Precious Dust Two Mission Converge on Asteroid Sample Returns

Far-flung spacecraft deliver incredible views of distant worlds. But there's nothing like bringing samples back to Earth. Instruments carried by spacecraft have limitations-of power, complexity, size, and number. Their investigations leave many fundamental questions unanswered, questions that we might be able to answer if only we had samples. This summer marks the beginning of an exciting new era in sample-return missions: NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrives at asteroid Bennu, and the Japanese Hayabusa2 spacecraft arrives at asteroid Ryugu. Both are primitive asteroids-dark remnants of Solar System formation that carry carbon and water-a type of asteroid that's never been visited before. After thoroughly mapping their respective asteroids for geology and mineralogy, each probe will collect surface samples and return them to Earth. I can't wait to study them in my laboratory. Cosmic-dust pioneer Kazu Tomeoka introduced me to the dream of sample-return missions 20 years ago. In those days, the only returned extraterrestrial samples were from the Moon. He said to his students, "In the near future, we will be able to collect samples from asteroids and comets. There will be no need to wait for meteorites or cosmic dust to come and fall from the sky. And some of you might be the first to look at those samples." This inspired my life's work: laboratory analysis of returned astromaterials

Increase in the number of Endangered Butterfly species in Japan from 1991 to 2012

We surveyed the changes in the numbers of endangered species of Japanese butterflies from 1991 to 2012 on the basis of the Red Data Book and the Red List published by the Ministry of Environment. Total 47 butterflies were red listed in 1991, increasing to 91 species (including subspecies) in 2012. The rate of critically endangered (CR) and endangered (EN) species was the highest for butterflies (from two species in 1991 to 30 in 2012) in other category species. Thirty-seven species of the Lycaeidae family are currently included in the Red List (40.7%). Thirty species (42.3%) of the 71 butterfly species (not including sub-species) in the Japanese Red List are found in Korea. From all the Red List butterflies, 50.5% are grassland species.Article信州大学農学部紀要 50（1-2）: 23-29(2014)departmental bulletin pape

Effects of temperature on the development and survival of an endangered butterfly, Lycaeides argyrognomon (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) with estimation of optimal and threshold temperatures using linear and nonlinear models

The effects of temperature on the development and survival of Lycaeides argyrognomon were examined in the laboratory. The eggs, larvae and pupae were reared at temperatures of 15, 17.5, 20, 25, 30 and 33 degrees C under a long-day photoperiod of 16-h light and 8-h darkness. The survival rates of the firstthird instars ranged from 40.0 to 82.4%. The mortalities of the fourth instar were lower than those of the firstthird instars. The development time of the overall immature stage decreased from 78.33 days at 15 degrees C to 21.07 days at 30 degrees C, and then increased to 24.33 days at 33 degrees C. The common linear model and the IkemotoTakai model were used to estimate the thermal constant (K) and the developmental zero (T0). The values of T0 and K for the overall immature stages were 10.50 degrees C and 418.83 degree-days, and 9.71 degrees C and 451.68 degree-days by the common model and the IkemotoTakai model, respectively. The upper temperature thresholds (Tmax) and the optimal temperatures (Topt) of the egg, the firstthird instars and the overall immature stages were estimated by the three nonlinear models. The ranges of Topt estimated were from 30.33 degrees C to 32.46 degrees C in the overall immature stages and the estimates of Tmax of the overall immature stages by the Briere-1 and the Briere-2 models were 37.18 degrees C and 33.00 degrees C, respectively. The method to predict the developmental period of L. argyrognomon using the nonlinear models was discussed based on the data of the average temperature per hour.ArticleENTOMOLOGICAL SCIENCE. 15(2):162-170 (2012)journal articl

Sample Curation in Support of the OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample Return Mission

The OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission launched to asteroid Bennu Sept. 8, 2016. The spacecraft will arrive at Bennu in late 2019, orbit and map the asteroid, and perform a touch and go (TAG) sampling maneuver in July 2020. After sample is stowed and confirmed the spacecraft will return to Earth, and the sample return capsule (SRC) will land in Utah in September 2023. Samples will be recovered from Utah [2] and then transported and stored in a new sample cleanroom at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston [3]. The materials curated for the mission are described here. a) Materials Archive and Witness Plate Collection: The SRC and TAGSAM were built between March 2014 and Summer of 2015, and instruments (OTES,OVIRS, OLA, OCAMS, REXIS) were integrated from Summer 2015 until May 2016. A total of 395 items were received for the materials archive at NASA-JSC, with archiving finishing ~30 days after launch (with the final archived items being related to launch operations)[4]. The materials fall into several general categories including metals (stainless steel, aluminum, titanium alloys, brass and BeCu alloy), epoxies, paints, polymers, lubricants, non-volatile-residue samples (NVR), sapphire, and various miscellaneous materials. All through the ATLO process (from March 2015 until late August 2016) contamination knowledge witness plates (Si wafer and Al foil) were deployed in the various cleanrooms in Denver and KSC to provide an additional record of particle counts and volatiles that is archived for current and future scientific studies. These plates were deployed in roughly monthly increments with each unit containing 4 Si wafers and 4 Al foils. We archived 128 individual witness plates (64 Si wafers and 64 Al foils); one of each witness plate (Si and Al) was analyzed immediately by the science team after archiving, while the remaining 3 of each are archived indefinitely. Information about each material archived is stored in an extensive database at NASA-JSC, and key summary information for each will be presented in an online catalog. b) Bulk Asteroid sample: The Touch and Go Sampling Mechanism (TAGSAM) head will contain up to 1.5 kg of asteroid material. Upon return to Earth, the TAGSAM head with the sample canister will be subjected to a nitrogen purge and then opened in a nitrogen cabinet in Houston. Once the TAGSAM head is removed from the canister, it will be dis-assembled slowly and carefully under nitrogen until the sample can be removed for processing in a dedicated nitrogen glovebox. Bennu surface samples are expected to be sub-cm sized, based on thermal infrared and radar polarization ratio measurements [1]. The upper limit on material collected by the TAGSAM head is ~2 cm. Therefore, we will be prepared to handle, subdivide, and characterize materials of a wide grain size (from ~10 m to 2 cm), and for both organic (UV fluorescence) and inorganic (SEM, FTIR, optical) properties. Representative portions of the bulk sample will be prepared for JAXA (0.5 %; see also [5]) and Canadian Space Agency (4%), with the remaining divided between the science team (75%). c) Contact Pad samples: The base of the TAGSAM head contains 24 contact pads that are designed to trap the upper surface layer of material and thus offer an opportunity to study asteroid samples that have resided at the very top surface of the regolith. Asteroid material is trapped on the pads in spring steel Velcro hooks, and material will have to be removed from these pads by curation specialists in the lab. d) Hardware: Some canister and SRC hardware items will contain information that will be important to understanding the collected samples, including the canister gas filter, temperature strips, flight witness plates, and the TAGSAM and canister parts that might have adhering dust grains. Some challenges remaining for both bulk sample and contact pad samples include: i) working with intermediate size range (200 to 500 micron) samples - a size range NASA has not previously worked in such detail; ii) techniques for removal of contact pad material from the spring steel hooks, iii) static electrical effects of dust sized particles during sample handling and curation is likely to be significant, and iv) the TAGSAM head and associated canister hardware will undoubtedly be coated with fine adhering dust grains from Bennu. In the case of collection of a large bulk sample mass, the adhering dust grains may be of lower priority. If a small sample mass is returned, the adhering dust may attain a higher priority, so recovery of adhering dust grains is an additional challenge to consider. In the year leading up to sample return we plan a variety of sample handling rehearsals that will enables the curation team to be prepared for many new aspects posed by this sample suite

