System for Anomaly and Failure Detection (SAFD) system development

This task specified developing the hardware and software necessary to implement the System for Anomaly and Failure Detection (SAFD) algorithm, developed under Technology Test Bed (TTB) Task 21, on the TTB engine stand. This effort involved building two units; one unit to be installed in the Block II Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) Hardware Simulation Lab (HSL) at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and one unit to be installed at the TTB engine stand. Rocketdyne personnel from the HSL performed the task. The SAFD algorithm was developed as an improvement over the current redline system used in the Space Shuttle Main Engine Controller (SSMEC). Simulation tests and execution against previous hot fire tests demonstrated that the SAFD algorithm can detect engine failure as much as tens of seconds before the redline system recognized the failure. Although the current algorithm only operates during steady state conditions (engine not throttling), work is underway to expand the algorithm to work during transient condition

System for Anomaly and Failure Detection (SAFD) system development

The System for Anomaly and Failure Detection (SAFD) algorithm was developed as an improvement over the current redline system used in the Space Shuttle Main Engine Controller (SSMEC). Simulation tests and execution against previous hot fire tests demonstrated that the SAFD algorithm can detect engine failures as much as tens of seconds before the redline system recognized the failure. Although the current algorithm only operates during steady state conditions (engine not throttling), work is underway to expand the algorithm to work during transient conditions. This task assignment originally specified developing a platform for executing the algorithm during hot fire tests at Technology Test Bed (TTB) and installing the SAFD algorithm on that platform. Two units were built and installed in the Hardware Simulation Lab and at the TTB in December 1991. Since that time, the task primarily entailed improvement and maintenance of the systems, additional testing to prove the feasibility of the algorithm, and support of hot fire testing. This document addresses the work done since the last report of June 1992. The work on the System for Anomaly and Failure Detection during this period included improving the platform and the algorithm, testing the algorithm against previous test data and in the Hardware Simulation Lab, installing other algorithms on the system, providing support for operations at the Technology Test Bed, and providing routine maintenance

Evaporation enhancement from evaporation ponds using collector plate units

Water is vital for human activity. In the past abundant fresh water supplies were believed to be limitless. In the last two decades dwindling reserves of freely accessible water at the surface and subsurface environment have raised community awareness about the need to ensure that industrial production operates in a sustainable way that won’t constrain the development and sustainability of regional cities and towns that draw on downstream ground waters for their potable and non potable water requirements. In this paper, a method of augmenting the widely practiced evaporation pond approach is investigated for disposing of brine wastewaters to improve the sustainability of industrial operators employing this practice. The approach involves the adoption of solar plate collector technology. The solar technology referred to as unglazed transpired collectors (UTCs). It may be considered a hybrid concept as it’s a UTC except inclined like a typical solar collector plate. A pilot scale collector plate unit was designed and constructed to evaluate the enhanced evaporation capabilities of a collector plate unit (UTCs). The experimental program covered a 14 month study period from June 2005 to August, 2006. This research investigated the ability to enhance evaporation using three different brine concentrations (3.5% NaCl, 7.0% NaCl and 12.5% NaCl), and three film heights (0.15 mm, 0.2mm and 0.3 mm) over a 14 month experimental period between June 2005 and August 2006. The research investigated the relationship between key weather parameters, solar irradiation (MJ/m2/d), wind speed (m/s), ambient air temperature (°C), and relative humidity (%), and enhanced evaporation and collector plate evaporation from the collector plate unit. Data analysis found weather conditions low in relative humidity (less than 40%), high in total incident solar radiation (greater than 20 MJ/m2/d), steady, constant wind speeds (between 1.1 and 1.3m/s), and high daily average air temperatures (greater than 25°C) would generally produce evaporation enhancement ratio (EER) results between 2.0 and 3.0 for brine solutions with concentrations up to 7.0% NaCl. The peak EER result of 3.01 (achieved during summer) equated to the collector plate unit achieving a rate of evaporation 301% higher than an equivalent surface area of evaporation pond containing similar brine wastewater and subject to similar weather conditions. The mean EER result over the 14 month sampling period was 1.52. The research found in the scenario where 100 nr collector plate 1 m2 units were connected to an evaporation pond covering 20,000m2 and 1 m in depth, subject to typical Melbourne CBD weather conditions, and a testing period of 100 days. The collector plate unit had the potential to reduce the surface area by 0.44% representing an 88m2 reduction in surface area for the 1 m deep evaporation pond. An energy balance was developed for the collector plate unit that considered energy in and out of the unit, by way of solar radiation, convection and evaporation. It was found the collector plate lost over 49% of its energy to evaporation as compared with 76% by the evaporation pond due to evaporation under the same weather conditions. The research found collector plate technology had the potential for augmenting existing and future evaporation ponds located in regions and countries where the meteorological conditions are favourable to evaporation

