The development and testing of the Lens Antenna Deployment Demonstration (LADD) test article

The USAF Rome Laboratory and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, through contract to Grumman Corporation, have developed a space-qualifiable test article for the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization to demonstrate the critical structural and mechanical elements of single-axis roll-out membrane deployment for Space Based Radar (SBR) applications. The Lens Antenna Deployment Demonstration (LADD) test article, originally designed as a shuttle-attached flight experiment, is a large precision space structure which is representative of operational designs for space-fed lens antennas. Although the flight experiment was cancelled due to funding constraints and major revisions in the Strategic Defense System (SDS) architecture, development of this test article was completed in June 1989. To take full advantage of the existence of this unique structure, a series of ground tests are proposed which include static, dynamic, and thermal measurements in a simulated space environment. An equally important objective of these tests is the verification of the analytical tools used to design and develop large precision space structures

Quality of care for NSAID users: development of an assessment tool

Objective. Assessments of NSAID use based on authoritative guidelines typically overlook patients’ views and nuances of \ud medical history. Our objective was to develop an assessment tool that incorporates these aspects, and technical items, for quality of care assessments in NSAID users. \ud \ud Methods. Patients newly referred to a university hospital were interviewed by a nurse using an agreed template. A multidisciplinary group of rheumatologists, nurse specialists, primary care physicians and a pharmacist reviewed current guidance and systematic reviews on NSAID use, and a series of interview transcripts. The group agreed, by informal consensus, important determinants of effective and safe NSAID use. Technical aspects of medical care and items that reflected interpersonal care were included in an index for assessing quality of care for individual patients. Interview transcripts of 100 patients were scored by panel members and reliability of scores was tested by calculating weighted percentage agreement and the kappa statistic. \ud \ud Results. Our final index had five domains: medical risk factors; steps taken to reduce risk; knowledge of adverse effects; NSAID dose; and cost efficiency. Each item was scored 0, 1 or 2. Scores were summed, giving a maximum of 10 (low scores indicating low quality). Intra-rater agreement was >90%; kappa was 0.47–0.87 for individual domains and 0.59 for overall score. Inter-rater agreement for overall score was 95%; kappa was 0.25–0.78 for domains and 0.48 for overall score. Patients with especially low scores were identified using the mode of scores for five assessors; obvious clinical concerns were identified, supporting index face validity. \ud \ud Conclusions. A simple index to evaluate quality of care for NSAID users based on a patient interview is described. This may be used by one or more assessors to examine care standards and highlight deficiencies in relation to NSAID use in practice

Three billion new trees in the EU’s biodiversity strategy: low ambition, but better environmental outcomes?

The EU Biodiversity strategy aims to plant 3 billion trees by 2030, in order to improve ecosystem restoration and biodiversity. Here, we compute the land area that would be required to support this number of newly planted trees by taking account of different tree species and planting regimes across the EU member states. We find that 3 billion trees would require a total land area of between 0.81 and 1.37 Mha (avg. 1.02 Mha). The historic forest expansion in the EU since 2010 was 2.44 Mha, meaning that despite 3 billion trees sounding like a large number this target is considerably lower than historic afforestation rates within the EU, i.e. only 40% of the past trend. Abandoned agricultural land is often proposed as providing capacity for afforestation. We estimate agricultural abandoned land areas from the HIstoric Land Dynamics Assessment+ database using two time thresholds (abandonment since 2009 or 2014) to identify potential areas for tree planting. The area of agricultural abandoned land was 2.6 Mha (potentially accommodating 7.2 billion trees) since 2009 and 0.2 Mha (potentially accommodating 741 million trees) since 2014. Our study highlights that sufficient space could be available to meet the 3 billion tree planting target from abandoned land. However, large-scale afforestation beyond abandoned land could have displacement effects elsewhere in the world because of the embodied deforestation in the import of agricultural crops and livestock. This would negate the expected benefits of EU afforestation. Hence, the EU\u27s relatively low ambition on tree planting may actually be better in terms of avoiding such displacement effects. We suggest that tree planting targets should be set at a level that considers physical ecosystem dynamics as well as socio-economic conditions

First Report of NRG Oncology/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0622: A Phase 2 Trial of Samarium-153 Followed by Salvage Prostatic Fossa Irradiation in High-Risk Clinically Nonmetastatic Prostate Cancer After Radical Prostatectomy.

