Bonding Lexan and sapphire to form high-pressure, flame-resistant window

Flammable materials have been studied in normal gravity and microgravity for many years. Photography plays a major role in the study of the combustion process giving a permanent visual record that can be analyzed. When these studies are extended to manned spacecraft, safety becomes a primary concern. The need for a high-pressure, flame-resistant, shatter-resistant window permitting photographic recording of combustion experiments in manned spacecraft prompted the development of a method for bonding Lexan and sapphire. Materials that resist shattering (e.g., Lexan) are not compatible with combustion experiments; the material loses strength at combustion temperatures. Sapphire is compatible with combustion temperatures in oxygen-enriched atmospheres but is subject to shattering. Combining the two materials results in a shatter-resistant, flame-resistant window. Combustion in microgravity produces a low-visibility flame; however, flame propagation and flame characteristics are readily visible as long as there is no deterioration of the image. Since an air gap between the Lexan and the sapphire would reduce transmission, a method was developed for bonding these unlike materials to minimize light loss

Economic Feasibility of Ethanol Production from Sweet Sorghum Juice in Texas

The economic feasibility of producing ethanol from sweet sorghum juice is projected using Monte Carlo simulation models to estimate the price ethanol plants will likely have to pay for sweet sorghum and the uncertain returns for ethanol plants. Ethanol plants in high yielding regions will likely generate returns on assets of 11%-12% and in low yield areas the returns on assets will be less than 10%.Sweet Sorghum, Ethanol, Monte Carlo Simulation, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Risk and Uncertainty, D20 G10 D81 C15,

Highly Collimated Jets and Wide-Angle Outflows in HH46/47: New Evidence from Spitzer IR Images

We present new details of the structure and morphology of the jets and outflows in HH46/47 as seen in Spitzer infrared images from IRAC and MIPS, reprocessed using the ``HiRes'' deconvolution technique. HiRes improves the visualization of spatial morphology by enhancing resolution (to sub-arcsec levels in IRAC bands) and removing the contaminating side lobes from bright sources. In addition to sharper views of previously reported bow shocks, we have detected: (i) the sharply-delineated cavity walls of the wide-angle biconical outflow, seen in scattered light on both sides of the protostar, (ii) several very narrow jet features at distances 400 AU to 0.1 pc from the star, and, (iii) compact emissions at MIPS 24 micron coincident with the jet heads, tracing the hottest atomic/ionic gas in the bow shocks.Comment: 11 pages, 4 Figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ(Letters

Massive Quiescent Cores in Orion. -- II. Core Mass Function

We have surveyed submillimeter continuum emission from relatively quiescent regions in the Orion molecular cloud to determine how the core mass function in a high mass star forming region compares to the stellar initial mass function. Such studies are important for understanding the evolution of cores to stars, and for comparison to formation processes in high and low mass star forming regions. We used the SHARC II camera on the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory telescope to obtain 350 \micron data having angular resolution of about 9 arcsec, which corresponds to 0.02 pc at the distance of Orion. Our analysis combining dust continuum and spectral line data defines a sample of 51 Orion molecular cores with masses ranging from 0.1 \Ms to 46 \Ms and a mean mass of 9.8 \Ms, which is one order of magnitude higher than the value found in typical low mass star forming regions, such as Taurus. The majority of these cores cannot be supported by thermal pressure or turbulence, and are probably supercritical.They are thus likely precursors of protostars. The core mass function for the Orion quiescent cores can be fitted by a power law with an index equal to -0.85$\pm$0.21. This is significantly flatter than the Salpeter initial mass function and is also flatter than the core mass function found in low and intermediate star forming regions. Thus, it is likely that environmental processes play a role in shaping the stellar IMF later in the evolution of dense cores and the formation of stars in such regions.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, accepted by Ap

Developmental Origin of Oligodendrocyte Lineage Cells Determines Response to Demyelination and Susceptibility to Age-Associated Functional Decline.

Oligodendrocyte progenitors (OPs) arise from distinct ventral and dorsal domains within the ventricular germinal zones of the embryonic CNS. The functional significance, if any, of these different populations is not known. Using dual-color reporter mice to distinguish ventrally and dorsally derived OPs, we show that, in response to focal demyelination of the young adult spinal cord or corpus callosum, dorsally derived OPs undergo enhanced proliferation, recruitment, and differentiation as compared with their ventral counterparts, making a proportionally larger contribution to remyelination. However, with increasing age (up to 13 months), the dorsally derived OPs become less able to differentiate into mature oligodendrocytes. Comparison of dorsally and ventrally derived OPs in culture revealed inherent differences in their migration and differentiation capacities. Therefore, the responsiveness of OPs to demyelination, their contribution to remyelination, and their susceptibility to age-associated functional decline are markedly dependent on their developmental site of origin in the developing neural tube.A.H.C. was funded by a Wellcome Trust Integrated Training Fellowship (096384/Z/11/Z). Work in R.J.M.F.’s laboratory was funded by The UK Multiple Sclerosis Society (941) and by a core support grant from the Wellcome Trust and MRC to the Wellcome Trust – Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. Work in W.D.R.’s laboratory was funded by the Medical Research Council (G0800575), the Wellcome Trust (WT100269AIA), and the European Research Council (293544).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Cell Press via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2016.03.06

Epidrug mediated re-expression of miRNA targeting the HMGA transcripts in pituitary cells

Transgenic mice overexpressing the high mobility group A (HMGA) genes, Hmga1 or Hmga2 develop pituitary tumours and their overexpression is also a frequent finding in human pituitary adenomas. In some cases, increased expression of HMGA2 but not that of HMGA1 is consequent to genetic perturbations. However, recent studies show that down-regulation of microRNA (miRNA), that contemporaneously target the HMGA1 and HMGA2 transcripts, are associated with their overexpression. In a cohort of primary pituitary adenoma we determine the impact of epigenetic modifications on the expression of HMGA-targeting miRNA. For these miRNAs, chromatin immunoprecipitations showed that transcript down-regulation is correlated with histone tail modifications associated with condensed silenced genes. The functional impact of epigenetic modification on miRNA expression was determined in the rodent pituitary cell line, GH3. In these cells, histone tail, miRNA-associated, modifications were similar to those apparent in human adenoma and likely account for their repression. Indeed, challenge of GH3 cells with the epidrugs, zebularine and TSA, led to enrichment of the histone modification, H3K9Ac, associated with active genes, and depletion of the modification, H3K27me3, associated with silent genes and re-expression of HMGA-targeting miRNA. Moreover, epidrugs challenges were also associated with a concomitant decrease in hmga1 transcript and protein levels and concurrent increase in bmp-4 expression. These findings show that the inverse relationship between HMGA expression and targeting miRNA is reversible through epidrug interventions. In addition to showing a mechanistic link between epigenetic modifications and miRNA expression these findings underscore their potential as therapeutic targets in this and other diseases

SAGES guidelines for the clinical application of laparoscopic biliary tract surgery

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) has become the standard of care for patients requiring removal of the gallbladder. In 1992, a National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus development conference concluded that ‘‘laparoscopic cholecystectomy provides a safe and effective treatment for most patients with symptomatic gallstones, laparoscopic cholecystectomy appears to have become the procedure of choice for many of these patients’’ [1]. The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) first offered guidelines for the clinical application of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in May 1990. These guidelines have peri- odically been updated, and the last guideline in November 2002 expanded the guidelines to include all laparoscopic biliary tract surgery. This document updates and replaces the previous guideline. The current recommendations are graded and linked to the evidence utilizing the definitions in Appendices 1 and 2.