Robotic Lunar Lander Development Status

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory have developed several mission concepts to place scientific and exploration payloads ranging from 10 kg to more than 200 kg on the surface of the moon. The mission concepts all use a small versatile lander that is capable of precision landing. The results to date of the lunar lander development risk reduction activities including high pressure propulsion system testing, structure and mechanism development and testing, and long cycle time battery testing will be addressed. The most visible elements of the risk reduction program are two fully autonomous lander flight test vehicles. The first utilized a high pressure cold gas system (Cold Gas Test Article) with limited flight durations while the subsequent test vehicle, known as the Warm Gas Test Article, utilizes hydrogen peroxide propellant resulting in significantly longer flight times and the ability to more fully exercise flight sensors and algorithms. The development of the Warm Gas Test Article is a system demonstration and was designed with similarity to an actual lunar lander including energy absorbing landing legs, pulsing thrusters, and flight-like software implementation. A set of outdoor flight tests to demonstrate the initial objectives of the WGTA program was completed in Nov. 2011, and will be discussed

Black Professional Women in Predominately White Universities

White colleagues, looking through the singular Black female before them, maintain perceptions based on stereotypes or past dealings with other Black women

Inducible Caspase-9 Selectively Modulates the Toxicities of CD19-Specific Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Modified T Cells

Immunotherapy with T cells expressing the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) specific for the CD19 antigen (CD19.CAR-Ts) is a very effective treatment in B cell lymphoid malignancies. However, B cell aplasia and cytokine release syndrome (CRS) secondary to the infusion of CD19.CAR-Ts remain significant drawbacks. The inclusion of safety switches into the vector encoding the CAR is seen as the safest method to terminate the effects of CD19.CAR-Ts in case of severe toxicities or after achieving long-term sustained remissions. By contrast, the complete elimination of CD19.CAR-Ts when CRS occurs may jeopardize clinical responses as CRS and antitumor activity seem to concur. We have demonstrated, in a humanized mouse model, that the inducible caspase-9 () safety switch can eliminate CD19.CAR-Ts in a dose-dependent manner, allowing either a selective containment of CD19.CAR-T expansion in case of CRS or complete deletion on demand granting normal B cell reconstitution

Flow cytometric and immunohistochemical detection of in vivo BrdU-labeled cells in mouse fat depots

This study has determined the natural frequency and localization of progenitor/stem cells within fat depots in situ based on their ability to retain DNA nucleotide label (BrdU). Neonate and mature male C57BL6/J mice were injected intraperitoneally with BrdU- and label-retaining cells (LRC) were quantified in fat depots by immunohistochemical, immunofluorescent, and flow cytometric methods. In neonates, LRC constituted 27% of the cells in inguinal fat (iWAT) and 65% in interscapular brown fat (BAT) after Day 10 and 26% of the cells in epididymal fat (eWAT) after Day 28. After 52 days, the LRC accounted for 0.72% of iWAT, 0.53% of eWAT and 1.05% of BAT, respectively. The BrdU-labeled cells localized to two areas: single cells distributed among adipocytes or those adjacent to the blood vessels wall. In mature C57BL6/J mice, flow cytometric analysis determined that a majority of the LRC were also positive for stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1). © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Impact of Tai Chi on Peripheral Neuropathy Revisited: A Mixed-Methods Study

Exercise may be beneficial to older persons living with peripheral neuropathy (PN), but maintaining an exercise program is challenging. After participating in a 12-week tai chi (TC) study, 12 participants requested classes continue. A mixed-methods design was used to explore long-term engagement of older persons with bilateral PN enrolled in a TC class for 18 months beyond the original 3-month study. Pre- and posttest measures of functional status and quality of life (QOL) were conducted. Focus groups were held after 18 months of twice-weekly classes. Psychosocial support was critical to participants’ long-term commitment to exercise. Participants reported, and objective assessments confirmed, increased strength, balance, and stamina beyond that experienced in the original 12-week study. Changes in QOL scores were nonsignificant; however, qualitative data supported clinical significance across QOL domains. Results from this study support psychosocial and physical benefits of TC to older persons

The Grizzly, October 31, 1980

Campus Poll Favors Reagan, Anderson • Sorority Pleads Guilty To Alcohol Violations • Board Approves Cost Increases For Next Year • Carter & Reagan Make Final Philly Appearances • Athletic Hall of Fame Slated For Founder\u27s Day • It\u27s Laurie for Holmecoming Queen 1980 • Utility Gym Opens With Exciting Concert • Richter Hosts Town Meeting • APO Charter Reviewed • Halloween Dates Back 2000 Years • Booters Drop Three Straight • Gridders Drowned By Swarthmore • Hockey Suffers Season\u27s Second Defeat • Homecoming Sweet For Cross Countryhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1045/thumbnail.jp

