ARC-1978-AC78-0330-4

NASA Image and Video Library

1978-04-18

Artist: Rick Guidice Space Colonization regenerative life support systems. This concept from a summer study done in 1977 depicts a closed loop life support system for long duration space settlements or space industrialization.

Carbon recycling in materially closed ecological life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Obenhuber, D. C.; Folsome, C. E.

1988-01-01

Results of studies are presented of materially closed energetically open microbial ecosystems or 'closed ecosystems'. These are natural marine ecosystems that have been sealed in glass containers to prevent material exchange with the environment but allow energy to pass freely through them. They represent model life support systems for the future human habitation of space. The results are discussed analytically and indicate that these ecosystems, when subjected to a constant energy flux, seem to be reliable and self-sufficient systems for recycling of biologically produced carbon compounds.

Atmospheric Monitoring Strategy for Ground Testing of Closed Ecological Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Feighery, John; Cavenall, Ivan; Knight, Amanda

2004-01-01

This paper reviews the evolution and current state of atmospheric monitoring on the International Space Station to provide context from which we can imagine a more advanced and integrated system. The unique environmental hazards of human space flight are identified and categorized into groups, taking into consideration the time required for the hazard to become a threat to human health or performance. The key functions of a comprehensive monitoring strategy for a closed ecological life support system are derived from past experience and a survey of currently available technologies for monitoring air quality. Finally, a system architecture is developed incorporating the lessons learned from ISS and other analogous closed life support systems. The paper concludes by presenting recommendations on how to proceed with requirements definition and conceptual design of an air monitoring system for exploration missions.

Closure of regenerative life support systems: results of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barta, D.; Henninger, D.; Edeen, M.; Lewis, J.; Smith, F.; Verostko, C.

Future long duration human exploration missions away from Earth will require closed-loop regenerative life support systems to reduce launch mass reduce dependency on resupply and increase the level of mission self sufficiency Such systems may be based on the integration of biological and physiocochemical processes to produce potable water breathable atmosphere and nutritious food from metabolic and other mission wastes Over the period 1995 to 1998 a series of ground-based tests were conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center to evaluate the performance of advanced closed-loop life support technologies with real human metabolic and hygiene loads Named the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project LMLSTP four integrated human tests were conducted with increasing duration complexity and closure The first test LMLSTP Phase I was designed to demonstrate the ability of higher plants to revitalize cabin atmosphere A single crew member spent 15 days within an atmospherically closed chamber containing 11 2 square meters of actively growing wheat Atmospheric carbon dioxide and oxygen levels were maintained by control of the rate of photosynthesis through manipulation of light intensity or the availability of carbon dioxide and included integrated physicochemical systems During the second and third tests LMLSTP Phases II IIa four crew members spent 30 days and 60 days respectively in a larger sealed chamber Advanced physicochemical life support hardware was used to regenerate the atmosphere and produce potable water

New Look at Social Support: A Theoretical Perspective on Thriving through Relationships

PubMed Central

Feeney, Brooke C.; Collins, Nancy L.

2017-01-01

Close and caring relationships are undeniably linked to health and well-being at all stages in the lifespan. Yet the specific pathways through which close relationships promote optimal well-being are not well understood. In this article, we present a model of thriving through relationships to provide a theoretical foundation for identifying the specific interpersonal processes that underlie the effects of close relationships on thriving. This model highlights two life contexts through which people may potentially thrive (coping successfully with life’s adversities and actively pursuing life opportunities for growth and development), it proposes two relational support functions that are fundamental to the experience of thriving in each life context, and it identifies mediators through which relational support is likely to have long-term effects on thriving. This perspective highlights the need for researchers to take a new look at social support by conceptualizing it as an interpersonal process with a focus on thriving. PMID:25125368

Evaluation of engineering foods for closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karel, M.

1982-01-01

A nutritionally adequate and acceptable diet was evaluated and developed. A design for a multipurpose food plant is discussed. The types and amounts of foods needed to be regenerated in a partially closed ecological life support system (PCELSS) were proposed. All steps of food processes to be utilized in the multipurpose food plant of PCELSS were also considered. Equipment specifications, simplification of the proposed processes, and food waste treatment were analyzed.

Plants for space plantations. [crops for closed life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nikishanova, T. I.

1978-01-01

Criteria for selection of candidate crops for closed life support systems are presented and discussed, and desired characteristics of candidate higher plant crops are given. Carbohydrate crops, which are most suitable, grown worldwide are listed and discussed. The sweet potato, ipomoea batatas Poir., is shown to meet the criteria to the greatest degree, and the criteria are recommended as suitable for initial evaluation of candidate higher plant crops for such systems.

