Airborne Precision Spacing (APS) Dependent Parallel Arrivals (DPA)

The Airborne Precision Spacing (APS) team at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has been developing a concept of operations to extend the current APS concept to support dependent approaches to parallel or converging runways along with the required pilot and controller procedures and pilot interfaces. A staggered operations capability for the Airborne Spacing for Terminal Arrival Routes (ASTAR) tool was developed and designated as ASTAR10. ASTAR10 has reached a sufficient level of maturity to be validated and tested through a fast-time simulation. The purpose of the experiment was to identify and resolve any remaining issues in the ASTAR10 algorithm, as well as put the concept of operations through a practical test

New data on carbon isotopic compositions of some ureilites

We have collected new C data from high resolution stepped combustion analyses of 5 ureilites to better constrain their relationships with O and mineralogical/petrographic groupings. This may help the future development of petrogenetic models

EcoGothic, Ecohorror and Apocalyptic Entanglement in Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Tales of the Black Freighter

This essay explores the ecoGothic resonances of Tales of the Black Freighter, a dark pirate tale embedded within Watchmen, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' 1986-87 postmodern DC graphic novel. By providing a grim prism for themes such as nuclear paranoia, the monstrous transformation of the self, and the horrifying possibilities of scientific solutions to social ills, Black Freighter provides a vocabulary of horror that echoes the grim post-modern alternate 1980s of its host narrative. The Gothic gives a voice to the subsumed existential dread exuded by the escalating nuclear tension and apocalyptic imagination of Watchmen, and the environmental entanglement and degradation of the body at sea serves as an ecocritical lens through which to view a corresponding societal degeneration in the face of a moribund social and political ecology. It is the technique of metatextual commentary, separating and intertwining, that brings the ecoGothic themes of Watchmen to light

An integrated mineralogical, petrographic, light stable isotope and noble gas investigation of Sahara 99201 ureilite

New ureilite Sahara 99201 has been investigated to determine mineralogy, petrography, light stable isotopes and noble gases. The sample is a typical olivine pigeonite ureilite (Fo 78, Wo 10, En 72). C, N, O and Ar are consistent with other ureilites

RosettaBackrub--a web server for flexible backbone protein structure modeling and design.

The RosettaBackrub server (http://kortemmelab.ucsf.edu/backrub) implements the Backrub method, derived from observations of alternative conformations in high-resolution protein crystal structures, for flexible backbone protein modeling. Backrub modeling is applied to three related applications using the Rosetta program for structure prediction and design: (I) modeling of structures of point mutations, (II) generating protein conformational ensembles and designing sequences consistent with these conformations and (III) predicting tolerated sequences at protein-protein interfaces. The three protocols have been validated on experimental data. Starting from a user-provided single input protein structure in PDB format, the server generates near-native conformational ensembles. The predicted conformations and sequences can be used for different applications, such as to guide mutagenesis experiments, for ensemble-docking approaches or to generate sequence libraries for protein design

Spatial Control of Rabies on Heterogeneous Landscapes

Rabies control in terrestrial wildlife reservoirs relies heavily on an oral rabies vaccine (ORV). In addition to direct ORV delivery to protect wildlife in natural habitats, vaccine corridors have been constructed to control the spread; these corridors are often developed around natural barriers, such as rivers, to enhance the effectiveness of vaccine deployment. However, the question of how to optimally deploy ORV around a river (or other natural barrier) to best exploit the barrier for rabies control has not been addressed using mathematical models. Given an advancing epidemic wave, should the vaccine be distributed on both sides of barrier, behind the barrier, or in front of it? Here, we introduce a new mathematical model for the dynamics of raccoon rabies on a spatially heterogeneous landscape that is both simple and realistic. We demonstrate that the vaccine should always be deployed behind a barrier to minimize the recurrence of subsequent epidemics. Although the oral rabies vaccine is sufficient to induce herd immunity inside the vaccinated area, it simultaneously creates a demographic refuge. When that refuge is in front of a natural barrier, seasonal dispersal from the vaccine corridor into an endemic region sustains epidemic oscillations of raccoon rabies. When the vaccine barrier creates a refuge behind the river, the low permeability of the barrier to host movement limits dispersal of the host population from the protected populations into the rabies endemic area and limits subsequent rabies epidemics

The contribution of OCTN1/2 variants within the IBD5 locus to disease susceptibility and severity in Crohn's disease

Background and Aims: Recent data suggest that polymorphisms in the organic cation transporter (OCTN) genes OCTN1 (SLC22A4) and OCTN2 (SLC22A5) represent disease-causing mutations within the IBD5 locus (chromosome 5q31). We investigated associations with disease susceptibility, phenotype, and evidence for epistasis with CARD15 in 679 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). Methods: A total of 374 patients with CD, 305 patients with UC, and 294 healthy controls (HCs) were studied. Genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms IGR2096, IGR2198, and IGR2230, OCTN1 variant (SLC22A4 1672C→T), and OCTN2 variant (SLC22A5 −207G→C) was performed using the TaqMan system. Results: The IBD5 OCTN1 and OCTN2 polymorphisms were in strong linkage disequilibrium (D′, >0.959). IGR2198 variant allele frequency (49.1% vs 40.8%; P = .0046) and homozygosity (21% vs 14.8%; P = .044) were associated with CD versus HCs. Variant allelic frequency of OCTN1 (53.6% vs 43%; P = .0008) and OCTN2 (56.1% vs 48.4%; P = .0092) polymorphisms and homozygosity for the OCTN1/2-TC haplotype (28.4% vs 16%; P = .0042) were associated with CD versus HCs. IGR2198 homozygosity and TC homozygosity were associated with stricturing/penetrating disease at follow-up (P = .011 and P = .011, respectively) and disease progression (P = .038 and P = .049, respectively) on univariate analysis and with need for surgery on multivariate analysis (P = .016 and P = .004, respectively). In the absence of the IBD5 risk haplotype, no association of OCTN1/2 variants with CD was detected. No associations were seen with UC. Conclusions: The IBD5 locus influences susceptibility, progression, and need for surgery in CD. However, the contribution of OCTN1/2 variants is not independent of the IBD5 haplotype; a causative role for these genes remains plausible but is not yet proven. Further genetic, functional, and expression data are now required. </p