Variable geometry manned orbital vehicle Patent

Variable geometry manned orbital vehicle having high aerodynamic efficiency over wide speed range and incorporating auxiliary pivotal wing

An investigation of the relationship of Soviet psychiatry to the State

This thesis examines how Soviet psychiatry took the particular form that it did and how it had a historically specific relationship to the state. Psychiatry in the USSR was used by the state against those who opposed the regime. In particular it was used after the death of Stalin against a dissident intelligentsia. Chapter One examines the position of the Soviet psychiatric patient with relation to the political economy of the USSR. The legal position of the psychiatric patient was a precarious one because the absence of private property meant there was no basis for law. It was possible to co-opt doctors as repressive agents of the state because they were dependent on it in a way which their counterparts in the West were not. Chapter Two examines the historical development of Russian and Soviet psychiatry and assesses the importance of its development under tsarism. The point at which Soviet psychiatry became differentiated from world psychiatry is located in the Stalin period. Chapter Three examines the role played by Soviet psychology and the supposed influence of Marxism-Leninism in shaping psychiatry in the USSR. It is argued that Soviet psychology owed nothing to Marxism but that it was distorted in a similar way to other branches of science. Chapter Four discusses the defective nature of Soviet psychiatry and shows how Soviet political economy led to archaic practice in psychiatry. All Soviet medicine was similarly defective and this had serious consequences for the Soviet population as a whole. Chapter Five examines the role that psychiatry played in repressing the dissident movement in the 1960s and 70s. Psychiatry was used as an ameliorated form of the labour camp at a time when mass killings and labour camps were less useful to the elite. Psychiatry played this role from about 1953 until 1988 and was used mostly against the intelligentsia

CRAFTI: A Canadian Asteroid Mission

Historically, planetary exploration has been performed using large, complex, and costly spacecraft that have attempted to bring a laboratory of instruments with them. Only in the early days of the American and Russian space programs were the missions less complex and more focused. The Canadian Robotic Asteroid Flyby and Tentatively Impact (CRAFTI) mission proposes to return to some of the philosophies of that era, and to bring modern microsatellite design philosophies into planetary exploration. The CRAFTI mission is a concept study being undertaken by the University of Toronto Institute of Aerospace Studies Space Flight Laboratory (UTIAS-SFL) and the Canadian Space Society, with funding from the Canadian Space Agency and technical support from Dynacon Enterprises Limited. The study is aimed at proving that microsatellite technology can, and should, be applied to planetary exploration. The principal investigator is Dr. Kimmo Innanen of York University, and the lead engineer is Henry Spencer of UTIAS-SFL. The target of this project is a Near Earth Asteroid suitable for a relatively slow flyby, tentatively chosen to be Toutatis during its 2008 closest approach with the Earth. Asteroids present the best target for such a mission, as they offer the greatest possible science return for relatively simple instruments and relatively low mission cost. In addition, a flyby during closest approach turns out to be a surprisingly easy mission. The CRAFTI mission presents an opportunity to prove that microsatellite technology has come of age, not only in Earth orbiting spacecraft, but also in the realm of planetary exploration. The key to success is a careful tradeoff between available spacecraft resources and mission design, and having on board only what is absolutely necessary for the mission to succeed. This paper will highlight the tradeoffs, and examine the proposed spacecraft design and overall mission plan

Steady-state activation and modulation of the synaptic-type α1β2γ2L GABAA receptor by combinations of physiological and clinical ligands

The synaptic α1β2γ2 GAB

Palliative radiotherapy

Palliative radiotherapy offers a quick, inexpensive, and effective way of reducing many of the focal symptoms of advanced, incurable cancer, whether these arise from the primary tumour or from metastatic deposits. It can improve quality of life while being associated with limited treatment burden in terms of both hospital attendances and side effects. The average UK general practice oversees care for around 20 patients with terminal cancer each year with higher numbers seen in secondary care, while a Canadian survey of general practitioners found that 85% had provided care for patients with advanced cancer within the previous month. This article aims to update non-specialists on the benefits, practicalities, and side effects of palliative radiotherapy to ensure that patients are considered and referred for these treatments when appropriate

