An Experimental Investigation of Leak Rate Performance of a Subscale Candidate Elastomer Docking Space Seal

A novel docking seal was developed for the main interface seal of NASA s Low Impact Docking System (LIDS). This interface seal was designed to maintain acceptable leak rates while being exposed to the harsh environmental conditions of outer space. In this experimental evaluation, a candidate docking seal assembly called Engineering Development Unit (EDU58) was characterized and evaluated against the Constellation Project leak rate requirement. The EDU58 candidate seal assembly was manufactured from silicone elastomer S0383-70 vacuum molded in a metal retainer ring. Four seal designs were considered with unique characteristic heights. The leak rate performance was characterized through a mass point leak rate method by monitoring gas properties within an internal control volume. The leakage performance of the seals were described herein at representative docking temperatures of -50, +23, and +50 C for all four seal designs. Leak performance was also characterized at 100, 74, and 48 percent of full closure. For all conditions considered, the candidate seal assemblies met the Constellation Project leak rate requirement

The Impact of Free Health Screenings at Community Pharmacies on Diabetes

Diabetes is a prevalent issue in the United States, with an estimated 8.1 million people un-diagnosed as of 2012. Health screenings have been proven to identify diseases earlier, thereby resulting in earlier and more satisfactory treatment. Community pharmacies can offer many of the same screenings as those in doctor offices. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of free health screenings in community pharmacies on patient follow-up, perceptions, and knowledge of diabetes through blood glucose screenings and patient education. The study design was a pre-post observational study using surveys, blood sugar screenings, and patient education on diabetes. Participants were voluntary patients from four REM Corporation pharmacies in Ohio who were 18 or older, not recently tested for diabetes, non-diabetic, not pregnant, and without disorders that could hinder survey responses and education. Pre- and post-surveys assessed both patient perceptions on free health screenings in community pharmacies and on diabetes knowledge. Results among the 26 participants showed there was no statistically significant difference between patient perception pre- and post-surveys (all p-values ≥ 0.05), however there was a statistically significant difference between pre and post diabetes knowledge surveys (p \u3c 0.001). Limitations of this study were the small sample size due to the relatively small pharmacies utilized and short length of study time. Future directions should focus on using more demographically diverse pharmacies and a longer study time. Due to patients already having highly positive perceptions of health screenings in community pharmacies, future research should assess patient knowledge of diseases and the impact of patient education on overall health outcomes. Results of the study showed patients had positive opinions on free health screenings in community pharmacies and these screenings can help patients understand disease states and be more aware of their health

The Impact of Free Health Screenings at Community Pharmacies on Diabetes

Background: Health screenings can be beneficial when looking to detect diseases early on, thus making treatment easier. Free health screenings are typically performed in the community pharmacy setting. This makes it convenient because it is easily accessible and there is no appointment required. Diabetes is currently one of the most significant health issues faced today, with an estimated 7 million Americans going undiagnosed. Health screenings in community pharmacies are valuable to detect high blood glucose levels for patients to be referred for diagnosis and treatment. Previous studies related to health screenings have focused on hypertension and cholesterol, and few have been conducted on diabetes alone. Extensive research has not been performed regarding patient knowledge of diabetes or on the impact of health screenings. Due to this lack of research and the prevalence of diabetes, it is essential to explore the impact of free health screenings in regards to this growing health care issue. Objective: To assess the impact of free health screenings in community pharmacies on patient follow-up, perceptions, and knowledge of diabetes through blood glucose screenings and patient education. Methods: Data will be collected from local Kroger pharmacies. Patients will be purposefully selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Selected patients will be given a pre-survey at baseline prior to blood glucose testing and diabetes education. Individuals with abnormally high blood glucose levels will be referred to see a physician. Referred participants will be called a month after referral regarding the follow-up with their physician and potential diabetes diagnosis. All of the subjects will be called after a month to remind them to complete the post-survey. The post-survey will be sent to individuals by mail or email a month after the pre-survey. These surveys will contain the exact same questions as the pre-survey

