Micro-fluid exchange coupling apparatus

In a macro-fluid exchange, a hollow needle, such as a syringe needle, is provided for penetrating the fluid conduit of the animal. The syringe needle is coupled to a plenum chamber having an inlet and outlet port. The plenum chamber is coupled to the syringe needle via the intermediary of a standard quick disconnect coupling fitting. The plenum chamber is carried at the end of a drive rod which is coupled to a micrometer drive head. The micrometer drive head is slidably and pivotably coupled to a pedestal for adjusting the height and angle of inclination of the needle relative to a reference base support. The needle is positioned adjacent to the incised trachea or a blood vessel of a small animal and the micrometer drive head is operated for penetrating the fluid conduit of the animal

High Reynolds number tests of a Boeing BAC I airfoil in the Langley 0.3-meter transonic cryogenic tunnel

A wind tunnel investigation of an advanced-technology airfoil was conducted in the Langley 0.3-Meter Transonic Cryogenic Tunnel (TCT). This investigation represents the first in a series of NASA/U.X. industry two dimensional airfoil studies to be completed in the Advanced Technology Airfoil Test program. Test temperature was varied from ambient to about 100 K at pressures ranging from about 1.2 to 6.0 atm. Mach number was varied from about 0.40 to 0.80. These variables provided a Reynolds number (based on airfoil chord) range from about .0000044 to .00005. This investigation was specifically designed to: (1) test a Boeing advanced airfoil from low to flight-equivalent Reynolds numbers; (2) provide the industry participant (Boeing) with experience in cryogenic wind-tunnel model design and testing techniques; and (3) demonstrate the suitability of the 0.3-m TCT as an airfoil test facility. All the objectives of the cooperative test were met. Data are included which demonstrate the effects of fixed transition, Mach number, and Reynolds number on the aerodynamic characteristics of the airfoil. Also included are remarks on the model design, the model structural integrity, and the overall test experience

Fall-related injury in the hospital

Background: 2 — 9% of adult patients who fall in the hospital suffer serious injury. There is little evidence-based literature to guide physicians when assessing hospitalized patients for fall-related injury. This study was designed to (1) identify demographic and/or clinical factors which predict serious fall-related injury among hospitalized adults, and (2) judge the adequacy of physician documentation related to adult patients who fell in the hospital. Methods: Nursing staff are required to report all hospital falls through our hospitals computerized Patient Safety Network (PSN). We performed a retrospective chart review of all PSN reported falls that occurred during 2010 in our 431-bed university acute care hospital. Patients less than18 years old, pregnant women, and prisoners were excluded. Results: Medical records were available for 286/293 (98%) of PSN-reported falls in 251 eligible patients. Falls occurred in 152 males (61%), and 99 females (39%). 48% of falls occurred while toileting. 25% (63/286) of falls were associated with injury, and 4% (11/286) with serious injury (laceration requiring closure or fracture). Compared to all fallers, patients with injury did not differ by gender (males 38/152 vs. females 25/99, p=0.96). Patients older than 64 years who fell were no more likely to suffer injury that younger adults (13/64 vs. 50/187, p = 0.31). In univariate analysis, patients who reported hitting their head, patients with pre-fall confusion, and patients who received narcotics on the day of fall were more likely to suffer injury (estimated odds ratios 6.04, 2.00 and 5.1, respectfully). In multivariate analysis, receiving a narcotic on the day of fall was the strongest predictor of injury (Table). 33% (21/63) of falls with injury had no physician documentation in the hospital record, and in only 21% (13/63) of cases, were falls with injury mentioned in the discharge summary. Conclusions: In this single-institution study, injury occurred in 25% of patients who fell, and serious injury in 4%. Compared to all falls, falls with injury did not vary by gender or age. Receiving a narcotic of the day of fall was the strongest predictor of injury. Physicians inconsistently provided medical record documentation of hospitalized patients who fell with injury.\u2

Narcotic administration and fall-related injury in the hospital: Implications for patient safety programs and providers

Objective: Identify factors that predict fall-related injury in hospitalized adults. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: 435-bed university hospital. Participants: Inpatients with reported falls in 2010. Results: Medical records were available for 286/293 (98%) of reported falls in 251 patients. 25% (63/286) of falls were associated with injury, 4% (11/286) with serious injury. Compared to all fallers, patients with injury did not differ by gender or age. In univariate analysis, patients who reported hitting their head, had pre-fall confusion, or who received narcotics within 24 hours before falling were more likely to suffer injury (estimated odds ratios 6.04, 2.00 and 5.1, respectfully). In multivariate analysis, receiving a narcotic prior to falling was the strongest predictor of injury (estimated odds ratio 5.59; 95% confidence intervals 2.14 — 14.65, p \u3c0.001). Conclusions: In this single-institution study, 25% of patients who fell suffered injury and 4% serious injury. Neither age nor gender predicted fall-related injury. Recent narcotic administration was the strongest predictor of injury. Strategies to prevent fall-related injury in the hospital should target patients receiving narcotics. When evaluating inpatients who have fallen, providers should be especially vigilant about injury in patients who have pre-fall confusion, hit their head, or have received recent narcotics

Heavy Ion Formation in Titan's Ionosphere: Magnetospheric Introduction of Free Oxygen and a Source of Titan's Aerosols?

