Solar Sails: Towards An Early Profitable PowerSat

Successful development of space solar power would provide vast quantities of clean electrical energy for the next few billion years. Such a prize is worth considerable effort and risk. However, the technical difficulties and the huge scale of proposed systems, requiring enormous up front costs and long development times, have prevented SSP from making much progress. If a way could be found to field a small SSP system profitably, even if limited to niche markets, operational progress could be made with relatively small investments over short time scales. This visualization explores the concept of a “thin-film heliogyro” – a solar sail - as a lower cost approach to producing energy in space and transmitting it to earth as an infrared (IR) power beam. Advisors: Al Globus, Tyler Ayres, John Bowditch Solar Sails: Towards an Early Profitable PowerSat from Space Communication Journal on Vimeo

Mytho-historical mode: metafictional parody and postmodern high irony in the works of Donald Barthelme, Robert Coover, and Ishmael Reed

Beginning with an analysis of Northrop Frye’s concept of modal progression (i.e., the cycle from myth to irony—and back again) and an application of modal theory to an analysis of postmodern narrative forms, the need to revise Frye’s concept of modal progression becomes apparent. Rather than following the cyclical pattern Frye proposes, the course of modal progression appears to be fixed to an axis of experience: a certain normative threshold which describes the narrator’s and/or the narrative protagonist’s power of action relative to an assumed neutral audience. How the narrative depiction of the narrator and/or the fictional protagonist relates to this threshold determines the characteristics of the literary mode. As argued in this dissertation, the increase in the hero’s power of action (typical of late modern and postmodern literature) does not necessarily indicate an abrupt return to the mythic mode (as predicted by Frye). Instead, what is seen to emerge is a decidedly advanced species of narrative irony, or, “high irony” that, while maintaining its distinctly ironic qualities, displays a remarkable tendency to disassemble/reassemble precedent narrative forms (e.g., myth, nonfiction, realistic fiction) into a self-reflexive, highly metafictional form of parody. As the absurd, parodic chaos of the high ironic mode shares several significant traits with both myth and nonfiction, these overlapping, parodic relationships are of great literary importance and theoretical interest. These modal connections and disconnections are what this dissertation attempts to explore and clarify. To that end, this dissertation charts the various ways that myth and nonfictional forms have been put to parodic use in the high ironic metafictions of Donald Barthelme, Robert Coover and Ishmael Reed, three writers whose seminal mid-20th century works did much to shape and direct the course of contemporary American literature. Of special emphasis in this study is the American postmodern preoccupation with revision and the politics of literary subversion that attends this revisionary impulse. The final hypothesis reached by this dissertation is that the literary repercussions of these mid-20th century excursions into ironic, metafictional abstraction have not led to a return to myth, but rather to a discernable tendency among 21st century American writers to return to previously eschewed forms of nonironic narrative. This trajectory thus marks a movement away from forms of narrative irony (as well as away from the mode of myth) and an emerging tendency towards more referential, less fantastic forms of narrative fiction

Percutaneous cement augmentation for the treatment of depression fractures of the tibial plateau

The management of insufficiency fractures of the tibial plateau in osteoporotic patients can be very challenging, since it is difficult to achieve a stable fixation, an essential condition for the patients' early mobilization. We present a minimally invasive technique for the treatment of proximal tibial plateau fractures, "tibiaplasty”, using percutaneous polymethylmethacrylate augmentation. Five osteoporotic patients (7 fractures) with a non-traumatic insufficiency tibial plateau fracture were treated with this technique at the authors' institution from 2006 to 2008. The patients' median age was 79 (range 62-88) years. The intervention was performed percutaneously under general or spinal anesthesia; after the intervention, immediate full weight bearing was allowed. The technique was feasible in all patients and no complications related to the intervention were observed. All patients reported a relevant reduction in pain, were able to mobilize with full weight bearing and would undergo the operation again. No secondary loss of reduction or progression of arthrosis was observed in radiological controls; no revision surgery was required. Our initial results indicate that tibiaplasty is a good treatment option for the management of insufficiency in tibial plateau fractures in osteoporotic patients. The technique is minimally invasive, safe and allows immediate mobilization without restrictions. In our group of patients, we found excellent early to mid-term result

