Project Slope - Analysis of the performance of the lunar orbiter 1 and 2 imaging systems Final report

Lunar Orbiter 1 and 2 imaging system evaluation based on reconstructed photograph qualit

Project SLOPE - Study of Lunar Orbiter Photographic Evaluation Final report

Quantitative measurement methods for evaluating ability of Lunar Orbiter photographs to detect topographic feature

Common Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) Software Development for Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Test Facilities

The advent of the commercial space launch industry and NASA's more recent resumption of operation of Stennis Space Center's large test facilities after thirty years of contractor control resulted in a need for a non-proprietary data acquisition systems (DAS) software to support government and commercial testing. The software is designed for modularity and adaptability to minimize the software development effort for current and future data systems. An additional benefit of the software's architecture is its ability to easily migrate to other testing facilities thus providing future commonality across Stennis. Adapting the software to other Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Centers such as MSFC, White Sands, and Plumbrook Station would provide additional commonality and help reduce testing costs for NASA. Ultimately, the software provides the government with unlimited rights and guarantees privacy of data to commercial entities. The project engaged all RPT Centers and NASA's Independent Verification & Validation facility to enhance product quality. The design consists of a translation layer which provides the transparency of the software application layers to underlying hardware regardless of test facility location and a flexible and easily accessible database. This presentation addresses system technical design, issues encountered, and the status of Stennis development and deployment

Level Eulerian Posets

The notion of level posets is introduced. This class of infinite posets has the property that between every two adjacent ranks the same bipartite graph occurs. When the adjacency matrix is indecomposable, we determine the length of the longest interval one needs to check to verify Eulerianness. Furthermore, we show that every level Eulerian poset associated to an indecomposable matrix has even order. A condition for verifying shellability is introduced and is automated using the algebra of walks. Applying the Skolem--Mahler--Lech theorem, the ${\bf ab}$-series of a level poset is shown to be a rational generating function in the non-commutative variables ${\bf a}$ and ${\bf b}$. In the case the poset is also Eulerian, the analogous result holds for the ${\bf cd}$-series. Using coalgebraic techniques a method is developed to recognize the ${\bf cd}$-series matrix of a level Eulerian poset

Workshop to identify critical windows of exposure for children's health: immune and respiratory systems work group summary.

Fetuses, infants, and juveniles (preadults) should not be considered simply "small adults" when it comes to toxicological risk. We present specific examples of developmental toxicants that are more toxic to children than to adults, focusing on effects on the immune and respiratory systems. We describe differences in both the pharmacokinetics of the developing immune and respiratory systems as well as changes in target organ sensitivities to toxicants. Differential windows of vulnerability during development are identified in the context of available animal models. We provide specific approaches to directly investigate differential windows of vulnerability. These approaches are based on fundamental developmental biology and the existence of discrete developmental processes within the immune and respiratory systems. The processes are likely to influence differential developmental susceptibility to toxicants, resulting in lifelong toxicological changes. We also provide a template for comparative research. Finally, we discuss the application of these data to risk assessment

Common Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) Software Development for Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Test Facilities - A General Overview

The advent of the commercial space launch industry and NASA's more recent resumption of operation of Stennis Space Center's large test facilities after thirty years of contractor control resulted in a need for a non-proprietary data acquisition system (DAS) software to support government and commercial testing. The software is designed for modularity and adaptability to minimize the software development effort for current and future data systems. An additional benefit of the software's architecture is its ability to easily migrate to other testing facilities thus providing future commonality across Stennis. Adapting the software to other Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Centers such as MSFC, White Sands, and Plumbrook Station would provide additional commonality and help reduce testing costs for NASA. Ultimately, the software provides the government with unlimited rights and guarantees privacy of data to commercial entities. The project engaged all RPT Centers and NASA's Independent Verification & Validation facility to enhance product quality. The design consists of a translation layer which provides the transparency of the software application layers to underlying hardware regardless of test facility location and a flexible and easily accessible database. This presentation addresses system technical design, issues encountered, and the status of Stennis' development and deployment

Review of the algal biology program within the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts

In 2010, when the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts (NAABB) consortium began, little was known about the molecular basis of algal biomass or oil production. Very few algal genome sequences were available and efforts to identify the best-producing wild species through bioprospecting approaches had largely stalled after the U.S. Department of Energy's Aquatic Species Program. This lack of knowledge included how reduced carbon was partitioned into storage products like triglycerides or starch and the role played by metabolite remodeling in the accumulation of energy-dense storage products. Furthermore, genetic transformation and metabolic engineering approaches to improve algal biomass and oil yields were in their infancy. Genome sequencing and transcriptional profiling were becoming less expensive, however; and the tools to annotate gene expression profiles under various growth and engineered conditions were just starting to be developed for algae. It was in this context that an integrated algal biology program was introduced in the NAABB to address the greatest constraints limiting algal biomass yield. This review describes the NAABB algal biology program, including hypotheses, research objectives, and strategies to move algal biology research into the twenty-first century and to realize the greatest potential of algae biomass systems to produce biofuels

Subjective health legacy of the Chornobyl accident: a comparative study of 19-year olds in Kyiv

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since the Chornobyl accident in 1986, the physical health of exposed children in Ukraine has been monitored, but their perceived health has not been studied. This study examines health perceptions of Ukrainian adolescents exposed to radioactive fallout <it>in utero </it>or as infants, and the epidemiologic and Chornobyl-related influences on self-reported health.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>We assessed three groups of 19-year olds in Kyiv: 262 evacuees from contaminated areas near the plant; 261 classmate controls; and 325 population-based controls. The evacuees and classmates were previously assessed at age 11. Structured interviews were conducted with the adolescents and their mothers (N = 766), followed by general physical examinations (N = 722) and blood tests (N = 707). Proportional odds logistic regression and multi-group path analysis were the major statistical tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The examination and blood test results were similar across groups except for a significantly elevated rate of thyroid enlargement found by palpation in evacuees (17.8%) compared former classmates (8.7%) and population-based controls (8.0%). In addition, four evacuees and one population control had had a thyroidectomy. Compared to controls, the evacuees rated their health the least positively and reported more medically diagnosed illnesses during the 5 years preceding the interview, particularly thyroid disease, migraine headache, and vascular dystony. The consistent risk factors (p < 0.001) for these subjective health reports were evacuee status, female gender, multiple hospitalizations, and health risk perception regarding Chornobyl. All three groups of mothers rated their children's health more negatively than the adolescents themselves, and maternal ratings were uniquely associated with the adolescents' health reports in the adjusted models. In the longitudinal evacuee and classmate subsamples, path analysis showed that mothers' health ratings when the children were age 11 predicted their later evaluations which in turn were associated with the adolescent self-reports.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The more negative self-evaluations of the evacuees were linked to a number of risk factors, including multiple hospitalizations, health risk perceptions, and epidemiologic risk factors. The increased rate of thyroid cancer and other diagnoses no doubt contributed to the evacuees' less positive subjective health. The strong effect of the mothers' perceptions argues in favor of developing risk communication programs for families rather than for mothers or adolescents as separate target groups.</p

Removal of cell surface heparan sulfate increases TACE activity and cleavage of ErbB4 receptor

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Nuclear localization of proteolytically formed intracellular fragment of ErbB4 receptor tyrosine kinase has been shown to promote cell survival, and nuclear localization of ErbB4 receptor has been described in human breast cancer. Tumor necrosis factor alpha converting enzyme (TACE) initiates the proteolytic cascade leading to ErbB4 intracellular domain formation. Interactions between matrix metalloproteases and heparan sulfate have been described, but the effect of cell surface heparan sulfate on TACE activity has not been previously described.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As indicated by immunodetection of increased ErbB4 intracellular domain formation and direct enzyme activity analysis, TACE activity was substantially amplified by enzymatic removal of cell surface heparan sulfate but not chondroitin sulfate.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this communication, we suggest a novel role for cell surface heparan sulfate. Removal of cell surface heparan sulfate led to increased formation of ErbB4 intracellular domain. As ErbB4 intracellular domain has previously been shown to promote cell survival this finding may indicate a novel mechanism how HS degradation active in tumor tissue may favor cell survival.</p