Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 331)

This bibliography lists 129 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during December, 1989. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and psychology, life support systems and controlled environments, safety equipment, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, and flight crew behavior and performance

Explaining pre-emptive acclimation by linking information to plant phenotype

We review mechanisms for pre-emptive acclimation in plants and propose a conceptual model linking developmental and evolutionary ecology with the acquisition of information through sensing of cues and signals. The idea is that plants acquire much of the information in the environment not from individual cues and signals but instead from their joint multivariate properties such as correlations. If molecular signalling has evolved to extract such information, the joint multivariate properties of the environment must be encoded in the genome, epigenome, and phenome. We contend that multivariate complexity explains why extrapolating from experiments done in artificial contexts into natural or agricultural systems almost never works for characters under complex environmental regulation: biased relationships among the state variables in both time and space create a mismatch between the evolutionary history reflected in the genotype and the artificial growing conditions in which the phenotype is expressed. Our model can generate testable hypotheses bridging levels of organization. We describe the model and its theoretical bases, and discuss its implications. We illustrate the hypotheses that can be derived from the model in two cases of pre-emptive acclimation based on correlations in the environment: the shade avoidance response and acclimation to drought.Peer reviewe

Drawing Boundaries

In “On Drawing Lines on a Map” (1995), I suggested that the different ways we have of drawing lines on maps open up a new perspective on ontology, resting on a distinction between two sorts of boundaries: fiat and bona fide. “Fiat” means, roughly: human-demarcation-induced. “Bona fide” means, again roughly: a boundary constituted by some real physical discontinuity. I presented a general typology of boundaries based on this opposition and showed how it generates a corresponding typology of the different sorts of objects which boundaries determine or demarcate. In this paper, I describe how the theory of fiat boundaries has evolved since 1995, how it has been applied in areas such as property law and political geography, and how it is being used in contemporary work in formal and applied ontology, especially within the framework of Basic Formal Ontology

County-level USA: No Robust Relationship between Geoclimatic Variables and Cognitive Ability

Using a sample of ~3,100 U.S. counties, we tested geoclimatic explanations for why cognitive ability varies across geography. These models posit that geoclimatic factors will strongly predict cognitive ability across geography,even when a variety of common controls appear in the regression equations.Our results generally do not support UV radiation (UVR) based or other geoclimatic models. Specifically, although UVR alone predicted cognitive ability at the U.S. county-level (β = -.33), its validity was markedly reduced in the presence of climatic and demographic covariates (β = -.16), and was reduced even further with a spatial lag (β = -.10). For climate models,average temperature remained a significant predictor in the regression equation containing a spatial lag (β = .35). However, the effect was in the wrong direction relative to typical cold weather hypotheses. Moreover,when we ran the analyses separately by race/ethnicity, no consistent pattern appeared in the models containing the spatial lag. Analyses of gap sizes across counties were also generally inconsistent with predictions from the UVR model. Instead, results seemed to provide support for compositional models

Marshall Space Flight Center Research and Technology Report 2019

Today, our calling to explore is greater than ever before, and here at Marshall Space Flight Centerwe make human deep space exploration possible. A key goal for Artemis is demonstrating and perfecting capabilities on the Moon for technologies needed for humans to get to Mars. This years report features 10 of the Agencys 16 Technology Areas, and I am proud of Marshalls role in creating solutions for so many of these daunting technical challenges. Many of these projects will lead to sustainable in-space architecture for human space exploration that will allow us to travel to the Moon, on to Mars, and beyond. Others are developing new scientific instruments capable of providing an unprecedented glimpse into our universe. NASA has led the charge in space exploration for more than six decades, and through the Artemis program we will help build on our work in low Earth orbit and pave the way to the Moon and Mars. At Marshall, we leverage the skills and interest of the international community to conduct scientific research, develop and demonstrate technology, and train international crews to operate further from Earth for longer periods of time than ever before first at the lunar surface, then on to our next giant leap, human exploration of Mars. While each project in this report seeks to advance new technology and challenge conventions, it is important to recognize the diversity of activities and people supporting our mission. This report not only showcases the Centers capabilities and our partnerships, it also highlights the progress our people have achieved in the past year. These scientists, researchers and innovators are why Marshall and NASA will continue to be a leader in innovation, exploration, and discovery for years to come

Scientific and Technical Publishing at Goddard Space Flight Center in Fiscal Year 1994

This publication is a compilation of scientific and technical material that was researched, written, prepared, and disseminated by the Center's scientists and engineers during FY94. It is presented in numerical order of the GSFC author's sponsoring technical directorate; i.e., Code 300 is the Office of Flight Assurance, Code 400 is the Flight Projects Directorate, Code 500 is the Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate, Code 600 is the Space Sciences Directorate, Code 700 is the Engineering Directorate, Code 800 is the Suborbital Projects and Operations Directorate, and Code 900 is the Earth Sciences Directorate. The publication database contains publication or presentation title, author(s), document type, sponsor, and organizational code. This is the second annual compilation for the Center

Proceedings of the 2023 Berry Summer Thesis Institute

Thanks to a gift from the Berry Family Foundation and the Berry family, the University Honors Program launched the Berry Summer Thesis Institute in 2012. The institute introduces students in the University Honors Program to intensive research, scholarship opportunities and professional development. Each student pursues a 12-week summer thesis research project under the guidance of a UD faculty mentor. This contains the product of the students\u27 research. Contents: “How Porous Materials Affect the Boundary-Layer Transition of Hypersonic Flight Vehicles” (Megan C. Sieve) “Ultra-Stretchable, Self-Healing, DLP 3D-Printed Elastomers for Damage-Resistant Soft Robots: A Review” (Robert M. A. Drexler) “Extrapolation of Scalar Measurements in a Helium Jet Using Rainbow Schlieren Deflectometry” (Joseph R. Kastner) “Characterizing the Frequency Response of Pressure-Sensitive Paint” (Charles J. Strunc) “Understanding Calcium Signaling in Invasive Glioblastoma Cells in a Microfluidic Model: A Review” (Jenna Abdelhamed) “A Brief Review on the TGF-β Pathway During Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition of Glioblastoma Multiforme” (Khadija Fatima) “The Effects of Environmental Factors on Listeria monocytogenes Fitness and Pathogenesis” (Nicolina Valore) “How We Free Ourselves: Contemporary Feminism and Freedom” (Aila A. Carr-Chellman) “Perception of Interpersonal Distance in Reality” (Connor N. Kuntz

Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2014

This report summarizes the research activities of the Air Force Institute of Technology’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management. It describes research interests and faculty expertise; lists student theses/dissertations; identifies research sponsors and contributions; and outlines the procedures for contacting the school. Included in the report are: faculty publications, conference presentations, consultations, and funded research projects. Research was conducted in the areas of Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Electro-Optics, Computer Engineering and Computer Science, Systems Engineering and Management, Operational Sciences, Mathematics, Statistics and Engineering Physics