RSRM Segment Train Derailment and Recovery

On May 2, 2007, a freight train carrying segments of the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters derailed in Myrtlewood, Alabama, after a rail trestle collapsed. The train was carrying Reusable Solid Rocket Motors (RSRM) 98 center and forward segments (STS-120) and RSRM 99 aft segments (STS-122). Initially, it was not known if the segments had been seriously damaged. Four segments dropped approximately 10 feet when the trestle collapsed and one of those four rolled off the track onto its side. The exit cones and the other four segments, not yet on the trestle, remained on solid ground. ATK and NASA immediately dispatched an investigation and recovery team to determine the safety of the situation and eventually the usability of the segments and exit cones for flight. Instrumentation on each segment provided invaluable data to determine the acceleration loads imparted into each loaded segment and exit cone. This paper details the incident, recovery plan and the team work that created a success story that ended with the safe launch of STS120 using the four center segments and the launch of STS122 using the Aft exit cones assemblies

Response of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings to lead exposure: effect of pre-treatment with sodium nitroprusside

Plants are regularly exposed to unfavorable conditions that impose stress. Lead (Pb), is one of the major pollutants in the environment that causes serious public health and environmental concerns. Increasing levels of lead could also have severe consequences for plants. Plants exposed to lead stress initiate signaling pathways, and make specific changes in their cell physiology and metabolism to avoid or tolerate the stress. However, mechanisms to reduce the effects of lead may vary from plant to plant, developmental stage, and culture medium. Nitric oxide is an important signaling molecule in plant development and defense responses. It has been shown to play a major role in plant responses to several abiotic stresses, such as heat, chilling, drought, salt, UV irradiation and ozone exposure. The objective of this study is to examine the physiological responses to Pb exposure of Arabidopsis thaliana seeds pre-treated with sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a nitric oxide donor. All experiments were carried out using 7-day-old seedlings in a laboratory environment. Pb contents were determined using a graphite furnace spectrometer. Antioxidant assays and reactive oxygen species were carried out using a microplate reader. A major finding is that Pb treatment resulted in increased oxidative stress, which was counteracted by SNP pre-treatment. This and other results obtained are discussed in relation to a strategy to tolerate Pb accumulation in plant cells

Bostonia: The Boston University Alumni Magazine. Volume 9

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Detectability of gravitational wave events by spherical resonant-mass antennas

We have calculated signal-to-noise ratios for eight spherical resonant-mass antennas interacting with gravitational radiation from inspiralling and coalescing binary neutron stars and from the dynamical and secular bar-mode instability of a rapidly rotating star. We find that by using technology that could be available in the next several years, spherical antennas can detect neutron star inspiral and coalescence at a distance of 15 Mpc and the dynamical bar-mode instability at a distance of 2 Mpc.Comment: 39 pages, 4 EPS Figures, some additional SNRs for secular instabilities, some changes to LIGO SNRs, Appendix added on the asymptotic expansion of energy sensitivity, corrected supernova rates. Results available at http://www.physics.umd.edu/rgroups/gen_rel_exp/snr.html Submitted to Phys. Rev.

TigerPlace, a State-Academic-Private Project to Revolutionize Traditional Long Term Care

This is a preprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in the Journal of Housing for the Elderly 2008, copyright Taylor & Francis. Journal of Housing for the Elderly is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=article&issn=0276-3893&volume=22&issue=1&spage=66 DOI:10.1080/02763890802097045The Aging in Place Project at the University of Missouri (MU) required legislation in 1999 and 2001 to be fully realized. An innovative home health agency was initiated by the Sinclair School of Nursing specifically to help older adults age in place in the environment of their choice. In 2004, an innovative independent living environment was built and is operated by a private long term care company, as a special facility where residents can truly age in place and never fear being moved to a traditional nursing home unless they choose to do so. With care provided by the home care agency with registered nurse care coordination services, residents receive preventative and early illness recognition assistance that have markedly improved their lives. Evaluation of aging in place reveal registered nurse care coordination improves outcomes of cognition, depression, activities of daily living, incontinence, pain, and shortness of breath as well as delaying or preventing nursing home placement. Links with MU students, faculty, and nearly every school or college on campus enrich the lives of the students and residents of the housing environment. Research projects are encouraged and residents who choose to participate are enjoying helping with developing cutting technology to help other seniors age in place.The authors wish to acknowledge the organizations and staff who made the AIP project possible: Americare of Sikeston, MO; TigerPlace staff; Sinclair Home Care staff; MU Sinclair School of Nursing faculty and deans; MU administration; Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services staff; Missouri state legislature (in particular, Tim Harlan of Columbia, MO); and all the friends and families who have supported those who implemented this pioneering effort

The status of GEO 600

The GEO 600 laser interferometer with 600m armlength is part of a worldwide network of gravitational wave detectors. GEO 600 is unique in having advanced multiple pendulum suspensions with a monolithic last stage and in employing a signal recycled optical design. This paper describes the recent commissioning of the interferometer and its operation in signal recycled mode

Participation of annexin 1 in the response of Arabidopsis thaliana to lead exposure: potential for phytoremediation

Heavy metal pollution has become a serious public health and environmental concern. Lead (Pb) is one of the heavy metals known to bioaccumulate in plants. Phytoremediation is an emerging technology based on the ability of green plants to remove Pb from the environment in a cost-efficient and ecologically sound manner. Currently, an important research focus is to seek a better understanding of the mechanisms of Pb tolerance by plant cells, with the aim of genetically engineering plants with improved tolerance to Pb, and hence better phytoremediation capabilities in the near future. Annexin, a calcium-dependent membrane-binding protein is believed to play a role in many essential cellular processes. It has been shown that expression of annexin genes from Arabidopsis thaliana are differentially regulated in response to a variety of abiotic stresses. Thus annexins are likely be involved in the response of plants to heavy metal stress. This study aimed to obtain new insights into whether annexin 1 (AnnAt1), is involved in Pb tolerance in plant cells. Message levels of AnnAt1 were assessed in response to Pb treatments using quantitative real-time PCR. Expression results were analysed using REST 2008 and normalized against the mitosis protein YLS8. We found that Pb effect on AnnAt1 expression in plants exposed to lower Pb concentrations (25 µM, 50 µM, and 75 µM) was not significantly different from the controls. However, AnnAt1 message levels doubled (2.12-fold, S.E. range is 1.77 - 2.61, p < 0.001) in seedlings treated with 100 µM Pb, in comparison to the control plants. The relative contribution of AnnAt1 in defence against Pb stress will be discussed

What turns galaxies off? The different morphologies of star-forming and quiescent galaxies since z~2 from CANDELS

We use HST/WFC3 imaging from the CANDELS Multicycle Treasury Survey, in conjunction with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, to explore the evolution of galactic structure for galaxies with stellar masses >3e10M_sun from z=2.2 to the present epoch, a time span of 10Gyr. We explore the relationship between rest-frame optical color, stellar mass, star formation activity and galaxy structure. We confirm the dramatic increase from z=2.2 to the present day in the number density of non-star-forming galaxies above 3e10M_sun reported by others. We further find that the vast majority of these quiescent systems have concentrated light profiles, as parametrized by the Sersic index, and the population of concentrated galaxies grows similarly rapidly. We examine the joint distribution of star formation activity, Sersic index, stellar mass, inferred velocity dispersion, and stellar surface density. Quiescence correlates poorly with stellar mass at all z<2.2. Quiescence correlates well with Sersic index at all redshifts. Quiescence correlates well with `velocity dispersion' and stellar surface density at z>1.3, and somewhat less well at lower redshifts. Yet, there is significant scatter between quiescence and galaxy structure: while the vast majority of quiescent galaxies have prominent bulges, many of them have significant disks, and a number of bulge-dominated galaxies have significant star formation. Noting the rarity of quiescent galaxies without prominent bulges, we argue that a prominent bulge (and perhaps, by association, a supermassive black hole) is an important condition for quenching star formation on galactic scales over the last 10Gyr, in qualitative agreement with the AGN feedback paradigm.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in press; 20 pages with 13 figure

Effectiveness of a clinical pathway for acute stroke care in a district general hospital: an audit

BACKGROUND: Organised stroke care saves lives and reduces disability. A clinical pathway might be a form of organised stroke care, but the evidence for the effectiveness of this model of care is limited. METHODS: This study was a retrospective audit study of consecutive stroke admissions in the setting of an acute general medical unit in a district general hospital. The case-notes of patients admitted with stroke for a 6-month period before and after introduction of the pathway, were reviewed to determine data on length of stay, outcome, functional status, (Barthel Index, BI and Modified Rankin Scale, MRS), Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project (OCSP) sub-type, use of investigations, specific management issues and secondary prevention strategies. Logistic regression was used to adjust for differences in case-mix. RESULTS: N = 77 (prior to the pathway) and 76 (following the pathway). The median (interquartile range, IQR) age was 78 years (67.75–84.25), 88% were European NZ and 37% were male. The median (IQR) BI at admission for the pre-pathway group was less than the post-pathway group: 6 (0–13.5) vs. 10 (4–15.5), p = 0.018 but other baseline variables were statistically similar. There were no significant differences between any of the outcome or process of care variables, except that echocardiograms were done less frequently after the pathway was introduced. A good outcome (MRS<4) was obtained in 66.2% prior to the pathway and 67.1% after the pathway. In-hospital mortality was 20.8% and 23.1%. However, using logistic regression to adjust for the differences in admission BI, it appeared that admission after the pathway was introduced had a significant negative effect on the probability of good outcome (OR 0.29, 95%CI 0.09-0.99). CONCLUSION: A clinical pathway for acute stroke management appeared to have no benefit for the outcome or processes of care and may even have been associated with worse outcomes. These data support the conclusions of a recent Cochrane review