“It’s Nice to Meet You. Let’s Do Some Inclusion.”

Come hear how one 3rd grade team went out of their way to welcome and support the teachers and students from a new-to-the-school self-contained class for students with intellectual disabilities and/or autism in a project of grade-appropriate inclusion. The presenters will discuss the power of a positive attitude and combined ownership among staff members. Attendees will be given strategies to create a welcoming classroom community and tips on modifying activities and assessments

Palaeoecology and Palaeoenvironments of the Late Permian Zechstein Sea and its Hinterlands

Vegetation reconstructions for the Late Permian of Europe have previously been hampered due to the lack of suitable exposures. However, the limited evidence suggests a conifer-dominated vegetation that gradually declined as environmental conditions deteriorated approaching the Permian-Triassic boundary. The Zechstein Sea was a semi-isolated inland sea that dates from the late Wuchiapingianearly Changhsingian (~258 Ma) to the Permian-Triassic boundary (~252 Ma). It underwent 5-7 evaporation-replenishment cycles leaving behind a sequence of stacked carbonates and evaporites. The macrofossil record shows that a conifer-dominated gymnospermous flora inhabited the seas hinterlands. New boreholes have enabled the first extensive palynological sampling of the entire Zechstein sequence of northeast England. Palynomorph assemblages have been recovered from all five of the evaporation-replenishment cycles (EZ1-EZ5). These assemblages are dominated by pollen grains, with rare trilete spores, and even rarer marine forms such as acritarchs and foraminifera test linings. Pollen grain assemblages are of low diversity (35 species) and dominated by taeniate and non-taeniate bisaccates. The assemblages vary to only a limited extent both within and between cycles EZ1-EZ5, although some minor variations and trends are documented that reflect taphonomic effects. Based on the composition of the dispersed spore-pollen assemblages, and previous work on the Zechstein megaflora, the hinterland vegetation is interpreted as being dominated by conifers, inhabiting a semi-arid to arid landscape. The new pollen data indicate that the vegetation was little changed, both within cycles and between cycles, and persisted until the demise of the Zechstein Sea in the latest Permian-earliest Triassic, perhaps in fragmented upland refugia. At this time desert sedimentation commenced, which yields no evidence for terrestrial vegetation until the early Triassic (Induan) when evidence for a radically different flora appears. These observations suggest that vegetation loss at the Permian-Triassic boundary was rapid and catastrophic rather than representing the culmination of a slow decline

Integrated Electrical Wire Insulation Repair System

An integrated system tool will allow a technician to easily and quickly repair damaged high-performance electrical wire insulation in the field. Low-melt polyimides have been developed that can be processed into thin films that work well in the repair of damaged polyimide or fluoropolymer insulated electrical wiring. Such thin films can be used in wire insulation repairs by affixing a film of this low-melt polyimide to the damaged wire, and heating the film to effect melting, flow, and cure of the film. The resulting repair is robust, lightweight, and small in volume. The heating of this repair film is accomplished with the use of a common electrical soldering tool that has been modified with a special head or tip that can accommodate the size of wire being repaired. This repair method can furthermore be simplified for the repair technician by providing replaceable or disposable soldering tool heads that have repair film already "loaded" and ready for use. The soldering tool heating device can also be equipped with a battery power supply that will allow its use in areas where plug-in current is not availabl

