Development and Testing of the Rigidizable Inflatable Get-Away-Special Experiment

The purpose of this research project is to develop the Rigidizable Inflatable Get-Away-Special Experiment (RIGEX) from a computer-based model into a space-qualified prototype. Past research projects have developed RIGEX\u27s command and control, structural analysis, and integration with the orbiter. This thesis details the organization, assembly, and test planning for the RIGEX protoflight model. Strict requirements imposed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) must be fulfilled for any payload to travel into space. Based on the requirements set forth by NASA documentation, this thesis establishes appropriate assembly procedures for the construction of a space payload. Detailed design changes are described, as well as any problems encountered during assembly. Various lessons learned throughout the course of this project are discussed

Numerical investigation of black hole interiors

Gravitational perturbations which are present in any realistic stellar collapse to a black hole, die off in the exterior of the hole, but experience an infinite blueshift in the interior. This is believed to lead to a slowly contracting lightlike scalar curvature singularity, characterized by a divergence of the hole's (quasi-local) mass function along the inner horizon. The region near the inner horizon is described to great accuracy by a plane wave spacetime. While Einstein's equations for this metric are still too complicated to be solved in closed form it is relatively simple to integrate them numerically. We find for generic regular initial data the predicted mass inflation type null singularity, rather than a spacelike singularity. It thus seems that mass inflation indeed represents a generic self-consistent picture of the black hole interior.Comment: 6 pages LaTeX, 3 eps figure

An exploration of professional and practice-based perspectives on supporting birth parents towards reunification with their children.

Abstract An exploration of professional and practice-based perspectives on supporting birth parents towards reunification with their children. When children are placed in out-of-home care (e.g. foster care; hereafter ‘care’), it is the State’s duty to work with the children’s birth parents and ensure that systems and supports are in place to enable parents to resume caring for their children (i.e. for reunification to take place), when it is in the best interest of the child to do so. In Ireland, there is a dearth of data, research, policy and practice guidance regarding the process of reunification. There is also limited research on the experiences of birth parents whose children are in care in Ireland. This paper draws on data gathered as part of a study of professional and practice-based perspectives on reunification of children in care in Ireland. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with 12 respondents from various professional backgrounds including social workers and social care workers. . In this paper, we examine the perspectives of participants regarding how birth parents might be better supported to work towards reunification. Findings suggest there is limited scope to work with and support parents of children in care in the current system. More focus is required to ensure parents are informed of their rights and empowered to remain present in the lives of their children and to work towards reunification. Suggestions are also made for exploration of a specialised service or team, as in other jurisdictions, to work with parents to promote family reunification

Speech Communication

Contains reports on four research projects.U. S. Air Force (Air Force Cambridge Research Center, Air Research and Development Command) under Contract AF19(604)-6102National Science Foundatio

Exploring Vulnerability and Risk in an Action Research Writing Group: A Cooperative Inquiry

This article describes how, the authors, as members of an action research writing group, responded to a comment about feeling vulnerable in risking bringing their work-in-progress to the group and in giving feedback to colleagues by adopting a cooperative inquiry approach to explore vulnerability and risk in the group. In cooperative inquiry group members act as both co-researcher and co-subject in the inquiry and action. The article describes the evolution of the group and how the topic of exploring risk and vulnerability emerged. The group’s exploration is grounded in the theory and practice of cooperative inquiry that gives voice to the group members questioning and reflecting. The article concludes by offering three propositions to enhance the work of writing groups

gamma-delta T Cells Regulate the Early Inflammatory Response to Bordetella pertussis Infection in the Murine Respiratory Tract

The role of T cells in the regulation of pulmonary inflammation following Bordetella pertussis infection was investigated. Using a well-characterized murine aerosol challenge model, inflammatory events in mice with targeted disruption of the T-cell receptor -chain gene (TCR mice) were compared with those in wild-type animals. Early following challenge with B. pertussis, TCR mice exhibited greater pulmonary inflammation, as measured by intra-alveolar albumin leakage and lesion histomorphometry, yet had lower contemporaneous bacterial lung loads. The larger numbers of neutrophils and macrophages and the greater concentration of the neutrophil marker myeloperoxidase in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from TCR mice at this time suggested that differences in lung injury were mediated through increased leukocyte trafficking into infected alveoli. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis found the pattern of recruitment of natural killer (NK) and NK receptor T cells into airspaces differed between the two mouse types over the same time period. Taken together, these findings suggest a regulatory influence for T cells over the early pulmonary inflammatory response to bacterial infection. The absence of T cells also influenced the subsequent adaptive immune response to specific bacterial components, as evidenced by a shift from a Th1 to a Th2 type response against the B. pertussis virulence factor filamentous hemagglutinin in TCR mice. The findings are relevant to the study of conditions such as neonatal B. pertussis infection and acute respiratory distress syndrome where T cell dysfunction has been implicated in the inflammatory process

Induction of zinc metallothionein by calcium ionophore in vivo and in vitro

AbstractThe calcium ionophore, A23187, can induce rat hepatic metallothionein (MT) when administered in vivo (5.8-fold, 5.0 μM, 11 h) and rat hepatocyte MT when administered in vitro (10.70-fold, 1.0 μM, 24 h). Several rat hepatoma cell lines (2M, 4.55-fold; JM2, 12.29-fold; EC3, 14.12-fold; HTC, 7.99-fold) and a normal rat liver cell line (Clone 9, 39.67-fold) were tested for their inducibility of MT mRNA by Cd2+ (10 μM, 8 h). Quantitatively, JM2 and 2M made the most MT mRNA, while HTC made the least. A23187 (0.1–7.0 μM) was studied as an inducer of MT mRNA in these cell lines (except for HTC) and in HeLa. A variety of responses and tolerances were seen with inductions ranging up to 32.11-fold. Quantitatively, the best responding cell lines were EC3 and 2M. A combination induction experiment, using TPA, a protein kinase C activator, and A23187 in EC3 cells revealed an additive effect of the two inducers on MT mRNA levels: TPA (10 nM), 11.71-fold; A23187 (3.0μM), 6.71-fold; and TPA + A23187, 20.00-fold. These studies have implicated perturbations in cytosolic calcium ion concentrations, caused by the ionophore A23187, as being involved in the complicated signaling systems which can lead to induction of MT mRNA and protein

Survey on Equine Parasite Control in the Midwestern and Southwestern United States

We conducted a survey to assess parasite control programs used by three groups of horse owners. The majority of those surveyed indicated that they received information on parasite control from veterinarians, with only 6% indicating reliance on Extension materials for such information. Most participants did not use fecal egg counts as part of their parasite control programs, and most were not aware of parasite resistance to anthelmintics. Our survey results highlight areas in which education for horse owners may be needed

Design and Test of a Linear Switched Reluctance Generator for use in Wave-Energy Applications

This paper describes the design of a double-sided linear switched reluctance generator for use in wave energy applications, and the build and test of a working bench-scale prototype. Beginning with a standard shape, the development of the design, from concept to detail, is presented. Numerical simulation results – magnetic, mechanical and electrical – inform the detailed design. Construction of the generator and test rig is described. Experimental results give good agreement with simulation predictions