PURPOSE: To investigate the utility of 153Sm lexidronam (Quadramet) in the setting of men with prostate cancer status post radical prostatectomy who develop biochemical failure with no clinical evidence of osseous metastases. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Trial NRG Oncology RTOG 0622 is a single-arm phase 2 trial that enrolled men with pT2-T4, N0-1, M0 prostate cancer status post radical prostatectomy, who meet at least 1 of these biochemical failure criteria: (1) prostate-specific antigen (PSA) \u3e 1.0 ng/mL; (2) PSA \u3e 0.2 ng/mL if Gleason score 9 to 10; or (3) PSA \u3e 0.2 ng/mL if N1. Patients received 153Sm (2.0 mCi/kg intravenously × 1) followed by salvage external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) to the prostatic fossa (64.8-70.2 Gy in 1.8-Gy daily fractions). No androgen deprivation therapy was allowed. The primary objective was PSA response within 12 weeks of receiving 153Sm. The secondary objectives were to: (1) assess the completion rate for the regimen of 153Sm and EBRT; (2) evaluate the hematologic toxicity and other adverse events (AEs) at 12 and 24 weeks; and (3) determine the freedom from progression rate at 2 years. RESULTS: A total of 60 enrolled eligible patients were included in this analysis. Median follow-up was 3.97 years. A PSA response was achieved in 7 of 52 evaluable patients (13.5%), compared with the 25% hypothesized. The 2-year freedom from progression rate was 25.5% (95% confidence interval 14.4%-36.7%), and the biochemical failure rate was 64.4% (95% CI 50.5%-75.2%). Samarium-153 was well tolerated, with 16 (of 60) grade 3 to 4 hematologic AEs and no grade 5 hematologic AEs. Radiation therapy was also well tolerated, with no grade 3 to 5 acute radiation therapy-related AEs and 1 grade 3 to 4 and no grade 5 late radiation therapy-related AEs. CONCLUSIONS: Trial NRG Oncology RTOG 0622 did not meet its primary endpoint of PSA response, although the regimen of 153Sm and salvage EBRT was well tolerated. Although the toxicity profile supports study of 153Sm in high-risk disease, it may not be beneficial in men receiving EBRT

Aza-macrocyclic complexes of Group 1 cations:synthesis, structures and density functional theory study

The Group 1 complexes, [M(Me6[18]aneN6)][BArF] (M = Li–Cs; Me6[18]aneN6 = 1,4,7,10,13,16-hexamethyl-1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaazacyclooctadecane; BArF = tetrakis{3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)-phenyl}borate), are obtained in high yield by reaction of the macrocycle with M[BArF] in anhydrous CH2Cl2 solution, and characterised spectroscopically (1H, 13C{1H}, 7Li, 23Na, and 133Cs NMR), by microanalysis and, for M = Li, K, and Rb, by single crystal X-ray analysis. The structures show N6-coordination to the metal ion; the small ionic radius for Li+ leads to a puckered conformation. In contrast, the K+ ion fits well into the N6 plane, with the [BArF]? anions above and below, leading to two K+ species in the asymmetric unit (a hexagonal planar [K(Me6[18]aneN6)]+ cation and a ‘[K(Me6[18]aneN6)(?1-BArF)2]? anion’, with long axial K?F interactions). The Rb+ ion sits above the N6 plane, with two long axial Rb?F interactions in one cation and two long, mutually cis Rb?F interactions in the other. The unusual sandwich cations, [M(Me3tacn)2]+ (M = Na, K; distorted octahedral, N6 donor set) and half-sandwich cations [Li(Me3tacn)(thf)]+ (distorted tetrahedron, N3O donor set), [Li(Me4cyclen)(OH2)]+, and [Na(Me4cyclen)(thf)]+ (both distorted square pyramids with N4O donor sets) were also prepared (Me3tacn = 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane, Me4cyclen = 1,4,7,10-tetramethyl-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane). Density functional theory (DFT) calculations, using the BP86 and B3LYP functionals, show that the accessibility of the [M(Me3tacn)2]+ sandwich cations depends strongly on the M+ ionic radius, such that it is sufficiently large to avoid steric clashing between the Me groups of the two rings, and small enough to avoid very acute N–M–N chelate angles. The calculations also show that coordination to the Group 1 cation involves significant donation of electron density from the p-orbitals on the N atoms of the macrocycle, rather than purely electrostatic interactions

The Mission Accessible Near-Earth Objects Survey: Four years of photometry

Over 4.5 years, the Mission Accessible Near-Earth Object Survey (MANOS) assembled 228 Near-Earth Object (NEO) lightcurves. We report rotational lightcurves for 82 NEOs, constraints on amplitudes and periods for 21 NEOs, lightcurves with no detected variability within the image signal to noise and length of our observing block for 30 NEOs, and 10 tumblers. We uncovered 2 ultra-rapid rotators with periods below 20s; 2016MA with a potential rotational periodicity of 18.4s, and 2017QG$_{18}$ rotating in 11.9s, and estimate the fraction of fast/ultra-rapid rotators undetected in our project plus the percentage of NEOs with a moderate/long periodicity undetectable during our typical observing blocks. We summarize the findings of a simple model of synthetic NEOs to infer the object morphologies distribution using the measured distribution of lightcurve amplitudes. This model suggests a uniform distribution of axis ratio can reproduce the observed sample. This suggests that the quantity of spherical NEOs (e.g., Bennu) is almost equivalent to the quantity of highly elongated objects (e.g., Itokawa), a result that can be directly tested thanks to shape models from Doppler delay radar imaging analysis. Finally, we fully characterized 2 NEOs as appropriate targets for a potential robotic/human mission: 2013YS$_{2}$ and 2014FA$_{7}$ due to their moderate spin periods and low $\Delta v$.Comment: Accepted for Publication, The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Serie