Materials thermal and thermoradiative properties/characterization technology

Reliable properties data on well characterized materials are necessary for design of experiments and interpretation of experimental results. The activities of CINDAS to provide data bases and predict properties are discussed. An understanding of emissivity behavior is important in order to select appropriate methods for non-contact temperature determination. Related technical issues are identified and recommendations are offered

Analysis and measurement of electromagnetic scattering by pyramidal and wedge absorbers

By modifying the reflection coefficients in the Uniform Geometrical Theory of Diffraction a solution that approximates the scattering from a dielectric wedge is found. This solution agrees closely with the exact solution of Rawlins which is only valid for a few minor cases. This modification is then applied to the corner diffraction coefficient and combined with an equivalent current and geometrical optics solutions to model scattering from pyramid and wedge absorbers. Measured results from 12 inch pyramid absorbers from 2 to 18 GHz are compared to calculations assuming the returns add incoherently and assuming the returns add coherently. The measured results tend to be between the two curves. Measured results from the 8 inch wedge absorber are also compared to calculations with the return being dominated by the wedge diffraction. The procedures for measuring and specifying absorber performance are discussed and calibration equations are derived to calculate a reflection coefficient or a reflectivity using a reference sphere. Shaping changes to the present absorber designs are introduced to improve performance based on both high and low frequency analysis. Some prototypes were built and tested

Proceedings: Regenerative Medicine for Lung Diseases: A CIRM Workshop Report.

The mission of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is to accelerate treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. In September 2016, CIRM sponsored a workshop held at the University of California, Los Angeles, to discuss regenerative medicine approaches for treatment of lung diseases and to identify the challenges remaining for advancing such treatments to the clinic and market approval. Workshop participants discussed current preclinical and clinical approaches to regenerative medicine in the lung, as well as the biology of lung stem cells and the role of stem cells in the etiology of various lung diseases. The outcome of this effort was the recognition that whereas transient cell delivery approaches are leading the way in the clinic, recent advances in the understanding of lung stem cell biology, in vitro and in vivo disease modeling, gene editing and replacement methods, and cell engraftment approaches raise the prospect of developing cures for some lung diseases in the foreseeable future. In addition, advances in in vitro modeling using lung organoids and "lung on a chip" technology are setting the stage for high quality small molecule drug screening to develop treatments for lung diseases with complex biology. Stem Cells Translational Medicine 2017;6:1823-1828

Strongly magnetized classical plasma models

Discrete particle processes in the presence of a strong external magnetic field were investigated. These processes include equations of state and other equilibrium thermodynamic relations, thermal relaxation phenomena, transport properties, and microscopic statistical fluctuations in such quantities as the electric field and the charge density. Results from the equilibrium statistical mechanics of two-dimensional plasmas are discussed, along with nonequilibrium statistical mechanics of the electrostatic guiding-center plasma (a two-dimensional plasma model)

Angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia treated with Mohs micrographic surgery

A 60-year-old healthy man presented with several enlarging, tender, spontaneously bleeding, and episodically pruritic nodules on his ear. Five agminated pink-red papulonodules of the superior postauricular sulcus were noted on examination. Pathological examination revealed a lobular dermal vascular proliferation with plump endothelial cells protruding into the lumen in a hobnail pattern, along with a dense perivascular inflammatory infiltrate composed of plasma cells, lymphocytes, and numerous eosinophils. The diagnosis of angiolymphoid hyperplasia with eosinophilia was confirmed. After discussing treatment modalities, the patient opted for Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS). Three stages of MMS were able to remove all large vessel involvement and clear the peripheral margins, but the tumor had a complex branching pattern of growth in the deep bed of the wound with numerous tiny foci remaining. Owing to risk of disfigurement, no further excision was undertaken. The area was reconstructed with a temporalis fascia flap and a full-thickness skin graft. Despite remaining microscopic disease, the patient remained without recurrence or symptoms at one year of follow up

Design, fabrication, and structural testing of a lightweight shadow shield for deep-space application

Two full-scale, lightweight, double-sheeted shadow shields were developed as the primary element of a deep-space thermal protection system for liquid-hydrogen propellant tankage. The thermal and mechanical considerations used in s, the method of fabrication, and the environmental testing results on a prototype shield are discussed. Testing consisted of a transient cooldown period, a prolonged cold soak, and a transient warmup. The mechanical and thermal analyses used in the shield design are sufficient to produce a lightweight rugged shadow shield assembly that is structurally adequate for its intended application

