Experimental Stage Separation Tool Development in NASA Langley's Aerothermodynamics Laboratory

As part of the research effort at NASA in support of the stage separation and ascent aerothermodynamics research program, proximity testing of a generic bimese wing-body configuration was conducted in NASA Langley's Aerothermodynamics Laboratory in the 20-Inch Mach 6 Air Tunnel. The objective of this work is the development of experimental tools and testing methodologies to apply to hypersonic stage separation problems for future multi-stage launch vehicle systems. Aerodynamic force and moment proximity data were generated at a nominal Mach number of 6 over a small range of angles of attack. The generic bimese configuration was tested in a belly-to-belly and back-to-belly orientation at 86 relative proximity locations. Over 800 aerodynamic proximity data points were taken to serve as a database for code validation. Longitudinal aerodynamic data generated in this test program show very good agreement with viscous computational predictions. Thus a framework has been established to study separation problems in the hypersonic regime using coordinated experimental and computational tools

Social Workers' Attitudes Towards Public Accountability

The public demand for accountability of human services has been increasing in the United States. Despite the growing importance of public accountability as a special responsibility of social workers, little information is available in U.S. on how these pro fessionals react to the implementation of accountability programs. The survey reported in this paper was made to explore the attitudes of social workers in U.S. hospitals toward PSRO, a nationwide health care service review system. The paper presents a descriptive overview of significant aspects of American social workers' personal attitudes toward various issues of current concern about this accountability system.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67090/2/10.1177_002087288402700307.pd

Tau Decays and Chiral Perturbation Theory

In a small window of phase space, chiral perturbation theory can be used to make standard model predictions for tau decays into two and three pions. For $\tau \to 2\pi \nu_\tau$, we give the analytical result for the relevant form factor $F_V$ up to two loops, then calculate the differential spectrum and compare with available data. For $\tau \to 3 \pi \nu_\tau$, we have calculated the hadronic matrix element to one loop. We discuss the decomposition of the three pion states into partition states and we give detailed predictions for the decay in terms of structure functions. We also compare with low energy predictions of meson dominance models. Overall, we find good agreement, but also some interesting discrepancies, which might have consequences beyond the limit of validity of chiral perturbation theory.Comment: 39 pages, Latex, including 8 Postscript figures. The complete paper is also available via anonymous ftp at ftp://www-ttp.physik.uni-karlsruhe.de/ , or via www at http://www-ttp.physik.uni-karlsruhe.de/cgi-bin/preprint

CP Violation in τ→3πντ\tau\rightarrow 3\pi\nu_\tau

We consider CP violating effects in the decays $\tau\rightarrow (3\pi)\nu_\tau$ where both the ${\rm J}^{\rm P}=1^+$ resonance, $a_1$, and ${\rm J}^{\rm P}=0^-$ resonance, $\pi^\prime$, can contribute. The interference between the $a_1$ and $\pi^\prime$ resonances can lead to enhanced CP-violating asymmetries whose magnitudes depend crucially on the $\pi^\prime$ decay constant, $f_{\pi^\prime}$. We make an estimate of $f_{\pi^\prime}$ with a simplified chiral Lagrangian coupled to a massive pseudoscalar field, and we compare the estimates from the non-relativistic quark model and from the QCD sum rule with the estimate from the `mock' meson model. We then estimate quantitatively the size of CP-violating effects in a multi-Higgs-doublet model and scalar-leptoquark models. We find that, while CP-violating effects in the scalar-leptoquark models may require more than $10^{10}$ $\tau$ leptons, CP-violating effects from the multi-Higgs-doublet model can be seen at the $2\sigma$ level with about $10^7$ $\tau$ leptons using the chiral Lagrangian estimate of $f_{\pi^\prime}=(1\sim 5)\times 10^{-3}$ GeV.Comment: Latex, 30 pages, 2 figures (not included). Three compressed postscript files of the paper available at ftp://ftp.kek.jp/kek/preprints/TH/TH-419/kekth419.ps.gz, Tau1.ps.gz, Tau2.ps.g

