Conceptual mechanization studies for a horizon definition spacecraft attitude control subsystem, phase A, part II, 10 October 1966 - 29 May 1967

Attitude control subsystem for spin stabilized spacecraft for mapping earths infrared horizon radiance profiles in 15 micron carbon dioxide absorption ban

Dynamic compaction of salt: Initial demonstration and performance testing

Reconsolidated crushed salt is proposed as the sole long-term shaft seal between the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and the biosphere. The concept for a long-term shaft seal for the WIPP repository is to place crushed salt in the four shafts and to develop an effective seal as the surrounding salt creeps into the shafts, reconsolidating the salt. Permeability of the salt components is calculated to achieve performance objectives at some acceptable time in the future, an expectation which is a key to performance assessment calculations for the WIPP. Such a seal has never been constructed, and until now no performance measurements have been made on an appropriately large scale. A full understanding of construction methods, achievable initial density and permeability and time-wise performance of reconsolidating salt is required. This paper discusses nearly full-scale dynamic compaction of mine-run WIPP salt, preliminary measurements of density and permeability, and their variability within a relatively large volume of compacted materia

In vitro inhibition of human sarcoma cells' invasive ability by bis(5-amidino-2-benzimidazolyl)methane--a novel esteroprotease inhibitor.

Bis(5-amidino-2-benzimidazolyl)methane (BABIM) is a synthetic aromatic amidine compound which has a number of important biochemical effects, including inhibition of a family of esteroproteases (trypsin, urokinase, plasmin) previously linked to the complex process of tumor invasion. Previous work has suggested that exogenous natural protease inhibitors can block invasion of tumor cells across basement membranes (BM) in vitro. The authors studied the effect of BABIM on the human cell line HT-1080 with the use of a quantitative in vitro amnion invasion assay system. They have verified the ability of these cells to grow in nude mice and metastasize via the lymphatics or blood vessels on the basis of the route of administration of the inoculum. Cells which were able to actively cross the entire BM were trapped on filters and counted by both brightfield microscopy and by beta scintillation counting of cells whose DNA was labeled with tritiated thymidine. In agreement with either counting technique, BABIM, at a concentration of 10(-4) M, significantly inhibited invasion (P less than 0.005) over the 7-day course of the experiments. Under these conditions, the inhibitor was nontoxic and did not alter the attachment of the cells to the amniotic membrane. Furthermore, a highly significant inhibition of invasion (P less than 0.001) was also demonstrated across a variation in molar concentration of BABIM of more than 2 orders of magnitude. Most remarkably, cells were initially inhibited in their ability to invade in the presence of between 10(-9) and 10(-3) M BABIM. Measurement of Type IV specific collagenase in media from these cells shows a significant inhibition of activity in the presence of BABIM. These results suggest two, not necessarily exclusive, alternative interpretations: first, that inhibition of the proteolytic steps along the pathway of activation of basement membrane degrading enzymes results in inhibition of invasion; second, that arginine directed esteroproteases may work in concert with cellular collagenolytic metalloproteinases in the process of invasion by human tumor cells through native matrix barriers

Finite difference calculations of permeability in large domains in a wide porosity range.

Determining effective hydraulic, thermal, mechanical and electrical properties of porous materials by means of classical physical experiments is often time-consuming and expensive. Thus, accurate numerical calculations of material properties are of increasing interest in geophysical, manufacturing, bio-mechanical and environmental applications, among other fields. Characteristic material properties (e.g. intrinsic permeability, thermal conductivity and elastic moduli) depend on morphological details on the porescale such as shape and size of pores and pore throats or cracks. To obtain reliable predictions of these properties it is necessary to perform numerical analyses of sufficiently large unit cells. Such representative volume elements require optimized numerical simulation techniques. Current state-of-the-art simulation tools to calculate effective permeabilities of porous materials are based on various methods, e.g. lattice Boltzmann, finite volumes or explicit jump Stokes methods. All approaches still have limitations in the maximum size of the simulation domain. In response to these deficits of the well-established methods we propose an efficient and reliable numerical method which allows to calculate intrinsic permeabilities directly from voxel-based data obtained from 3D imaging techniques like X-ray microtomography. We present a modelling framework based on a parallel finite differences solver, allowing the calculation of large domains with relative low computing requirements (i.e. desktop computers). The presented method is validated in a diverse selection of materials, obtaining accurate results for a large range of porosities, wider than the ranges previously reported. Ongoing work includes the estimation of other effective properties of porous media

