Experience in Thermal-vacuum Testing Earth Satellites at Goddard Space Flight Center

Thermal-vacuum environmental testing of satellite

The Hair Dilemma: Conform to Mainstream Expectations or Emphasize Racial Identity

Throughout American history, skin color, eye color, and hair texture have had the power to shape the quality of Black people\u27s lives, and that trend continues today for Black women in the workplace

Les voleurs à main armée adultes devant les tribunaux : étude du cheminement des plaintes

This article on the channeling of charges through the justice system deals with the punishment of particular infraction, armed robbery, in a comprehensive way, that is, its passage through all aspects of the justice system. To do this a sample of 1 258 armed robberies in Montreal and Quebec were used. The most interesting result of the analysis presented is the finding that the least violent armed robberies give rise to the most exacting police reaction and the most severe judicial treatment. There is a sort of schism between the crime and the reaction it generates

Auditory event-related potentials as indicators of good prognosis in coma of non-anoxic etiology

The aim of this study is to evaluate whether auditory event-related potentials can predict the prognosis of recovery from coma resulting from different etiologies. The results of this study could then be used as an adjuvant test in helping the clinician evaluate patients in coma. We performed P300 auditory event-related potentials on 21 patients who developed a state of coma at our institution. We compared the results to the Glasgow coma scale at the onset of coma, on day 3, and day 21. We found that patients who developed coma secondary to cardiopulmonary arrest had no P300, and did not develop one, irrespective of their GCS, or their survival. Patients who developed coma from causes other than cardiopulmonary arrest who had a P300 at the onset of their coma, or developed one in the days that followed, ended up surviving their coma. On the other hand, patients in coma from non-cardiac causes who did not have, or developed a P300, did not survive their coma. We concluded that P300 had no prognostic value in coma secondary to anoxic brain injury, while it was an indicator of good prognosis if it was present in patients in coma from nonanoxic causes

Cas Adaptor Proteins Coordinate Sensory Axon Fasciculation.

Development of complex neural circuits like the peripheral somatosensory system requires intricate mechanisms to ensure axons make proper connections. While much is known about ligand-receptor pairs required for dorsal root ganglion (DRG) axon guidance, very little is known about the cytoplasmic effectors that mediate cellular responses triggered by these guidance cues. Here we show that members of the Cas family of cytoplasmic signaling adaptors are highly phosphorylated in central projections of the DRG as they enter the spinal cord. Furthermore, we provide genetic evidence that Cas proteins regulate fasciculation of DRG sensory projections. These data establish an evolutionarily conserved requirement for Cas adaptor proteins during peripheral nervous system axon pathfinding. They also provide insight into the interplay between axonal fasciculation and adhesion to the substrate

Vegetation height products between 60° S and 60° N from ICESat GLAS data.

We present new coarse resolution (0.5� ×0.5�)vegetation height and vegetation-cover fraction data sets between 60� S and 60� N for use in climate models and ecological models. The data sets are derived from 2003–2009 measurements collected by the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) on the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), the only LiDAR instrument that provides close to global coverage. Initial vegetation height is calculated from GLAS data using a development of the model of Rosette et al. (2008) with further calibration on desert sites. Filters are developed to identify and eliminate spurious observations in the GLAS data, e.g. data that are affected by clouds, atmosphere and terrain and as such result in erroneous estimates of vegetation height or vegetation cover. Filtered GLAS vegetation height estimates are aggregated in histograms from 0 to 70m in 0.5m intervals for each 0.5�×0.5�. The GLAS vegetation height product is evaluated in four ways. Firstly, the Vegetation height data and data filters are evaluated using aircraft LiDAR measurements of the same for ten sites in the Americas, Europe, and Australia. Application of filters to the GLAS vegetation height estimates increases the correlation with aircraft data from r =0.33 to r =0.78, decreases the root-mean-square error by a factor 3 to about 6m (RMSE) or 4.5m (68% error distribution) and decreases the bias from 5.7m to −1.3 m. Secondly, the global aggregated GLAS vegetation height product is tested for sensitivity towards the choice of data quality filters; areas with frequent cloud cover and areas with steep terrain are the most sensitive to the choice of thresholds for the filters. The changes in height estimates by applying different filters are, for the main part, smaller than the overall uncertainty of 4.5–6m established from the site measurements. Thirdly, the GLAS global vegetation height product is compared with a global vegetation height product typically used in a climate model, a recent global tree height product, and a vegetation greenness product and is shown to produce realistic estimates of vegetation height. Finally, the GLAS bare soil cover fraction is compared globally with the MODIS bare soil fraction (r = 0.65) and with bare soil cover fraction estimates derived from AVHRR NDVI data (r =0.67); the GLAS treecover fraction is compared with the MODIS tree-cover fraction (r =0.79). The evaluation indicates that filters applied to the GLAS data are conservative and eliminate a large proportion of spurious data, while only in a minority of cases at the cost of removing reliable data as well. The new GLAS vegetation height product appears more realistic than previous data sets used in climate models and ecological models and hence should significantly improve simulations that involve the land surface