The NASA Cubesat Missions Flying on Artemis-1

In 2021, the Space Launch Services (SLS) Artemis-1 mission will carry thirteen 6U CubeSats into deep space. Three of those payloads are NASA missions performing a variety of unique deep-space science experiments. The three NASA CubeSat missions are BioSentinel, Lunar Flashlight and NEAScout. The BioSentinel mission will measure deep-space radiation effects on DNA using yeast organisms. It is a six-month mission in a heliocentric orbit. BioSentinel was designed, built, tested and operated out of NASA Ames Research Center. Lunar Flashlight’s mission is to look for surface water ice in the permanently shadowed regions near the south pole of the Moon and test out new small spacecraft technologies. The spacecraft was developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a technology demonstration mission with support from the Marshall Space Flight Center, the Goddard Space Flight Center and Georgia Institute of Technology. NEA Scout’s mission is twofold: to demonstrate solar sail deployment and spacecraft navigation using the sail to detect, track, fly by, and characterize a near earth asteroid. NEA Scout was developed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in partnership with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and support from the Goddard Space Flight Center, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, and Langley Research Center

Single Cigarette Sales: State Differences in FDA Advertising and Labeling Violations, 2014, United States

Single cigarettes, which are sold without warning labels and often evade taxes, can serve as a gateway for youth smoking. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 gives the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products, including prohibiting the sale of single cigarettes. To enforce these regulations, the FDA conducted over 335 661 inspections between 2010 and September 30, 2014, and allocated over $115 million toward state inspections contracts

Climate Change and Forest Fires Synergistically Drive Widespread Melt Events of the Greenland Ice Sheet

In July 2012, over 97% of the Greenland Ice Sheet experienced surface melt, the first widespread melt during the era of satellite remote sensing. Analysis of six Greenland shallow firn cores from the dry snow region confirms that the most recent prior widespread melt occurred in 1889. A firn core from the center of the ice sheet demonstrated that exceptionally warm temperatures combined with black carbon sediments from Northern Hemisphere forest fires reduced albedo below a critical threshold in the dry snow region, and caused the melting events in both 1889 and 2012. We use these data to project the frequency of widespread melt into the year 2100. Since Arctic temperatures and the frequency of forest fires are both expected to rise with climate change, our results suggest that widespread melt events on the Greenland Ice Sheet may begin to occur almost annually by the end of century. These events are likely to alter the surface mass balance of the ice sheet, leaving the surface susceptible to further melting

Outcome of periacetabular osteotomy for the management of acetabular dysplasia: experience in an academic centre.

Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is a very effective reconstructive procedure for treatment of acetabular dysplasia. An orthopaedic paediatric surgeon and a reconstructive hip arthroplasty surgeon performed this procedure together in the early phase of their learning curve and then performed it individually. The early clinical and radiographic results of 85 consecutive PAOs performed in this academic orthopaedic unit were reviewed. The mean Merle-d\u27Aubigné score increased from 12.4 preoperatively to 16 at follow-up. Pre-operatively 73 hips were anteverted and 12 were neutral or retroverted. The mean angle of Wiberg improved from 5 degrees to 21 degrees (p \u3c 0.0001) in anteverted hips, and from 9 degrees to 30 degrees in neutral or retroverted hips. The mean angle of Lequesne and de Sèze improved from 6 degrees to 35 degrees (p \u3c 0.0001) in anteverted hips, and in neutral or retroverted hips from 9 degrees to 30 degrees (p \u3c 0.0001). The acetabular index improved from 26 degrees to 8 degrees (p \u3c 0.0001) in anteverted hips, and from 21 degrees to 7 degrees (p \u3c 0.0001) in neutral or retroverted hips. Over the 7 year period the blood loss and operative time improved from 2000 ml to 900 ml and 4 hours to 2 hours respectively. Four hips (four patients) required conversion to total hip replacement. The radiographic correction and improved clinical scores are similar to those in previous studies. This study shows a survival rate of 94% at 58 months following periacetabular osteotomy. The learning curve and the early results of this procedure performed in our academic unit are encouraging

Foundation Design and Performance of the World\u27s Tallest Building, Petronas Towers

