Evaluating the High School Lunar Research Projects Program

The Center for Lunar Science and Exploration (CLSE), a collaboration between the Lunar and Planetary Institute and NASA s Johnson Space Center, is one of seven member teams of the NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI). In addition to research and exploration activities, the CLSE team is deeply invested in education and outreach. In support of NASA s and NLSI s objective to train the next generation of scientists, CLSE s High School Lunar Research Projects program is a conduit through which high school students can actively participate in lunar science and learn about pathways into scientific careers. The objectives of the program are to enhance 1) student views of the nature of science; 2) student attitudes toward science and science careers; and 3) student knowledge of lunar science. In its first three years, approximately 168 students and 28 teachers from across the United States have participated in the program. Before beginning their research, students undertake Moon 101, a guided-inquiry activity designed to familiarize them with lunar science and exploration. Following Moon 101, and guided by a lunar scientist mentor, teams choose a research topic, ask their own research question, and design their own research approach to direct their investigation. At the conclusion of their research, teams present their results to a panel of lunar scientists. This panel selects four posters to be presented at the annual Lunar Science Forum held at NASA Ames. The top scoring team travels to the forum to present their research in person

Point Count Censusing from a Submersible to Estimate Reef Fish Abundance Over Large Areas

Point count estimates of fish abundance were taken from a research submersible at thirty-two sites on a 0.5 km2 patch reef on the Florida Middle Grounds, off the West Florida Shelf. Of the fifty species recorded, nine species were selected for total population estimates based on their behavior and visibility. Data from the individual point counts were extrapolated to the entire reef. Best estimates of total populations of these species varied from 320 for the short big eye (Pristigenys alta) to 307,600 for the purple reeffish (Chromis scotti). The estimate for the commercially important red grouper (Epinephelus morio) was 1,560, a concentration reasonably similar to the 960 simultaneously estimated from a mark-recapture assessment

Perceived Health Issues: A perspective from East-African immigrants

This Study explores Somali and Ethiopian community leaders’ perceptions about health issues in their communities and the barriers to access and utilization of primary health care services. Fourteen in-depth interviews were conducted with community leaders and thematic analysis was used to analyze interviews. Participants identified chronic diseases, the unhealthy behaviors associated with them, and mental health as major health issues. Infectious diseases were secondarily mentioned as important health concerns. Lack of insurance and limited understanding of the health system were viewed as barriers to utilizing health care services. Other identified needs were: better education within immigrant communities about major health issues, enhanced cultural awareness of health care providers, improved health care access, and assistance with the acculturation process. Recommendations to improve the communities’ health status included enhancing providers' cultural competence, educating immigrants about major health issues, and increasing mental health care access

Population Changes and Location-Specific Differences for Otolith-Derived Age and Growth of Recreationally Harvested Spotted Seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus) From Alabama in 2007

Spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), is a nonmigratory game fish common in the Gulf of Mexico that is important in estuarine ecosystems. Population dynamics of spotted seatrout were examined using otolith-based age-and-growth models derived from observed and back-calculated length-at-age values. These data were used to identify sex-based differences and annular variation. Recent growth was quantified, using marginal increment analysis for comparisons between sexes and the two major bays in Alabama (Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound). Sex ratios were also compared for these locations. Our results show that females were larger than males and that fish collected in Mobile Bay were larger than those from Mississippi Sound. Combined data from both bays resulted in a sex ratio that approached 1 : 1; however, examination of each bay individually showed that the Mississippi Sound had a female-biased population and that Mobile Bay had a male-biased population. Differences in observed length-at-age measurements became evident between males and females by age 2 with females typically larger than males, whereas the maximum age for males was greater. The oldest females were age 5 and the oldest males were age 8. Compared to previous estimates of trout growth in Alabama, results showed an increase in the modal length of fish and increased growth rates. Results suggest faster growth of the fish in the current population and decreased harvest of larger fish compared to historic estimates. This may be indicative of ecosystem-wide changes in spotted seatrout populations and highlights the need to closely monitor this population

Development Toward a Ground-Based Interferometric Phased Array for Radio Detection of High Energy Neutrinos

The in-ice radio interferometric phased array technique for detection of high energy neutrinos looks for Askaryan emission from neutrinos interacting in large volumes of glacial ice, and is being developed as a way to achieve a low energy threshold and a large effective volume at high energies. The technique is based on coherently summing the impulsive Askaryan signal from multiple antennas, which increases the signal-to-noise ratio for weak signals. We report here on measurements and a simulation of thermal noise correlations between nearby antennas, beamforming of impulsive signals, and a measurement of the expected improvement in trigger efficiency through the phased array technique. We also discuss the noise environment observed with an analog phased array at Summit Station, Greenland, a possible site for an interferometric phased array for radio detection of high energy neutrinos.Comment: 13 Pages, 14 Figure

