Evaluation of hole sizes in structures requiring EVA services as a means to prevent gloved-hand finger entrapment

One of the concerns of Space Station designers was making sure that the suited crewmembers' gloved fingers are not trapped in the holes that may be present in the structures during EVA activities. A study was conducted on 11 subjects to determine the minimum and maximum possible hole sizes that would eliminate the possibility of finger entrapment. Subjects wore pressurized gloves and attempted to insert their fingers into holes of various sizes. Based on the experimental results, it is recommended that the smallest diameter should be less than 13.0 mm and the largest diameter should be greater than 35.0 mm in order to eliminate the possibility of finger entrapment while wearing gloves. It is also recommended that the current requirements specified by the MSIS-STD-3000 (Section 6.3.3.4) should be modified accordingly

A comparison of hand grasp breakaway strengths and bare-handed grip strengths of the astronauts, SML 3 test subjects, and the subjects from the general population

Astronauts have the task of retrieving and deploying satellites and handling massive objects in a around the payload bay. Concerns were raised that manual handling of such massive objects might induce loads to the shuttle suits exceeding the design-certified loads. The Crew and Thermal Division of NASA JSC simulated the satellite handling tasks (Satellite Manload Tests 1 and 3) and determined the maximum possible load that a suited member could impart onto the suit. In addition, the tests revealed that the load to the suit by an astronaut could be calculated from the astronaut's maximum hand grasp breakaway strength. Thus, this study was conducted to document that hand grasp breakaway strengths of the astronauts who were scheduled to perform EVA during the upcoming missions. In addition, this study verified whether the SML 3 test results were sufficient for documenting the maximum possible load. An attempt was made to predict grasp strength from grip strength and hand anthropometry. Based on the results from this study, the SML 3 test results were deemed sufficient to document the maximum possible load on the suit. Finally, prediction of grasp strength from grip strength was not as accurate as expected. Hence, it was recommended that grasp strength be collected from the astronauts in order to obtain accurate load estimation

Stage-dependent changes in localization of a germ cell-specific lamin during mammalian spermatogenesis

We had earlier identified a 110/120-kDa protein specific to nuclear matrix of rat pachytene spermatocytes (Behal, A., Prakash, K., and Rao, M.R.S. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 10898-10902). This protein is now shown to be a disulfide-linked homodimer of a 60-kDa polypeptide. Indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot analyses using anti-120-kDa polyclonal antibodies have shown that this protein is a component of the pore-complex lamina structure of spermatogonia. As germ cells enter meiotic prophase and the lamina structure disassembles, this polypeptide is redistributed in the nucleus and can be isolated as a component of synaptonemal complexes. Following meiotic division, this 60-kDa protein is relocalized in the lamina, then representing the sole major component of the lamina structure of round spermatids. The identity of the 60-kDa protein in the pore-complex lamina fraction and synaptonemal complexes was further confirmed by two-dimensional analysis of iodinated tryptic peptides. Such an analysis has also shown that the germ cell-specific 60-kDa protein is related but not identical to somatic lamin B

QBD APPROACH TO ANALYTICAL METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND ITS VALIDATION FOR ESTIMATION OF LENVATINIB IN BULK AND PHARMACEUTICAL FORMULATION

Objective: The objective of this research was to develop a simple, very rapid, sensitive, accurate, precise reverse phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) technique for the estimation of Lenvatinib in bulk and its dosage form. Methods: To perform this study, we employed a central composite design (CCD) to make method robust and effective to create chromatographic database. The factor screening studies were performed using 2-factor 10-runs. The factors were selected as the mobile phase ratio and buffer pH. Results: The desirability value of the optimized model was found to be 0.869 and The optimized chromatographic condition was achieved on Enable C18 analytical column with 0.01M Ammonium acetate buffer pH 3.84: methanol (33.17:66.83 v/v) as the mobile phase and flow rate of 1 ml min-1 and detection wavelength was set to 240 nm. The retention time of Lenvatinib was found to be 5.122 min. Linearity was established for Lenvatinib in the range of 10-50 µg/ml with a correlation coefficient (r2=0.9995). The accuracy values were found to be in the range of 98–102%. Intraday precision and Interday precision were in prescribed (Less than 0.98% RSD). Robustness was found to be less than 1.22% RSD. Conclusion: The proposed method was useful for best analysis of Lenvatinib in Bulk pharmaceutical dosage forms. Central Composite Design was an effective tool for the proposed RP-HPLC method

