Handling Qualities Flight Testing of the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)

Airborne infrared astronomy has a long successful history, albeit relatively unknown outside of the astronomy community. A major problem with ground based infrared astronomy is the absorption and scatter of infrared energy by water in the atmosphere. Observing the universe from above 40,000 ft puts the observation platform above 99% of the water vapor in the atmosphere, thereby addressing this problem at a fraction of the cost of space based systems. The Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) aircraft is the most ambitious foray into the field of airborne infrared astronomy in history. Using a 747SP (The Boeing Company, Chicago, Illinois) aircraft modified with a 2.5m telescope located in the aft section of the fuselage, the SOFIA endeavors to provide views of the universe never before possible and at a fraction of the cost of space based systems. The modification to the airplane includes moveable doors and aperture that expose the telescope assembly. The telescope assembly is aimed and stabilized using a multitude of on board systems. This modification has the potential to cause aerodynamic anomalies that could induce undesired forces either at the cavity itself or indirectly due to interference with the empennage, both of which could cause handling qualities issues. As a result, an extensive analysis and flight test program was conducted from December 2009 through March 2011. Several methods, including a Lower Order Equivalent Systems analysis and pilot assessment, were used to ascertain the effects of the modification. The SOFIA modification was found to cause no adverse handling qualities effects and the aircraft was cleared for operational use. This paper discusses the history and modification to the aircraft, development of test procedures and analysis, results of testing and analysis, lessons learned for future projects and justification for operational certification

Tumor site immune markers associated with risk for subsequent basal cell carcinomas.

BackgroundBasal cell carcinoma (BCC) tumors are the most common skin cancer and are highly immunogenic.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to assess how immune-cell related gene expression in an initial BCC tumor biopsy was related to the appearance of subsequent BCC tumors.Materials and methodsLevels of mRNA for CD3ε (a T-cell receptor marker), CD25 (the alpha chain of the interleukin (IL)-2 receptor expressed on activated T-cells and B-cells), CD68 (a marker for monocytes/macrophages), the cell surface glycoprotein intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), the cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were measured in BCC tumor biopsies from 138 patients using real-time PCR.ResultsThe median follow-up was 26.6 months, and 61% of subjects were free of new BCCs two years post-initial biopsy. Patients with low CD3ε CD25, CD68, and ICAM-1 mRNA levels had significantly shorter times before new tumors were detected (p = 0.03, p = 0.02, p = 0.003, and p = 0.08, respectively). Furthermore, older age diminished the association of mRNA levels with the appearance of subsequent tumors.ConclusionsOur results show that levels of CD3ε, CD25, CD68, and ICAM-1 mRNA in BCC biopsies may predict risk for new BCC tumors

Assessment of the benefits of user involvement in health research from the Warwick Diabetes Care Research User Group : a qualitative case study

Objective  To assess the benefits of involving health-care users in diabetes research. Design and participants  For this qualitative case study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with researchers who had worked extensively with the group. During regular meetings of the Research User Group, members discussed their views of the group's effectiveness as part of the meeting's agenda. Interviews and discussions were transcribed, coded using N-Vivo software and analysed using constant comparative methods. Results  Involvement of users in research was generally seen as contributing to effective and meaningful research. However, the group should not be considered to be representative of the patient population or participants of future trials. An important contributor to the group's success was its longstanding nature, enabling users to gain more insight into research and form constructive working relationships with researchers. The user-led nature of the group asserted itself, especially, in the language used during group meetings. A partial shift of power from researchers to users was generally acknowledged. Users' main contribution was their practical expertise in living with diabetes, but their involvement also helped researchers to remain connected to the `real world' in which research would be applied. While the group's work fulfilled established principles of consumer involvement in research, important contributions relying on personal interaction between users and researchers were hard to evaluate by process measures alone. Conclusions  We demonstrated the feasibility, acceptability and effectiveness of this longstanding, experienced, lay-led research advisory group. Its impact on research stems from the continuing interaction between researchers and users, and the general ethos of learning from each other in an on-going process. Both process measures and qualitative interviews with stakeholders are needed to evaluate the contributions of service users to health research

Is the energy density of the ground state of the sine-Gordon model unbounded from below for beta^2 > 8 pi ?

We discuss Coleman's theorem concerning the energy density of the ground state of the sine-Gordon model proved in Phys. Rev. D 11, 2088 (1975). According to this theorem the energy density of the ground state of the sine-Gordon model should be unbounded from below for coupling constants beta^2 > 8 pi. The consequence of this theorem would be the non-existence of the quantum ground state of the sine-Gordon model for beta^2 > 8 pi. We show that the energy density of the ground state in the sine-Gordon model is bounded from below even for beta^2 > 8 pi. This result is discussed in relation to Coleman's theorem (Comm. Math. Phys. 31, 259 (1973)), particle mass spectra and soliton-soliton scattering in the sine-Gordon model.Comment: 22 pages, Latex, no figures, revised according to the version accepted for publication in Journal of Physics

Variability in oxidative degradation of charcoal: influence of production variables and environmental exposure

<p>Charcoal is a key component of the Black Carbon (BC) continuum, where BC is characterized as a recalcitrant, fire-derived, polyaromatic material. Charcoal is an important source of palaeoenvironmental data, and of great interest as a potential carbon sink, due to its high apparent environmental stability. However, at least some forms of charcoal are clearly susceptible to environmental alteration and degradation over relatively short timescales. Although these processes have importance for the role of charcoal in global biogeochemistry, they remain poorly understood.</p> <p>Here we present results of an investigation into the susceptibility of a range of charcoal samples to oxidative degradation in acidified potassium dichromate. The study examines both freshly-produced charcoal, and charcoal exposed to environmental conditions for up to 50,000 years. We compare the proportion of carbon present in different forms between the samples, specifically with respect to the relative chemical resistance of these forms. This was undertaken in order to improve understanding of the post-depositional diagenetic changes affecting charcoal within environmental deposits.</p> <p>A wide range in chemical compositions are apparent both within and between the sample groups. In freshly-produced charcoal, material produced at 300 °C contains carbon with more labile forms than charcoal produced at ≥400 °C, signifying a key chemical change over the 300–400 °C temperature range. Charcoal exposed to environmental depositional conditions is frequently composed of a highly carboxylated aromatic structure and contains a range of carbon fractions of varying oxidative resistance. These findings suggest that a significant number of the environmental charcoals have undergone post-depositional diagenetic alteration. Further, the data highlight the potential for the use of controlled progressive oxidative degradation as a method to characterize chemical differences between individual charcoal samples.</p&gt

Performance of bulk SiC radiation detectors

SiC is a wide-gap material with excellent electrical and physical properties that may make it an important material for some future electronic devices. The most important possible applications of SiC are in hostile environments, such as in car/jet engines, within nuclear reactors, or in outer space. Another area where the material properties, most notably radiation hardness, would be valuable is in the inner tracking detectors of particle physics experiments. Here, we describe the performance of SiC diodes irradiated in the 24 GeV proton beam at CERN. Schottky measurements have been used to probe the irradiated material for changes in I–V characteristics. Other methods, borrowed from III–V research, used to study the irradiated surface include atomic force microscope scans and Raman spectroscopy. These have been used to observe the damage to the materials surface and internal lattice structure. We have also characterised the detection capabilities of bulk semi-insulating SiC for α radiation. By measuring the charge collection efficiency (CCE) for variations in bias voltage, CCE values up to 100% have been measured

Oxygen Tomography by Čerenkov-Excited Phosphorescence during External Beam Irradiation

The efficacy of radiation therapy depends strongly on tumor oxygenation during irradiation. However, current techniques to measure this parameter in vivo do not facilitate routine monitoring in patients. Herein, we demonstrate a noninvasive method for tomographic imaging of oxygen partial pressure (pO2 ) in deep tissue using the phosphorescence decay of an oxygen-sensitive probe excited by Čerenkov radiation induced by external beam radiotherapy. Tissue-simulating scattering phantoms (60 mm diameter with a 20 mm anomaly) containing platinum(II)-G4 (PtG4), a dendritic porphyrin-based phosphor, whose phosphorescence is quenched in the presence of oxygen, were irradiated with a clinical linear accelerator. The emitted phosphorescence was measured at various positions on the phantom boundary using a spectrograph coupled to an intensified charge-coupled device (ICCD). At each position, PtG4 phosphorescence decay curves were measured by synchronizing the ICCD to the linear accelerator pulses. Tomographic images of phosphorescence yield and lifetime were recovered for phantoms with homogenous PtG4 concentrations and heterogeneous pO2 . Since PtG4 lifetime is strongly and predictably dependent on pO 2 through the Stern-Volmer relationship, tomographic images of pO 2 were also reported, and showed excellent agreement with independent oxygenation measurements. Translating this approach to the clinic could facilitate direct sensing of pO2 during radiotherapy

Novel Strategies for Fluorine‐18 Radiochemistry

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90272/1/1106_ftp.pd

Beyond words: Aesthetic knowledge and knowing in design

Aesthetic knowledge comes from practitioners understanding the look, feel, smell, taste and sound of things. It is vital to work in many organizational contexts. In this paper, we explore aesthetic knowledge and knowing in organizations through detailed observation of design work in the architectural practice Edward Cullinan Architects. Through our research, we explore aesthetic knowledge in the context of architectural work, we unpack what it is, how it is generated, and how it is applied in design projects, shared between practitioners and developed at the level of the organization. Our analysis suggests that aesthetic knowledge plays an important part in organizational practice, not only as the symbolic context for work, but as an integral part of the work that people do. It suggests that aesthetic reflexivity, which involves an opening up and questioning of what is known, is experienced as part of practice as well as a `time out' from practice