0008) The CETP Taq1B variant was associated with significantly h

0008). The CETP Taq1B variant was associated with significantly higher HDL-C (p < 0.0001) and lower TC: HDL-C ratio (p < 0.0001) in those who were carriers or homozygotes for the B2 allele. The LPL S447X variant showed borderline significant association with weight (p = 0.02) with 447X homozygotes weighing almost 5 kg less than S447 homozygotes. Carriers of the APOA5 19W had 7.8% higher plasma TG levels compared to homozygotes for the common allele, but the association did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.038) ( Appendices

Table 2). Carriers of the APOA5 −1131 rare T allele had 6.1% higher Romidepsin order TG levels compared to CC homozygotes, but again this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.048) ( Appendices Table 2). No significant associations were observed between the APOA4 T347S and APOC3 variants and serum lipids. Common haplotypes within the APOA5/A4/C3 cluster

showed no significant effect on TG, TC HDL-C or LDL-C levels (Appendices Table 2). The plasma and anthropometric measures used for PCA were combined selleck compound based on their correlation structures (Appendices Table 3). The first PCA included HDL-C, TC and LDL-C with PC1 explaining 74% of the variation and PC2 an additional 25% of the variation. CETP Taq1B and APOE were identified as having a significant effect in both PC1 (p < 0.01) and PC2 (p < 0.001) ( Table 4a). The second PCA included weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, triceps and subscapular skin folds. PC1 alone explained 84% of the total variation, identifying LPL S447X as significant (p = 0.04) ( Table 4b). The final PCA combined Pyruvate dehydrogenase lipoamide kinase isozyme 1 measures of TG, insulin and insulin resistance with PC1 explaining 72% of the variation and PC2 explaining an additional

27%. PC2 identified the two variants in APOA5, −1131C > T and S19W as having a significant effect (p = 0.015 and p = 0.039, respectively) ( Table 4c). An interaction of APOE and BMI (dichotomised into Normal weight and Overweight/Obese) was impacting on the TC: HDL-C ratio in this young cohort (p = 0.008) was identified ( Fig. 1a) and HDL-C levels (p = 0.01) (data not shown). ɛ4 carriers in the overweight and obese category had a poorer TC: HDL-C ratio of 4.3 (95% CI 4.0, 4.6) compared to ɛ2 carriers with a ratio of 3.2 (95% CI 2.9, 3.5). Children in the normal weight category had a TC: HDL-C ratio which was unaffected by APOE genotype. ɛ4 carriers had a mean ratio of 3.6 (95% CI 3.4, 3.8), ɛ3/ɛ3 3.5 (95% CI 3.4, 3.6) and ɛ2 carriers 3.3 (95% CI 3.1, 3.6). There was no interaction between BMI and APOE genotype on plasma LDL-C ( Fig. 1b); TG or TC levels (data not shown). Gene–diet interactions examining all variants with a number of dietary measures were investigated, but there were no significant results (data not shown). The results from this study demonstrate in this dataset of healthy Greek children, the significant association of candidate gene variants with baseline anthropometric and lipid measures.

In fact, it has been proposed that Ang-(1-7)/Mas counter regulate

In fact, it has been proposed that Ang-(1-7)/Mas counter regulates the pro-inflammatory and increased oxidative stress induced by Ang II/AT1 receptor [17]. Therefore, it is possible that pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased oxidative stress, commonly found in disease states, may influence cardiac Mas expression. It is important to note that, in our present study, we cannot rule

out the possibility that different rat strains (Wistar vs. Sprague-Dawley) influenced our results since distinct rat strains can respond differently to injury and physical training. Anyway, a different Mas expression pattern was observed in response to buy SGI-1776 various pathological insults with Mas found to be up or down-regulated. Our present study demonstrated that the expression of Mas is responsive to different pathophysiological stimuli. These findings corroborate the premise that Mas is involved in the homeostasis of the heart and disturbances in its expression may contribute to the

establishment and progression of cardiac diseases. This study was partially supported by the Brazilian agencies FAPEMIG (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais), CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento www.selleckchem.com/products/byl719.html de Pessoal de Nível Superior), CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico), and INCT NanoBiofar. Dias-Peixoto was recipient of CNPq PhD fellowship at the Post-graduation Program in Biological Science: Physiology and Pharmacology at UFMG. Ricardo F. Lima has a PNPD (CAPES) fellowship. “
“In modern

