25,179 research outputs found
Film advance indicator
A film advancement indicator which includes an optical sensor that detects the rotational movement of a disc that rotates only when the film advance is described. When the film does not advance, an indicator light is activated. A counter is included in the electronic circuit to determine the number of film frames advanced
Normal pregnancy is associated with an increase in thrombin generation from the very early stages of the first trimester
Background:
Pregnancy is a hypercoagulable state associated with an increased risk of venous thrombosis, which begins during the first trimester, but the exact time of onset is unknown. Thrombin generation, a laboratory marker of thrombosis risk, increases during normal pregnancy but it is unclear exactly how early this increase occurs.
Methods:
We assessed thrombin generation by Calibrated Automated Thrombography in women undergoing natural cycle in vitro fertilization, who subsequently gave birth at term following a normal pregnancy (n = 22). Blood samples were taken just prior to conception and repeated five times during very early pregnancy, up to Day 59 estimated gestation.
Results:
Mean Endogenous Thrombin Potential (ETP), peak thrombin generation and Velocity Index (VI) increased significantly from pre-pregnancy to Day 43 gestation (p = 0.024–0.0004). This change persisted to Day 59 gestation. The mean of the percentage change from baseline, accounting for inter-individual variation, in ETP, peak thrombin and VI increased significantly from pre-pregnancy to Day 32 gestation (p = 0.0351–<0.0001) with the mean increase from baseline persisting to Day 59 gestation.
Conclusion:
Thrombin generation increases significantly during the very early stages of normal pregnancy when compared to the pre-pregnancy state. The increased risk of venous thrombosis therefore likely begins very early in a woman's pregnancy, suggesting that women considered clinically to be at high thrombotic risk should start thromboprophylaxis as early as possible after a positive pregnancy test
A magnetospheric simulation at the space station
It is proposed that a strong magnet (terrella) be flown at or near the Space Station to create an artificial magnetosphere in a laboratory setting. The relative flow of the ionosphere past the terrella will constitute a plasma wind that will interact with the magnetic field of the terrella to produce a localized magnetosphere. This object could then be extensively studied using diagnostic probes attached to the Space Station, or with free flyers. The space and storage requirements would be minimal, since the experiment would be conducted outside the space station. The total equipment would consist of several terrella (with varying surface conductivities), approximately 3 small magnetometer/plasma diagnostic packages, and several gas canisters for upstream seeding. Power requirements would be approximately 60 watts. Several track mounted tethers, each approximately or 200 m long in length, with track parallel to the orbital motion and 100 m long, are also needed. Astronaut time needed would be minimal in the tethered configuration (approximately 4 man hours/week). A free flying configuration, while not needing the tether track, would require much more human interaction
Applications of aerospace technology in industry, a technology transfer profile: Fire safety
The fire safety field is considered as being composed of three parts: an industry, a technology base, and a user base. An overview of the field is presented, including a perspective on the magnitude of the national fire safety problem. Selected NASA contributions to the technology of fire safety are considered. Communication mechanisms, particularly conferences and publications, used by NASA to alert the community to new developments in the fire safety field, are reviewed. Several examples of nonaerospace applications of NASA-generated fire safety technology are also presented. Issues associated with attempts to transfer this technology from the space program to other sectors of the American economy are outlined
Applications of aerospace technology in industry, a technology transfer profile: Lubrication
Technology transfer in the lubrication field is discussed in terms of the movement of NASA-generated lubrication technology into the private sector as affected by evolving industrial requirements. An overview of the field is presented, and NASA technical contributions to lubrication technology are described. Specific examples in which these technologies have been used in the private sector are summarized
Distillation of Fe in Ultramassive O-Ne White Dwarfs
When white dwarfs freeze the plasma mixtures inside them undergo separation
processes which can produce radical changes in the composition profile of the
star. The abundance of neutron rich elements, such as Ne or Fe,
determines whether or not the first crystals are more or less dense than the
surrounding fluid and thus whether they sink or float. These processes have now
been studied for C-O-Ne and C-O-Fe mixtures, finding that distillation and
precipitation processes are possible in white dwarfs. In this work, we
calculate the phase diagram of more complicated O-Ne-Fe mixtures and make
predictions for the internal structure of the separated white dwarf. There are
two possible outcomes determined by a complicated interplay between the Ne
abundance, the Ne fraction, and the Fe abundance. Either Fe
distills to form an inner core because the first O-Ne solids are buoyant, or an
O-Ne inner core forms and Fe accumulates in the liquid until Fe distillation
begins and forms a Fe shell. In the case of an Fe shell, a Rayleigh-Taylor
instability may arise and overturn the core. In either case, Fe distillation
may only produce a cooling delay of order 0.1 Gyr as these processes occur
early at high white dwarf luminosities. Fe inner cores and shells may be
detectable through asteroseismology and could enhance the yield of neutron rich
elements such as Mn and Ni in supernovae.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Magnetic Behavior in RRhX (R = rare earths; X=B, C) Compounds
We report on the magnetic behavior of RRhB (R = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Gd, Tb and
Tm) and RRhC (R = La, Ce, Pr and Gd) compounds crystallizing in the cubic
perovskite type structure with space group Pm3m. The heat capacity data on
Pauli-paramagnetic LaRhB and LaRhC indicate a high frequency vibrating motion
of boron and carbon atoms in the unit cell. Ce is in -like nonmagnetic state in
both the compounds. Pr compounds show a dominant crystal field effect with a
nonmagnetic singlet ground state in PrRhB and a nonmagnetic quadrupolar doublet
in PrRhC. Compounds with other rare earths order ferromagnetically at low
temperatures except TmRhB in which the zero field evolution of magnetic
interactions is relatively more complicated. The electrical resistivity of
GdRhB decreases with increasing temperature in the paramagnetic state in the
vicinity of T, which is rarely seen in ferromagnets. The behavior is discussed
to be arising due to the short range spin fluctuation and a possible
contribution from Fermi surface geometry.Comment: 14 Figs and a text fil
HI Detection in two Dwarf S0 Galaxies in Nearby Groups: ESO384-016 and NGC 59
An \hi survey of 10 dE/dS0 galaxies in the nearby Sculptor and Centaurus A
groups was made using the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The
observed galaxies have accurate distances derived by Jerjen et al (1998; 2000b)
using the surface brightness fluctuation technique. Their absolute magnitudes
are in the range . Only two of the ten galaxies were
detected at our detection limit ( \msol for the Centaurus
group and \msol for the Sculptor group), the two dS0
galaxies ESO384-016 in the Centaurus A Group and NGC 59 in the Sculptor Group,
with \hi masses of \msol and \msol respectively. Those two detections were confirmed using the Green
Bank Telescope. These small \hi reservoirs could fuel future generations of low
level star formation and could explain the bluer colors seen at the center of
the detected galaxies. Similarly to what is seen with the Virgo dEs, the two
objects with \hi appear to be on the outskirt of the groups.Comment: 25 pages (11 figures), accepted by A
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