The Impact of Free Health Screenings at Community Pharmacies on Diabetes

Title: The Impact of Free Health Screenings at Community Pharmacies on Diabetes Authors: Jacques Allou, Jessica Amtower, Nicholas Daniels, Jeniffer George, Anna Smith, Jeb Ballentine, Pharm.D., and Emily Laswell, Pharm.D. Background: Health screenings can be beneficial when looking to detect diseases early on, thus making treatment easier. Free health screenings are typically performed in the community pharmacy setting. This makes it convenient because it is easily accessible and there is no appointment required. Diabetes is currently one of the most significant health issues faced today, with an estimated 7 million Americans going undiagnosed. Health screenings in community pharmacies are valuable to detect high blood glucose levels for patients to be referred for diagnosis and treatment. Previous studies related to health screenings have focused on hypertension and cholesterol, and few have been conducted on diabetes alone. Extensive research has not been performed regarding patient knowledge of diabetes or on the impact of health screenings. Due to this lack of research and the prevalence of diabetes, it is essential to explore the impact of free health screenings in regards to this growing health care issue. Objective: To assess the impact of free health screenings in community pharmacies on patient follow-up, perceptions, and knowledge of diabetes through blood glucose screenings and patient education. Methods: Data will be collected from local Kroger pharmacies. Patients will be purposefully selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Selected patients will be given a pre-survey at baseline prior to blood glucose testing and diabetes education. Individuals with abnormally high blood glucose levels will be referred to see a physician. Referred participants will be called a month after referral regarding the follow-up with their physician and potential diabetes diagnosis. All of the subjects will be called after a month to remind them to complete the post-survey. The post-survey will be sent to individuals by mail or email a month after the pre-survey. These surveys will contain the exact same questions as the pre-survey

Comparison of X-Ray, Millimeter Wave, Shearography and Through-Transmission Ultrasonic Methods for Inspection of Honeycomb Composites

Honeycomb composites are increasingly finding utility in a variety of environments and applications, such as aircraft structural components, flight control components, radomes, etc. In-service and environmental stresses can produce unwanted flaws that adversely affect the structural integrity and functionality of these composites. These flaws may be in the forms of disbonds, delaminations, impact damage, crushed honeycomb, moisture intrusion, internal cracks, etc. There are several nondestructive testing (NDT) methods that may be used to inspect these composites for the presence and evaluation of these flaws. Such NDT methods include X-ray computed tomography, near-field millimeter wave, shearography, and ultrasonic testing. To assess the capabilities of these methods for honeycomb composite inspection, two honeycomb composites panels were produced with several embedded flaws and missing material primarily representing planar disbonds at various levels within the thickness of the panels and with different shapes. Subsequently, the aforementioned NDT methods were used to produce images of the two panels. This paper presents the results of these investigations and a comparison among the capabilities of these methods

Review of Full-Scale Docking Seal Testing Capabilities

NASA is developing a new docking system to support future space exploration missions to low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. This mechanism, called the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS), is designed to connect pressurized space vehicles and structures including the Crew Exploration Vehicle, International Space Station, and lunar lander. NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is playing a key role in developing the main interface seal for this new docking system. These seals will be approximately 147 cm (58 in.) in diameter. To evaluate the performance of the seals under simulated operating conditions, NASA GRC is developing two new test rigs: a non-actuated version that will be used to measure seal leak rates and an actuated test rig that will be able to measure both seal leak rates and loads. Both test rigs will be able to evaluate the seals under seal-on-seal or seal-on-plate configurations at temperatures from -50 to 50 C (-58 to 122 F) under operational and pre-flight checkout pressure gradients in both aligned and misaligned conditions

Effects of trauma-related cues on pain processing in posttraumatic stress disorder: an fMRI investigation

Background: Imaging studies of pain processing in primary psychiatric disorders are just emerging. This study explored the neural correlates of stress-induced analgesia in individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It combined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and the traumatic script-driven imagery symptom provocation paradigm to examine the effects of trauma-related cues on pain perception in individuals with PTSD. Methods: The study included 17 patients with PTSD and 26 healthy, trauma-exposed controls. Participants received warm (nonpainful) or hot (painful) thermal stimuli after listening to a neutral or a traumatic script while they were undergoing an fMRI scan at a 4.0 T field strength. Results: Between-group analyses revealed that after exposure to the traumatic scripts, the blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) signal during pain perception was greater in the PTSD group than the control group in the head of the caudate. In the PTSD group, strong positive correlations resulted between BOLD signal and symptom severity in a number of brain regions previously implicated in stress-induced analgesia, such as the thalamus and the head of the caudate nucleus. Trait dissociation as measured by the Dissociative Experiences Scale correlated negatively with the right amygdala and the left putamen. Limitations: This study included heterogeneous traumatic experiences, a different proportion of military trauma in the PTSD versus the control group and medicated patients with PTSD. Conclusion: These data indicate that in patients with PTSD trauma recall will lead in a state-dependent manner to greater activation in brain regions implicated in stress-induced analgesia. Correlational analyses lend support to cortical hyperinhibition of the amygdala as a function of dissociation

Transcriptomic landscape of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) skin

In this study, we present the first spatial transcriptomic atlas of Atlantic salmon skin using the Visium Spatial Gene Expression protocol. We utilized frozen skin tissue from four distinct sites, namely the operculum, pectoral and caudal fins, and scaly skin at the flank of the fish close to the lateral line, obtained from two Atlantic salmon (150 g). High quality frozen tissue sections were obtained by embedding tissue in O.C.T media prior to freezing and sectioning. Further, we generated libraries and spatial transcriptomic maps, achieving a minimum of 80 million reads per sample with mapping efficiencies ranging from 79.3% to 89.4%. Our analysis revealed the detection of over 80.000 transcripts and nearly 30.000 genes in each sample. Among the tissue types observed in the skin, the epithelial tissues exhibited the highest number of transcripts (UMI-counts), followed by muscle tissue, loose and fibrous connective tissue, and bone. Notably, the widest nodes in the transcriptome network were shared among the epithelial clusters, while dermal tissues showed less consistency, which is likely attributable to the presence of multiple cell types at different body locations. Additionally, we identified collagen type 1 as the most prominent gene family in the skin, while keratins were found to be abundant in the epithelial tissue. Furthermore, we successfully identified gene markers specific to epithelial tissue, bone, and mesenchyme. To validate their expression patterns, we conducted a meta-analysis of the microarray database, which confirmed high expression levels of these markers in mucosal organs, skin, gills, and the olfactory rosette.publishedVersio

Full-Scale System for Quantifying Leakage of Docking System Seals for Space Applications

NASA is developing a new docking and berthing system to support future space exploration missions to low-Earth orbit, the Moon, and Mars. This mechanism, called the Low Impact Docking System, is designed to connect pressurized space vehicles and structures. NASA Glenn Research Center is playing a key role in developing advanced technology for the main interface seal for this new docking system. The baseline system is designed to have a fully androgynous mating interface, thereby requiring a seal-on-seal configuration when two systems mate. These seals will be approximately 147 cm (58 in.) in diameter. NASA Glenn has designed and fabricated a new test fixture which will be used to evaluate the leakage of candidate full-scale seals under simulated thermal, vacuum, and engagement conditions. This includes testing under seal-on-seal or seal-on-plate configurations, temperatures from -50 to 50 C (-58 to 122 F), operational and pre-flight checkout pressure gradients, and vehicle misalignment (plus or minus 0.381 cm (0.150 in.)) and gapping (up to 0.10 cm (0.040 in.)) conditions. This paper describes the main design features of the test rig and techniques used to overcome some of the design challenges