Carbenic nitrile imines: Properties and reactivity

Structures and properties of nitrile imines were investigated computationally at B3LYP and CCSD(T) levels. Whereas NBO analysis at the B3LYP DFT level invariably predicts a propargylic electronic structure, CCSD(T) calculations permit a clear distinction between propargylic, allenic, and carbenic structures. Nitrile imines with strong IR absorptions above ca. 2150 cm-1 have propargylic structures with a CN triple bond (RCNNSiMe 3 and R2BCNNBR2), and those with IR absorptions below ca. 2150 cm-1 are allenic (HCNNH, PhCNNH, and HCNNPh). Nitrile imines lacking significant cumulenic IR absorptions at 1900-2200 cm -1 are carbenic (R-(C:)-N=N-R′). Electronegative but lone pair-donating groups NR2, OR, and F stabilize the carbenic form of nitrile imines in the same way they stabilize "normal" singlet carbenes, including N-heterocyclic carbenes. NBO analyses at the CCSD(T) level confirm the classification into propargylic, allenic, and carbenic reactivity types. Carbenic nitrile imines are predicted to form azoketenes 21 with CO, to form [2+2] and [2+4] cycloadducts and borane adducts, and to cyclize to 1H-diazirenes of the type 24 in mildly exothermic reactions with activation energies in the range 29-38 kcal/mol. Such reactions will be readily accessible photochemically and thermally, e.g., under the conditions of matrix photolysis and flash vacuum thermolysis

Integrating Monitoring and Decision Modeling within a Cooperative Framework: Promoting Transboundary Water Management and Avoiding Regional Conflict

Surface and groundwater resources do not recognize political boundaries. Where nature and boundary cross, tension over shared water resources can erupt. Such tension is exacerbated in regions where demand approaches or exceeds sustainable supplies of water. Establishing equitable management strategies can help prevent and resolve conflict over shared water resources. This paper describes a methodology for addressing transboundary water issues predicated on the integration of monitoring and modeling within a framework of cooperation. Cooperative monitoring begins with agreement by international scientists and/or policy makers on transboundary monitoring goals and strategies; it leads to the process of obtaining and sharing agreed-upon information among parties with the purpose of providing verifiable and secure data. Cooperative modeling is the process by which the parties jointly interpret the data, forecast future events and trends, and quantify cause and effect relationships. Together, cooperative monitoring and modeling allow for the development and assessment of alternative management and remediation strategies that could form the basis of regional watershed agreements or treaties. An example of how this multifaceted approach might be used to manage a shared water resource is presented for the Kura River basin in the Caucasus

Acute Progression of BCR-FGFR1 Induced Murine B-Lympho/Myeloproliferative Disorder Suggests Involvement of Lineages at the Pro-B Cell Stage

Constitutive activation of FGFR1, through rearrangement with various dimerization domains, leads to atypical myeloproliferative disorders where, although T cell lymphoma are common, the BCR-FGFR1 chimeric kinase results in CML-like leukemia. As with the human disease, mouse bone marrow transduction/transplantation with BCR-FGFR1 leads to CML-like myeloproliferation as well as B-cell leukemia/lymphoma. The murine disease described in this report is virtually identical to the human disease in that both showed bi-lineage involvement of myeloid and B-cells, splenomegaly, leukocytosis and bone marrow hypercellularity. A CD19+ IgM− CD43+ immunophenotype was seen both in primary tumors and two cell lines derived from these tumors. In all primary tumors, subpopulations of these CD19+ IgM− CD43+ were also either B220+ or B220−, suggesting a block in differentiation at the pro-B cell stage. The B220− phenotype was retained in one of the cell lines while the other was B220+. When the two cell lines were transplanted into syngeneic mice, all animals developed the same B-lymphoblastic leukemia within 2-weeks. Thus, the murine model described here closely mimics the human disease with bilineage myeloid and B-cell leukemia/lymphoma which provides a representative model to investigate therapeutic intervention and a better understanding of the etiology of the disease

