Detailed design specification for the ALT Shuttle Information Extraction Subsystem (SIES)

The approach and landing test (ALT) shuttle information extraction system (SIES) is described in terms of general requirements and system characteristics output products and processing options, output products and data sources, and system data flow. The ALT SIES is a data reduction system designed to satisfy certain data processing requirements for the ALT phase of the space shuttle program. The specific ALT SIES data processing requirements are stated in the data reduction complex approach and landing test data processing requirements. In general, ALT SIES must produce time correlated data products as a result of standardized data reduction or special purpose analytical processes. The main characteristics of ALT SIES are: (1) the system operates in a batch (non-interactive) mode; (2) the processing is table driven; (3) it is data base oriented; (4) it has simple operating procedures; and (5) it requires a minimum of run time information

Understanding dietary lutein and zeaxanthin intake: an exploration of barriers to establishing an intake recommendation to support ocular health

Lutein and zeaxanthin (L/Z) belong to carotenoids xanthophylls and are highly concentrated in the macula of the eye. The supplemental and dietary intake of L/Z have been associated with decreased risk and severity of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Macular L/Z concentration, assessed as macular pigment optical density (MPOD), has been investigated as a proxy marker for AMD risk. In 2017 it was proposed that L/Z should have dietary intake targets considering their protective role. This proposal evaluated L/Z against the set of nine criteria developed by Lupton and colleagues to determine the strength of evidence to support intake targets. Criterion 3 refers to known food-concentration databases. The 2017 evaluation depended on the United States of America (US) food supply. Furthermore, the evidence to support dose-response relationships (criterion 6) largely relied on supplemental rather than dietary intake research. Therefore, the rationale for this thesis was to explore whether L/Z meet these criteria in countries other than the US. Chapter 1 is a published narrative literature review appraising the evidence on MPOD response to dietary L/Z intake. There was minimal evidence of a dose-response relationship between dietary L/Z intake and MPOD. A large gap was that habitual dietary L/Z intake was not quantitatively monitored during intervention studies. Studies that did attempt measuring L/Z habitual intake used non-validated dietary intake tools. Two additional gaps were identified related to determining the relationship between habitual dietary L/Z and MPOD. Firstly, the possible impact of blue light exposure from electronic device on MPOD status. Secondly, the paucity of data on food L/Z concentrations in food supplies (criterion 3), outside the USA (e.g. Australia). These gaps are barriers to the valid measurement of habitual L/Z intake and relationships with MPOD. Therefore, the thesis aim was to determine how habitual dietary L/Z intake can best be validly and quantitatively measured. Four studies were conducted to address this aim. Chapter 2 describes the development and validation process of two tools to quantitively monitor habitual dietary L/Z intake in healthy adults. Two screeners, with a recall timeframe of one and four weeks respectively were developed. L/Z intake reported from each screener was compared against multiple 24-hour diet recalls via Bland-Altman plot analysis to determine validity. Both screeners were significantly correlated (Spearman’s rank order, p0.3 mg/day). This indicated that participants were unable to report comparable L/Z intake between the tools; baby spinach contributed notably to discrepancies. Chapter 3 describes the development and validation process of the Electronic Device Use Questionnaire (EDUQ). Healthy adults reported daily hours of device use using the EDUQ and multiple 24-hour diaries. EDUQ and diaries results were compared via Bland-Altman plot analysis; returning poor validity, indicating that participants were unable to report comparable device use. Chapter 4 describes a cross-sectional study investigating whether MPOD was predicted by sex, age, estimation of electronic device use and dietary L/Z intake using the tools developed in this thesis. MPOD was not predicted by these variables in the 96 healthy Australian adults studied. Future research with more valid measurement tools should investigate this relationship further. The food composition database in Australia reports only 26 food entries for L and none for Z. Analysis methods were not available for review. Chapter 5 describes the investigation of 12 extraction method variations on five Australian foods selected for known high L/Z concentration based on the US database. In this thesis, extraction refers to the isolation of L/Z from the food of interest for analysis of optimal recovery and measure of concentration per gram of fresh food. One variation was most optimal based on five foods for L, and four foods for Z. The L/Z concentration measured in these foods were notably higher or lower than that that reported in existing Australian and US composition databases. Based on the work performed in this thesis, a dietary target for L/Z cannot yet be set with confidence, because the evidence available does not meet the nine criteria required in the framework proposed by Lupton and colleagues to determine dietary target values. The L/Z screener was unable to capture valid quantitative habitual dietary L/Z intake. A purposely developed questionnaire was not able to validly capture usual blue light exposure from electronic device to determine a relationship between electronic device use and MPOD. The purposely developed dietary L/Z screener, found to be invalid, indicated significant correlation between tools and simultaneous poor agreement on Bland-Altman analysis. This outcome suggests that results solely reliant on correlation statistics from prior research investigating the relationship between dietary L/Z and MPOD, or in the condition of AMD, should be interpreted with caution. Larger local L/Z food composition databases and valid tools for improved participant reporting of L/Z are needed to determine habitual L/Z intake and accurate relationship with MPOD.This thesis was jointly supervised and awarded by the University of Exeter and the University of Queenslan