Discovery by Cassini's plasma instrument of heavy positive and negative ions within Titan's upper atmosphere and ionosphere has advanced our understanding of ion neutral chemistry within Titan's upper atmosphere, primarily composed of molecular nitrogen, with approx.2.5% methane. The external energy flux transforms Titan's upper atmosphere and ionosphere into a medium rich in complex hydrocarbons, nitriles and haze particles extending from the surface to 1200 km altitudes. The energy sources are solar UV, solar X-rays, Saturn's magnetospheric ions and electrons, solar wind and shocked magnetosheath ions and electrons, galactic cosmic rays (CCR) and the ablation of incident meteoritic dust from Enceladus' E-ring and interplanetary medium. Here it is proposed that the heavy atmospheric ions detected in situ by Cassini for heights >950 km, are the likely seed particles for aerosols detected by the Huygens probe for altitudes <100km. These seed particles may be in the form of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) containing both carbon and hydrogen atoms CnHx. There could also be hollow shells of carbon atoms, such as C60, called fullerenes which contain no hydrogen. The fullerenes may compose a significant fraction of the seed particles with PAHs contributing the rest. As shown by Cassini, the upper atmosphere is bombarded by magnetospheric plasma composed of protons, H(2+) and water group ions. The latter provide keV oxygen, hydroxyl and water ions to Titan's upper atmosphere and can become trapped within the fullerene molecules and ions. Pickup keV N(2+), N(+) and CH(4+) can also be implanted inside of fullerenes. Attachment of oxygen ions to PAH molecules is uncertain, but following thermalization O(+) can interact with abundant CH4 contributing to the CO and CO2 observed in Titan's atmosphere. If an exogenic keV O(+) ion is implanted into the haze particles, it could become free oxygen within those aerosols that eventually fall onto Titan's surface. The process of freeing oxygen within aerosols could be driven by cosmic ray interactions with aerosols at all heights. This process could drive pre-biotic chemistry within the descending aerosols. Cosmic ray interactions with grains at the surface, including water frost depositing on grains from cryovolcanism, would further add to abundance of trapped free oxygen. Pre-biotic chemistry could arise within surface microcosms of the composite organic-ice grains, in part driven by free oxygen in the presence of organics and any heat sources, thereby raising the astrobiological potential for microscopic equivalents of Darwin's "warm ponds" on Titan

Spectral, mineralogical, and geochemical variations across Home Plate, Gusev Crater, Mars indicate high and low temperature alteration

Over the last ~ 3 years in Gusev Crater, Mars, the Spirit rover observed coherent variations in color, mineralogy, and geochemistry across Home Plate, an ~ 80 m-diameter outcrop of basaltic tephra. Observations of Home Plate from orbit and from the summit of Husband Hill reveal clear differences in visible/near-infrared (VNIR) colors between its eastern and western regions that are consistent with mineralogical compositions indicated by Mössbauer spectrometer (MB) and by Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES). Pyroxene and magnetite dominate the east side, while olivine, nanophase Fe oxide (npOx) and glass are more abundant on the western side. Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) observations reveal that eastern Home Plate has higher Si/Mg, Al, Zn, Ni, and K, while Cl and Br are higher in the west. We propose that these variations are the result of two distinct alteration regimes that may or may not be temporally related: a localized, higher temperature recrystallization and alteration of the east side of Home Plate and lower temperature alteration of the western side that produced npOx

Wideband dual sphere detector of gravitational waves

We present the concept of a sensitive AND broadband resonant mass gravitational wave detector. A massive sphere is suspended inside a second hollow one. Short, high-finesse Fabry-Perot optical cavities read out the differential displacements of the two spheres as their quadrupole modes are excited. At cryogenic temperatures one approaches the Standard Quantum Limit for broadband operation with reasonable choices for the cavity finesses and the intracavity light power. A molybdenum detector of overall size of 2 m, would reach spectral strain sensitivities of 2x10^-23/Sqrt{Hz} between 1000 Hz and 3000 Hz.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Changed content. To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Electron Density Dropout Near Enceladus in the Context of Water-Vapor and Water-Ice

On 12 March 2008, the Cassini spacecraft made a close encounter with the Saturnian moon Enceladus, passing within 52 km of the moon. The spacecraft trajectory was intentionally-oriented in a southerly direction to create a close alignment with the intense water-dominated plumes emitted from the south polar region. During the passage, the Cassini Radio and Plasma Wave System (RPWS) detected two distinct radio signatures: 1) Impulses associated with small water-ice dust grain impacts and 2) an upper hybrid (UH) resonance emission that both intensified and displayed a sharp frequency decrease in the near-vicinity of the moon. The frequency decrease of the UH emission is associated with an unexpectedly sharp decrease in electron density from approximately 90 el/cubic cm to below 20 el/cubic cm that occurs on a time scale of a minute near the closest encounter with the moon. In this work, we consider a number of scenarios to explain this sharp electron dropout, but surmise that electron absorption by ice grains is the most likely process