Long Duration Exposure Facility: A general overview

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) is a large, low-cost, reusable, unmanned, free-flying spacecraft which accommodates technology, science, and applications experiments for long-term exposure to the space environment. The LDEF was designed and built by the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) for NASA's Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology. Specifically, the LDEF was designed to transport experiments into space via the Space Shuttle, to free fly in Earth orbit for an extended period, and be retrieved on a later Space Shuttle flight allowing experiments to be returned to Earth for postflight analysis in the laboratory. The LDEF with a full complement of experiments was placed in Earth orbit in April 1984 by Challenger and retrieved from orbit in January 1990 by Columbia. A general overview of the LDEF, its mission, systems, experiments, and operations is presented. Excerpts from various NASA documents are extensively used

BJS commission on surgery and perioperative care post-COVID-19

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020 and global surgical practice was compromised. This Commission aimed to document and reflect on the changes seen in the surgical environment during the pandemic, by reviewing colleagues experiences and published evidence. Methods: In late 2020, BJS contacted colleagues across the global surgical community and asked them to describe how severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) had affected their practice. In addition to this, the Commission undertook a literature review on the impact of COVID-19 on surgery and perioperative care. A thematic analysis was performed to identify the issues most frequently encountered by the correspondents, as well as the solutions and ideas suggested to address them. Results: BJS received communications for this Commission from leading clinicians and academics across a variety of surgical specialties in every inhabited continent. The responses from all over the world provided insights into multiple facets of surgical practice from a governmental level to individual clinical practice and training. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered a variety of problems in healthcare systems, including negative impacts on surgical practice. Global surgical multidisciplinary teams are working collaboratively to address research questions about the future of surgery in the post-COVID-19 era. The COVID-19 pandemic is severely damaging surgical training. The establishment of a multidisciplinary ethics committee should be encouraged at all surgical oncology centres. Innovative leadership and collaboration is vital in the post-COVID-19 era

BJS commission on surgery and perioperative care post-COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020 and global surgical practice was compromised. This Commission aimed to document and reflect on the changes seen in the surgical environment during the pandemic, by reviewing colleagues' experiences and published evidence