US and foreign alloy cross-reference database

Marshall Space Flight Center and other NASA installations have a continuing requirement for materials data from other countries involved with the development of joint international Spacelab experiments and other hardware. This need includes collecting data for common alloys to ascertain composition, physical properties, specifications, and designations. This data is scattered throughout a large number of specification statements, standards, handbooks, and other technical literature which make a manual search both tedious and often limited in extent. In recognition of this problem, a computerized database of information on alloys was developed along with the software necessary to provide the desired functions to access this data. The intention was to produce an initial database covering aluminum alloys, along with the program to provide a user-interface to the data, and then later to extend and refine the database to include other nonferrous and ferrous alloys

Investigation into the variations of moisture content of two buildings constructed with light earth walls

This paper briefly describes the background to light earth buildings and details a series of moisture measurements undertaken upon the clay and straw, (light earth) constructed walls of two UK based buildings. The methodology of measurement that was based upon previous studies undertaken on walls made from straw bales is described. A novel ‘in-wall’ wet heating system used in one of the two buildings allows the investigation of the effects of direct wall heating upon the distribution of moisture in the walls. The influence of exterior and interior temperature and humidity are described as are the variations in moisture migration introduced by the in-wall heating system. It was concluded that both buildings have exterior wall moisture content readings that indicate little risk of degradation due to interior wall moisture levels (although the Studio walls do exhibit higher and if suffered over long time periods, dangerous moisture readings for part of the measurement period)

Salient features of contextual interference and knowledge of results

The current study investigated the relationship between the contextual interference effect and knowledge of results manipulations. Specifically, three variations of a relative timing task were presented in either a blocked or random schedule, and participants were either required to error estimate or given no instruction concerning estimation. A 2 (Acquisition Context) x 2 (Error Estimation Frequency) ANOVA was used to analyze absolute error (AE), variable error (VE) and a relative timing measure (AE(prop.)). The main effects that there was a blocked advantage during retention. In addition, a 100% estimation advantage existed for AE and VE, but was not present for AE(prop.). These results indicate that the relative difficulty of the task may have been too high to produce a random group advantage and that error estimation of relative timing may have been too much for the participant to process. In conclusion, it was proposed that the two factors may interact, but relative difficulty of the task needs to be taken into account

Aspects of Larval Ecology of Squilla Empusa (Crustacea, Stomatopoda) in Chesapeake Bay

Larvae of Squilla empusa were collected from the plankton and were laboratory-reared in 16 combinations of temperature and salinity to determine their tolerances. Larvae survived longer and molted more frequently when reared at 25%, and 20° or 25° C, which corresponds to the natural conditions of Chesapeake Bay when the larvae were collected. A 2 year planktonic survey conducted in the lower region of the bay by the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences was compared with a survey made at the bay mouth in 1976. The seasonal occurrence of Squilla empusa larvae extended from the last week of July until the first week of October with a peak abundance occurring about the first week of September. The peak abundance in the lower region of the bay was 0.37 larva/m3 in 1971 and 0.59 larva/m3 in 1972. Four of the nine stages were not captured.Collections taken at the bay mouth in 1976 with a 1/2 m net captured all stages and the peak abundance was determined to be 0.27 larva/m3. The larvae were more abundant in the higher salinity waters of the channel areas and eastern portion of lower Chesapeake Bay. A large-mouth plankton net with relatively coarse mesh should be towed at night to ensure the collection of all larval stages since the larger larvae are apparently able to avoid small nets

An Assessment of Uncertainty in Atmospheric State Measurements on Airborne Platforms

Several federal agencies, including NASA, maintain a fleet of highly specialized research aircraft which are routinely used in airborne science field studies. Well characterized measurements of atmospheric state parameters, such as pressure, ambient temperature, and wind speed are paramount in the ability to perform higher level analysis towards complex research questions. Even though measurements have been made over several decades, they remain a challenge given the compressibility of air along the aircraft axis, instrument placement along the aircraft skin, and the potential for probe contamination. Therefore, a set of redundant measurements is often acquired to ensure a complete instrument time series. This uncertainty assessment takes advantage of various inter-comparison techniques devised to diagnose the temporal and spatial fidelity of atmospheric state parameters, often between different instrumentation sources and aircraft assets. To be discussed are the impacts of this ongoing study, current limitations to the airborne probes, and plans for future work

An Online Educational Resource on Adaptive Sports for People with Spinal Cord Injuries

A spinal cord injury (SCI) has a serious impact on an individual’s participation in everyday life activities, leading to a high risk of a sedentary life-style. There is a paucity of research pertaining to adaptive sport participation post-injury and the role of occupational therapy (OT). Additionally, there are limited resources available that inform people with SCI on the benefits of adapted sports or where to go to engage in them. As such, this paper describes the development of a doctoral capstone project to address this need. The purpose of this capstone project was to create an educational web page that will overcome the barriers to sport participation for people in wheelchairs, by providing benefits and links to sport organizations to promote participation.The methods that were used to conduct this capstone project were survey’s, checklists, interviews, observation and a literature review to create an online educational resource. Over a 16-week capstone experience, a 10-section website was developed informed by the literature and input from key stakeholders. OT practitioners and the SCI population will benefit from the results of this capstone project.The availability of the created online resources will serve as a resource to clinicians to promote engagement in adaptive sports among their clients with SCIs. Additionally, the website will inform people with SCIs of the availability of adaptive sports for people with SCIs.https://soar.usa.edu/otdcapstonesfall2021/1023/thumbnail.jp