Assessment of the advantages and feasibility of a nuclear rocket for a manned Mars mission

The feasibility of rebuilding and testing a nuclear thermal rocket (NTR) for the Mars mission was investigted. Calculations indicate that an NTR would substantially reduce the Earth-orbit assemble mass compared to LOX/LH2 systems. The mass savings were 36 and 65% for the cases of total aerobraking and of total propulsive braking respectively. Consequently, the cost savings for a single mission of using an NTR, if aerobraking is feasible, are probably insufficient to warrant the NTR development. If multiple missions are planned or if propulsive braking is desired at Mars and/or at Earth, then the savings of about $7 billion will easily pay for the NTR. Estimates of the cost of rebuilding a NTR were based on the previous NERVA program's budget plus additional costs to develop a flight ready engine. The total cost to build the engine would be between$4 to 5 billion. The concept of developing a full-power test stand at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific appears very feasible. The added expense of building facilities on the island should be less than $1.4 billion

Nuclear Thermal Rocket by 2000: a DOE Perspective

It is asserted that a Nuclear Propulsion Space Transportation System is required for the Manned Mars Mission. Additionally, it is felt that a Nuclear Propulsion Space Transportation System can support a wide variety of future space missions, including lunar base implementation and support. The Rover/NERVA program demonstrated that a safe, reliable Nuclear Thermal Rocket (NTR) can be developed and operated for sufficient run times, at desirable temperatures, and with multiple restarts. The discussion is presented in viewgraph form

Antimatter propulsion, status and prospects

The use of advanced propulsion techniques must be considered if the currently envisioned launch date of the manned Mars mission were delayed until 2020 or later. Within the next thirty years, technological advances may allow such methods as beaming power to the ship, inertial-confinement fusion, or mass-conversion of antiprotons to become feasible. A propulsion system with an ISP of around 5000 s would allow the currently envisioned mission module to fly to Mars in 3 months and would require about one million pounds to be assembled in Earth orbit. Of the possible methods to achieve this, the antiproton mass-conversion reaction offers the highest potential, the greatest problems, and the most fascination. Increasing the production rates of antiprotons is a high priority task at facilities around the world. The application of antiprotons to propulsion requires the coupling of the energy released in the mass-conversion reaction to thrust-producing mechanisms. Recent proposals entail using the antiprotons to produce inertial confinement fusion or to produce negative muons which can catalyze fusion. By increasing the energy released per antiproton, the effective cost, (dollars/joule) can be reduced. These proposals and other areas of research can be investigated now. These short term results will be important in assessing the long range feasibility of an antiproton powered engine

Advanced nuclear thermal propulsion concepts

In 1989, a Presidential directive created the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) which had a goal of placing mankind on Mars in the early 21st century. The SEI was effectively terminated in 1992 with the election of a new administration. Although the initiative did not exist long enough to allow substantial technology development, it did provide a venue, for the first time in 20 years, to comprehensively evaluate advanced propulsion concepts which could enable fast, manned transits to Mars. As part of the SEI based investigations, scientists from NASA, DoE National Laboratories, universities, and industry met regularly and proceeded to examine a variety of innovative ideas. Most of the effort was directed toward developing a solid-core, nuclear thermal rocket and examining a high-power nuclear electric propulsion system. In addition, however, an Innovative Concepts committee was formed and charged with evaluating concepts that offered a much higher performance but were less technologically mature. The committee considered several concepts and eventually recommended that further work be performed in the areas of gas core fission rockets, inertial confinement fusion systems, antimatter based rockets, and gas core fission electric systems. Following the committee's recommendations, some computational modeling work has been performed at Los Alamos in certain of these areas and critical issues have been identified

Learning about patient safety: organisational context and culture in the education of health care professionals

Objectives This study investigated the formal and informal ways pre-registration students from medicine, nursing, physiotherapy and pharmacy learn about keeping patients safe. This paper gives an overview of the study and explores findings in relation to organizational context and culture. Methods The study employed a phased design using multiple qualitative methods. The overall approach drew on ‘illuminative evaluation’. Ethical approval was obtained. Phase 1 employed a convenience sample of 13 pre-registration courses across the UK. Curriculum documents were gathered, and course directors interviewed. Phase 2 used eight case studies, two for each professional group, to develop an in-depth investigation of learning across university and practice by students and newly-qualified practitioners in relation to patient safety, and to examine the organizational culture that students and newly-qualified staff are exposed to. Analysis was iterative and ongoing throughout the study, using frameworks agreed by all researchers. Results Patient safety was felt to have become a higher priority for the health care system in recent years. Incident reporting was a key feature of the patient safety agenda within the organizations examined. Staff were often unclear or too busy to report. On the whole, students were not engaged and may not be aware of incident reporting schemes. They may not have access to existing systems in their organization. Most did not access employers' induction programmes. Some training sessions occasionally included students but this did not appear to be routine. Conclusions Action is needed to develop an efficient interface between employers and education providers to develop up-to-date curricula for patient safety

