Ames life science telescience testbed evaluation

Eight surrogate spaceflight mission specialists participated in a real-time evaluation of remote coaching using the Ames Life Science Telescience Testbed facility. This facility consisted of three remotely located nodes: (1) a prototype Space Station glovebox; (2) a ground control station; and (3) a principal investigator's (PI) work area. The major objective of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of telescience techniques and hardware to support three realistic remote coaching science procedures: plant seed germinator charging, plant sample acquisition and preservation, and remote plant observation with ground coaching. Each scenario was performed by a subject acting as flight mission specialist, interacting with a payload operations manager and a principal investigator expert. All three groups were physically isolated from each other yet linked by duplex audio and color video communication channels and networked computer workstations. Workload ratings were made by the flight and ground crewpersons immediately after completing their assigned tasks. Time to complete each scientific procedural step was recorded automatically. Two expert observers also made performance ratings and various error assessments. The results are presented and discussed

Strategies for Managing Knowledge in Organisations: A Conceptual Study

Strategies for managing and safeguarding knowledge are crucial for organisations, which calls for proper preservation and retention. The ability to create closer ties and better understanding between knowledge management (KM) and organisational performance is by establishing strategies. Strategies are used to plan, monitor and assess knowledge in organisations. Several factors need to be considered when deciding on a particular strategy to adopt, as the choice of strategy depends on the nature of the organisation. This study sought to analyse the strategies that organisations deploy to facilitate KM practices. It was discovered that the main strategies used to promote and safeguard knowledge at the universities were coaching, e-learning, communities of practice, mentorship, apprenticeship, and storytelling as the main strategies for managing knowledge. Organisations, therefore, put in place policies to encourage the use of these strategies. These are essential for organisations who want to maintain a coherent and align their practice

Exploring the extent to which Universities in Ghana Deploy Knowledge Management Processes in their Activities

Universities are knowledge-based organisations. They are using knowledge as a key resource and for competitive advantage. Knowledge management practices seems to be suitable for universities because they possess the conducive environment and systems. This study sought to assess the extent to which KM was practiced at the universities and the mechanisms and initiatives implemented to promote KM processes at the universities. The study adopted the survey and mixed method research approach to collect data from 118 respondents from three universities in Ghana (public, private and professional). Questionnaires (consisting of blend of closed and open-ended questions) were used to collect primary data. The study established that despite the high presence of knowledge management processes (acquisition, creation, sharing and retention) at the universities, the practice was more effective at the private university than the professional and public universities respectively. These KM processes improved efficiency, effectiveness, decision-making capabilities. However, the absence of trust, openness and collaboration; difficult access to technology; and lack of support and mechanisms to promote informal discussions between staff and management of the universities negatively affected KM processes

The fluxes of sub--cutoff particles detected by AMS, the cosmic ray albedo and atmospheric neutrinos

New measurements of the cosmic ray fluxes (p, e+, e- and Helium) performed by the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during a ten days flight of space shuttle have revealed the existence of significant fluxes of particles below the geomagnetic cutoff. These fluxes exhibit a number of remarkable properties, such as a He-3/He-4 ratio of order ~10, an e+/e- ratio of order ~4 and production from well defined regions of the Earth that are distinct for positively and negatively charged particles. In this work we show that the natural hypothesis, that these subcutoff particles are generated as secondary products of primary cosmic ray interactions in the atmosphere can reproduce all the observed properties. We also discuss the implications of the subcutoff fluxes for the estimate of the atmospheric neutrino fluxes, and find that they represent a negligibly small correction. On the other hand the AMS results give important confirmations about the assumption of isotropy for the interplanetary cosmic ray fluxes also on large angular scales, and on the validity of the geomagnetic effects that are important elements for the prediction of the atmospheric neutrino fluxes.Comment: Latex, 51 pages, 22 figure