industrialized nations, the incidence of obesity has increased markedly over the last few decades and has led to a rise in severe secondary health consequences. Given that most animals forage for food, including humans [for reviews see: [7] and [31]], we postulated recently that a largely ignored set of related factors leads to sizeable food hoards and has selleck inhibitor helped propel the obesity crisis: (a) size of refrigerators, freezers and pantries, (b) processes that extend the shelf lives of food well beyond that of 25–50 years ago, and (c) ample and inexpensive calorically dense food stuffs [7]. Therefore, a deepened understanding of food foraging and hoarding may lead to behavioral and/or pharmacological treatments for overweight/obese humans, as we have suggested previously [5], [7] and [31]. Using Wallace Craig’s [14] division of animal behavior into appetitive (behavior leading to the goal) and consummatory (realization of the goal) phases, ingestive behavior is dichotomized as food foraging/hoarding (appetitive phase) and food intake (consummatory phase). We know considerably more about consummatory ingestive behaviors than appetitive behaviors because the most commonly studied animals in ingestive behavior research are laboratory rats and mice. They are not natural hoarders [for review: [7]] and are typically housed in standard cages that do not permit a significant effort to obtain food.

The existence of bilateral neural connections between the two SON

The existence of bilateral neural connections between the two SON was suggested by electrophysiological and in vivo studies, thus supporting our results that both SON are involved in the mediation of the cardiovascular response to the microinjection of carbachol into the BST. Takano selleck products et al. (1990) reported that one-third of the vasopressin-containing neurons tested in the SON were excited by electric stimulation

of the contralateral SON. In the same study, those authors reported that vasopressin neurons tested in the SON were not antidromically activated by a contralateral SON stimulation, thus suggesting that neural connections between the bilateral SON are mainly polysynaptic. It was also reported that antidiuretic effect associated with noradrenaline microinjection into the SON was inhibited either by a lesion of the contralateral SON or its pretreatment

with adrenoceptor antagonists (Tsushima et al., 1996), indicating the existence of bilateral adrenergic neural connections between BIBW2992 price supraoptic nuclei. Because the pressor response to the microinjection of carbachol into the BST was inhibited by the blockade of either the ipsilateral or the contralateral SON, it is possible that carbachol administration into the BST activates a pathway from the BST to the ipsilateral SON, in relation to BST microinjection site, which would stimulate neuron(s) that project to contralateral SON, thus suggesting that carbachol responses would depend on a bilateral SON cross-talking. Therefore, activation of vasopressinergic neurons in the contralateral SON in relation to BST stimulation site would mediate pressor response to carbachol administration into the BST. A schematic representation sketching the mechanism by which carbachol microinjection

into the BST evokes a vasopressin-mediated pressor response is presented check details in Fig. 9. The pathway for the neural connection between bilateral SON is not totally understood. Moos and Richard (1989) concluded that the supraventricular gray commissura is important for interconnection of oxytocin-containing neurons in the SON, because synchronization of oxytocin-containing neurons in the bilateral SON disappeared after an inter hemisphere sectioning (including the supraventricular gray commissura and the corpus callosum), but persisted after a superficial interhemisphere sectioning that was limited to the corpus callosum. Therefore, the supraventricular gray commissura is a possible pathway for interconnections between bilateral SON vasopressin-containing neurons. Also, other connections between bilateral supraoptic nuclei, through the medulla oblongata and pons, have been suggested to exist (Tsushima et al., 1996), thus indicating alternative pathways for a bilateral SON cross-talking.

Complex 1 shows red shifts of the absorption maxima (510–560 nm)

