An Overview of SBIR Phase 2 In-Space Propulsion and Cryogenic Fluids Management

Technological innovation is the overall focus of NASA's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. The program invests in the development of innovative concepts and technologies to help NASA's mission directorates address critical research and development needs for agency projects. This report highlights innovative SBIR Phase II projects from 2007-2012 specifically addressing Areas in In-Space Propulsion and Cryogenic Fluids Management which is one of six core competencies at NASA Glenn Research Center. There are nineteen technologies featured with emphasis on a wide spectrum of applications such as high-performance Hall thruster support system, thruster discharge power converter, high-performance combustion chamber, ion thruster design tool, green liquid monopropellant thruster, and much more. Each article in this booklet describes an innovation, technical objective, and highlights NASA commercial and industrial applications. This report serves as an opportunity for NASA personnel including engineers, researchers, and program managers to learn of NASA SBIR's capabilities that might be crosscutting into this technology area. As the result, it would cause collaborations and partnerships between the small companies and NASA Programs and Projects resulting in benefit to both SBIR companies and NASA

The 1994 Fiber Optic Sensors for Aerospace Technology (FOSAT) Workshop

The NASA Lewis Research Center conducted a workshop on fiber optic technology on October 18-20, 1994. The workshop objective was to discuss the future direction of fiber optics and optical sensor research, especially in the aerospace arena. The workshop was separated into four sections: (1) a Systems Section which dealt specifically with top level overall architectures for the aircraft and engine; (2) a Subsystems Section considered the parts and pieces that made up the subsystems of the overall systems; (3) a Sensor/Actuators section considered the status of research on passive optical sensors and optical powered actuators; and (4) Components Section which addressed the interconnects for the optical systems (e.g., optical connectors, optical fibers, etc.). This report contains the minutes of the discussion on the workshop, both in each section and in the plenary sessions. The slides used by a limited number of presenters are also included as presented. No attempt was made to homogenize this report. The view of most of the attendees was: (1) the government must do a better job of disseminating technical information in a more timely fashion; (2) enough work has been done on the components, and system level architecture definition must dictate what work should be done on components; (3) a Photonics Steering Committee should be formed to coordinate the efforts of government and industry in the photonics area, to make sure that programs complimented each other and that technology transferred from one program was used in other programs to the best advantage of the government and industry

TN03: Broadcast Scan - Disruptive Technology Search for Space Applications

This Technical Note (TN) documents on Work Package 4000, which is the Broadcast Scan. The aim of this work package is the creation of a search strategy, identify spin-in markets, scan for potential DSTs and perform a pre-selection for further evaluation. It fits within the overall research as the search strategy development part, highlighted in the overall structure of the research, depicted in Figure 1. In this figure, the second chapter covers the Search Method and Techniques Review part in which various technology search methods are reviewed and evaluated. The third chapter focusses on DST Market Identification, in which several external markets are investigated which are of high interest to the space sector. The fourth chapter involves the creation of a DST Search Strategy in which a strategy is devised to identify potential DSTs and store them into a custom designed database. The fifth chapter documents upon the pre-selection of the identified technologies, these criteria are based on the AHP method and the STEP-Criteria explained in TN02

High-Temperature Optoelectronic Device Characterization and Integration Towards Optical Isolation for High-Density Power Modules

Power modules based on wide bandgap (WBG) materials enhance reliability and considerably reduce cooling requirements that lead to a significant reduction in total system cost and weight. Although these innovative properties lead power modules to higher power density, some concerns still need to be addressed to take full advantage of WBG-based modules. For example, the use of bulky transformers as a galvanic isolation system to float the high voltage gate driver limits further size reduction of the high-temperature power modules. Bulky transformers can be replaced by integrating high-temperature optocouplers to scale down power modules further and achieve disrupting performance in terms of thermal management, power efficiency, power density, operating environments, and reliability. However, regular semiconductor optoelectronic materials and devices have significant difficulty functioning in high-temperature environments. Modular integration of optoelectronic devices into high-temperature power modules is restricted due to the significant optical efficiency drop at elevated temperatures. The quantum efficiency and long-term reliability of optoelectronic devices decrease at elevated temperatures. The motivation for this study is to develop optoelectronic devices, specifically optocouplers, that can be integrated into high-density power modules. A detailed study on optoelectronic devices at high temperature enables us to explore the possibility of scaling high-density power modules by integrating high-temperature optoelectronic devices into the power module. The primary goal of this study is to characterize and verify the high-temperature operation of optoelectronic devices, including light-emitting diodes and photodiodes based on WBG materials. The secondary goal is to identify and integrate optoelectronic devices to achieve galvanic isolation in high-density power modules working at elevated temperatures. As part of the study, a high-temperature packaging, based on low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), suitable to accommodate optoelectronic devices, will also be designed and developed

