Interfacing Catholic Social Meanings, Sociology, Self, and Pedagogical Practices

What connects Catholic Social Tradition with Sociology? How do each inform the other and how do they, together, flow through and animate the sociologist? Within a student-driven learning community pedagogy, this course builds on the humanistic aspects of Sociology as a scientific perspective a la Peter Berger’s Invitation to Sociology. This foundation is then filtered through a social psychological understanding of self with a sense of vocation through which persons’ deepest passions meets humans’ greatest needs. Biographical vignettes of sociologists’ careers of study that address issues of racial and gender inequalities and psycho-social shifts in values over the life course exemplify linkage of social science and social justice. These portrayals of scientist-activists’ dedication to describing and explaining inequalities are complimented by case studies of sociologically-informed community activists struggling to change unjust structures and empower disadvantaged communities through initiatives that embody efforts to “live the Catholic Social Tradition.” Themes of humanistic social science, self and vocation, committed social scientists, and empowering community organizers for a more just society are then woven into an overview of Catholic Social Tradition around issues of globalization, spirituality, and justice. Finally, the course moves toward the universal issues developed within the larger Catholic social tradition—namely, common good, universal solidarity, personal dignity, and institutional subsidiarity—in an attempt to include other religious traditions and motivate all persons committed to a more just and peaceful social order

Preliminary results of subintimal angioplasty for limb salvage in lower extremities with severe chronic ischemia and limb-threatening ischemia

ObjectiveThis study examined the hypothesis that superficial femoral artery (SFA) subintimal angioplasty (SI-PTA) can maintain limb salvage with minimal complications in patients with symptomatic occlusive arterial disease.MethodsFrom March 1, 2004, until April 28, 2006, 78 patients with rest pain (62.2%), gangrene (25.6%), or severe progressive claudication (12.2%) were treated consecutively with 82 SFA SI-PTAs (4 bilateral). The mean age was 59 ± 1.2 years, and 21 (27%) of the patients were female. All patients were treated in the operating room under local anesthesia by using fluoroscopic guidance, and the percentage SFA that was occluded was measured during the diagnostic portion of the procedure. Selective stent placement was performed after successful recanalization of the occluded arterial segments. Patients were treated with chronic aspirin and clopidogrel bisulfate for 3 months and followed up at 30 days and then every 3 months with physical examination and arterial duplex scan.ResultsOf the 82 SFA SI-PTA attempts, 76 (92%) were initially successful, with an increase in the ankle-brachial index from 0.46 ± 0.02 to 0.88 ± 0.01 (P < .001). Five of the six patients with a failed SFA SI-PTA were female, two of the six had had previous bypass attempts, and one of the six had had a previous SFA SI-PTA attempt by another physician. Forty-nine (64%) of the 76 initially successful SFA SI-PTAs required placement of a stent, and 43 (56.5%) of the successful 76 SFA SI-PTAs required additional PTA of 1 or more arterial segments. The group treated with a successful SFA SI-PTA had 42.5% ± 3.5% SFA occlusion, compared with 82% ± 10% (P < .05) in the group with a failed attempt at SFA SI-PTA. Two of the six patients with initial SI-PTA failure underwent leg amputation within 30 days, three were treated with successful leg bypass surgery, and one was lost to follow-up. Of the 76 successful SFA SI-PTAs, 5 (6.5%) failed within 90 days, and the patients were treated successfully with leg bypass surgery. Of the 71 limbs with patent SI-PTAs at 90 days, 68 have remained patent with a mean follow-up 10.4 ± 0.7 months (range, 2-24 months). Three of the 71 SFA SI-PTAs failed between 4 and 7 months (mean, 5 ± 0.7 months): 1 patient was treated with successful bypass surgery, 1 patient is currently considering further intervention, and 1 patient was treated with amputation. Ten (14%) of the 71 successful SFA SI-PTAs required limited PTA for asymptomatic restenosis, as identified by the arterial duplex scan (7.4 ± 1.4 months; range, 2-16 months). There were no perioperative deaths, and three patients have died during follow-up with patent SFA SI-PTAs (9.3 ± 1.4 months).ConclusionsThese data suggest that SFA SI-PTA can be successfully used for limb salvage with minimal morbidity and mortality in a group of patients with severe lower extremity occlusive vascular disease

