NASA/USRA high altitude research aircraft. Gryphon: Soar like an eagle with the roar of a lion

At the equator, the ozone layer ranges from 65,000 to 130,000+ feet. This is beyond the capabilities of the ER-2, which is NASA's current high altitude reconnaissance aircraft. The Universities Space Research Association, in cooperation with NASA, is sponsoring an undergraduate program which is geared to designing an aircraft that can study the ozoned layer at the equator. This aircraft must be able to satisfy four mission profiles. Mission one is a polar mission which ranges from Chile to the South Pole and back to Chile, a total range of 6000 n. mi. at 100,000 feet with a 2500 lb. payload. The second mission is also a polar mission with a decreased altitude of 70,000 feet and an increased payload of 4000 lb. For the third mission, the aircraft will take-off at NASA Ames, cruise at 100,000 feet carrying a 2500 lb. payload, and land in Puerto Montt, Chile. The final mission requires the aircraft to take-off at NASA Ames, cruise at 100,000 feet with a 1000 lb. payload, make an excursion to 120,000 feet, and land at Howard AFB, Panama. All three missions require that a subsonic Mach number be maintained due to constraints imposed by the air sampling equipment. The aircraft need not be manned for all four missions. Three aircraft configurations were determined to be the most suitable for meeting the above requirements. The performance of each configuration is analyzed to investigate the feasibility of the project requirements. In the event that a requirement can not be obtained within the given constraints, recommendations for proposal modifications are given

Young Stellar Populations in the Collisional Ring Galaxy NGC 922

We studied the star cluster population properties in the nearby collisional ring galaxy NGC 922 using HST/WFPC2 photometry and population synthesis modeling. We found that 69% of the detected clusters are younger than 7 Myr, and that most of them are located in the ring or along the bar, consistent with the strong Halpha emission. The images also show a tidal plume pointing toward the companion. Its stellar age is consistent with pre-existing stars that were probably stripped off during the passage of the companion. We compared the star-forming complexes observed in NGC 922 with those of a distant ring galaxy from the GOODS field. It indicates very similar masses and sizes, suggesting similar origins. Finally, we found clusters that are excellent progenitor candidates for faint fuzzy clusters.Comment: To be published in the IAU Symposium 262 proceeding. 2 page

Maintenance of certification for practicing physicians: a review of current challenges and considerations

Maintenance of certification (MOC) has become increasingly important in medicine to ensure maintenance of competence throughout a physician’s career. This paper reviews current issues and challenges associated with MOC in medicine, including how to define medical competencies for practicing physicians, assessment, and how best to support physicians’ lifelong learning in a continuous and self-motivated way. We explore how the combination of self-monitoring, regular feedback, and peer support could improve self-assessment.  Effective MOC programs are learner-driven, focused on every day practice, and incorporate educational principles. We discuss the importance of MOC to the physicians’ actual practice to improve acceptability. We review the benefits of tailored programs as well as decentralization of MOC programs to better characterize the physician’s practice. Lastly, we discuss the value of simulation-based medical education in MOC programs. Simulation-based education could be used to practice uncommon complications, life-threatening scenarios, non-technical skills improvement, and become proficient with new technology. As learners find simulation experiences educationally valuable, clinically relevant, and positive, simulation could be a way of increasing physicians’ participation in MOC programs

Barriers, Challenges, and Supports to the Implementation of Standardized Patients and Simulated Environments by Occupational Therapy Education Programs

