Innovative Test Operations to Support Orion and Future Human Rated Missions

This paper describes how the Orion program is implementing new and innovative test approaches and strategies in an evolving development environment. The early flight test spacecraft are evolving in design maturity and complexity requiring significant changes in the ground test operations for each mission. The testing approach for EM-2 is planned to validate innovative Orion production acceptance testing methods to support human exploration missions in the future. Manufacturing and testing at Kennedy Space Center in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout facility will provide a seamless transition directly to the launch site avoiding transportation and checkout of the spacecraft from other locations

Electron-Transfer Reactions of Electronically Excited Zinc Tetraphenylporphyrin with Multinuclear Ruthenium Complexes

Transient absorption decay rate constants (k_(obs)) for reactions of electronically excited zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (^3ZnTPP*) with triruthenium oxo-centered acetate-bridged clusters [Ru_3(μ_3-O)(μ-CH_3CO_2)_6(CO)(L)]_2(μ-pz), where pz = pyrazine and L = 4-cyanopyridine (cpy) (1), pyridine (py) (2), or 4-dimethylaminopyridine (dmap) (3), were obtained from nanosecond flash-quench spectroscopic data (quenching constants, k_q, for ^3ZnTPP*/1–3 are 3.0 × 10^9, 1.5 × 10^9, and 1.1 × 10^9 M^(–1) s^(–1), respectively). Values of k_q for reactions of ^3ZnTPP* with 1–3 and Ru_3(μ_3-O)(μ-CH_3CO_2)_6(CO)(L)_2 [L = cpy (4), py (5), dmap (6)] monomeric analogues suggest that photoinduced electron transfer is the main pathway of excited-state decay; this mechanistic proposal is consistent with results from a photolysis control experiment, where growth of characteristic near-IR absorption bands attributable to reduced (mixed-valence) Ru_3O-cluster products were observed

Witnessing loss in the everyday: community buildings in Austerity Britain

This article is concerned with what happens to precarious community buildings in times of austerity. It responds to a landscape of capitalist realism, in which instrumental, economic forms of value are mobilised to justify the closure of ordinary buildings whose survival is not identified as a political priority. We focus on two London cases of a library and an elderly day centre under threat of closure, and trace how grammars of austerity rendered these buildings substitutable. Considering how abstract sociological conceptions of value/s can struggle to break into the embedded common sense of austerity, we explore how ethnographic practices of collaboration and attentiveness can help amplify alternative expressions of the meanings of these buildings for their communities. Enacting a form of ethnographic witnessing, which learns from Wittgenstein, we highlight the creative, vernacular registers and gestures of library users and day centre members, and we show how these were anchored in the buildings themselves. In this way, we supplement noisier, more hyperbolic accounts of the violence of austerity by amplifying quotidian responses, which express how ordinary buildings and the forms of life they sustain, matter

Adorno on Hope

I argue that Theodor W. Adorno’s philosophy articulates a radical conception of hope. According to Lear, radical hope is ‘directed toward a future goodness that transcends the current ability to understand what it is’ (2006:103). Given Adorno’s claim that the current world is radically evil, and that we cannot know or even imagine what the good is, it is plausible that his conception of hope must be radical in this sense. I develop this argument through an analysis of (i) Adorno’s engagement with Kant’s conception of hope, (ii) Adorno’s references to hope, and (iii) his critical diagnosis of a metaphysical need for hope. Having demonstrated that Adorno must reject both ordinary and Kantian hope, I examine why Adorno thinks that we still may have reasons for hope. I also show that Adorno’s conception of hope differs from Lear’s in one important respect

Inequalities in the use of secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease by socioeconomic status: evidence from the PURE observational study

Background: There is little evidence on the use of secondary prevention medicines for cardiovascular disease by socioeconomic groups in countries at different levels of economic development. Methods: We assessed use of antiplatelet, cholesterol, and blood-pressure-lowering drugs in 8492 individuals with self-reported cardiovascular disease from 21 countries enrolled in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Defining one or more drugs as a minimal level of secondary prevention, wealth-related inequality was measured using the Wagstaff concentration index, scaled from −1 (pro-poor) to 1 (pro-rich), standardised by age and sex. Correlations between inequalities and national health-related indicators were estimated. Findings: The proportion of patients with cardiovascular disease on three medications ranged from 0% in South Africa (95% CI 0–1·7), Tanzania (0–3·6), and Zimbabwe (0–5·1), to 49·3% in Canada (44·4–54·3). Proportions receiving at least one drug varied from 2·0% (95% CI 0·5–6·9) in Tanzania to 91·4% (86·6–94·6) in Sweden. There was significant (p<0·05) pro-rich inequality in Saudi Arabia, China, Colombia, India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe. Pro-poor distributions were observed in Sweden, Brazil, Chile, Poland, and the occupied Palestinian territory. The strongest predictors of inequality were public expenditure on health and overall use of secondary prevention medicines. Interpretation: Use of medication for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease is alarmingly low. In many countries with the lowest use, pro-rich inequality is greatest. Policies associated with an equal or pro-poor distribution include free medications and community health programmes to support adherence to medications. Funding: Full funding sources listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments)

Inequalities in the use of secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease by socioeconomic status: evidence from the PURE observational study.

