Software for Tracking Costs of Mars Projects

The Mars Cost Tracking Model is a computer program that administers a system set up for tracking the costs of future NASA projects that pertain to Mars. Previously, no such tracking system existed, and documentation was written in a variety of formats and scattered in various places. It was difficult to justify costs or even track the history of costs of a spacecraft mission to Mars. The present software enables users to maintain all cost-model definitions, documentation, and justifications of cost estimates in one computer system that is accessible via the Internet. The software provides sign-off safeguards to ensure the reliability of information entered into the system. This system may eventually be used to track the costs of projects other than only those that pertain to Mars

A importância da abordagem da linguagem teatral na escola e nas aulas de Educação Física

TCC (Graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Desportos. Educação Física Licenciatura.Essa monografia buscou destacar a importância da inclusão da linguagem teatral na escola e fomentá-la como conteúdo nas aulas de Educação Física. O problema que norteou essa pesquisa foi de tentar responder como esse conteúdo teatral pode ser abordado nas aulas de Educação Física e se é possível sua inclusão. O objetivo principal estabelecido foi de propor a expressão/linguagem teatral como conteúdo possível e necessário de ser desenvolvido nas aulas de Educação Física. O estudo teve como ferramenta de pesquisa a revisão de literatura do tipo exploratória e qualitativa, pois procurou conhecer, analisar, explicar e discutir o tema com base em referências teóricas publicadas em livros, revistas, periódicos e outros. Além de que, esse estudo apresenta também uma análise documental, já que envolve seleção, tratamento e interpretação da informação existente em documentos. O que se concluiu dessa pesquisa foi que se torna necessário o desenvolvimento de formas de se trabalhar com a linguagem teatral nas escolas e torná-las mais acessíveis para os professores e futuros professores.This monograph sought to highlight the importance of including theatrical language in school and to foster it as content in Physical Education classes. The problem that guided this research was to try to answer how this theatrical content can be approached in the classes of Physical Education and if its possible inclusion. The main objective was to propose the expression / theatrical language as possible and necessary content to be developed in the Physical Education classes. The study had as a research tool the literature review of the exploratory and qualitative type, since it sought to know, analyze, explain and discuss the theme based on theoretical references published in books, magazines, periodicals and others. Besides that, this study also presents a documentary analysis, since it involves selection, treatment and interpretation of existing information in documents. What was concluded from this research was that it becomes necessary to develop ways of working with theatrical language in schools and make them more accessible to teachers and future teachers

School-age effects of the newborn individualized developmental care and assessment program for preterm infants with intrauterine growth restriction: preliminary findings

Background: The experience in the newborn intensive care nursery results in premature infants’ neurobehavioral and neurophysiological dysfunction and poorer brain structure. Preterms with severe intrauterine growth restriction are doubly jeopardized given their compromised brains. The Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program improved outcome at early school-age for preterms with appropriate intrauterine growth. It also showed effectiveness to nine months for preterms with intrauterine growth restriction. The current study tested effectiveness into school-age for preterms with intrauterine growth restriction regarding executive function (EF), electrophysiology (EEG) and neurostructure (MRI). Methods: Twenty-three 9-year-old former growth-restricted preterms, randomized at birth to standard care (14 controls) or to the Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program (9 experimentals) were assessed with standardized measures of cognition, achievement, executive function, electroencephalography, and magnetic resonance imaging. The participating children were comparable to those lost to follow-up, and the controls to the experimentals, in terms of newborn background health and demographics. All outcome measures were corrected for mother’s intelligence. Analysis techniques included two-group analysis of variance and stepwise discriminate analysis for the outcome measures, Wilks’ lambda and jackknifed classification to ascertain two-group classification success per and across domains; canonical correlation analysis to explore relationships among neuropsychological, electrophysiological and neurostructural domains at school-age, and from the newborn period to school-age. Results: Controls and experimentals were comparable in age at testing, anthropometric and health parameters, and in cognitive and achievement scores. Experimentals scored better in executive function, spectral coherence, and cerebellar volumes. Furthermore, executive function, spectral coherence and brain structural measures discriminated controls from experimentals. Executive function correlated with coherence and brain structure measures, and with newborn-period neurobehavioral assessment. Conclusion: The intervention in the intensive care nursery improved executive function as well as spectral coherence between occipital and frontal as well as parietal regions. The experimentals’ cerebella were significantly larger than the controls’. These results, while preliminary, point to the possibility of long-term brain improvement even of intrauterine growth compromised preterms if individualized intervention begins with admission to the NICU and extends throughout transition home. Larger sample replications are required in order to confirm these results

NIDCAP improves brain function and structure in preterm infants with severe intrauterine growth restriction

