Constrictive pericarditis and rheumatoid nodules with severe aortic incompetence.

The case of a female patient presenting with constrictive rheumatoid pericarditis and aortic incompetence secondary to valvular rheumatoid nodules is described along with a review of the literature with the aim to highlight this rare cause of aortic insufficiency

Assessing the Impact of Interactive Technology on Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Training

The presentation will discuss the current research being conducted by the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide’s Fire Science department concerning use of technology-advanced educational software at the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Fire Training Research Center (FTRC). The research design is mixed methods, using quantitative data analysis to evaluate student survey results, integrated with qualitative observation and participation data, to create a sequential exploratory research strategy.DFW FTRC means to combine the latest scientific fire research and hands-on training with technology-advanced educational software. It is used as part of the aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) educational curriculum to familiarize students with the unique features of various aircraft and airports; thus, students can visualize actual disaster scenarios at specific airports with certain aircraft. This study explores the extent to which the interactive learning technology creates a better learning experience for students and how it may translate to more effective ARFF response scenarios

Reducing the Effect of Transducer Mount Induced Noise on Aeroacoustic Wind Tunnel Testing Data with a New Transducer Mount Design

Flight vehicle aeroacoustic environments induced during transonic and supersonic flight are usually predicted by subscale wind tunnel testing utilizing high frequency miniature pressure transducers. In order to minimize noise induced by the measurement itself, transducer flush mounting with the model surface is very important. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has accomplished flushness in recent testing campaigns via use of a transducer holder that can be machined and sanded. A single hole in the holder allows the flow medium to interact with the transducer diaphragm. Noise is induced by the resulting cavity however, and is a challenge to remove in post-processing. A new holder design has been developed that minimizes the effects of this transducer mount induced noise (XMIN) by reducing the resonance amplitude or increasing its resonance frequency beyond the range of interest. This paper describes a test conducted at the NASA/George C. Marshall Space Flight Center Trisonic Wind Tunnel intended to verify the effectiveness of this design. The results from this test show that this new transducer holder design does significantly reduce the influence of XMIN on measured fluctuating pressure levels without degrading a transducer's ability to accurately measure the noise external to the model

Interactive 3-D Software in Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Training

As the nexus between aviation, fire science, and emergency management becomes increasingly more complex, technology can be used to augment training and avoid risk while maintaining authenticity with situational reality. In Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF), the manner in which the learning content is effectively imparted to the student-professional can make all the difference in a successful emergency response. The interactive 3-D software developed exclusively for Dallas/Fort Worth Fire Training Research Center (DFW FTRC) is part of a curriculum designed to educated and train ARFF professionals in life-saving strategies and tactics. Through a 2013 Memorandum of Understanding, the world’s leading aviation and aerospace university, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), and DFW FTRC have created a unique partnership for the conduct of research to explore emerging issues in the discipline. Researchers from ERAU designed this collaborative study to examine how effectively the DFW FTRC virtual technology software in the classroom translated knowledge and accelerated haptic skill transfer to the hands-on portion of ARFF training at the facility. The qualitative approach integrated classroom observations with key informant interviews to create a single-case study exploratory research strategy. Emergent themes led to a richer understanding of experiential learning, particularly key differences among individual student characteristics and instructional culture that influence student proficiency and attitudes. Most noteworthy were: a larger interest among international over domestic students, age/generational difficulties with new technology, and an apprehension among ARFF professionals to transition from traditional tabletop exercises to virtual reality. Variability also existed within the instructional culture, including inconsistencies of software integration in the classroom, instructor proficiency with the software, and adult and group teaching theories. The study also found that knowledge and accelerated haptic skill transfer were positively associated with the virtual reality software, and that interactive participation and memory reinforcement were supported by the findings. Time required for curriculum development advancing further integration of the software into the training program was a significant administrative and operational challenge. Software recommendations included options that allow scenario-specific applications and variable incident conditions, thus enriching each classroom learning experience. Marketing of this software remains the final task for DFW FTRC, as cost-effective distribution could revolutionize training across public safety. Future research should also evaluate pedagogy to categorize learning constructivism using simulator-based and software-supported education and training. How this may be applied to public safety professions where risk is an inherent part of training is a crucial need in the industry

Searching for Troposphere-Mesosphere Connections Using the ALO-USU Rayleigh-Scatter Lidar

The paucity of whole-atmosphere data introduces significant challenges that hinder the study of atmospheric couplings. The mesosphere in particular is a low-information void between the lower and upper atmosphere, which may prevent us from a complete realization of vertical interactions. The Rayleighscatter lidar at Utah State University’s Atmospheric Lidar Observatory (ALO-USU; 41.74° N, 111.81° W), operated with little interruption from 1993 to 2004, providing a valuable temporal and spatial (45 – 90 km) resource in this realm. When studied alongside a multitude of other atmospheric data sources, possible unforeseen connections or insights may result. In this study, an adaptive fit is applied to near-stratopause temperature data from the lidar and several assimilative models to identify simultaneous abnormal changes. A possible connection with tropospheric events is investigated as an example of future efforts that can be made to synthesize similar environmental figures where available