A national survey examined the implementation rates, barriers, challenges, and supports to implementation of two types of simulation (standardized patients and simulated environments) by entry-level occupational therapy education programs in the United States. It also sought to identify relationships between program characteristics and implementation of these types of simulation. An online survey inquiring about academic program characteristics and use of simulation was sent to all occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant programs in the United States in 2017 prior to the implementation of the 2018 Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education Standards and the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Data were analyzed using both statistical and content analysis. There were 97 responses to the survey, with an approximate response rate of 23.8%. Thirty-eight percent of responses used standardized patients and 70% used simulated environments in their didactic coursework. Programs at private institutions were more likely to use standardized patients than programs at public institutions (Cramer’s V=0.229; p=0.024). Funding was the most cited support, challenge, and barrier to the use of standardized patients. Physical space was the most cited support and challenge for the use of simulated environments, with funding as the most cited barrier. Study results indicate that adequate funding, space, and potentially other resources are needed for successful implementation of these types of simulation. Future research should further study the barriers and supports to implementation of simulation by occupational therapy academic programs as well as further examination of implementation rates

Complexes of transition and nontransition metals of dithiocarbazate ion and their biological activities.

The complexation of the dithiocarbazate ion (DTCA−) with various metal ions, viz., Sn(II)/(IV), Bi(III), Sb(III), U(VI), Zr(IV), Th(IV), Al(III), Ni(II), Zn(II), and Cu(II) was investigated. Most of the complexes were hexa-coordinated with the exception of Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) complexes that were four-coordinated. The biological properties of the metal complexes revealed that in general the complexes of nontransition metals were more effective against microorganisms than those of transition metals. In particular, [Sb(DTCA)Cl2·2H2O] and [Al(DTCA)Cl2·2H2O] were found to have strong antimicrobial activities. A minimum inhibitory concentration of 300 μg/mL was recorded for the above two complexes against Pseudomonas aeruginosa while that against Bacillus cereus was found to be 700 μg/mL. None of the complexes were cytotoxic

Thermal studies on chromium(II) salts: part 2

The thermal behavior of Cr(pn)3Br2·2H2O, Cr(pn)3Cl2·2H2O, Cr(pn)3SO4, Cr(dien)2Br2, Cr(dien)2Cl2, Cr(dien)Cl2 and Cr(dien)Br2 was investigated using TG and DSC under nitrogen atmosphere. The thermograms are interpreted and the enthalpies of dissociation are calculated where possible

Ydj1 governs fungal morphogenesis and stress response, and facilitates mitochondrial protein import via Mas1 and Mas2

We thank Zhen-Yuan Lin for help in the preparation of the AP-MS samples, and Cathy Collins for technical assistance. MDL is supported by a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship (Wellcome Trust 096072), LEC is supported by a Canada Research Chair in Microbial Genomics and Infectious Disease and by Cana-dian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Grants MOP-119520 and MOP-86452. OK is supported by National Insti-tutes of Health grant 5R01GM108975. A-CG is supported by a CIHR Foundation Grant (FDN143301), Genome Cana-da Genomics Innovation Network (GIN) Node and Tech-nical Development Grants, and a Canada Research Chair in Functional Proteomics. J-PL was supported by a TD Bank Health Research Fellowship at the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and by a Scholarship for the Next Gen-eration of Scientists from the Cancer Research Society. JLX is supported by a CIHR – Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate Scholarship. The funding agencies had no role in the study design, data collection and inter-pretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Peripheralization through mass housing urbanization in Hong Kong, Mexico City, and Paris

This article compares how state-initiated mass housing urbanization has contributed to processes of peripheralization in three very different historical and geopolitical settings: in Paris from the 1950s to the 1990s in Hong Kong from the 1950s to 2010s and in Mexico City from the 1990s to the 2010s. We understand mass housing urbanization as large-scale industrial housing production based on the intervention of state actors into the urbanization process which leads to the strategic re-organization of urban territories. In this comparison across space and time we focus particularly on how, when and to what degree this urbanization process leads to the peripheralization of settlements and entire neighbourhoods over the course of several decades. This long-term perspective allows us to evaluate not only the decisive turns and ruptures within governmental rationales but also the continuities and contradictions of their territorial effects. Finally, we develop a taxonomy of different modalities of peripheralization that might serve as a conceptual tool for further urban research