Individual variation in predatory behavior, scavenging and seasonal prey availability as potential drivers of coexistence between wolves and bears

Several large carnivore populations are recovering former ranges, and it is important to understand interspecific interactions between overlapping species. In Scandinavia, recent research has reported that brown bear presence influences gray wolf habitat selection and kill rates. Here, we characterized the temporal use of a common prey resource by sympatric wolves and bears and described individual and seasonal variation in their direct and/or indirect interactions. Most bear–wolf interactions were indirect, via bear scavenging of wolf kills. Bears used >50% of wolf kills, whereas we did not record any wolf visit at bear kills. Adult and subadult bears visited wolf kills, but female bears with cubs of the year, the most vulnerable age class to conspecifics and other predators, did not. Wolf and bear kill rates peaked in early summer, when both targeted neonate moose calves, which coincided with a reduction in bear scavenging rate. Some bears were highly predatory and some did not kill any calf. Individual and age-class variation (in bear predation and scavenging patterns) and seasonality (in bear scavenging patterns and main prey availability of both wolves and bears) could mediate coexistence of these apex predators. Similar processes likely occur in other ecosystems with varying carnivore assemblages

Impact of person-centred care training and person-centred activities on quality of life, agitation, and antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in nursing homes: a cluster-randomised controlled trial

Background Agitation is a common, challenging symptom affecting large numbers of people with dementia and impacting on quality of life (QoL). There is an urgent need for evidence-based, cost-effective psychosocial interventions to improve these outcomes, particularly in the absence of safe, effective pharmacological therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a person-centred care and psychosocial intervention incorporating an antipsychotic review, WHELD, on QoL, agitation, and antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in nursing homes, and to determine its cost. Methods and findings This was a randomised controlled cluster trial conducted between 1 January 2013 and 30 September 2015 that compared the WHELD intervention with treatment as usual (TAU) in people with dementia living in 69 UK nursing homes, using an intention to treat analysis. All nursing homes allocated to the intervention received staff training in person-centred care and social interaction and education regarding antipsychotic medications (antipsychotic review), followed by ongoing delivery through a care staff champion model. The primary outcome measure was QoL (DEMQOL-Proxy). Secondary outcomes were agitation (Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory [CMAI]), neuropsychiatric symptoms (Neuropsychiatric Inventory–Nursing Home Version [NPI-NH]), antipsychotic use, global deterioration (Clinical Dementia Rating), mood (Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia), unmet needs (Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly), mortality, quality of interactions (Quality of Interactions Scale [QUIS]), pain (Abbey Pain Scale), and cost. Costs were calculated using cost function figures compared with usual costs. In all, 847 people were randomised to WHELD or TAU, of whom 553 completed the 9-month randomised controlled trial. The intervention conferred a statistically significant improvement in QoL (DEMQOL-Proxy Z score 2.82, p = 0.0042; mean difference 2.54, SEM 0.88; 95% CI 0.81, 4.28; Cohen’s D effect size 0.24). There were also statistically significant benefits in agitation (CMAI Z score 2.68, p = 0.0076; mean difference 4.27, SEM 1.59; 95% CI −7.39, −1.15; Cohen’s D 0.23) and overall neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPI-NH Z score 3.52, p < 0.001; mean difference 4.55, SEM 1.28; 95% CI −7.07,−2.02; Cohen’s D 0.30). Benefits were greatest in people with moderately severe dementia. There was a statistically significant benefit in positive care interactions as measured by QUIS (19.7% increase, SEM 8.94; 95% CI 2.12, 37.16, p = 0.03; Cohen’s D 0.55). There were no statistically significant differences between WHELD and TAU for the other outcomes. A sensitivity analysis using a pre-specified imputation model confirmed statistically significant benefits in DEMQOL-Proxy, CMAI, and NPI-NH outcomes with the WHELD intervention. Antipsychotic drug use was at a low stable level in both treatment groups, and the intervention did not reduce use. The WHELD intervention reduced cost compared to TAU, and the benefits achieved were therefore associated with a cost saving. The main limitation was that antipsychotic review was based on augmenting processes within care homes to trigger medical review and did not in this study involve proactive primary care education. An additional limitation was the inherent challenge of assessing QoL in this patient group. Conclusions These findings suggest that the WHELD intervention confers benefits in terms of QoL, agitation, and neuropsychiatric symptoms, albeit with relatively small effect sizes, as well as cost saving in a model that can readily be implemented in nursing homes. Future work should consider how to facilitate sustainability of the intervention in this setting