Workshop on Two-Phase Fluid Behavior in a Space Environment

The Workshop was successful in achieving its main objective of identifying a large number of technical issues relating to the design of two-phase systems for space applications. The principal concern expressed was the need for verified analytical tools that will allow an engineer to confidently design a system to a known degree of accuracy. New and improved materials, for such applications as thermal storage and as heat transfer fluids, were also identified as major needs. In addition to these research efforts, a number of specific hardware needs were identified which will require development. These include heat pumps, low weight radiators, advanced heat pipes, stability enhancement devices, high heat flux evaporators, and liquid/vapor separators. Also identified was the need for a centralized source of reliable, up-to-date information on two-phase flow in a space environment

City of San Antonio Fire Station 53 Project Cultural Resources Survey Investigations, Bexar County, Texas

On behalf of the The City of San Antonio (COSA), Atkins North America, Inc. (Atkins), completed an intensive pedestrian survey for the Donop Road Fire Station 53 Project in southern Bexar County, Texas. COSA intends to construct a new fire station with a large vehicle bay within a 3-acre parcel of land near the intersection of Donop Road and Interstate Highway 37 in southeastern Bexar County, Texas. The work will consist of land clearing and grading across the entire 2.8-acre parcel, with depth of impacts up to1.8 meters (6 feet) for utilities. Thus, the area of potential effects (APE) is 2.8 acres and 1.8 meters (6 feet) deep. COSA contracted Atkins to conduct a cultural resources investigation for the parcel. As the proposed project will occupy land owned or purchased by COSA, a political-subdivision of the state, it is subject to evaluation under the Antiquities Code of Texas (ACT) and COSA’s Historic Preservation and Urban Design Section of the Unified Development Code (Article VI 35-630 to 35-634). All work was performed under Texas Antiquities Permit No. 7607. As part of the investigations, Atkins completed a background literature review and pedestrian survey with shovel testing. The background review determined that no previously recorded cultural resources or previously conducted surveys are within the proposed project area. A historic resources desktop review determined there are no historicage resources within the project area boundaries. Per Texas Historical Commission survey standards, six shovel tests are recommended for a project this size. A total of eight shovel test were excavated within the project area, exceeding the proposed standards. All shovel tests were negative for cultural material, and no cultural resources were encountered. Atkins has made a good faith effort to locate cultural resources eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places or for designation as a State Antiquities Landmark. Based on the findings, no such resources were encountered, and no additional investigations are recommended. Atkins proposed a noncollection survey and as no significant cultural materials were encountered, no artifacts were collected. All project documentation will be housed at the Center for Archaeological Research at The University of Texas at San Antonio

Two Studies To Inform Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programming: A Systematic Review of Program Effectiveness and the Development of an Observational Measure for Classroom-Based Physical Activity Promotion