Developing Flexible, High Performance Polymers with Self-Healing Capabilities

Flexible, high performance polymers such as polyimides are often employed in aerospace applications. They typically find uses in areas where improved physical characteristics such as fire resistance, long term thermal stability, and solvent resistance are required. It is anticipated that such polymers could find uses in future long duration exploration missions as well. Their use would be even more advantageous if self-healing capability or mechanisms could be incorporated into these polymers. Such innovative approaches are currently being studied at the NASA Kennedy Space Center for use in high performance wiring systems or inflatable and habitation structures. Self-healing or self-sealing capability would significantly reduce maintenance requirements, and increase the safety and reliability performance of the systems into which these polymers would be incorporated. Many unique challenges need to be overcome in order to incorporate a self-healing mechanism into flexible, high performance polymers. Significant research into the incorporation of a self-healing mechanism into structural composites has been carried out over the past decade by a number of groups, notable among them being the University of I1linois [I]. Various mechanisms for the introduction of self-healing have been investigated. Examples of these are: 1) Microcapsule-based healant delivery. 2) Vascular network delivery. 3) Damage induced triggering of latent substrate properties. Successful self-healing has been demonstrated in structural epoxy systems with almost complete reestablishment of composite strength being achieved through the use of microcapsulation technology. However, the incorporation of a self-healing mechanism into a system in which the material is flexible, or a thin film, is much more challenging. In the case of using microencapsulation, healant core content must be small enough to reside in films less than 0.1 millimeters thick, and must overcome significant capillary and surface tension forces to flow, mix and react to achieve healing. Vascular networks small enough to fit into such films must also overcome these same flow limitations. Self-healing has also been demonstrated in ionomeric substrates such as Surlyn , wherein the heat generated by a projectile impact triggers the latent ability of this substrate to flow back to its original shape. Recent work using Diels-Alder reactions have shown promise in bringing about actual reforming of broken chemical bonds to achieve self-healing [2]. All self-healing mechanisms that rely on the use of inherent latent substrate properties require some degree of polymer chain flow to achieve any significant level of healing

The Iowa Homemaker vol.37, no.7

Here’s The Way – Study Abroad, Diane Rasmussen, page 6 Your Speech Reflects You, Carole Boughton, page 7 Home Economics Grows With Pakistan, Mary Gibson, page 8 Favorite of Mice and Men, Rosalyn McBride, page 10 Have You Met Me?, Sharon Kay, page 12 We Present With Pride, Martha Burleigh, page 13 Check Your Personality, page 1

Passive Thermal Management Systems Employing Shape Memory Alloys

A thermal management system includes a first substrate having a first conductive inner surface. A second substrate has a second conductive inner surface. A connecting structure is attached to the first and second substrates to space apart the first and second inner surfaces defining an insulating space for a single architecture. One or more passively-acting elements are attached to the inner surface of at least one substrate and including a shape memory material such as a shape memory alloy (SMA). The SMA passively reacts to the temperature of the first substrate by thermally contacting or separating from the second inner surface of the second substrate for the control of the conduction of heat energy in either direction

Advanced Active Materials for the Exploration of Space

No abstract availabl

The Iowa Homemaker vol.39, no.1

Speak to Us of Time, Glenda Legore, page 5 Clocks of Many Faces, Martha Keeney, page 6 Move Over for The Muumuu, Susan Sweet, page 8 File It, Diane Robinson, page 10 Tailor Made Curriculum, Pat Rigler, page 11 Camp-Tested Cuisine, Jane Gibson, page 12 What’s Going On, page 13 A New Food Grouping, Jackie Andre, page 1

In-Situ Wire Damage Detection System

An In-Situ Wire Damage Detection System (ISWDDS) has been developed that is capable of detecting damage to a wire insulation, or a wire conductor, or to both. The system will allow for realtime, continuous monitoring of wiring health/integrity and reduce the number of false negatives and false positives while being smaller, lighter in weight, and more robust than current systems. The technology allows for improved safety and significant reduction in maintenance hours for aircraft, space vehicles, satellites, and other critical high-performance wiring systems for industries such as energy production and mining. The integrated ISWDDS is comprised of two main components: (1) a wire with an innermost core conductor, an inner insulation film, a conductive layer or inherently conductive polymer (ICP) covering the inner insulation film, an outermost insulation jacket; and (2) smart connectors and electronics capable of producing and detecting electronic signals, and a central processing unit (CPU) for data collection and analysis. The wire is constructed by applying the inner insulation films to the conductor, followed by the outer insulation jacket. The conductive layer or ICP is on the outer surface of the inner insulation film. One or more wires are connected to the CPU using the smart connectors, and up to 64 wires can be monitored in real-time. The ISWDDS uses time domain reflectometry for damage detection. A fast-risetime pulse is injected into either the core conductor or conductive layer and referenced against the other conductor, producing transmission line behavior. If either conductor is damaged, then the signal is reflected. By knowing the speed of propagation of the pulse, and the time it takes to reflect, one can calculate the distance to and location of the damage