Hydropersulfides (RSSH) and Nitric Oxide (NO) Signaling: Possible Effects on S-Nitrosothiols (RS-NO)

S-Nitrosothiol (RS-NO) formation in proteins and peptides have been implicated as factors in the etiology of many diseases and as possible regulators of thiol protein function. They have also been proposed as possible storage forms of nitric oxide (NO). However, despite their proposed functions/roles, there appears to be little consensus regarding the physiological mechanisms of RS-NO formation and degradation. Hydropersulfides (RSSH) have recently been discovered as endogenously generated species with unique reactivity. One important reaction of RSSH is with RS-NO, which leads to the degradation of RS-NO as well as the release of NO. Thus, it can be speculated that RSSH can be a factor in the regulation of steady-state RS-NO levels, and therefore may be important in RS-NO (patho)physiology. Moreover, RSSH-mediated NO release from RS-NO may be a possible mechanism allowing RS-NO to serve as a storage form of NO.

Combustion Characteristics and NO Formation Characteristics Modeling in a Compression Ignition Engine Fuelled with Diesel Fuel and Biofuel

Compression ignition engine modeling draws great attention due to its high efficiency. However, it is still very difficult to model compression ignition engine due to its complex combustion phenomena. In this work, we perform a theoretical study of steam injection being applied into a single-cylinder four-strokes direct-injection and naturally aspirated compression ignition engine running with diesel and biodiesel fuels in order to improve the performance and reduce NO emissions by using a two-zone thermodynamic combustion model. The results obtained from biodiesel fuel are compared with the ones of diesel fuel in terms of performance, adiabatic flame temperatures, and NO emissions. The steam injection method could decrease NO emissions and improve the engine performances. The results showed that the NO formation characteristics considerably decreased and the performance significantly increased with the steam injection method. The relative errors for computed nitric oxide concentration values of biodiesel fuel and diesel fuel in comparison to the measured ones are 2.8% and 1.6%, respectively. The experimental and theoretical results observed show the highly satisfactory coincidences.

Utilization of Sea Water to Production of Concrete in Terms of Mechanical Behavior

Supplies of fresh water in everyday life has increased, but the smaller the potential sources of water so we need to think of alternative uses of water for concrete construction work. This study aims to compare the compressive strength of concrete using sea water and fresh water with water cement ratio of 0.37. An experimental research was conducted by making specimens of concrete cylinder with a diameter of 150 mm and height of 300 mm. The study used specimens of concrete using sea water and fresh water. There were 32 specimens for each kind of concrete. The treatment of each specimen used sea water and fresh water in accordance with the type of mixing water. The immersion periods were 1, 3, 7 and 28 days. Mechanical testing of concrete was conducted by testing the compressive strength and elasticity, while the testing of concrete microstructure was conducted by using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scan Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results revealed that in the 28-day immersion period. The compressive strength values of the sea water concrete and fresh water concrete were 44.88 MPa and 44.03 Mpa respectively. The difference of compressive strength in the two types of concrete was not significant. The result of microstructure test in the 28-day period revealed that in the sea water concrete, there was a formation of Friedel’s salt (3CaO.Al2O3.CaCl2.10H2O) of 7.71%, tobemorite (3CaO.2SiO2.3H2O) of 58.66% and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) of 6.18%. In the fresh water concrete, there was a formation of tobermorite (3CaO.2SiO2.3H2O) of 51.35%, and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) of 22%. There was no formation of Friedel’s salt in the fresh water concrete because there was no mutual reaction between chloride and calcium hydroxide elements. From the regression analysis, showed that the difference of microstructure compressive strength differences caused by differences in the microstructure of the content of the two types of concrete.