Objective: The effect of NIDCAP (Newborn Individualized Developmental Care and Assessment Program) was examined on the neurobehavioral, electrophysiological and neurostructural development of preterm infants with severe intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Study Design: A total of 30 infants, 27–33 weeks gestation, were randomized to control (C; N=17) or NIDCAP/experimental (E; N=13) care. Baseline health and demographics were assessed at intake; electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 35 and 42 weeks postmenstrual age; and health, growth and neurobehavior at 42 weeks and 9 months corrected age (9 months). Results: C and E infants were comparable in health and demographics at baseline. At follow-up, E infants were healthier, showed significantly improved brain development and better neurobehavior. Neurobehavior, EEG and MRI discriminated between C and E infants. Neurobehavior at 42 weeks correlated with EEG and MRI at 42 weeks and neurobehavior at 9 months. Conclusion: NIDCAP significantly improved IUGR preterm infants' neurobehavior, electrophysiology and brain structure. Longer-term outcome assessment and larger samples are recommended

Interpretive structural modelling of risk sources in a virtual organisation

International audienceSpeedier network decision making together with shorter time to bring items to market together with lower network operating costs all result from enhanced knowledge sharing. In addition re-use of enterprise and network knowledge resulting from improved capture means that any risk of repeating earlier project work is limited, repetition of past mistakes is reduced. Decisions are made with greater awareness of any risks involved and therefore there is likely to be a reduction in costs arising from faulty decisions and failed collaborations. While there are many advantages attaching to the use of virtual organizations (VOs) there are also challenges, including risks that have become apparent through undertaking a review of the literature. In total 13 sources of risk were found stemming from the network related risks in a VO, where the emphasis of the study was placed,. This paper contains a thorough study that will identify these threats as well as gaining a sound understanding of them by examining them one by one as they have been identified by the literature and previous studies. Subsequently, their relative importance will be analysed through the use of Structural Modeling (ISM) using information gathered in a questionnaire

Habitable Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx)

The Habitable-Exoplanet Observatory (HabEx) is a candidate flagship mission being studied by NASA and the astrophysics community in preparation of the 2020 Decadal Survey. The first HabEx mission concept that has been studied is a large (~4m) diffraction-limited optical space telescope, providing unprecedented resolution and contrast in the optical, with extensions into the near ulttraviolet and near infrared domains. We report here on our team’s efforts in defining a scientifically compelling HabEx mission that is technologically executable, affordable within NASA’s expected budgetary envelope, and timely for the next decade. We also briefly discuss our plans to explore less ambitious, descoped missions relative to the primary mission architecture discussed here

Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems

"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015.United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astrophysics Divisio

Exo-C: a probe-scale space observatory for direct imaging and spectroscopy of extrasolar planetary systems

"Exo-C" is NASAs first community study of a modest aperture space telescope mission that is optimized for high contrast observations of exoplanetary systems. The mission will be capable of taking optical spectra of nearby exoplanets in reflected light, discovering previously undetected planets, and imaging structure in a large sample of circumstellar disks. It will obtain unique science results on planets down to super-Earth sizes and serve as a technology pathfinder toward an eventual flagship-class mission to find and characterize habitable Earth-like exoplanets. We present the mission/payload design and highlight steps to reduce mission cost/risk relative to previous mission concepts. Key elements are an unobscured telescope aperture, an internal coronagraph with deformable mirrors for precise wavefront control, and an orbit and observatory design chosen for high thermal stability. Exo-C has a similar telescope aperture, orbit, lifetime, and spacecraft bus requirements to the highly successful Kepler mission (which is our cost reference). Much of the needed technology development is being pursued under the WFIRST coronagraph study and would support a mission start in 2017, should NASA decide to proceed. This paper summarizes the study final report completed in March 2015

Abnormal prenatal brain development in Chiari II malformation

IntroductionThe Chiari II is a relatively common birth defect that is associated with open spinal abnormalities and is characterized by caudal migration of the posterior fossa contents through the foramen magnum. The pathophysiology of Chiari II is not entirely known, and the neurobiological substrate beyond posterior fossa findings remains unexplored. We aimed to identify brain regions altered in Chiari II fetuses between 17 and 26 GW.MethodsWe used in vivo structural T2-weighted MRIs of 31 fetuses (6 controls and 25 cases with Chiari II).ResultsThe results of our study indicated altered development of diencephalon and proliferative zones (ventricular and subventricular zones) in fetuses with a Chiari II malformation compared to controls. Specifically, fetuses with Chiari II showed significantly smaller volumes of the diencephalon and significantly larger volumes of lateral ventricles and proliferative zones.DiscussionWe conclude that regional brain development should be taken into consideration when evaluating prenatal brain development in fetuses with Chiari II

HabEx Baseline Telescope: Design & Performance Analysis

HabEx is one of four missions under study for 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey. It will directly image and spectroscopically characterize planetary systems in the habitable zone of Sun-like stars. Additionally, HabEx will perform a broad range of general astrophysics science enabled by 115 to 2500 nm spectral range and 3 x 3 arc-minute FOV