Quadriceps Strengthening Daily Adjustable Progressive Resistance Exercise (Dapre) Technique versus Delorme\u27s Progressive Resistive Exercises (Pre) Techniques

The purpose of this study was to determine if the DAPRE technique would significantly improve strength in the non dominant quadriceps muscle as opposed to Delorme\u27s PRE technique for strengthening. Using a pretest posttest Cybex II strength test and applying a t-test for independent samples, it was found that after four weeks there was no significant difference between Group A (N=10) who exercised using Delorme\u27s technique and Group B (N=10) who used the DAPRE technique It was concluded that possibly because of the low sample number, the short length of the exercise intervention, and using normal healthy subjects instead of subjects with atrophied muscles as Knight (1985) had used, the outcome of the study was not what was expected

QuasiNovo: Algorithms for De Novo Peptide Sequencing

High-throughput proteomics analysis involves the rapid identification and characterization of large sets of proteins in complex biological samples. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) has become the leading approach for the experimental identification of proteins. Accurate analysis of the data produced is a computationally challenging process that relies on a complex understanding of molecular dynamics, signal processing, and pattern classification. In this work we address these modeling and classification problems, and introduce an additional data-driven evolutionary information source into the analysis pipeline. The particular problem being solved is peptide sequencing via MS/MS. The objective in solving this problem is to decipher the amino acid sequence of digested proteins (peptides) from the MS/MS spectra produced in a typical experimental protocol. Our approach sequences peptides using only the information contained in the experimental spectrum (de novo) and distributions of amino acid usage learned from large sets of protein sequence data. In this dissertation we pursue three main objectives: an ion classifier based on a neural network which selects informative ions from the spectrum, a peptide sequencer which uses dynamic programming and a scoring function to generate candidate peptide sequences, and a candidate peptide scoring function. Candidate peptide sequences are generated via a dynamic programming graph algorithm, and then scored using a combination of the neural network score, the amino acid usage score, and an edge frequency score. In addition to a complete de novo peptide sequencer, we also examine the use of amino acid usage models independently for reranking candidate peptides

James Webb Space Telescope Integrated Science Instrument Module Thermal Balance/Thermal Vacuum Test Configuration and Test Planning at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the next of the great observatories , scheduled to be launched in 2014. Three of the four science instruments are passively cooled to their operational temperature range of 36K to 40K, and the fourth instrument is actively cooled to its operational temperature of approximately 6K. Thermal-vacuum testing of the flight science instruments at the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM) element level will take place within a newly constructed shroud cooled by gaseous helium inside Goddard Space Flight Center s (GSFC) Space Environment Simulator (SES). The test enclosure surrounding the instruments during the integrated ISIM-level thermal balance testing is complex, and is designed to simulate as closely as possible the in-flight conductive and radiative thermal environment around the ISIM. Thermal control and measurement of parasitic sources of heat leak into the test volume is critical, as the dissipation plus known parasitics in the flight ISIM is approximately 454 mW, and additional parasitics attributed to the flight enclosure itself are nearly equal to this, resulting in the energy balance of the inflight ISIM being less than 1.0 W. Sources of test-induced parasitics must be carefully controlled and measured, and the ability to thermally control the test environment is critical to enable accurate thermal balance testing and thermal model correlation. This paper describes the test configuration and plans for the ISIM-level thermal vacuum/thermal balance testing at GSFC

Thermal System Verification and Model Validation for NASA's Cryogenic Passively Cooled James Webb Space Telescope

A thorough and unique thermal verification and model validation plan has been developed for NASA s James Webb Space Telescope. The JWST observatory consists of a large deployed aperture optical telescope passively cooled to below 50 Kelvin along with a suite of several instruments passively and actively cooled to below 37 Kelvin and 7 Kelvin, respectively. Passive cooling to these extremely low temperatures is made feasible by the use of a large deployed high efficiency sunshield and an orbit location at the L2 Lagrange point. Another enabling feature is the scale or size of the observatory that allows for large radiator sizes that are compatible with the expected power dissipation of the instruments and large format Mercury Cadmium Telluride (HgCdTe) detector arrays. This passive cooling concept is simple, reliable, and mission enabling when compared to the alternatives of mechanical coolers and stored cryogens. However, these same large scale observatory features, which make passive cooling viable, also prevent the typical flight configuration fully-deployed thermal balance test that is the keystone to most space missions thermal verification plan. JWST is simply too large in its deployed configuration to be properly thermal balance tested in the facilities that currently exist. This reality, when combined with a mission thermal concept with little to no flight heritage, has necessitated the need for a unique and alternative approach to thermal system verification and model validation. This paper describes the thermal verification and model validation plan that has been developed for JWST. The plan relies on judicious use of cryogenic and thermal design margin, a completely independent thermal modeling cross check utilizing different analysis teams and software packages, and finally, a comprehensive set of thermal tests that occur at different levels of JWST assembly. After a brief description of the JWST mission and thermal architecture, a detailed description of the three aspects of the thermal verification and model validation plan is presented

