NASA International Environmental Partnerships

For nearly five decades, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been preeminent in space exploration. NASA has landed Americans on the moon, robotic rovers on Mars, and led cooperative scientific endeavors among nations aboard the International Space Station. But as Earth's population increases, the environment is subject to increasing challenges and requires more efficient use of resources. International partnerships give NASA the opportunity to share its scientific and engineering expertise. They also enable NASA to stay aware of continually changing international environmental regulations and global markets for materials that NASA uses to accomplish its mission. Through international partnerships, NASA and this nation have taken the opportunity to look globally for solutions to challenges we face here on Earth. Working with other nations provides NASA with collaborative opportunities with the global science/engineering community to explore ways in which to protect our natural resources, conserve energy, reduce the use of hazardous materials in space and earthly applications, and reduce greenhouse gases that potentially affect all of Earth's inhabitants. NASA is working with an ever-expanding list of international partners including the European Union, the European Space Agency and, especially, the nation of Portugal. Our common goal is to foster a sustainable future in which partners continue to explore the universe while protecting our home planet's resources for future generations. This brochure highlights past, current, and future initiatives in several important areas of international collaboration that can bring environmental, economic, and other benefits to NASA and the wider international space community

Carotid disease at age 73 and cognitive change from age 70 to 76 years. A longitudinal cohort study

Cognitive decline and carotid artery atheroma are common at older ages. In community-dwelling subjects, we assessed cognition at ages 70, 73 and 76 and carotid Doppler ultrasound at age 73, to determine whether carotid stenosis was related to cognitive decline. We used latent growth curve models to examine associations between four carotid measures (internal carotid artery stenosis, velocity, pulsatility and resistivity indices) and four cognitive ability domains (memory, visuospatial function, crystallised intelligence, processing speed) adjusted for cognitive ability at age 11, current age, gender and vascular risk factors. Amongst 866 participants, carotid stenosis (median 12.96%) was not associated with cognitive abilities at age 70 or cognitive decline from age 70 to 76. Increased ICA pulsatility and resistivity indices were associated with slower processing speed (both P &lt; 0.001) and worse visuospatial function ( P = 0.036, 0.031, respectively) at age 70, and declining crystallised intelligence from ages 70 to 76 ( P = 0.008, 0.006, respectively). The findings suggest that vascular stiffening, rather than carotid luminal narrowing, adversely influences cognitive ageing and provides a potential target for ameliorating age-related cognitive decline. </jats:p

The inorganic NItrate and eXercise performance in Heart Failure (iNIX-HF) phase II clinical trial: Rationale and study design

BACKGROUND: Heart failure (HF) is a debilitating and often fatal disease that affects millions of people worldwide. Diminished nitric oxide synthesis, signaling, and bioavailability are believed to contribute to poor skeletal muscle function and aerobic capacity. The aim of this clinical trial (iNIX-HF) is to determine the acute and longer-term effectiveness of inorganic nitrate supplementation on exercise performance in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). METHODS: This clinical trial is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-arm design study in which patients with HFrEF (n = 75) are randomized to receive 10 mmol potassium nitrate (KNO DISCUSSION: The iNIX-HF phase II clinical trial will evaluate the effectiveness of inorganic nitrate supplements as a new treatment to ameliorate poor exercise capacity in HFrEF. This study also will provide critical preliminary data for a future \u27pivotal\u27, phase III, multi-center trial of the effectiveness of nitrate supplements not only for improving exercise performance, but also for improving symptoms and decreasing other major cardiovascular endpoints. The potential public health impact of identifying a new, relatively inexpensive, safe, and effective treatment that improves overall exercise performance in patients with HFrEF is significant

Monte Carlo of Trapped Ultracold Neutrons in the UCNτ Trap

In the UCNτ experiment, ultracold neutrons (UCN) are confined by magnetic fields and the Earth’s gravitational field. Field-trapping mitigates the problem of UCN loss on material surfaces, which caused the largest correction in prior neutron experiments using material bottles. However, the neutron dynamics in field traps differ qualitatively from those in material bottles. In the latter case, neutrons bounce off material surfaces with significant diffusivity and the population quickly reaches a static spatial distribution with a density gradient induced by the gravitational potential. In contrast, the field-confined UCN—whose dynamics can be described by Hamiltonian mechanics—do not exhibit the stochastic behaviors typical of an ideal gas model as observed in material bottles. In this report, we will describe our efforts to simulate UCN trapping in the UCNτ magneto-gravitational trap. We compare the simulation output to the experimental results to determine the parameters of the neutron detector and the input neutron distribution. The tuned model is then used to understand the phase space evolution of neutrons observed in the UCNτ experiment. We will discuss the implications of chaotic dynamics on controlling the systematic effects, such as spectral cleaning and microphonic heating, for a successful UCN lifetime experiment to reach a 0.01% level of precision