Modeling Advance Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pitts, Marvin; Sager, John; Loader, Coleen; Drysdale, Alan

1996-01-01

Activities this summer consisted of two projects that involved computer simulation of bioregenerative life support systems for space habitats. Students in the Space Life Science Training Program (SLSTP) used the simulation, space station, to learn about relationships between humans, fish, plants, and microorganisms in a closed environment. One student complete a six week project to modify the simulation by converting the microbes from anaerobic to aerobic, and then balancing the simulation's life support system. A detailed computer simulation of a closed lunar station using bioregenerative life support was attempted, but there was not enough known about system restraints and constants in plant growth, bioreactor design for space habitats and food preparation to develop an integrated model with any confidence. Instead of a completed detailed model with broad assumptions concerning the unknown system parameters, a framework for an integrated model was outlined and work begun on plant and bioreactor simulations. The NASA sponsors and the summer Fell were satisfied with the progress made during the 10 weeks, and we have planned future cooperative work.

Wet Oxidation as a Waste Treatment Method in Closed Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Onisko, B. L.; Wydeven, T.

1982-01-01

The chemistry of the wet oxidation process was investigated in relation to production of plant nutrients from plant and human waste materials as required for a closed life support system. Hydroponically grown lettuce plants were used as a model plant waste, and oxygen gas was used as an oxidant. Organic nitrogen content was decreased 88-100%, depending on feed material. Production of ammonia and nitrogen gas accounted for all of the observed decrease in organic nitrogen content. No nitrous oxide (N2O) was detected. The implications of these results for closed life support systems are discussed.

Wet oxidation as a waste treatment in closed systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Onisko, B. L.; Wydeven, T.

1981-01-01

The chemistry of the wet oxidation process has been investigated in relation to production of plant nutrients from plant and human waste materials as required for a closed life-support system. Hydroponically grown lettuce plants were used as a model plant waste and oxygen gas was used as oxidant. Organic nitrogen content was decreased 88-100% depending on feed material. Production of ammonia and nitrogen gas account for all of the observed decrease in organic nitrogen content. No nitrous oxide (N2O) was detected. The implications of these results for closed life-support systems are discussed.

Earth applications of closed ecological systems: Relevance to the development of sustainability in our global biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, M.; Allen, J.; Ailing, A.; Dempster, W. F.; Silverstone, S.

The parallels between the challenges facing bioregenerative life support in artificial closed ecological systems and those in our global biosphere are striking. At the scale of the current global technosphere and expanding human population, it is increasingly obvious that the biosphere can no longer safely buffer and absorb technogenic and anthropogenic pollutants. The loss of biodiversity, reliance on non-renewable natural resources, and conversion of once wild ecosystems for human use with attendant desertification/soil erosion, has led to a shift of consciousness and the widespread call for sustainability of human activities. For researchers working on bioregenerative life support in closed systems, the small volumes and faster cycling times than in the Earth's biosphere make it starkly clear that systems must be designed to ensure renewal of water and atmosphere, nutrient recycling, production of healthy food, and safe environmental methods of maintaining technical systems. The development of technical systems that can be fully integrated and supportive of living systems is a harbinger of new perspectives as well as technologies in the global environment. In addition, closed system bioregenerative life support offers opportunities for public education and consciousness changing of how to live with our global biosphere.

Space life sciences: Programs and projects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1989-01-01

NASA space life science activities are outlined. Brief, general descriptions are given of research in the areas of biomedical research, space biology, closed loop life support systems, exobiology, and biospherics.

Exploration Life Support Critical Questions for Future Human Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kwert, Michael K.; Barta, Daniel J.; McQuillan, Jeff

2010-01-01

Exploration Life Support (ELS) is a current project under NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate. The ELS Project plans, coordinates and implements the development of advanced life support technologies for human exploration missions in space. Recent work has focused on closed loop atmosphere and water systems for long duration missions, including habitats and pressurized rovers. But, what are the critical questions facing life support system developers for these and other future human missions? This paper explores those questions and how progress in the development of ELS technologies can help answer them. The ELS Project includes the following Elements: Atmosphere Revitalization Systems, Water Recovery Systems, Waste Management Systems, Habitation Engineering, Systems Integration, Modeling and Analysis, and Validation and Testing, which includes the Sub-Elements Flight Experiments and Integrated Testing. Systems engineering analysis by ELS seeks to optimize overall mission architectures by considering all the internal and external interfaces of the life support system and the potential for reduction or reuse of commodities. In particular, various sources and sinks of water and oxygen are considered along with the implications on loop closure and the resulting launch mass requirements. Systems analysis will be validated through the data gathered from integrated testing, which will demonstrate the interfaces of a closed loop life support system. By applying a systematic process for defining, sorting and answering critical life support questions, the ELS project is preparing for a variety of future human space missions

Space Life Support Engineering Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seagrave, Richard C.

