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The purpose of this study is to clarify the state of the heat loss in a direct-injection diesel engine. Originally developed thin-film thermocouples (TFTs) are embedded into the combustion chamber walls for accurate measurement of instantaneous surface temperature from which instantaneous heat flux is evaluated through the heat conduction equation. Measured points are arrayed on the cavity bottom, the cavity side wall, the piston top, and the cylinder head. The TFTs are designed and fabricated so that disturbance of the temperature field is minimized when they are embedded into the combustion chamber walls. As a result, it is observed that the behaviour of instantaneous temperature and heat flux depends on the radius of the measured point. Measured points located radially inwards seem to be influenced by the combustion flame considerably more than those located outwards because the flame is presumed to stay in and around the cavity which occupies a region around the central axis of the piston. On the other hand, the heat loss ratio, namely the ratio of lost heat to the heat supplied by the fuel, is larger than in a gasoline engine.

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Moyamoya disease (MMD) is characterized by progressive bilateral stenotic changes in the terminal portion of the internal carotid arteries. Although RNF213 was identified as a susceptibility gene for MMD, the exact pathogenesis remains unknown. Immunohistochemical analysis of autopsy specimens from a patient with MMD revealed marked accumulation of hyaluronan and chondroitin sulfate (CS) in the thickened intima of occlusive lesions of MMD. Hyaluronan synthase 2 was strongly expressed in endothelial progenitor cells in the thickened intima. Furthermore, MMD lesions showed minimal staining for CS and hyaluronan in the endothelium, in contrast to control endothelium showing positive staining for both. Glycosaminoglycans of endothelial cells derived from MMD and control induced pluripotent stem cells demonstrated a decreased amount of CS, especially sulfated CS, in MMD. A computational fluid dynamics model showed highest wall shear stress values in the terminal portion of the internal carotid artery, which is the predisposing region in MMD. Because the peri-endothelial extracellular matrix plays an important role in protection, cell adhesion and migration, an altered peri-endothelial matrix in MMD may contribute to endothelial vulnerability to wall shear stress. Invading endothelial progenitor cells repairing endothelial injury would produce excessive hyaluronan and CS in the intima, and cause vascular stenosis.