Genome-wide analysis identifies 12 loci influencing human reproductive behavior.

The genetic architecture of human reproductive behavior-age at first birth (AFB) and number of children ever born (NEB)-has a strong relationship with fitness, human development, infertility and risk of neuropsychiatric disorders. However, very few genetic loci have been identified, and the underlying mechanisms of AFB and NEB are poorly understood. We report a large genome-wide association study of both sexes including 251,151 individuals for AFB and 343,072 individuals for NEB. We identified 12 independent loci that are significantly associated with AFB and/or NEB in a SNP-based genome-wide association study and 4 additional loci associated in a gene-based effort. These loci harbor genes that are likely to have a role, either directly or by affecting non-local gene expression, in human reproduction and infertility, thereby increasing understanding of these complex traits

Faith in history: Armenians rebuilding community in Cyprus and London.

This thesis explores the rebuilding of Armenian community in Cyprus following dispersion from their homelands in the early twentieth century. It continues with later disruptions, decreasing population, and again rebuilding both in Cyprus and in London, England where many Armenian Cypriots resettled in the 1960s. The focus is on the process of culture, the passing of values and ideas over several generations in diaspora. Armenians in these communities place a formal emphasis on their church, language, and history as the cornerstones of their culture. Changing views of these aspects are examined in the context of family and community interactions and relationships. Fieldwork was carried out in Nicosia, Larnaca, and Limassol, Cyprus and in London, England, over five years (including a total of eight months in Cyprus). Life histories form the base for the early, ethnohistorical chapters. Observation and participation in community events, informal conversations, visits to churches, schools, clubs, and homes were essential. Written sources were also used (e.g. letters, church documents), most notably, a set of memoirs compiled especially for this project. Common themes emerged which provide a "prior text" for the two communities, most prominently, insecurity, sacrifice, and survival. Survival includes a stress on a 2,500 year Armenian history which itself becomes a social charter, providing an anchor in the face of insecurity and the necessary flexibility of diaspora life. The continued longevity of the Armenian people and the "correct" interpretation of history in the face of perceived injustices provides a moral cause, a call for sacrifice. The thesis concludes with an examination of the overlap between nationalism and religion, of the interplay of cultural change and religious belief, the dual roles, spiritual and functional, of the national church and the nature of faith in both.Ph.D.AnthropologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/105424/1/9023615.pdfDescription of 9023615.pdf : Restricted to UM users only

‘Quicker than a consultation at the hairdressers: abortion and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008’

During the passage of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (HFEA) abortion amendments were debated in both Houses of Parliament. Analysis of the parliamentary divisions reveals that the majority of Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs went through the progressive lobby while the majority of Conservatives voted for the more restrictive positions. Arguments for women’s descriptive representation which rest on substantive representation - those that link the presence of women representatives with policies that are ‘for women’ – appear, in this case seriously questioned, as party is found to trump sex. By analysing parliamentary debate contributions (participation and content) in addition to parliamentary votes, and in both Houses of the UK Parliament, this article reconsiders the role of the sex of our representatives. Not only do women over participate in the division lobbies and vote in a more liberal fashion than their male colleagues, debate contribution analysis suggests that women MPs’ and Peers’ interventions are substantively differently from men’s. Accordingly we maintain that whilst women’s absence from Parliament might not have affected the legislative outcome in 2008, their presence was critical to the way in which the issue of abortion was discussed. It is women representatives who centre women in debates about abortion, conceive of it in terms of women’s rights, and seek to protect women from reforms that would constrain their access to abortion and might force them to carry unwanted pregnancies to term. Keywords: Abortion; UK Parliament; Representation; Gender; Legislative analysis; Political parties