Applications and efficiencies of the first cat 63K DNA array

The development of high throughput SNP genotyping technologies has improved the genetic dissection of simple and complex traits in many species including cats. The properties of feline 62,897 SNPs Illumina Infinium iSelect DNA array are described using a dataset of over 2,000 feline samples, the most extensive to date, representing 41 cat breeds, a random bred population, and four wild felid species. Accuracy and efficiency of the array\u2019s genotypes and its utility in performing population-based analyses were evaluated. Average marker distance across the array was 37,741 Kb, and across the dataset, only 1% (625) of the markers exhibited poor genotyping and only 0.35% (221) showed Mendelian errors. Marker polymorphism varied across cat breeds and the average minor allele frequency (MAF) of all markers across domestic cats was 0.21. Population structure analysis confirmed a Western to Eastern structural continuum of cat breeds. Genome-wide linkage disequilibrium ranged from 50\u20131,500 Kb for domestic cats and 750 Kb for European wildcats (Felis silvestris silvestris). Array use in trait association mapping was investigated under different modes of inheritance, selection and population sizes. The efficient array design and cat genotype dataset continues to advance the understanding of cat breeds and will support monogenic health studies across feline breeds and populations

No evidence that protein truncating variants in BRIP1 are associated with breast cancer risk: implications for gene panel testing.

BACKGROUND: BRCA1 interacting protein C-terminal helicase 1 (BRIP1) is one of the Fanconi Anaemia Complementation (FANC) group family of DNA repair proteins. Biallelic mutations in BRIP1 are responsible for FANC group J, and previous studies have also suggested that rare protein truncating variants in BRIP1 are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. These studies have led to inclusion of BRIP1 on targeted sequencing panels for breast cancer risk prediction. METHODS: We evaluated a truncating variant, p.Arg798Ter (rs137852986), and 10 missense variants of BRIP1, in 48 144 cases and 43 607 controls of European origin, drawn from 41 studies participating in the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC). Additionally, we sequenced the coding regions of BRIP1 in 13 213 cases and 5242 controls from the UK, 1313 cases and 1123 controls from three population-based studies as part of the Breast Cancer Family Registry, and 1853 familial cases and 2001 controls from Australia. RESULTS: The rare truncating allele of rs137852986 was observed in 23 cases and 18 controls in Europeans in BCAC (OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.58 to 2.03, p=0.79). Truncating variants were found in the sequencing studies in 34 cases (0.21%) and 19 controls (0.23%) (combined OR 0.90, 95% CI 0.48 to 1.70, p=0.75). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that truncating variants in BRIP1, and in particular p.Arg798Ter, are not associated with a substantial increase in breast cancer risk. Such observations have important implications for the reporting of results from breast cancer screening panels.The COGS project is funded through a European Commission's Seventh Framework Programme grant (agreement number 223175 - HEALTH-F2-2009-223175). BCAC is funded by Cancer Research UK [C1287/A10118, C1287/A12014] and by the European Community´s Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement number 223175 (grant number HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS). Funding for the iCOGS infrastructure came from: the European Community's Seventh Framework Programme under grant agreement n° 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-223175) (COGS), Cancer Research UK (C1287/A10118, C1287/A 10710, C12292/A11174, C1281/A12014, C5047/A8384, C5047/A15007, C5047/A10692, C8197/A16565), the National Institutes of Health (CA128978) and Post-Cancer GWAS initiative (1U19 CA148537, 1U19 16 CA148065 and 1U19 CA148112 - the GAME-ON initiative), the Department of Defense (W81XWH-10-1- 0341), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) for the CIHR Team in Familial Risks of Breast Cancer, Komen Foundation for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. This study made use of data generated by the Wellcome Trust Case Control consortium. Funding for the project was provided by the Wellcome Trust under award 076113. The results published here are in part based upon data generated by The Cancer Genome Atlas Project established by the National Cancer Institute and National Human Genome Research Institute.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from BMJ Group at http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jmedgenet-2015-103529