159 research outputs found
Phasing with near rectilinear Halo orbits: Design and comparison
No full textIn the next future, space agencies are planning to return to the Moon. The objective is to assemble an orbiting space station, called Gateway, on a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit around the Moon as a base for future Moon and deep space missions. Within this framework, multiple side missions will be planned to sustain the Gateway (Artemis mission). The proposed work is thought in framework of the preliminary design of future cargo missions, in particular on the design of an efficient phasing trajectory, under the Circular Restricted Three body problem hypotheses, to bring a cargo vehicle from the end of the Earth-Moon transfer to the beginning of the proximity operations such as rendezvous and docking with the space station. The work aims covering the lack of literature in phasing trajectories with the NRHO by proposing three different strategies to connect the Earth-Moon transfer trajectory with the proximity operations. The three strategies are classified based on the choice of the parking orbits or the choice of the manifolds. Two strategies use butterfly and Halo orbits to park the vehicle before transferring to the target orbit. The third strategy, instead, uses manifolds to allow a direct phasing. In the paper, the three innovative strategies are designed and compare in a specific scenario
N-acetylcysteine treatment normalizes serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha level and hinders the progression of cardiac injury in hypertensive rats
No full textBACKGROUND: Studies in isolated cardiomyocytes showed that replenishment in cellular glutathione, achieved with the glutathione precursor N-acetylcysteine (NAC), abrogated deleterious effects of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha).
METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined the ability of NAC to limit the progression of cardiac injury in the rat model of hypertension, induced by the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (50 mg/kg per day SC) and high-salt diet (HS) (8% NaCl). Four-week HS/L-NAME administration induced hypertension (193+/-8 versus 122+/-4 mm Hg for low-salt diet [LS] group) and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, revealed by echocardiography and characterized by decreased LV shortening fraction (38+/-2% versus 49+/-4% for LS group; P<0.05) and decreased LV posterior wall thickening (49+/-3% versus 70+/-4% for LS group; P<0.05). LV dysfunction worsened further after 6-week HS/L-NAME administration. Importantly, increase in serum TNF-alpha level was strongly correlated with shortening fraction decrease and cardiac glutathione depletion. NAC (75 mg/d) was given as a therapeutic treatment in a subgroup of HS/L-NAME animals during weeks 5 and 6 of HS/L-NAME administration. NAC treatment, which replenished cardiac glutathione, had no effect on hypertension but reduced LV remodeling and dysfunction, normalized serum TNF-alpha level, and limited activation of matrix metalloproteinases -2 and -9 and collagen deposition in LV tissues.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that glutathione status determines the adverse effects of TNF-alpha in cardiac failure and that TNF-alpha antagonism may be achieved by glutathione supplementation
Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Ancestors, Masters:Some Remarks on the Politico-Religious in China Today
No full textThe starting point of this study is the perspective offered by Emilio Gentile on modern “politics as religion”. This vantage point is briefly illustrated by the case of contemporary “popular Confucianism”. However, in order to show the extent to which the Chinese religious situation does not lend itself readily to such an approach, the author considers a “popular” cult that reemerged in China after Maoism, namely, the widespread veneration of five entities: Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Ancestors, Masters (tian, di, jun, qin, shi). Comparing modern interpretations (whether political, scholarly or popular) of these practices sheds some light on the problematic nature of secularizing projects targeting this enduring cosmological vision
Exploring Childbearing, Birth, and Motherhood Following a History of Childhood Sexual Abuse
No full textNo author on thesis title-page; author information from Canada Project Thesis List.Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is widespread and can have long lasting effects. Childbearing, birth, and motherhood are milestones in a woman‘s life that have been known to revive issues related to a history of CSA. This thesis will combine my individual and personal experience with academic understandings of CSA‘s impact on childbearing and motherhood with particular reference to attachment theory and resiliency determinants. First, I will offer a brief literature review of the impact of childbearing, birth, and motherhood in the wake of a CSA history and identify shortcomings of existing research. Second, I will share my own story and my personal reflections of the impact of CSA on pregnancy and upcoming motherhood. I will draw implications for counsellors and counsellors in training who plan to work with or research victims of CSA. It is my hope that this thesis will inspire quantitative research aimed at isolating factors that contribute to positive birthing and parenting experiences in the wake of a history of childhood sexual abuse
Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Ancestors, Masters:Some Remarks on the Politico-Religious in China Today
No full textThe starting point of this study is the perspective offered by Emilio Gentile on modern “politics as religion”. This vantage point is briefly illustrated by the case of contemporary “popular Confucianism”. However, in order to show the extent to which the Chinese religious situation does not lend itself readily to such an approach, the author considers a “popular” cult that reemerged in China after Maoism, namely, the widespread veneration of five entities: Heaven, Earth, Sovereign, Ancestors, Masters (tian, di, jun, qin, shi). Comparing modern interpretations (whether political, scholarly or popular) of these practices sheds some light on the problematic nature of secularizing projects targeting this enduring cosmological vision
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