Search

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of magnesium sulfate in the prevention of fetal growth restriction due to the impaired uterine blood supply in the rat model.Methods: A total number of 24 female rats were used in this study. They were mated overnight and randomly divided into control and treatment groups. After anesthesia and incising abdominal midline in day 17 of gestation, the uterine artery was occluded by an atraumatic clamp for 60 min. The rats of the control group received normal saline after surgery and the rats of treatment group received magnesium sulfate subcutaneously. The laparotomy was repeated on day 21 of gestation, and the number of alive and dead fetuses was counted in each horn. The viability of fetuses was evaluated. The weight of the placenta and fetuses and the distance between the head and tail as well as back to the abdomen of the fetuses were also measured. Samples of the amniotic fluid (AF) were collected during both surgeries for biochemical analyses of the glucose, urea, lactate, and pyruvate levels by an AutoAnalyzer.Results: Among the total fetuses in ischemic horn, only 50% survived in the control group. Dead fetuses had less body consistency and had a dark color. In contrary, only 7.6% of the fetuses in the treatment group were absorbed and 92.4% were completely healthy and developed. Parameters related to placenta weight, fetus weight, fetus length, and fetus width had significant differences and those of the treatment group were higher. Glucose and lactate levels of the AF in the treatment group were significantly lower and urea level was significantly higher than the control group in day 21 of gestation. The changes in pyruvate levels were not significant.Conclusion: In conclusion, magnesium sulfate may counteract with the effects of temporary uterine ischemia in pregnant rats and prevent intrauterine growth restriction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viscous dissipation and its contribution to turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) budget are investigated in the asymmetric jet–wake flow of a forward-curved centrifugal turbomachine. Single-plane three-dimensional turbulent data are obtained using stereoscopic particle image velocimetry (SPIV). Viscous dissipation is indirectly estimated from subgrid-scale (SGS) dissipation (SGS energy flux) by filtering velocity field using a top-hat filter. The filter scale should be within the inertial sub-range and this is ensured by spectral analysis of the measured field. Reduction of turbulent energy flux for smaller filter scales plus underestimation of viscous dissipation as compared with other TKE terms both suggest the presence of spectral shortcut. This bypass energy transfer (from intermediate scales towards dissipative scales) works in parallel with direct SGS energy transfer and affects the classical energy cascade. Analysis of TKE budget in the rotor exit region shows significant radial/circumferential variations in the contributing terms. These variations are mainly due to jet–wake–volute interactions, circumferential asymmetry of volute area and expansion of flow toward the fan outlet. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present study uses stereoscopic particle image velocimetry in the rotor exit of a centrifugal turbomachine to analyse anisotropy and geometrical characteristics of tensorial flow quantities. The purpose is to identify dominant topologies of turbulence stress tensor and principal directions of flow structures. The misalignment between principal directions of strain and turbulence stress tensors is more evident in the jet–wake interaction regions and questions the eddy-viscosity models which assume an exact alignment between stress/strain eigenvectors. Anisotropy analysis based on the barycentric approach shows that the disk-like structure and/or the rod-like structure limiting states of turbulence are the most frequent topologies of turbulence stress. Additionally, planar straining is the dominant deformation characteristic in the measurement area. These anisotropic behaviours considerably attribute to the turbulence energy cascade. Conditional isolation of flow structures based on inter-scale energy flux shows that a larger extent of turbulence stress anisotropy results in a larger energy flux and therefore significantly affects the dynamics of turbulent flow structures. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]