DISSECTION OF STRESS RESPONSE NETWORKS REGULATING MULTIPLE STRESSES IN RICE

Important food crops like rice are constantly exposed to various stresses that can have devastating effect on their survival and productivity. Being sessile, these highly evolved organisms have developed elaborate molecular machineries to sense a mixture of stress signals and elicit a precise response to minimize the damage. However, recent discoveries revealed that the interplay of these stress regulatory and signaling molecules is highly complex and remains largely unknown. In this work, we conducted large scale analysis of differential gene expression using advanced computational methods to dissect regulation of stress response which is at the heart of all molecular changes leading to the observed phenotypic susceptibility. One of the most important stress conditions in terms of loss of productivity is drought. We performed genomic and proteomic analysis of epigenetic and miRNA mechanisms in regulation of drought responsive genes in rice and found subsets of genes with striking properties. Overexpressed genesets included higher number of epigenetic marks, miRNA targets and transcription factors which regulate drought tolerance. On the other hand, underexpressed genesets were poor in above features but were rich in number of metabolic genes with multiple co-expression partners contributing majorly towards drought resistance. Identification and characterization of the patterns exhibited by differentially expressed genes hold key to uncover the synergistic and antagonistic components of the cross talk between stress response mechanisms. We performed meta-analysis on drought and bacterial stresses in rice and Arabidopsis, and identified hundreds of shared genes. We found high level of conservation of gene expression between these stresses. Weighted co-expression network analysis detected two tight clusters of genes made up of master transcription factors and signaling genes showing strikingly opposite expression status. To comprehensively identify the shared stress responsive genes between multiple abiotic and biotic stresses in rice, we performed meta-analyses of microarray studies from seven different abiotic and six biotic stresses separately and found more than thirteen hundred shared stress responsive genes. Various machine learning techniques utilizing these genes classified the stresses into two major classes\u27 namely abiotic and biotic stresses and multiple classes of individual stresses with high accuracy and identified the top genes showing distinct patterns of expression. Functional enrichment and co-expression network analysis revealed the different roles of plant hormones, transcription factors in conserved and non-conserved genesets in regulation of stress response

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1992, phase 1 projects

The objectives of 346 projects placed under contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are described. These projects were selected competitively from among proposals submitted to NASA in response to the 1992 SBIR Program Solicitation. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 346, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference of the 1992 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA Field Center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number are included

1996 Laboratory directed research and development annual report

This report summarizes progress from the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program during fiscal year 1996. In addition to a programmatic and financial overview, the report includes progress reports from 259 individual R&D projects in seventeen categories. The general areas of research include: engineered processes and materials; computational and information sciences; microelectronics and photonics; engineering sciences; pulsed power; advanced manufacturing technologies; biomedical engineering; energy and environmental science and technology; advanced information technologies; counterproliferation; advanced transportation; national security technology; electronics technologies; idea exploration and exploitation; production; and science at the interfaces - engineering with atoms

RHO Exchange Factors in the Regulation of Squamous Cell Stemness and Carcinogenesis

[EN] The squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a major cause of cancer mortality. The carcinogenesis of this tumor is linked to a series of molecular derangements that frequently features the deregulation of RHO GTPase signaling. However, the events and agents underpinning such deregulation are yet to be defined. RHO exchange factors (GEFs), the proteins that catalyze the activation of RHO GTPases, have been traditionally contemplated as potential protumorigenic players in this context, but their large numbers and the lack of appropriate models has precluded the elucidation of their true functions in cancer settings. To address this issue, in this thesis we have focused on VAV2 to spearhead the characterization of RHO GEFs as key mediators of tumorigenesis and, more importantly, as candidate targets for novel SCC-directed therapeutic approaches. Here we demonstrate that VAV2 becomes upregulated in cutaneous and head-and-neck SCCs, where it engages a transcriptional program involved in the induction of stem cell-like regenerative proliferation and undifferentiation. Significantly, we show that VAV2 activity predicts disease outcome and that its inhibition within specific catalytic thresholds provides antitumoral benefits without disturbing organismal homeostasis. This work also exposes non-oncogenic roles for this GEF in the physiological maintenance of the cutaneous squamous epithelium, where it regulates the abundance, activity and responsiveness of hair follicle stem cells through the control of their transcriptomic circuits. Lastly, by extending these studies to the whole family of RHO GEFs, our research shows that VAV2 belongs to a small collection of exchange factors with pivotal roles in either the promotion or impairment of SCC tumorigenesis-associated processes. Taken together, our findings unveil hitherto unknown regulators of SCC fitness whose activity can be harnessed to modulate tumor growth and malignancy

