Real-Time Science Operations to Support a Lunar Polar Volatiles Rover Mission

Future human exploration of the Moon will likely rely on in situ resource utilization (ISRU) to enable long duration lunar missions. Prior to utilizing ISRU on the Moon, the natural resources (in this case lunar volatiles) must be identified and characterized, and ISRU demonstrated on the lunar surface. To enable future uses of ISRU, NASA and the CSA are developing a lunar rover payload that can (1) locate near subsurface volatiles, (2) excavate and analyze samples of the volatile-bearing regolith, and (3) demonstrate the form, extractability and usefulness of the materials. Such investigations are important both for ISRU purposes and for understanding the scientific nature of these intriguing lunar volatile deposits. Temperature models and orbital data suggest near surface volatile concentrations may exist at briefly lit lunar polar locations outside persistently shadowed regions. A lunar rover could be remotely operated at some of these locations for the approx. 2-14 days of expected sunlight at relatively low cost. Due to the limited operational time available, both science and rover operations decisions must be made in real time, requiring immediate situational awareness, data analysis, and decision support tools. Given these constraints, such a mission requires a new concept of operations. In this paper we outline the results and lessons learned from an analog field campaign in July 2012 which tested operations for a lunar polar rover concept. A rover was operated in the analog environment of Hawaii by an off-site Flight Control Center, a rover navigation center in Canada, a Science Backroom at NASA Ames Research Center in California, and support teams at NASA Johnson Space Center in Texas and NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We find that this type of mission requires highly efficient, real time, remotely operated rover operations to enable low cost, scientifically relevant exploration of the distribution and nature of lunar polar volatiles. The field demonstration illustrated the need for science operations personnel in constant communications with the flight mission operators and the Science Backroom to provide immediate and continual science support and validation throughout the mission. Specific data analysis tools are also required to enable immediate data monitoring, visualization, and decision making. The field campaign demonstrated that this novel methodology of real-time science operations is possible and applicable to providing important new insights regarding lunar polar volatiles for both science and exploration

HEALTHY Intervention: Fitness, Physical Activity, and Metabolic Syndrome Results

This study aimed to assess the effect of the HEALTHY intervention on the metabolic syndrome (Met-S), fitness, and physical activity levels of US middle-school students

BMI Change, Fitness Change and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors among 8 th Grade Youth

This paper examined whether a two-year change in fitness, body mass index (BMI) or the additive effect of change in fitness and BMI were associated with change in cardiometabolic risk factors among youth. Cardiometabolic risk factors, BMI group (normal weight, overweight or obese) were obtained from participants at the start of 6th grade and end of 8th grade. Shuttle run laps were assessed and categorized in quintiles at both time points. Regression models were used to examine whether changes in obesity, fitness or the additive effect of change in BMI and fitness were associated with change in risk factors. There was strong evidence (p < .001) that change in BMI was associated with change in cardiometabolic risk factors. There was weaker evidence of a fitness effect, with some evidence that change in fitness was associated with change in total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C and clustered risk score among boys, as well as HDL-C among girls. Male HDL-C was the only model for which there was some evidence of a BMI, fitness and additive BMI*fitness effect. Changing body mass is central to the reduction of youth cardiometabolic risk. Fitness effects were negligible once change in body mass had been taken into account

Comparison of Two Approaches to Structured Physical Activity Surveys of Adolescents

Purpose - To compare the test-retest reliability, convergent validity, and overall feasibility/usability of activity-based (AB) and time-based (TB) approaches for obtaining self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from adolescents. Methods - Adolescents (206 females and 114 males) completed two 3-d physical activity recalls using the AB and TB surveys, which contained identical lists of physical activities. The participants wore an MTI Actigraph® accelerometer for the same period. Results - The TB instrument took about 3 min longer to complete (P=0.022). Overall 2-d test-retest correlations for MVPA were similar for the two surveys (r=0.676 and 0.667), but the girls had higher reliability on the AB survey than the boys (girls: r=0.713; boys: r=0.568). The overall 3-d correlations for MVPA surveys and Actigraph counts varied by gender (girls: AB=0.265 vs TB=0.314; boys: AB=0.340 vs TB=0.277). Correlations for vigorous physical activity and Actigraph counts were higher for the AB than for the TB (r=0.281 vs 0.162). As the interval between completing the surveys and the days being recalled increased, reliability and validity were lower, especially for the AB survey. Conclusion - For both genders, either approach is acceptable for obtaining MVPA information on a single day, but the TB approach appears to be slightly favored over the AB approach for obtaining multiple days of MVPA. A 3-d recall period appears to be too long for accurate recall of MVPA information from either instrument. For both genders, the surveys overestimate activity levels; thus, self-reports should be supplemented with objective data

Student public commitment in a school-based diabetes prevention project: impact on physical health and health behavior

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As concern about youth obesity continues to mount, there is increasing consideration of widespread policy changes to support improved nutritional and enhanced physical activity offerings in schools. A critical element in the success of such programs may be to involve students as spokespeople for the program. Making such a public commitment to healthy lifestyle program targets (improved nutrition and enhanced physical activity) may potentiate healthy behavior changes among such students and provide a model for their peers. This paper examines whether student's "public commitment"--voluntary participation as a peer communicator or in student-generated media opportunities--in a school-based intervention to prevent diabetes and reduce obesity predicted improved study outcomes including reduced obesity and improved health behaviors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Secondary analysis of data from a 3-year randomized controlled trial conducted in 42 middle schools examining the impact of a multi-component school-based program on body mass index (BMI) and student health behaviors. A total of 4603 students were assessed at the beginning of sixth grade and the end of eighth grade. Process evaluation data were collected throughout the course of the intervention. All analyses were adjusted for students' baseline values. For this paper, the students in the schools randomized to receive the intervention were further divided into two groups: those who participated in public commitment activities and those who did not. Students from comparable schools randomized to the assessment condition constituted the control group.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a lower percentage of obesity (greater than or equal to the 95^thpercentile for BMI) at the end of the study among the group participating in public commitment activities compared to the control group (21.5% vs. 26.6%, p = 0.02). The difference in obesity rates at the end of the study was even greater among the subgroup of students who were overweight or obese at baseline; 44.6% for the "public commitment" group, versus 53.2% for the control group (p = 0.01). There was no difference in obesity rates between the group not participating in public commitment activities and the control group (26.4% vs. 26.6%).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Participating in public commitment activities during the HEALTHY study may have potentiated the changes promoted by the behavioral, nutrition, and physical activity intervention components.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov number, <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00458029">NCT00458029</a></p

Transcriptional Landscape of the Prenatal Human Brain

Summary The anatomical and functional architecture of the human brain is largely determined by prenatal transcriptional processes. We describe an anatomically comprehensive atlas of mid-gestational human brain, including de novo reference atlases, in situ hybridization, ultra-high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and microarray analysis on highly discrete laser microdissected brain regions. In developing cerebral cortex, transcriptional differences are found between different proliferative and postmitotic layers, wherein laminar signatures reflect cellular composition and developmental processes. Cytoarchitectural differences between human and mouse have molecular correlates, including species differences in gene expression in subplate, although surprisingly we find minimal differences between the inner and human-expanded outer subventricular zones. Both germinal and postmitotic cortical layers exhibit fronto-temporal gradients, with particular enrichment in frontal lobe. Finally, many neurodevelopmental disorder and human evolution-related genes show patterned expression, potentially underlying unique features of human cortical formation. These data provide a rich, freely-accessible resource for understanding human brain development

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead