NASA Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports

approximately % into the completion of his Ph.D. research needed to finish this work, and NASA funds were made available
under Dr. Damodar Ambur, the successor Branch Manager for Dr. James Starnes, for the completion of this work. The current
grant was the thus a new and fmal support increment for completion of the started research. Final reports for previous funding
have been completed and submitted. Because of the interconnection of this last phase of the investigation with previous work
it is deemed useful to make the Ph.D. thesis by Luis Gonzales the body of this report.
Derived from text
Composite Structures; Failure Modes; High Altitude; Stress-Strain Relationships; Cracks; Fiber Composites
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INORGANIC, ORGANIC AND PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
Includes the analysis, synthesis, and use of inorganic and organic compounds; combustion theory; electrochemistry; and
photochemistry. For related information see category 34 Fluid Dynamics and Thermodynamics. For astrochemistry see category 90
Astrophysics.
20040045259 Civil Aerospace Medical Inst., Oklahoma City, OK, USA
The Formation of Ethanol in Postmortem Tissues
Johnson, Robert D.; Lewis, Russell J.; Angier, Mike K.; Vu, Nicole T.; February 2004; 14 pp.; In English
Contract(s)/Grant(s): AM-B-02-TXO-204
Report No.(s): DOT/FAA/AM-04/4; No Copyright; Avail: CASI; A03, Hardcopy
During the investigation of aviation accidents, postmortem samples obtained from fatal accident victims are submitted to
the FAA’s Civil Aerospace Medical Institute for toxicological analysis. During toxicological evaluations, ethanol analysis is
performed on all cases. Many species of bacteria, yeast and fungi have the ability to produce ethanol and other volatile organic
compounds in postmortem specimens. The potential for postmortem ethanol formation complicates the interpretation of
ethanol-positive results from accident victims. Therefore, the prevention of ethanol formation at all steps following specimen
collection is a priority. Sodium fluoride is the most commonly used preservative for postmortem specimens. Several studies
have been published detailing the effectiveness of sodium fluoride for the prevention of ethanol formation in blood and urine
specimens; however, our laboratory receives blood or urine in approximately 70% of cases. Thus, we frequently rely on tissue
specimens for ethanol analysis. The postmortem tissue specimens received by our laboratory have generally been subjected
to severe trauma and may have been exposed to numerous microbial species capable of ethanol production. With this in mind,
we designed an experiment utilizing unadulterated tissue specimens obtained from aviation accident victims to determine the
effectiveness of sodium fluoride at various storage temperatures for the prevention of microbial ethanol formation. We found
that without preservative, specimens stored at 4 C for 96 h showed an average increase in ethanol concentration of 1470%.
At 25‘C, these same specimens showed an average ethanol increase of 1432% after 48 h. With the addition of 1.0O% sodium
fluoride, there was no significant increase in ethanol concentration at either temperature.
Author
Aircraft Accident Investigation; Tissues (Biology)
20040046962 Lawrence Livermore National Lab., Livermore, CA
Analysis of Regional Travel Time Data from the November 1999 Dead Sea Explosions Observed in Saudi Arabi
Rodgers, A.; Al-Amri, A. M. S.; Ar-Rajehi, A.; Al-Khalifah, T.; Al-Amri, M. S.; Apr. 19, 2000; 22 pp.; In English
Report No.(s): DE2004-15005704; UCRL-ID-138770; No Copyright; Avail: Department of Energy Information Bridge
Two large chemical explosions were detonated in the Dead Sea in order to calibrate seismic travel times and improve
location accuracy for the International Monitoring System (IMS) to monitor a Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty
(CTBT). These explosions provided calibration data for regional seismic networks in the Middle East. In this paper we report
analysis of seismic data from these shots as recorded by two seismic networks run by King Saud University (KSU) and King
Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) in Saudi Arabia. The shots were well observed in the distance range
180-480 km mostly to the south of the Dead Sea in the Gulf of Aqaba region of northwestern Saudi Arabia. An average
one-dimensional velocity model for the paths was inferred from the travel times of the regional phases Pn, Pg and Sg.
Short-period Sn phases were not observed. The velocity model features a thin crust (crustal thickness 26-30 km) and low
velocities (average P-wave velocity 5.8-6.0 lcds), consistent with the extensional tectonics of the region and previous studies.
NTIS
Seismology; Chemical Explosions
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