Restricted Shock Separation in Out-of-Round TOP Nozzles

Thrust optimized parabola rocket nozzles can develop restricted shock separation with the associated reattachement. It becomes even more complicated when the nozzles are deformed. Detailed numerical and experimental studies were carried out to investigate the expected flow pattern. The good agreement between numerics and experiment enables reliable predictions

Bromine measurements in ozone depleted air over the Arctic Ocean

In situ measurements of ozone, photochemically active bromine compounds, and other trace gases over the Arctic Ocean in April 2008 are used to examine the chemistry and geographical extent of ozone depletion in the arctic marine boundary layer (MBL). Data were obtained from the NOAA WP-3D aircraft during the Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC) study and the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) study. Fast (1 s) and sensitive (detection limits at the low pptv level) measurements of BrCl and BrO were obtained from three different chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS) instruments, and soluble bromide was measured with a mist chamber. The CIMS instruments also detected Br2. Subsequent laboratory studies showed that HOBr rapidly converts to Br2 on the Teflon instrument inlets. This detected Br2 is identified as active bromine and represents a lower limit of the sum HOBr + Br2. The measured active bromine is shown to likely be HOBr during daytime flights in the arctic. In the MBL over the Arctic Ocean, soluble bromide and active bromine were consistently elevated and ozone was depleted. Ozone depletion and active bromine enhancement were confined to the MBL that was capped by a temperature inversion at 200–500 m altitude. In ozone-depleted air, BrO rarely exceeded 10 pptv and was always substantially lower than soluble bromide that was as high as 40 pptv. BrCl was rarely enhanced above the 2 pptv detection limit, either in the MBL, over Alaska, or in the arctic free troposphere

Liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 is associated with improved pancreatic insulin secretion in adults with overweight and obesity

Aims: To examine association of liver-expressed antimicrobial peptide 2 (LEAP2), an endogenous ghrelin antagonist with anorexiant effects, to key cardiometabolic risk factors in people with overweight and obesity. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we sought to identify associations between LEAP2 levels and cardiometabolic risk factors, including body composition (dual X-ray absorptiometry), insulin and glucose metabolism (oral and intravenous glucose tolerance tests and hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamps), plasma lipids and inflammation markers (ELISA and multiplex assays). Results: In 65 participants with overweight or obesity (63.1% male, mean age 31.3 ± 8.5 years), LEAP2 levels were associated with total body fat, but not with body mass index or waist-hip ratio in both univariable and age- and sex-adjusted models (P < 0.05). Higher LEAP2 level was also positively associated with higher insulin secretion in univariable (P = 0.047) and multivariable models adjusted for age, sex and body fat (P = 0.03), but not with fasting glucose levels (P ≥ 0.05). Higher LEAP2 levels were associated insulin resistance (P = 0.07) after adjustment for age and sex, but the association disappeared after an additional adjustment for body fat (P = 0.2). There was an inverse association between LEAP2 levels and nuclear factor kappa-B (NFκB) activity in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells in age-, sex- and body fat-adjusted models (P = 0.04). There were no associations with cardiovascular risk factors (lipids, blood pressure) or other inflammation markers. Conclusions: These results provide important insights into the association between LEAP2 and cardiometabolic health in a high-risk population of individuals with overweight and obesity. This is a first report of an association between LEAP2 and insulin secretion, insulin sensitivity and NFκB activity. LEAP2 may represent an important potential therapeutic target to promote insulin secretion in people with type 2 diabetes and obesity

Nighttime removal of NOx in the summer marine boundary layer

The nitrate radical, NO3, and dinitrogen pentoxide, N2O5, are two important components of nitrogen oxides that occur predominantly at night in the lower troposphere. Because a large fraction of NO2 reacts to form NO3 and N2O5 during the course of a night, their fate is an important determining factor to the overall fate of NOx (=NO and NO2). As a comprehensive test of nocturnal nitrogen oxide chemistry, concentrations of O3, NO, NO2, NO3, N2O5, HNO3 and a host of other relevant compounds, aerosol abundance and composition, and meteorological conditions were measured in the marine boundary layer from the NOAA research vessel Ronald H. Brown off the East Coast of the United States as part of the New England Air Quality Study (NEAQS) during the summer of 2002. The results confirm the prominent role of NO3 and N2O5 in converting NOx to HNO3 at night with an efficiency on par with daytime photochemical conversion. The findings demonstrate the large role of nighttime chemistry in determining the NOx budget and consequent production of ozone. INDEX TERMS: 0322 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Constituent sources and sinks; 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution—urban and regional (0305); 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere—composition and chemistry. Citation: Brown, S. S., et al. (2004), Nighttime removal of NOx in the summer marine boundary layer, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L07108, doi:10.1029/2004GL01941

Buprenorphine and its formulations: a comprehensive review.