Multi-color pyrometer for materials processing in space

The design, construction and calibration of a computer-linked multicolor pyrometer is described. The device was constructed for ready adaptation to a spacecraft and for use in the control of thermal processes for manufacturing materials in space. The pyrometer actually uses only one color at a time, and is relatively insensitive to uncertainties in the heated object's emissivity because the product of the color and the temperature has been selected to be within a regime where the radiant energy emitted from the body increases very rapidly with temperature. The instrument was calibrated and shown to exceed its design goal of temperature measurements between 300 and 2000 C, and its accuracy in the face of imprecise knowledge of the hot object's emissivity was demonstrated

Development of an Insulated Solar Electric Cooker (ISEC) with Thermal Storage for Use in Developing World Countries

According to the World Health Organization, about half of the world’s population uses biomass stoves to cook their meals. However, biomass fires can be dangerous. Unattended biomass fires and indoor air pollution are responsible for an estimated 600,000 deaths annually and the creation of approximately 4 million instances of chronic disease. They also release CO2 and other pollutants into the air, and require the families to gather enough material to keep it burning (WHO 2017). Although cleaner cooking technology seems like a clear solution, often families are either unwilling to change how they cook food or are unable to afford cleaner cooking solutions. In populations where the average daily pay rate is less than $1.25/day, an inexpensive cooking option is crucial. Our group will work closely with our sponsor, Dr. Pete Schwartz, to follow on the successful prototypes of Insulated Solar Electric Cookers (ISECs) that inexpensively slow cook food over the course of the day for up to 10 people. We wish to add thermal storage to these designs to provide the ability to heat things with higher power and provide use after dark. This report includes the necessary background research we have done on the other ISECs and the design development we plan to follow to come to a solution. We have decided to name our group Anyanwu Cookware. This name is inspired by the sun god of the Igbo people, Anyanwu

Policy Guidelines: Enhancing Markets for Nutrient-Dense Foods in Ghana

This report analyses policy options for promoting nutrient-dense foods to reduce undernutrition in Ghana. Markets have great potential for providing nutrient-dense foods, but they are commonly inhibited by a number of market failures. Imperfect information, bounded rationality, uncertainty and opportunistic behaviour lead businesses to underinvest in nutritious foods. Policy interventions can help overcome these problems. To develop solutions, it is important to identify four conditions under which agri-food value chains successfully contribute to better nutrition: value chains must make food that is adequately nutritious, available to those that need it, affordable to the poor and acceptable to consumer tastes. There are a number of nutrient-dense products on the market in Ghana, but they are generally not accessible to the poor. To overcome the problem, four challenges must be met: (1) improve food safety by securing supplies that are free of aflatoxin contamination; (2) raise consumer awareness about nutrition and food safety; (3) create mechanisms to verify the nutritional quality of products and signal this quality to consumers and (4) reduce costs so that nutrient-dense foods are available and affordable to the populations that need them.DFI

Structural Integrity of an Electron Beam Melted Titanium Alloy

Advanced manufacturing encompasses the wide range of processes that consist of “3D printing” of metallic materials. One such method is Electron Beam Melting (EBM), a modern build technology that offers significant potential for lean manufacture and a capability to produce fully dense near-net shaped components. However, the manufacture of intricate geometries will result in variable thermal cycles and thus a transient microstructure throughout, leading to a highly textured structure. As such, successful implementation of these technologies requires a comprehensive assessment of the relationships of the key process variables, geometries, resultant microstructures and mechanical properties. The nature of this process suggests that it is often difficult to produce representative test specimens necessary to achieve a full mechanical property characterisation. Therefore, the use of small scale test techniques may be exploited, specifically the small punch (SP) test. The SP test offers a capability for sampling miniaturised test specimens from various discrete locations in a thin-walled component, allowing a full characterisation across a complex geometry. This paper provides support in working towards development and validation strategies in order for advanced manufactured components to be safely implemented into future gas turbine applications. This has been achieved by applying the SP test to a series of Ti-6Al-4V variants that have been manufactured through a variety of processing routes including EBM and investigating the structural integrity of each material and how this controls the mechanical response