Place-based Politics and Nested Deprivation in the U.K.: Beyond Cities-towns, ‘Two Englands’ and the ‘Left Behind’

‘Place-based explanations’ of politics in the U.K. tell sweeping narratives about ‘Two Englands’, or of sizeable regions of the country that have been ‘Left Behind’, reinforcing popular accounts of a North–South or city-town divide. We introduce the concept of nested deprivation – deprivation that may occur in just one housing estate or even one row of flats within neighbourhoods that are otherwise affluent. We report on intensive fieldwork in 8 neighbourhoods varying in relative affluence and density of population (including urban, suburban/satellite, market town or rural village). Three key themes and consequences emerge for those living in nested deprivation in relatively affluent and geographically dispersed contexts: (a) either disconnection from or entrapment within the local economy; (b) social isolation and atomisation; and (c) powerlessness to affect politics. ‘Place-based’ explanations of rapid and radical changes to political participation in Britain need to take fine-grained geographical distinctions much more seriously. Our study provides evidence that the rising tides in affluent areas are drowning some residents rather than lifting all boats. Where deprivation is dispersed and then nested within mostly affluent constituencies it does not allow for the political mobilisation among communities of interest that is a necessary condition for pluralist representative democracies

Binomial Sampling of Western Flower Thrips Infesting Flowering Greenhouse Crops Using Incidence-Mean Models

Accurate assessments of thrips density are important for effective thrips management programs. Complicating the development of sampling plans for western flower thrips (WFT) Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) in greenhouse crops are the facts that they are small, difficult to detect, and attack a variety of crops, which may be grown concurrently within the same greenhouse. Binomial sampling was evaluated as an alternative to sampling plans based on complete enumeration. This work included comparison of incidence-mean models across diverse plant species (impatiens, cucumber, and marigold) to determine the possibility of using a generic model for sampling WFT in mixed crops. Data from laboratory-processed flower samples revealed that infestation rates calculated using a tally threshold of three thrips per flower provided the best estimates of thrips population densities in each tested crop and in the combined crops (composite data set). Distributions of thrips populations were similar across the three plant species, indicating potential for development of a generic sampling plan for mixed floral crops. Practical sampling methods for simple and complex flowers tested in the greenhouse (in situ) were evaluated via construction of binomial count operating characteristic functions. In the case of simple flowers (impatiens), visual inspections provided adequate estimates of thrips infestation rates at a low tally threshold, which ultimately enabled accurate estimation of thrips densities. However, visual inspection and tap-sampling of complex flowers (marigold) provided unreliable results. These findings indicate that use of binomial sampling methods in mixed floral crops will require development of more accurate sampling technique

Flow and retreat of the Late Quaternary Pine Island-Thwaites palaeo-ice stream, West Antarctica

Multibeam swath bathymetry and sub-bottom profiler data are used to establish constraints on the flow and retreat history of a major palaeo-ice stream that carried the combined discharge from the parts of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet now occupied by the Pine Island and Thwaites glacier basins. Sets of highly elongated bedforms show that, at the last glacial maximum, the route of the Pine Island-Thwaites palaeo-ice stream arced north-northeast following a prominent cross-shelf trough. In this area, the grounding line advanced to within similar to 68 km of, and probably reached, the shelf edge. Minimum ice thickness is estimated at 715 m on the outer shelf, and we estimate a minimum ice discharge of similar to 108 km(3) yr(-1) assuming velocities similar to today's Pine Island glacier (similar to 2.5 km yr(-1)). Additional bed forms observed in a trough northwest of Pine Island Bay likely formed via diachronous ice flows across the outer shelf and demonstrate switching ice stream behavior. The "style" of ice retreat is also evident in five grounding zone wedges, which suggest episodic deglaciation characterized by halts in grounding line migration up-trough. Stillstands occurred in association with changes in ice bed gradient, and phases of inferred rapid retreat correlate to higher bed slopes, supporting theoretical studies that show bed geometry as a control on ice margin recession. However, estimates that individual wedges could have formed within several centuries still imply a relatively rapid overall retreat. Our findings show that the ice stream channeled a substantial fraction of West Antarctica's discharge in the past, just as the Pine Island and Thwaites glaciers do today