A preliminary design and analysis of an advanced heat-rejection system for an extreme altitude advanced variable cycle diesel engine installed in a high-altitude advanced research platform

Satellite surveillance in such areas as the Antarctic indicates that from time to time concentration of ozone grows and shrinks. An effort to obtain useful atmospheric data for determining the causes of ozone depletion would require a flight capable of reaching altitudes of at least 100,000 ft and flying subsonically during the sampling portion of the mission. A study of a heat rejection system for an advanced variable cycle diesel (AVCD) engine was conducted. The engine was installed in an extreme altitude, high altitude advanced research platform. Results indicate that the waste heat from an AVCD engine propulsion system can be rejected at the maximum cruise altitude of 120,000 ft. Fifteen performance points, reflecting the behavior of the engine as the vehicle proceeded through the mission, were used to characterize the heat exchanger operation. That portion of the study is described in a appendix titled, 'A Detailed Study of the Heat Rejection System for an Extreme Altitude Atmospheric Sampling Aircraft,' by a consultant, Mr. James Bourne, Lytron, Incorporated

Multiple environmental controls explain global patterns in soil animal communities

Soil animals play important roles in ecosystem functioning and stability, but the environmental controls on their communities are not fully understood. In this study, we compiled a dataset of soil animal communities for which the abundance and body mass of multiple soil animal groups were recorded. The mass–abundance scaling relationships were then used to investigate multiple environmental controls on soil animal community composition. The data reveal latitudinal shifts from high abundances of small soil animals at high latitudes to greater relative abundances of large soil animals at low latitudes. A hierarchical linear mixed effects model was applied to reveal the environmental variables shaping these latitudinal trends. The final hierarchical model identified mean annual temperature, soil pH and soil organic carbon content as key environmental controls explaining global mass–abundance scaling relationships in soil animal communities (R2c = 0.828, Ngroup = 117). Such relationships between soil biota with climate and edaphic conditions have been previously identified for soil microbial, but not soil animal, communities at a global scale. More comprehensive global soil community datasets are needed to better understand the generality of these relationships over a broader range of global ecosystems and soil animal groups

Study of the Outcomes and Impacts of the Global Forum on Migration and Development and Civil Society Days

In November 2011, the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) and accompanying Civil Society Days (CSD) completed their fifth year of operation, with the aim of improving migration policy coherence and enhancing the benefits of migration to sending and receiving countries, and to migrants themselves. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the largest non-governmental donor to this process, commissioned this study to retrospectively assess the outcomes and impact of the CSD and GFMD on policies, practices, issue framing, and government-civil society cooperation; and to prospectively draw lessons learned for the future of the GFMD and CSD. The evaluation took place from November 2011 through September 2012, allowing the team to observe the CSD and GFMD in Geneva, conduct an in-depth case study in Mexico, distribute online surveys to participants, conduct interviews at the UN offices in New York, and conduct key informant interviews by phone. Using a mixed method approach, combining quantitative survey data with qualitative key informant interviews and an extensive document review, the team has worked to triangulate data and strengthen the validity of findings. This study is geared towards the main stakeholders of the GFMD and CSD, including governments, civil society representatives, and donors. It is hoped that the aforementioned stakeholders will be able to utilize the findings, conclusions, and recommendations within this report to better inform their work in migration and development moving forward -- both within and outside of the GFMD and CSD processes

Medical Support and Findings of the Skylab Program

Specific equipment used in carrying out Skylab medical experiments is outlined and illustrated. Also included are reviews of the techniques, frequency, and protocols of the tests designed to study the long term effects of weightlessness on the human body. In-flight investigations were an evaluation of the cardiovascular system, a study of metabolic activity, investigations in the field of neurophysiology, the determination of changes in body fluids, a precise measurement of total body metabolism, and a study of crew performance by use of a time and motion experiment. Significant data obtained from in-flight and postflight tests are outlined

‘Sleep-Walking Towards Segregation’? The Changing Ethnic Composition of English Schools, 1997-2003 – an Entry Cohort Analysis

