7,439 research outputs found
The Relationship of Continuum Scaling Scores and Certainty Scaling Scores on the Outdoor Situational Fear Inventory
This study examined the reliability and relationship of two methods of scaling the Outdoor Situational Fear Inventory-continuum scaling and the more easily scored certainty method of scaling. With either scaling method, the OSFI and its subscales were reliable as measured by Cronbach\u27s alpha. The relationships of the two instruments\u27 overall and subscale scores were strong
Molecular adaptation of ruminal epithelia to highly fermentable diets
Feeding highly fermentable diets to ruminants is one strategy to increase
energy intake. The increase in short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production and
reduced ruminal pH associated with highly fermentable diets imposes a
challenge to the metabolism and the regulation of intracellular pH homeostasis
of ruminal epithelia. The ruminal epithelia respond to these challenges in a
coordinated manner. Whereas the enlargement of absorptive surface area is well
documented, emerging evidence at the mRNA and transporter and enzyme activity
levels indicate that changes in epithelial cell function may be the initial
response. It is not surprising that gene expression analysis has identified
pathways involved in fatty acid metabolism, ion transport, and intracellular
homeostasis to be the pathways dominantly affected during adaptation and after
adaptation to a highly fermentable diet. These findings are important because
the intraepithelial metabolism of SCFA, particularly butyrate, helps to
maintain the concentration gradient between the cytosol and lumen, thereby
facilitating absorption. Butyrate metabolism also controls the intracellular
availability of butyrate, which is widely regarded as a signaling molecule.
Current data indicate that for butyrate metabolism, 3-hydroxy-3
-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase and acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase are potential
regulatory points with transient up- and downregulation during diet
adaptation. In addition to nutrient transport and utilization, genes involved
in the maintenance of cellular tight junction integrity and induction of
inflammation have been identified as differentially expressed genes during
adaptation to highly fermentable diets. This may have important implications
on ruminal epithelial barrier function and the inflammatory response often
associated with subacute ruminal acidosis. The objective of this review is to
summarize ruminal epithelial adaptation to highly fermentable diets focusing
on the changes at the enzyme and transporter activity levels, as well as the
underlying molecular changes at the mRNA and protein expression levels
Utilization of the Multiple Access Communications Satellite (MACSAT) in Support of Tactical Communications
Two MACSATs were launched on May 9, 1990 on a Scout launch vehicle from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. After a short on-orbit check-out, these research and development satellites were placed into service providing operational communications support to 2d Marine Aircraft Wing units deployed to the Persian Gulf in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. This support was provided from August 1990 until Operation Desert Storm was completed in April 1991. During this time, many lessons were learned that are directly applicable to the design and fielding of future small tactical communications satellites. This paper will highlight some of the lessons learned from supporting Operation Desert Shield, as well as other communications support missions
Space station automation of common module power management and distribution
The purpose is to automate a breadboard level Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) system which possesses many functional characteristics of a specified Space Station power system. The automation system was built upon 20 kHz ac source with redundancy of the power buses. There are two power distribution control units which furnish power to six load centers which in turn enable load circuits based upon a system generated schedule. The progress in building this specified autonomous system is described. Automation of Space Station Module PMAD was accomplished by segmenting the complete task in the following four independent tasks: (1) develop a detailed approach for PMAD automation; (2) define the software and hardware elements of automation; (3) develop the automation system for the PMAD breadboard; and (4) select an appropriate host processing environment
Ten per cent polarized optical emission from GRB 090102
The nature of the jets and the role of magnetic fields in gamma-ray bursts
(GRB) remains unclear. In a baryon-dominated jet only weak, tangled fields
generated in situ through shocks would be present. In an alternative model,
jets are threaded with large scale magnetic fields that originate at the
central engine and which accelerate and collimate the jets. The way to
distinguish between the models is to measure the degree of polarization in
early-time emission, however previous claims of gamma-ray polarization have
been controversial. Here we report that the early optical emission from GRB
090102 was polarized at the level of P=10+/-1%, indicating the presence of
