Thermal stress response of General Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) aeroshell material

A thermal stress test was conducted to determine the ability of the GPHS aeroshell 3 D FWPF material to maintain physical integrity when exposed to a severe heat flux such as would occur from prompt reentry of GPHS modules. The test was performed in the Giant Planetary Facility at NASA's Ames Research Center. Good agreement was obtained between the theoretical and experimental results for both temperature and strain time histories. No physical damage was observed in the test specimen. These results provide initial corroboration both of the analysis techniques and that the GPHS reentry member will survive the reentry thermal stress levels expected

A preliminary investigation of the potential applicability of the IPAD system to non-aerospace industry

A study of the applicability of the planned Integrated Programs for Aerospace-Vehicle Design (IPAD) system to the design activities of non-aerospace industries was carried out. It was determined that IPAD could be of significant benefit to a number of industries, with the most likely users being the heavy construction and automotive industries. Two additional short studies were initiated to investigate the possible impact of IPAD on a national energy program and on urban and regional planning activities of local and state governments. These initial studies indicated the possibility of significant payoff in these areas and the need for further investigations. It was also determined that utilization of IPAD by non-aerospace industries will probably involve a long stepwise process, since these industries maintain a policy of gradual introduction of new technology

An experimental and theoretical investigation of plane-stress fracture of 2024-T351 aluminum alloy

Plane-stress fracture behavior of precracked aluminum alloy

Integrated dementia care: A qualitative evidence synthesis of the experiences of people living with dementia, informal carers and healthcare professionals.

In order to provide improved care provision, integrated care services are being developed. However, little is known about how people living with dementia, their families and healthcare professionals experience integrated care. Therefore, the purpose of this review of the qualitative literature was to examine the experiences and perceptions of integrated dementia care. This qualitative review synthesised findings from included studies identified from a comprehensive literature search. Searches included: five electronic databases, journal handsearching, and reference list searching of relevant literature reviews and the final included studies. Three overarching themes were identified: 1) Ways of working which facilitate the delivery of integrated dementia care; 2) Informal carers as equal partners in care provision and decision making; and 3) Challenges leading to fragmented and disjointed integrated dementia care. For integrated care to be successful, communication and collaboration between healthcare professionals, and the involvement of informal carers is needed. Multidisciplinary teams and employing case managers to coordinate care provision can improve communication and collaboration. However, distrust between healthcare professionals and a lack of a central database to access and share information often hinders the development of integrated dementia care service provision. Integrated dementia care can be successful and well received by people living with dementia and their families when certain conditions are met. However, given the negative consequences fragmented and disjointed care can have on people living with dementia and their families, action is needed to further support the development of integrated dementia care services. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using psychological and physiological measures in arts-based activities in a community sample of people with a dementia and their caregivers: a feasibility and pilot study

Introduction: Nearly all community-based dementia care studies employ either qualitative methods or use a combination of self-report questionnaire within mixed-methods research designs. Physiological measures, however, are rarely used in community-based studies with this population yet could provide valuable biological information for specific activities across the course of the dementias. Method: The study employed a within-subjects design to assess the feasibility of obtaining physiological measures (salivary cortisol and Heart Rate Variability (HRV)) alongside subjective measures of wellbeing and stress using Visual Analogue Scales (VAS) during two community-based activiti of choral singing and art viewing, respectively, for People With Dementia (PWD) in the early to middle stages of impairment and their caregivers. Results: As anticipated, pre-post subjective wellbeing measures were relatively easy to complete by PWD and caregivers with no substantive difficulties observed or reported; significant increases in composite wellbeing, happiness and optimism were found. Continuous measurement of physiological data of HRV through a sensor-based device (Empatica® E4) was also found to be neither non-intrusive to participants nor disruptive to the interventions. Preliminary indications showed, for example, HRV significantly increased for PWD during choral singing, which may be associated with an increase in wellbeing. Measuring stress hormones through pre-post saliva samples, however, encountered several difficulties. Conclusions: The findings provide support for the feasibility of using non-intrusive sensor-based physiological measures alongside subjective measures for this population. Subjective measures may also give more confidence in interpreting directionality of physiological measures. A full pilot study is warranted to further investigate interactions of physiological and psychological variables in choral singing and viewing art activities but it is uncertain whether measuring stress hormones through saliva collection is feasible for this population and raised doubts about their use in a large scale trial. Holding particular promise is the use of sensor-based technology across different stages of dementia as well as across different activities

Milking time during periods of heat stress: part of the solution or part of the problem?

Dairy Research, 2014 is known as Dairy Day, 2014Milking time may be a stressful event for lactating dairy cows during summer. Increases in body temperatures because of crowding in the milk parlor holding pen may contribute to increased heat stress. The objective of this extension project was to evaluate the effectiveness of heat stress abatement in milking facilities from two Kansas commercial dairies. Vaginal temperatures at milking were lower than vaginal temperatures before milking in one of the dairies. The lower vaginal temperatures at milking, however, were not observed in the other dairy at all milkings, likely because of differences in efficacy of heat abatement strategies. Milking facilities may be one of the factors to aggravate or alleviate heat stress in lactating dairy cows during summer. Key words