T55-L-712 turbine engine compressor housing refurbishment-plasma spray project

A study was conducted to assess the feasibility of reclaiming T55-L-712 turbine engine compressor housings with an 88 wt percent aluminum to 12 wt percent silicon alloy applied by a plasma spray process. Tensile strength testing was conducted on as-sprayed and thermally cycled test specimens which were plasma sprayed with 0.020 to 0.100 in. coating thicknesses. Satisfactory tensile strength values were observed in the as-sprayed tensile specimens. There was essentially no decrease in tensile strength after thermally cycling the tensile specimens. Furthermore, compressor housings were plasma sprayed and thermally cycled in a 150-hr engine test and a 200-hr actual flight test during which the turbine engine was operated at a variety of loads, speeds and torques. The plasma sprayed coating system showed no evidence of degradation or delamination from the compressor housings. As a result of these tests, a procedure was designed and developed for the application of an aluminum-silicon alloy in order to reclaim T55-L-712 turbine engine compressor housings

Effects of bleed air extraction on thrust levels on the F404-GE-400 turbofan engine

A ground test was performed to determine the effects of compressor bleed flow extraction on the performance of F404-GE-400 afterburning turbofan engines. The two engines were installed in the F/A-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility. A specialized bleed ducting system was installed onto the aircraft to control and measure engine bleed airflow while the aircraft was tied down to a thrust measuring stand. The test was conducted on each engine and at various power settings. The bleed air extraction levels analyzed included flow rates above the manufacturer's maximum specification limit. The measured relationship between thrust and bleed flow extraction was shown to be essentially linear at all power settings with an increase in bleed flow causing a corresponding decrease in thrust. A comparison with the F404-GE-400 steady-state engine simulation showed the estimation to be within +/- 1 percent of measured thrust losses for large increases in bleed flow rate

Multifactorial analysis of human blood cell responses to clinical total body irradiation

Multiple regression analysis techniques are used to study the effects of therapeutic radiation exposure, number of fractions, and time on such quantal responses as tumor control and skin injury. The potential of these methods for the analysis of human blood cell responses is demonstrated and estimates are given of the effects of total amount of exposure and time of protraction in determining the minimum white blood cell concentration observed after exposure of patients from four disease groups

Restoring The Body\u27s Ability To Connect: Using Principles Of Contact Improvisation In Dance/Movement Therapy To Process Interpersonal Trauma

Survivors of interpersonal trauma face unique and pervasive challenges following repetitive emotional, physical, and sexual abuse that misuses the social contract of trust in human relationship. The impact of abuse is revealed through the vehicle of trauma, the body, seen through lasting effects such as disassociation, hypervigilance, and difficulty expressing oneself. In an abusive relationship, control is monopolized, and the survivor’s agency is diminished. To restore a survivor’s trust in their body, the relational dance form of contact improvisation is proposed as a relevant tool to be examined in dance/movement therapy. A theoretical analysis of contact improvisation principles and dance/movement therapy is outlined to safely, progressively, and contextually restore resources to survivors of trauma. Guidelines to enhance connection to oneself and to others are carefully explored to guide embodiment, repair the use of touch, and develop equitable relationships

Video Killed the Radio Star : An Analysis on the Decline in Popularity of Classical Music

With rapid advances in modern technology and the lack of funding in musical education across the United States, it has been widely accepted that traditional Western classical music is dying. Evidence of shifting preferences in musical genres amongst younger generations and a widening divide between “art” and “pop” music prove classical music’s growing irrelevance in this modern age. To justify this growing issue, Milton Babbit’s article, Who Cares If You Listen? encouraged the alienation of modern audiences from contemporary composers, believing a-tonal music to be made by “specialists” for “specialists”. Others, like the audience agency in London, who published the National Classical Music Audiences, analyze consumer preferences through financial and statistical evidence. As these two examples show, many have examined the decline in popularity through either the lens of sociological issues or that of marketing, yet there has been little research that justifies sociological assumptions through a business perspective. In order to administer effective solutions to the growing concern of classical music longevity this paper aims to do away with the stereotype of the “uneducated masses”. The author believes that it is not the audience that is the problem, but the slow progression of the seller (i.e. musician and composer) to be innovative in creating a valuable service to a diverse market. Rather than turning a blind eye to technological advances and stubbornly preferring to remain “traditional”, it would behoove the orchestra to create an accessible environment through web streaming, adding business-oriented board members, and redefining the overall experience of concert going

