Sail intelligent terminal evaluation

Engineering assessments, recommendations, and equipment necessary to solve the operational problems are described, and operational flexibility of the intelligent terminal facility are extended. The following capabilities were considered: (1) the operation of at least two D/D stations and one remote graphics terminal simultaneously; (2) the capability to run plotter, AIDS and FORTRAN programs simultaneously; (3) simultaneous use of system utility routines of D/D stations and remote graphics terminal; (4) the capability to provide large volume hardcopy of data and graphics; and (5) the capability to eliminate or at least ease the current operation/programming problems with related labor costs. The overall intelligent terminal development, and plans guiding the analysis and equipment acquisitions were studied, and the assessments and analyses performed are also summarized

MOSS, an evaluation of software engineering techniques

An evaluation of the software engineering techniques used for the development of a Modular Operating System (MOSS) was described. MOSS is a general purpose real time operating system which was developed for the Concept Verification Test (CVT) program. Each of the software engineering techniques was described and evaluated based on the experience of the MOSS project. Recommendations for the use of these techniques on future software projects were also given

At What Point Do Schools Fail to Meet Adequate Yearly Progress and What Factors are Most Closely Associated with Their Failure? A Survival Analysis

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors most associated with the probability of Texas high schools failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under NCLB, examining the entire population of all Texas public and charter high schools from 2003-2011, n=1721. While literature to date focuses on the different variables that may affect schools in meeting AYP as well as addressing the success and failure of charter schools, there is a lack of research on the specific variables that have the most impact on failing to meet AYP, considered here as a “hazard”. We used discrete time hazard modeling to estimate the probability of a school failing AYP for the first time in the time period. Our findings indicate that rural schools were the least likely to fail AYP, while schools with higher percentages of African American and Hispanic students and larger class sizes and enrollments failed AYP much more often. As a components of the AYP state determinations, school percent met standard in mathematics and attendance were significant in the model, while graduation rates were not. This study provides one of the first opportunities to examine the year-by-year hazard of failing AYP in Texas over the first decade of NCLB implementation. Key Words: attendance rate, Adequate Yearly Progress, adequacy, assessment, economically disadvantaged, graduation rate, hazard function, No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) survival probability

Fenceline Weaning for Beef Cattle

Weaning time can be stressful for cows and calves. Under traditional weaning systems, changes in environment, diet composition, and pathogen exposure can reduce animal performance and result in health problems. In response to these challenges, interest in fenceline weaning has grown in recent years. Fenceline weaning is a management system in which the calves are removed from their dams but are allowed to see, hear, and smell their dams. Depending on the fencing used, physical contact may also be possible. Fenceline weaning has the potential to reduce stress related to transport, changes in environment, and diet adaptation. It may also reduce labor demands and costs associated with drylot facilities

Within-group behavioral variation promotes biased task performance and the emergence of a defensive caste in a social spider

The social spider Anelosimus studiosus exhibits a behavioral polymorphism where colony members express either a passive, tolerant behavioral tendency (social) or an aggressive, intolerant behavioral tendency (asocial). Here we test whether asocial individuals act as colony defenders by deflecting the suite of foreign (i.e., heterospecific) spider species that commonly exploit multi-female colonies. We (1) determined whether the phenotypic composition of colonies is associated with foreign spider abundance, (2) tested whether heterospecific spider abundance and diversity affect colony survival in the field, and (3) performed staged encounters between groups of A. studiosus and their colony-level predator Agelenopsis emertoni (A. emertoni)to determine whether asocial females exhibit more defensive behavior. We found that larger colonies harbor more foreign spiders, and the number of asocial colony members was negatively associated with foreign spider abundance. Additionally, colony persistence was negatively associated with the abundance and diversity of foreign spiders within colonies. In encounters with a colony-level predator, asocial females were more likely to exhibit escalatory behavior, and this might explain the negative association between the frequency of asocial females and the presence of foreign spider associates. Together, our results indicate that foreign spiders are detrimental to colony survival, and that asocial females play a defensive role in multi-female colonies