There has been considerable public debate recently in England regarding levels of segregation (and changes in those levels) not only by neighbourhood but also in schools. Little data are available to evaluate claims that such segregation has been increasing in the country’s schools. This paper uses a data set released by the Department for Education and Skills which indicates the ethnic identity for every student in the entry cohorts for all English primary and secondary schools between 1997-8 (for primary and secondary schools respectively) and 2003. Analysis indicates that there has been some increase in segregation levels in some cities, but only to the expected extent given the changing relative size of the ethnic minority populations there. Segregation is relatively high there, but has only increased if the minority groups’ share of the entry cohorts has been increasing.ethnic segregation, schools

Trade Restrictions and Trade Reversal: Lessons from the U.S.-Canada Herring Dispute

This paper analyzes international trade in value added products when free trade and perfect competition in the market for an intermediate product, such as raw fish, are the exception rather than the rule. Current evidence from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) regarding disputes between countries, such as the V.S.-Canada dispute over trade in raw herring, suggests that bilateral trade in raw fish among major exporters of seafood products may not be completely free of structural and political barriers. The study presents models showing that restrictions on the exportation of raw fish from an exporting country can make possible monopsony behavior by fish processors in a rival exporting country and they outline the market behavior of the players under such circumstances. The analysis illustrates how, under such conditions, economic forces contribute to the creation of trade disputes. It further demonstrates how expansion of the demand for final product may, through trade reversal pressures, dilute the market power of the processor monopsony and make trade restriction policies irrelevant.roe herring, trade reversal, trade restrictions, monopsony, trade dispute, GATT, market imperfection, free trade, fishery management, comparative advantage reversal, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Relations/Trade,

Characterization of the airway epithelial bioelectric mechanisms associated with the effects of epithelium-derived relaxing factor in guinea pig-isolated trachea

In response to elevated serosal or mucosal tonicity, guinea-pig tracheal epithelium releases the non-nitric oxide, non-prostanoid, epithelium-derived relaxing factor (EpDRF), which subsequently diffuses to the underlying airway smooth muscle to initiate relaxation. Hypertonicity-induced smooth muscle relaxation via EpDRF involves epithelial Na+ and Cl- channels and is preceded by a depolarization of the transepithelial potential difference (Vms). By utilizing two different experimental systems, this study sought to characterize further the airway epithelial bioelectric mechanisms associated with the effects of EpDRF in guinea-pig isolated trachea.;First, this study attempted to elucidate which epithelial ion channels and/or transporters are involved in the depolarization of the Vms. This was accomplished by determining the effect of ion channel and transporter inhibitors on in vitro transepithelial short-circuit current responses to elevated mucosal tonicity in guinea-pig tracheal segments mounted in Ussing chambers. The data from these studies indicate that apical Na + channels and the basolateral Na+-K+-2Cl - cotransporter are intimately involved in the epithelial bioelectric response to elevated mucosal tonicity, and thus, may play an important role in the synthesis, release, and/or effects of EpDRF.;Secondly, this study sought to determine the consequences of altered epithelial ion transport, following LPS-treatment (4 mg/kg, i.p.; 18 hr post-treatment), on EpDRF-induced smooth muscle relaxation and its associated bioelectric events as well as airway reactivity to methacholine (MCh). In vitro tracheal smooth muscle contractile and relaxant responses as well as V ms responses were measured utilizing the isolated and modified isolated, perfused trachea apparatuses while the two-chambered, whole-body plethysmograph was used to measure in vivo airway reactivity. This study has shown that EpDRF-induced smooth muscle relaxation and its associated bioelectric events are either increased, decreased, or not changed following LPS-induced alterations of epithelial ion transport. In addition, LPS-treatment causes in vivo airway hyporeactivity to MCh. These results suggest that the effects of EpDRF on smooth muscle reactivity are modulated by changes in the electrical activity of the epithelium which can ultimately impact on airway reactivity to MCh