The Cost of Clean Space- A Study of the Additional Fuel Costs of Launching Above Low Earth Orbit

Ever since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, humans have put over 40,000 pieces of debris into orbit around the Earth. In particular, most launches and debris tends to go to either Low Earth Orbit (LEO), or Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO). While GEO has some regulations on its use, there are limited regulations for the use of LEO. Accumulated debris in LEO jeopardizes the future utility of space. So far, various measures for the mitigation and management of debris in LEO have been proposed. This paper looks to establish a baseline cost of clean space in LEO against which other debris management policies can be compared. By launching to MEO instead of LEO, an upper bound cost of $22.15 million would needed between now and 2050, by which time about one third of all the debris pieces in LEO would have decayed into the upper atmosphere. Though such a policy is not likely to be implemented, and downright impossible to carry out for microsatellites, the cost study should serve as a baseline for other proposed policies to keep LEO relatively clear of debris and safe for continued human use

Electroanalysis Using Differential Pulse Methods at a Microelectrode

This communication characterises the differential pulse voltammetric response of ultramicroelectrodes in connection with two different model

The Characteristics of Catholic Schools: Comparative Perspectives from the USA and Queensland, Australia

The faith-based identity of Catholic schools is increasingly problematic in a secularised society where the numbers of teachers belonging to religious orders are diminishing rapidly. Teachers’ views regarding the characteristics of Catholic schools are an important aspect of the identity of such schools. The authors locate Catholic schools in the USA and Queensland, Australia, in their respective contexts and compare teachers’ ratings of the importance of eleven given characteristics of Catholic schools as seen by 3,389 teachers in USA Catholic schools and 2,287 teachers in Queensland Catholic schools. When the mean ratings for each jurisdiction were statistically correlated, USA teachers were much more likely to rate these given characteristics as essential and the resulting χ² and associated Odds Ratio values indicated very statistically significant jurisdictional differences. Some tentative explanations are suggested including the differing political contexts, the conditions of teachers’ employment and the support structures for the spiritual and faith formation of teachers in the respective jurisdictions

More than NIMBY: The Not-In-My-Backyard syndrome and community responses to controversial and opposed scientific and technological (COST) facility siting attempts in New York State

How do communities respond to the proposed placement of controversial facilities in their backyards? Environmentally sensitive and technically complex projects have increasingly fostered opposition from areas targeted for the facility site selection process. Governments and private siting proponents contend that these responses are narrow, self-interested, and emotionally charged reactions consistent with the definition of the Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) syndrome used to describe negative participation in local politics. New scholarly research and recent New York State cases, however, suggest that the traditionally used syndrome-based regulatory and market approaches are flawed. The NIMBY definition does not explain all community siting responses. Discrepancies in the definition occur when: (1) levels of siter mistrust vary in degree of dislike; (2) broadly defined and policy-based opposition postures by communities and groups are prevalent instead of parochial opposition; and (3) organized resistance activities are reinforced with political sophistication and scientific acumen, as opposed to uncoordinated, process-constrained protests. Three attempted sitings of controversial and opposed scientific and technological facilities in New York State in the late 1980s and 1990s exhibit contrasting community opposition responses. NIMBY syndrome behavior occurred in the proposed placement of the high-technology research project, the Superconducting Super Collider, in Wayne County. However, in the efforts to site low-level radioactive waste facilities in both Cortland and Allegany counties, non-NIMBY behavior took place. Based upon a comparison of community trust, group goals, and opposition activities among the three targeted counties, three response types are identified: the NIMBY Coopting, and the More Than NIMBY Cooperating and Confronting responses. Furthermore, this comparison of local behavior reinforces scholarship calling for more participatory and technically apolitical selection mechanisms. The imminent proliferation of controversial sitings in the areas of environment, science and technology demands agendas providing for both the policy needs of technocrats, and the desire for policy relevance and dialogue by citizens

Note on the Voltammetry of Ferrocene Carboxylate in Aqueous Solution

Cyclic voltammetry of ferrocene dicarboxylate in aqueous solutions at high pH, in the presence of oxygen, showed evidence of an EC\u27 mechanism where the oxidised form of ferrocene dicarboxylate reacts with H02- , which had been produced at a lower potential. However, an analogous experiment with ferrocene carboxylate yielded a cyclic voltammogram with a post peak: following the anodic peak: for ferrocene carboxylate. The reason for the post peak: is not clear but may be due to a delay in the reaction between the oxidised form of ferrocene carboxylate and H02-

Impulsive suicide attempts

Background Extensive research on impulsive suicide attempts, but lack of agreement on the use of this term indicates the need for a systematic literature review of the area. The aim of this review was to examine definitions and likely correlates of impulsive attempts. Methods A search of Medline, Psychinfo, Scopus, Proquest and Web of Knowledge databases was conducted. Additional articles were identified using the cross-referencing function of Google Scholar. Results 179 relevant papers were identified. Four different groups of research criteria used to assess suicide attempt impulsivity emerged: (a) time-related criteria, (b) absence of proximal planning/preparations, (c) presence of suicide plan in lifetime/previous year, and (d) other. Subsequent analysis used these criteria to compare results from different studies on 20 most researched hypotheses. Conclusions regarding the characteristics of impulsive attempts are more consistent than those on the risk factors specific to such attempts. No risk factors were identified that uniformly related to suicide attempt impulsivity across all criteria groups, but relationships emerged between separate criteria and specific characteristics of suicide attempters. Limitations Only published articles were included. Large inconsistencies in methods of the studies included in this review prevented comparison of effect sizes. Conclusions The vast disparities in findings on risk factors for impulsive suicide attempts among different criteria groups suggest the need to address the methodological issues in defining suicide attempt impulsivity before further research into correlates of such attempts can effectively progress. Specific recommendations are offered for necessary research.Griffith Health, Australian Institute for Suicide Research & PreventionNo Full Tex

Development and validity of the Personal Suicide Stigma Questionnaire (PSSQ)

Background: The detrimental consequences of stigma have been recognized in extensive research on mental illness stigma, but experiences of suicide-related stigmatization have not received sufficient research attention. The lack of a simple self-report assessment of personal suicide-related stigma led to the work reported here. Aim: To develop and assess the validity of the Personal Suicide Stigma Questionnaire (PSSQ). Method: The item pool for PSSQ was based on qualitative data and was tested in a community sample of 224 adults (mean age = 32.68 years, 83% female, 92.9% Caucasian) who reported lifetime suicidality. Factor analysis was used for item selection. The Self-Stigma of Mental Illness Scale – Short form (SSMIS-SF) and Suicide Behaviors Questionnaire – Revised (SBQ-R) were used to assess validity of the scale. Results: Following analysis, 16 items, forming three highly interrelated factors (Rejection, Minimization, and Self-blame), were selected for the PSSQ. The PSSQ scores showed predicted relationships with mental illness stigma and suicidality, suggesting its validity. Limitations: The validity of the scale still requires further research in clinical populations. Conclusion: The newly developed PSSQ can be used to assess the levels of suicide-related stigma experiences of suicidal individuals.Griffith Health, Australian Institute for Suicide Research & PreventionNo Full Tex

Cardiac troponin i in pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension

Objective To investigate serum cardiac troponin I, a sensitive marker of cardiac myocyte damage, in normal pregnancy and pregnancies complicated by hypertension with and without significant proteinuria. Design Prospective cross sectional study. Setting University hospital delivery suite. Sample Serum samples obtained from women in normal pregnancy and in pregnancies complicated by hypertension with and without significant proteinuria. Method Women with hypertension in pregnancy (at least two readings of systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg) (n = 26) and normotensive women (n = 43) were included in the study. Serum cardiac troponin I was measured using Beckman Access immunoassay. Main outcome measure Serum cardiac troponin I level in the pregnancies complicated by hypertension (with and without significant proteinuria) compared with the levels measured in normotensive women. Results The median serum cardiac troponin I level in pregnancies complicated by hypertension was 0.118 ng/mL (n = 26) which was significantly greater than that measured in samples obtained from nor-motensive women in pregnancy (0.03 ng/mL; n = 43) (P < 0.0001). There were higher median serum cardiac troponin I levels in hypertensive women with significant proteinuria (0.155 ng/mL; n = 6), compared with those without proteinuria (0.089 ng/mL; n = 20; P = 0.03). Conclusion Serum cardiac troponin I is elevated in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy indicating some degree of cardiac myofibrillary damage in these disorders