Acylated and Unacylated Ghrelin Impact on Protein synthesis and Signaling Pathways of L6 Myotubes

Ghrelin has recently become a hormone of interest in the fight against type two diabetes. Ghrelin is found in two forms (acylated vs. unacylated), with the acylated form of ghrelin being cited as diabetogenic purportedly due to its interaction with growth hormone secretion. Both the Acylated Ghrelin (AG) and Unacylated Ghrelin (UAG) forms are reported to have metabolic functions within skeletal muscle, despite having little expression of the only known ghrelin receptor known as the growth hormone secretagogue receptor 1a (ghsr-1a). The investigation into AG and UAG on skeletal muscle in type 2 diabetes (T2D) shows promise; however, the measures and dosing used to establish the impact of AG vs. UAG has varied widely, resulting in varied and sometimes contradictory results. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to establish the impact of AG or UAG on cultured myotubes in-vitro (100nM). METHODS: Differentiated, cultured L6 myotubes were treated for 48 hours with or without either AG or UAG. In the second 24-hour window, media was changed and enriched with 4% deuterium. Cells were harvested from each treatment group at 24 hours post deuterium enrichment and processed for protein synthesis and western blot protein analyses. RESULTS: Cells incubated with either AG or UAG doubled the content of phosphorylated AKT at Ser 473 (109% and 97% , respectively; p\u3c0.05), implicating an increase in mTORC2 activity. 100nM AG or UAG also increased phosphorylation of GSK3β (83% and 54%, respectively; p\u3c0.05). However, AG had increased Phosphorylation of 4EBP1 when compared to control (80%) while UAG did not, suggesting that mTORC1 was the predominate complex under that condition. Physiologically there were no differences of fractional synthesis rates among Control, 100nM AG or 100nM UAG. Interestingly, while protein synthesis data were similar among groups, the differences between mTORC1 vs. mTORC2 signaling may implicate that the impact of ghrelin might direct the types of proteins being manufactured. CONCLUSION: Results from this study indicate that 100nM of Ghrelin is sufficient to impact healthy skeletal muscle albeit by a yet to be defined mechanism. Further, our data suggest that both AG and UAG upregulate both mTOR pathways but that AG appears to favor mTORC1 as indicated by the hyperphosphorylation of 4EBP1. This increase in mTORC1 activity supports previous literature indicating that AG ay be a diabetogenic hormone, and furthers the understanding of Ghrelin’s impact on skeletal muscle metabolism and its involvement in development of diabetes

Rider energy expenditure during high intensity horse activity and the potential for health benefits

Obesity and disease associated with sedentary lifestyles have become major concerns in the United States. Exercise has been described as a crucial part of disease prevention and overall health, with activities such as biking or running cited as examples. Horseback riding is a popular activity; however, little information on the exercise value of horseback riding exists. The objective of this experiment was to define the energy expenditure of participants in several common riding events. All procedures were approved by the Texas A&M Institutional Review Board and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee; subjects gave written consent prior to participation. Twenty subjects completed each of three riding tests: a 45min walk-trot-canter ride (WTC), a reining pattern, and a cutting pattern while wearing a telemetric gas analyzer. Anthropometric data were obtained for each subject through DEXA scans. Total energy expenditure (tEE), as well as mean and peak energy expenditure per minute (EE/min), metabolic equivalents of task (MET), heart rate (HR), respiratory frequency (RF), pulmonary ventilation (VE), oxygen consumption (VO2), relative oxygen consumption (relVO2) and carbon dioxide production (­VCO2)were measured. Mean energy expenditure per minute, and HR responses were greater (P \u3c 0.05) for reining (6.96±0.23Kcal/min, 163.28±4.2bpm) and cutting (4.98±0.23Kcal/min, 146.9±4.2bpm) than for WTC (4.27±0.23Kcal/min, 131.5±4.2bpm). When WTC test was evaluated by gait component, mean EE/min and MET increased as gait speed increased. Mean EE/min and MET were higher (P \u3c 0.05) for riders at long trot (6.9±0.21Kcal/min, 6.19±0.21MET) and canter (6.93±0.21Kcal/min, 5.95±0.21MET) gaits than during the walk (2.34±0.21Kcal.min, 2.01±0.21MET) or trot (3.5±0.21Kcal/min, 3.2±0.21MET) gaits. Similar patterns were observed for RF, VE, VO2, VCO2 and RelVO2 across disciplines and by gait component. The tEE (194.7±3.84kcal/min) and mean MET (4.27±0.23MET) observed during the 45-min WTC ride were within current national recommendations of intensity (3-6MET), time (\u3e30min) and calories burned (~1000Kcal/wk). The results of this study provide novel information about exercise intensity values for horseback activities and differences among riding disciplines measured in real time using a portable system. Riders engaged in cutting and reining experienced more intense exercise in short durations, while WTC provided a greater total energy expenditure. These data suggest that it is possible, if riding at the more intense gaits such as long trot and canter, for health benefits to be achieved through accumulated weekly horseback riding exercise

