Integrating Engineering Data Systems for NASA Spaceflight Projects

NASA has a large range of custom-built and commercial data systems to support spaceflight programs. Some of the systems are re-used by many programs and projects over time. Management and systems engineering processes require integration of data across many of these systems, a difficult problem given the widely diverse nature of system interfaces and data models. This paper describes an ongoing project to use a central data model with a web services architecture to support the integration and access of linked data across engineering functions for multiple NASA programs. The work involves the implementation of a web service-based middleware system called Data Aggregator to bring together data from a variety of systems to support space exploration. Data Aggregator includes a central data model registry for storing and managing links between the data in disparate systems. Initially developed for NASA's Constellation Program needs, Data Aggregator is currently being repurposed to support the International Space Station Program and new NASA projects with processes that involve significant aggregating and linking of data. This change in user needs led to development of a more streamlined data model registry for Data Aggregator in order to simplify adding new project application data as well as standardization of the Data Aggregator query syntax to facilitate cross-application querying by client applications. This paper documents the approach from a set of stand-alone engineering systems from which data are manually retrieved and integrated, to a web of engineering data systems from which the latest data are automatically retrieved and more quickly and accurately integrated. This paper includes the lessons learned through these efforts, including the design and development of a service-oriented architecture and the evolution of the data model registry approaches as the effort continues to evolve and adapt to support multiple NASA programs and priorities

Habitat occupancy of the threatened Diademed Plover (Phegornis mitchellii) is not affected by llama grazing or peatland size, but declines with peatland humidity

Fil: Pietrek, Alejandro G. University of California Santa Cruz. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. Santa Cruz, CA; United States of America.Fil: Pietrek, Alejandro G. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Pietrek, Alejandro G. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina.Fil: Cockle, Kristina L. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología Subtropical, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones; Argentina.Fil: Izquierdo, Andrea E. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Izquierdo, Andrea E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Berrios, Viviana S. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Berrios, Viviana S. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Lyon, Bruce E. University of California Santa Cruz. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. Santa Cruz, CA; United States of America.Fil: Lyon, Bruce E. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Lyon, Bruce E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina.Many habitat-specialist organisms occur in distinct, patchy habitat, yet do not occupy all patches, and an important question is why apparently suitable habitat remains unoccupied. We examined factors influencing patch occupancy in near-threatened, little-known Diademed Plovers (Phegornis mitchellii), arguably the bird most specialized to life in High Andean peatlands. Andean peatlands are well-suited to occupancy modelling because they are discrete patches of humid habitat within a matrix of high-altitude steppe. We hypothesized that Diademed Plovers occupy preferably larger and more humid peatlands, and avoid peatlands used for grazing by llamas and vicuñas, which may trample vegetation and nests. From December 2021 to February 2022 (breeding season), we conducted plover occupancy surveys (2–4) on 40 peatlands at Lagunas de Vilama, a landscape of arid steppe and wetlands above 4,500 m in NW Argentina. We measured peatland size, grazing pressure, topographic and remotely-sensed variables that correlate with humidity, and incorporated these as covariates in occupancy models. Occupancy models showed that more than 50% of the studied peatlands were used by Diademed Plovers and most showed signs of reproduction, highlighting the importance of the Vilama Wetlands for Diademed Plover conservation. Within peatlands, Diademed Plovers were most often associated with headwaters. The top ranked occupancy model included constant detection, random spatial effects, and a single occupancy covariate: mean NDWI (Normalized Difference Water Index, an index correlated with water content and humidity) over the previous three years. Contrary to our prediction, Diademed Plovers preferred less water-saturated peatlands (lower NDWI), possibly to avoid nest flooding. This may be especially important in wet years, like the year when we conducted our surveys. Neither peatland size nor grazing by llamas and vicuñas affected peatland use by Diademed Plovers, suggesting that llama grazing at current levels may be compatible with plover conservation. For organisms that specialize on humid habitats, such as peatlands, factors affecting occupancy may vary temporally with variation in climate, and we recommend follow-up surveys across multi-year timescales to untangle the impact of climate on animals’ use of humid habitats.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionFil: Pietrek, Alejandro G. University of California Santa Cruz. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. Santa Cruz, CA; United States of America.Fil: Pietrek, Alejandro G. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Pietrek, Alejandro G. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina.Fil: Cockle, Kristina L. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Biología Subtropical, Puerto Iguazú, Misiones; Argentina.Fil: Izquierdo, Andrea E. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina.Fil: Izquierdo, Andrea E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Berrios, Viviana S. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales; Argentina.Fil: Berrios, Viviana S. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Lyon, Bruce E. University of California Santa Cruz. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department. Santa Cruz, CA; United States of America.Fil: Lyon, Bruce E. Universidad Nacional de Salta; Argentina.Fil: Lyon, Bruce E. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA; Argentina

Therapeutic approach in glioblastoma multiforme with primitive neuroectodermal tumor components: case report and review of the literature

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common and aggressive malignant glioma that is treated with first-line therapy, using surgical resection followed by local radiotherapy and concomitant/adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) treatment. GBM is characterised by a high local recurrence rate and a low response to therapy. Primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) of the brain revealed a low local recurrence rate; however, it also exhibited a high risk of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dissemination. PNET is treated with surgery followed by craniospinal irradiation (CSI) and platinum-based chemotherapy in order to prevent CSF dissemination. GBM with PNET-like components (GBM/PNET) is an emerging variant of GBM, characterised by a PNET-like clinical behaviour with an increased risk of CSF dissemination; it also may benefit from platinum-based chemotherapy upfront or following failure of GBM therapy. The results presented regarding the management of GBM/PNET are based on case reports or case series, so a standard therapeutic approach for GBM/PNET is not defined, constituing a challenging diagnostic and therapeutic dilemma. In this report, a case of a recurrent GBM/PNET treated with surgical resection and radiochemotherapy as Stupp protocol, and successive platinum-based chemotherapy due to the development of leptomeningeal dissemintation and an extracranial metastasis, is discussed. A review of the main papers regarding this rare GBM variant and its therapeutic approach are also reported. In conclusion, GBM/PNET should be treated with a multimodal approach including surgery, chemoradiotherapy, and/or the early introduction of CSI and platinum-based chemotherapy upfront or at recurrence

Delusional beliefs and reason giving

Delusions are often regarded as irrational beliefs, but their irrationality is not sufficient to explain what is pathological about them. In this paper we ask whether deluded subjects have the capacity to support the content of their delusions with reasons, that is, whether they can author their delusional states. The hypothesis that delusions are characterised by a failure of authorship, which is a dimension of self knowledge, deserves to be empirically tested because (a) it has the potential to account for the distinction between endorsing a delusion and endorsing a framework belief; (b) it contributes to a philosophical analysis of the relationship between rationality and self knowledge; and (c) it informs diagnosis and therapy in clinical psychiatry. However, authorship cannot provide a demarcation criterion between delusions and other irrational belief states