Development of sputtered techniques for thrust chambers

Techniques and materials were developed and evaluated for the fabrication and coating of advanced, long life, regeneratively cooled thrust chambers. Materials were analyzed as fillers for sputter application of OFHC copper as a closeout layer to channeled inner structures; of the materials evaluated, aluminum was found to provide the highest bond strength and to be the most desirable for chamber fabrication. The structures and properties were investigated of thick sputtered OFHC copper, 0.15 Zr-Cu, Al2O3,-Cu, and SiC-Cu. Layered structures of OFHC copper and 0.15 Zr-Cu were investigated as means of improving chamber inner wall fatigue life. The evaluation of sputtered Ti-5Al-2.5Sn, NASA IIb-11, aluminum and Al2O3-Al alloys as high strength chamber outer jackets was performed. Techniques for refurbishing degraded thrust chambers with OFHC copper and coating thrust chambers with protective ZrO2 and graded ZrO2-copper thermal barrier coatings were developed

LSP1 is an endothelial gatekeeper of leukocyte transendothelial migration

Leukocyte-specific protein 1 (LSP1), an F-actin binding protein and a major downstream substrate of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase as well as protein kinase C, has been reported to be important in leukocyte chemotaxis. Although its distribution has been thought to be restricted to leukocytes, herein we report that LSP1 is expressed in endothelium and is essential to permit neutrophil emigration. Using intravital microscopy to directly visualize leukocyte rolling, adhesion, and emigration in postcapillary venules in LSP1-deficient (Lsp1−/−) mice, we found that LSP1 deficiency inhibits neutrophil extravasation in response to various cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β) and to neutrophil chemokine keratinocyte-derived chemokine in vivo. LSP1 deficiency did not affect leukocyte rolling or adhesion. Generation of Lsp1−/− chimeric mice using bone marrow transplantation revealed that in mice with Lsp1−/− endothelial cells and wild-type leukocytes, neutrophil transendothelial migration out of postcapillary venules is markedly restricted. In contrast, Lsp1−/− neutrophils in wild-type mice were able to extravasate normally. Consistent with altered endothelial function was a reduction in vascular permeability to histamine in Lsp1−/− animals. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence microscopy examination confirmed the presence of LSP1 in wild-type but not in Lsp1−/− mouse microvascular endothelial cells. Cultured human endothelial cells also stained positive for LSP1. Our results suggest that LSP1 expressed in endothelium regulates neutrophil transendothelial migration

Intersectional impact of multiple identities on social work education in the UK

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Ben Chi-pun Liu, ‘Intersectional impact of multiple identities on social work education in the UK’, Journal of Social Work, Vol 17(2): 226-242, March 2017. © 2016 The Author(s). DOI to the published version: 10.1177/1468017316637220. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.Summary: The study reviews the records of 671 social work students and graduates including the seven intakes from the first cohort in 2003/2004 to the intake in 2010/2011 to examine the interacting effect of learning difficulties, ethnicity and gender on the completion of social work training at a university in the South East of England. Findings: Among the students, 79.9% of them were female, 50.1% were black, 27.9% white, 10.7% Asian and 11.3% other ethnicities. A majority of students did not report any disability. Among those who did (n ¼ 84), 52.3% (n ¼ 44) reported a learning difficulty.The percentage of students who have successfully completed the training is 76.4%, a completion rate that is comparable to the UK’s national figure. Having controlled the confounding variables, hierarchical logistic regression identified the risk factor for dropoutfrom undergraduate social work programme as black female students with learning difficulties (odds ratio ¼ 0.100, 95% confidence interval ¼ 0.012–0.862, p < 0.05). Findings suggested that students with multiplicity of identities, i.e. being black and female and with a learning difficulty, have a lower probability to complete the programme successfully. Applications: Strategies for tackling the intersecting disadvantages of race, gender and disabilities in social work training should embrace three principles: providing continuous support, focusing on how the support is provided and addressing contextual and structural barriers.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Interim Report deliverable for GLO 002/10: General IRI Planning and Technical Support for Harita Micro-Insurance Pilot.

This is the technical annex to HARITA IRI Report to Oxfam America. It is the interim Report deliverable for GLO 002/10: General IRI Planning and Technical Support for Harita Micro-Insurance Pilot and contains background material useful for the main report

Assessing the Role of CD103 in Immunity to an Intestinal Helminth Parasite

In the intestine, the integrin CD103 is expressed on a subset of T regulatory (T(reg)) cells and a population of dendritic cells (DCs) that produce retinoic acid and promote immune homeostasis. However, the role of CD103 during intestinal helminth infection has not been tested.We demonstrate that CD103 is dispensable for the development of protective immunity to the helminth parasite Trichuris muris. While we observed an increase in the frequency of CD103(+) DCs in the lamina propria (LP) following acute high-dose infection with Trichuris, lack of CD103 had no effect on the frequency of CD11c(+) DCs in the LP or mesenteric lymph nodes (mLN). CD103-deficient (CD103(-/-)) mice develop a slightly increased and earlier T cell response but resolve infection with similar kinetics to control mice. Similarly, low-dose chronic infection of CD103(-/-) mice with Trichuris resulted in no significant difference in immunity or parasite burden. Absence of CD103 also had no effect on the frequency of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T(reg) cells in the mLN or LP.These results suggest that CD103 is dispensable for intestinal immunity during helminth infection. Furthermore, lack of CD103 had no effect on DC or T(reg) recruitment or retention within the large intestine

Social work and gender::An argument for practical accounts

This article contributes to the debate on gender and social work by examining dominant approaches within the field. Anti-discriminatory, woman-centered and intersectional accounts are critiqued for reliance upon both reification and isolation of gender. Via examination of poststructural, queer and trans theories within social work, the author then presents accounts based upon structural/materialist, ethnomethodological and discursive theories, in order to open up debates about conceptualization of gender. These are used to suggest that social work should adopt a focus on gender as a practical accomplishment that occurs within various settings or contexts

Staphylococcal protein Ecb impairs complement receptor-1 mediated recognition of opsonized bacteria

Staphyloccus aureus is a major human pathogen leading frequently to sepsis and soft tissue infections with abscesses. Multiple virulence factors including several immune modulating molecules contribute to its survival in the host. When S. aureus invades the human body, one of the first line defenses is the complement system, which opsonizes the bacteria with C3b and attract neutrophils by release of chemotactic peptides. Neutrophils express Complement receptor-1 [CR1, CD35) that interacts with the C3b-opsonized particles and thereby plays an important role in pathogen recognition by phagocytic cells. In this study we observed that a fraction of S. aureus culture supernatant prevented binding of C3b to neutrophils. This fraction consisted of S. aureus leukocidins and Efb. The C-terminus of Efb is known to bind C3b and shares significant sequence homology to the extracellular complement binding protein [Ecb). Here we show that S. aureus Ecb displays various mechanisms to block bacterial recognition by neutrophils. The presence of Ecb blocked direct interaction between soluble CR1 and C3b and reduced the cofactor activity of CR1 in proteolytic inactivation of C3b. Furthermore, Ecb could dose-dependently prevent recognition of C3b by cell-bound CR1 that lead to impaired phagocytosis of NHS-opsonized S. aureus. Phagocytosis was furthermore reduced in the presence of soluble CR1 [sCR1). These data indicate that the staphylococcal protein Ecb prevents recognition of C3b opsonized bacteria by neutrophil CR1 leading to impaired killing by phagocytosis and thereby contribute to immune evasion of S. aureus.Peer reviewe