Buprenorphine, a novel long-acting analgesic, was developed with the intention of two purposes: analgesia and opioid use disorder. Regarding its pharmacodynamics, it is a partial agonist at mu receptors, an inverse agonist at kappa receptors, and an antagonist at delta receptors. For the purpose of analgesia, three formulations of buprenorphine were developed: IV/IM injectable formulation (Buprenex®), transdermal patch formulation (Butrans®), and buccal film formulation (Belbuca®). Related to opioid dependence, the formulations developed were subcutaneous extended release (Sublocade®), subdermal implant (Probuphine®), and sublingual tablets (Subutex®). Lastly, in order to avoid misuse of buprenorphine for opioid dependence, two combination formulations paired with naloxone were developed: film formulation (Suboxone®) and tablet formulation (Zubsolv®). In this review, we present details of each formulation along with their similarities and differences between each other and clinical considerations

Open Access Follow-up Care for Early Breast Cancer: A Randomised Controlled Quality of Life Analysis

This study evaluated the acceptability of a supportive model of follow-up. One hundred and twelve women recovering from breast cancer were randomised to receive standard breast clinic aftercare (Control n=56) or on demand by open access aftercare by breast care nurses (Intervention n=56). Participants attended a support-based psycho-educational program delivered in four half day group sessions. Three quality of life questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30, QLQ-BR23, HADS) were administered at baseline and 6-monthly intervals for two years. Multilevel linear regression modelling methods were used for evaluation. Age was found to be a statistically significant predictor of quality of life in several sub-scales. Increasing age was negatively associated with sexual functioning, systematic therapy side effects and physical functioning, and positively associated with future perspective. Aftercare assignment was not found to be a statistically significant predictor. Women treated for early breast cancer were not disadvantaged by allocation to the open access supportive care model in terms of quality of life experienced. The model for follow-up was demonstrated to be a feasible alternative to routinized hospital based follow-up and adds to the evidence for stratified follow-up for low risk cancer patients, incorporating self-management education. Stratified follow-up pathways are viewed as a preferable approach

Entrepreneurial sons, patriarchy and the Colonels' experiment in Thessaly, rural Greece

Existing studies within the field of institutional entrepreneurship explore how entrepreneurs influence change in economic institutions. This paper turns the attention of scholarly inquiry on the antecedents of deinstitutionalization and more specifically, the influence of entrepreneurship in shaping social institutions such as patriarchy. The paper draws from the findings of ethnographic work in two Greek lowland village communities during the military Dictatorship (1967–1974). Paradoxically this era associated with the spread of mechanization, cheap credit, revaluation of labour and clear means-ends relations, signalled entrepreneurial sons’ individuated dissent and activism who were now able to question the Patriarch’s authority, recognize opportunities and act as unintentional agents of deinstitutionalization. A ‘different’ model of institutional change is presented here, where politics intersects with entrepreneurs, in changing social institutions. This model discusses the external drivers of institutional atrophy and how handling dissensus (and its varieties over historical time) is instrumental in enabling institutional entrepreneurship

Responsive Operations for Key Services (ROKS): A Modular, Low SWaP Quantum Communications Payload

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a theoretically proven future-proof secure encryption method that inherits its security from fundamental physical principles. With a proof-of-concept QKD payload having flown on the Micius satellite since 2016, efforts have intensified globally. Craft Prospect, working with a number of UK organisations, has been focused on miniaturising the technologies that enable QKD so that they may be used in smaller platforms including nanosatellites. The significant reduction of size, and therefore the cost of launching quantum communication technologies either on a dedicated platform or hosted as part of a larger optical communications will improve potential access to quantum encryption on a relatively quick timescale. The Responsive Operations for Key Services (ROKS) mission seeks to be among the first to send a QKD payload on a CubeSat into low Earth orbit, demonstrating the capabilities of newly developed modular quantum technologies. The ROKS payload comprises a quantum source module that supplies photons randomly in any of four linear polarisation states fed from a quantum random number generator; an acquisition, pointing, and tracking system to fine-tune alignment of the quantum source beam with an optical ground station; an imager that will detect cloud cover autonomously; and an onboard computer that controls and monitors the other modules, which manages the payload and assures the overall performance and security of the system. Each of these modules have been developed with low Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) for CubeSats, but with interoperability in mind for other satellite form factors. We present each of the listed components, together with the initial test results from our test bench and the performance of our protoflight models prior to initial integration with the 6U CubeSat platform systems. The completed ROKS payload will be ready for flight at the end of 2022, with various modular components already being baselined for flight and integrated into third party communication missions

The connectome of the adult Drosophila mushroom body provides insights into function.

Making inferences about the computations performed by neuronal circuits from synapse-level connectivity maps is an emerging opportunity in neuroscience. The mushroom body (MB) is well positioned for developing and testing such an approach due to its conserved neuronal architecture, recently completed dense connectome, and extensive prior experimental studies of its roles in learning, memory, and activity regulation. Here, we identify new components of the MB circuit in Drosophila, including extensive visual input and MB output neurons (MBONs) with direct connections to descending neurons. We find unexpected structure in sensory inputs, in the transfer of information about different sensory modalities to MBONs, and in the modulation of that transfer by dopaminergic neurons (DANs). We provide insights into the circuitry used to integrate MB outputs, connectivity between the MB and the central complex and inputs to DANs, including feedback from MBONs. Our results provide a foundation for further theoretical and experimental work