Life Support and Habitation Systems: Crew Support and Protection for Human Exploration Missions Beyond Low Earth Orbit

Life Support and Habitation Systems (LSHS) is one of 10 Foundational Domains as part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s proposed Enabling Technology Development and Demonstration (ETDD) Program. LSHS will develop and mature technologies to sustain life on long duration human missions beyond Low Earth Orbit that are reliable, have minimal logistics supply and increase self-sufficiency. For long duration exploration missions, further closure of life support systems is paramount, including focus on key technologies for atmosphere revitalization, water recovery, waste management, thermal control and crew accommodation that recover additional consumable mass, reduce requirements for power, volume, heat rejection, crew involvement, and which have increased reliability and capability. Other areas of focus include technologies for radiation protection, environmental monitoring and fire protection. Beyond LEO, return to Earth will be constrained. The potability of recycled water and purity of regenerated air must be measured and certified aboard the spacecraft. Missions must be able to recover from fire events through early detection, use of non-toxic suppression agents, and operation of recovery systems that protect on-board Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) hardware. Without the protection of the Earth s geomagnetic field, missions beyond LEO must have improved radiation shielding and dosimetry, as well as warning systems to protect the crew against solar particle events. This paper will describe plans for the new LSHS Foundational Domain and mission factors that will shape its technology development portfolio

Mental Health of College Students

Abstract Mental health is a social topic that is becoming more of an essential aspect of the quality of life for individuals, especially in the young adult population globally. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, depression rates quickly increased, especially in the adolescent and young adult populations causing opportunities in order to socialize and utilize recreation to decrease. This caused the means to seek treatment to be unavailable or unaffordable. Over a 10-year time period, the rate of treatment for mental health issues for college students in the United States increased by 15%, and those that experienced a chronic diagnosis increased by 14%. Even though the stigma of mental health, especially depression has declined in society, the prevalence of the disorder continued to rise, even though the drop in quality of life was acknowledged (Lipson et al., 2019). This analysis attempts to measure if there is a statistical relationship between university students’ education status and their mental health status, specifically depression and anxiety. The dataset was conducted on college students through a Google survey of an unidentified university and analyzed through SPSS. The dataset was collected from a random population within the school population that was invited to take the survey. The hypothesis is that there is a positive correlation between decreased GPA status and increased prevalence of depression and that an increased GPA status is related to a higher prevalence of anxiety. The independent variable used is reported GPA and the dependent variables are the reported depression and anxiety statuses. Secondary variables of registered degree and reported treatment outsourced were also considered. These variables lead to the research questions “Does a lower GPA indicate an increased chance of experiencing depression , as well as does a higher GPA indicate a higher chance of experiencing anxiety in university students?

The illusion of competency versus the desirability of expertise: Seeking a common standard for support professions in sport

In this paper we examine and challenge the competency-based models which currently dominate accreditation and development systems in sport support disciplines, largely the sciences and coaching. Through consideration of exemplar shortcomings, the limitations of competency-based systems are presented as failing to cater for the complexity of decision making and the need for proactive experimentation essential to effective practice. To provide a better fit with the challenges of the various disciplines in their work with performers, an alternative approach is presented which focuses on the promotion, evaluation and elaboration of expertise. Such an approach resonates with important characteristics of professions, whilst also providing for the essential ‘shades of grey’ inherent in work with human participants. Key differences between the approaches are considered through exemplars of evaluation processes. The expertise-focused method, although inherently more complex, is seen as offering a less ambiguous and more positive route, both through more accurate representation of essential professional competence and through facilitation of future growth in proficiency and evolution of expertise in practice. Examples from the literature are also presented, offering further support for the practicalities of this approach

Exploring leadership in multi-sectoral partnerships

This article explores some critical aspects of leadership in the context of multi-sectoral partnerships. It focuses on leadership in practice and asks the question, `How do managers experience and perceive leadership in such partnerships?' The study contributes to the debate on whether leadership in a multi-sectoral partnership context differs from that within a single organization. It is based on the accounts of practising managers working in complex partnerships. The article highlights a number of leadership challenges faced by those working in multi-sectoral partnerships. Partnership practitioners were clear that leadership in partnerships was more complex than in single organizations. However, it was more difficult for them to agree a consensus on the essential nature of leadership in partnership. We suggest that a first-, second- and third-person approach might be a way of better interpreting leadership in the context of partnerships