Complex 1 shows red shifts of the absorption maxima (510–560 nm) selleck inhibitor in the following order: DMF > THF > DMSO > H2O (Fig. 5), which is not strictly in line with the relative permittivity values (εr) of tetrahydrofurane (7.5) [60], dimethylformamide (37.31) [61], dimethylsulfoxide (47.2) [62], and water (80.2) [63]. The shift on going from one organic solvent to another is small relatively to that observed on

going from dimethyl sulfoxide to water. A dramatic increase of the extinction coefficient of the mostly long-wavelength absorption in aqueous solution is also of note. The solvatochromic behavior of 2 is similar. A red shift on going from organic solvents to water is also clearly seen, although the extinction coefficients

for the red shifted bands are much lower than for those in 1 (see Supporting Information, Figs. S5 and S6). The solvatochromic behavior of compounds is usually explained through different solvation of the ground and excited states, the positive solvatochromism resulting from better stabilization of the excited state by polar solvents. However, this traditional approach, in which only the equilibrium solvation of the ground and excited states is taken into account sometimes fails [64], [65] and [66]. Therefore, the conclusion about the polarity of the ground and excited states on the basis of solvatochromic studies is no longer obvious [67]. In the present case the strong red shift of the visible bands in water solution should be ascribed to a large electric dipole moment in the excited state in this spectroscopic domain. This implies a large contribution learn more of charge transfer bands in the visible region, which could be tentatively assigned as involving the electron transfer from indazole to osmium. Indeed, as can be envisaged from Fig. 1, a variation of the dipole moment of the order of several Debye could be expected for such an electron transfer. The nature of the excited states click here in the visible region is currently investigated by ab initio calculations. The isomeric complexes 1 and 2 were stable in aqueous solution for at

least 24 h (see Section 3.6.) and in dimethyl sulfoxide for at least 96 h at room temperature. Attempts to induce tautomer conversion by UV irradiation (in ethanolic solution, 150 W Heraeus Noblelight) resulted in disappearance of the 1H NMR resonances of the coordinated azole heterocycle after 15 min and in disappearance of the free indazole signals and formation of ammonium ion after 1 h of irradiation. Heating 1 and 2 under the conditions used for their synthesis (see Section 2.2.) for 6 h led to their minor conversion (less than 10%) into 2 and 1, respectively, according to integration of the proton resonances. In addition, formation of trace amounts of [OsCl4(Hind)2] has been detected in solution by NMR spectroscopy.

5% Again, as in PC118 (t) series, we observe an oscillatory pair

5%. Again, as in PC118 (t) series, we observe an oscillatory pair with a dominant period of T ≈ 6 years. Furthermore we detect a quasioscillatory mode with a dominant period higher than decadal (T = 11.25 years), accounting for 11% of the variance. Fig. 5b shows the partial reconstruction, REC[12] (t) series,

based on the pair T-PC1 and T-PC2 (T-EOF1 and T-EOF2) for the very low frequency oscillatory mode and the filtered REC12[tot] (t) series, which brings together reconstructions of the three Talazoparib price oscillatory pairs found with SSA. It can be seen in PC218 (t) time series an extended period of droughts between 1932 and 1957, while in the early twentieth century oscillatory cycles with T ≈ 6 years appear more differentiated. We can also determine a wet period from 1970 to 2000, where the low-frequency cycles (higher than decadal) dominate the series. The decline observed in PC118 (t) at the beginning of 21st century is manifested as a consequence of a very low frequency cycle, with several years of moisture deficits GSK-3 beta phosphorylation since 2002, interrupted only between 2008 and 2009. Fig. 4c shows the correlation pattern between

the PC318 (t), which accounts for the 8.6% of the total variance, with the SPI18 (t) series at each grid points. The correlation, a18i3, changes from negative in the West and South of the region to positive in the Northeast extreme, with maximum values of 0.5. The PC318 (t) time series is shown in Fig. 5c, where a highly fluctuating signal is observed,

with cycles of irregular Alanine-glyoxylate transaminase intensity more accentuated in the mid-twentieth century. This signal is partially reconstructed with the oscillatory pair captured by T-PC1 and T-PC2 from SSA, explaining 14.9% of the total variance with a dominant period T = 11.3 years. The PC318 (t) does not reflect any noticeable trend along the measurement period. Fig. 4d summarizes the skill to reproduce the variability of SPI18 (t) series through the linear combination of the first PCs. It shows the cumulative variance that is accounted for by PC118 (t), PC218 (t) and PC318 (t). In almost the totality of the region, except for small areas at the extremes NW and SW, the proportion of the total variance explained at each grid point is higher than 60%, that is, where the behavior reproduced by the linear combination of the first components is considered satisfactory. It should be stressed that small isolated zones have total variances higher than 80%, whereas in most of the region, especially in the West-Central areas, the proportion of accounted variance is between 70 and 80%.

