The National Launch System Advanced Development Program: A brief overview

A broad-based Advanced Development Program is being conducted to modernize the technological base and support the systems design of the National Launch System. While the principal concentration of efforts has been in propulsion, significant work is being accomplished in all of the disciplinary areas associated with space launch. Tasks are selected that offer reduced costs, increased reliability, and enhanced operability with anticipated task completion times which are consistent with NLS development

The Canon and the Curriculum: Perspectives for Teaching Literature

Although debate about the literary canon intensified in the late 1980s, literature teachers continue to discuss and often disagree about the “great books” students should read. Early usages of the phrase the canon are explored, and it is suggested that its application to literature differs fundamentally from its application to religion. Rather than simply focus on what literary works students should read, the discussion should also consider why and how they are to be read. The various types of literacy—academic, cultural, and critical—required to study literary texts are next examined, and the distinction between the canon versus the curriculum is analyzed. Disagreements over which literary works should be assigned are often due to the curriculum—not the canon. Finally, recommendations are made about approaching both the canon and the curriculum in the Moroccan context

The Kumzari language community: Evaluating language vitality and endangerment

In “Language Shift and Language Revitalization,” Hornberger (2010) surveys research projects on language maintenance in various regions of the world since the mid-1990s while also analyzing conceptual and methodological issues. Language minority communities in the Arab World, however, have largely been ignored. This paper considers research about the Kumzari language community (Author 2013) while examining factors associated with language vitality and endangerment that can be applied to other small language groups. The Kumzari language, with approximately 3,000 speakers in the Musandam Governorate of Oman, is an Iranian language with influence from Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese, and English. Contact with traders and sailors along the Strait of Hormuz was largely responsible for the emergence of the Kumzari language; however, increased contact with other languages and cultures now threaten this community. Various classifications for assessing language minority communities will be examined. The 2003 UNESCO document entitled “Language Vitality and Endangerment” considers nine factors. Other researchers have also suggested systematic approaches to describing language minority communities (see Fishman 1991 & 2001, Edwards 1992, Grenoble & Whaley 1998, Romaine 2006, and Lewis and Simons 2010); however, designing and agreeing on a typology may be impossible due to the wide range of factors pertaining to small language groups. At-risk languages must be described within a continuum, and no single factor can be used to evaluate the vitality of a language. Still, factors including intergenerational transmission, proportion of the speakers within the total population, and language domains appear to be the most important when assessing a language. Language minority communities continue to face challenges in Arab countries where constitutions clearly state that Arabic is the official language. The stated goal of many countries experiencing the “Arab Spring” has been democracy and inclusiveness; however, individuals speaking minority languages risk passive, active, or even forced linguistic assimilation. The presenter, while also citing earlier research on Berbers in Tunisia (Author 1999), will argue that additional research on language minority communities in the Arab World (such as with Kumzari speakers) is needed, and unfolding events will greatly influence these languages and their speakers. References Author. 1999. “The Gradual Death of the Berber Language in Tunisia.” International Journal of the Sociology of Language 137: 151-165. Author. 2013. The Status of Kumzari and its Speakers: A Local Language of the Musandam Peninsula of Oman.” Language Problems and Language Planning 37.1: 18-30. Edwards, John. 1992. Sociopolitical aspects of language maintenance and loss: Towards a typology of minority language situations. Willem Fase, Koen Jaspaert, & Sjaak Kroon, eds. Maintenance and Loss of Minority Languages. Philadelphia: John Benjamins. 37-54. Fishman, Joshua A. 1991. Reversing Language Shift: Theoretical and Empirical Foundations of Assistance to Threatened Languages. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Fishman, Joshua A. 2001. Can Threatened Languages Be Saved? Reversing Language Shift Revisited: A 21st Century Perspective. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. Grenoble, Lenore A. & Lindsay J. Whaley, eds. 1998. Endangered Languages: Current Issues and Future Prospects. Cambridge: Cambridge U. P. Hornberger, Nancy H. 2010. Language shift and language revitalization. Robert B. Kaplan, ed. The Oxford Handbook of Applied Linguistics. Second edition. Oxford: Oxford U. P. 412-420. Lewis, M. Paul & Gary F. Simons. 2010. Assessing endangerment: Expanding Fishman’s GIDS. Revue Roumaine de Linguistique 55/2:103-120. Romaine, Suzanne. 2006. Planning for the survival of linguistic diversity. Language Policy 5:441-473

