Seeing Earth Through the Eyes of an Astronaut

The Human Exploration Science Office within the ARES Directorate has undertaken a new class of handheld camera photographic observations of the Earth as seen from the International Space Station (ISS). For years, astronauts have attempted to describe their experience in space and how they see the Earth roll by below their spacecraft. Thousands of crew photographs have documented natural features as diverse as the dramatic clay colors of the African coastline, the deep blues of the Earth's oceans, or the swirling Aurora Borealis of Australia in the upper atmosphere. Dramatic recent improvements in handheld digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera capabilities are now allowing a new field of crew photography: night time-lapse imagery

The effect of fire-management on invertebrates within a South African savanna.

Fire plays a key role in determining the structure and function of savanna ecosystems, without which the characteristic open grassland would be lost, along with the high biodiversity it supports. Over recent decades human development has meant that savanna systems have become heavily utilised, requiring burn management to be undertaken. As savannas are regarded as fire-prone systems, this practise had become an unquestioned tradition. Despite the wide use of burn regimes as a management tool, little is known about the effect of burning on non-focal taxa. This study looks at both the long and short-term effects of burning, in a South African game reserve, on invertebrates within a patch mosaic structure. Since invertebrates encompass a broad group of organisms, analysis was divided into three levels based upon location within the ecosystem. Changes in the abundance and diversity of invertebrates at ground level, grass level and tree level were studied. The short-term study showed that ground invertebrate abundance increased following a burn event, whereas, grass and tree invertebrates showed declines. Analysis of invertebrate abundance and diversity within six different burn ages enabled the long-term effects of a patch mosaic burn regime to be monitored. Ground invertebrate abundance was high in recently burnt patches compared to undisturbed sites. Grass invertebrates declined immediately following the burn event in the short-term study; however, abundances remained similar across the burn ages in the long-term study. In contrast to grass and ground invertebrates, the abundance of tree invertebrates increased as the level of disturbance decreased; with the highest abundance being found in the unburnt site. This study provides a general understanding of the effect burning can have on the invertebrate community; while opening new doors into a relatively untouched subject. Future research into this would be beneficial for the maintenance of the complex savanna ecosystem

Changing Attitudes toward LGBT Students: An Analysis of an Awareness Training Paradigm Aimed at Increasing Pro-LGBT Attitudes

This paper examines potential diversity training techniques designed to increase awareness about LGBT individuals in an attempt to foster more pro-LGBT attitudes in a college sample. The study utilized a biological, a social, and a combined approach to increase awareness. Based on the results of the training, it appears that college students’ attitudes may be negatively impacted by overt training mechanisms. However, many college students know and regularly associate with LGBT friends and family. Implications for contact training and increasing awareness on college campuses are discussed, as well as the potential for backlash from training attempts

Integration of Apollo Lunar Sample Data into Google Moon

The Google Moon Apollo Lunar Sample Data Integration project is a continuation of the Apollo 15 Google Moon Add-On project, which provides a scientific and educational tool for the study of the Moon and its geologic features. The main goal of this project is to provide a user-friendly interface for an interactive and educational outreach and learning tool for the Apollo missions. Specifically, this project?s focus is the dissemination of information about the lunar samples collected during the Apollo missions by providing any additional information needed to enhance the Apollo mission data on Google Moon. Apollo missions 15 and 16 were chosen to be completed first due to the availability of digitized lunar sample photographs and the amount of media associated with these missions. The user will be able to learn about the lunar samples collected in these Apollo missions, as well as see videos, pictures, and 360 degree panoramas of the lunar surface depicting the lunar samples in their natural state, following collection and during processing at NASA. Once completed, these interactive data layers will be submitted for inclusion into the Apollo 15 and 16 missions on Google Moon

Aerodynamically-driven rupture of a liquid film by turbulent shear flow

The rupture of a liquid film due to co-flowing turbulent shear flows in the gas phase is studied using a volume-of-fluid method. To simulate this multiphase problem, we use a simplified numerical setup where the liquid film is 'sandwiched' between two fully developed boundary layers from a turbulent channel simulation. The film deforms and eventually ruptures within the shear zone created by the co-flows. This efficient setup allows systematic variation of physical parameters to gauge their role in the aerodynamically-driven deformation and rupture of a liquid film under fully developed sheared turbulence. The present work presents a detailed study of the developing pressure field over the deforming film and related aerodynamic effects, as previously suggested by other authors, in particular the role of the inviscid lift and drag forces. A cumulative lift force is introduced to capture the effect of the alternating pressure minima and maxima forming over the film which amplify and eventually rupture the film. A velocity scale derived from the lift-induced drag force reflects the state of the turbulent boundary layer over the film and collapses the temporal development of this cumulative lift force as well as the amplitude of film deformation with some success for the different film thicknesses and Reynolds numbers.Comment: 23 pages, 17 figure

Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement: A process review of the proof of concept pilot (MOPAC Evidence and Insight Unit evaluation report)