Component-Based Syntheses of Trioxacarcin A, DC-45-A1, and Structural Analogs

The trioxacarcins are polyoxygenated, structurally complex natural products that potently inhibit the growth of cultured human cancer cells. Here we describe syntheses of trioxacarcin A, DC-45-A1, and structural analogs by latestage, stereoselective glycosylation reactions of fully functionalized, differentially protected aglycon substrates. Key issues addressed in this work include the identification of an appropriate means to activate and protect each of the two 2-deoxysugar components, trioxacarcinose A and trioxacarcinose B, as well as a viable sequencing of the glycosidic couplings. The convergent, component-based sequence we present allows for rapid construction of structurally diverse, synthetic analogs that would be inaccessible by any other means, in amounts required to support biological evaluation. Analogs arising from modification of four of five modular components are assembled in 11 steps or fewer. The majority of these are found to be active in antiproliferative assays using cultured human cancer cells

Disk Properties and Density Structure of the Star-Forming Dense Core B335

We present subarcsecond resolution dust continuum observations of the protostellar collapse candidate B335 made with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer at wavelengths of 1.2 and 3.0 mm. These observations probe to < 100 AU size scales and reveal a compact source component that we identify with a circumstellar disk. We analyze these data in concert with previous lower resolution interferometer observations and find a best fit density structure for B335 that consists of a power law envelope with index p=1.55 +/- 0.04 (r < 5000 AU) together with a disk (r < 100 AU) of flux F_{1.2 mm}=21 +/-2 mJy. We estimate a systematic uncertainty in the power law index delta(p) < 0.15, where the largest error comes from the assumed form of the dust temperature falloff with radius. This determination of the inner density structure of B335 has a precision unique amongst protostellar cores, and it is consistent with the r^{-1.5} profile of gravitational free-fall, in accord with basic expectations for the formation of a star. The flux (and implied mass) of the compact component in B335 is typical of the disks around T Tauri stars.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures. Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal, sched v596 (2003 Oct 10

Buckling Testing and Analysis of Honeycomb Sandwich Panel Arc Segments of a Full-Scale Fairing Barrel Part 4: Six-ply Out-of-Autoclave Facesheets

Four honeycomb sandwich panel types, representing 1/16th arc segments of a 10-m diameter barrel section of the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV), were manufactured and tested under the NASA Composites for Exploration program and the NASA Constellation Ares V program. Two configurations were chosen for the panels: 6-ply facesheets with 1.125 in. honeycomb core and 8-ply facesheets with 1.000 in. honeycomb core. Additionally, two separate carbon fiber/epoxy material systems were chosen for the facesheets: in-autoclave IM7/977-3 and out-of-autoclave T40-800b/5320-1. Smaller 3 ft. by 5 ft. panels were cut from the 1/16th barrel sections. These panels were tested under compressive loading at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). Furthermore, linear eigenvalue and geometrically nonlinear finite element analyses were performed to predict the compressive response of each 3 ft. by 5 ft. panel. This manuscript summarizes the experimental and analytical modeling efforts pertaining to the panels composed of 6-ply, T40-800b/5320-1 facesheets (referred to as Panels D). To improve the robustness of the geometrically nonlinear finite element model, measured surface imperfections were included in the geometry of the model. Both the linear and nonlinear models yield good qualitative and quantitative predictions. Additionally, it was correctly predicted that the panel would fail in buckling prior to failing in strength. Furthermore, three-dimensional (3D) effects on the compressive response of the panel were studied

Structural geology and dislocation modeling of the East Coyote anticline, eastern Los Angles basin

