The U.S. supersonic transport program, 1961-1971 : an examination in search of lessons for current energy technology commercialization projects

Prepared for the United States Energy Research and Development Administration under Contract no. E(49-18) 2295, Task order

Plants as Intellectual Property: American Practice, Law, and Policy in World Context

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Assessment of economic factors affecting the satellite power system. Volume 2: The systems implications of rectenna siting issues

The feasibility was evaluated of finding potential sites for Solar Power Satellite (SPS) receiving antennas (rectennas) in the continental United States, in sufficient numbers to permit the SPS to make a major contribution to U.S. generating facilities, and to give statistical validity to an assessment of the characteristics of such sites and their implications for the design of the SPS system. It is found that the cost-optimum power output of the SPS does not depend on the particular value assigned to the cost per unit area of a rectenna and its site, as long as it is independent of rectenna area. Many characteristics of the sites chosen affect the optimum design of the rectenna itself

Characterization of the Emission Properties of Thermographic Phosphors for Use in High Temperature Sensing Applications

Emission properties of fifteen different powder and crystalline thermographic phosphors have been characterized for potential use in high temperature sensing applications. Excitation and emission spectra of these rare-earth activated thermographic phosphors have been measured as a function of temperature using a special mini oven built inside of a fluorescence spectrophotometer. Several of the thermophosphors underwent decay lifetime analysis and were calibrated for use in high temperature measurements. The excitation spectra taken from room temperature to approximately 400°C, reveal that the phosphors Y2O3:Eu3+, YV04:Eu3+, Ba3(P04)2:Eu2+, LaP04:Eu3+, LuP04: Eu3+, YP04:Eu3+, YV04:Dy3+, Y202S:Eu3+, and Y202S:Tb3+ exhibit a significant temperature-dependent shift in their charge-transfer (C-T) absorption band. In addition, the peak position of the charge-transfer band in the europium-doped orthophosphate crystals is located at higher energies or deeper into the ultraviolet as the cation radius of the host crystal lattice decreases. The experimental results also show that the onset quenching temperature of the orthophosphate phosphors increases as a function of decreasing cation radius. The orthophosphate crystals YP04:Eu3+, LuP04:Eu3+, and LuP04:Dy3+ were found to have high onset quenching temperatures when compared to those of the powder phosphors. Orthophosphate single-crystals may prove to be the phosphor of choice for high temperature measurements ranging from 700°C to 1400°C

Composition Instruction and Cognitive Performance: Results of a Pilot Study

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a composition program, Composers in Public Schools (CiPS), on cognitive skills essential for academic success. The underlying hypothesis is that composition instruction will promote creative expression and increase performance on music-specific skills such as music reading, as well as foster general analytical/aural skill development associated with vocabulary, arithmetic, and processing speed abilities. Two sixth-grade classes assigned to the experimental (n = 15) and control (n = 13) groups completed a series of standardized neuropsychological and cognitive assessments pre and post-instruction. Results of a Repeated Measures ANOVA (Group X Time) indicate significant (p \u3c .05) enhancements in arithmetic performance by the CiPS group compared to controls. These results suggest that creative experiences with musical notational symbols, sequence creation, and analytical compositional concepts may broadly impact student performance in subject areas depending upon analysis and symbolic manipulation such as arithmetic

“That’s what I look to her for:” a qualitative analysis of interviews from the Young Moms: Together We Can Make a Difference study

The U.S. teenage birth rate is 31 per 1000 women ages 15 to 19. Eighteen percent of those births are repeat teenage births, meaning the child is the second or higher order child born to a teenage woman. This study uses data from the Young Moms: Together We Can Make a Difference study (also called the Maikuru: Teen Mom Mentoring Program), which aims to build life skills, establish a social support network and empower teenage women with children to delay second pregnancies. The Young Moms study uses a novel mentoring model, in which each teenage mother pairs with an adult mentor. The mentor-mentee pairs attend six weekly skills-building workshops, communicate via phone or in person at least once a week, and complete follow-up interviews every three months for a period of two years. This study uses a grounded theory approach to analyze a set of three-month follow-up interviews (n=9) with mentor-mentee pairs. Interviews were coded according to an a priori codebook corresponding to the interview guide, which elicited information about young mothers’ future plans, the extent of their relationship with their mentor, and their views on the Young Moms study itself. In addition, the interviews were coded for key themes that arose independent of the interview guide. The study sought to answer the questions: (1) What are the priorities of young women enrolled in the Young Moms study, and (2) From the point of view of young women, how does their relationship with an adult mentor help teenage mothers participating in the Young Moms study set and achieve their goals? Accordingly, interview analysis focused on characterizing the nature and extent of the mentor-mentee relationship and understanding how that relationship benefited mentees. In addition, analyses presented here will inform program evaluations and yield recommendations for improvement. All participants described a personal goal relating to education, either at the high school or post-secondary level. Three participants planned to join the military, and two talked about their long-term (non-military) career goals. Participants’ descriptions of the mentor-mentee relationship ranged from regular contact to no contact in the weeks prior to their interviews. Adult mentors helped their mentees with the following: Applying to college, identifying future career goals, finding and applying to jobs, and navigating social services. Family planning did not emerge as a priority during any interviews, and no participants spontaneously raised the subject of contraception or family planning

