Design verification test matrix development for the STME thrust chamber assembly

This report presents the results of the test matrix development for design verification at the component level for the National Launch System (NLS) space transportation main engine (STME) thrust chamber assembly (TCA) components including the following: injector, combustion chamber, and nozzle. A systematic approach was used in the development of the minimum recommended TCA matrix resulting in a minimum number of hardware units and a minimum number of hot fire tests

Toxicity of Sediments in the Illinois Waterway: Implications for the Proposed Increases in Diversion of Lake Michigan Water into the Illinois Waterway

issued July 31, 1983Report issued on: July 31, 1983PROJECT COMPLTETICtr REPORT Illinois Departmentt of Transportation Division of Water Resources STIL-TRWRTOXSED39483INHS Technical Report prepared for Illinois Department of Transportatio

Outcomes of ovulation induction-intrauterine insemination in lean, overweight, and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective: To compare pregnancy rates between lean, overweight, and obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) undergoing ovulation induction-intrauterine insemination (OI-IUI). Design: Retrospective cohort study Setting: Academic training program Patient(s): All women with PCOS undergoing OI-IUI from January 2000 to November 2013. Interventions: Ovulation induction-intrauterine insemination with oral (oral OI-IUI) or combined oral and injectable (combined OI-IUI) agents. Main Outcome Measures: Clinical pregnancy rates (CPR) per IUI were compared in 198 women undergoing oral OI-IUI and combined OI-IUI. Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate the odds of clinical pregnancy while adjusting for potential confounders. Results were expressed as adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI), using lean women as the referent population. Results: In lean PCOS patients undergoing combined OI-IUI, the unadjusted CPR was 52%; CPR was comparatively lower in overweight (22%), obese (27%) and morbidly obese (21%) women for all cycles. Adjusting for age and duration of infertility, the odds of clinical pregnancy after combined OI-IUI was significantly diminished in overweight (OR=0.27 CI=0.12-0.63), obese (OR=0.41, CI=0.20-0.83) and morbidly obese women (OR=0.33 CI=0.14-0.78) as compared to the lean PCOS referent. A similar but non-significant trend was identified in women undergoing oral OI-IUI. Conclusion: Lean women with PCOS have a higher CPR after combined OI-IUI as compared to their overweight, obese, and morbidly obese counterparts. Patients with a lean PCOS phenotype may preferentially benefit from this treatment approach

High-speed 2D light-sheet fluorescence microscopy enables quantification of spatially varying calcium dynamics in ventricular cardiomyocytes

Introduction: Reduced synchrony of calcium release and t-tubule structure organization in individual cardiomyocytes has been linked to loss of contractile strength and arrhythmia. Compared to confocal scanning techniques widely used for imaging calcium dynamics in cardiac muscle cells, light-sheet fluorescence microscopy enables fast acquisition of a 2D plane in the sample with low phototoxicity. Methods: A custom light-sheet fluorescence microscope was used to achieve dual-channel 2D timelapse imaging of calcium and the sarcolemma, enabling calcium sparks and transients in left and right ventricle cardiomyocytes to be correlated with the cell microstructure. Imaging electrically stimulated dual-labelled cardiomyocytes immobilized with para-nitroblebbistatin, a non-phototoxic, low fluorescence contraction uncoupler, with sub-micron resolution at 395 fps over a 38 μm × 170 µm FOV allowed characterization of calcium spark morphology and 2D mapping of the calcium transient time-to-half-maximum across the cell. Results: Blinded analysis of the data revealed sparks with greater amplitude in left ventricle myocytes. The time for the calcium transient to reach half-maximum amplitude in the central part of the cell was found to be, on average, 2 ms shorter than at the cell ends. Sparks co-localized with t-tubules were found to have significantly longer duration, larger area and spark mass than those further away from t-tubules. Conclusion: The high spatiotemporal resolution of the microscope and automated image-analysis enabled detailed 2D mapping and quantification of calcium dynamics of n = 60 myocytes, with the findings demonstrating multi-level spatial variation of calcium dynamics across the cell, supporting the dependence of synchrony and characteristics of calcium release on the underlying t-tubule structure

Report on potential sampling biases in the LaMEVE database of global volcanism

Abstract We investigate whether the disproportionate contribution of individual volcanoes in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruption database (LaMEVE) potentially compromises the treatment of LaMEVE as a globally representative database of volcanic activity. We find that 41% of volcanoes which contribute at least one eruption to LaMEVE only contribute one eruption (10% of all eruptions), and the six most prolific volcanoes contribute 11% of eruptions. However, there is no systematic bias with respect to the eruption magnitude or date for volcanoes contributing one eruption. Also, no bias can be discerned for when the smallest or largest eruption at a volcano occurs in its eruptive record. Half of the volcanoes contributing one or more eruptions to the LaMEVE database had their first eruption prior to 36.4 ka. We find LaMEVE is representative – while there are well-known issues of eruption under-reporting, LaMEVE is not overly biased by the activity of a few volcanoes

Report on potential sampling biases in the LaMEVE database of global volcanism

Abstract We investigate whether the disproportionate contribution of individual volcanoes in the Large Magnitude Explosive Volcanic Eruption database (LaMEVE) potentially compromises the treatment of LaMEVE as a globally representative database of volcanic activity. We find that 41% of volcanoes which contribute at least one eruption to LaMEVE only contribute one eruption (10% of all eruptions), and the six most prolific volcanoes contribute 11% of eruptions. However, there is no systematic bias with respect to the eruption magnitude or date for volcanoes contributing one eruption. Also, no bias can be discerned for when the smallest or largest eruption at a volcano occurs in its eruptive record. Half of the volcanoes contributing one or more eruptions to the LaMEVE database had their first eruption prior to 36.4 ka. We find LaMEVE is representative – while there are well-known issues of eruption under-reporting, LaMEVE is not overly biased by the activity of a few volcanoes

Static displacements and chemical correlations in alloys

Recent experiments in metallic solid solutions have revealed interesting correlations between static pair-displacements and the ordering behavior of these alloys. This paper discusses a simple theoretical model which successfully explains these observations and which provides a natural framework for analyzing experimental measurements of pair-displacements and chemical correlations in solid solutions. The utility and scope of this model is demonstrated by analyzing results of experiments on $Ni-Fe$ and $Cr-Fe$ alloys and results of simulations of $Cu-Au$ and $Cu-Ag$ alloys.Comment: 12 page

Effect of Spray-Dried Plasma and Dried Porcine Solubles on the Growth Performance of Weanling Pigs Raised in Different Health-Status Environments

Spray-dried plasma can advantageously replace whey on a protein basis in Phase I diets for early-weaned pigs, although less so in a ‘clean’ than in a ‘dirty’ environment. Contrary to previous trials, growth performance of weanling pigs was not affected when dried porcine solubles replaced whey protein