Supervision and Education as a Factor of Self Efficacy in Novice Therapists

The hypothesis of this exploratory study is aimed at examining novice therapist’s self- efficacy towards counseling, observing self efficacy modifications during practicum, and creating implications for future therapists. There were 20 participants surveyed using the Counselor Self Efficacy Scale, as well as questions generated towards the education experience as well as the supervision experience. A Pearson’s correlation was conducted comparing the supervision and education experience, there was a negative correlation, resulting in the education experience decreasing as the supervision experience increased. A r-test was conducted and the difference in means was consistent with the Pearson correlation confirming higher supervision scores

Nationalism Versus Communism In Chinese Foreign Policy

When after World War II Commu­nism emerged as a powerful force in China, it engendered great puzzlement on the part of many people. First of all, China did not (and still does not) fit the classical example of an industrialized country with a politically con­scious proletariat which Karl Marx envisioned as the breeding ground for communism

Towards quantifying the effects of resource extraction on land cover and topography through remote sensing analysis: Confronting issues of scale and data scarcity

This dissertation focuses on the mapping and monitoring of mineral mining activity using remotely sensed data. More specifically, it explores the challenges and issues associated with remote sensing-based analysis of land use land cover (LULC) and topographic changes in the landscape associated with artisanal and industrial-scale mining. It explores broad themes of image analysis, including evaluation of error in digital elevation models (DEMs), integration of multiple scales and data sources, quantification of change, and remote sensing classification in data-scarce environments. The dissertation comprises three case studies.;The first case study examines the LULC change associated with two scales of mining activity (industrial and artisanal) near Tortiya, Cote d\u27Ivoire. Industrial mining activity was successfully mapped in a regional LULC classification using Landsat multispectral imagery and support vector machines (SVMs). However, mapping artisanal mining required high-resolution imagery to discriminate the small, complex patterns of associated disturbance.;The second case study is an investigation of the potential for quantifying topographic change associated with mountain top removal mining and the associated valley-fill operations for a region in West Virginia, USA, using publicly available DEMs. A 1:24,000 topographic map data, the shuttle radar topography mission (SRTM) DEM, a state-wide photogrammetric DEM, and the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Radiometer (ASTER) Global DEM (GDEM) were compared to a lidar bare-earth reference DEM. The observed mean error in both the SRTM and GDEM was statistically different than zero and modeled a surface well above the reference DEM surface. Mean error in the other DEMs was lower, and not significantly different than zero. The magnitude of the root mean square error (RMSE) suggests that only topographic change associated with the largest topographic disturbances would be separable from background noise using global DEMS such as the SRTM. Nevertheless, regionally available DEMs from photogrammetric sources allow mapping of mining change and quantification of the total volume of earth removal.;Monitoring topographic change associated with mining is challenging in regions where publicly available DEMs are limited or not available. This challenge is particularly acute for artisanal mining, where the topographic disturbance, though locally important, is unlikely to be detected in global elevation data sets. Therefore, the third and final case study explored the potential for creating fine-spatial resolution bare-earth DEMs from digital surface models (DSMs) using high spatial resolution commercial satellite imagery and subsequent filtering of elevation artifacts using commercial lidar software and other spatial filtering techniques. Leaf-on and leaf-off DSMs were compared to highlight the effect of vegetation on derived bare-earth DEM accuracy. The raw leaf-off DSM was found to have very low error overall, with notably higher error in areas of evergreen vegetation. The raw leaf-on DSM was found to have a RMSE error much higher than the leaf-off data, and similar to that of the SRTM in dense deciduous forest. However, filtering using the commercial techniques developed for lidar notably reduced the error present in the raw DSMs, suggesting that such approaches could help overcome data scarcity in regions where regional or national elevation data sets are not available.;Collectively this research addressed data issues and methodological challenges in the analysis of 3D changes caused by resource extraction. Elevation and optical imagery are key data sets for mapping the disturbance associated with mining. The particular combination required regarding data spatial scale, and for elevation, accuracy, is a function of the type and scale of the mining

Quantum gravity at a TeV and the renormalization of Newton's constant

We examine whether renormalization effects can cause Newton¿s constant to change dramatically with energy, perhaps even reducing the scale of quantum gravity to the TeV region without the introduction of extra dimensions. We examine a model that realizes this possibility and describe experimental signatures from the production of small black holes