Analysis of reentry into the White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) for the LifeSat mission

This study investigates the reentry of the LifeSat vehicles into the WSMR. The LifeSat mission consists of two reusable reentry satellites, each carrying a removable payload module, which scientists will use to study long-term effects of microgravity, Van Allen belt radiation, and galactic cosmic rays on living organisms. A series of missions is planned for both low-Earth circular orbits and highly elliptic orbits. To recover the payload module with the specimens intact, a soft parachute landing and recovery at the WSMR is planned. This analysis examines operational issues surrounding the reentry scenario to assess the feasibility of the reentry

Mechanism for Multiple Ligand Recognition by the Human Transferrin Receptor

Transferrin receptor 1 (TfR) plays a critical role in cellular iron import for most higher organisms. Cell surface TfR binds to circulating iron-loaded transferrin (Fe-Tf) and transports it to acidic endosomes, where low pH promotes iron to dissociate from transferrin (Tf) in a TfR-assisted process. The iron-free form of Tf (apo-Tf) remains bound to TfR and is recycled to the cell surface, where the complex dissociates upon exposure to the slightly basic pH of the blood. Fe-Tf competes for binding to TfR with HFE, the protein mutated in the iron-overload disease hereditary hemochromatosis. We used a quantitative surface plasmon resonance assay to determine the binding affinities of an extensive set of site-directed TfR mutants to HFE and Fe-Tf at pH 7.4 and to apo-Tf at pH 6.3. These results confirm the previous finding that Fe-Tf and HFE compete for the receptor by binding to an overlapping site on the TfR helical domain. Spatially distant mutations in the TfR protease-like domain affect binding of Fe-Tf, but not iron-loaded Tf C-lobe, apo-Tf, or HFE, and mutations at the edge of the TfR helical domain affect binding of apo-Tf, but not Fe-Tf or HFE. The binding data presented here reveal the binding footprints on TfR for Fe-Tf and apo-Tf. These data support a model in which the Tf C-lobe contacts the TfR helical domain and the Tf N-lobe contacts the base of the TfR protease-like domain. The differential effects of some TfR mutations on binding to Fe-Tf and apo-Tf suggest differences in the contact points between TfR and the two forms of Tf that could be caused by pH-dependent conformational changes in Tf, TfR, or both. From these data, we propose a structure-based model for the mechanism of TfR-assisted iron release from Fe-Tf

Rotational CARS application to simultaneous and multiple-point temperature and concentration determination in a turbulent flow

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) from the pure rotational Raman lines of N2 is employed to measure the instantaneous (approximately 10 ns) rotational temperature of N2 gas at room temperature and below with good spatial resolution (0.2 x 0.2 x 3.0 cu mm). A broad bandwidth dye laser is used to obtain the entire rotational spectrum from a single laser pulse; the CARS signal is then dispersed by a spectrograph and recorded on an optical multichannel analyzer. A best fit temperature is found in several seconds with the aid of a computer for each experimental spectrum by a least squares comparison with calculated spectra. The model used to calculate the theoretical spectra incorporates the temperature and pressure dependence of the pressure-broadened rotational Raman lines, includes the nonresonant background susceptibility, and assumes that the pump laser has a finite linewidth. Temperatures are fit to experimental spectra recorded over the temperature range of 135 to 296 K, and over the pressure range of .13 to 15.3 atm

Expungement and Employment Law: The Conflict Between an Employer\u27s Need to Know About Juvenile Misdeeds and an Employee\u27s Need to Keep Them Secret

Supreme Court decisions granting First Amendment protection to non-obscene but sexually explicit movies, books, magazines, and dancing have created a number of difficult issues concerning the lawful scope of local community control over businesses that deal in these forms of expression

Food Pantry Outreach and Research

Food security is defined as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2016). In 2015, an estimated 42.2 million Americans experienced food insecurity, that is, they struggled to feed themselves or their families due to low or insufficient incomes. Food insecure individuals must find alternative sources for food such as soup kitchens, shelters, federal nutrition benefits programs, and local food pantries. Food pantries, which rely on donations, fund-raising, and support from organized regional food banks, serve a wide variety of low-income clients: elderly, disabled individuals, homeless, and working families with young children. These client bases are very diverse, and the different demographic groups benefit from different types of outreach endeavors targeting health and mental health needs, nutrition education, or federal program assistance, among many others. Research into this issue is vital in order to determine the strategies most beneficial for populations in need. During the spring of 2017, a URI undergraduate psychology class, Applied Methods in Psychological Research (PSY302), has been conducting research in food pantries across Rhode Island. Undergraduate students have visited 21 food pantries in 15 towns to administer a hunger research survey to food pantry clients. The survey contains a wide range of questions relating to where people get food, their level of food insecurity, and their ease of access to other community resources. The results of the survey will be used by the RI Community Food Bank and the associated pantries to identify future outreach programs that can best help their clients. For my honors project, I have worked as part of the class project’s team. In the early stages of the project I assisted in designing the data collection plan and I was responsible for coordinating with local RI food pantries to facilitate the dates and times for student researchers’ visits. I also contributed to the overall curriculum of the course, working with the student researchers and providing outreach and diversity trainings. The culmination of my project is a literature review on food insecurity and the current state of the food pantry system in the U.S, along with an overview of the current research and relevant findings. The perceptions and experiences of the student researchers is also highlighted in an attempt to capture how the experience of working in the community may have contributed to both their professional development and research skills, as well as their understanding of the challenges facing low income Rhode Island households

Admission Diagnosis of Cerebral Malaria in Adults in an Endemic Area of Tanzania:Implications and Clinical Description

Cerebralmalariais commonly diagnosed in adults in endemic areas in Africa, both in hospitals and in the community. This presents a paradox inconsistent with the epidemiological understanding that the development of immunity during childhood confers protection against severe disease in adult life. To establish the contribution of Plasmodium falciparum infection in adults admitted with neurological dysfunction in an endemic area, to assess the implications of an admission clinical diagnosis of ‘cerebral malaria’ on the treatment and clinical outcome, and to describe the clinical features of patients with malaria parasitaemia. Prospective observational study. We studied adult patients admitted with neurological dysfunction to Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania from October 2000 to July 2001. A full blood count was done and serum creatinine, blood glucose and P. falciparum parasite load were measured. Of 199 patients (median age 34.5 years), 38% were diagnosed as ‘cerebral malaria’ on admission, but only 7.5% had detectable parasitaemia, giving a positive predictive value of 13.3%. Only 1% fulfilled the WHO criteria for cerebral malaria. The prevalence of parasitaemia (7.5%) was less than that observed in a group of asymptomatic controls (9.3%), but distribution of parasite densities was higher in the patients. Mortality was higher in patients with no parasitaemia (22.3%) than in those with parasitaemia (13%). Cerebral malaria was grossly overdiagnosed, resulting in unnecessary treatment and insufficient investigation of other possible diagnoses, which could lead to higher mortality. Extension of this misperception to the assessment of cause of death in community surveys may lead to an overestimation of the impact of malaria in adults.\u