Optical Wireless Data Center Networks

Bandwidth and computation-intensive Big Data applications in disciplines like social media, bio- and nano-informatics, Internet-of-Things (IoT), and real-time analytics, are pushing existing access and core (backbone) networks as well as Data Center Networks (DCNs) to their limits. Next generation DCNs must support continuously increasing network traffic while satisfying minimum performance requirements of latency, reliability, flexibility and scalability. Therefore, a larger number of cables (i.e., copper-cables and fiber optics) may be required in conventional wired DCNs. In addition to limiting the possible topologies, large number of cables may result into design and development problems related to wire ducting and maintenance, heat dissipation, and power consumption. To address the cabling complexity in wired DCNs, we propose OWCells, a class of optical wireless cellular data center network architectures in which fixed line of sight (LOS) optical wireless communication (OWC) links are used to connect the racks arranged in regular polygonal topologies. We present the OWCell DCN architecture, develop its theoretical underpinnings, and investigate routing protocols and OWC transceiver design. To realize a fully wireless DCN, servers in racks must also be connected using OWC links. There is, however, a difficulty of connecting multiple adjacent network components, such as servers in a rack, using point-to-point LOS links. To overcome this problem, we propose and validate the feasibility of an FSO-Bus to connect multiple adjacent network components using NLOS point-to-point OWC links. Finally, to complete the design of the OWC transceiver, we develop a new class of strictly and rearrangeably non-blocking multicast optical switches in which multicast is performed efficiently at the physical optical (lower) layer rather than upper layers (e.g., application layer). Advisors: Jitender S. Deogun and Dennis R. Alexande

Transcriptional control of liver metabolism and disease by nuclear receptor-corepressor networks

Liver lipid metabolism is coordinated via transcriptional networks composed of transcription factors and coregulators. Disturbance of such networks leads to metabolic dysregulation and is linked to the progression of obesity-related metabolic disorders, such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular disease. Lipid-sensing nuclear receptors, particularly liver X receptors (LXRs) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), play a crucial role in cholesterol and triglyceride regulation and have emerged as significant targets for drug development. The major obstacles of targeting nuclear receptors are the undesired and often unpredictable side effects due to their genome-wide activities in multiple cell-types. Therefore, investigating the associated coregulators and the posttranslational modifications might help to better understand the gene-, cell-type- and signalspecific regulation of nuclear receptors, especially upon pathophysiological conditions. Of particular interest is G-protein pathway suppressor 2 (GPS2), subunit of a fundamental corepressor complex, which seems involved in cholesterol homeostasis and antiinflammatory crosstalk in a variety of tissues. Although lipid dysregulation and inflammation are two major mechanisms to promote metabolic disorders, the role of GPS2 in the development of those diseases remained enigmatic. The objective of this thesis was therefore to characterize the roles and relationship of GPS2, along with the corepressor complex, to individual transcription factors/nuclear receptors at the physiological and genomic level with an emphasis on obesity-associated metabolic disorders. In Paper I, we discovered a hitherto unknown function of GPS2 in the progression of NAFLD to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We demonstrated that GPS2 selectively repressed PPARα activity in liver lipid catabolism via the corepressor complex. Hepatocytespecific Gps2 knockout mice were protected from diet-induced liver steatosis and fibrosis, by enhancing fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis as result of PPARα de-repression and epigenome alterations. Further, by studying human NAFLD/NASH biopsies we found that GPS2 expression positively correlated with fibrogenic and inflammatory gene expression. Thus, the selective modulation of GPS2-PPARα interactions could be of therapeutic interest for NAFLD/NASH. In Paper II, we identified GPS2 as a pivotal regulator of lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced ABCA1 expression and cholesterol efflux, independent of LXR and the corepressor complex, in inflammatory macrophages. This study advanced our understanding of GPS2 in linking obesity-associated inflammation to cardiovascular diseases. As GPS2 is downregulated whilst the circulating endotoxin is elevated in obesity, the LPS-GPS2-ABCA1 axis may provide a potential link to explain the increased cardiovascular risk in obesity and T2D. In Paper III, we demonstrated that LXRα phosphorylation played a crucial role in NAFLD progression in mice. In phosphorylation-deficient LXRα knockin mice, diet-induced NAFLD was attenuated by repressing the expression of multiple inflammatory and fibrotic mediators. We uncovered a unique group of diet-specific phosphorylation-sensitive LXRα target genes in liver, different from those affected by loss of LXRα. Moreover, evidence is provided that phosphorylation may modulate the interaction of LXRα with the corepressor complex. This study highlights the role of post-translational modifications in defining the gene-selective transcriptional activity of nuclear receptors. In conclusion, this thesis revealed novel insights into the multifaceted regulatory roles of nuclear receptors and GPS2 in altering transcriptional and epigenomic networks linked to metabolic and inflammatory processes. These insights may contribute to the better understanding of the development of obesity-associated metabolic disorders and to novel intervention strategies