1993-01-01

This report covers the second year of research relating to the development of closed-loop long-term life support systems. Emphasis was directed toward concentrating on the development of dynamic simulation techniques and software and on performing a thermodynamic systems analysis in an effort to begin optimizing the system needed for water purification. Four appendices are attached. The first covers the ASPEN modeling of the closed loop Environmental Control Life Support System (ECLSS) and its thermodynamic analysis. The second is a report on the dynamic model development for water regulation in humans. The third regards the development of an interactive computer-based model for determining exercise limitations. The fourth attachment is an estimate of the second law thermodynamic efficiency of the various units comprising an ECLSS.

Closed-ecology life support systems /CELSS/ for long-duration, manned missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Modell, M.; Spurlock, J. M.

1979-01-01

Studies were conducted to scope the principal areas of technology that can contribute to the development of closed-ecology life support systems (CELSS). Such systems may be required for future space activities, such as space stations, manufacturing facilities, or colonies. A major feature of CELSS is the regeneration of food from carbon in waste materials. Several processes, using biological and/or physico-chemical components, have been postulated for closing the recycle loop. At the present time, limits of available technical information preclude the specification of an optimum scheme. Nevertheless, the most significant technical requirements can be determined by way of an iterative procedure of formulating, evaluating and comparing various closed-system scenario. The functions features and applications of this systems engineering procedure are discussed.

Algal culture studies related to a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Radmer, R.; Behrens, P.; Fernandez, E.; Ollinger, O.; Howell, C.; Venables, A.; Huggins, D.; Gladue, R.

1984-01-01

In many respects, algae would be the ideal plant component for a biologically based controlled life support system, since they are eminently suited to the closely coupled functions of atmosphere regeneration and food production. Scenedesmus obliquus and Spirulina platensis were grown in three continuous culture apparatuses. Culture vessels their operation and relative merits are described. Both light and nitrogen utilization efficiency are examined. Long term culture issues are detailed and a discussion of a plasmid search in Spirulina is included.

An approach to the preliminary evaluation of Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) scenarios and control strategies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stahr, J. D.; Auslander, D. M.; Spear, R. C.; Young, G. E.

1982-01-01

Life support systems for manned space missions are discussed. A scenario analysis method was proposed for the initial step of comparing possible partial or total recycle scenarios. The method is discussed in detail.

Reciprocal Family, Friendship and Church Support Networks of African Americans: Findings from the National Survey of American Life.

PubMed

Taylor, Robert Joseph; Mouzon, Dawne M; Nguyen, Ann W; Chatters, Linda M

2016-12-01

This study examined reciprocal support networks involving extended family, friends and church members among African Americans. Our analysis examined specific patterns of reciprocal support (i.e., received only, gave only, both gave and received, neither gave or received), as well as network characteristics (i.e., contact and subjective closeness) as correlates of reciprocal support. The analysis is based on the African American sub-sample of the National Survey of American Life (NSAL). Overall, our findings indicate that African Americans are very involved in reciprocal support networks with their extended family, friends and church members. Respondents were most extensively involved in reciprocal supports with extended family members, followed closely by friends and church networks. Network characteristics (i.e., contact and subjective closeness) were significantly and consistently associated with involvement with reciprocal support exchanges for all three networks. These and other findings are discussed in detail. This study complements previous work on the complementary roles of family, friend and congregational support networks, as well as studies of racial differences in informal support networks.

Human factor observations of the Biosphere 2, 1991-1993, closed life support human experiment and its application to a long-term manned mission to Mars.

PubMed

Alling, Abigail; Nelson, Mark; Silverstone, Sally; Van Thillo, Mark

2002-01-01

Human factors are a key component to the success of long-term space missions such as those necessitated by the human exploration of Mars and the development of bioregenerative and eventually self-sufficient life support systems for permanent space outposts. Observations by participants living inside the 1991-1993 Biosphere 2 closed system experiment provide the following insights. (1) Crew members should be involved in the design and construction of their life support systems to gain maximum knowledge about the systems. (2) Individuals living in closed life support systems should expect a process of physiological and psychological adaptation to their new environment. (3) Far from simply being a workplace, the participants in such extended missions will discover the importance of creating a cohesive and satisfying life style. (4) The crew will be dependent on the use of varied crops to create satisfying cuisine, a social life with sufficient outlets of expression such as art and music, and to have down-time from purely task-driven work. (5) The success of the Biosphere 2 first 2-year mission suggests that crews with high cultural diversity, high commitment to task, and work democracy principles for individual responsibility may increase the probability of both mission success and personal satisfaction. (6) Remaining challenges are many, including the need for far more comprehensive real-time modeling and information systems (a "cybersphere") operating to provide real-time data necessary for decision-making in a complex life support system. (7) And, the aim will be to create a noosphere, or sphere of intelligence, where the people and their living systems are in sustainable balance.

