A Graphical User-Interface for Propulsion System Analysis

NASA LeRC uses a series of computer codes to calculate installed propulsion system performance and weight. The need to evaluate more advanced engine concepts with a greater degree of accuracy has resulted in an increase in complexity of this analysis system. Therefore, a graphical user interface was developed to allow the analyst to more quickly and easily apply these codes. The development of this interface and the rationale for the approach taken are described. The interface consists of a method of pictorially representing and editing the propulsion system configuration, forms for entering numerical data, on-line help and documentation, post processing of data, and a menu system to control execution

Experimental spectroscopic and theoretical studies of organic compounds and polymeric structures

Solid state IR and Raman as well as aqueous solution state Raman spectra are reported for urazole, 4-methylurazole and their deuterated derivatives. DFT calculations, at the B3-LYP/cc-pVDZ level, established that the structures and vibrational spectra of the molecules can be interpreted using a model with hydrogen-bonded water molecules, in conjunction with the conductor-like polarizable continuum solvation method. The vibrational spectra were computed at the optimised molecular geometry, enabling normal coordinate analysis, which yielded satisfactory agreement with the experimental IR and Raman data. Computed potential energy distributions of the normal modes provided detailed vibrational assignments. Solid-state pseudopotential-plane-wave DFT calculations, using the PW91 functional, were also carried out reflecting the importance of intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the solid state. Solid state IR and Raman as well as aqueous solution state Raman spectra are reported for the anions of urazole and 4-methylurazole, and their N-deuterated derivatives. DFT calculations, at the B3-LYP/cc-pVTZ level, established that the structures and vibrational spectra of both anions can be interpreted using a model that incorporates hydrogen-bonded water molecules, in conjunction with the polarizable continuum solvation method. In the case of the urazole anion it is shown that deprotonation occurs primarily at N1 rather than N4, but there is also evidence for the second tautomeric structure in both in the solid state and in aqueous solution. The vibrational spectra were computed at the optimised molecular geometry in each case, enabling normal coordinate analysis, which yielded satisfactory agreement with the experimental IR and Raman data. Computed potential energy distributions of the normal modes provided detailed vibrational assignments. IR and Raman spectra have been obtained for N, N'–dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) in the solid state and in CHCl3 solution. Structures and vibrational spectra of isolated gas phase DCC molecules with C2 and Ci symmetries, computed at the B3-LYP/cc-pVTZ level, show that the IR and Raman spectra provide convincing evidence for a C2 structure in both the solid and CHCl3 solution states. Using a scaled quantum-chemical force field these DFT calculations have provided detailed assignments of the observed IR and Raman bands in terms of potential energy distributions. Comparison of solid state and solution spectra, together with a Raman study of the melting behaviour of DCC, revealed that no solid state effects were evident in the spectra. Homopolymeric poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) and poly(4-vinylpyridine) as well as copolymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide/4-vinylpyridine) [poly(NIPAM/4-VP)] microgels (the latter synthesized using percentage composition of 4-VP in the range of 7.5 – 90 %, w/w in the original reaction mixture) were prepared by surfactant-free emulsion polymerization. Freeze-dried samples of the microgels were subjected to analysis by Raman spectroscopy using 632.8 nm exciting radiation from a helium-neon laser. The Raman spectral profiles of the different microgels are compared and contrasted in the 600-1100 cm-1 wavenumber region. In the case of the poly(NIPAM/4-VP) copolymer microgels, differing in monomer composition, Raman spectroscopy can be employed as a quick/easy method to ensure that co-polymerization has occurred and also to determine, semi-quantitatively, the percentage incorporation of the 4-VP monomer

Improvement of Pheromone Trapping in Low Density Populations of \u3ci\u3eChoristoneura Pinus Pinus\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Pheromone baited bucket traps (e.g., Multipher) are popular as a monitoring tool for the jack pine budworm, Choristoneura pinus pinus Freeman (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in Canada. However, there is no evidence to support their use when budworm populations are low. We therefore evaluated the capture rate of bucket traps at two placement heights (2 vs 6 m) in two jack pine forests in 2011, having low (≤5 fifth instars per mfoliated branch length) budworm populations. Compared to wing traps (e.g., Pherocon 1C), the trap design used initially to evaluate efficacy of the C. pinus pheromone, bucket traps caught fewer C. pinus and capture rates of both trap designs did not differ significantly between the two heights tested. Loss of bucket traps at 2 m, due to black bears, suggested that higher placement of traps was warranted to maintain the integrity of the array. However, wing traps are recommended due to their ability to consistently catch more moths when C. pinus populations are low

Calcium Oxalate Crystallization in Urine of Healthy Men and Women: A Comparative Study

This study aimed to compare calcium oxalate (CaOx) crystallization in undiluted urine from healthy men and women with the object of clarifying the difference in stone incidence between the two sexes. Twenty-four hour urine specimens were collected from 37 men and 28 women. Urinary pH, and concentrations of Ca, oxalate and urate were measured, and indices of crystallization determined by Coulter Counter particle analysis following induction of CaOx crystallization by addition of oxalate. The amount of oxalate required to induce crystallization was significantly (p \u3c 0.01) higher in females than in males, as was the overall particle volume deposited after 90 minutes incubation (p \u3c 0 .006). Scanning electron microscopy revealed larger individual crystals in female urine, and a greater degree of crystal aggregation in male urine, although the average overall size of the precipitated crystal particles did not differ between the two sexes. There were no significant differences between men and women with regard to median pH, or Ca and oxalate concentrations, but the median urate concentrations were slightly, but significantly, higher (p \u3c 0.05) in the women\u27s urines than in the men\u27s. It was concluded that the greater risk of CaOx stones in men is related to an increased propensity to nucleate CaOx crystals per se, rather than to a tendency to form larger crystalline particles