This dissertation consists of two studies pertaining to comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAP) that function in tandem to advance the knowledge base. The lack of an empirical basis for moving forward with CSPAP efforts and the lack of objective measures of CSPAP implementation are intertwined limitations currently stemming the potential for wide scale program adoption. The purpose of Study 1 was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of multi-component PA interventions through schools that could be mapped onto at least two components of the CSPAP model. Electronic databases were searched to identify published studies that (1) occurred in the US; (2) targeted K-12; (3) were interventions; (4) reflected ≥2 CSPAP components, with at least one targeting school-based PA during school hours; and (5) reported outcomes as improvements in daily PA. Standardized mean effects (Hedge’s g) from pooled random effects inverse-variance models were estimated. The overall impact of interventions was small (0.11, 95CI 0.03 to 0.19) with more CSPAP components related to increased effectiveness (effect size of 0.06, 0.19, and 0.29 corresponding with 2, 3, and 4 components, respectively). Studies employing objective measures of PA (n=3) resulted in smaller effects (0.02 vs. 0.12) than those using self-report (n=14). Studies including PADSD (0.19 vs. 0.07) and SW (0.21 vs. 0.09) were associated with a larger effect size than interventions not including these components. As designed, there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of multi-component interventions to increase youth total daily PA. Results suggest that taking a multi-component approach to increasing youth PA is an appropriate path, but strategies within and across components may need to be reconsidered for maximal impact. The purpose of Study 2 was to describe instrument development, reliability, and validity of the System for Observing Student Movement during Academic Routines and Transitions (SOSMART). An extensive literature review and Delphi survey were used in developing an a priori framework to guide live observations of purposefully selected classroom teachers. Examples of movement integration (MI) were considered in light of the initial framework and expanded and/or refined as needed. Reliability was tested using intra and interobserver percent agreement. Two validity procedures were used in this study. The Delphi survey was used to further examine content validity, and multilevel random effects logistical regression models were estimated for each of the MI variables to test construct validity of the instrument by examining the presence/absence of teacher MI compared with students’ activity and/or sedentary behaviors as measured with accelerometers. Intraobserver agreement across two weeks resulted in 97.5% agreement and interobserver agreement exceeded 80% in live and video reliability testing. Results support the hypothesis that a student was more likely to be in activity when MI variables were present in the same minute with 8 out of 11 variables achieving statistical significance. Three MI variables were not sufficiently observed (i.e. reward, other movement (academic), physical environment); therefore, reliability and construct validity was not calculated for these variables. Continued use of SOSMART is needed to further validate these variables. Future research utilizing SOSMART can provide descriptive information about the extent of MI in classrooms, which MI strategies may be more or less effective in certain contexts, and explore reasons for any differences in activity outcomes as a result of MI. This information can also be used to create a national benchmark for MI in the classroom and potentially influence the practice of teacher evaluations by administrators. Together, these studies contribute to the foundational knowledge for CSPAP research and have potential to impact policy and practice decisions in pre-service teacher education, in-service teacher development, and future PA research

Replication confers β cell immaturity.

Pancreatic β cells are highly specialized to regulate systemic glucose levels by secreting insulin. In adults, increase in β-cell mass is limited due to brakes on cell replication. In contrast, proliferation is robust in neonatal β cells that are functionally immature as defined by a lower set point for glucose-stimulated insulin secretion. Here we show that β-cell proliferation and immaturity are linked by tuning expression of physiologically relevant, non-oncogenic levels of c-Myc. Adult β cells induced to replicate adopt gene expression and metabolic profiles resembling those of immature neonatal β that proliferate readily. We directly demonstrate that priming insulin-producing cells to enter the cell cycle promotes a functionally immature phenotype. We suggest that there exists a balance between mature functionality and the ability to expand, as the phenotypic state of the β cell reverts to a less functional one in response to proliferative cues

Human Systems Integration: Requirements and Functional Decomposition

This deliverable was intended as an input to the Access 5 Policy and Simulation Integrated Product Teams. This document contains high-level pilot functionality for operations in the National Airspace System above FL430. Based on the derived pilot functions the associated pilot information and control requirements are given

Clinical Implications in Vaginal Orgasm Response

Previous research has shown that counselors feel uncomfortable addressing clients’ sexual concerns due to a lack of education on topics related to human sexuality. Various studies have attempted to identify the characteristics of vaginal orgasm, including whether women and other people with vaginas (PWV) can achieve different kinds of orgasms. The current study examines responses to participants surveyed across the United States on their orgasm response and compares responses of participants who achieved orgasm through masturbation and those who achieved orgasm through sex with a partner to determine whether PWV experience one kind of orgasm during masturbation and experience a different kind of orgasm during sex with a partner. Results from the current study suggest that there are two distinct orgasm experiences achieved by PWV which differ in physiological and psychological response. Counselors and counselor educators can use results from this study to help expand their knowledge on sexual response to feel more confident in their practice

Medication decision-making for patients with renal insufficiency in inpatient and outpatient care at a US Veterans Affairs Medical Centre: a qualitative, cognitive task analysis.

BackgroundMany studies identify factors that contribute to renal prescribing errors, but few examine how healthcare professionals (HCPs) detect and recover from an error or potential patient safety concern. Knowledge of this information could inform advanced error detection systems and decision support tools that help prevent prescribing errors.ObjectiveTo examine the cognitive strategies that HCPs used to recognise and manage medication-related problems for patients with renal insufficiency.DesignHCPs submitted documentation about medication-related incidents. We then conducted cognitive task analysis interviews. Qualitative data were analysed inductively.SettingInpatient and outpatient facilities at a major US Veterans Affairs Medical Centre.ParticipantsPhysicians, nurses and pharmacists who took action to prevent or resolve a renal-drug problem in patients with renal insufficiency.OutcomesEmergent themes from interviews, as related to recognition of renal-drug problems and decision-making processes.ResultsWe interviewed 20 HCPs. Results yielded a descriptive model of the decision-making process, comprised of three main stages: detect, gather information and act. These stages often followed a cyclical path due largely to the gradual decline of patients' renal function. Most HCPs relied on being vigilant to detect patients' renal-drug problems rather than relying on systems to detect unanticipated cues. At each stage, HCPs relied on different cognitive cues depending on medication type: for renally eliminated medications, HCPs focused on gathering renal dosing guidelines, while for nephrotoxic medications, HCPs investigated the need for particular medication therapy, and if warranted, safer alternatives.ConclusionsOur model is useful for trainees so they can gain familiarity with managing renal-drug problems. Based on findings, improvements are warranted for three aspects of healthcare systems: (1) supporting the cyclical nature of renal-drug problem management via longitudinal tracking mechanisms, (2) providing tools to alleviate HCPs' heavy reliance on vigilance and (3) supporting HCPs' different decision-making needs for renally eliminated versus nephrotoxic medications

Cross-Shelf Differences in the Response of Herbivorous Fish Assemblages to Severe Environmental Disturbances

Cross-shelf differences in coral reef benthic and fish assemblages are common, yet it is unknown whether these assemblages respond uniformly to environmental disturbances or whether local conditions result in differential responses of assemblages at different shelf positions. Here, we compare changes in the taxonomic and functional composition, and associated traits, of herbivorous reef fish assemblages across a continental shelf, five years before and six months after two severe cyclones and a thermal bleaching event that resulted in substantial and widespread loss of live hard coral cover. Each shelf position maintained a distinct taxonomic assemblage of fishes after disturbances, but the assemblages shared fewer species among shelf positions. There was a substantial loss of species richness following disturbances within each shelf position. Total biomass of the herbivorous fish assemblage increased after disturbances on mid- and outer-shelf reefs, but not on inner-shelf reefs. Using trait-based analyses, we found there was a loss of trait richness at each shelf position, but trait specialisation and originality increased on inner-shelf reefs. This study highlights the pervasiveness of extreme environmental disturbances on ecological assemblages. Whilst distinct cross-shelf assemblages can remain following environmental disturbances, assemblages have reduced richness and are potentially more vulnerable to chronic localised stresses

Biomarker Prioritisation and Power Estimation Using Ensemble Gene Regulatory Network Inference

Inferring the topology of a gene regulatory network (GRN) from gene expression data is a challenging but important undertaking for gaining a better understanding of gene regulation. Key challenges include working with noisy data and dealing with a higher number of genes than samples. Although a number of different methods have been proposed to infer the structure of a GRN, there are large discrepancies among the different inference algorithms they adopt, rendering their meaningful comparison challenging. In this study, we used two methods, namely the MIDER (Mutual Information Distance and Entropy Reduction) and the PLSNET (Partial least square based feature selection) methods, to infer the structure of a GRN directly from data and computationally validated our results. Both methods were applied to different gene expression datasets resulting from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) studies. For each case, gene regulators were successfully identified. For example, for the case of the IBD dataset, the UGT1A family genes were identified as key regulators while upon analysing the PDAC dataset, the SULF1 and THBS2 genes were depicted. We further demonstrate that an ensemble-based approach, that combines the output of the MIDER and PLSNET algorithms, can infer the structure of a GRN from data with higher accuracy. We have also estimated the number of the samples required for potential future validation studies. Here, we presented our proposed analysis framework that caters not only to candidate regulator genes prediction for potential validation experiments but also an estimation of the number of samples required for these experiments