Guest Editorial: The 2014 Capstone Design Conference

The goal of the 2014 Capstone Design Conference held in Columbus, OH was to build upon the success of three previous conferences (2007 and 2010 in Boulder, CO, and 2012 in Champaign, IL) and expand the community of educators, students, and industry members engaged in discussing, analyzing, and improving capstone design education. Sessions at the 2014 Capstone Design Conference were designed for vibrant sharing of ideas and experiences across the capstone community via interactive panel sessions, poster session socials, and hands-on workshops. This editorial discusses conference planning, structure, and feedback. Technical papers that follow in this issue document scholarship surrounding noteworthy capstone course innovations. Most of these began as four page peer-reviewed papers included in the conference proceedings

Teaching Entrepreneurial and Management Skills to Extension Audiences

Training programs for business manager-entrepreneurs can have important positive impacts on economic development. A 15-week course of this type has been taught seven times in the last 3 years in rural Idaho communities, largely by county Extension faculty. Interest in the course has been high. This article describes what we have found to be the important topics to cover in this course, some things we have learned about how best to teach the course, and some suggestions for using the course as the basis for synergistic partnerships and collaborations

Spatial incoherence of solar granulation: a global analysis using BiSON 2B data

A poor understanding of the impact of convective turbulence in the outer layers of the Sun and Sun-like stars challenges the advance towards an improved understanding of their internal structure and dynamics. Assessing and calibrating these effects is therefore of great importance. Here we study the spatial coherence of granulation noise and oscillation modes in the Sun, with the aim of exploiting any incoherence to beat-down observed granulation noise, hence improving the detection of low-frequency p-modes. Using data from the BiSON 2B instrument, we assess the coherence between different atmospheric heights and between different surface regions. We find that granulation noise from the different atmospheric heights probed is largely incoherent; frequency regions dominated by oscillations are almost fully coherent. We find a randomised phase difference for the granulation noise, and a near zero difference for the evanescent oscillations. A reduction of the incoherent granulation noise is shown by application of the cross-spectrum.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, MNRAS in pres

Juvenile polyposis syndrome affecting the stomach: A case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Juvenile polyposis syndrome(JPS) is a rare autosomal dominant inherited condition. Hamartomatous polyps can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract but usually predominate in the colon. In this case report we present an unusual case of JPS that presented with massive gastric polyposis requiring a total gastrectomy.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 51-year-old man presented with symptoms of gastric outlet obstruction and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Gastroscopy showed massive gastric polyposis with a large antral polyp that had prolapsed through the pylorus causing gastric outlet obstruction. Initially endoscopic polypectomy was performed, but due to progressive symptoms a total gastrectomy was then performed. Histology confirmed massive gastric juvenile polyposis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Massive gastric polyposis is an uncommon manifestation of juvenile polyposis syndrome. This case illustrates important principles in managing this condition.</p

Philosophical Inspirations for Violent Fiction and Drama: Heinrich von Kleist and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) is renowned as an author who posed a radical challenge to the prevailing intellectual, aesthetic and ethical orthodoxies of his age. Recently, his elusive works have frequently been seen to represent a poetics of irony that relentlessly deconstructs the philosophical paradigms of Idealism and reflects a Romantic, even postmodern, view of the fundamental ambiguities of the world. For all that this contributes to our understanding of the famed plasticity and inexhaustibility of his texts, however, a limited reading along these lines effects a decided levelling of social, political and intellectual context, and fails to do full justice to the more complex manner in which Kleist articulates the tensions between the secure modalities of Enlightenment thought and the deep anxieties of the revolutionary age. This study aims to offer a new angle on Kleist’s dialogue with the Enlightenment by reconsidering his investment in the philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Where previously critics have tended to conceptualise this from a biographical perspective as a temporary, personal interest borne of the strict antinomies of nature-civilisation and individual-society, an attempt will be made here to re-establish Rousseau’s specific importance as a political thinker whose theories remained a fertile source of creative inspiration and critical reflection for the violent constellations of Kleist’s fiction and drama. Focusing on a cross-section of his work, particular focus will be placed on his explorations of the links between religion and fanaticism (Das Erdbeben in Chili), the legitimacy of revolutionary violence (Die Verlobung in St. Domingo), the performance of nationhood (Die Herrmannsschlacht), and the relationship between patriotism and liberty (Prinz Friedrich von Homburg). Set in the historical context of the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, a mode of discourse will be located which sheds new, important, and at times unexpected, light on the political and ethical issues at play in Kleist’s work.AHR