Pulmonary function evaluation during and following Skylab space flights

Previous experience during the Apollo postflight exercise testing indicated no major changes in pulmonary function. Although pulmonary function has been studied in detail following exposure to hypoxic and hyperoxic environments, few studies have dealt with normoxic environments at reduced total pressure as encountered during the Skylab missions. Forced vital capacity was measured during the preflight and postflight periods of the Skylab 2 mission. Initial in-flight measurements of vital capacity were obtained during the last two weeks of the second manned mission (Skylab 3). Comprehensive pulmonary function screening was accomplished during the Skylab 4 mission. The primary measurements made during Skylab 4 testing included residual volume determination, closing volume, vital capacity, and forced vital capacity and its derivatives. In addition, comprehensive in-flight vital capacity measurements were made during the Skylab 4 mission. Vital capacity was decreased slightly during flight in all Skylab 4 crewmen. No major preflight to postflight changes were observed in the other parameters

Isolated Gallbladder Rupture Due to Blunt Abdominal Trauma

Traumatic injury to the extrahepatic biliary system is rare and usually diagnosed at laparotomy when it is associated with other visceral injuries. Isolated gallbladder rupture due to blunt abdominal trauma is even rarer. The clinical presentation of gallbladder injury is variable, resulting in a delay in diagnosis and treatment. Awareness to the possibilty of trauma to the extrahepatic biliary system enables early surgical intervention and eliminates the high morbidity associated with delated diagnosis

Multi-transmission-line-beam interactive system

We construct here a Lagrangian field formulation for a system consisting of an electron beam interacting with a slow-wave structure modeled by a possibly non-uniform multiple transmission line (MTL). In the case of a single line we recover the linear model of a traveling wave tube (TWT) due to J.R. Pierce. Since a properly chosen MTL can approximate a real waveguide structure with any desired accuracy, the proposed model can be used in particular for design optimization. Furthermore, the Lagrangian formulation provides for: (i) a clear identification of the mathematical source of amplification, (ii) exact expressions for the conserved energy and its flux distributions obtained from the Noether theorem. In the case of uniform MTLs we carry out an exhaustive analysis of eigenmodes and find sharp conditions on the parameters of the system to provide for amplifying regimes

Transport Phenomena in Alcator C-Mod H-Modes

Abstract. Several interesting new results have come from studies of ICRF-heated, H-mode plasmas in Alcator C-Mod. Dimensionless scaling studies have found gyro-Bohm-like transport similar to that reported on other devices; however, the dependence on collisionality was surprisingly strong, with BE −1. Despite high edge temperatures and strong edge pressure gradients, type I edge-localized modes (ELMs) are not observed in C-Mod. Instead we obtain a regime that we have dubbed enhanced D (EDA) which is accompanied by high-frequency density fluctuations. For all H-modes, core gradients were found to increase linearly with edge temperature, suggesting the importance of critical gradient/marginal stability behaviour. Comparisons with the IFS-PPPL model have begun, showing quantitative agreement in some cases. Impurity particle transport was studied via the laser blow-off technique with impurity confinement found to be effectively infinite for ELM-free discharges but reduced into the range 0.1–0.2 s for the EDA plasmas. 1

NGC 7582: The Prototype Narrow-Line X-ray Galaxy

NGC 7582 is a candidate prototype of the Narrow Line X-ray Galaxies (NLXGs) found in deep X-ray surveys. An ASCA observation shows the hard (> 3 keV) X-ray continuum of NGC 7582 drops 40% in ~6 ks, implying an AGN, while the soft band (< 3 keV) does not drop in concert with the hard continuum, requiring a separate component. The X-ray spectrum of NGC 7582 also shows a clear 0.5-2 keV soft (kT = 0.8 (+0.9,-0.3) keV or Gamma = 2.4 +/- 0.6; L(X) = 6 x 10**40 ergs s**-1) low--energy component, in addition to a heavily absorbed [N(H) = (6 +/- 2)\times 10**22 cm**-2 ] and variable 2-10 keV power law [Gamma = 0.7 (+0.3,-0.4); L(X) = (1.7-2.3) x 10**42 ergs s**-1]. This is one of the flattest 2-10 keV slopes in any AGN observed with ASCA. (The ROSAT HRI image of NGC 7582 further suggests extent to the SE.) These observations make it clear that the hard X-ray emission of NGC 7582, the most "narrow-line" of the NLXGs, is associated with an AGN. The strong suggestion is that all NLXGs are obscured AGNs, as hypothesized to explain the X-ray background spectral paradox. The separate soft X-ray component makes NGC 7582 (and by extension other NLXGs) detectable as a ROSAT source.Comment: text: Latex2e 10 pages, including 1 table, and 2 postscript figures via psfi

