Technical Excellence and Communication: The Cornerstones for Successful Safety and Mission Assurance Programs

The paper describes the role of technical excellence and communication in the development and maintenance of safety and mission assurance programs. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) organization is used to illustrate philosophies and techniques that strengthen safety and mission assurance efforts and that contribute to healthy and effective organizational cultures. The events and conditions leading to the development of the MSFC S&MA organization are reviewed. Historic issues and concerns are identified. The adverse effects of resource limitations and risk assessment roles are discussed. The structure and functions of the core safety, reliability, and quality assurance functions are presented. The current organization s mission and vision commitments serve as the starting points for the description of the current organization. The goals and objectives are presented that address the criticisms of the predecessor organizations. Additional improvements are presented that address the development of technical excellence and the steps taken to improve communication within the Center, with program customers, and with other Agency S&MA organizations

NASA: Engineering Space Exploration - Launching to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond

This presentation reviews NASA's program of space exploration, including information about NASA's mission, the human urge to explore, the timeline for the development of the exploration, and what NASA plans to explore and prove during the return to the moon. Also include are views of the planned vehicles, and a review of progress to date in the design and construction of the vehicles. Some of the benefits of space exploration are also reviewed

Changing the S and MA [Safety and Mission Assurance] Paradigm

Objectives: 1) Optimize S&MA organization to best facilitate Shuttle transition in 2010, successfully support Ares developmental responsibilities, and minimize the impacts of the gap between last Shuttle flight and start of Ares V Project. 2) Improve leveraging of critical skills and experience between Shuttle and Ares. 3) Split technical and supervisory functions to facilitate technical penetration. 4) Create Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer (CSO) stand-alone position for successfully implementation of S&MA Technical Authority. 5) Minimize disruption to customers. 6) Provide early involvement of S&MA leadership team and frequent/open communications with S&MA team members and steak-holders

NASA S and MA at the Crossroads; The Role of NASA Quality Insight/Oversight for Commercial Crewed Launch Vehicles

The presentation slides examine: The Journey, Current Safety and Mission Assurance (S and MA) Oversight/Insight, The Change, The Issue, Potential NASA relationship with Commercial Partners, and Commercial "X" FRR - Are you Go

Changing the Safety and Mission Assurance (S and MA) Paradigm

This slide presentation reviews the change in the work and impact of the Safety and Mission Assurance directorate at Marshall Space Flight Center. It reviews the background and the reasons given for a strong Safety & Mission Assurance presence in all planning for space flight. This was pointed out by the Rogers Commission Report after the Space Challenger accident, by the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) and by a 2006 NASA Exploration Safety Study (NESS) Team. The overall objective of the work in this area was to improve and maintain S&MA expertise and skills. Training for this work was improved and the S&MA organization was reorganized. This has resulted in a paradigm shift for NASA's safety efforts, which is described. The presentation then reviews the impact of the new S&MA work in the Ares I design and development

Effect of Native Type I Collagen with Polyhexamethylene Biguanide Antimicrobial on Wounds: Interim Registry Results.

Background: Biofilm can impair wound healing by maintaining an elevated, but ineffective, inflammatory state. This article describes interim results from the prospective RESPOND postmarketing registry evaluating the use of a native type 1, porcine collagen matrix with the embedded antimicrobial polyhexamethylene biguanide (PCMP) in the management of chronic wounds. Methods: Adults ≥18 years of age with ≥1 appropriate wound were eligible for inclusion. Data that were final on January 26, 2018 were included in this analysis. At week 0, wounds were cleaned, debrided, and prepared as necessary and PCMP was applied, with a dressing to fix it in place. Patients received standard wound care plus PCMP weekly, up to 24 weeks, at the investigator\u27s discretion. At each visit, wounds were assessed for area and quality of granulation tissue. Results: Most common wound types (N = 63) were venous ulcers (28.6%), trauma and lacerations (22.2%), postsurgical open wounds (15.9%), pressure injuries (12.7%), and diabetic ulcers (9.5%). Median baseline wound area was 6.5 cm Conclusions: PCMP appears to be a useful adjunct for treating various wound types. PCMP use should be considered when managing chronic or acute wounds

Risk and protective genetic variants in suicidal behaviour: association with SLC1A2, SLC1A3, 5-HTR1B &NTRK2 polymorphisms

