“Wow-I Can Touch That?” Using Special Collections to Expand Information Literacy

What happens when undergraduates get their hands on a nineteenth-century stereoscope, a first edition of _Tom Jones_, and 100-year-old student handbooks during an information literacy session? And what do these students learn through analyzing primary sources that can sharpen their responses to other kinds of scholarly evidence? To answer these questions, participants in this interactive workshop will recreate an instruction session developed by librarians at Grinnell College using surrogates of primary sources to prompt discussion of any source\u27s audience, authorship, reliability, and purpose. This workshop will begin with an overview of how librarians at Grinnell, a small liberal arts institution, have successfully collaborated with disciplinary faculty to select materials and to plan information literacy sessions focused on examination and discussion of primary sources; we\u27ll also share how these sessions have been integrated into a first-year seminar, an introductory history course, an upper-division education class, and a French literature seminar. Our specific objectives for this session are that participants will i) learn successful strategies for using rare books, manuscripts, and archival resources in information literacy sessions; ii) consider the advantages and disadvantages of digital facsimiles from databases such as ECCO (Eighteenth Century Collections Online) and original texts; and iii) articulate ways their own college or university special collections might be used to expand information literacy instruction. Participants will also receive a list of questions for students to consider when using primary evidence

Architecture in Mission Integration, Choreographing Constraints

In any building project the Architect's role and skill is to balance the client's requirements with the available technology, a site and budget. Time, place and resources set the boundaries and constraints of the project. If these boundaries are correctly understood and respected by the Architect they can be choreographed into producing a facility that abides by those constraints and successfully meets the clients needs. The design and assembly of large scale space facilities whether in orbit around or on the surface of a planet require and employs these same skills. In this case the site is the International Space Station (ISS) which operates at a nominal rendezvous altitude of 220 nautical miles. With supplies to support a 7 day mission the Shuttle nominally has a cargo capacity of 35,000 pounds to that altitude. Through the Mission Integration process the Launch Package Management Team choreographs the constraints of ascent performance, hardware design, cargo, rendezvous, mission duration and assembly time in order to meet the mission objective

Personal and societal costs of multiple sclerosis in the UK: A population-based MS Registry study

ObjectivesTo investigate through survey and data linkage, healthcare resource use and costs (except drugs), including who bears the cost, of multiple sclerosis in the United Kingdom by disease severity and type.MethodsThe United Kingdom Multiple Sclerosis Register deployed a cost of illness survey, completed by people with multiple sclerosis and linked this with data within the United Kingdom Multiple Sclerosis Register and from their hospital records. Resource consumption was categorised as being medical or non-medical and costed by National Health Service and social services estimates for 2018.ResultsWe calculated £509,003 in non-medical costs over a year and £435,488 in medical costs generated over 3 months. People with multiple sclerosis reported self-funding 75% of non-medical costs with non-medical interventions having long-term potential benefits. Costs increased with disability as measured by patient-reported Expanded Disability Status Score and Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale, with Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale physical being a more powerful predictor of costs than the patient-reported Expanded Disability Status Score. Two distinct groups were identified: medical and non-medical interventions (n = 138); and medical interventions only (n = 399). The medical and non-medical group reported increased disease severity and reduced employment but incurred 80% more medical costs per person than the medical-only group.ConclusionsThe importance of disability in driving costs is illustrated with balance between medical and non-medical costs consistent with the United Kingdom health environment. People with multiple sclerosis and their families fund a considerable proportion of non-medical costs but non-medical interventions with longer term impact could affect future medical costs

Macro Micro Studio:A Prototype Energy Autonomous Laboratory

In 2011, the Departments of Architecture, Physics and Engineering began the development of a small Passivhaus standard, renewable energy self-sufficient studio at the University Botanical Gardens in Dundee. The prototype was conceived as an experimental, integrated technical platform to monitor the performance of an ultra-low-energy consumption, energy positive building in the Scottish climate, and understand user behaviour in relation to managing energy in-use and reducing occupant’s energy consumption. The building fabric has been constructed using regional sustainable materials, including a low-thermal bridging timber kit relying on Scottish small cross-section timber and a novel foam concrete (air entrained) slab foundation. While further work is required to complete the installation of the renewable energy system, predictive modelling indicates that energy autonomy can be largely achieved. With the recent introduction of the new Passivhaus 2009 criteria in October 2015, this project provides an insight into the practical application of an autarkic energy system in a northern European climate. The following paper describes the research rationale, the processes and decision making in the development of the formal and technical design of the building and discusses our current thinking in the design and quantification of the energy system

International Space Station Capabilities and Payload Accommodations

This slide presentation reviews the research facilities and capabilities of the International Space Station. The station can give unique views of the Earth, as it provides coverage of 85% of the Earth's surface and 95% of the populated landmass every 1-3 days. The various science rack facilities are a resource for scientific research. There are also external research accom0dations. The addition of the Japanese Experiment Module (i.e., Kibo) will extend the science capability for both external payloads and internal payload rack locations. There are also slides reviewing the post shuttle capabilities for payload delivery

Temperature dependent absorption cross-sections of HNO3 and N2O5

Absorption cross-sections for HNO3 and N2O5 have been measured in the wavelength region 220-450 nm, using a dual beam diode array spectrometer with a spectral resolution of 0.3 nm. The results for both compounds are in good agreement with recommended values at room temperature. However, the cross-sections of both HNO3 and N2O5 show a marked reduction with decreasing temperature in the range 295-233 K. The calculated photolysis rate of HNO3 at the low temperatures and high solar zenith angles characteristic of the polar winter and spring is significantly lower than previously estimated

Large-scale variations in ozone and polar stratospheric clouds measured with airborne lidar during formation of the 1987 ozone hole over Antarctica

A joint field experiment between NASA and NOAA was conducted during August to September 1987 to obtain in situ and remote measurements of key gases and aerosols from aircraft platforms during the formation of the ozone (O3) hole over Antarctica. The ER-2 (advanced U-2) and DC-8 aircraft from the NASA Ames Research Center were used in this field experiment. The NASA Langley Research Center's airborne differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system was operated from the DC-8 to obtain profiles of O3 and polar stratospheric clouds in the lower stratosphere during long-range flights over Antarctica from August 28 to September 29, 1987. The airborne DIAL system was configured to transmit simultaneously four laser wavelengths (301, 311, 622, and 1064 nm) above the DC-8 for DIAL measurements of O3 profiles between 11 to 20 km ASL (geometric altitude above sea level) and multiple wavelength aerosol backscatter measurements between 11 to 24 km ASL. A total of 13 DC-8 flights were made over Antarctica with 2 flights reaching the South Pole. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSC's) were detected in multiple thin layers in the 11 to 21 km ASL altitude range with each layer having a typical thickness of less than 1 km. Two types of PSC's were found based on aerosol backscattering ratios: predominantly water ice clouds (type 2) and clouds with scattering characteristics consistent with binary solid nitric acid/water clouds (type 1). Large-scale cross sections of O3 distributions were obtained. The data provides additional information about a potentially important transport mechanism that may influence the O3 budget inside the vortex. There is also some evidence that strong low pressure systems in the troposphere are associated with regions of lower stratospheric O3. This paper discusses the spatial and temporal variations of O3 inside and outside the polar vortex region during the development of the O3 hole and relates these data to other measurements obtained during this field experiment