Delays in help seeking at the onset of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic synthesis of qualitative literature

A systematic review of qualitative peer-reviewed publications was conducted to identify drivers of and barriers to help-seeking behaviour in adults with new-onset rheumatoid arthritis (RA). 1058 abstracts were searched to identify relevant publications. 21 relevant publications were identified assessed for quality and subjected to analysis informed by thematic and grounded theory frameworks. Several interacting themes were identified including the early experience of symptoms in relation to disease prototypes, minimising the impact of symptoms, speaking to others, gathering information and seeking alternative treatments, and issues related to accessing health services and attitudes towards healthcare professionals. Many people suggested that they had little knowledge of RA before diagnosis, believing RA to be a mild condition that affected older people. These misperceptions made correct symptom interpretation unlikely. Normalising and ignoring symptoms led people to delay in help-seeking. However, when symptoms impacted on daily activities help was usually sought. Individual interpretations of symptoms are both drivers of and barriers to help seeking. Targeted public health interventions are required to inform symptom interpretation and reduce delays

Footprints of the Newly-Discovered Vela Supernova in Antarctic Ice Cores?

The recently-discovered, nearby young supernova remnant in the southeast corner of the older Vela supernova remnant may have been seen in measurements of nitrate abundances in Antarctic ice cores. Such an interpretation of this twenty-year-old ice-core data would provide a more accurate dating of this supernova than is possible purely using astrophysical techniques. It permits an inference of the supernova4s ${}^{44}$Ti yield purely on an observational basis, without reference to supernova modelling. The resulting estimates of the supernova distance and light-arrival time are 200 pc and 700 years ago, implying an expansion speed of 5,000 km/s for the supernova remnant. Such an expansion speed has been argued elsewhere to imply the explosion to have been a 15 $M_\odot$ Type II supernova. This interpretation also adds new evidence to the debate as to whether nearby supernovae can measurably affect nitrate abundances in polar ice cores.Comment: 12 pages, TeX, 2 enclosed figures. Updated references, and more detailed discussion of how inferences are made of supernova propertie

Overview of the Space Launch System Ascent Aeroacoustic Environment Test Program

Characterization of accurate flight vehicle unsteady aerodynamics is critical for component and secondary structure vibroacoustic design. The Aerosciences Branch at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center has conducted a test at the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Unitary Plan Wind Tunnels (UPWT) to determine such ascent aeroacoustic environments for the Space Launch System (SLS). Surface static pressure measurements were also collected to aid in determination of local environments for venting, CFD substantiation, and calibration of the flush air data system located on the launch abort system. Additionally, this test supported a NASA Engineering and Safety Center study of alternate booster nose caps. Testing occurred during two test campaigns: August - September 2013 and December 2013 - January 2014. Four primary model configurations were tested for ascent aeroacoustic environment definition. The SLS Block 1 vehicle was represented by a 2.5% full stack model and a 4% truncated model. Preliminary Block 1B payload and manned configurations were also tested, using 2.5% full stack and 4% truncated models respectively. This test utilized the 11 x 11 foot transonic and 9 x 7 foot supersonic tunnel sections at the ARC UPWT to collect data from Mach 0.7 through 2.5 at various total angles of attack. SLS Block 1 design environments were developed primarily using these data. SLS Block 1B preliminary environments have also been prepared using these data. This paper discusses the test and analysis methodology utilized, with a focus on the unsteady data collection and processing

Advanced Diagnostics for the Study of Linearly Polarized Emission. II: Application to Diffuse Interstellar Radio Synchrotron Emission

Diagnostics of polarized emission provide us with valuable information on the Galactic magnetic field and the state of turbulence in the interstellar medium, which cannot be obtained from synchrotron intensity alone. In Paper I (Herron et al. 2017b), we derived polarization diagnostics that are rotationally and translationally invariant in the $Q$-$U$ plane, similar to the polarization gradient. In this paper, we apply these diagnostics to simulations of ideal magnetohydrodynamic turbulence that have a range of sonic and Alfv\'enic Mach numbers. We generate synthetic images of Stokes $Q$ and $U$ for these simulations, for the cases where the turbulence is illuminated from behind by uniform polarized emission, and where the polarized emission originates from within the turbulent volume. From these simulated images we calculate the polarization diagnostics derived in Paper I, for different lines of sight relative to the mean magnetic field, and for a range of frequencies. For all of our simulations, we find that the polarization gradient is very similar to the generalized polarization gradient, and that both trace spatial variations in the magnetoionic medium for the case where emission originates within the turbulent volume, provided that the medium is not supersonic. We propose a method for distinguishing the cases of emission coming from behind or within a turbulent, Faraday rotating medium, and a method to partly map the rotation measure of the observed region. We also speculate on statistics of these diagnostics that may allow us to constrain the physical properties of an observed turbulent region.Comment: 34 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in Ap