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Suicidal behaviour is known to aggregate in families. Patients with psychiatric disorders are at higher risk for suicide attempts (SA), however protective and risk genetic variants for suicide appear to be independent of underlying psychiatric disorders. Here we investigate genetic variants in genes important for neurobiological pathways linked to suicidal behaviour and/or associated endophenotypes, for association with SA among patients with co-existing psychiatric illness. Selected gene-gene and gene-environment interactions were also tested.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>DNA was obtained from bloods of 159 patients (76 suicide attempters and 83 non-attempters), who were profiled for DSM-IV Axis I psychiatric diagnosis. Twenty-eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 18 candidate genes (<it>COMT, 5-HT2A, 5-HT1A, 5-HTR1B, TPH1, MAO-A, TPH2, DBH, CNR1, BDNF, ABCG1, GABRA5, GABRG2, GABRB2, SLC1A2, SLC1A3, NTRK2, CRHR1</it>) were genotyped. Genotyping was performed by KBioscience. Tests of association between genetic variants and SA were conducted using Chi squared and Armitage Trend tests. Binary logistical regression analyses were performed to evaluate the contribution of individual genetic variants to the prediction of SA, and to examine SNPs for potential gene-gene and gene-environment interactions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our analysis identified 4 SNPs (rs4755404, rs2269272, rs6296 and rs1659400), which showed evidence of association with SA compared to a non-attempter control group. We provide evidence of a 3-locus gene-gene interaction, and a putative gene-environment interaction, whereby genetic variation at the <it>NTRK2 </it>locus may moderate the risk associated with history of childhood abuse.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Preliminary findings suggest that allelic variability in <it>SLC1A2/3, 5-HTR1B </it>and <it>NTRK2 </it>may be relevant to the underlying diathesis for suicidal acts.</p

Can We Really Prevent Suicide?

Every year, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for all ages. Unfortunately, suicide is difficult to prevent, in large part because the prevalence of risk factors is high among the general population. In this review, clinical and psychological risk factors are examined and methods for suicide prevention are discussed. Prevention strategies found to be effective in suicide prevention include means restriction, responsible media coverage, and general public education, as well identification methods such as screening, gatekeeper training, and primary care physician education. Although the treatment for preventing suicide is difficult, follow-up that includes pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, or both may be useful. However, prevention methods cannot be restricted to the individual. Community, social, and policy interventions will also be essentia

A case-control study of the joint effect of reproductive factors and radiation treatment for first breast cancer and risk of contralateral breast cancer in the WECARE study.

OBJECTIVE: To examined the impact of reproductive factors on the relationship between radiation treatment (RT) for a first breast cancer and risk of contralateral breast cancer (CBC). METHODS: The Women's Environmental Cancer and Radiation Epidemiology (WECARE) Study is a multi-center, population-based case-control study where cases are women with asynchronous CBC (N = 1521) and controls are women with unilateral breast cancer (N = 2211). Rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using conditional logistic regression to assess the independent and joint effects of RT (ever/never and location-specific stray radiation dose to the contralateral breast [0, >0-<1Gy, ≥1Gy]) and reproductive factors (e.g., parity). RESULTS: Nulliparous women treated with RT (≥1Gy dose) were at increased risk of CBC compared with nulliparous women not treated with RT, although this relationship did not reach statistical significance (RR = 1.34, 95% CI 0.87, 2.07). Women treated with RT who had an interval pregnancy (i.e., pregnancy after first diagnosis and before second diagnosis [in cases]/reference date [in controls]) had an increased risk of CBC compared with those who had an interval pregnancy with no RT (RR = 4.60, 95% CI 1.16, 18.28). This was most apparent for women with higher radiation doses to the contralateral breast. CONCLUSION: Among young female survivors of breast cancer, we found some evidence suggesting that having an interval pregnancy could increase a woman's risk of CBC following RT for a first breast cancer. While sampling variability precludes strong interpretations, these findings suggest a role for pregnancy and hormonal factors in radiation-associated CBC

Novel non-specific DNA adenine methyltransferases

The mom gene of bacteriophage Mu encodes an enzyme that converts adenine to N6-(1-acetamido)-adenine in the phage DNA and thereby protects the viral genome from cleavage by a wide variety of restriction endonucleases. Mu-like prophage sequences present in Haemophilus influenzae Rd (FluMu), Neisseria meningitidis type A strain Z2491 (Pnme1) and H. influenzae biotype aegyptius ATCC 11116 do not possess a Mom-encoding gene. Instead, at the position occupied by mom in Mu they carry an unrelated gene that encodes a protein with homology to DNA adenine N6-methyltransferases (hin1523, nma1821, hia5, respectively). Products of the hin1523, hia5 and nma1821 genes modify adenine residues to N6-methyladenine, both in vitro and in vivo. All of these enzymes catalyzed extensive DNA methylation; most notably the Hia5 protein caused the methylation of 61% of the adenines in λ DNA. Kinetic analysis of oligonucleotide methylation suggests that all adenine residues in DNA, with the possible exception of poly(A)-tracts, constitute substrates for the Hia5 and Hin1523 enzymes. Their potential ‘sequence specificity’ could be summarized as AB or BA (where B = C, G or T). Plasmid DNA isolated from Escherichia coli cells overexpressing these novel DNA methyltransferases was resistant to cleavage by many restriction enzymes sensitive to adenine methylation