Report of the In Situ Resources Utilization Workshop

The results of a workshop of 50 representatives from the public and private sector which investigated the potential joint development of the key technologies and mechanisms that will enable the permanent habitation of space are presented. The workshop is an initial step to develop a joint public/private assessment of new technology requirements of future space options, to share knowledge on required technologies that may exist in the private sector, and to investigate potential joint technology development opportunities. The majority of the material was produced in 5 working groups: (1) Construction, Assembly, Automation and Robotics; (2) Prospecting, Mining, and Surface Transportation; (3) Biosystems and Life Support; (4) Materials Processing; and (5) Innovative Ventures. In addition to the results of the working groups, preliminary technology development recommendations to assist in near-term development priority decisions are presented. Finally, steps are outlined for potential new future activities and relationships among the public, private, and academic sectors

Centralization issues in IT governance: The role and responsibilities of the IT Control Officer from a European perspective

The need for transparency in IT governance, due to several factors such as cost and regulatory pressure, has led to organisations putting into place an IT Control Officer to oversee and audit IT activities. This paper examines the initial results of a European CIO-level survey designed to increase the understanding regarding the possible roles of the IT Control Officer and the authority given to that person. This research confirms the intuitive idea that increasing the role of the IT Control Officer also improves IT control. The increasing role in this sense is a more centralised and more senior position with additional responsibilities and administrative controls. This research also examines a perspective on the various intermediate possibilities of decentralised and less senior scenarios

Preferential mobilization and egress of Type 1 and Type 3 innate lymphocytes in response to exercise and hypoxia

The study examined the effect of exercise and hypoxia on the mobilization and egress of innate lymphocytes (ILCs) and adaptive T cell populations in the blood. The ILCs have emerged as a critical population of cells in immune regulation at mucosal surfaces in animals and humans. Eleven healthy male subjects performed (i) 45 min of exercise at 50% VO2 peak on a cycle ergometer under normoxia and (ii) hypoxia, or (iii) while resting in hypoxia. Blood samples were obtained pre-exercise, immediately post-exercise and 60 min post-exercise and were analyzed by flow cytometry to examine the type 1 and type 3 ILCs and CD4+ and CD8+ naive and memory cell populations. There was a significant increase in the number of type 1 (NK cells) and type 3 ILC22 cells in the blood in response to exercise under normal oxygen conditions followed by a significant egress of these cells following the cessation of exercise. Exercise performed under hypoxic conditions abrogated the mobilization response of NK cells and ILC22 cells. Type 3 LTi cells were mobilized into the blood only under hypoxic rest conditions. No significant changes were observed when we analysed total CD4+ and CD8+T cell populations or the naive and memory subsets. This study highlights that distinct innate populations are mobilised under different environmental conditions and types of stress

New genera and species of early Tertiary palynomorphs from Gulf Coast

16 p., 5 pl.http://paleo.ku.edu/contributions.htm

Preventive Maintenance Program for Bridges

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) bridge inventory is rapidly aging. As such, the Cabinet needs to identify and implement relevant preventative maintenance (PM) actions to extend the useful service lives of those structures. Maintenance actions, costs, and application interval/repair durability information have been obtained for both cyclical and condition - based bridge PM. Additionally, information rehabilitation actions were acquired from a regional DOT survey and from other literature. As part of this study, the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers monitored a KYTC bridge washing project to assess its level of effectiveness and to identify potential improvements. Based upon these tasks, recommended guidance was provided to KYTC for use when implementing bridge PM programs. The guidance includes a discussion of critical PM activities, strategies to adopt training and work documents (i.e., special notes) for contract work, and the implementation of work standards/special operating procedures for work performed by KYTC personnel. This report also includes details on the tools and training KYTC district-level personnel will need and outlines a roadmap for conducting pilot programmatic PM work in several districts

Cabbage pest management

"In Missouri, about 600 acres of cabbage and 200 acres of broccoli, cauliflower, and collards are planted each year. The majority of this acreage is in commercial production in the St. Louis and Bootheel areas. Small truck farms and home gardens produce cabbage and related cole crops throughout the state."--First page.James R. Davis, K.D. Biever, W.S. Craig, and M.L. Fairchild (Department of Entomology)New 8/85/6

Prebiotically plausible chemoselective pantetheine synthesis in water

Coenzyme A (CoA) is essential to all life on Earth, and its functional subunit, pantetheine, is important in many origin-of-life scenarios, but how pantetheine emerged on the early Earth remains a mystery. Earlier attempts to selectively synthesize pantetheine failed, leading to suggestions that “simpler” thiols must have preceded pantetheine at the origin of life. In this work, we report high-yielding and selective prebiotic syntheses of pantetheine in water. Chemoselective multicomponent aldol, iminolactone, and aminonitrile reactions delivered spontaneous differentiation of pantoic acid and proteinogenic amino acid syntheses, as well as the dihydroxyl, gem-dimethyl, and b-alanine-amide moieties of pantetheine in dilute water. Our results are consistent with a role for canonical pantetheine at the outset of life on Earth.</p