The BTB-zinc finger transcription factor abrupt acts as an epithelial oncogene in drosophila melanogaster through maintaining a progenitor-like cell state

The capacity of tumour cells to maintain continual overgrowth potential has been linked to the commandeering of normal self-renewal pathways. Using an epithelial cancer model in Drosophila melanogaster, we carried out an overexpression screen for oncogenes capable of cooperating with the loss of the epithelial apico-basal cell polarity regulator, scribbled (scrib), and identified the cell fate regulator, Abrupt, a BTB-zinc finger protein. Abrupt overexpression alone is insufficient to transform cells, but in cooperation with scrib loss of function, Abrupt promotes the formation of massive tumours in the eye/antennal disc. The steroid hormone receptor coactivator, Taiman (a homologue of SRC3/AIB1), is known to associate with Abrupt, and Taiman overexpression also drives tumour formation in cooperation with the loss of Scrib. Expression arrays and ChIP-Seq indicates that Abrupt overexpression represses a large number of genes, including steroid hormone-response genes and multiple cell fate regulators, thereby maintaining cells within an epithelial progenitor-like state. The progenitor-like state is characterised by the failure to express the conserved Eyes absent/Dachshund regulatory complex in the eye disc, and in the antennal disc by the failure to express cell fate regulators that define the temporal elaboration of the appendage along the proximo-distal axis downstream of Distalless. Loss of scrib promotes cooperation with Abrupt through impaired Hippo signalling, which is required and sufficient for cooperative overgrowth with Abrupt, and JNK (Jun kinase) signalling, which is required for tumour cell migration/invasion but not overgrowth. These results thus identify a novel cooperating oncogene, identify mammalian family members of which are also known oncogenes, and demonstrate that epithelial tumours in Drosophila can be characterised by the maintenance of a progenitor-like state

Histone deacetylases as new therapy targets for platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer

Introduction: In developed countries, ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Due to the nonspecific symptomatology associated with the disease many patients with ovarian cancer are diagnosed late, which leads to significantly poorer prognosis. Apart from surgery and radiotherapy, a substantial number of ovarian cancer patients will undergo chemotherapy and platinum based agents are the mainstream first-line therapy for this disease. Despite the initial efficacy of these therapies, many women relapse; therefore, strategies for second-line therapies are required. Regulation of DNA transcription is crucial for tumour progression, metastasis and chemoresistance which offers potential for novel drug targets. Methods: We have reviewed the existing literature on the role of histone deacetylases, nuclear enzymes regulating gene transcription. Results and conclusion: Analysis of available data suggests that a signifant proportion of drug resistance stems from abberant gene expression, therefore HDAC inhibitors are amongst the most promising therapeutic targets for cancer treatment. Together with genetic testing, they may have a potential to serve as base for patient-adapted therapies

Leading school networks, hybrid leadership in action?

A range of different constructs are used to describe and define the way that leadership operates in education settings. This range can be presented as binary categories of leadership, in which either one, or the other form of leadership is preferred, but not both. An example of this is the contrast made between solo and distributed leadership. A more sophisticated alternative has been proposed, which is to consider leadership as a hybrid activity, one which entails a range of approaches inspired by varying ideals. Taking this ‘hybrid’ notion of leadership this article explores the nature of leadership in networks of schools. Illustrated with data from three case studies of school networks this article highlights some of the issues and tensions in the enactment of the hybrid forms of leadership encountered in these networks. This article concludes with some reflections on the adoption of hybrid notions of leadership in researching and enacting educational leadership and specifically on the place of school networks in that consideration

Weight Loss Increases Adipose Macrophage Cytokine Production and Adipose Bacterial Clearance

