A serial queuing model for the Navy Advanced Traceability and Control (ATAC) system

The purpose of this thesis was to develop a preliminary simulation model of the Advanced Traceability and Control (ATAC) process. The motivation was the need to evaluate significant policy decisions such as, Defense Management Review Decision (DMRD) 901's "ship or hold" decision. An analysis of the operation of ATAC and the data base maintained by Navy Material Transportation Office (NAVMTO) were made to provide necessary details for constructing the model. Significant data base problems were discovered that precluded the development of an elaborate simulation model.. Although the simulation model is very simple, it does show that more detailed and accurate ATAC data are needed to effectively measure and monitor the ATAC system.http://archive.org/details/serialqueuingmod00dryeLieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

History, Play, and the Public: Wikipedia in the University Classroom

A lesson plan is provided that describes a student group activity project on the use of Wikipedia in university-level history education, including having students write and edit Wikipedia articles

Mitigation of Radiation Induced Pulmonary Vascular Injury by Delayed Treatment with Captopril

Background and Objective: A single dose of 10 Gy radiation to the thorax of rats results in decreased total lung angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity, pulmonary artery distensibility and distal vascular density while increasing pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) at 2 months post-exposure. In this study, we evaluate the potential of a renin-angiotensin system (RAS) modulator, the ACE inhibitor captopril, to mitigate this pulmonary vascular damage. Methods: Rats exposed to 10 Gy thorax only irradiation and age-matched controls were studied 2 months after exposure, during the development of radiation pneumonitis. Rats were treated, either immediately or 2 weeks after radiation exposure, with two doses of the ACE inhibitor, captopril, dissolved in their drinking water. To determine pulmonary vascular responses, we measured pulmonary haemodynamics, lung ACE activity, pulmonary arterial distensibility and peripheral vessel density. Results: Captopril, given at a vasoactive, but not a lower dose, mitigated radiation-induced pulmonary vascular injury. More importantly, these beneficial effects were observed even if drug therapy was delayed for up to 2 weeks after exposure. Conclusions: Captopril resulted in a reduction in pulmonary vascular injury that supports its use as a radiomitigator after an unexpected radiological event such as a nuclear accident

Making a Third Space for Student Voices in Two Academic Libraries

When we think of voices in the library, we have tended to think of them as disruptive, something to control and manage for the sake of the total library environment. The stereotype of the shushing librarian pervades public perception, creating expectations about the kinds of spaces libraries want to create. Voices are not always disruptive, however. Indeed, developing an academic voice is one of the main challenges facing incoming university students, and libraries can play an important role in helping these students find their academic voices. Two initiatives at two different academic libraries are explored here: a Secrets Wall, where students are invited to write and share a secret during exam time while seeing, reading, commenting on the secrets of others; and a librarian and historian team-taught course called History on the Web, which brings together information literacy and the study of history in the digital age. This article examines both projects and considers how critical perspectives on voice and identity might guide our instructional practices, helping students to learn to write themselves into the university. Further, it describes how both the Secrets Wall and the History on the Web projects intentionally create a kind of “Third Space” designed specifically so students can enter it, negotiate with it, interrogate it, and eventually come to be part of it

Vascular Injury After Whole Thoracic X-Ray Irradiation in the Rat

Purpose To study vascular injury after whole thoracic irradiation with single sublethal doses of X-rays in the rat and to develop markers that might predict the severity of injury. Methods and Materials Rats that received 5- or 10-Gy thorax-only irradiation and age-matched controls were studied at 3 days, 2 weeks, and 1, 2, 5, and 12 months. Several pulmonary vascular parameters were evaluated, including hemodynamics, vessel density, total lung angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, and right ventricular hypertrophy. Results By 1 month, the rats in the 10-Gy group had pulmonary vascular dropout, right ventricular hypertrophy, increased pulmonary vascular resistance, increased dry lung weights, and decreases in total lung angiotensin-converting enzyme activity, as well as pulmonary artery distensibility. In contrast, irradiation with 5 Gy resulted in only a modest increase in right ventricular weight and a reduction in lung angiotensin-converting enzyme activity. Conclusion In a previous investigation using the same model, we observed that recovery from radiation-induced attenuation of pulmonary vascular reactivity occurred. In the present study, we report that deterioration results in several vascular parameters for ≤1 year after 10 Gy, suggesting sustained remodeling of the pulmonary vasculature. Our data support clinically relevant injuries that appear in a time- and dose-related manner after exposure to relatively low radiation doses

Making a Third Space for Student Voices in Two Academic Libraries

The article examines initiatives including an activity Secrets Wall in which students secretly write secret during exam times and and History on the Web, librarian and historian team-taught course. Topics discussed include creation of third space for student voices, secrets wall offered at the University of Iowa Main Library to help students in final exam and secret wall as a third space for students to offer outlet for authentic self-expression and dialogic information