Emergent temporal signaling in human trabecular meshwork cells: role of TRPV4-TRPM4 interactions

Trabecular meshwork (TM) cells are phagocytic cells that employ mechanotransduction to actively regulate intraocular pressure. Similar to macrophages, they express scavenger receptors and participate in antigen presentation within the immunosuppressive milieu of the anterior eye. Changes in pressure deform and compress the TM, altering their control of aqueous humor outflow but it is not known whether transducer activation shapes temporal signaling. The present study combines electrophysiology, histochemistry and functional imaging with gene silencing and heterologous expression to gain insight into Ca2+ signaling downstream from TRPV4 (Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 4), a stretch-activated polymodal cation channel. Human TM cells respond to the TRPV4 agonist GSK1016790A with fluctuations in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and an increase in [Na+]i. [Ca2+]i oscillations coincided with monovalent cation current that was suppressed by BAPTA, Ruthenium Red and the TRPM4 (Transient Receptor Potential Melastatin 4) channel inhibitor 9-phenanthrol. TM cells expressed TRPM4 mRNA, protein at the expected 130-150 kDa and showed punctate TRPM4 immunoreactivity at the membrane surface. Genetic silencing of TRPM4 antagonized TRPV4-evoked oscillatory signaling whereas TRPV4 and TRPM4 co-expression in HEK-293 cells reconstituted the oscillations. Membrane potential recordings suggested that TRPM4-dependent oscillations require release of Ca2+ from internal stores. 9-phenanthrol did not affect the outflow facility in mouse eyes and eyes from animals lacking TRPM4 had normal intraocular pressure. Collectively, our results show that TRPV4 activity initiates dynamic calcium signaling in TM cells by stimulating TRPM4 channels and intracellular Ca2+ release. It is possible that TRPV4-TRPM4 interactions downstream from the tensile and compressive impact of intraocular pressure contribute to homeostatic regulation and pathological remodeling within the conventional outflow pathway

A study of English monolingual learners\u27 dictionaries and their users

The English monolingual learner\u27s dictionary (MLD) is explored throughout this study. A number of researchers have investigated dictionaries from the lexicographer\u27s perspective; however, this work considers dictionaries from the user\u27s viewpoint. The dissertation is organized into five chapters. Chapter one discusses the increasing interest exhibited by lexicographers, linguists, and language teachers in how lexical information is selected, described, and arranged within dictionaries. The relationship between linguistics and lexicography is also explored. Chapter two focuses on the history of English lexicography and the development of the MLD. The status of MLDs in relation to other types of lexical reference books is also addressed. The MLD entry is dealt with in chapter three. Eleven components included within dictionaries are examined. A number of MLDs currently on the market are scrutinized, and in places preferences for one work are expressed. In addition, recommendations for necessary changes are made. Chapter four deals with the dictionary user. Research concerning the needs, usage habits, and reference skills of dictionary users is surveyed. Specifically, studies concerning EFL students, native English speakers, and EFL students are examined, and directions for future research are investigated. In addition, the complex yet important task of teaching dictionary usage is discussed. Finally, chapter five considers some of the future possibilities with MLDs. The strict division between bilingual and monolingual works is questioned, for dictionaries may better assist language learners if they include certain information in both the source and target languages. This chapter also explores how the computer is capable of transforming the dictionary into a more effective learning resource tool. Two general findings from this study are that lexicographers need to pay more attention to the requirements of their audience prior to compiling their works, and that MLDs must be designed for specific language proficiency levels and restricted activities

An Improved Gradient Algorithm For The Solution of Two-Point Boundary-Value Problems

The gradient method for solving two-point boundaryvalue problems is discussed and a modification of the gradient direction is proposed. An algorithm for efficiently determining the step size is also derived. Analytic and numerical examples illustrating the efficiency of the method are presented.http://www.archive.org/details/improvedgradient00battLieutenant Commander, United States Nav