Innate immune cells can develop memory-like qualities from an initial stimulus, which enhances their effector functions to a secondary challenge. Based on the initial stimuli, innate immune memory has been shown to improve pathogen defense or worsen chronic metabolic disease. We have previously shown that weight loss induces innate immune memory which may worsen diabetes risk following weight regain. However, it is not clear if weight loss induces any protection in infection. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of diet-induced weight gain and loss on survival, bacterial clearance, and macrophage activation in a mouse model of infection. METHODS: Male C57BL/6J mice were placed on 9-week cycles of low-fat or high-fat diets for a total of 18 weeks to elicit lean, weight gain, or weight loss groups. At 18 weeks, all mice were inoculated intravenously with 2.5x10^8 CFU of Staphylococcus aureus. Tissues were collected from 10 mice/group at day 3 and the remaining mice were followed for survival. RESULTS: There was no difference in survival between lean, weight gain, and weight loss groups (p=0.172). However, weight gain mice had significantly elevated blood neutrophils (p\u3c0.05) and bacterial burden in the kidney (p\u3c0.05). Weight loss mice had significantly elevated plasma TNF-a (p\u3c0.05) and adipose macrophage cytokine production (p\u3c0.01) that correlated with increased bacterial clearance in adipose tissue (p\u3c0.05). CONCLUSION: Thus, we conclude that weight loss- induced innate memory and the associated cytokine production may improve local pathogen, or anti-microbial, defense

The Associations Between Pulmonary Function and Body Composition Parameters in Healthy, Non-Smoking Adults

Spirometry, or pulmonary function testing, is a commonly used method to assess lung function and to determine the severity of lung disease (e.g., COPD, Asthma). Current literature has identified relationships between pulmonary function and body composition in athletes and individuals suffering from various diseases (e.g., COPD, Asthma). However, there is limited research establishing this relationship in metabolically healthy individuals (e.g., healthy, overweight, obese). PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between body composition and pulmonary function in metabolically healthy, non-smoking adults. METHODS: 109 participants (51=M and 58=F, age = 42.3 ± 11.4, BF% 24.8 ± 8.4) connected to the use of their data and met the criteria for inclusion into this study. Inclusion criteria for the study were: 1) 25-65 years old, 2) metabolically healthy in accordance with current metabolic and lipid standards, 3) no diagnosed pulmonary diseases (e.g., asthma, sleep apnea), 3) no diagnosed cardiovascular diseases, events or surgeries, 4) no diagnosed renal or kidney disease, and 5) no previous or current chronic diseases (e.g., cancer, T1DM, T2DM). As part of the outreach program, all participants completed a standardized blood draw following an overnight fast. All blood samples were sent to Clinical Pathologies Laboratory to assess their metabolic and lipid profiles. Following the blood draw, participants underwent a body composition analysis using a DEXA. Finally, participants completed a pulmonary function assessment measuring forced vital capacity (FVC), slow vital capacity (SVC), and maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV). RESULTS: Individuals with higher body fat percentage (BF%) were negatively correlated with a reduction in FVC, MVV, and FEV1 (p \u3c 0.01). Corresponding linear regressions showed for every point increase in BF%, FVC decreases by 49.1% (CI = -.084, -.041; p \u3c .001), FEV1 decreases 45.5% (CI = -.068, -.030; p \u3c .001), and MVV decreases by 51.6%(CI = -3.626, -1.708; p \u3c .001). Additionally it was found that for every point increase in BMI and L-Spine BMC, participant FVC increases 20.5% (CI = .010, .094; p \u3c .001) and 29% (CI = .009, .032; p \u3c .001), and FEV1 increases 13.5% (CI = -.008, .065; p \u3c .001) and 32% (CI = .009, .029; p \u3c .001) respectively. Moreover, results showed that increases in BMI and L-Spine BMC had no statistical significance increase in MVV. CONCLUSION: Individuals who have more LMM, higher BMC, and lower total BF% show better results in their lung function. However, as total BF% decreases, their pulmonary function shows a steady decline. In conclusion, in order to preserve pulmonary function in healthy obese and overweight populations, individuals should aim to reduce BF% and increase overall LMM