構成主義における学びの理論 : 心理学的構成主義と社会的構成主義を比較して

構成主義の考えは、現在、教育の文献に浸透している。構成主義は、学習理論、教授技術、一般的な教育学のアプローチを特徴づけるために用いられる。構成主義は、知識はいつも人が構成するものであることを意味する。構成主義は、生徒による積極的な参加を促進する必要性を強調するものである。構成主義の２つの主要なタイプ―心理学的構成主義と社会的構成主義―には、重要な教育的な意味がある。心理学的構成主義は、個人の学習に焦点を合わせる。「分析の単位」は、個々の知る人である。しかしながら、社会的構成主義にとって、正しい単位は社会的な集団または文化である。心理学的構成主義と社会的構成主義を比較することによって、構成主義における学びの理論を明らかにすることができる。The idea of constructivism now pervades educational literatures. Constructivism is used to characterize learning theory, teaching techniques, and a general pedagogical approach. Constructivism implies that knowledge is always constructed by an individual. It stresses the need to encourage positive participation by students. Both the major constructivisms --psychological and social --have important educational implications. Psychological constructivists focus on individual learning. According to them, the unit of analysis is the individual knower. For social constructivists, however, the correct unit is the social group or culture. Theory of learning in constructivism can be clarified by comparing psychological constructivism with social constructivism

Interstellar and Solar System Organic Matter Preserved in Interplanetary Dust

Interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected in the Earth's stratosphere derive from collisions among asteroids and by the disruption and outgassing of shortperiod comets. Chondritic porous (CP) IDPs are among the most primitive Solar System materials. CPIDPs have been linked to cometary parent bodies by their mineralogy, textures, Ccontent, and dynamical histories. CPIDPs are fragile, finegrained (less than um) assemblages of anhydrous amorphous and crystalline silicates, oxides and sulfides bound together by abundant carbonaceous material. Ancient silicate, oxide, and SiC stardust grains exhibiting highly anomalous isotopic compositions are abundant in CPIDPs, constituting 0.01 - 1 % of the mass of the particles. The organic matter in CPIDPs is isotopically anomalous, with enrichments in D/H reaching 50x the terrestrial SMOW value and 15N/14N ratios up to 3x terrestrial standard compositions. These anomalies are indicative of low T (10100 K) mass fractionation in cold molecular cloud or the outermost reaches of the protosolar disk. The organic matter shows distinct morphologies, including subum globules, bubbly textures, featureless, and with mineral inclusions. Infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry studies of organic matter in IDPs reveals diverse species including aliphatic and aromatic compounds. The organic matter with the highest isotopic anomalies appears to be richer in aliphatic compounds. These materials also bear similarities and differences with primitive, isotopically anomalous organic matter in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites. The diversity of the organic chemistry, morphology, and isotopic properties in IDPs and meteorites reflects variable preservation of interstellar/primordial components and Solar System processing. One unifying feature is the presence of subum isotopically anomalous organic globules among all primitive materials, including IDPs, meteorites, and comet Wild2 samples returned by the Stardust mission

Research on University Students’ Consideration of Learning of Arithmetic and Mathematics

In the present study, I clarified factors influencing consideration of learning of arithmetic and mathematics at elementary, junior and senior high schools and considered the ideal method for teaching arithmetic and mathematics. Interview surveys were conducted on 5 first-year university students and 8 categories and 33 subcategories were extracted after qualitative analysis. 　The three categories of “characteristics of children”, “learning content” and “characteristics of teachers” were considered ‘conditions’ and influenced ‘actions/interactions’ of “teaching methods” and “handling of difficulties”. In addition, “results”, “self-evaluation” and “consideration of learning of arithmetic and mathematics” were generated as ‘consequences’. Pivotal categories comprised “teaching methods” and “handling of difficulties”. If these categories were inappropriate for the particular child, subsequent study was negatively affected due to the cumulative nature of the subjects.大学生１年生５名を対象として面接調査を実施し、小学校・中学校・高等学校における算数及び数学の学習観に影響を与える要因について明らかにし、算数・数学科の授業のあり方について考察した。質的分析を行った結果、８つのカテゴリーと33のサブカテゴリーが抽出された。 【学習内容】、【子どもの特性】、【教師の特性】の３つのカテゴリーは「状況（条件）」とみなされ、これらが【授業のあり方】や【つまずきへの対応】の「行為／相互行為」に影響を与え、その「帰結」として【結果】、【自己評価】、【算数・数学の学習観】が生じる。重要なカテゴリーは、【授業のあり方】と【つまずきへの対応】である。子どもの実態に応じた適切なものとなっていない場合、積み上げ教科としての教科の特性と関連して、次の算数・数学の学習にも悪影響を及ぼすことが明らかになった