Partial or Complete Unloading of Skeletal Muscle Leads to Specific Alterations of Anabolic Signal Transduction

Consequences of disuse atrophy of skeletal muscle observed during spaceflight on astronaut health and performance are a focal point of space research. Decrements of both muscle mass and protein synthesis rates have been observed with exposure to varying muscle loading environments (1G \u3e partial loading \u3e 0G), and most of the reduced muscle mass can be attributed to diminished rates of synthesis. However, specific mechanisms behind unloading-dependent reductions of protein synthesis are not well defined. PURPOSE: To determine whether or not alterations of anabolic signal transduction was responsible for the changes previously observed in fractional synthesis rates with specific gravitational loading paradigms. METHODS: Female BALB/cByJ were normalized by bodyweight and assigned to normal cage ambulation (1G), partial weight bearing suspension titrated to approximately 33% bodyweight (G/3), partial weight bearing titrated to 16% bodyweight (G/6) and full unloading of hind limbs (0G) in specially designed cages. All mice were subjected to that loading environment for 21d prior to tissue harvest, and monitored daily. Immunoblotting of the gastrocnemius (n=23) was carried out to analyze alterations of anabolic signal transduction. Although numerous signaling intermediates were assessed, the focus of this abstract will be on ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70-S6K). This important protein has served as a marker of protein synthesis signal transduction as well as the anabolic capacity in skeletal muscle. RESULTS: Regardless of loading paradigm, no differences were detected among groups for the activation of p70-S6K (as indicated by the phospho: total protein content). Total protein content, however, was ~27% lower than control in 0G and G/3 (P=0.008) with G/6 not being different from control (P\u3e0.05). CONCLUSION: In combination with previous data (unpublished observations), Partial gravitational fields at least partially rescues anabolic signaling, suggesting that a threshold level of stimulus is necessary to maintain anabolic capacity in muscle. These results may have important implications towards the development of strategies designed to counter the effects of partial/complete unloading on skeletal muscle based on how the anabolic capacity of muscle is affected

A mouse-human phase 1 co-clinical trial of a protease-activated fluorescent probe for imaging cancer

Local recurrence is a common cause of treatment failure for patients with solid tumors. Intraoperative detection of microscopic residual cancer in the tumor bed could be used to decrease the risk of a positive surgical margin, reduce rates of reexcision, and tailor adjuvant therapy. We used a protease-activated fluorescent imaging probe, LUM015, to detect cancer in vivo in a mouse model of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) and ex vivo in a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial. In mice, intravenous injection of LUM015 labeled tumor cells, and residual fluorescence within the tumor bed predicted local recurrence. In 15 patients with STS or breast cancer, intravenous injection of LUM015 before surgery was well tolerated. Imaging of resected human tissues showed that fluorescence from tumor was significantly higher than fluorescence from normal tissues. LUM015 biodistribution, pharmacokinetic profiles, and metabolism were similar in mouse and human subjects. Tissue concentrations of LUM015 and its metabolites, including fluorescently labeled lysine, demonstrated that LUM015 is selectively distributed to tumors where it is activated by proteases. Experiments in mice with a constitutively active PEGylated fluorescent imaging probe support a model where tumor-selective probe distribution is a determinant of increased fluorescence in cancer. These co-clinical studies suggest that the tumor specificity of protease-activated imaging probes, such as LUM015, is dependent on both biodistribution and enzyme activity. Our first-in-human data support future clinical trials of LUM015 and other protease-sensitive probes

Search for Gravitational Waves from Primordial Black Hole Binary Coalescences in the Galactic Halo

We use data from the second science run of the LIGO gravitational-wave detectors to search for the gravitational waves from primordial black hole (PBH) binary coalescence with component masses in the range 0.2--$1.0 M_\odot$. The analysis requires a signal to be found in the data from both LIGO observatories, according to a set of coincidence criteria. No inspiral signals were found. Assuming a spherical halo with core radius 5 kpc extending to 50 kpc containing non-spinning black holes with masses in the range 0.2--$1.0 M_\odot$, we place an observational upper limit on the rate of PBH coalescence of 63 per year per Milky Way halo (MWH) with 90% confidence.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev.