Paper Session I-B - Engineering for the ISS Lifetime

The International Space Station (ISS) begins its life with the first element being delivered to space on a Russian launch vehicle, followed shortly thereafter by U.S. and Russian launches of additional elements to be mated on-orbit. Subsequent flights by the U.S., Russia, and potentially Japan and ESA, will deliver hardware and software developed by the International Partners/ Participants including U.S., Russia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Europe, and Brazil. The overall ISS functionality will change dramatically during the early flights. With each new installation, the structure and subsystems will mature into the planned assembly-complete functional configuration. This configuration will be sustained for the lifetime of the Space Station. For the ISS Program, Sustaining Engineering is phased to begin after the delivery of each hardware or software item to NASA. This differs from the approach used by many programs which is to begin the sustaining phase after all development, testing, functional checkout, and initial usage periods have been completed satisfactorily. For the complex ISS Program, however, this more traditional approach is a luxury that cannot be afforded. Design and development of ISS hardware and software are accomplished in phases, to maintain a feasible launch and assembly schedule. Similarly, the hardware and software are delivered to NASA in phases. This means that some elements actually will be launched and activated on-orbit, while other elements are still literally on the drawing board. Therefore, Sustaining Engineering on the ISS Program is defined as the design engineering support needed after the development of the hardware and software items are completed and these items are delivered to NASA. This design knowledge is required during launch site processing, on-orbit assembly and activation, and throughout the operational phase to ensure that the assembled Station fully supports the scientific endeavors for which it was designed

Pain at the Pump: The relationship between gas prices and transit ridership in urban and rural counties of Vermont

I researched gas price and transit ridership data in the rural state of Vermont by county in the time period from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2013. My research has addressed the topic of understanding transit ridership, specifically in rural or micropolitan areas. Previous literature shows a lack of research on the relationship between transit ridership and gas prices in rural areas. I have used SPSS Statistical software and Excel to determine the relationship between Vermont gas prices and monthly ridership data from the various transit authorities throughout Vermont. I have discovered a statistically significant correlation between public transit ridership and gas prices in the one urban county in Vermont. Additionally, I found a statistically significant relationship in one rural county of Vermont, with the correlation becoming more significant once I lagged the gas price data. Using population density and information about each transit authority, I have determined that there is a statistically significant relationship between gas prices and ridership in urban counties of Vermont. I recommend Vermont adjust its gas tax in order to incentivize the use of public transit in more urban counties where there is greater access to public transit

Psychiatric placement of children: an exploratory study of twenty cases where the Worcester Youth Guidance Center recommended placement

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Outflow boundary conditions for 3D simulations of non-periodic blood flow and pressure fields in deformable arteries

The simulation of blood flow and pressure in arteries requires outflow boundary conditions that incorporate models of downstream domains. We previously described a coupled multidomain method to couple analytical models of the downstream domains with 3D numerical models of the upstream vasculature. This prior work either included pure resistance boundary conditions or impedance boundary conditions based on assumed periodicity of the solution. However, flow and pressure in arteries are not necessarily periodic in time due to heart rate variability, respiration, complex transitional flow or acute physiological changes. We present herein an approach for prescribing lumped parameter outflow boundary conditions that accommodate transient phenomena. We have applied this method to compute haemodynamic quantities in different physiologically relevant cardiovascular models, including patient-specific examples, to study non-periodic flow phenomena often observed in normal subjects and in patients with acquired or congenital cardiovascular disease. The relevance of using boundary conditions that accommodate transient phenomena compared with boundary conditions that assume periodicity of the solution is discussed

Eyes on the Prize: Delivering archival content with synchronized transcripts in Hydra

Regarded as the definitive work on the Civil Rights Movement, the documentary series, Eyes on the Prize, has been seen by millions since its PBS debut in 1987. However, what remains unseen is the nearly 85 hours of interview outtakes that provide further insight into the series’ original stories of struggle, resistance, and perseverance. Through the Eyes on the Prize Digitization and Reassembly project, funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, Washington University Libraries has made the complete, never-before-seen interviews and TEI XML encoded, synchronized transcripts freely accessible through its newly developed Hydra digital repository. This session will provide focuses on the development of workflows, metadata management, and the related challenges of implementing large-scale digitization projects, including digitization specifications, technical decisions, quality control, metadata creation, and Hydra implementation

A new functional calculus for non-commuting operators

In this paper we use the notion of slice monogenic functions \cite{slicecss} to define a new functional calculus for an $n$-tuple $T$ of not necessarily commuting operators. This calculus is different from the one discussed in \cite{jefferies} and it allows the explicit construction of the eigenvalue equation for the $n$-tuple $T$ based on a new notion of spectrum for $T$. Our functional calculus is consistent with the Riesz-Dunford calculus in the case of a single operator.Comment: to appear in Journal of Functional Analysi

Species richness patterns and functional traits of the bat fauna of arid southern Africa

The bat fauna of arid regions is still poorly studied mostly due to a lack of interest in areas with low species richness and a low number of threatened species. In this study, we reviewed the status of bat diversity in the arid parts of southern Africa, with the aim of setting up a baseline for future work. In particular, we described species richness patterns across four arid zones within the region (Namib Desert, Kalahari, Nama Karoo and Succulent Karoo), exploring abiotic gradients and local landscape structure. Additionally, we examined bat functional groups in this region and compared them with those of three other arid regions of the world to identify potential similarities and differences. The southern African arid region hosted 17 bat species, representing eight families, of which three are endemic to the region (Rhinolophus denti, Laephotis namibensis and Cistugo seabrae) and one is vagrant (the fruit bat Eidolon helvum). Species richness varied spatially within this arid region, being highest in the drier but topographically heterogeneous Namib Desert, probably as a result of roost availability. With regards to functional groups, the southern African arid region had few bat species adapted to foraging in open spaces, particularly when compared with the neighbouring savannahs. Drawing from this study, we suggest that: a) despite species richness decreasing with increasing aridity at the sub-continental scale, at a more local scale landscape features (e.g. habitat structure) might be more relevant than aridity in determining bat species richness; and b) an unknown factor, possibly patterns of temperature limiting the availability of insects flying high above the ground, restricted the diversity of the open air foragers throughout the region. We highlight additional areas of research worth investigation.Peer reviewe

Fine-scale distribution of carbohydrates on intertidal sediments in relation to diatom biomass and sediment properties

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) are produced by epipelic diatoms as a function of their locomotive mechanism and also protect cells from desiccation and heavy metal toxicity. EPS are carbohydrate-rich and form an important carbon source for heterotrophic microorganisms. In addition, the polymeric structure of EPS results in sediment inter-grain binding, thereby increasing the resistance of sediments to erosion forces. Despite the importance of generic carbohydrates (measured as an index of EPS), there is little information on their spatial distribution or factors influencing their abundance. In this study, a fine-scale sectioning technique was developed and provided the first depth profiles of sediment carbohydrates at a scale relevant to microphytobenthos. The operational separation of sediment carbohydrates into bulk and colloidal fractions was examined and fractions were shown to vary in spatial and temporal characteristics. Colloidal carbohydrates were concentrated in the surface 200 mum layer of intertidal mud flats and therefore influenced sediment interface processes such as diffusion and sediment erosion. Colloidal carbohydrates were positively correlated to sediment chlorophyll a concentrations and also varied with tidal height and with sediment topography. During the emersion period, colloidal carbohydrate concentrations increase significantly, however, bulk carbohydrate concentrations remain unchanged. Biochemical analysis of the carbohydrate fractions showed marked, but not statistically proven, differences in the proportion of monosaccharides present and suggested these operational fractions may arise from different sources and are subject to varying turnover rates. Bulk sediment carbohydrates increase in concentration with sediment depth in the upper millimetres of intertidal sediments and were positively correlated to increases in sediment density. The increase in density with depth reflects post- depositional compaction and has important implications for models which predict sediment erosion based on sediment density. These findings are discussed in relation to contemporary thinking on sediment processes

Computational Simulations for Aortic Coarctation: Representative Results From a Sampling of Patients

Treatments for coarctation of the aorta (CoA) can alleviate blood pressure (BP) gradients(D), but long-term morbidity still exists that can be explained by altered indices of hemodynamics and biomechanics. We introduce a technique to increase our understanding of these indices for CoA under resting and nonresting conditions, quantify their contribution to morbidity, and evaluate treatment options. Patient-specific computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were created from imaging and BP data for one normal and four CoA patients (moderate native CoA: D12 mmHg, severe native CoA: D25 mmHg and postoperative end-to-end and end-to-side patients: D0 mmHg). Simulations incorporated vessel deformation, downstream vascular resistance and compliance. Indices including cyclic strain, time-averaged wall shear stress (TAWSS), and oscillatory shear index (OSI) were quantified. Simulations replicated resting BP and blood flow data. BP during simulated exercise for the normal patient matched reported values. Greatest exercise-induced increases in systolic BP and mean and peak DBP occurred for the moderate native CoA patient (SBP: 115 to 154 mmHg; mean and peak DBP: 31 and 73 mmHg). Cyclic strain was elevated proximal to the coarctation for native CoA patients, but reduced throughout the aorta after treatment. A greater percentage of vessels was exposed to subnormal TAWSS or elevated OSI for CoA patients. Local patterns of these indices reported to correlate with atherosclerosis in normal patients were accentuated by CoA. These results apply CFD to a range of CoA patients for the first time and provide the foundation for future progress in this area

French and Canadian Inclusive Language Doctrine and Societal Attitudes

One of the most important French grammar rules is the rule of superiority: Masculine subjects always trump feminine subjects when there are multiple subjects. Superiority is closely followed by the acceptance that all nouns have a grammatical gender, either masculine or feminine. Since 1984, and over the span of forty years, these rules have been challenged on multiple levels of French society. The research conducted over the course of this thesis focuses on the mentality and reactions of the French people towards inclusive language made up of inclusive writing campaigns, the feminization of traditionally masculine names, career positions, and titles, and the introduction of gender-neutral forms of conjugating and neo-pronouns. The studied responses are be categorized into those of the French government, the Académie Française, as well as those from the Canadian government and the Office québécois de la langue française. Research demonstrates the existence of a clear division between "traditionalist" and progressive values at work within the afore-mentioned levels of French societal attitudes. While official government publications and committees seem to reflect a positive attitude towards the adoption of feminized terms, the lack of support for inclusive writing systems by the government contradicts this. This thesis outlines these responses and reactions, seeking to establish a timeline for the implementation and acceptance of feminized terms and neutralization efforts in both the French and Canadian governments