Video photographic considerations for measuring the proximity of a probe aircraft with a smoke seeded trailing vortex

Considerations for acquiring and analyzing 30 Hz video frames from charge coupled device (CCD) cameras mounted in the wing tips of a Beech T-34 aircraft are described. Particular attention is given to the characterization and correction of optical distortions inherent in the data

Quality and Attendance in After-school Programs: Relationships and Training Procedures

The quality of an ASP (after-school program) has a great effect on the development and academics of a student, and ways to improve the quality include continual training for staff, positive student-leader relationships, and frequent participation by family in the ASPs. ASPs consist of students and staff members, and their goal is to increase academic success and social development while decreasing delinquency. ASPs have a wide appeal because they keep students away from potential harm after school, help mentor students, and let students participate in projects that have personal meaning to them. Students from a lower SES (Social Economic Status) tend to benefit most from after-school programs. Those who attend after-school programs tend to improve academic grades and social and psychological development, but after-school programs also have issues involving delinquency and ineffectiveness. The most important factor in ASPs is the quality of the relationships between students and the ASP volunteers. Three site evaluations discuss the importance and effect of quality on the development and success of students in such programs. While quality is always beneficial, several problems exist regarding program barriers and achieving quality. Future changes to improve quality of the programs include teachers working at schools at after-school programs, focusing on smaller sized programs, and improving the quality of the staff

A closer look at ARSA activity in a patient with metachromatic leukodystrophy.

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disease mainly caused by a deficiency of arylsulfatase A activity. The typical clinical course of patients with the late infantile form includes a regression in motor skills with progression to dysphagia, seizures, hypotonia and death. We present a case of a 4-year-old female with rapidly progressive developmental regression with loss of motor milestones, spasticity and dysphagia. MRI showed volume loss and markedly abnormal deep white matter. Enzymatic testing in one laboratory showed arylsulfatase A activity in their normal range. However, extraction of urine showed a large increase in sulfatide excretion in a second laboratory. Measurement of arylsulfatase A in that laboratory showed a partial decrease in arylsulfatase A activity measured under typical conditions (about 37% of the normal mean). When the concentration of substrate in the assay was lowered to one quarter of that normally used, this individual had activity \u3c10% of controls. The patient was found to be homozygous for an unusual missense mutation in the arylsulfatase A gene confirming the diagnosis of MLD. This case illustrates the importance of careful biochemical and molecular testing for MLD if there is suspicion of this diagnosis

Conducting Publishable Research From Special Populations: Studying Children and Non-Human Primates with Undergraduate Research Assistants

Collecting publishable data with only undergraduate research assistants (RAs) is difficult; conducting research with young children or non-human primates (NHPs) adds a layer of difficulty, yet we have been able to successfully sustain and grow research programs in Developmental Psychology and primate Behavioral Neuroscience at Trinity University (TU), a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI) in San Antonio. We each have been conducting research for over 25 years, with most of that time at this type of institution, and have developed effective strategies for publishing articles with undergraduates in this environment

A Simple Suturing Technique for Laparoscopic Ligation of Vascular Pedicles

We report on the performance of 348 adnexectomies and 35 uterine artery ligations for both benign and malignant disease using a simple laparoscopic suturing technique. Only 5-mm ports are required, and there was no morbidity directly associated with this approach. The procedure can be performed quickly, is relatively inexpensive, and allows hysterectomy and oophorectomy to be performed without bipolar electrocautery

Mode shape analysis using a commercially available peak store video frame buffer

Time exposure photography, sometimes coupled with strobe illumination, is an accepted method for motion analysis that bypasses frame by frame analysis and resynthesis of data. Garden variety video cameras can now exploit this technique using a unique frame buffer that is a non-integrating memory that compares incoming data with that already stored. The device continuously outputs an analog video signal of the stored contents which can then be redigitized and analyzed using conventional equipment. Historically, photographic time exposures have been used to record the displacement envelope of harmonically oscillating structures to show mode shape. Mode shape analysis is crucial, for example, in aeroelastic testing of wind tunnel models. Aerodynamic, inertial, and elastic forces can couple together leading to catastrophic failure of a poorly designed aircraft. This paper will explore the usefulness of the peak store device as a videometric tool and in particular discuss methods for analyzing a targeted vibrating plate using the 'peak store' in conjunction with calibration methods familiar to the close-range videometry community. Results for the first three normal modes will be presented

Are We Alone? The Search for Life on Mars and Other Planetary Bodies

Extensive research has shown the potential for microorganisms to survive in some of the most extreme environments on Earth. Our current understanding of diverse life on Earth implies that, even though the surface of Mars is very inhospitable to life, it is possible that there may be indigenous microorganisms on Mars, especially in the protective subsurface. Ultimately, a better understanding of microbial diversity on Earth is needed to determine the limits of life to help determine the potential for life on Mars and other exoplanets