Establishing a Framework of Nitrogen Acquisition for Martian Agriculture

Nitrogen (N) forms a crucial part of DNA, proteins, and other biomolecules and is an essential element to life. Luckily, N is abundant in Earth’s and Mars’ atmospheres in its atmospheric form (N2); however, plants and humans are unable to metabolize it in this state. N2 gas is only able to be consumed by undergoing nitrogen fixation, an intensive process that breaks the extremely-stable N ≡ N bond in order to form bioavailable ammonia (NH3). Many prokaryotes are capable of nitrogen fixation. Plants may uptake fixed N from these, which are then consumed by other lifeforms including humans as a source of nitrogen. Due to an apparent lack of biological activity on Mars, it is estimated that N will be overwhelmingly present as N2. If humans want to permanently settle Mars, which demands in situ food production, they must devise a means to efficiently fix nitrogen to enable agrarian success. Industrial nitrogen fixation is infrastructurally intensive, and this work therefore elects to evaluate biological nitrogen fixation as an avenue to Martian cultivation. Three different microorganisms are evaluated for their capacity to fix nitrogen: Rhodopseudomonas palustris (R. palustris), Azotobacter vinelandii (A. vinelandii), and Azospira suillum (A. suillum). Initial efforts to culture these in-lab are detailed. An outline for a modular system in which these organisms may be advantageously used is proposed to be evaluated with further research and studies.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2021/1018/thumbnail.jp

Enabling Mars Farms Through Microbial Remediation of Wastewater

This research evaluates the capacity of photoheterotrophic purple non-sulfur bacteria to utilize wastewater organics to grow and produce nitrogen-rich biomass. Inhibitory components of wastewater are determined. A scaled up production system is designed and utilized to culture bacteria in wastewater. The application of this technology in the production of agriculturally viable amounts of nitrogen-rich biomass is evaluated in the context of a Mars mission and enabling agriculture in a barren environment.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2020/1095/thumbnail.jp

Utilizing NASA-Funded Biotechnology to Improve Resource Management on Earth and in Space

USU senior Tyler is a Peak Summer Research Fellow studying biological engineering. Nitrogen, essential in soil fertilizer for crops, is produced traditionally in a way that uses natural gas and produces CO2. Tyler’s project has been to apply methods developed by NASA for astronauts to conserve and reuse resources to create nitrogen using wastewater and bacteria. Using this method would not only take advantage of waste we already have, but doesn’t produce CO2 and contribute to pollution. Tyler hopes to become a chemical engineer in the space industry and credits his undergraduate research experience. “There’s something about having to obtain knowledge that truly is brand-new that pushes the mind out of its comfort zone…I am an entirely new and better person.

Shifting the Burden On Pay-For-Delay Challenges: Analyzing AB 824’s Effects On Reverse Payment Settlements and Drug Costs

Antitrust scholars and agencies have recognized the anticompetitive impact of reverse payment settlements—in which branded and generic drug companies settle patent disputes, typically by delaying the entry of generics into the market. Despite clear competition concerns, these settlements are typically subject to a rule of reason analysis that puts the burden on enforcers and plaintiffs to prove their anticompetitive harms. Recent California legislation—AB 824—shifts the burden to the settling drug companies to prove their arrangement is not anticompetitive. AB 824 presents an opportunity for advocates of lower drug costs but still faces hurdles and shortfalls. This Note examines the efficacy of the legislation, the likelihood of it surviving pending constitutional challenges, and how it fits into broader efforts at lowering drug costs for consumers

Never Enough: EU Military Spending Challenges in the Face of Open Conflict

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 sent a jolt of tension and anxiety throughout the European Union, as well as the rest of the world. Lawmakers and strategists scrambled to find a suitable response in the immediate aftermath and now, a year later, the conversation continues as to what the best course of action is for the EU. Should it amplify and radically increase its supranational defense budget and if so, how should it accomplish this monumental task? How much of it should fall on the Member States to meet the two percent threshold as laid out by NATO? The EU has come to a proverbial fork in the road. For decades, the EU has heavily relied on the United States for its military capabilities and provisions under the NATO umbrella. However, the current Russian aggression cannot be ignored or kept at arm’s length. This war has revealed a certain fragility within the EU’s defense infrastructure and as such, there are lingering questions. What precisely does the EU institutional leadership plan to do with its 8-billion-euro European Defence Fund (EDF)? Where does the European Peace Facility (EPF) fit in? How much variation is there among the national budgets? What is the quantifiable output of the EU private defense industry? Where is the divide between funding for research and development vs. that of acquisition and procurement in these European Commission-led efforts? This paper seeks to analyze these entities, as well as the responses of EU and national leadership. The EU has certainly taken productive steps in the past year to unify and project strength. Nevertheless, can the EU evolve to treating the US military as a true partner rather than a strategic fail-safe, as HR-VP Borrell and others advocate for? It will take years for experts to assess the overall impact of the war. In the meantime, it is important to consider what is unfolding in real time across national parliaments and in the European Commission. Russia does not show any signs of slowing down their assault on Ukraine. Where does that leave the EU? How can it respond in a timely, effective way without necessitating NATO’s primary involvement? Ultimately, the war in Ukraine has had terrible consequences, but it has also drawn attention to the supranational experiment’s precarious predicament

Sexual assault and the doctrine of chances in the courtroom

Sexual assault can have devastating and long-lasting effects on victims, but many assailants get away with their crime without being prosecuted. The doctrine of chances is a rule of evidence allowing evidences of past crimes, wrongs, or acts to show it is unlikely a defendant would be repeatedly and innocently involved in similar, suspicious circumstances. Given that about 63.3% of assailants are repeat offenders, the doctrine of chances could effectively be used in sexual assault cases. The main objective is to determine a precise probabilistic threshold for allowing the use of the doctrine of chances in sexual assault cases such that more evidence may be admissible in cases of a repeat offender

Effect of Prior Exposure at Elevated Temperatures on Tensile Properties and Stress-Strain Behavior of Four Non-Oxide Ceramic Matrix Composites

Thermal stability of four non-oxide ceramic matrix composites was studied. The materials studied were commercially available composites: SiC/SiNC; C/SiC; C/SiC-B4C (C/HYPR-SiCTM); and SiC/SiC-B4C (SiC/HYPR-SiCTM). COI Ceramics manufactured the SiC/SiNC and C/SiC composites using polymer infiltration and pyrolysis (PIP). The C/HYPR-SiCTM and SiC/HYPR-SiCTM CMCs were manufactured by Hyper-Therm High-Temperature Composites using chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). All four composites rely on a dense matrix for strength, stiffness, and oxidation protection. Fiber coating provides a fiber-matrix interface that allows fiber-matrix debonding and fiber pullout to occur, imparting fracture toughness to the CMC. The SiC/SiNC, C/SiC, and C/HYPR-SiCTM composites were heat treated in laboratory air for 10 h, 20 h, 40 h, and 100 h at over-temp (1300°C) and for 100 h at operating temperature (1200°C). The SiC/HYPR-SiCTM composite was heat treated in laboratory air for 10 h, 20 h, 40 h, and 100 h at over-temp (1400°C) and for 100 h at operating temperature (1300°C). Room-temperature tensile properties of heat treated and virgin material were measured, and effect of prior heat treatment on tensile properties was evaluated. Prior heat treatment caused a reduction of tensile strength of at least 10% for all materials. Both PIP-produced CMCs exhibited increased fiber-matrix bonding due to high temperature exposures, contributing to brittle fracture of clumped fiber bundles and thus reduced tensile strength. Both CVI-produced CMCs exhibited considerable matrix voids due to poor infiltration during fabrication. Void prevalence and the associated stress concentrations contributed to premature matrix cracking and composite failure. The CVI CMCs were susceptible to degraded tensile properties and brittle composite fracture due to strengthened fiber-matrix interfaces and fiber degradation caused by prior heat treatment

Gender Diversity in Business Schools: Examining the Learning Differences between Traditional Undergraduate Male and Female Students

This study was motivated by the researcher’s interest in the gender disparity occurring in U.S. business schools. Female representation in business schools reached a highpoint in 2002-03 with women earning 50.6% of business degrees; however, by 2013-14 women were earning less than half, 47.4%, of business degrees. Moreover, female representation in business schools was not proportional to their representation in the overall university with females earning 57.1% of all bachelor’s degrees. The purpose of the current study was to investigate differences in the learning styles and learning experiences between male and female traditional undergraduate business students to recommend strategies for business schools that address the unique learning needs of female students. The research included input from junior and senior business students from two small, private Midwestern universities. The researcher gathered quantitative and qualitative input from 176 students using a survey instrument with closed and open-ended questions and qualitative input from 22 students using four gender-specific focus groups. The findings of the research revealed that there were no significant differences between the learning styles of male and female students; however, there was a significant difference between male and female student’s group experiences and attitudes toward male professors vs. female professors. The findings of this study will provide business school leadership with valuable information for recruiting and retaining female college students by recommending ways to create more appealing learning environments for women