American Botany and the Great War

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Performance of the SERT 2 spacecraft after 4 and one-half years in space

The SERT 2 satellite, launched in February, 1970, has recently been reactivated after being dormant for a year. The satellite orientation was changed to spin stabilization in 1973 and the satellite is now coning such that the active side of the solar arrays move into and out of the sun every 23 days. There is sufficient power to operate the ion thrusters for seven days of this cycle. The 2 ion thruster system was successfully operated; the electrical short in the accelerating grids had cleared during the year long dormant phase

CXCR4-targeted and MMP-responsive iron oxide nanoparticles for enhanced magnetic resonance imaging

MRI offers high spatial resolution with excellent tissue penetration but it has limited sensitivity and the commonly administered contrast agents lack specificity. In this study, two sets of iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) were synthesized that were designed to selectively undergo copper-free click conjugation upon sensing of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) enzymes, thereby leading to a self-assembled superparamagnetic nanocluster network with T2 signal enhancement properties. For this purpose, IONPs with bioorthogonal azide and alkyne surfaces masked by polyethylene glycol (PEG) layers tethered to CXCR4-targeted peptide ligands were synthesized and characterized. The IONPs were tested in vitro and T2 signal enhancements of around 160 % were measured when the IONPs were incubated with cells expressing MMP2/9 and CXCR4. Simultaneous systemic administration of the bioorthogonal IONPs in tumor-bearing mice demonstrated the signal-enhancing ability of these ‘smart’ self-assembling nanomaterials

Evolving the Anthropocene: linking multi-level selection with long-term social–ecological change

To what degree is cultural multi-level selection responsible for the rise of environmentally transformative human behaviors? And vice versa? From the clearing of vegetation using fire to the emergence of agriculture and beyond, human societies have increasingly sustained themselves through practices that enhance environmental productivity through ecosystem engineering. At the same time, human societies have increased in scale and complexity from mobile bands of hunter-gatherers to telecoupled world systems. We propose that these long-term changes are coupled through positive feedbacks among social and environmental changes, coevolved primarily through selection acting at the group level and above, and that this can be tested by combining archeological evidence with mechanistic experiments using an agent-based virtual laboratory (ABVL) approach. A more robust understanding of whether and how cultural multi-level selection couples human social change with environmental transformation may help in addressing the long-term sustainability challenges of the Anthropocene

Design considerations for large space electric power systems

As power levels of spacecraft rise to the 50 to 100 kW range, it becomes apparent that low voltage (28 V) dc power distribution and management systems will not operate efficiently at these higher power levels. The concept of transforming a solar array voltage at 150 V dc into a 1000 V ac distribution system operating at 20 kHz is examined. The transformation is accomplished with series-resonant inverter by using a rotary transformer to isolate the solar array from the spacecraft. The power can then be distributed in any desired method such as three phase delta to delta. The distribution voltage can be easily transformed to any desired load voltage and operating frequency. The reasons for the voltage limitations on the solar array due to plasma interactions and the many advantages of a high voltage, high frequency at distribution system are discussed

Cetacean AcousticWelfare in Wild and Managed-Care Settings: Gaps and Opportunities

Cetaceans are potentially at risk of poor welfare due to the animals’ natural reliance on sound and the persistent nature of anthropogenic noise, especially in the wild. Industrial, commercial, and recreational human activity has expanded across the seas, resulting in a propagation of sound with varying frequency characteristics. In many countries, current regulations are based on the potential to induce hearing loss; however, a more nuanced approach is needed when shaping regulations, due to other non-hearing loss effects including activation of the stress response, acoustic masking, frequency shifts, alterations in behavior, and decreased foraging. Cetaceans in managedcare settings share the same acoustic characteristics as their wild counterparts, but face different environmental parameters. There have been steps to integrate work on welfare in the wild and in managed-care contexts, and the domain of acoustics offers the opportunity to inform and connect information from both managed-care settings and the wild. Studies of subjects in managed-care give controls not available to wild studies, yet because of the conservation implications, wild studies on welfare impacts of the acoustic environment on cetaceans have largely been the focus, rather than those in captive settings. A deep integration of wild and managed-care-based acoustic welfare research can complement discovery in both domains, as captive studies can provide greater experimental control, while the more comprehensive domain of wild noise studies can help determine the gaps in managed-care based acoustic welfare science. We advocate for a new paradigm in anthropogenic noise research, recognizing the value that both wild and managed-care research plays in illustrating how noise pollution affects welfare including physiology, behavior, and cognition

Proceedings of the Spacecraft Charging Technology Conference: Executive Summary

Aerospace environments are reviewed in reference to spacecraft charging. Modelling, a theoretical scheme which can be used to describe the structure of the sheath around the spacecraft and to calculate the charging currents within, is discussed. Materials characterization is considered for experimental determination of the behavior of typical spacecraft materials when exposed to simulated geomagnetic substorm conditions. Materials development is also examined for controlling and minimizing spacecraft charging or at least for distributing the charge in an equipotential manner, using electrical conductive surfaces for materials exposed to space environment

Speech Communication

Contains reports on two research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-03)National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NsG-496)United States Air Force, Electronic Systems Division (Contract AF19(604)-6102

Speech Communication

Contains reports on two research projects.United States Air Force, Electronic Systems Division (Contract AF19(628)-3325)National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-03 and Grant NB-04332-01)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NsG-496

Wildfire, climate, and perceptions in northeast Oregon

Wildfire poses a rising threat in the western USA, fueled by synergies between historical fire suppression, changing land use, insects and disease, and shifts toward a drier, warmer climate. The rugged landscapes of northeast Oregon, with their historically forest- and resource-based economies, have been one of the areas affected. A 2011 survey found area residents highly concerned about fire and insect threats, but not about climate change. In 2014 we conducted a second survey that, to explore this apparent disconnect, included questions about past and future summertime (fire season) temperatures. Although regional temperatures have warmed in recent decades at twice the global rate, accompanied by increasing dryness and fire risks, the warming itself is recognized by only 40 % of our respondents. Awareness of recent warming proves unrelated to individual characteristics that might indicate experience on the land: old-timer versus newcomer status, year-round versus seasonal residence, and ownership of forested land. Perceptions of past warming and expectations of future warming are more common among younger respondents and less common among Tea Party supporters. The best-educated partisans stand farthest apart. Perceptions about local temperatures that are important for adaptation planning thus follow ideological patterns similar to beliefs about global climate change