Development and evaluation of braze alloys for vacuum furnace brazing

Copper and copper-base alloys tested for use in vacuum furnace brazing of rocket engine tubular thrust chamber

Effects of Celiac Disease on Religion and Language

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that prevents people from digesting gluten. The diagnosis of Celiac impacts more than physical health, it irrevocably alters a person’s conception of self. Ordinary activities like airport travel, staying in hotels, and worship become complicated. For example, receiving Communion in the Roman Catholic faith is one of the ways people maintain their close relationship to God. Because the wafers used are made of gluten, those with Celiac are prevented from partaking in this sacred ritual. This leads to increased feelings of isolation and alienation from both the religious community and God. Another way it alters a person’s self-conception is by changing the very language they use. For instance, they might use new lingo such as the word “glutard.” A contraction of the words “gluten” and “retarded,” many use the term to inject humor into an often grim situation. It is an ironic term of self-reference used on social media when one has been exposed or is pointing out the dark humor that is often a part of life with Celiac disease. Those with Celiac disease often find these kinds of everyday experiences more problematic than those without, who often take these things for granted

An automated library financial management system

A computerized library acquisition system developed for control of informational materials acquired at NASA Ames Research Center is described. The system monitors the acquisition of both library and individual researchers' orders and supplies detailed financial, statistical, and bibliographical information. Applicability for other libraries and the future availability of the program is discussed

Probability of Color Rearrangement at Partonic Level in Hadronic W^+W^- Decays

A strict method to calculate the color rearrangement probability at partonic level in hadronic $W^+W^-$ decays is proposed. The color effective Hamiltonian $H_c$ is constructed from invariant amplitude for the process $e^+e^- \to W^+W^- \to q_1\bar{q}_2 q_3\bar{q}_4+ng$ (n=0, 1, 2, ...) and is used to calculate the cross sections of various color singlets and the color rearrangement probability. The true meaning of the color rearrangement is clarified and its difference from color interference is discussed.Comment: 16 pages, Late

Future Land Use Decisions of North Dakota Conservation Reserve Program Participants

Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

FINANCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NORTH DAKOTA FARMS 1992-1994

End-of-year financial data from 700 farms enrolled in North Dakota Farm Business Management Education Program for the years 1992 to 1994 are analyzed according to 16 financial standards. All median profitability measures, median term debt coverage, term debt and capital margin, and median net farm income as a percent of gross revenue are lower in 1994 than in 1993. The median for all 16 financial measures deteriorated for 1994 in the south central and west regions due to lower livestock profitability. Financial performance of the north central region improved each of the three years.Agricultural Finance,

FINANCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NORTH DAKOTA FARMS, 1993-1995

The performance of over 500 North Dakota farms, 1993-1995, is summarized using 16 financial measures. Farms are categorized by geographic region, farm type, farm size, gross cash sales, farm tenure, net farm income, debt-to-asset, and age of farmer to analyze relationships between financial performance and farm characteristics.Farm financial management, farm management, farm income, liquidity, solvency, profitability, repayment capacity, financial efficiency, financial benchmarks, tenure, North Dakota., Agricultural Finance,

Development of a novel radioiodinated dermorphin analog for mu opioid receptor studies [abstract]

Abstract only availableFaculty Mentor: Dr. John Lever, BiologyDermorphin is a naturally occurring opioid peptide that has been isolated from the skin of the frog Phylomedusa sauvagei. It has been characterized as having high affinity and selectivity for the mu opioid receptor. The goal of our study was to investigate novel analogs of dermorphin that could be radiolabeled and then evaluated as in vitro and in vivo probes for the mu opioid receptor. Our group synthesized DAPP, a novel peptide and dermorphin derivative with the amino acid sequence H-Dmt-D-Ala-Phe-Phe-NH2. It has been radiolabeled with iodine and used in various experiments to determine its receptor binding characteristics. Autoradiography studies were performed in order to define the profile of radioligand binding in mu, delta, and kappa opioid receptor types and to determine the degree of nonspecific binding and opioid receptor selectivity. Autoradiography is the detection of radioisotopes on X-ray film. For in vitro autoradiography, slide-mounted tissue sections of mouse brain were incubated with I-125 DAPP. The tissue specimen itself was the source of the radiation, and the emissions of the isotopes formed a visible image upon development. These studies indicated that I-125 DAPP exhibits high levels of binding in the frontal cortex, striatum, thalamus, and superior and inferior colliculi, and low levels in the cerebellum. The affinity of I-125 DAPP for mu opioid receptors was confirmed when labeling was not seen in the presence of a mu blocker (DAMGO); under the same conditions, I-125 DAPP was not prevented from binding by delta (DPDPE) or kappa (U69,593) blockers. Preliminary quantitative analysis of the distilled image by computerized densitometry suggests that we can achieve 80-90% specific binding with this compound. As a prelude to in vivo studies, we determined the distribution coefficient (log D) for I-125 DAPP at pH 7.4. This number is the ratio of the compound's concentration in the octanol phase to its concentration in the aqueous phase, and is an indication of the degree of lipophilicity of a compound. The log D for I-125 DAPP was determined as 2.99 ± 0.0117 (mean ± SD), using four consecutive measurements with a coefficient of variation (SD/mean x 100) of 0.39%. This relatively high value indicates a more lipophilic compound, suggesting that that I-125 DAPP will successfully cross biological membranes. An in vivo study was then conducted to determine the distribution of DAPP throughout the mouse body thirt