In Memoriam: Very Rev. Dr. Mateja Matejic

Special report dedicated to the memory of Professor Mateja Matejic (1924-2018) and his legacy of the Hilandar Research Library (HRL) and the Resource Center for Medieval Slavic Studies (RCMSS) at The Ohio State University.A four-page Special Report, inserted into Cyrillic Manuscript Heritage, v42 (October 2018), in memory of the Very Rev. Dr. Mateja Matejic. It includes an obituary written by Professor Predrag Matejic, his elder son, that was published in the local newspaper The Columbus Dispatch on July 30, 2018, (https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?n=mateja-matejic&pid=189740357&fhid=8700) and on the website of the Rutherford Funeral Homes and Crematories, Columbus, Ohio (https://www.rutherfordfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Mateja-Matejic/#!/Obituary), pp. I-II; Condolences - excerpts from comments regarding Father Matejic's legacy of the Hilandar Research Library and the Resource Center for Medieval Slavic Studies from researchers who have used the HRL/RCMSS resources, i.e., from Mirjana Živojinović, Adelina Angusheva, Svetlana Kujumdzhieva, and Enrique Santos Marinas, p. III; a list of donors who made contributions to the Hilandar Endowment Funds in memory of Father Matejic, p. IV. The Special Report is illustrated with photographs of Father Matejic by M.A. Johnson, Tatyana Nestorova-Matejic, Predrag Matejic, Walt Craig, Helene Senecal, and Pam McClung

Small Earth Imaging Spectrometer

Advances in several key sensor technologies make it possible now to build a high performance, very compact and low cost imaging spectrometer for spacebourne terrestrial remote sensing. We describe an instrument based on a highly innovative optical design that incorporates state of the art focal plane arrays, electronics, focal plane cooling and dimensionally stable ceramics for the optical elements and structure. The instrument is optimized for viewing the earth\u27s solid surface and adjacent coastal oceans. It has very high signal-to-noise performance over the full spectral range covered, from 400 to 2450 nanometers (nm). Spectral sampling is in 200 10-nm wide, contiguous bands. The instrument combines a high spatial resolution panchromatic imaging system with a modest spatial resolution imaging spectrometer. It weighs 25 kg, requires less than 100 watts of power, and is approximately 30 by 20 by 10 cm in dimension, fitting well within the capacity of Pegasus-class small spacecraft missions. The instrument is well suited to support studies in earth system science as well as commercial remote sensing. Several applications in these areas will be highlighted to set in context the performance requirements that were used to define the sensor design and choice of sensor technologies

Unique microbial phylotypes in Namib desert dune and gravel plain fairy circle soils

Fairy Circles (FCs) are barren circular patches of soil surrounded by grass species, the origin of which is poorly understood. FCs feature in both the gravel plains and dune fields of the Namib Desert. While a substantial number of hypotheses to explain the origin and/or sustainability of fairy circles have been presented, none are completely consistent with either their properties or distribution. In this study, we investigated the hypothesis that dune and gravel plain FC formation is due to microbial phytopathogenesis. Surface soils from five gravel plain and five dune FCs, together with control soil samples, were analysed using high-throughput sequencing of bacterial/archaeal (16S rRNA gene) and fungal (ITS region) phylogenetic markers. Our analyses showed that gravel plain and dune FC microbial communities are phylogenetically distinct and that FC communities differ from adjacent vegetated soils. Furthermore, various soil physicochemical properties, particularly pH, Ca, P, Na, SO4, soil particle size and % carbon, significantly influenced dune and gravel plain FC microbial community compositions but none were found to segregate FC and vegetated soil communities. Nevertheless, 9 bacterial, 1 archaeal and 57 fungal phylotypes were identified as FC-specific, being present only within the gravel plain and dune FCs soils but not in the vegetated soils. Some of these FC-specific phylotypes were assigned to taxa known to harbour phytopathogenic microorganisms. This suggests that these FC-specific microbial taxa may be involved in the formation and/or maintenance of Namib Desert FCs.South African National Research Foundation (NRF, Grant No: 90312) and the University of Pretoria.http://aem.asm.org2017-02-28hb2016Genetic

Tethered Satellites as an Enabling Platform for Operational Space Weather Monitoring Systems

Tethered satellites offer the potential to be an important enabling technology to support operational space weather monitoring systems. Space weather "nowcasting" and forecasting models rely on assimilation of near-real-time (NRT) space environment data to provide warnings for storm events and deleterious effects on the global societal infrastructure. Typically, these models are initialized by a climatological model to provide "most probable distributions" of environmental parameters as a function of time and space. The process of NRT data assimilation gently pulls the climate model closer toward the observed state (e.g., via Kalman smoothing) for nowcasting, and forecasting is achieved through a set of iterative semi-empirical physics-based forward-prediction calculations. Many challenges are associated with the development of an operational system, from the top-level architecture (e.g., the required space weather observatories to meet the spatial and temporal requirements of these models) down to the individual instruments capable of making the NRT measurements. This study focuses on the latter challenge: we present some examples of how tethered satellites (from 100s of m to 20 km) are uniquely suited to address certain shortfalls in our ability to measure critical environmental parameters necessary to drive these space weather models. Examples include long baseline electric field measurements, magnetized ionospheric conductivity measurements, and the ability to separate temporal from spatial irregularities in environmental parameters. Tethered satellite functional requirements are presented for two examples of space environment observables

Missed opportunities for accessing HIV care among Tshwane tuberculosis patients under different models of care

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare access to HIV care for tuberculosis patients in settings with Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) and tuberculosis care under one roof (“semi-integrated sites”) and settings with geographically separately rendered care, in Tshwane, South Africa. METHODS: Historical cohort study of patients registered with tuberculosis at 46 TB treatment points, with follow-up until the end of TB treatment. ART initiation for HIV-positive TB patients was established through linkage of TB register patient identifiers to the electronic ART register. Data analysis entailed univariate and multivariate competing risk analysis. RESULTS: Records of 636 and 1297 patients for semi-integrated and separate facilities respectively were reviewed. Co-trimoxazole prophylactic therapy and CD4 count recording were lower in semi-integrated than separate facilities, but the reverse was true for referral to HIV-related care. A higher percentage of patients started ART in semi-integrated than in separate facilities (70.5% vs. 44.6%, P 401 (SHR 1.45, 95%CI 1.04-2.03) were associated with increased ART initiation. CONCLUSIONS: ART and TB treatment under one roof appears to facilitate ART initiation for HIV-positive TB patients.http://www.theunion.org/about-the-journal/about-the-journal.htm

Integration of HIV/AIDS services into African primary health care: lessons learned for health system strengthening in Mozambique - a case study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>In 2004, Mozambique, supported by large increases in international disease-specific funding, initiated a national rapid scale-up of antiretroviral treatment (ART) and HIV care through a vertical "Day Hospital" approach. Though this model showed substantial increases in people receiving treatment, it diverted scarce resources away from the primary health care (PHC) system. In 2005, the Ministry of Health (MOH) began an effort to use HIV/AIDS treatment and care resources as a means to strengthen their PHC system. The MOH worked closely with a number of NGOs to integrate HIV programs more effectively into existing public-sector PHC services.</p> <p>Case Description</p> <p>In 2005, the Ministry of Health and Health Alliance International initiated an effort in two provinces to integrate ART into the existing primary health care system through health units distributed across 23 districts. Integration included: a) placing ART services in existing units; b) retraining existing workers; c) strengthening laboratories, testing, and referral linkages; e) expanding testing in TB wards; f) integrating HIV and antenatal services; and g) improving district-level management. Discussion: By 2008, treatment was available in nearly 67 health facilities in 23 districts. Nearly 30,000 adults were on ART. Over 80,000 enrolled in the HIV/AIDS program. Loss to follow-up from antenatal and TB testing to ART services has declined from 70% to less than 10% in many integrated sites. Average time from HIV testing to ART initiation is significantly faster and adherence to ART is better in smaller peripheral clinics than in vertical day hospitals. Integration has also improved other non-HIV aspects of primary health care.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The integration approach enables the public sector PHC system to test more patients for HIV, place more patients on ART more quickly and efficiently, reduce loss-to-follow-up, and achieve greater geographic HIV care coverage compared to the vertical model. Through the integration process, HIV resources have been used to rehabilitate PHC infrastructure (including laboratories and pharmacies), strengthen supervision, fill workforce gaps, and improve patient flow between services and facilities in ways that can benefit all programs. Using aid resources to integrate and better link HIV care with existing services can strengthen wider PHC systems.</p