Materials for engine applications above 3000 deg F: An overview

Materials for future generations of aeropropulsion systems will be required to perform at ever-increasing temperatures and have properties superior to the current state of the art. Improved engine efficiency can reduce specific fuel consumption and thus increase range and reduce operating costs. The ultimate payoff gain is expected to come when materials are developed which can perform without cooling at gas temperatures to 2200 C (4000 F). An overview is presented of materials for applications above 1650 C (3000 F), some pertinent physical property data, and the rationale used: (1) to arrive at recommendations of material systems that qualify for further investigation, and (2) to develop a proposed plan of research. From an analysis of available thermochemical data it was included that such materials systems must be composed of oxide ceramics. The required structural integrity will be achieved by developing these materials into fiber-reinforced ceramic composites

Suicidal students' use of and attitudes to primary care prevention services

Aim The aims of this study were to improve responses to students in distress and who are feeling suicidal, to help practitioners to increase their responsiveness to those at high risk of suicide and to develop effective responses to those affected by their deaths. The study sought to build a detailed picture of students’ patterns of service use. Background National suicide prevention strategies emphasise that suicide prevention requires the collaboration of a wide range of organisations. Among these, primary care services play a key role in relation to suicide prevention for young people in crisis. Methods This study, undertaken between 2004 and 2007, focused on 20 case studies of student suicide that took place in the United Kingdom between May 2000 and June 2005. It adopted a psychological autopsy approach to learn from a wide range of informants, including parents, friends, university staff and the records of coroners or procurator fiscals. Twenty families gave permission for their son’s or daughter’s death to be included in the study and agreed to participate in the study. Informants were interviewed in person and the data were analysed thematically. Analysis of the case study data suggested that in a number of cases students had failed to engage with services sufficiently early or in sufficient depth. Primary care practitioners need to be proactive in communicating concerns about vulnerable students to student support services. At local levels, collaboration between student support and National Health Service practitioners varied considerably and channels of communication need to be developed

New indication for a dichotomy in the interior structure of Uranus and Neptune from the application of modified shape and rotation data

Since the Voyager fly-bys of Uranus and Neptune, improved gravity field data have been derived from long-term observations of the planets' satellite motions, and modified shape and solid-body rotation periods were suggested. A faster rotation period (-40 min) for Uranus and a slower rotation period (+1h20) of Neptune compared to the Voyager data were found to minimize the dynamical heights and wind speeds. We apply the improved gravity data, the modified shape and rotation data, and the physical LM-R equation of state to compute adiabatic three-layer structure models, where rocks are confined to the core, and homogeneous thermal evolution models of Uranus and Neptune. We present the full range of structure models for both the Voyager and the modified shape and rotation data. In contrast to previous studies based solely on the Voyager data or on empirical EOS, we find that Uranus and Neptune may differ to an observationally significant level in their atmospheric heavy element mass fraction Z1 and nondimensional moment of inertia, nI. For Uranus, we find Z1 < 8% and nI=0.2224(1), while for Neptune Z1 < 65% and nI=0.2555(2) when applying the modified shape and rotation data, while for the unmodified data we compute Z1 < 17% and nI=0.230(1) for Uranus and Z1 < 54% and nI=0.2410(8) for Neptune. In each of these cases, solar metallicity models (Z1=0.015) are still possible. The cooling times obtained for each planet are similar to recent calculations with the Voyager rotation periods: Neptune's luminosity can be explained by assuming an adiabatic interior while Uranus cools far too slowly. More accurate determinations of these planets' gravity fields, shapes, rotation periods, atmospheric heavy element abundances, and intrinsic luminosities are essential for improving our understanding of the internal structure and evolution of icy planets.Comment: accepted to Planet. Space Sci., special editio

In Memoriam: Arnold Kanter

It is with deep sadness that we report the passing of our friend and colleague Arnold Kanter on April 10, 2010, at the all-too-young age of 65. He died from acute myelogenous leukemia, diagnosed in 2007

Emotion, deliberation, and the skill model of virtuous agency

A recent skeptical challenge denies deliberation is essential to virtuous agency: what looks like genuine deliberation is just a post hoc rationalization of a decision already made by automatic mechanisms (Haidt 2001; Doris 2015). Annas’s account of virtue seems well-equipped to respond: by modeling virtue on skills, she can agree that virtuous actions are deliberation-free while insisting that their development requires significant thought. But Annas’s proposal is flawed: it over-intellectualizes deliberation’s developmental role and under-intellectualizes its significance once virtue is acquired. Doing better requires paying attention to a distinctive form of anxiety—one that functions to engage deliberation in the face of decisions that automatic mechanisms alone cannot resolve

Laminin and α-Dystroglycan Mediate Acetylcholine Receptor Aggregation via a MuSK-Independent Pathway