The 1994 Northridge and 1987 Whittier Narrows earthquakes warned Los Angeles residents of the threat of earthquakes due to unmapped, blind reverse faults and emphasized the importance of identifying and characterizing blind reverse faults in assessing the seismic hazard to the region. The East and West Coyote Hills in the eastern Los Angeles basin are the surface expression of uplift accompanying blind reverse faulting. Folded Quaternary strata indicate that the hills are growing and that the faults underlying them are active. We use oil well data from the oil field beneath the East Coyote Hills to characterize the deformation. Detailed subsurface mapping in the East Coyote oil field shows that a previously-mapped, reverse-separation fault that cuts wells in the field is predominantly an inactive strike-slip fault that is not responsible for the uplift of the East Coyote Hills. The fault responsible for folding the East and West Coyote oil fields and the uplift of the Coyote Hills does not cut wells in either oil field. To characterize the geometry of the blind fault responsible for folding, we employ dislocation modeling. The dip and upper fault tip depths obtained from modeling suggest that the thrust fault beneath the Coyote Hills fault may be an extension of the Puente Hills blind thrust fault. The Coyote Hills fault is part of a major crustal structure that underlies much of the northern Los Angeles basin, with important implications for the tectonics and earthquake hazards of the Los Angeles basin. Modeling results suggest that the thrust fault responsible for folding would have 1400 m of reverse displacement over the last 1.2 Ma. This yields an average slip rate of 1.2 +1.4/ o 5 mm/yr for this time interval. Estimated moment magnitude for a reverse displacement earthquake on the Coyote Hills blind fault ranges from 6 to 7 depending on the length of the rupture. The average earthquake recurrence interval is 730 - 4000 years based on slip rates of 1.2 mm/yr and 0.8 mm/yr

Use Of Secondary Equilibria For The Separation Of Small Solutes By Field-Flow Fractionation

The dynamic range and selectivity of field-flow fractionation (FFF) can be Increased by using secondary chemical equilibria (SCE). SCE are established by adding a macromolecular additive or aggregate, which strongly Interacts with the field, to the carrier solution. In this study an oil-ln-water (O/W) microemulsion was used as the carrier solution in a sedimentation FFF apparatus. The microemulsion droplets (referred to as the support ) interact with the field and are retained relative to the bulk water. Small solutes that partition or bind to the microemulsion droplets are also retained relative to solutes that do not Interact with the support. In this way It Is possible to separate somewhat polar compounds, such as ascorbic acid and sodium benzoate, which prefer bulk water, from a polar solute, such as toluene, which prefers the support. In addition, the study of retention times in this system allows one to calculate the average microemulsion droplet radius. It appears that SCE-FFF could be a useful way to obtain Important Information on the physicochemical properties of a variety of colloidal supports. © 1988, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved

Buckling Testing and Analysis of Honeycomb Sandwich Panel Arc Segments of a Full-Scale Fairing Barrel

Four honeycomb sandwich panels, representing 1/16th arc segments of a 10 m diameter barrel section of the heavy lift launch vehicle, were manufactured under the NASA Composites for Exploration program and the NASA Constellation Ares V program. Two configurations were chosen for the panels: 6-ply facesheets with 1.125 in. honeycomb core and 8-ply facesheets with 1.000 in. honeycomb core. Additionally, two separate carbon fiber/epoxy material systems were chosen for the facesheets: inautoclave IM7/977-3 and out-of-autoclave T40-800B/5320-1. Smaller 3- by 5-ft panels were cut from the 1/16th barrel sections. These panels were tested under compressive loading at the NASA Langley Research Center. Furthermore, linear eigenvalue and geometrically nonlinear finite element analyses were performed to predict the compressive response of the 3- by 5-ft panels. This manuscript summarizes the experimental and analytical modeling efforts pertaining to the panel composed of 8-ply, T40-800B/5320-1 facesheets (referred to as Panel C). To improve the robustness of the geometrically nonlinear finite element model, measured surface imperfections were included in the geometry of the model. Both the linear and nonlinear, two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D), models yield good qualitative and quantitative predictions. Additionally, it was predicted correctly that the panel would fail in buckling prior to failing in strength

Limits on Radio Continuum Emission from a Sample of Candidate Contracting Starless Cores

We used the NRAO Very Large Array to search for 3.6 cm continuum emission from embedded protostars in a sample of 8 nearby ``starless'' cores that show spectroscopic evidence for infalling motions in molecular emission lines. We detect a total of 13 compact sources in the eight observed fields to 5 sigma limiting flux levels of typically 0.09 mJy. None of these sources lie within 1' of the central positions of the cores, and they are all likely background objects. Based on an extrapolation of the empirical correlation between the bolometric luminosity and 3.6 cm luminosity for the youngest protostars, these null-detections place upper limits of ~0.1 L_sun (d/140pc)^2 on the luminosities of protostellar sources embedded within these cores. These limits, together with the extended nature of the inward motions inferred from molecular line mapping (Lee et al. 2001), are inconsistent with the inside-out collapse model of singular isothermal spheres and suggest a less centrally condensed phase of core evolution during the earliest stages of star formation.Comment: Accepted to the Astronomical Journal; 12 pages, 1 figur