Photon-Atom Coupling with Parabolic Mirrors

Efficient coupling of light to single atomic systems has gained considerable attention over the past decades. This development is driven by the continuous growth of quantum technologies. The efficient coupling of light and matter is an enabling technology for quantum information processing and quantum communication. And indeed, in recent years much progress has been made in this direction. But applications aside, the interaction of photons and atoms is a fundamental physics problem. There are various possibilities for making this interaction more efficient, among them the apparently 'natural' attempt of mode-matching the light field to the free-space emission pattern of the atomic system of interest. Here we will describe the necessary steps of implementing this mode-matching with the ultimate aim of reaching unit coupling efficiency. We describe the use of deep parabolic mirrors as the central optical element of a free-space coupling scheme, covering the preparation of suitable modes of the field incident onto these mirrors as well as the location of an atom at the mirror's focus. Furthermore, we establish a robust method for determining the efficiency of the photon-atom coupling.Comment: Book chapter in compilation "Engineering the Atom-Photon Interaction" published by Springer in 2015, edited by A. Predojevic and M. W. Mitchell, ISBN 9783319192307, http://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319192307. Only change to version1: now with hyperlinks to arXiv eprints of other book chapters mentioned in this on

Revisiting Reflection: Utilizing Third Spaces in Teacher Education

Much has been written about the importance of reflective practice. What is missing is reflective work on the part of teacher educators to address the mismatch between university-based methods courses and the realities of classroom life. With examples from a third grade mathematics classroom as well as a university-based mathematics methods course, this article explores ways educators can employ third space theory as a way to engage in purposeful reflection into their teaching practices

Hip joint articular soft tissues of non-dinosaurian Dinosauromorpha and early Dinosauria: evolutionary and biomechanical implications for Saurischia

Dinosauromorphs evolved a wide diversity of hind limb skeletal morphologies, suggesting highly divergent articular soft tissue anatomies. However, poor preservation of articular soft tissues in fossils has hampered any follow-on functional inferences. We reconstruct the hip joint soft tissue anatomy of non-dinosaurian dinosauromorphs and early dinosaurs using osteological correlates derived from extant sauropsids and infer trends in character transitions along the theropod and sauropodomorph lineagues. Femora and pelves of 107 dinosauromorphs and outgroup taxa were digitized using 3D imaging techniques. Key transitions were estimated using maximum likelihood ancestral state reconstruction. The hips of dinosauromorphs possessed wide a disparity of soft tissue morphologies beyond the types and combinations exhibited by extant archosaurs. Early evolution of the dinosauriform hip joint was characterized by the retention of a prominent femoral hyaline cartilage cone in post-neonatal individuals, with the cartilage cone independently reduced within theropods and sauropodomorphs. The femur of Dinosauriformes possessed a fibrocartilage sleeve on the metaphysis, which surrounded a hyaline core. The acetabulum of Dinosauriformes possessed distinct labrum and antitrochanter structures. In sauropodomorphs, hip congruence was maintained by thick hyaline cartilage on the femoral head, whereas theropods relied on acetabular tissues such as ligaments and articular pads. In particular, the craniolaterally ossified hip capsule of non- Avetheropoda neotheropods permitted mostly parasagittal femoral movements. These data indicate that the dinosauromorph hip underwent mosaic evolution within the saurischian lineage and that sauropodomorphs and theropods underwent both convergence and divergence in articular soft tissues, correlated with transitions in body size, locomotor posture, and joint loading