An analysis of integrative outcomes in the Dayton peace negotiations

The nature of the negotiated outcomes of the eight issues of the Dayton Peace Agreement was studied in terms of their integrative and distributive aspects. in cases where integrative elements were Sound, further analysis was conducted by concentrating on Pruitt's five types of integrative solutions: expanding the pie, cost cutting, non-specific compensation, logrolling, and bridging. The results showed that real world international negotiations can arrive at integrative agreements even when they involve redistribution of resources tin this case the redistribution of former Yugoslavia). Another conclusion was that an agreement can consist of several distributive outcomes and several integrative outcomes produced by different kinds of mechanisms. Similarly, in single issues more than one mechanism can be used simultaneously. Some distributive bargaining was needed in order to determine how much compensation was required. Finally, each integrative formula had some distributive aspects as well

Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring Trace Contaminant Control Through FY 2012

Trace contaminant control has been a concern of spacecraft designers and operators from early in the progression of manned spaceflight. Significant technological advancement has occurred since the first designs were implemented in the 1960s, culminating in the trace contaminant control system currently in use aboard the International Space Station as part of the atmosphere revitalization system

The 2004 NASA Faculty Fellowship Program Research Reports

This is the administrative report for the 2004 NASA Faculty Fellowship Program (NFFP) held at the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) for the 40th consecutive year. The NFFP offers science and engineering faculty at U.S. colleges and universities hands-on exposure to NASA s research challenges through summer research residencies and extended research opportunities at participating NASA research Centers. During this program, fellows work closely with NASA colleagues on research challenges important to NASA's strategic enterprises that are of mutual interest to the fellow and the Center. The nominal starting and .nishing dates for the 10-week program were June 1 through August 6, 2004. The program was sponsored by NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, and operated under contract by The University of Alabama, The University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Alabama A&M University. In addition, promotion and applications are managed by the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and assessment is completed by Universities Space Research Association (USRA). The primary objectives of the NFFP are to: Increase the quality and quantity of research collaborations between NASA and the academic community that contribute to the Agency s space aeronautics and space science mission. Engage faculty from colleges, universities, and community colleges in current NASA research and development. Foster a greater public awareness of NASA science and technology, and therefore facilitate academic and workforce literacy in these areas. Strengthen faculty capabilities to enhance the STEM workforce, advance competition, and infuse mission-related research and technology content into classroom teaching. Increase participation of underrepresented and underserved faculty and institutions in NASA science and technology

Lower-Resolution Retrieval of Scenes in Older Adults With Subjective Cognitive Decline

Objective Scenes with more perceptual detail can help detect subtle memory deficits more than scenes with less detail. Here, we investigated whether older adults with subjective cognitive decline (SCD) show less brain activation and more memory deficits to scenes with more (vs. scenes with less) perceptual detail compared to controls (CON). Method In 37 healthy older adults (SCD: 16), we measured blood oxygenation level-dependent-functional magnetic resonance imaging during encoding and behavioral performance during retrieval. Results During encoding, higher activation to scenes with more (vs. less) perceptual detail in the parahippocampal place area predicted better memory performance in SCD and CON. During retrieval, superior performance for new scenes with more (vs. less) perceptual detail was significantly more pronounced in CON than in SCD. Conclusions Together, these results suggest a present, but attenuated benefit from perceptual detail for memory retrieval in SCD. Memory complaints in SCD might, thus, refer to a decreased availability of perceptual detail of previously encoded stimuli

Upgrades to the ISS Water Recovery System

The International Space Station Water Recovery System (WRS) is comprised of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) and the Urine Processor Assembly (UPA). The WRS produces potable water from a combination of crew urine (first processed through the UPA), crew latent, and Sabatier product water. Though the WRS has performed well since operations began in November 2008, several modifications have been identified to improve the overall system performance. These modifications can reduce resupply and improve overall system reliability, which is beneficial for the ongoing ISS mission as well as for future NASA manned missions. The following paper details efforts to reduce the resupply mass of the WPA Multifiltration Bed, develop improved catalyst for the WPA Catalytic Reactor, evaluate optimum operation of UPA through parametric testing, and improve reliability of the UPA fluids pump and Distillation Assembly