The analysis and design of foundations for the World\u27s Tallest Building are described. The results of the exploration and in-situ testing program required to define the foundation support conditions are presented. The Towers are supported on a mat foundation on barrettes in residual soil and weathered silt stone, sandstone formation overlying karstic limestone at depths ranging from 80 to more than 200 meters. The extensive grouting program required to fill major cavities in the limestone beneath the Tower mats is described. The settlement analysis performed utilizing modulus information developed from the in-situ testing program is outlined. Barrette lengths were varied above the steeply sloping limestone bedrock in order to minimize the calculated differential settlement. Settlement measurements taken during construction indicate actual total and differential settlements less than predicted. The barrette strain gage and mat pressure cell instrumentation program is outlined and preliminary results to date presented

Telemedicine Security: Challenges and Solutions

The proliferation of telemedicine spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic has come with a variety of human factors challenges. Such challenges include mitigating potential risks associated with the quick transition to virtual care. We identify challenges and solutions related to telemedicine security, and analyze our results using Schlarman’s People, Policy, Technology framework (2001). Our systematic literature review synthe-sizes gray literature (white papers, news articles, and blog posts) in addition to formal (published) litera-ture. This methodology closes the gap between academic research and professional practice and aids in providing timely, practical insights related to cybersecurity and safety in virtual care environments. As the transition from traditional care continues to develop, we seek to better understand emerging vulnerabilities, identify crucial cyber hygiene practices, and provide insights on how to improve the safety of paitent data in virtiual care. Telemedicine is here to stay, and lessons learned from the pandemic are likely to remain useful

Mutation of the co-chaperone Tsc1 in bladder cancer diminishes Hsp90 acetylation and reduces drug sensitivity and selectivity

The molecular chaperone Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is essential for the folding, stability, and activity of several drivers of oncogenesis. Hsp90 inhibitors are currently under clinical evaluation for cancer treatment, however their efficacy is limited by lack of biomarkers to optimize patient selection. We have recently identified the tumor suppressor tuberous sclerosis complex 1 (Tsc1) as a new co-chaperone of Hsp90 that affects Hsp90 binding to its inhibitors. Highly variable mutations of TSC1 have been previously identified in bladder cancer and correlate with sensitivity to the Hsp90 inhibitors. Here we showed loss of TSC1 leads to hypoacetylation of Hsp90-K407/K419 and subsequent decreased binding to the Hsp90 inhibitor ganetespib. Pharmacologic inhibition of histone deacetylases (HDACs) restores acetylation of Hsp90 and sensitizes Tsc1-mutant bladder cancer cells to ganetespib, resulting in apoptosis. Our findings suggest that TSC1 status may predict response to Hsp90 inhibitors in patients with bladder cancer, and co-targeting HDACs can sensitize tumors with Tsc1 mutations to Hsp90 inhibitors

Molecular analysis of endocrine disruption in hornyhead turbot at wastewater outfalls in southern california using a second generation multi-species microarray.

Sentinel fish hornyhead turbot (Pleuronichthysverticalis) captured near wastewater outfalls are used for monitoring exposure to industrial and agricultural chemicals of ~ 20 million people living in coastal Southern California. Although analyses of hormones in blood and organ morphology and histology are useful for assessing contaminant exposure, there is a need for quantitative and sensitive molecular measurements, since contaminants of emerging concern are known to produce subtle effects. We developed a second generation multi-species microarray with expanded content and sensitivity to investigate endocrine disruption in turbot captured near wastewater outfalls in San Diego, Orange County and Los Angeles California. Analysis of expression of genes involved in hormone [e.g., estrogen, androgen, thyroid] responses and xenobiotic metabolism in turbot livers was correlated with a series of phenotypic end points. Molecular analyses of turbot livers uncovered altered expression of vitellogenin and zona pellucida protein, indicating exposure to one or more estrogenic chemicals, as well as, alterations in cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A, CYP3A and glutathione S-transferase-α indicating induction of the detoxification response. Molecular responses indicative of exposure to endocrine disruptors were observed in field-caught hornyhead turbot captured in Southern California demonstrating the utility of molecular methods for monitoring environmental chemicals in wastewater outfalls. Moreover, this approach can be adapted to monitor other sites for contaminants of emerging concern in other fish species for which there are few available gene sequences