Unravelling the nature of HD 81032 - a new RS CVn Binary

BVR photometric and quasi-simultaneous optical spectroscopic observations of the star HD 81032 have been carried out during the years 2000 - 2004. A photometric period of $18.802 \pm 0.07$ d has been detected for this star. A large group of spots with a migration period of $7.43 \pm 0.07$ years is inferred from the first three years of the data. H$\alpha$ and Ca II H and K emissions from the star indicate high chromospheric activity. The available photometry in the BVRIJHK bands is consistent with spectral type of K0 IV previously found for this star. We have also examined the spectral energy distribution of HD 81032 for the presence of an infrared colour excess using the 2MASS JHK and IRAS photometry, but found no significant excess in any band abovethe normal values expected for a star with this spectral type. We have also analyzed the X-ray emission properties of this star using data obtained by the ROSAT X-ray observatory during its All-Sky Survey phase. An X-ray flare of about 12 hours duration was detected during the two days of X-ray coverage obtained for this star. Its X-ray spectrum, while only containing 345 counts, is inconsistent with a single-temperature component solar-abundance coronal plasma model, but implies either the presence of two or more plasma components, non-solar abundances, or a combination of both of these properties. All of the above properties of HD 81032 suggest that it is a newly identified, evolved RS CVn binary.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for the publication in JAp

Going beyond defining: Preschool educators\u27 use of knowledge in their pedagogical reasoning about vocabulary instruction

Previous research investigating both the knowledge of early childhood educators and the support for vocabulary development present in early childhood settings has indicated that both educator knowledge and enacted practice are less than optimal, which has grave implications for children\u27s early vocabulary learning and later reading achievement. Further, the nature of the relationship between educators\u27 knowledge and practice is unclear, making it difficult to discern the best path towards improved knowledge, practice, and children\u27s vocabulary outcomes. The purpose of the present study was to add to the existing literature by using stimulated recall interviews and a grounded approach to examine how 10 preschool educators used their knowledge to made decisions about their moment-to-moment instruction in support of children\u27s vocabulary development. Results indicate that educators were thinking in highly context-specific ways about their goals and strategies for supporting vocabulary learning, taking into account important knowledge of their instructional history with children and of the children themselves to inform their decision making in the moment. In addition, they reported thinking about research-based goals and strategies for supporting vocabulary learning that went beyond simply defining words for children. Implications for research and professional development are discussed

O-mannosyl phosphorylation of alpha-dystroglycan is required for laminin binding.

Alpha-dystroglycan (alpha-DG) is a cell-surface glycoprotein that acts as a receptor for both extracellular matrix proteins containing laminin-G domains and certain arenaviruses. Receptor binding is thought to be mediated by a posttranslational modification, and defective binding with laminin underlies a subclass of congenital muscular dystrophy. Using mass spectrometry- and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based structural analyses, we identified a phosphorylated O-mannosyl glycan on the mucin-like domain of recombinant alpha-DG, which was required for laminin binding. We demonstrated that patients with muscle-eye-brain disease and Fukuyama congenital muscular dystrophy, as well as mice with myodystrophy, commonly have defects in a postphosphoryl modification of this phosphorylated O-linked mannose, and that this modification is mediated by the like-acetylglucosaminyltransferase (LARGE) protein. These findings expand our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie congenital muscular dystrophy

Usage of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) for improved satellite tracking

With the increasing number of satellite launches, especially in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), optical tracking can offer a convenient enhancement of tracking precision and availability. Spaceborne active illumination devices, such as LED payloads, can offer a significant improvement to optical observations, extending the observability interval to the whole eclipse time and performing optimized flash sequences for identification, orbit determination, attitude reconstruction or low data rate communication. The main features of LED panels for optical tracking mounted on small satellites platforms (and with particular regards to nano-satellite platforms) are outlined in this paper, along with the description of the design drivers. The analysis of the performance is referred to Sun-Synchronous (at 700 km of altitude) and International Space Station (400 km) orbits, while the ground segment and the optical link budget reference design relies on a standard university space debris observation station architecture. The paper also outlines the advantages of using different observation techniques and the variety of flashing patterns. The LEDSAT 1U CubeSat, aiming at demonstrating the effectiveness of an LED-based payload for observation and tracking, is used as a study case for examples of the LED payloads and related operations that are reported and described in this paper