Methane Post-Processing and Hydrogen Separation for Spacecraft Oxygen Loop Closure

State-of-the-art life support oxygen recovery technology on the International Space Station is based on the Sabatier reaction where only about half of the oxygen required for the crew is recovered from metabolic carbon dioxide (CO2). The Sabatier reaction produces water as the primary product and methane as a byproduct. Oxygen recovery is constrained by both the limited availability of reactant hydrogen from water electrolysis and Sabatier methane (CH4) being vented as a waste product resulting in a continuous loss of reactant hydrogen. Post-processing methane with the Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA) to recover this hydrogen has the potential to substantially increase oxygen recovery and thus dramatically reduce the logistical challenges associated with oxygen resupply. The PPA decomposes methane into predominantly hydrogen and acetylene. A purification system is necessary to purify hydrogen before it is recycled back to the Sabatier reactor. Testing and evaluation of acetylene removal systems and PPA system architectures are presented and discussed

Acute Severe Pain Is a Common Consequence of Sexual Assault

Sexual assault (SA) is common, but the epidemiology of acute pain after SA has not previously been reported. We evaluated the severity and distribution of pain symptoms in the early aftermath of SA among women receiving sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) care, and the treatment of pain by SANE nurses. Severe pain (≥7 on a 0–10 numeric rating scale) was reported by 53/83 women sexual assault survivors (64% [95% CI, 53%–74%]) at the time of SANE evaluation and 43/83 women (52% [95% CI, 41%–63%]) one week later. Pain in four or more body regions was reported by 44/83 women (53% [95% CI, 42%–64%]) at the time of initial evaluation and 49/83 women (59% [95% CI, 48%–70%]) at one week follow-up. Among survivors with severe pain at the time of initial post-assault evaluation, only 7/53 (13% [95% CI, 6%–26%]) received any pain medication at the time of initial SANE treatment. These findings suggest that pain is common in SA survivors in the early post-assault period, but rarely treated

Extensive optical and near-infrared observations of the nearby, narrow-lined type Ic SN 2007gr: days 5 to 415

We present photometric and spectroscopic observations at optical and near-infrared wavelengths of the nearby type Ic SN 2007gr. These represent the most extensive data-set to date of any supernova of this sub-type, with frequent coverage from shortly after discovery to more than one year post-explosion. We deduce a rise time to B-band maximum of 11.5 \pm 2.7 days. We find a peak B-band magnitude of M_B=-16.8, and light curves which are remarkably similar to the so-called 'hypernova' SN 2002ap. In contrast, the spectra of SNe 2007gr and 2002ap show marked differences, not least in their respective expansion velocities. We attribute these differences primarily to the density profiles of their progenitor stars at the time of explosion i.e. a more compact star for SN 2007gr compared to SN 2002ap. From the quasi-bolometric light curve of SN 2007gr, we estimate that 0.076 $\pm$ 0.010 Msun of 56Ni was produced in the explosion. Our near-infrared (IR) spectra clearly show the onset and disappearance of the first overtone of carbon monoxide (CO) between ~70 to 175 days relative to B-band maximum. The detection of the CO molecule implies that ionised He was not microscopically mixed within the carbon/oxygen layers. From the optical spectra, near-IR light curves, and colour evolution, we find no evidence for dust condensation in the ejecta out to about 400 days. Given the combination of unprecedented temporal coverage, and high signal-to-noise data, we suggest that SN 2007gr could be used as a template object for supernovae of this sub-class.Comment: A&A accepted; 26 pages & 16 figure

Remarkable fly (Diptera) diversity in a patch of Costa Rican cloud forest : Why inventory is a vital science

Study of all flies (Diptera) collected for one year from a four-hectare (150 x 266 meter) patch of cloud forest at 1,600 meters above sea level at Zurqui de Moravia, San Jose Province, Costa Rica (hereafter referred to as Zurqui), revealed an astounding 4,332 species. This amounts to more than half the number of named species of flies for all of Central America. Specimens were collected with two Malaise traps running continuously and with a wide array of supplementary collecting methods for three days of each month. All morphospecies from all 73 families recorded were fully curated by technicians before submission to an international team of 59 taxonomic experts for identification. Overall, a Malaise trap on the forest edge captured 1,988 species or 51% of all collected dipteran taxa (other than of Phoridae, subsampled only from this and one other Malaise trap). A Malaise trap in the forest sampled 906 species. Of other sampling methods, the combination of four other Malaise traps and an intercept trap, aerial/hand collecting, 10 emergence traps, and four CDC light traps added the greatest number of species to our inventory. This complement of sampling methods was an effective combination for retrieving substantial numbers of species of Diptera. Comparison of select sampling methods (considering 3,487 species of non-phorid Diptera) provided further details regarding how many species were sampled by various methods. Comparison of species numbers from each of two permanent Malaise traps from Zurqui with those of single Malaise traps at each of Tapanti and Las Alturas, 40 and 180 km distant from Zurqui respectively, suggested significant species turnover. Comparison of the greater number of species collected in all traps from Zurqui did not markedly change the degree of similarity between the three sites, although the actual number of species shared did increase. Comparisons of the total number of named and unnamed species of Diptera from four hectares at Zurqui is equivalent to 51% of all flies named from Central America, greater than all the named fly fauna of Colombia, equivalent to 14% of named Neotropical species and equal to about 2.7% of all named Diptera worldwide. Clearly the number of species of Diptera in tropical regions has been severely underestimated and the actual number may surpass the number of species of Coleoptera. Various published extrapolations from limited data to estimate total numbers of species of larger taxonomic categories (e.g., Hexapoda, Arthropoda, Eukaryota, etc.) are highly questionable, and certainly will remain uncertain until we have more exhaustive surveys of all and diverse taxa (like Diptera) from multiple tropical sites. Morphological characterization of species in inventories provides identifications placed in the context of taxonomy, phylogeny, form, and ecology. DNA barcoding species is a valuable tool to estimate species numbers but used alone fails to provide a broader context for the species identified.Peer reviewe