One proposed mechanism of the AhR/ERα cross-talk is the enhanced

One proposed mechanism of the AhR/ERα cross-talk is the enhanced metabolism Thiazovivin mouse of E2 by CYPs, particularly CYP1A1 and 1B1, which are induced by the potent AhR ligand TCDD [3]. Our data are consistent with reports in other cell lines showing a positive effect of ERα on the modulation of AHR-responsiveness [36], [37] and [38]. The repression of TCDD-induced luciferase activity by the AhR antagonist α-naphthoflavone suggests a partial inhibition which was however further inhibited in the presence of E2, suggesting an enhancement of the antagonist

effect by the co-treatment. Data from Matthews and co-workers in ERα- and AhR-positive MCF-7 and T47D human breast cancer cells revealed that TCDD (10 nM)-bound AhR recruited ERα to the CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 promoters [7]. This promoter occupancy was enhanced by additional treatment with E2 (10 nM). Studies with the AhR-responsive see more HuH7 human hepatoma cell line lacking ERα revealed that increasing amounts of ERα expression resulted in a concentration-dependent potentiation of TCDD-induced XRE-driven luciferase reporter gene activity after 24 h co-treatment of TCDD with E2 1 nM and 10 nM [7] and [39]. In a recent study stable siRNA–mediated knockdown of ERα in non-tumorigenic

HC11 mouse mammary epithelial cells revealed reduced TCDD-induced CYP1A1 mRNA expression [40]. Despite

the increasing effects of TCDD-induced CYP1A1 luciferase activity by E2 in ERα-transfected HepG2 cells neither TCDD-induced CYP1A1 nor CYP1B1 mRNA levels were affected by the co-treatments upon ERα transfection in the present study. This result is an apparent contradiction to the XRE-driven reporter gene data and may be due to the large degree of CYP induction which may activate signaling pathways limiting the overall response or due to the higher sensitivity of the luciferase assay. Alternatively, the ER-dependent added interaction with AhR may be target gene-dependent which requires further clarification. In addition to the CYPs, COMT was investigated in HepG2 since changes in its expression may be a limiting factor in Phospholipase D1 the balance of estradiol metabolism. COMT is the major E2 detoxifying enzyme, which catalyses inactivation of the two main reactive catechol estradiol metabolites [41]. In HepG2 cells TCDD alone and the co-treatment slightly increased COMT mRNA in the presence of ERα compared to controls. An estrogenic down regulation of human COMT requiring the presence of ERs was previously described. It has been reported that E2 reduced COMT transcription in ER-positive MCF-7 cells but not in ER-negative HeLA cells. [42].

1 μg/L for Sc) to 111% for lithium spiked at 10 μg/L For the ele

1 μg/L for Sc) to 111% for lithium spiked at 10 μg/L. For the elements measured PLX4032 research buy using Method 2 elements that did not have a CRM material (Br, Ti and W) the recoveries ranged from 93% for bromine (spiked at 100 μg/L) to 110% for tungsten (spiked at 1 μg/L). In total 280 urine samples were collected from 132 subjects. Samples provided came from 82 males (180 samples) and 50 females (100 samples). The known ages of these adults

ranged from 18 to 66 years). The 14 smokers made up 10.6% of the people who provided samples and 7.5% of the total number of samples. Subjects provided between one and nine samples each, with 65 subjects providing one sample, and two subjects providing nine samples. Creatinine levels were statistically significantly higher in males than in females (p < 0.001), lying within

the range 0.76–22.20 mmol/L in females, and 1.32–32.63 mmol/L in males. Although creatinine is known to decrease with age ( Cocker et al., 2011), no significant trends with age were found but this may be due to the relatively small sample size. A large proportion Selleck PD0332991 of creatinine concentrations in females (33%) were found to be below 3 mmol/L but only 6% of creatinine concentrations in males were below this value. The proportion of women with lower creatinine values is higher in our cohort than in than the 9% female workers reported by Cocker et al. (2011). This is most likely due to the socio-economic differences between females in the general population and females from chemically exposed workplaces. In the reporting of the

