levels of antioxidant enzymes, catalase and glutathione peroxidase were decreased. Melatonin restored the levels of these enzymes. The pinealectomy-induced increases in lipid peroxidation in the abdominal and thoracic skin were significantly reduced by melatonin treatment (P < 0.005 and 0.01 respectively). These results suggest that melatonin is highly efficient anti-aging factor and, as melatonin levels decrease with age, melatonin treatment may reduce age-related skin changes. [source]


Diffusion and NOE NMR Studies on Multicationic DAB-Organoruthenium Dendrimers: Size-Dependent Noncovalent Self-Assembly to Megamers and Ion Pairing,

CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 21 2009
Stefania Pettirossi Dr.
Abstract Supra-mega ion pairing: Multicationic organoruthenium dendrimers show a notable tendency to self-aggregate when the concentration is increased, leading to megamers. This tendency increases with the generation. The self-aggregation of dendrimers to megamers is coupled with a decrease in the extent of ion pairing, as illustrated. New multicationic organoruthenium dendrimers (RuPF6 -Dabn, n=2, 4, 8, 16) have been synthesized by coupling of [Ru(,6 - p -cymene)(,3 -dpk-OCH2CH2OH)]X (1PF6, dpk=2,2,-dipyridyl ketone, X=PF6) with 1,4-diaminobutane (DAB) and polypropylenimine dendrimer DAB- dendr -(NH2)n {n=4, 8, 16} mediated by 1,1,-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI). The intermediate in the synthesis, [Ru(,6 - p -cymene)(,3 -dpk-OCH2CH2OC(O)Im]X (2PF6, Im=imidazole, X=PF6) has been isolated and characterized by single-crystal XRD. The intra- and supramolecular structures in a solution of RuPF6 -Dabn dendrimer have been investigated by multidimensional and multinuclear NMR techniques. Diffusion NMR experiments on dilute solutions indicated that the linear distance between two metal centers (14.9,22.1,Å depending on the dendrimer generation) is much greater than the diameter of 1PF6 (9.9,Å). 19F,1H-HOESY NMR experiments (HOESY= heteronuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy) showed that the counterion is positioned on the surface of the dendrimers and assumes the same relative anion,cation orientation as in 2PF6. Diffusion NMR experiments on RuPF6 -Dabn dendrimers in CD2Cl2 at different concentrations revealed a process of supramolecular assembly of dendrimers to megamers that is strongly favored for the highest generations. Megamer formation is coupled with an increased fraction of free ions (,) and a consequent reduction in ion-paired ruthenium centers. Graphs of , versus CRu (the concentration of ruthenium centers) showed a minimum for RuPF6 -Dab4, RuPF6 -Dab8, and RuPF6 -Dab16 at a position coinciding with the significant presence of supramolecular dendritic dimers. The tendency to ion pairing decreases as the dendrimer generation increases. [source]