Enhancements to the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Space Environment Simulator (SES) Facility to Support Cryogenic Testing of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM)

NASA is the mission lead for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the next of the "Great Observatories", scheduled for launch in 2014. It is directly responsible for the integration and test of the Integrated Science Instrument Module (ISIM), which includes a composite truss structure provided by NASA, and four science instruments sponsored and provided by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), and the European Consortium (EC). Three of the four instruments are passively cooled and designed to operate at temperatures in the 36K to 40K range, and the fourth instrument is actively cooled to approximately 6K. The ISIM will undergo several performance tests at various levels of integration in the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's (GSFC) Space Environment Simulator (SES), GSFC's largest thermal vacuum chamber. These activities range from Cryo-cycling the bare flight composite structure to thermal balance and performance testing of the full ISIM module. This paper describes the enhancements made to the SES chamber in order to support all cryogenic thermal vacuum testing of the ISIM. Upgrades discussed include: design and fabrication of a very large, removable and reconfigurable helium shroud; a new valve box permitting independent flow control of gaseous helium (GHe) to up to ten zones; and development of in-situ 3-dimensional photogrammetry capability in a cryogenic environment. Also presented will be select results from several facility tests already conducted to verify the chamber capabilities and optimize operational procedures, including the Helium Shroud -03 Configuration Acceptance Test, and the Helium Shroud -01 Configuration Chamber Certification Test

Human Influences on Elk Movement Rates and Resource Selection in the Wildland-Urban Interface.

Elk (Cervus elaphus) are known to select for refuge from hunting by humans (elk hunting). In many areas in the western U.S., elk hunting is completely excluded in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) as a result of land ownership change and subdivision, thus providing refugia for elk. Many of these WUI elk populations are increasing rapidly, and pose a significant credibility challenge to wildlife managers. The North Hills Elk Herd, in Missoula, Montana, has been growing at ~11 percent since the early 1980s, and the herd now numbers over 300 animals. Landownership is a complex matrix of public and private lands that range from partial to complete exclusion of hunting, thus elk hunting pressure is low and provides multiple refugia. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks used elk hunting in this setting to reduce population growth, crop depredation, and habituation. Little is known about the efficacy of elk hunting on elk movement rates and habitat selection. We used First-Passage Time (FPT) and Resource Selection Functions (RSF) analysis based on nine GPS collared adult female elk during three hunting seasons with increasing hunting pressure (2007-2009) to test relationships between elk movement rates and resource selection in the WUI. Elk FPT decreased annually, if they were accessible, and differed by hunting mode and season. Elk selected for intermediate distances from homes, trails, and weakly avoided access. These data have been used to modify hunting season structure, acquire conservation easements, and develop lasting partnerships in a complex matrix of ownerships

Bacterial Degradation of Plastics

Plastics are not only a major component of societies on Earth but also those in Space. After use, plastics can accumulate and become difficult to recycle or reuse. Finding ways to degrade and recycle synthetic plastics would provide a way to reduce the upmass of Space Travel, create a closed-loop system of resources and even benefit life on Earth. The purpose of this project is to identify and characterize bacterial species that can degrade and recycle plastics. It has been suggested that bacteria can use plastics, like polyethylene and polystyrene, as a carbon source. These plastics are broken down into intermediary molecules which can then be used in the bacterium's metabolism. Environmental samples were collected from various locations rich in plastic waste. These samples are currently being used to culture bacteria in M9 minimal media containing polyethylene and polystyrene beads as the sole carbon source. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and DNA sequencing are among the various methods that will be used identify and characterize bacteria that can degrade plastics. The results from these experiments will provide methods to reduce waste of plastics and ultimately improve sustainability for long-term space exploration

Perspectives on the Restatement (Fourth) Project

Good morning, everyone, and thank you all for coming. It is great to have this conversation, particularly with so many people who are already helpfully contributing to this project. As Bill said, I just wanted to say a little bit about the treaty prong of the project that was approved for consideration by the ALI a couple of years ago. First of all, I should note we get a lot of questions about whether or not we are addressing executive agreements and congressional executive agreements, in addition to Article II treaties. And the current answer is that we are not. We were originally tasked by the ALI to take up the status of Article II treaties in U.S. domestic law, and that is the current character of the project