Relative Burden of Cancer and Noncancer Mortality Among Long-Term Survivors of Breast, Prostate, and Colorectal Cancer in the US

IMPORTANCE: Improvements in cancer outcomes have led to a need to better understand long-term oncologic and nononcologic outcomes and quantify cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality risks among long-term survivors. OBJECTIVE: To assess absolute and relative cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific mortality rates among long-term survivors of cancer, as well as associated risk factors. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cohort study included 627 702 patients in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry with breast, prostate, or colorectal cancer who received a diagnosis between January 1, 2003, and December 31, 2014, who received definitive treatment for localized disease and who were alive 5 years after their initial diagnosis (ie, long-term survivors of cancer). Statistical analysis was conducted from November 2022 to January 2023. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Survival time ratios (TRs) were calculated using accelerated failure time models, and the primary outcome of interest examined was death from index cancer vs alternative (nonindex cancer) mortality across breast, prostate, colon, and rectal cancer cohorts. Secondary outcomes included subgroup mortality in cancer-specific risk groups, categorized based on prognostic factors, and proportion of deaths due to cancer-specific vs noncancer-specific causes. Independent variables included age, sex, race and ethnicity, income, residence, stage, grade, estrogen receptor status, progesterone receptor status, prostate-specific antigen level, and Gleason score. Follow-up ended in 2019. RESULTS: The study included 627 702 patients (mean [SD] age, 61.1 [12.3] years; 434 848 women [69.3%]): 364 230 with breast cancer, 118 839 with prostate cancer, and 144 633 with colorectal cancer who survived 5 years or more from an initial diagnosis of early-stage cancer. Factors associated with shorter median cancer-specific survival included stage III disease for breast cancer (TR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.53-0.55) and colorectal cancer (colon: TR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.58-0.62; rectal: TR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.69-0.74), as well as a Gleason score of 8 or higher for prostate cancer (TR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.58-0.63). For all cancer cohorts, patients at low risk had at least a 3-fold higher noncancer-specific mortality compared with cancer-specific mortality at 10 years of diagnosis. Patients at high risk had a higher cumulative incidence of cancer-specific mortality than noncancer-specific mortality in all cancer cohorts except prostate. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study is the first to date to examine competing oncologic and nononcologic risks focusing on long-term adult survivors of cancer. Knowledge of the relative risks facing long-term survivors may help provide pragmatic guidance to patients and clinicians regarding the importance of ongoing primary and oncologic-focused care

Comprehensive inventory of true flies (Diptera) at a tropical site

Peer reviewe

Interaction between polymorphisms of the Human Leukocyte Antigen and HPV-16 Variants on the risk of invasive cervical cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Persistent infection with oncogenic types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the major risk factor for invasive cervical cancer (ICC), and non-European variants of HPV-16 are associated with an increased risk of persistence and ICC. HLA class II polymorphisms are also associated with genetic susceptibility to ICC. Our aim is to verify if these associations are influenced by HPV-16 variability.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We characterized HPV-16 variants by PCR in 107 ICC cases, which were typed for <it>HLA-DQA1</it>, <it>DRB1 </it>and <it>DQB1 </it>genes and compared to 257 controls. We measured the magnitude of associations by logistic regression analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>European (E), Asian-American (AA) and African (Af) variants were identified. Here we show that inverse association between <it>DQB1*05 </it>(adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.39–1.12]) and HPV-16 positive ICC in our previous report was mostly attributable to AA variant carriers (OR = 0.27; 95%CI: 0.10–0.75). We observed similar proportions of <it>HLA DRB1*1302 </it>carriers in E-P positive cases and controls, but interestingly, this allele was not found in AA cases (p = 0.03, Fisher exact test). A positive association with <it>DRB1*15 </it>was observed in both groups of women harboring either E (OR = 2.99; 95% CI: 1.13–7.86) or AA variants (OR = 2.34; 95% CI: 1.00–5.46). There was an inverse association between <it>DRB1*04 </it>and ICC among women with HPV-16 carrying the 350T [83L] single nucleotide polymorphism in the <it>E6 </it>gene (OR = 0.27; 95% CI: 0.08–0.96). An inverse association between <it>DQB1*05 </it>and cases carrying 350G (83V) variants was also found (OR = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.15–0.89).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that the association between HLA polymorphism and risk of ICC might be influenced by the distribution of HPV-16 variants.</p