A prospective comparative study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of olopatadine eye drops and bepotastine eye drops in subjects of vernal kerato conjunctivitis

Background: Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is an allergic eye disease that especially affects young boys. Both olopatadine and bepotestine are dual acting drugs that provide rapid symptomatic relief coupled with the long-term disease-modifying benefit. The present study is conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of olopatadine eye drops and bepotastine eye drops in patients of vernal keratoconjunctivitis.Methods: A prospective, randomized, parallel-group, comparative study is conducted over a period of 4 weeks on paediatric patients with VKC. 50 patients are recruited and randomized into two treatment groups. They received the assigned drugs for 4 weeks and are called for follow up at the end of 1st week, 4th week and 12th week. At each follow-up, patients are examined and the clinical parameters are graded.Results: This study shows that both olopatadine and bepotastine are equally efficacious. Bepotastine provided quicker relief to symptoms of watering, ocular discomfort and conjunctival hyperaemia. Number of responders are also more in the bepotastine group. Absolute eosinophilic count improved with both the drugs but there is no statistically significant difference between them. Both drugs showed good safety profile. However, 24% patients reported aversion to bitter taste with bepotastine. There is no treatment related severe adverse effects in both the groups.Conclusions: Both olopatadine and bepotastine are effective in treating vernal keratoconjunctivitis. However, bepotastine performed better in reducing tearing, ocular discomfort and conjunctival hyperaemia

Comprehensive Income Options: A Detriment To Transparency

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in 1997 compromised its belief that comprehensive income (CI) should be listed either in a combined statement of net income and CI or in a separate statement of CI and allowed corporations to choose using the statement of changes in stockholders’ equity (SCSE).  Of course, the latter option implies just as Jordan and Clark (2002) suggest, that CI is not a measure of financial performance.  Studies incorporating professional analysts by Hirst and Hopkins (1998) and a study of nonprofessional investors by Maines and McDaniel (2000) both conclude that format presentation matters and behaviors can be affected.  We believe that FASB should revisit the format structure of CI and eliminate the SCSE option, which was their initial intent before they compromised with corporate managers in 1997.  In addition, we believe that all items of other comprehensive income (OCI) – foreign currency translation adjustment, pension value adjustments and adjustment to securities-for-sale should be presented on an after-tax basis only in order to prevent investors from being forced to comb through the footnotes

Fermionic representation for the ferromagnetic Kondo lattice model -- diagrammatic study of spin-charge coupling effects on magnon excitations

A purely fermionic representation is introduced for the ferromagnetic Kondo lattice model which allows conventional diagrammatic tools to be employed to study correlation effects. Quantum 1/S corrections to magnon excitations are investigated using a systematic inverse-degeneracy expansion scheme which incorporates correlation effects in the form of self-energy and vertex corrections, while explicitly preserving the continuous spin-rotation symmetry. Magnon self-energy is studied in the full range of interaction strength, and shown to result in strong magnon damping and anomalous softening for zone boundary modes, which accounts for several zone-boundary anomalies observed in recent spin-wave measurements of ferromagnetic manganites.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Epigenetic Factors: Key Regulators Targeted in Cancers

Gene expression is tightly regulated via a myriad of mechanisms in the cell to allow canonical processes to occur. However, in the context of cancer, some of these mechanisms are dysregulated, and aberrant gene expression ensues. Some of the dysregulated mechanisms include changes to transcription factor activity, epigenetic marks (such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and chromatin state), or the stability of mRNA and protein. Disruption of these regulators would result changes in transcriptional landscape, affecting multiple pathways and eventually lead to continual cell proliferation and the formation of the tumor. Here, we discuss epigenetic factors that affect gene expression which are dysregulated in cancer, and summarize the therapeutic options available to target these factors

Warm tachyonic inflation in warped background

We analyze warm tachyonic inflation, proposed in the literature, but from the viewpoint of four dimensional effective action for tachyon field on a non-BPS D3-brane. We find that consistency with observational data on density perturbation and validity of effective action requires warped compactification. The number of background branes which source the flux is found to be of the order of 10 in contrast to the order of $10^{14}$ in the standard cold inflationary scenario.Comment: 9 pages, RevTe