As part of his 2012 manifesto pledge to introduce ‘compulsory sobriety for drunken offenders’, the Mayor of London successfully lobbied for legislation to allow for the introduction of the Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement (AAMR). The new sentencing power, introduced as part of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012 allows courts to impose a requirement that an offender abstain from alcohol for a fixed time period of up to 120 days and be regularly tested, via a transdermal alcohol monitoring device in the form of a ‘tag’ fitted around the ankle, as part of a Community or Suspended Sentence Order. From July 2014, the Mayor’s Office for Policing And Crime (MOPAC) conducted a 12 month proof of concept pilot in four boroughs (Croydon, Lambeth, Southwark and Sutton) which comprise the South London Local Justice Area. The aims of the pilot were: To test how widely courts use the AAMR, and the technical processes within the criminal justice system. To evidence compliance rates with the AAMR. To evidence the effectiveness of ‘transdermal tags’ in monitoring alcohol abstinence. Utilising a range of methods including stakeholder and offender surveys, interviews with stakeholders and MOPAC officers, and analysis of performance monitoring data, this process review sets out learning from the 12 month (31 July 2014 – 30 July 2015) AAMR proof of concept pilot and helps to build the evidence base to inform discussions around further roll out of the AAMR across London and beyond

Apollo Lunar Sample Integration into Google Moon: A New Approach to Digitization

The Google Moon Apollo Lunar Sample Data Integration project is part of a larger, LASER-funded 4-year lunar rock photo restoration project by NASA s Acquisition and Curation Office [1]. The objective of this project is to enhance the Apollo mission data already available on Google Moon with information about the lunar samples collected during the Apollo missions. To this end, we have combined rock sample data from various sources, including Curation databases, mission documentation and lunar sample catalogs, with newly available digital photography of rock samples to create a user-friendly, interactive tool for learning about the Apollo Moon sample

The Criteria to Identify Pornography That Can Support Healthy Sexual Development for Young Adults: Results of an International Delphi Panel

Pornography is not homogenous. There is a paucity of research that offers guidance to young adults and adult stakeholders interested in navigating the available range of pornography to find materials that support healthy sexual development for young adults. Drawing on the expertise of a Delphi Panel of experts from a range of relevant areas this article offers six criteria for assessing whether pornography can support healthy sexual development: includes a variety of sexual practices; includes a variety of body types, genders and races; shows negotiation of consent on screen; is known to be ethically produced; focuses on pleasure for all participants; shows safe sex. The article identifies four pornographic websites that meet these criteria: Sex School, Make Love Not Porn, PinkLabel.TV and Lust Cinema

Subdomain Location of Mutations in Cardiac Actin Correlate with Type of Functional Change

Determining the molecular mechanisms that lead to the development of heart failure will help us gain better insight into the most costly health problem in the Western world. To understand the roles that the actin protein plays in the development of heart failure, we have taken a systematic approach toward characterizing human cardiac actin mutants that have been associated with either hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathy. Seven known cardiac actin mutants were expressed in a baculovirus system, and their intrinsic properties were studied. In general, the changes to the properties of the actin proteins themselves were subtle. The R312H variant exhibited reduced stability, with a Tm of 53.6°C compared to 56.8°C for WT actin, accompanied with increased polymerization critical concentration and Pi release rate, and a marked increase in nucleotide release rates. Substitution of methionine for leucine at amino acid 305 showed no impact on the stability, nucleotide release rates, or DNase-I inhibition ability of the actin monomer; however, during polymerization, a 2-fold increase in Pi release was observed. Increases to both the Tm and DNase-I inhibition activity suggested interactions between E99K actin molecules under monomer-promoting conditions. Y166C actin had a higher critical concentration resulting in a lower Pi release rate due to reduced filament-forming potential. The locations of mutations on the ACTC protein correlated with the molecular effects; in general, mutations in subdomain 3 affected the stability of the ACTC protein or affect the polymerization of actin filaments, while mutations in subdomains 1 and 4 more likely affect protein-protein interactions

Crew Earth Observations: Twelve Years of Documenting Earth from the International Space Station

The Crew Earth Observations (CEO) payload was one of the initial experiments aboard the International Space Station, and has been continuously collecting data about the Earth since Expedition 1. The design of the experiment is simple: using state-of-the-art camera equipment, astronauts collect imagery of the Earth's surface over defined regions of scientific interest and also document dynamic events such as storms systems, floods, wild fires and volcanic eruptions. To date, CEO has provided roughly 600,000 images of Earth, capturing views of features and processes on land, the oceans, and the atmosphere. CEO data are less rigorously constrained than other remote sensing data, but the volume of data, and the unique attributes of the imagery provide a rich and understandable view of the Earth that is difficult to achieve from the classic remote sensing platforms. In addition, the length-of-record of the imagery dataset, especially when combined with astronaut photography from other NASA and Russian missions starting in the early 1960s, provides a valuable record of changes on the surface of the Earth over 50 years. This time period coincides with the rapid growth of human settlements and human infrastructure