Integrating Emerging Areas of Nursing Science into PhD Programs

The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science aims to “facilitate and recognize life-long nursing science career development” as an important part of its mission. In light of fast-paced advances in science and technology that are inspiring new questions and methods of investigation in the health sciences, the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science convened the Idea Festival for Nursing Science Education and appointed the Idea Festival Advisory Committee to stimulate dialogue about linking PhD education with a renewed vision for preparation of the next generation of nursing scientists. Building on the 2010 American Association of Colleges of Nursing Position Statement “The Research-Focused Doctoral Program in Nursing: Pathways to Excellence,” Idea Festival Advisory Committee members focused on emerging areas of science and technology that impact the ability of research-focused doctoral programs to prepare graduates for competitive and sustained programs of nursing research using scientific advances in emerging areas of science and technology. The purpose of this article is to describe the educational and scientific contexts for the Idea Festival, which will serve as the foundation for recommendations for incorporating emerging areas of science and technology into research-focused doctoral programs in nursing

Emerging Areas of Science: Recommendations for Nursing Science Education from the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science Idea Festival

The Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science aims to “facilitate and recognize life-long nursing science career development” as an important part of its mission. In light of fast-paced advances in science and technology that are inspiring new questions and methods of investigation in the health sciences, the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science convened the Idea Festival for Nursing Science Education and appointed the Idea Festival Advisory Committee (IFAC) to stimulate dialogue about linking PhD education with a renewed vision for preparation of the next generation of nursing scientists. Building on the 2005 National Research Council report Advancing The Nation\u27s Health Needs and the 2010 American Association of Colleges of Nursing Position Statement on the Research-Focused Doctorate Pathways to Excellence, the IFAC specifically addressed the capacity of PhD programs to prepare nursing scientists to conduct cutting-edge research in the following key emerging and priority areas of health sciences research: omics and the microbiome; health behavior, behavior change, and biobehavioral science; patient-reported outcomes; big data, e-science, and informatics; quantitative sciences; translation science; and health economics. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe IFAC activities, (b) summarize 2014 discussions hosted as part of the Idea Festival, and (c) present IFAC recommendations for incorporating these emerging areas of science and technology into research-focused doctoral programs committed to preparing graduates for lifelong, competitive careers in nursing science. The recommendations address clearer articulation of program focus areas; inclusion of foundational knowledge in emerging areas of science in core courses on nursing science and research methods; faculty composition; prerequisite student knowledge and skills; and in-depth, interdisciplinary training in supporting area of science content and methods

Educating Future Nursing Scientists: Recommendations for Integrating Omics Content in PhD Programs

Preparing the next generation of nursing scientists to conduct high-impact, competitive, sustainable, innovative, and interdisciplinary programs of research requires that the curricula for PhD programs keep pace with emerging areas of knowledge and health care/biomedical science. A field of inquiry that holds great potential to influence our understanding of the underlying biology and mechanisms of health and disease is omics. For the purpose of this article, omics refers to genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, epigenomics, exposomics, microbiomics, and metabolomics. Traditionally, most PhD programs in schools of nursing do not incorporate this content into their core curricula. As part of the Council for the Advancement of Nursing Science\u27s Idea Festival for Nursing Science Education, a work group charged with addressing omics preparation for the next generation of nursing scientists was convened. The purpose of this article is to describe key findings and recommendations from the work group that unanimously and enthusiastically support the incorporation of omics content into the curricula of PhD programs in nursing. The work group also calls to action faculty in schools of nursing to develop strategies to enable students needing immersion in omics science and methods to execute their research goals

Emerging Areas of Nursing Science and PhD Education for The 21\u3csup\u3est\u3c/sup\u3e Century: Response to Commentaries

We respond to commentaries from the American Academy of Nursing, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and the National Institute of Nursing Research on our thoughts about integrating emerging areas of science into nursing PhD programs. We identify areas of agreement and focus our response on cross-cutting issues arising from cautions about the unique focus of nursing science and how best to proceed with incorporation of emerging areas of science into nursing PhD programs