SWAS Spacecraft T/V Test, Unique In Chamber Tests Systems Actuation

The Sub-Millimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS) is the third mission of the Small Explorer (SMEX) Project at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). It is a path finding mission to study the chemical composition of interstellar galactic clouds to help determine the process of star formation. The spacecraft recently completed a month-long then-nal vacuum/thermal balance test in the Solar Environmental Simulator, the largest thermal vacuum facility at Goddard. Rather extensive fixturing was required for the test, considering the small size of the spacecraft, and two unusual deployments were completed in order to accomplish the goals of the test. This paper discusses the space simulation testing of the fully integrated SWAS spacecraft and the unique fixturing required

A giant mystery in giant cell myocarditis: navigating diagnosis, immunosuppression, and mechanical circulatory support.

Giant cell myocarditis is a rare but often devastating diagnosis. Advances in cardiac imaging and mechanical circulatory support have led to earlier and more frequent diagnoses and successful management. This disease state has wide variation in acuity of presentation, and consequently, optimal treatment ranging from intensity and type of immunosuppression to mechanical circulatory support is not well defined. The following case describes the management of a patient with an unusual presentation of giant cell myocarditis over a 10 year course of advanced heart failure therapies and immunomodulatory support. This case highlights emerging concepts in the management of giant cell myocarditis including sub-acute presentations, challenges in diagnosis, and treatment modalities in the modern era

Junior Recital

List of performers and performances

Coherence for Frobenius pseudomonoids and the geometry of linear proofs

We prove coherence theorems for Frobenius pseudomonoids and snakeorators in monoidal bicategories. As a consequence we obtain a 3d notation for proofs in nonsymmetric multiplicative linear logic, with a geometrical notion of equivalence, and without the need for a global correctness criterion or thinning links. We argue that traditional proof nets are the 2d projections of these 3d diagrams

Effects of Body Shape on Literal Objectification: When Ideal May Be Less Than Ideal

Objectification, or the tendency to adopt an externalized view of self/other, is a ubiquitous process disproportionately affecting women (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). Recent work has examined literal objectification, defined as “any outcome in which a person is perceived as, or behaves, objectlike, relative to humanlike” (Heflick & Goldenberg, 2014, p. 225). Focusing on women’s physical appearance heightens literal objectification, including reduced perceptions of warmth, competence, and morality (Heflick et al., 2011). We investigated whether participants’ ratings of literal objectification vary as a function of body type. Seventy-one college women (Mage = 19.23) viewed three photos of women, manipulated to depict low, average, and high ideal body shapes. Participants rated the degree to which each woman possessed competence, warmth and morality, and their desire to collaborate on a group project with them. Average images were rated as significantly higher on warmth, morality, and collaboration desirability than high ideal and low ideal images, and marginally more competent than high ideal images. High ideal images were rated as significantly lower on warmth and marginally lower on collaboration desirability than low ideal images. Future research should extend this work to evaluate behavioral manifestations of literal objectification and explore what other factors might moderate these effects

Ontology-based knowledge representation of experiment metadata in biological data mining

According to the PubMed resource from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, over 750,000 scientific articles have been published in the ~5000 biomedical journals worldwide in the year 2007 alone. The vast majority of these publications include results from hypothesis-driven experimentation in overlapping biomedical research domains. Unfortunately, the sheer volume of information being generated by the biomedical research enterprise has made it virtually impossible for investigators to stay aware of the latest findings in their domain of interest, let alone to be able to assimilate and mine data from related investigations for purposes of meta-analysis. While computers have the potential for assisting investigators in the extraction, management and analysis of these data, information contained in the traditional journal publication is still largely unstructured, free-text descriptions of study design, experimental application and results interpretation, making it difficult for computers to gain access to the content of what is being conveyed without significant manual intervention. In order to circumvent these roadblocks and make the most of the output from the biomedical research enterprise, a variety of related standards in knowledge representation are being developed, proposed and adopted in the biomedical community. In this chapter, we will explore the current status of efforts to develop minimum information standards for the representation of a biomedical experiment, ontologies composed of shared vocabularies assembled into subsumption hierarchical structures, and extensible relational data models that link the information components together in a machine-readable and human-useable framework for data mining purposes

Commentary: Culture of Poverty: Don\u27t Call it a Comeback!

Commentary on the culture of poverty argument

The Effects of Beetroot Juice on Blood Pressure, Microvascular Function and Large-Vessel Endothelial Function: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study in Healthy Older Adults.

Dietary nitrate (NO ) has been reported to improve endothelial function (EF) and blood pressure (BP). However, most studies only assess large-vessel EF with little research on the microvasculature. Thus, the aim of the present pilot study is to examine NO supplementation on microvascular and large-vessel EF and BP. Twenty older adults (63 ± 6 years) were randomized to a beetroot juice (BRJ) or placebo (PLA) group for 28 (±7) days and attended three laboratory visitations. Across visitations, blood pressure, microvascular function and large-vessel EF were assessed by laser Doppler imaging (LDI) with iontophoresis of vasoactive substances and flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), respectively. Plasma NO concentrations, BP and the presence of NO reducing bacteria were also assessed. Plasma NO increased following two weeks of BRJ supplementation (p = 0.04) along with a concomitant decrease in systolic and diastolic BP of approximately −6 mmHg and −4 mmHg, respectively (p = 0.04; p = 0.01, respectively). BP remained unchanged in the PLA group. There were no significant differences in endothelium-dependent or endothelium-independent microvascular responses between groups. FMD increased by 1.5% following two weeks of BRJ (p = 0.04), with only a minimal (0.1%) change for the PLA group. In conclusion, this pilot study demonstrated that medium-term BRJ ingestion potentially improves SBP, DBP and large-vessel EF in healthy older adults. The improvements observed in the present study are likely to be greater in populations presenting with endothelial dysfunction. Thus, further prospective studies are warranted in individuals at greater risk for cardiovascular disease

Refurbishment and Automation of Thermal Vacuum Facilities at NASA/GSFC

The thermal vacuum facilities located at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) have supported both manned and unmanned space flight since the 1960s. Of the eleven facilities, currently ten of the systems are scheduled for refurbishment or replacement as part of a five-year implementation. Expected return on investment includes the reduction in test schedules, improvements in safety of facility operations, and reduction in the personnel support required for a test. Additionally, GSFC will become a global resource renowned for expertise in thermal engineering, mechanical engineering, and for the automation of thermal vacuum facilities and tests. Automation of the thermal vacuum facilities includes the utilization of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs), the use of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, and the development of a centralized Test Data Management System. These components allow the computer control and automation of mechanical components such as valves and pumps. The project of refurbishment and automation began in 1996 and has resulted in complete computer control of one facility (Facility 281), and the integration of electronically controlled devices and PLCs in multiple others

The role of peripheral vision in the flashed face distortion effect

The flashed face distortion effect is a phenomenon whereby images of faces, presented at 4–5 Hz in the visual periphery, appear distorted. It has been hypothesized that the effect is driven by cortical, rather than retinal, components. Here, we investigated the role of peripheral viewing on the effect. Normally sighted participants viewed the stimulus peripherally, centrally, and centrally with a blurring lens (to match visual acuity in the peripheral location). Participants rated the level of distortion using a Visual Analogue Scale. Although optical defocus did have a significant effect on distortion ratings, peripheral viewing had a much greater effect, despite matched visual acuity. We suggest three potential mechanisms for this finding: increased positional uncertainty in the periphery, reduced deployment of attention to the visual periphery, or the visual crowding effect