Optimization of 15 parameters influencing the long-term survival of bacteria in aquatic systems

NASA is presently engaged in the design and development of a water reclamation system for the future space station. A major concern in processing water is the control of microbial contamination. As a means of developing an optimal microbial control strategy, studies were undertaken to determine the type and amount of contamination which could be expected in these systems under a variety of changing environmental conditions. A laboratory-based Taguchi optimization experiment was conducted to determine the ideal settings for 15 parameters which influence the survival of six bacterial species in aquatic systems. The experiment demonstrated that the bacterial survival period could be decreased significantly by optimizing environmental conditions

Hydrocyclone/Filter for Concentrating Biomarkers from Soil

The hydrocyclone-filtration extractor (HFE), now undergoing development, is a simple, robust apparatus for processing large amounts of soil to extract trace amounts of microorganisms, soluble organic compounds, and other biomarkers from soil and to concentrate the extracts in amounts sufficient to enable such traditional assays as cell culturing, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) analysis, and isotope analysis. Originally intended for incorporation into a suite of instruments for detecting signs of life on Mars, the HFE could also be used on Earth for similar purposes, including detecting trace amounts of biomarkers or chemical wastes in soils

Spacelab J air filter debris analysis

Filter debris from the Spacelab module SLJ of STS-49 was analyzed for microbial contamination. Debris for cabin and avionics filters was collected by Kennedy Space Center personnel on 1 Oct. 1992, approximately 5 days postflight. The concentration of microorganisms found was similar to previous Spacelab missions averaging 7.4E+4 CFU/mL for avionics filter debris and 4.5E+6 CFU/mL for the cabin filter debris. A similar diversity of bacterial types was found in the two filters. Of the 13 different bacterial types identified from the cabin and avionics samples, 6 were common to both filters. The overall analysis of these samples as compared to those of previous missions shows no significant differences

Microbial biofilm studies of the environmental control and life support system water recovery test for Space Station Freedom

NASA is developing a water recovery system (WRS) for Space Station Freedom to reclaim human waste water for reuse by astronauts as hygiene or potable water. A water recovery test (WRT) currently in progress investigates the performance of a prototype of the WRS. Analysis of biofilm accumulation, the potential for microbially influenced corrosion (MIC) in the WRT, and studies of iodine disinfection of biofilm are reported. Analysis of WRT components indicated the presence of organic deposits and biofilms in selected tubing. Water samples for the WRT contained acid-producing and sulfate-reducing organisms implicated in corrosion processes. Corrosion of an aluminum alloy was accelerated in the presence of these water samples; however, stainless steel corrosion rates were not accelerated. Biofilm iodine sensitivity tests using an experimental laboratory scale recycled water system containing a microbial check valve (MCV) demonstrated that an iodine concentration of 1 to 2 mg/L was ineffective in eliminating microbial biofilm. For complete disinfection, an initial concentration of 16 mg/L was required, which was gradually reduced by the MCV over 4 to 8 hours to 1 to 2 mg/L. This treatment may be useful in controlling biofilm formation

Development of a Contingency Capillary Wastewater Management Device

The Personal Body .Attached Liquid Liquidator (PBALL) is conceived as a passive, capillary driven contingency wastewater disposal device. In this contingency scenario, the airflow system on the NASA Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is assumed to have failed, leaving only passive hardware and vacuum vent to dispose of the wastewater. To meet these needs, the PBALL was conceived to rely on capillary action and urine wetting design considerations. The PBALL is designed to accommodate a range of wetting conditions, from 0deg < (theta)adv approx. 90deg, be adaptable for both male and female use, collect and retain up to a liter of urine, minimize splash-back, and allow continuous drain of the wastewater to vacuum while minimizing cabin air loss. A sub-scale PBALL test article was demonstrated on NASA's reduced gravity aircraft in April, 2010