Dual Targeting of PDGFRα and FGFR1 Displays Synergistic Efficacy in Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors

© 2016 The Author(s) Subunits of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex are mutated in a significant proportion of human cancers. Malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRTs) are lethal pediatric cancers characterized by a deficiency in the SWI/SNF subunit SMARCB1. Here, we employ an integrated molecular profiling and chemical biology approach to demonstrate that the receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) PDGFRα and FGFR1 are coactivated in MRT cells and that dual blockade of these receptors has synergistic efficacy. Inhibitor combinations targeting both receptors and the dual inhibitor ponatinib suppress the AKT and ERK1/2 pathways leading to apoptosis. MRT cells that have acquired resistance to the PDGFRα inhibitor pazopanib are susceptible to FGFR inhibitors. We show that PDGFRα levels are regulated by SMARCB1 expression, and assessment of clinical specimens documents the expression of both PDGFRα and FGFR1 in rhabdoid tumor patients. Our findings support a therapeutic approach in cancers with SWI/SNF deficiencies by exploiting RTK coactivation dependencies

Working Title Films and Universal : The Integration of a British Production Company into a Hollywood Studio

Working Title Films is arguably the most successful and well-known production company in Britain today. For over 30 years, it has produced a diverse range of critically and commercially successful British films including romantic comedies such as Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), family films like Bean (1997) and Nanny McPhee (2005) and dramas including Atonement (2007) and The Theory of Everything (2014). For the majority of its history, however, Working Title has been defined in business terms by its status as a subsidiary of one of two multinational media conglomerates, PolyGram (1992–8) and Universal (1998–present). The transition between the two began when PolyGram, and its film studio, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (PFE), was sold to Seagram, the parent company of Universal. This article examines Working Title’s integration into Universal and the evolving media ecology which shaped the processes of development, green-lighting, production, marketing and distribution at play within and between both companies between 1998 and 2006. In these respects, Working Title’s transition between parent companies is a narrative of both continuity and change. Significantly, three key stages of gatekeeping remained common to both the PFE and Universal eras: development, green-lighting and distribution. The institutional perimeters within which these points of decision-making occurred, however, changed considerably. The article concludes by considering the impact of such structures and processes on the films which Working Title produced, particularly their various representations of Britain and ‘Britishness’

Learning from Ninjas: young people’s films as a lens for an expanded view of literacy and language

This article examines young people’s films to provide insights about language and literacy practices. It offers a heuristic for thinking about how to approach data that is collectively produced. It tries to make sense of new ways of knowing that locate the research in the field rather than in the academic domain. The authors develop a lens for looking at films made by young people that acknowledge multiple modes and materiality within their meaning-making practices. We make an argument about the cultural politics of research, to consider how the language and literacy practices of young people are positioned. We argue for more consideration of how language and literacy appear entangled within objects and other stuff within young people’s media productions, so as to trouble disciplinary boundaries within and beyond literacy and language studies

A compendium of ecological knowledge for restoration of freshwater fishes in Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin

Many freshwater fishes are imperilled globally, and there is a need for easily accessible, contemporary ecological knowledge to guide management. This compendium contains knowledge collated from over 600 publications and 27 expert workshops to support the restoration of 9 priority native freshwater fish species, representative of the range of life-history strategies and values in south-eastern Australia’s Murray–Darling Basin. To help prioritise future research investment and restoration actions, ecological knowledge and threats were assessed for each species and life stage. There is considerable new knowledge (80% of publications used were from the past 20 years), but this varied among species and life stages, with most known about adults, then egg, juvenile and larval stages (in that order). The biggest knowledge gaps concerned early life stage requirements, survival, recruitment, growth rates, condition and movements. Key threats include reduced longitudinal and lateral connectivity, altered flows, loss of refugia, reductions in both flowing (lotic) and slackwater riverine habitats, degradation of wetland habitats, alien species interactions and loss of aquatic vegetation. Examples and case studies illustrating the application of this knowledge to underpin effective restoration management are provided. This extensive ecological evidence base for multiple species is presented in a tabular format to assist a range of readers

Showing Israel the red card. Activists engaged in pro-Palestinian sport-related campaigns

© 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This article explores the motivations of activists involved in pro-Palestinian sports-based campaigns. The activists’ intention is to bring pressure to bear upon Israel until it complies with international law and supports the rights of Palestinian people under the universal principles of human rights. In response to expressions of pro-Palestinian solidarity, the Israeli state and its supporters are interpreting such activity as a ‘new’ manifestation of ‘old’ antisemitism. In seeking to assess whether such activity is informed by antisemitism, 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with activists to examine their motives. Their political biographies were explored as were their views on the use of sport as platform to express support for the Palestinian people and/or their displeasure at Israeli participation in international sport. One central theme was the activists’ responses to the suggestion that they were motivated by antisemitism. A qualitative content analysis of the interview transcripts revealed a shared observation that the accusation of antisemitism was a ‘shameless tactic’ employed by those seeking to cover up the ongoing injustices experienced by the Palestinian people. Sport was seen as a legitimate platform for political activity, to raise public awareness and to put pressure on the Israeli state. The findings contribute to a better understanding of activist motivations, the use of sport as a political platform and the challenges facing sport and its governing bodies