Orbital atomic oxygen effects on materials: An overview of MSFC experiments on the STS-46 EOIM-3

The third Evaluation of Oxygen Interaction with Materials experiment was flown on Space Shuttle Mission STS-46 (July 31 - August 8, 1992), representing a joint effort of several NASA centers, universities, and contractors. This array of active instrumentation and material exposure sub-assemblies was integrated as a Shuttle cargo bay pallet experiment for investigating the effects of orbital atomic oxygen on candidate space materials. Marshall Space Flight Center contributed several passive exposure trays of material specimens, uniform stress and static stress material exposure fixtures, the Atomic Oxygen Resistance Monitor (AORM), and specimens of thermal coatings for the EOIM-3 variable exposure mechanisms. As a result of 42 hours of spacecraft velocity vector-oriented exposure during the later phases of the STS-46 mission in LEO, EOIM-3 materials were exposed to an atomic oxygen fluence of 2.2 x 10(exp 20) atoms/sq cm. In this paper, an overview is presented of the technical approaches and results from analyses of the MSFC flight specimens, fixtures, and the AORM. More detailed results from earlier EOIM missions, the LDEF, and from laboratory testing are included in associated papers of this conference session

Insecticidal activity of bio-oils and biochar as pyrolysis products and their combination with microbial agents against Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Pyrolysis technology for producing biochar and bio-oils can be used as a potential alternative to make biopesticides, which are urgently needed in integrated pest management (IPM). Insecticidal activity of three components of bio-oils: aqueous, organic and their mixture, was evaluated individually and with three different entomopathogens: the baculovirus Agrotis ipsilon nucleopolyhedrovirus (AgipMNPV), bacterium Bacillus thuringensis var. kurstaki (Bt) and fungus Beauveria bassiana (Bb) against black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel). The effect of alkaline conditions of spray-dried biochar was studied simultaneously with the microbial pathogens. Our bioassay results indicated that the organic bio-oil phase was the most active, causing 100% mortality after 24 h, when the median lethal toxicity values LC50s (mg/ml) were found. However, the bio-oil fractions applied alone tended to cause higher mortality of the exposed larvae than did either mix with the microbial agents. Also, the results revealed that maximum mortalities were found in spray-dried formulations made with biochar at pH 7.1. It was concluded that pyrolysis oils are effective insecticides, and biochar could be a useful additive in production and formulation of biopesticides. This interesting finding further promotes the use of pyrolysis bio-oils and biochar compounds as eco-friendly alternatives to replace conventional pesticides

Leptospirosis during Dengue Outbreak, Bangladesh

We collected acute-phase serum samples from febrile patients at 2 major hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh, during an outbreak of dengue fever in 2001. A total of 18% of dengue-negative patients tested positive for leptospirosis. The case-fatality rate among leptospirosis patients (5%) was higher than among dengue fever patients (1.2%)

1974

History of Golf (1) The Nine Toughest Holes in the World (2) Stockie Madness (3) Bartender, One More Round for Pythium (3) Panel: 1973 Turf Problems in Review - 1974 Possible Remedies (A1-A12) Movement of Water to a Holding Pond (A13) Maintenance of Low Budget, Short Season Golf Courses (A16) Turfgrass Fertilization (A18) Determining Turfgrass Fertilizer Needs (A25) Shortage of Plant Food and How to Adjust to Supply and Cost (A29) Panel: Tricalcium Arsenate - Use and Abuse (A33-A46) Operating and Maintaining Municipal Golf Courses (A48) Maintenance of a High Budget Golf Course (A51) Trends in Agricultural Education and Where Are the Emphases (A58) Maintenance of Municipal Parks and Recreation Areas (A60) Maintenance of Grass Tennis Courts (A63) Transition from Natural to Artificial Turf (A67) Plant materials for Outlying Areas (A71) Care of University Grounds (A76) Maintenance of Industrial Sites (A79) Turfgrass Diseases and Systemic Fungicides (A81) A Look at the Future (A 84) Watering of Golf Course Turf (A92

Educational Priorities for Children with Cri-Du-Chat Syndrome

There are few data on the educational needs of children with cri-du-chat syndrome: a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects learning and development. We therefore designed an Internet survey to identify parents’ educational priorities in relation to children’s level of need/ability. The survey listed 54 skills/behaviors (e.g., toileting, expresses wants and needs, and tantrums) representing 10 adaptive behavior domains (e.g., self-care, communication, and problem behavior). Parents rated their child’s current level of ability/performance with respect to each skill/behavior and indicated the extent to which training/treatment was a priority. Fifty-four surveys were completed during the 3-month data collection period. Parents identified nine high priority skills/behaviors. Results supported the view that parent priorities are often based on the child’s deficits and emergent skills, rather than on child strengths. Implications for educational practice include the need for competence to develop high priority skills/behaviors and the value of assessing children’s deficits and emergent skills to inform the content of individualized education plans