Culture in the European Union’s External Relations

Die vorliegende Arbeit nimmt aktuelle Entwicklungen der Kulturpolitik der Europäischen Union auf – ein stärkerer Fokus auf die Einbeziehung von Kultur in den externen Beziehungen. Europäische Kulturpolitik soll sich nicht mehr nur an ein innereuropäisches Publikum richten, sondern Bestandteil einer zunehmend engeren Kooperation mit Partnerländern und –regionen sein. Besonders in Anbetracht eines globalisierten Kulturmarktes, neuer Migrationsströme und deren begleitenden xenophoben Tendenzen, hat Europäische Kulturpolitik in den letzten Jahren eine Neuorientierung erfahren. Zwei Publikationen der EU waren dafür wegbereitend: die Mitteilung der Europäischen Kommission im Mai 2007 einer Europäische Agenda für Kultur in einer globalisierten Welt sowie eineinhalb Jahre später, im November 2008, die Schlussfolgerungen des Rates der Europäischen Union zur Förderung der kulturellen Vielfalt und des interkulturellen Dialogs in den Außenbeziehungen der Union und ihrer Mitgliedstaaten. Die offiziellen Stellungnahmen der EU gaben den Anstoß für eine breite konzeptuelle Debatte. Folgt man den Positionen und Vorschlägen der beteiligten ExpertInnen im Feld der Europäischen Kulturpolitik, so sollte die EU vornehmlich die Rolle eines Vermittlers und Unterstützers von internationalem Kulturaustausch einnehmen, aber nicht als das ausführende Organ agieren. Die vorliegende Arbeit knüpft an diese aufgeworfenen Überlegungen an und nimmt an, dass die EU in bestimmten geographischen Kontexten bereits solch einem Anspruch einer unabhängigen kulturellen Diplomatie folgt. So wird in der Euro-Mediterranen Partnerschaft eine kulturelle Diplomatie finanziell von der EU unterstützt, die eigentliche Arbeit aber findet in der externen Anna Lindh Stiftung für den Dialog der Kulturen im Mittelmeer mit Sitz in Alexandria (Ägypten) statt. Die umfassende strukturelle Analyse der Stiftung soll damit als Evaluierung bereits bestehender Strukturen einer europäischen kulturellen Diplomatie dienen. Eine Evaluierung, die in den Monaten nach der Ratifizierung des Vertrages an Lissabon rund um die Diskussionen des neuen Europäischen Auswärtigen Dienstes und der geforderten Einbeziehung von kulturellen und sozialen Agenden, an Aktualität gewonnen hat. Um die Fragen in Bezug auf die internationale Positionierung der EU und ihrer kulturellen Kooperation mit Drittstaaten in eine theoretische Perspektive zu bringen, beziehe ich mich auf eine Theorie der Internationalen Beziehungen. Regimetheorie beschäftigt sich mit der Entstehung und der Effektivität von mehr oder weniger institutionalisierten Formen internationaler Kooperation, die als Regime bezeichnet werden können. Ebenfalls stellt die Euro-Mediterrane Partnerschaft den Rahmen für die Entstehung von problemzentrierten Regimen, unter anderem für das Euro-Mediterrane Kulturregime dar, das den Ausgangspunkt für eine umfassende institutionelle Analyse der Anna Lindh Stiftung darstellt.The thesis follows a recent development in the cultural policies of the European Union (EU) – a stronger focus on the involvement of culture in its external relations. Cultural policy in that sense should not anymore take place only within the EU but should also involve an increased awareness of cultural relations with partner countries and regions. Especially in the light of a globalized cultural market, global mobility and its accompanying xenophobic tendencies, cultural policy on a EU level received a reevaluation. This reorientation was put forward in two official EU documents: These were the European Agenda for Culture in a Globalizing World, published by the European Commission in May 2007, and in November 2008 the European Council’s Conclusion on the Promotion of Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue in the External Relations of the Union and its Member States. The documents triggered a wide debate among a diversity of European cultural policy stakeholders who then introduced and revised terms and concepts at the intersection of culture and diplomacy. My research ties in with these concepts but also with raised questions of how does or should the EU approach the task of a cultural diplomacy within a more global perspective; coordinate the diverse players and interact with foreign publics? And most important how can we analyze and characterize the underlining structures and principles of this new effort academically? Following the positions and suggestions of experts engaged in the field of European cultural policy, the EU’s main role should be that of a facilitator of international cultural exchange, but it should not serve as its executive entity. Tracing this idea, I argue that in certain geographical contexts cultural diplomacy as part of EU’s external relations already follows such an independent arm’s length approach. The arm’s length structure of cultural diplomacy is strongly linked to the British Council. The British cultural representation abroad is financially supported by the government but their programmers work in an independent institution that is not part of the governmental Foreign Service institutions. Similarly, European cultural diplomacy in the Mediterranean region was initiated within the intergovernmental setting of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and is strongly supported by the EU but the actual work is executed by an external cultural institution, the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures based in Alexandria, Egypt. The Foundation herewith serves as an evaluation of already existing structures of a cultural diplomacy practiced by the EU which received a new interest in view of discussions regarding the involvement of cultural agendas in the recently installed EU External Action Service. In order to address these questions that set the EU’s international position and its cooperation with third countries theoretically into perspective I will introduce regime theory. Regime theory – a theory of International Relations – deals with the formation and the effectiveness of more or less institutionalized forms of cooperation, called regimes. I assume that the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership provides the institutional framework of issue-specific regimes, one of which is the Euro-Mediterranean cultural regime which has at its core the Anna Lindh Foundation

