How We Get Pictures from Space, Revised Edition

The past 25 years of space travel and exploration have generated an unprecedented quantity of data from planetary systems. Data gathered at close range, and from above the distorting effects of Earth's atmosphere, produce images far more detailed than pictures taken by even the largest Earth-bound telescopes. The techniques used to acquire and process these images are discussed briefly

NASA Facts: How We Get Pictures from Space

The past 25 years of space travel and exploration has generated an unprecedented quantity of data from planetary systems. Images taken in space and telemetered back to Earth have greatly aided scientists in formulating better and more accurate theories about the nature and origin of out solar system. The procedures and spacecraft systems used to gather data are explained

Conference Summary: HI Science in the Next Decade

The atomic hydrogen (HI) 21cm line measures the gas content within and around galaxies, traces the dark matter potential and probes volumes and objects that other surveys do not. Over the next decade, 21cm line science will exploit new technologies, especially focal plane and aperture arrays, and will see the deployment of Epoch of Reionization/Dark Age detection experiments and Square Kilometer Array (SKA) precursor instruments. Several experiments designed to detect and eventually to characterize the reionization history of the intergalactic medium should deliver first results within two-three years time. Although "precision cosmology" surveys of HI in galaxies at z ~ 1 to 3 require the full collecting area of the SKA, a coherent program of HI line science making use of the unique capabilities of both the existing facilities and the novel ones demonstrated by the SKA precursors will teach us how many gas rich galaxies there really are and where they reside and will yield fundamental insight into how galaxies accrete gas, form stars and interact with their environment.Comment: To appear in AIP Conference Proceedings, "The Evolution of Galaxies through the Neutral Hydrogen Window", Feb 1-3 2008, Arecibo, Puerto Rico, eds. R. Minchin & E. Momjian. 8 page

Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage

The thesis investigates how contemporary United Methodist short-term mission (hereafter STM) participants express their motivations for taking part in their service activities. It argues that a robust theology of STM is absent. Indeed, this absence is usurped by cultural and economic influences. The disclosed motivations are more reflective of pilgrimage rather than theologies of mission as expressed in the missio Dei and Wesleyan missional theology. The thesis first uses academic literature to codify a United Methodist theology of mission through investigation of the historical influences and current mission practices. Emphasis is placed upon the development and expression of a theology of the missio Dei within the context of a discussion of Fresh Expressions, the Emergent Church, and Third-Wave Mission movements. The unique role of United Methodist mission is illustrated through its historical roots in the Wesleyan movement and contemporary expression in the ubiquitous STM movement in the United States. Next, it utilizes original field research data: semi-structured focus group interviews and online anonymous surveys to gather the implicit and explicit theologies of lay and clergy participants in these international service journeys for intense, but brief, periods of time. The literature and field research are synthesized in an effort to further develop a theology of STM. It is clear that a substantial number of STM participants and leaders placed primary importance upon framing their service trips as a self-benefiting experience. The influences of the Economy of Experience, as illustrated in Joseph Pine and James Gilmore's work, is significant in the field data as participants describe their time, money, sacrifice, and service, applied in the name of mission, as a way to purchase an experience akin to personal growth commonly sought by pilgrims. The resulting tensions this creates for evangelism and mission are explored. There is a call for robust theological work to move this ubiquitous practice away from consuming mission for personal edification

A Comparative Analysis of the Discipleship Practices of Selected Mississippi Baptist Convention Pastors and Churches

The purpose of this qualitative, interview-based-study was to explore the personal discipleship practices of pastors and compare those practices to the personal discipleship practices of Mississippi Baptist Convention churches with an average Sunday school attendance greater than 400 by collecting qualitative data from pastors, other staff members, and church members. This qualitative research design called for research to be conducted for the purpose of describing the personal discipleship practices of pastors through interviewing pastors and then comparing those practices to the practices of the two interviewed staff members and the two interviewed church members of those same pastors. This study collected data and compared the data to see if any commonality of responses existed between the personal discipleship practices described by pastors and the discipleship practices of the churches in the sample group, thus better understanding the pastors’ roles in discipleship

Sense and specificity in neuronal calcium signalling

AbstractChanges in the intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in neurons regulate many and varied aspects of neuronal function over time scales from microseconds to days. The mystery is how a single signalling ion can lead to such diverse and specific changes in cell function. This is partly due to aspects of the Ca2+ signal itself, including its magnitude, duration, localisation and persistent or oscillatory nature. The transduction of the Ca2+ signal requires Ca2+ binding to various Ca2+ sensor proteins. The different properties of these sensors are important for differential signal processing and determine the physiological specificity of Ca2+ signalling pathways. A major factor underlying the specific roles of particular Ca2+ sensor proteins is the nature of their interaction with target proteins and how this mediates unique patterns of regulation. We review here recent progress from structural analyses and from functional analyses in model organisms that have begun to reveal the rules that underlie Ca2+ sensor protein specificity for target interaction. We discuss three case studies exemplifying different aspects of Ca2+ sensor/target interaction. This article is part of a special issue titled the 13th European Symposium on Calcium

A multi-site, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy of buspirone as a relapse-prevention treatment for cocaine dependence

Objective—To evaluate the potential efficacy of buspirone as a relapse-prevention treatment for cocaine dependence. Method—A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 16-week pilot trial conducted at six clinical sites between August 2012 and June 2013. Adult crack cocaine users meeting DSM-IVTR criteria for current cocaine dependence scheduled to be in inpatient/residential substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for 12–19 days when randomized, and planning to enroll in local outpatient treatment through the end of the active treatment phase were randomized to buspirone titrated to 60 mg/day (n=35) or to placebo (n=27). All participants received psychosocial treatment as usually provided by the SUD treatment programs in which they were enrolled. Outcome measures included maximum days of continuous cocaine abstinence (primary), proportion of cocaine use days, and days-to-first-cocaine-use during the outpatient treatment phase (study weeks 4–15) as assessed by self-report and urine drug screens. Results—There were no significant treatment effects on maximum continuous days of cocaine abstinence or days to first cocaine use. In the females (n=23), there was a significant treatment-bytime interaction effect (X2 (1)=6.06, p=.01), reflecting an increase in cocaine use by the buspirone, relative to placebo, participants early in the outpatient treatment phase. A similar effect was not detected in the male participants (n=39; X2 (1)=0.14, p=.70). Conclusions—The results suggest that buspirone is unlikely to have a beneficial effect on preventing relapse to cocaine use and that buspirone for cocaine-dependent women may worsen their cocaine-use outcomes. Trial Registration—Clinical Trials.gov http://www.clinicaltrials.gov; Identifier: NCT0164115