The role of copper in disulfiram-induced toxicity and radiosensitization of cancer cells

<p>Disulfiram has been used for several decades in the treatment of alcoholism. It now shows promise as an anti-cancer drug and radiosensitizer. Proposed mechanisms of action include the induction of oxidative stress and inhibition of proteasome activity. Our purpose was to determine the potential of disulfiram to enhance the anti-tumor efficacy of external beam ϒ-irradiation and 131I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG), a radiopharmaceutical used for the therapy of neuroendocrine tumors.</p> <p>Methods: The role of copper in disulfiram-induced toxicity was investigated by clonogenic assay after treatment of human SK-N-BE(2c) neuroblastoma and UVW/NAT glioma cells. Synergistic interaction between disulfiram and radiotherapy was evaluated by combination index analysis. Tumor growth delay was determined in vitro using multicellular tumor spheroids and in vivo using human tumor xenografts in athymic mice.</p> <p>Results: Escalating disulfiram dosage caused a biphasic reduction in the surviving fraction of clonogens. Clonogenic cell kill after treatment with disulfiram concentrations less than 4 μM was copper-dependent, whereas cytotoxicity at concentrations greater than 10 μM was caused by oxidative stress. The cytotoxic effect of disulfiram was maximal when administered with equimolar copper. Likewise, disulfiram’s radiosensitization of tumor cells was copper-dependent. Furthermore, disulfiram treatment enhanced the toxicity of 131I-MIBG to spheroids and xenografts expressing the noradrenaline transporter.</p> <p>Conclusions: The results demonstrate that (i) the cytotoxicity of disulfiram was copper-dependent; (ii) molar excess of disulfiram relative to copper resulted in attenuation of disulfiram-mediated cytotoxicity; (iii) copper was required for the radiosensitizing activity of disulfiram and (iv) copper-complexed disulfiram enhanced the efficacy not only of external beam radiation but also of targeted radionuclide therapy in the form of 131I-MIBG. Therefore disulfiram may have anti-cancer potential in combination with radiotherapy.</p&gt

Benthic communities in Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis dominated salt marshes

The benthic communities were investigated in Phragmites australis and Spartina altemiflora salt marshes, conducted in natural and mitigated salt marshes located in a highly urbanized area, the Hackensack Meadowlands, New Jersey. Benthic samples were taken with a 5-centimeter core at two habitats, the creek bank and the edge of the vegetation in the low marsh zone. Salinity levels and textural and structural sediment characteristics were also collected at each site. A recolonization experiment that utilized sediment from an undisturbed and uncontaminated salt marsh was conducted to determine if substrate is important in benthic colonization. The results suggest that there were differences in abundance, taxa richness, diversity, and composition in the benthic communities found among the different types of grasses as well as the mitigated and natural marshes. The Phragmites australis marsh had a more diverse benthic community than the natural and mitigated Spartina alterniflora marshes. The mitigated marshes had a greater abundance and lower diversity than the natural marshes. However, there were differences in salinity levels (oligohaline to polyhaline) between the mitigated and natural marshes that could result in different types of benthic communities. Substrate and contamination did not seem to be a factor in the recolonization of benthic communities. The principles of opportunism were responsible for shaping the benthic communities in the recolonization experiment. This study shows that Phragmites australis supports a healthy benthic community. The benthic community of the mitigated marsh did not resemble the natural marshes after 12-years of establishment