Microbial Diffraction Gratings as Optical Detectors for Heavy Metal Pollutants

As a significant industrial pollutant, cadmium is implicated as the cause of itai-itai disease. For biological detection of cadmium toxicity, an assay device has been developed using the motile response of the protozoa species, Tetrahymena pyriformis. This mobile protozoa measures 50 microns in diameter, swims at 10 body lengths per second, and aggregates into macroscopically visible patterns at high organism concentrations. The assay demonstrates a Cd(+2) sensitivity better than 1 micro-M and a toxicity threshold to 5 micro-M, thus encouraging the study of these microbial cultures as viable pollution detectors. Using two-dimensional diffraction patterns within a Tetrahymena culture, the scattered light intensity varies with different organism densities (population counts). The resulting density profile correlates strongly with the toxic effects at very low dosages for cadmium (less than 5 ppm) and then for poison protection directly (with nickel and copper antagonists competing with cadmium absorption). In particular, copper dosages as low as 0.1-0.5 mM Cu have shown protective antagonism against cadmium, have enhanced density variability for cultures containing 1 mM Cd(+2) and therefore have demonstrated the sensitivity of the optical detection system. In this way, such microbial diffraction patterns give a responsive optical measure of biological culture changes and toxicity determination in aqueous samples of heavy metals and industrial pollutants

Race, class, gender and music - Kann Musik machen im Bandkontext zur Dekonstruktion von Differenzlinien beitragen?

Die Arbeit von Judith Günther, Agnes Obenhuber, Tobias Schmid und Jan Zimmermann beschäftigt sich mit einem Projekt aus dem Bereich der Jugendkulturarbeit und seinem Umgang mit verschiedenen sozialen Differenzlinien – mit Blick auf die Nutzer_innen als auch die Perspektive der Pädagog_innen. Das Material wurde erhoben mit der Methode des leitfadengestützten Interviews, ergänzt um Dokumentenanalyse und teilnehmende Beobachtung

The persistence of life measured by carbon cycling in closed ecological systems

Typescript.Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1986.Bibliography: leaves 119-129.Photocopy.viii, 129 leaves, bound ill. 29 cmMaterially closed energetically open ecological systems have been observed to support biological activity for over 10 years. It has been suggested that closed ecological systems (CES), as models of the earths biosphere, will support life indefinitely. Undefined excesses in the amount of bioelements included in the construction of the first studied CES have made it impossible to quantify the length of time for which life will persist in a CES. This work presents a metric which can be used to predict the length of time which biological activity can be expected to persist in a CES. This metric is based on the measurement of carbon biomass and carbon cycling rate in materially defined CES. Two independent methods, radiocarbon labeling and the increase in pressure in a CES from the accumulation of gaseous oxygen as a result of the reduction of carbon have been used. The turnover time of carbon is determined for a CES with a stable biomass and carbon cycling rate. Predictions are then made for the length of time that a detectable level of biological activity will exist in a CES. The CES containing a complex natural community are predicted to persist for a minimum of 6 years and perhaps indefinitely