Curation and Analysis of Samples from Comet Wild-2 Returned by NASA's Stardust Mission

The NASA Stardust mission returned the first direct samples of a cometary coma from comet 81P/Wild2 in 2006. Intact capture of samples encountered at 6 km/s was enabled by the use of aerogel, an ultralow dense silica polymer. Approximately 1000 particles were captured, with micron and submicron materials distributed along ~mm scale length tracks. This sample collection method and the fine scale of the samples posed new challenges to the curation and cosmochemistry communities. Sample curation involved extensive, detailed photodocumentation and delicate microsurgery to remove particles without loss from the aerogel tracks. This work had to be performed in highly clean facility to minimize the potential of contamination. JSC Curation provided samples ranging from entire tracks to micrometersized particles to external investigators. From the analysis perspective, distinguishing cometary materials from aerogel and identifying the potential alteration from the capture process were essential. Here, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proved to be the key technique that would make this possible. Based on TEM work by ourselves and others, a variety of surprising findings were reported, such as the observation of high temperature phases resembling those found in meteorites, rarely intact presolar grains and scarce organic grains and submicrometer silicates. An important lesson from this experience is that curation and analysis teams must work closely together to understand the requirements and challenges of each task. The Stardust Mission also has laid important foundation to future sample returns including OSIRISREx and Hayabusa II and future cometary nucleus sample return missions

A Research Study on the Psychosocial Process of Disability Acceptance of the People with Development Disabilities

The purpose of this study is to clarify the psychosocial process of disability acceptance of the people with development disabilities who are going to employment transfer support offices. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 8 people with development disabilities who were diagnosed with development disabilities and were going to employment transfer support offices. As the result of analyzing the result of the interview with a modified grounded theory approach, 5 categories and 12 concepts were extracted. 　The people with development disabilities who were in troubles like dropout, disemployment, and depression, etc, <searched for supporting organizations> <because they wanted to get out of their current situations>, and eventually started going to the offices. They are deepening the ≪recognition of the development disabilities≫by checking the disability characteristics and behavior characteristics, reinterpreting their experiences like troubles in working and human relationships, and finding similarities with familiar people with disabilities. The ≪recognition of the development disability≫ that is a core category also has impacts on the <appropriate self-control> and the <self-metacognition>.本研究は、就労移行支援事業所に通所する発達障害者の障害受容の心理社会的プロセスを明らかにすることを目的とした。発達障害の診断を受け、就労移行支援事業所に通所する発達障害者8名を対象として、半構造化面接を行った。修正版グラウンデッド・セオリー・アプローチを用いて面接内容を分析した結果、5つのカテゴリーと12の概念が抽出された。 　中退や離職、鬱病といった状況に陥った発達障害者が＜このままではいけないという思い＞から＜支援機関探し＞を行った結果、事業所に通所するに至っている。障害特性と行動特性を照合したり、仕事や人間関係上のトラブルなどの経験を再解釈したり、障害をもつ身近な人と自分の似ているところを見つけたりして、≪発達障害であることの認識≫を深めている。コアカテゴリーである≪発達障害であることの認識≫は、＜適切な自己コントロール＞や＜自分についてのメタ認識＞にも影響を与えている