Estimating aboveground carbon density and its uncertainty in Borneo's structurally complex tropical forests using airborne laser scanning

Borneo contains some of the world's most biodiverse and carbon-dense tropical forest, but this 750 000 km(2) island has lost 62% of its old-growth forests within the last 40 years. Efforts to protect and restore the remaining forests of Borneo hinge on recognizing the ecosystem services they provide, including their ability to store and sequester carbon. Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is a remote sensing technology that allows forest structural properties to be captured in great detail across vast geographic areas. In recent years ALS has been integrated into statewide assessments of forest carbon in Neotropical and African regions, but not yet in Asia. For this to happen new regional models need to be developed for estimating carbon stocks from ALS in tropical Asia, as the forests of this region are structurally and composition-ally distinct from those found elsewhere in the tropics. By combining ALS imagery with data from 173 permanent forest plots spanning the lowland rainforests of Sabah on the island of Borneo, we develop a simple yet general model for estimating forest carbon stocks using ALS-derived canopy height and canopy cover as input metrics. An advanced feature of this new model is the propagation of uncertainty in both ALS- and ground-based data, allowing uncertainty in hectare-scale estimates of carbon stocks to be quantified robustly. We show that the model effectively captures variation in aboveground carbon stocks across extreme disturbance gradients spanning tall dipterocarp forests and heavily logged regions and clearly outperforms existing ALS-based models calibrated for the tropics, as well as currently available satellite-derived products. Our model provides a simple, generalized and effective approach for mapping forest carbon stocks in Borneo and underpins ongoing efforts to safeguard and facilitate the restoration of its unique tropical forests.Peer reviewe

Comparing DNA replication programs reveals large timing shifts at centromeres of endocycling cells in maize roots.

Plant cells undergo two types of cell cycles-the mitotic cycle in which DNA replication is coupled to mitosis, and the endocycle in which DNA replication occurs in the absence of cell division. To investigate DNA replication programs in these two types of cell cycles, we pulse labeled intact root tips of maize (Zea mays) with 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine (EdU) and used flow sorting of nuclei to examine DNA replication timing (RT) during the transition from a mitotic cycle to an endocycle. Comparison of the sequence-based RT profiles showed that most regions of the maize genome replicate at the same time during S phase in mitotic and endocycling cells, despite the need to replicate twice as much DNA in the endocycle and the fact that endocycling is typically associated with cell differentiation. However, regions collectively corresponding to 2% of the genome displayed significant changes in timing between the two types of cell cycles. The majority of these regions are small with a median size of 135 kb, shift to a later RT in the endocycle, and are enriched for genes expressed in the root tip. We found larger regions that shifted RT in centromeres of seven of the ten maize chromosomes. These regions covered the majority of the previously defined functional centromere, which ranged between 1 and 2 Mb in size in the reference genome. They replicate mainly during mid S phase in mitotic cells but primarily in late S phase of the endocycle. In contrast, the immediately adjacent pericentromere sequences are primarily late replicating in both cell cycles. Analysis of CENH3 enrichment levels in 8C vs 2C nuclei suggested that there is only a partial replacement of CENH3 nucleosomes after endocycle replication is complete. The shift to later replication of centromeres and possible reduction in CENH3 enrichment after endocycle replication is consistent with a hypothesis that centromeres are inactivated when their function is no longer needed

A Comparative Study of Leptospirosis and Dengue in Thai Children

Two of the most common causes of acute febrile illnesses among children in the tropics are leptospirosis and dengue. Early in illness, these two conditions are often indistinguishable and rapid laboratory confirmation of the infecting pathogen is generally not available. An enhanced ability to distinguish leptospirosis from dengue in children would guide clinicians and public health personnel in the appropriate use of limited healthcare resources

The Early Clinical Features of Dengue in Adults: Challenges for Early Clinical Diagnosis

Dengue infection in adults has become increasingly common throughout the world. As most of the clinical features of dengue have been described in children, we undertook a prospective study to determine the early symptoms and signs of dengue in adults. We show here that, overall, dengue cases presented with high rates of symptoms listed in the WHO 1997 or 2009 classification schemes for probable dengue fever thus resulting in high sensitivities of these schemes when applied for early diagnosis. However, symptoms such as myalgia, arthralgia, retro-orbital pain and mucosal bleeding were less frequently reported in older adults. This trend resulted in reduced sensitivity of the WHO classification schemes in older adults even though they showed increased risks of hospitalization and severe dengue. Instead, we suggest that older adults who present with fever and leukopenia should be tested for dengue, even in the absence of other symptoms. This could be useful for early clinical diagnosis in older adults so that they can be monitored and treated for severe dengue, which is especially important when an antiviral drug becomes available