Assessing time knowledge in children aged 10 to 11 years

The acquisition of time knowledge involves learning how to read clocks, estimate time, read dates and learn about temporal sequences. Evidence suggests that many of these competencies are acquired by 10 years of age although not all children may follow this developmental path. The main purpose of this study was to collect normative data for a screening tool that assesses time knowledge. These data identify the prevalence and pattern of difficulties with time knowledge among a UK sample of Year 6 pupils (aged 10 to 11 years). The Time Screening Assessment tool (Doran, Dutt & Pembery, 2015), designed to assess time knowledge, was administered individually to a sample of 79 children. Findings revealed a median overall score of 32 out of a maximum score of 36. 25% of children performed at or close to ceiling, however seven children scored more than -1.5 standard deviations below the mean. The value of these findings to practitioners working with children in schools is discussed

Molybdenum for subterranean clover

Molybdenum is one of the elements required for the healthy growth of plants, but it is needed only in very small amounts. Even so it has been shown that some soils cannot meet the requirements of leguminous plants. In Western Australia, molybdenum deficiency of subterranean clover was reported at Donnybrook in 1947, and since then deficient soils have been found at Nannup, Bridgetown and Balingup

In response to need, a history of the Western Australian Department of Agriculture - 1894 to 2008

The department was not always such a significant organisation; it came from very small beginnings. However, it has been a major component of the engine which has produced an agricultural industry in a Mediterranean climate zone which is superior to all others operating in this zone. This book is a summary of its work. There are many more fascinating chapters to be recorded of work on specific issues of development, investigation or conservation. I hope they will be written by someone one day. With this in mind the department has decided to put the book on a web page where further chapters can be added by other authors to produce a more complete history. Western Australia\u27s modern agriculture has been built in a little more than 100 years on the foundation of a hard-working and innovative farming community aided by advances in science and engineering. These innovative hard-working men and women established a tradition for innovation and seeking new ideas which has been followed by their sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, great grandsons and great granddaughters who have always been ready to adopt new ideas or innovations.https://researchlibrary.agric.wa.gov.au/books/1005/thumbnail.jp

Pasture development on peaty sands.

Areas of land known as teatree, bottlebrush, or kangaroo grass flats are found throughout the higher rainfall districts. To grow clover successfully on the dark grey or black peaty sands found on these flats, lime should be applied before the seed is sown. Ground limestone topdressed at one ton per acre and well disced into the top four to six inches, will give excellent results

Lessons from crossing symmetry at large N

20 pages, v2: Assumptions stated more clearly, version published in JHEPWe consider the four-point correlator of the stress tensor multiplet in N=4 SYM. We construct all solutions consistent with crossing symmetry in the limit of large central charge c ~ N^2 and large g^2 N. While we find an infinite tower of solutions, we argue most of them are suppressed by an extra scale \Delta_{gap} and are consistent with the upper bounds for the scaling dimension of unprotected operators observed in the numerical superconformal bootstrap at large central charge. These solutions organize as a double expansion in 1/c and 1/\Delta_{gap}. Our solutions are valid to leading order in 1/c and to all orders in 1/\Delta_{gap} and reproduce, in particular, instanton corrections previously found. Furthermore, we find a connection between such upper bounds and positivity constraints arising from causality in flat space. Finally, we show that certain relations derived from causality constraints for scattering in AdS follow from crossing symmetry.Peer reviewe