creatinine corrected values in this study no samples have been excluded; creatinine concentrations were not an exclusion criterion. A summary of all of the data from the analysis of the 280 samples are shown in Table 3. Table 3 lists the concentration of the elements in both μg/L and creatinine corrected as μmol/mol creatinine with the median and the 95th percentile being listed Resveratrol in both units, based on up to nine repeat samples per person. Male and female data are reported in creatinine corrected units only. For around half of the elements, over 50% of measurements were greater than the LOQ, for 16 elements (Ag, Au Bi, Dy, Eu, In, Lu, Nb, Nd, Os, Pr, Sm, Tb, Tm, Y, and Zr), >95% of measurements were greater than the LOQ. Table 4 compares the uncorrected and creatinine corrected values from this study for all samples with values obtained in three other studies. For 30 elements (Ag, Au, Bi, Ce, Dy, Er, Eu, Gd, Hf, Ho, In, Ir, La, Lu, Mn, Nb, Nd, Os, Pd, Pr, Pt, Sb, Sm, Sn, Tb, Th, Tm, Y, Yb and Zr) over a third of samples were below the LOQ.

, 2013) A minimum of three eyes are used per test Two different

, 2013). A minimum of three eyes are used per test. Two different treatment protocols are used dependent upon whether the test material is a surfactant or not. An advantage of this assay is its speed, with results usually obtained within 24 h. BCOP testing has been evaluated numerous times by ICCVAM, in conjunction with the European Union reference

laboratory for alternatives to animal testing (EURL-ECVAM), formally known as the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) and the Japanese Centre for the Valuation of Alternative Methods (JaCVAM) regarding its suitability in identifying both substances that induce serious damage and those that are classified as non-irritants. It has been determined that BCOP is suitable and scientifically valid for both purposes (OECD, 2013a) and is routinely used by cosmetics and

drug development companies for in-house testing of process Dasatinib order intermediates (Eskes et al., 2005). Although it cannot be considered as a stand-alone test, BCOP received international acceptance in 2009 (OECD TG 437) which was then reviewed and updated in 2013 (OECD, 2013a). It is recommended for identifying severe irritants without further testing (OECD, 2009b) and has received endorsement for being a scientifically valid alternative test (OECD, 2013a). BCOP and has an overall accuracy of 79% when used to classify GHS Category 1 irritants, when compared to Draize testing (OECD, 2009b and OECD, 2013a). Loss of accuracy has been linked to high false positive rates for alcohols, ketones and solid Rolziracetam test materials. When these are excluded, BCOP accuracy increases to Selleck Lumacaftor 85%. However, since all alcohols and ketones are not over-predicted, they are not considered to be out of the applicability domain of the test. Solid materials often result in variable data and irrelevant results when using Draize testing (Prinsen, 2006) since solid materials can also cause mechanical

damage. With regards to the classification of test materials that do not promote serious eye damage (GHS No Category), BCOP has an overall accuracy of 69%. BCOP does have a high false positive rate of 69% when compared to Draize data, but this value, although seemingly high, is not critical, since non-irritating chemicals which have a low in vitro irritancy score (IVIS) will be tested using another adequately validated in vitro test data, or as a last option in vivo rabbit testing ( OECD, 2013a). The porcine cornea opacity permeability (PCOP) assay uses porcine corneas, which can be considered as advantageous in comparison to bovine corneas since there are fewer concerns regarding encephalopathy diseases (Van den Berghe et al., 2005). Anatomically, it more accurately resembles the human cornea with regards to structure and thickness, and porcine corneas have been regularly used in ophthalmic research (Lynch and Ahearne, 2013).

Freshly grown colonies of bacterial strains were inoculated into

Freshly grown colonies of bacterial strains were inoculated into 25 ml of nutrient broth (NB,

Hi-media) in a shaking water bath for 4–6 h until turbidity reached to 0.5O.D. (660 nm). Final inoculum was adjusted to 5 × 108 CFUml−1to each agar plate. The plates were incubated at 37 °C and the zones of inhibition were measured after 24 h. Pure solvent served as a control. Extracted purified antibiotic fractions were characterized by HPLC (High Performance Liquid chromatography) ROCK inhibitor and FTIR (Fourier Transform infrared resonance) chromatography. HPLC of bioactive metabolite was determined at 215 nm with mobile phase of Acetonitrile-Methanol-0.2 M Ammonium acetate-Water (45:10:10:35) in C18 column. FTIR spectra of the purified antibiotic fractions were analyzed after homogenization of the sample with KBR. The FTIR spectra were recorded on SHIMADZU AUX 220 spectrometer in the range of 4000–400 cm−1. Present study focuses on isolation of potent antibiotic producing alkaliphilic actinomycetes. Fifty actinomycetes strains were isolated from ten soil samples collected from the different places of Saurashtra University, Rajkot, Gujarat, India. Among the isolated pure strains, only one actinomycetes

