Space Station CMIF extended duration metabolic control test

The Space Station Extended Duration Metabolic Control Test (EMCT) was conducted at the MSFC Core Module Integration Facility. The primary objective of the EMCT was to gather performance data from a partially-closed regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) system functioning under steady-state conditions. Included is a description of the EMCT configuration, a summary of events, a discussion of anomalies that occurred during the test, and detailed results and analysis from individual measurements of water and gas samples taken during the test. A comparison of the physical, chemical, and microbiological methods used in the post test laboratory analyses of the water samples is included. The preprototype ECLS hardware used in the test, providing an overall process description and theory of operation for each hardware item. Analytical results pertaining to a system level mass balance and selected system power estimates are also included

Sex and Racial/Ethnic Differences in Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factor Treatment and Control Among Individuals With Diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)

OBJECTIVE To examine sex and racial/ethnic differences in cardiovascular risk factor treatment and control among individuals with diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This study was an observational study examining mean levels of cardiovascular risk factors and proportion of subjects achieving treatment goals. RESULTS The sample included 926 individuals with diabetes. Compared with men, women were 9% less likely to achieve LDL cholesterol <130 mg/dl (adjusted prevalence ratio 0.91 [0.83-0.99]) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) <130 mmHg (adjusted prevalence ratio 0.91 [0.85-0.98]). These differences diminished over time. A lower percentage of women used aspirin (23 vs. 33%; P < 0.001). African American and Hispanic women had higher mean levels of SBP and lower prevalence of aspirin use than non-Hispanic white women. CONCLUSIONS Women with diabetes had unfavorable cardiovascular risk factor profiles compared with men. African American and Hispanic women had less favorable profiles than non-Hispanic white women

Blood type gene locus has no influence on ACE association with Alzheimer's disease

The ABO blood group locus was recently found to contribute independently as well as via interactions with ACE gene variation to plasma levels of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE). Variation in ACE has also previously been implicated as conferring susceptibility for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but has also been proposed to confer risk via interactions with other as yet unknown genes. More recently, larger studies have not supported ACE as a risk factor for AD, while the role of ACE pathway in AD has come under increased levels of scrutiny with respect to various aspects of AD pathology and possible therapies. We explored the potential combined involvement of ABO and ACE variation in the genetic susceptibility of 2067 AD cases compared to 1376 non-demented elderly. Including the effects of ABO haplotype did not provide any evidence for the genetic association of ACE with AD

Multiple Insulin Degrading Enzyme Variants Alter In Vitro Reporter Gene Expression

The insulin degrading enzyme (IDE) variant, v311 (rs6583817), is associated with increased post-mortem cerebellar IDE mRNA, decreased plasma β-amyloid (Aβ), decreased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD) and increased reporter gene expression, suggesting that it is a functional variant driving increased IDE expression. To identify other functional IDE variants, we have tested v685, rs11187061 (associated with decreased cerebellar IDE mRNA) and variants on H6, the haplotype tagged by v311 (v10; rs4646958, v315; rs7895832, v687; rs17107734 and v154; rs4646957), for altered in vitro reporter gene expression. The reporter gene expression levels associated with the second most common haplotype (H2) successfully replicated the post-mortem findings in hepatocytoma (0.89 fold-change, p = 0.04) but not neuroblastoma cells. Successful in vitro replication was achieved for H6 in neuroblastoma cells when the sequence was cloned 5′ to the promoter (1.18 fold-change, p = 0.006) and 3′ to the reporter gene (1.29 fold change, p = 0.003), an effect contributed to by four variants (v10, v315, v154 and v311). Since IDE mediates Aβ degradation, variants that regulate IDE expression could represent good therapeutic targets for AD

Structural Ceramics by Fused Deposition of Ceramics

Fused Deposition of Ceramics (FDC) is a SFF technique, based on FDMTM technology, for fabrication of advanced structural ceramics from powderlbinder filaments. In this study, in-situ reinforced (ISR) Si3N4 powder and polymer/wax based binder systems were used as filament material for FDC processing using a commercially available FDMTM system, 3D Modeler. Powderlbinder feedstocks were mixed using a torque rheometer and filaments were fabricated using a capillary rheometer and twin screw extruder. Green FDC components were built from these filaments and then characterized for inter-road and inter-layer bonding. Binder removal procedures were established for FDC green components to yield brown parts without distortion or shape change. Brown FDC parts were characterized for carbon residue, pore distribution and dimensional changes. Brown FDC parts were then sintered and the sintered density, microstructure, and shrinkage anisotropy were studied.Mechanical Engineerin

"It's making contacts" : notions of social capital and implications for widening access to medical education

Acknowledgements Our thanks to the Medical Schools Council (MSC) of the UK for funding Study A; REACH Scotland for funding Study B; and Queen Mary University of London, and to the medical school applicants and students who gave their time to be interviewed. Our thanks also to Dr Sean Zhou and Dr Sally Curtis, and Manjul Medhi, for their help with data collection for studies A and B respectively. Our thanks also to Dr Lara Varpio, Uniformed Services University of the USA, for her advice and guidance on collating data sets and her comments on the draft manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Submerged in the mainstream? A case study of an immigrant learner in a New Zealand primary classroom

Immigrant children from diverse language backgrounds face not only linguistic challenges when enrolled in mainstream English-medium classrooms, but also difficulties adjusting to an unfamiliar learning community. The culture of primary school classrooms in New Zealand typically reflects conventions across three dimensions: interactional, instructional task performance and cognitive-academic development. All three dimensions are underpinned by the culturally specific discourse conventions involved in language socialisation. New learners may be helped by classmates or their teacher to understand and successfully use these conventions, but left on their own they may sink rather than swim. This is a case study of one Taiwanese 11-year old boy, 'John', who entered a New Zealand primary classroom midway through the school year. John's basic conversational ability was sound, but he did not possess the interactive classroom skills needed to operate in the new culture of learning. Selected from a wider study of the classroom, transcript data from audio-recorded excerpts of John's interactions over several months with his teacher and classmates are interpreted from perspectives derived from sociocultural and language socialisation theories. The article concludes with a brief consideration of the extent to which John constructed, or was constrained from constructing meaningful learning experiences, and suggestions for further research and reflection