BACKGROUND: There is little evidence on the use of secondary prevention medicines for cardiovascular disease by socioeconomic groups in countries at different levels of economic development. METHODS: We assessed use of antiplatelet, cholesterol, and blood-pressure-lowering drugs in 8492 individuals with self-reported cardiovascular disease from 21 countries enrolled in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Defining one or more drugs as a minimal level of secondary prevention, wealth-related inequality was measured using the Wagstaff concentration index, scaled from -1 (pro-poor) to 1 (pro-rich), standardised by age and sex. Correlations between inequalities and national health-related indicators were estimated. FINDINGS: The proportion of patients with cardiovascular disease on three medications ranged from 0% in South Africa (95% CI 0-1·7), Tanzania (0-3·6), and Zimbabwe (0-5·1), to 49·3% in Canada (44·4-54·3). Proportions receiving at least one drug varied from 2·0% (95% CI 0·5-6·9) in Tanzania to 91·4% (86·6-94·6) in Sweden. There was significant (p<0·05) pro-rich inequality in Saudi Arabia, China, Colombia, India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe. Pro-poor distributions were observed in Sweden, Brazil, Chile, Poland, and the occupied Palestinian territory. The strongest predictors of inequality were public expenditure on health and overall use of secondary prevention medicines. INTERPRETATION: Use of medication for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease is alarmingly low. In many countries with the lowest use, pro-rich inequality is greatest. Policies associated with an equal or pro-poor distribution include free medications and community health programmes to support adherence to medications. FUNDING: Full funding sources listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments)

EVOLUTION OF THE MLCT BAND FOLLOWING CHANGES IN OXIDATION STATE FOR HIGHLY COUPLED MIXED VALENCE COMPLEXES

Author Institution: The Ohio State University, Department of Chemistry, Columbus, Ohio 43210The MLCT band for a series of dimers composed of pairs of quadruply bonded metal-metal units ([MM(CH$_3$CO$_2$)$_3$]$_2$-$\mu_2$-oxalate; where M=Mo or W) is examined in both the neutral and +1 (mixed valence) states. The MLCT band for the neutral state of these complexes exhibits clear vibronic features that are greatly reduced in intensity upon generation of the mixed valence state. Utilizing the time dependent theory of spectroscopy as developed by Eric Heller, these results (together with Raman spectra and TD-DFT calculations) are used in order to draw conclusions concerning the potential energy surfaces involved in the MLCT transition for these complexes. In particular, we are concerned with changes to the offset of the ground and excited state potential energy surfaces that occur along the coordinates involved in the vibronic coupling and which accompany changes in oxidation state. The insight thus gained is used in order to understand the degree of electronic coupling present in mixed valence species and to comment on the classification of mixed valence complexes

Identifying the Marcus dimension of electron transfer from ab initio calculations

The Marcus model forms the foundation for all modern discussion of electron transfer (ET). In this model, ET results in a change in diabatic potential energy surfaces, separated along an ET nuclear coordinate. This coordinate accounts for all nuclear motion that promotes electron transfer. It is usually assumed to be dominated by a collective asymmetric vibrational motion of the redox sites involved in the ET. However, this coordinate is rarely quantitatively specified. Instead, it remains a nebulous concept, rather than a tool for gaining true insight into the ET pathway. Herein, we describe an ab initio approach for quantifying the ET coordinate and demonstrate it for a series of dinitroradical anions. Using sampling methods at finite temperature combined with density functional theory calculations, we find that the electron transfer can be followed using the energy separation between potential energy surfaces and the extent of electron localization. The precise nuclear motion that leads to electron transfer is then be obtained as a linear combination of normal modes. Once the coordinate is identified, we find that evolution along it results in a change in diabatic state and optical excitation energy, as predicted by the Marcus model. Thus, we conclude that a single dimension of the electron transfer described in Marcus--Hush theory can be found in the real systems as an intuitive nuclear motion. Furthermore, the barrier separating the adiabatic minima was found to be sufficiently thin to enable heavy-atom tunneling in the ET process

Photothermal Effectiveness of Magnetite Nanoparticles: Dependence upon Particle Size Probed by Experiment and Simulation

The photothermal effect of nanoparticles has proven efficient for driving diverse physical and chemical processes; however, we know of no study addressing the dependence of efficacy on nanoparticle size. Herein, we report on the photothermal effect of three different sizes (5.5 nm, 10 nm and 15 nm in diameter) of magnetite nanoparticles (MNP) driving the decomposition of poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC). We find that the chemical effectiveness of the photothermal effect is positively correlated with particle volume. Numerical simulations of the photothermal heating of PPC supports this observation, showing that larger particles are able to heat larger volumes of PPC for longer periods of time. The increased heating duration is likely due to increased heat capacity, which is why the volume of the particle functions as a ready guide for the photothermal efficacy

The Narrow Abdomen Ion Channel Complex Is Highly Stable and Persists from Development into Adult Stages to Promote Behavioral Rhythmicity

The sodium leak channel NARROW ABDOMEN (NA)/ NALCN is an important component of circadian pacemaker neuronal output. In Drosophila, rhythmic expression of the NA channel regulator Nlf-1 in a subset of adult pacemaker neurons has been proposed to contribute to circadian regulation of channel localization or activity. Here we have restricted expression of Drosophila NA channel subunits or the Nlf-1 regulator to either development or adulthood using the temperature-inducible tubulin-GAL80ts system. Surprisingly, we find that developmental expression of endogenous channel subunits and Nlf-1 is sufficient to promote robust rhythmic behavior in adults. Moreover, we find that channel complex proteins produced during development persist in the Drosophila head with little decay for at least 5–7 days in adults. In contrast, restricting either endogenous or transgenic gene expression to adult stages produces only limited amounts of the functional channel complex. These data indicate that much of the NA channel complex that functions in adult circadian neurons is normally produced during development, and that the channel complex is very stable in most neurons in the Drosophila brain. Based on these findings, we propose that circadian regulation of NA channel function in adult pacemaker neurons is mediated primarily by post-translational mechanisms that are independent of Nlf-1