Specific isoforms of laminin (LN) are concentrated at neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) where they may participate in synaptic organization or function. In myotubes from C2 cells, LN is concentrated within the majority of spontaneous acetylcholine receptor (AChR) aggregates. Neural agrin substantially increases this colocalization, suggesting that agrin can recruit LN into AChR aggregates. Addition of LN to C2 myotubes induces a more than twofold increase in the number of AChR aggregates. These aggregates have a larger size and are more dense than are those induced by agrin, suggesting that LN is involved in the growth and/or stabilization of AChR aggregates. Consistent with this hypothesis, an antiserum to LN reduces the size of individual AChR aggregates but increases their number. In C2 myotubes, extracellular matrix receptors containing the integrin beta1 subunit are poorly colocalized with AChR aggregates, suggesting that integrins may not be involved in LN-induced aggregation. In contrast, almost all AChR aggregates are associated with dystroglycan immunoreactivity, and monoclonal antibody (mAb) IIH6 against alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-DG), a LN and agrin receptor, causes a concentration-dependent inhibition of LN-induced aggregation. Moreover, S27 cells, which lack a functional alpha-DG, and two C2-derived cell lines expressing antisense DG mRNA fail to aggregate AChRs in response to LN. Finally, LN-induced AChR aggregation does not involve the phosphorylation of the muscle-specific tyrosine kinase receptor (MuSK) or the AChR beta subunit. We hypothesize that the interaction of LN with alpha-DG contributes to the growth and/or stabilization of AChR microaggregates into macroaggregates at the developing NMJ via a MuSK-independent mechanism

Subjectivation and performative politics—Butler thinking Althusser and Foucault: intelligibility, agency and the raced-nationed-religioned subjects of education

Judith Butler is perhaps best known for her take-up of the debate between Derrida and Austin over the function of the performative and her subsequent suggestion that the subject be understood as performatively constituted. Another important but less often noted move within Butler‘s consideration of the processes through which the subject is constituted is her thinking between Althusser‘s notion of subjection and Foucault‘s notion of subjectivation. In this paper, I explore Butler‘s understanding of processes of subjectivation; examine the relationship between subjectivation and the performative suggested in and by Butler‘s work, and consider how the performative is implicated in processes of subjectivation – in =who‘ the subject is, or might be, subjectivated as. Finally, I examine the usefulness of understanding the subjectivating effects of discourse for education, in particular for educationalists concerned to make better sense of and interrupt educational inequalities. In doing this I offer a reading of an episode of ethnographic data generated in an Australian high School. I suggest that it is through subjectivating processes of the sort that Butler helps us to understand that some students are rendered subjects inside the educational endeavour, and others are rendered outside this endeavour or, indeed, outside student-hood

Developing fencing policies in dryland ecosystems

The daily energy requirements of animals are determined by a combination of physical and physiological factors, but food availability may challenge the capacity to meet nutritional needs. Western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla) are an interesting model for investigating this topic because they are folivore-frugivores that adjust their diet and activities to seasonal variation in fruit availability. Observations of one habituated group of western gorillas in Bai-Hokou, Central African Republic (December 2004-December 2005) were used to examine seasonal variation in diet quality and nutritional intake. We tested if during the high fruit season the food consumed by western gorillas was higher in quality (higher in energy, sugar, fat but lower in fibre and antifeedants) than during the low fruit season. Food consumed during the high fruit season was higher in digestible energy, but not any other macronutrients. Second, we investigated whether the gorillas increased their daily intake of carbohydrates, metabolizable energy (KCal/g OM), or other nutrients during the high fruit season. Intake of dry matter, fibers, fat, protein and the majority of minerals and phenols decreased with increased frugivory and there was some indication of seasonal variation in intake of energy (KCal/g OM), tannins, protein/fiber ratio, and iron. Intake of non-structural carbohydrates and sugars was not influenced by fruit availability. Gorillas are probably able to extract large quantities of energy via fermentation since they rely on proteinaceous leaves during the low fruit season. Macronutrients and micronutrients, but not digestible energy, may be limited for them during times of low fruit availability because they are hind-gut fermenters. We discuss the advantages of seasonal frugivores having large dietary breath and flexibility, significant characteristics to consider in the conservation strategies of endangered species

Clinical Efficacy of Human Papillomavirus DNA Detection in Urine from Patients with Various Cervical Lesions

A considerable number of adult Korean women avoid a Pap smear due to fear and discomfort of the pelvic examination. A reliable but noninvasive and comfortable screening method would considerably increase the participation rate. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of urine-based human papillomavirus (HPV) detection by oligonucleotide microarray, the results of HPV test from matched cervical swab specimens were compared. HPV DNA was detected in 70 of 100 cervical samples. HPV 16 was the most prevalent type (38/70), followed by types 18, 58, 52, 33, 35, 31, and 51. HPV DNA was identified in 47 of 90 urine samples. HPV 16 was the most prevalent type (30/45), followed by types 18, 52, 35, 51, 58, 33, and 56. The HPV detection rates of the cervical swabs increased in accordance with the severity of the cytologic and histologic diagnosis. The type specific agreement of HPV DNA tests between cervical swabs and urine was good in HPV 16 (kappa index=0.64 [95% CI: 0.50-0.79]), 18, 52, and 58 and fair in HPV 33 and 35. We propose that a urine HPV test is a valuable adjunctive method for a conventional Pap smear and can be used in population screening for cervical cancer in countries where it is difficult to obtain colposcopic specimens for cultural or religious reasons

The treatment of mental contamination: a case series

The recommended treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) incorporating exposure and response prevention (ERP), which is effective for approximately 50% of patients. However, there has been little advance in treatment outcomes since the introduction of ERP in 1979. It has been suggested that some progress can be made in treating contamination obsessions and washing compulsions by addressing feelings of dirtiness and contamination that arise without physical contact with a tangible contaminant. To date, the treatment of these “mental contamination” fears in OCD has not been systematically explored. This paper reports on a case series of 12 participants with OCD who received 10 to 20 sessions of a CBT-based treatment for mental contamination. At the end of treatment, 7 participants no longer met the diagnostic criteria for OCD and mental contamination and these gains were maintained at 6-month follow-up. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed