Liquid methane gelled with methanol and water reduces rate of nitrogen absorption

Dilution of gelant vapor with inert carrier gas accomplishes gelation. Mixture is injected through heated tube and orifice into liquid methane for immediate condensation within bulk of liquid. Direct dispersion of particles in liquid avoids condensation on walls of vessel and eliminates additional mixing

Rising-plate rheometer

Technique eliminates hazards of handling propellants and permits determination of structure index of gel by remote control. Rheometer weighs cone of propellant gel which remains on a disc that has been slowly pulled out of the gel

Cryogenic gel flow viscometer

Coiled section of tubing measures viscous properties of gelled cryogenic propellants under conditions closely resembling flow in rocket engine systems. Characteristic flow curve provides data necessary for the design of prototype hardware systems using the liquid or gel of interest

Can smartwatches replace smartphones for posture tracking?

This paper introduces a human posture tracking platform to identify the human postures of sitting, standing or lying down, based on a smartwatch. This work develops such a system as a proof-of-concept study to investigate a smartwatch's ability to be used in future remote health monitoring systems and applications. This work validates the smartwatches' ability to track the posture of users accurately in a laboratory setting while reducing the sampling rate to potentially improve battery life, the first steps in verifying that such a system would work in future clinical settings. The algorithm developed classifies the transitions between three posture states of sitting, standing and lying down, by identifying these transition movements, as well as other movements that might be mistaken for these transitions. The system is trained and developed on a Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, and the algorithm was validated through a leave-one-subject-out cross-validation of 20 subjects. The system can identify the appropriate transitions at only 10 Hz with an F-score of 0.930, indicating its ability to effectively replace smart phones, if needed

A method for isolating and culturing placental cells from failed early equine pregnancies

Early pregnancy loss occurs in 6–10% of equine pregnancies making it the main cause of reproductive wastage. Despite this, reasons for the losses are known in only 16% of cases. Lack of viable conceptus material has inhibited investigations of many potential genetic and pathological causes. We present a method for isolating and culturing placental cells from failed early equine pregnancies. Trophoblast cells from 18/30 (60%) failed equine pregnancies of gestational ages 14–65 days were successfully cultured in three different media, with the greatest growth achieved for cells cultured in AmnioChrome™ Plus. Genomic DNA of a suitable quality for molecular assays was also isolated from 29/30 of these cases. This method will enable future investigations determining pathologies causing EPL

Interview with Tobee Chung Vanderwall

Tobee Chung Vanderwall identifies as Chinese, Japanese, and Scottish. Born in Hawaii, she grew up and attended schools in San Francisco, California. She studied biochemistry at a research lab, taught at a middle school, and is now a mother of three children. She became politicized through the Black Lives Matter Movement at the start of the Trump presidency. As someone who learned to sew from her mother, she joined the Auntie Sewing Squad because she saw a need and had the sewing skills to meet the need. During her time in the Squad, Chung Vanderwall played a role in initiating the name change for the Fu mask pattern.https://digitalcommons.csumb.edu/auntiesewing_interviews/1051/thumbnail.jp

The effects of intrauterine infusion of peanut oil on endometrial health, salivary cortisol and interovulatory period in mares

Intrauterine infusion of peanut oil at Day 10 post-ovulation has been reported to prolong dioestrus in mares. However, the effects of peanut oil treatment on the endometrium and whether the technique is painful have not been assessed. The objectives of this study were, (i) to determine the effect of intrauterine infusion of peanut oil on endometrial health, (ii) to determine whether use of intrauterine peanut oil is painful and (iii) to confirm that peanut oil causes prolonged dioestrus. Six mares aged 3–12 years old were used in a cross-over design with each mare administered both 1 ml of intrauterine peanut oil and a sham treatment on different oestrous cycles. The effect of intrauterine infusion of 1 ml peanut oil or sham treatment were measured using interovulatory period, uterine fluid accumulation as determined by transrectal ultrasonography, serum progesterone levels, endometrial Kenney biopsy scores and histological features, endometrial eosinophil numbers and salivary cortisol measurements. The individual mare response to intrauterine infusion of peanut oil was variable. Peanut oil infusion did not statistically prolong the luteal phase, nor elevate salivary cortisol levels but did cause superficial erosion of the endometrial surface epithelium in all mares and significantly increased eosinophil numbers in the endometrium (P = 0.0068). The Kenney grade for biopsies from 2/6 mares worsened transiently following infusion. In conclusion, intra-uterine peanut oil does not statistically increase the duration of the luteal phase but results in an inflammatory response and increase in endometrial eosinophil numbers suggesting treatment may be associated with a hypersensitivity-type reaction. Those contemplating using peanut oil to suppress oestrus should also be aware of the legislative and regulatory implications

How to Use Anti-Mullerian Hormone Testing to Diagnose Granulosa Cell Tumors in Mares

This fact sheet describes how to use Anti-Mullerian hormone testing to diagnose granulosa cell tumors in mares