Estudio y análisis para elaboración de un manual para el ordenamiento de los comerciantes informales ambulantes asentados en mercados Huyna Cápac de la Ciudad de Guayaquil

La presente investigación estudia, analiza y evalúa la implementación de un manual para el ordenamiento para los vendedores ambulantes (comercio ambulante) que están ubicados en la zona comercial denominada la Bahía, concretamente para este proyecto investigativo se eligió el sector comercial Huayna Cápac, situado en Av. Olmedo entre las calles Eloy Alfaro y Chile. Para empezar a elaborar este proyecto se realizó un estudio a base de encuestas a los vendedores informales ambulantes, que sirvió para establecer cómo se desenvuelve diariamente la rutina laboral de este tipo de comerciantes, los montos de sus ingresos, las actividades a que se dedican con el objetivo de establecer la viabilidad de esta tesis. Se justifica la creación del manual de ordenamiento para los comerciantes informales con el objetivo de que ellos puedan ejercer sus actividades de comercio de manera libre pero amparados bajo la ley municipal en los lugares autorizados y así terminar con el atropello de las autoridades municipales.This investigation studies, analyzes and evaluates the implementation of a manual for the system for hawkers (street vendors) that are located in the commercial area called Bay, this research project specifically the commercial sector Huayna Capac was chosen, located in Av. Olmedo between calle Eloy Alfaro and Chile. To begin developing this project a study was conducted based on surveys of informal street vendors, which served to establish how it unfolds daily work routine of such traders, the amounts of their income, the activities they are engaged with in order to establish the feasibility of this thesis. Manual creation system for informal traders in order that they can carry out their activities freely trade but covered under municipal law authorized places and so end the outrage of local authorities is justified

Genetic background modifies neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation driven by misfolded human tau protein in rat model of tauopathy: implication for immunomodulatory approach to Alzheimer's disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Numerous epidemiological studies demonstrate that genetic background modifies the onset and the progression of Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative disorders. The efficacious influence of genetic background on the disease pathway of amyloid beta has been meticulously described in rodent models. Since the impact of genetic modifiers on the neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory cascade induced by misfolded tau protein is yet to be elucidated, we have addressed the issue by using transgenic lines expressing the same human truncated tau protein in either spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) or Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) genetic background.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Brains of WKY and SHR transgenic rats in the terminal stage of phenotype and their age-matched non-transgenic littermates were examined by means of immunohistochemistry and unbiased stereology. Basic measures of tau-induced neurodegeneration (load of neurofibrillary tangles) and neuroinflammation (number of Iba1-positive microglia, their activated morphology, and numbers of microglia immunoreactive for MHCII and astrocytes immunoreactive for GFAP) were quantified with an optical fractionator in brain areas affected by neurofibrillary pathology (pons, medulla oblongata). The stereological data were evaluated using two-way ANOVA and Student's t-test.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Tau neurodegeneration (neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), axonopathy) and neuroinflammation (microgliosis, astrocytosis) appeared in both WKY and SHR transgenic rats. Although identical levels of transgene expression in both lines were present, terminally-staged WKY transgenic rats displayed significantly lower final NFT loads than their SHR transgenic counterparts. Interestingly, microglial responses showed a striking difference between transgenic lines. Only 1.6% of microglia in SHR transgenic rats expressed MHCII in spite of having a robust phagocytic phenotype, whereas in WKY transgenic rats, 23.2% of microglia expressed MHCII despite displaying a considerably lower extent of transformation into phagocytic phenotype.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results show that the immune response represents a pivotal and genetically variable modifying factor that is able to influence vulnerability to neurodegeneration. Therefore, targeted immunomodulation could represent a prospective therapeutic approach to Alzheimer's disease.</p