Aerospace Medicine and Biology. A continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 244 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in February 1981. Aerospace medicine and aerobiology topics are included. Listings for physiological factors, astronaut performance, control theory, artificial intelligence, and cybernetics are included

Quantitative studies on potato genotypes and fodder radish varieties resistant to the rootknot nematode Meloidogyne chitwoodi

Root-knot nematodes, especially the quarantine pests Meloidogyne chitwoodi and Meloidogyne fallax, are a threat to the seed potato production in The Netherlands. The two siblings are polyphagous and conventional control using crop rotation is almost impossible. Moreover, the use of nematicides is restricted as are not benign to the environment. Future management of these pests will therefore be based on crop rotations with non/poor and resistant hosts. The availability of these hosts is currently limited and the need to develop and evaluate resistant crops takes top priority. Dutch breeders were successful in introgressing resistant genes from wild Solanum spp. in to their cultivated potatoes. Moreover, Dutch and German breeders developed Melodigyne chitwoodi resistant fodder radish varieties using classical method of selection and cross breeding. In this thesis, the degree of resistance of these crops was evaluated using population dynamics models and a resistance of > 98% was obtained in both crops. Based on established population dynamics parameters a reliable and scientifically valid routine resistance test for potato breeders was developed and is now in use by Dutch breeders. This is expected to facilitate the breeding program towards a sustainable management of Meloidogyne chitwoodi. The performance of the resistant crops was also evaluated using relevant yield and quality loss models and a promising quality improvement of the resistant potato genotypes under higher initial population density was obtained as compared with susceptible cultivars. The results of the thesis will be included in the Dutch Decision Support System (DSS) NemaDecideGeo+available on the web-based smart farming platform, Akkerweb to help farmers, growers and extension agents in making decisions to control the nematode.</p

Economic analysis of alternative breeding programs

An optimization method was developed for sire selection based on net return and risk of genetic merit of sires. Expected income (net present value) of a sire realized through the offspring was proposed as the composite criterion for selection. This considered the revenue corresponding to his predicted transmitting ability for milk, fat, and protein yields, cost of dystocia corresponding to his expected progeny difference for dystocia, and other fixed and variable costs. Variance of income (risk) of a sire was a function of his reliability estimates. Expected income-Variance frontier developed for a pool of sires based on quadratic programming provided the minimum risk combination of sires for an intended expected income. The combination of sires that maximizes the 95% lower confidence boundary of the frontier (that maximizes 95% guaranteed future income) determined the optimum set of sires to be selected;The optimization method explained above was applied to a simulated pool of young (pedigree tested) and proven (progeny tested) sires to determine the optimum proportion of young sire use. Young sires were riskier and, on the average, had higher expected income (low semen cost) than proven sires. The representation of young sires in the optimum set of sires that maximizes 95% guaranteed income determined the optimum proportion of young sire use. The optimum proportion of young sires was 34 percent for the pool that simulated the current Holstein population in the United States. The proposed method can be used to define the best set of sires where reliability estimates are included in the selection criteria in addition to predicted breeding values;Long term inbreeding, genetic and economic gains associated with cloning were estimated. Random and rotational mating systems for full-sib clones were considered. Production of more than 50 clones could keep inbreeding coefficient below 5 percent for 10 generations. Break-even costs per clone for modern progeny testing schemes were 83 and 41 per clone with one and five clones produced per dam, respectively. Technology of cloning and infrastructure enhancements should be developed further to lower the cost of cloning below the break-even levels for commercial use of cloning to be economically viable;Genetic and phenotypic (co)variance components were estimated from a multiple trait animal model for 305-day milk, fat, and protein yields, days open, number of services and percent cow mortality during lactation for Holsteins. Restricted maximum likelihood estimates based on expectation-maximization algorithm for the traits were similar to those from previous literature. Genetic and phenotypic relationships between yield and fertility were antagonistic. Genetic correlations between yield traits and cow mortality were unfavorable but phenotypic correlations were favorable. Evidently, modern management practices provide better management for better cows resulting in reduced mortality of high producing cows with poor genetic potential in terms of survival ability

Air Force Institute of Technology Research Report 2000

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 and Engineering Management, Operational Sciences, and Engineering Physics

Increasing geotechnical data confidence through the Integration of laser scanner face mapping data into the Sishen iron ore mine geotechnical database

A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Mining Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2018Face mapping is a simple but invaluable means of geological and geotechnical data acquisition whereby intact rock properties, rock mass properties, discontinuity properties and structural orientation can be assessed. Although traditionally done via direct contact with the mapping face through techniques such as line mapping or window mapping, remote face mapping using various digital techniques has become increasingly popular in recent years. Sishen Mine is a large open pit mining operation requiring a comprehensive geotechnical data set to evaluate pit wall design and stability with the necessary level of confidence. Geotechnical borehole data, face mapping data, geotechnical lab testing data and implicit structural models provide the main sources of this information. Although a large geotechnical borehole database has always been maintained at the mine, face mapping has in the past been restricted to sporadic and isolated stability assessments. In 2013 the mine acquired a Maptek 8810 terrestrial laser scanner with the resolution, photographic capabilities and software required to carry out geotechnical face mapping. The aims of this research project were to evaluate the capabilities of the Maptek scanner and system, set up a standard face mapping procedure, integrate face mapping data in the mine’s geotechnical database and compare face mapping acquired rock mass data with the mine’s existing borehole data set. Further potential uses for the laser scanner system and face mapping data were also explored throughout the course of the dissertation. A face mapping procedure was set up and faces were mapped from 86 individual scans, acquired between October 2015 and April 2017. The mapping data obtained from the scans was integrated into the Acquire Geological Data Management System, a purpose designed Structured Query Language (SQL) database system used for storing the mine’s geotechnical data. Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) database links with the Micromine Computer Aided Design (CAD) package allowed for spatial overlays of mapping data with other geotechnical data as well as survey and mine planning data. In terms of data analysis mapping parameters such as joint spacing, Rock Quality Designation and Rock Mass Rating could be directly compared with borehole logging values for the same rock types. The comparison indicated that in general borehole measurements tend to slightly under estimate joint spacing and rock mass rating values while face mapping assessments tend to slightly over estimate these values. This is due to various intricacies of the two data capture techniques that tend to skew the data in one way or the other. Face mapping data was compared with Sishen’s existing structural model, which is based mainly on interpretation and implicit data. Structural orientations and features correlate well between the implicit model and actual mapped values gathered during the data collection phase of this project. Within the geotechnical design process, having actual mapping data in combination with increased confidence in the structural model allows for better definition of geotechnical design sectors. Overall the face mapping and geotechnical analysis features of the Maptek 8810 terrestrial laser scanner make it an invaluable geotechnical data capture tool, providing a system is in place to store mapping data in a manner that allows for meaningful rock mass and structural information to be produced.XL201

Aerospace medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 177

This bibliography lists 112 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in January 1978

Aerospace medicine and biology. A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 195

This bibliography lists 148 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in June 1979

Quarterly literature review of the remote sensing of natural resources

The Technology Application Center reviewed abstracted literature sources, and selected document data and data gathering techniques which were performed or obtained remotely from space, aircraft or groundbased stations. All of the documentation was related to remote sensing sensors or the remote sensing of the natural resources. Sensors were primarily those operating within the 10 to the minus 8 power to 1 meter wavelength band. Included are NASA Tech Briefs, ARAC Industrial Applications Reports, U.S. Navy Technical Reports, U.S. Patent reports, and other technical articles and reports