large-scale fields originating in the expanding fireball. If the degree of
polarization and its position angle were variable on timescales shorter than
our 60-s exposure, then the peak polarization may have been larger than 10 per
cent.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures. Published in Nature (2009), Vol. 462, p767-76
Effects of Defects on Friction for a Xe Film Sliding on Ag(111)
The effects of a step defect and a random array of point defects (such as
vacancies or substitutional impurities) on the force of friction acting on a
xenon monolayer film as it slides on a silver (111) substrate are studied by
molecular dynamic simulations and compared with the results of lowest order
perturbation theory in the substrate corrugation potential. For the case of a
step, the magnitude and velocity dependence of the friction force are strongly
dependent on the direction of sliding respect to the step and the corrugation
strength. When the applied force F is perpendicular to the step, the film is
pinned forF less than a critical force Fc. Motion of the film along the step,
however, is not pinned. Fluctuations in the sliding velocity in time provide
evidence of both stick-slip motion and thermally activated creep. Simulations
done with a substrate containing a 5 percent concentration of random point
defects for various directions of the applied force show that the film is
pinned for the force below a critical value. The critical force, however, is
still much lower than the effective inertial force exerted on the film by the
oscillations of the substrate in experiments done with a quartz crystal
microbalance (QCM). Lowest order perturbation theory in the substrate potential
is shown to give results consistent with the simulations, and it is used to
give a physical picture of what could be expected for real surfaces which
contain many defects.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figures, latex plus postscript files for figure
Phase 2: HGM air flow tests in support of HEX vane investigation
Following the start of SSME certification testing for the Pratt and Whitney Alternate Turbopump Development (ATD) High Pressure Oxidizer Turbopump (HPOTP), cracking of the leading edge of the inner HEX vane was experienced. The HEX vane, at the inlet of the oxidizer bowl in the Hot Gas Manifold (HGM), accepts the HPOTP turbine discharge flow and turns it toward the Gaseous Oxidizer Heat Exchanger (GOX HEX) coil. The cracking consistently initiated over a specific circumferential region of the hex vane, with other circumferential locations appearing with increased run time. Since cracking had not to date been seen with the baseline HPOTP, a fluid-structural interaction involving the ATD HPOTP turbine exit flowfield and the HEX inner vane was suspected. As part of NASA contract NAS8-36801, Pratt and Whitney conducted air flow tests of the ATD HPOTP turbine turnaround duct flowpath in the MSFC Phase 2 HGM air flow model. These tests included HEX vane strain gages and additional fluctuating pressure gages in the turnaround duct and HEX vane flowpath area. Three-dimensional flow probe measurements at two stations downstream of the turbine simulator exit plane were also made. Modifications to the HPOTP turbine simulator investigated the effects on turbine exit flow profile and velocity components, with the objective of reproducing flow conditions calculated for the actual ATD HPOTP hardware. Testing was done at the MSFC SSME Dynamic Fluid Air Flow (Dual-Leg) Facility, at air supply pressures between 50 and 250 psia. Combinations of turbine exit Mach number and pressure level were run to investigate the effect of flow regime. Information presented includes: (1) Descriptions of turbine simulator modifications to produce the desired flow environment; (2) Types and locations for instrumentation added to the flow model for improved diagnostic capability; (3) Evaluation of the effect of changes to the turbine simulator flowpath on the turbine exit flow environment; and (4) Comparison of the experimental turbine exit flow environment to the environment calculated for the ATD HPOTP
Uncertainty analysis of diffuse-gray radiation enclosure problems: A hypersensitive case study
An uncertainty analysis of diffuse-gray enclosure problems is presented. The genesis was a diffuse-gray enclosure problem which proved to be hypersensitive to the specification of view factors. This genesis is discussed in some detail. The uncertainty analysis is presented for the general diffuse-gray enclosure problem and applied to the hypersensitive case study. It was found that the hypersensitivity could be greatly reduced by enforcing both closure and reciprocity for the view factors. The effects of uncertainties in the surface emissivities and temperatures are also investigated
Optimal Renormalization-Group Improvement of R(s) via the Method of Characteristics
We discuss the application of the method of characteristics to the
renormalization-group equation for the perturbative QCD series within the
electron-positron annihilation cross-section. We demonstrate how one such
renormalization-group improvement of this series is equivalent to a closed-form
summation of the first four towers of renormalization-group accessible
logarithms to all orders of perturbation theory
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