Paper Session III-B - Space Technology Graduate Program for Engineers and Scientists

A Master of Science in Space Technology is offered to engineering and science graduates at the Spaceport Graduate Center which is an off-campus teaching center of the Florida Institute of Technology. Courses are offered in the evening at Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Air Force Base so that space professionals can continue their education. The goals of the program are to prepare students for broader responsibility and more rewarding careers in astronautics and space, as well as to contribute to improvement in defining and implementing national and international space goals. It has been endorsed by NASA, the USAF, and large aerospace companies. This paper describes an education program which removes interdisciplinary barriers in accepting a spectrum of students with different engineering and scientific backgrounds. Topics addressed include course curricula, the composition of the students and faculty, program successes and challenges, as well as plans for the future. Emphasis is given to the progress that has been made since Dr. Angelo described the program to the 23rd Space Congress in 1986. Over 70 students have graduated with an MS hi Space Technology and are advancing in their careers. The faculty has been expanded to include a full-time program chairman and twenty adjunct professors, seven of these holding Ph D\u27s in physics or astronomy and eight holding Ph D\u27s in engineering disciplines. An important objective of this paper is to solicit inputs to make the program even more valuable. An Industry Advisory Council is being set-up for this purpose, consisting of the Chief Executive Officers of local aerospace companies and government. Future developments will include research activity in conjunction with the Space Research Institute and a Space Engineering supplement. It is fundamental that better understanding of the technical aspects of all phases of space activity will foster improved coordination among, and better decisions by, the future leaders of Space and Astronautics

An Investigation of Chert as a Deleterious Constituent in Highway Aggregates

Abstract not availabl

Future Directions in the Research and Management of Marine Snakes

Marine snakes represent the most speciose group of marine reptiles and are a significant component of reef and coastal ecosystems in tropical oceans. Research on this group has historically been challenging due to the difficulty in capturing, handling, and keeping these animals for field- and lab-based research. Inexplicable declines in marine snake populations across global hotspots have highlighted the lack of basic information on this group and elevated multiple species as conservation priorities. With the increased interest in research on marine snakes, we conducted a systematic survey of experts to identify twenty key questions that can direct future research. These questions are framed across a wide array of scientific fields to produce much-needed information relevant to the conservation and management of marine snakes

Future directions in the research and management of marine snakes

Marine snakes represent the most speciose group of marine reptiles and are a significant component of reef and coastal ecosystems in tropical oceans. Research on this group has historically been challenging due to the difficulty in capturing, handling, and keeping these animals for field- and lab-based research. Inexplicable declines in marine snake populations across global hotspots have highlighted the lack of basic information on this group and elevated multiple species as conservation priorities. With the increased interest in research on marine snakes, we conducted a systematic survey of experts to identify twenty key questions that can direct future research. These questions are framed across a wide array of scientific fields to produce much-needed information relevant to the conservation and management of marine snakes

Genome-wide association study of Alzheimer's disease with psychotic symptoms

International audiencePsychotic symptoms occur in approximately 40% of subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and are associated with more rapid cognitive decline and increased functional deficits. They show heritability up to 61% and have been proposed as a marker for a disease subtype suitable for gene mapping efforts. We undertook a combined analysis of three genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to identify loci that a) increase susceptibility to an AD and subsequent psychotic symptoms; or b) modify risk of psychotic symptoms in the presence of neurodegeneration caused by AD. 1299 AD cases with psychosis (AD+P), 735 AD cases without psychosis (AD-P) and 5659 controls were drawn from GERAD1, the NIA-LOAD family study and the University of Pittsburgh ADRC GWAS. Unobserved genotypes were imputed to provide data on > 1.8 million SNPs. Analyses in each dataset were completed comparing a) AD+P to AD-P cases, and b) AD+P cases with controls (GERAD1, ADRC only). Aside from the APOE locus, the strongest evidence for association was observed in an intergenic region on chromosome 4 (rs753129; 'AD+PvAD-P' P=2.85 x 10-7; 'AD+PvControls' P=1.11 x 10-4). SNPs upstream of SLC2A9 (rs6834555, P=3.0x10-7) and within VSNL1 (rs4038131, P=5.9x10-7) showed strongest evidence for association with AD+P when compared to controls. These findings warrant further investigation in larger, appropriately powered samples in which the presence of psychotic symptoms in AD has been well characterised