culture, BCI-1 was found to produce wide spectrum of antimicrobial activities (Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria). BCI-I was characterized by 16srRNA sequencing and identified as S. selleck werraensis. In general, Streptomyces are primarily saprophytic and are best known microorganism from

soils where they contribute ever significantly to the turnover of complex biopolymers and antibiotics [14]. The isolated culture BCI-1 inhibited none of fungal test organisms; however, isolate BCI-1 inhibited all four bacterial test organisms, suggesting a prokaryotic inhibitory preference. IsolateBCI-1 was aerobic, Gram positive and showed aerial mycelia with sporangium (sporophore). The vegetative mycelium showed cream-light, brown color while the aerial mycelium showed light gray color. Culture on examination in light microscopy showed characteristics like flexuous sporophores arising from the aerial mycelium which fits to be in the genus Streptomyces [15]. Strain was mesophilic in nature and grows up to 40 °C, 2.5% NaCl concentration with pH 9 as optimum. Organism could utilize glucose, arabinose, mannitol, maltose and sucrose as the carbon source along with acid production; however, xylose, galactose and fructose were utilized without the production of acid. The physiological and biochemical characteristics of the strains (BCI-1) are shown in Table 1. The 16S rRNA gene partial sequence of the isolate was compared with the nucleotide sequences of other Streptomyces strains retrieved from the NCBI GenBank database and phylogenetic position of the strain was determined using the neighbor-joining method. The strain showed maximum homology (99%) with Streptomyces spp. DRL 337(NCBI Accession No. FJ853207).

However, for T=2 75 s, the kinetic energy is lower than that reco

High energy flow is observed as the wave period increases from 2 s to 2.5 s. However, for T=2.75 s, the kinetic energy is lower than that recorded for the wave period of 2.5 s. As for T=3 s, it recorded the highest velocity. The effect of wave period on the wave height for constant movement of the wave-maker plate is shown in Fig. 10. The wave height was monitored in the middle of the NWT. The wave height was calculated from the data just before when the wave had traveled to the back wall. This duration was chosen to avoid the reflected waves from affecting the result. Period corresponding to 2.5 s recorded the maximum wave height of 0.225 m and afterwards there

is a significant drop in the wave height at lower wave periods. This result gives an important insight

that maximum wave height is possible at a particular period by fixing other parameters. Selleckchem GSK1120212 For the current study, the water depth and the wave-maker plate movement were kept constant. Similar observations were made by Lal and Elangovan (2008). There is an increase in the wave height as the period decreases from 3 s to 2.5 s. From 2.5 s to 2 s the wave height decreases significantly. This decrease in the wave height is because at intermediate depths, there is a transitional behavior of the wave velocity. If the water is very shallow (d≈λ/7), the velocity of see more the crest of the wave is too fast compared to that of the trough and the wave breaks ( Rosa, 2005). The velocity vectors at the same instants when the water is flowing in the front guide nozzle are shown in Fig. 11. It is clear from Fig. 11 that higher velocity is recorded for higher wave period. At T=3 s the flow

has more energy when compared to T=2 s and T=2.5 s and this is quantified in Fig. 12. Fig. 12 shows the average velocities recorded at section 1 to section 3 in the front guide nozzle in the XY plane at z=0 for the wave periods of 2 s, 2.5 s and 3 s. The averaging was done over 10 s period before from 20 s to 30 s. This range was chosen because the water oscillation in the rear chamber and the head loss across the turbine stabilizes after time of 20 s. Taking average for 10 s ensures that the result captures the changing flow direction eight times. This provides good estimate of the average conditions. The point on the lower wall is denoted as y/Hoi=0 while that on the upper wall as y/Hoi=1. The cross sectional height at section i that is at sections 1–3 is represented by Hoi. The turbine was not included in the computational domain. The reason for this was to study the flow pattern without turbine first because of the flow complexities that arise when turbine is included and this makes the analysis difficult. It was important to study the flow in the front guide nozzle because its performance significantly affects the performance of the turbine.