A closed life-support system for space colonies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, R. D.; Jebens, H. J.; Sweet, H. C.

1977-01-01

In 1975, a system design study was performed to examine a completely self-contained system for a permanent colony of 10,000 inhabitants in space. Fundamental to this design was the life support system. Since resupply from earth is prohibitive in transportation costs, it was decided to use a closed system with the initial supply of oxygen coming from processing of lunar ores, and the supply of carbon, nitrogen and hydrogen from earth. The problem of life support was treated starting with the nutritional and metabolic requirements for the human population, creating a food and water chain sufficient to supply these demands, adding the additional requirements for the animal and plant sources in the food chain, feeding back useful waste products, supplying water as required from different sources, and closing the loop by processing organic wastes into CO2. This concept places the burden of the system upon plants for O2 generation and waste processing the CO2 generation.

Earth applications of closed ecological systems: relevance to the development of sustainability in our global biosphere.

PubMed

Nelson, M; Allen, J; Alling, A; Dempster, W F; Silverstone, S

2003-01-01

The parallels between the challenges facing bioregenerative life support in artificial closed ecological systems and those in our global biosphere are striking. At the scale of the current global technosphere and expanding human population, it is increasingly obvious that the biosphere can no longer safely buffer and absorb technogenic and anthropogenic pollutants. The loss of biodiversity, reliance on non-renewable natural resources, and conversion of once wild ecosystems for human use with attendant desertification/soil erosion, has led to a shift of consciousness and the widespread call for sustainability of human activities. For researchers working on bioregenerative life support in closed systems, the small volumes and faster cycling times than in the Earth's biosphere make it starkly clear that systems must be designed to ensure renewal of water and atmosphere, nutrient recycling, production of healthy food, and safe environmental methods of maintaining technical systems. The development of technical systems that can be fully integrated and supportive of living systems is a harbinger of new perspectives as well as technologies in the global environment. In addition, closed system bioregenerative life support offers opportunities for public education and consciousness changing of how to live with our global biosphere. c2003 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

How daydreaming relates to life satisfaction, loneliness, and social support: the importance of gender and daydream content.

PubMed

Mar, Raymond A; Mason, Malia F; Litvack, Aubrey

2012-03-01

Daydreaming appears to have a complex relationship with life satisfaction and happiness. Here we demonstrate that the facets of daydreaming that predict life satisfaction differ between men and women (Study 1; N=421), that the content of daydreams tends to be social others (Study 2; N=17,556), and that who we daydream about influences the relation between daydreaming and happiness variables like life satisfaction, loneliness, and perceived social support (Study 3; N=361). Specifically, daydreaming about people not close to us predicts more loneliness and less perceived social support, whereas daydreaming about close others predicts greater life satisfaction. Importantly, these patterns hold even when actual social network depth and breadth are statistically controlled, although these associations tend to be small in magnitude. Individual differences and the content of daydreams are thus important to consider when examining how happiness relates to spontaneous thoughts. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ecological Challenges for Closed Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Mark; Dempster, William; Allen, John P.

2012-07-01

Closed ecological systems are desirable for a number of purposes. In space life support systems, material closure allows precious life-supporting resources to be kept inside and recycled. Closure in small biospheric systems facilitates detailed measurement of global ecological processes and biogeochemical cycles. Closed testbeds facilitate research topics which require isolation from the outside (e.g. genetically modified organisms; radioisotopes) so their ecological interactions and fluxes can be studied separate from interactions with the outside environment. But to achieve and maintain closure entails solving complex ecological challenges. These challenges include being able to handle faster cycling rates and accentuated daily and seasonal fluxes of critical life elements such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, macro- and mico-nutrients. The problems of achieving sustainability in closed systems for life support include how to handle atmospheric dynamics including trace gases, producing a complete human diet and recycling nutrients and maintaining soil fertility, the sustaining of healthy air and water and preventing the loss of crucial elements from active circulation. In biospheric facilities the challenge is also to produce analogues to natural biomes and ecosystems, studying processes of self-organization and adaptation in systems that allow specification or determination of state variables and cycles which may be followed through all interactions from atmosphere to soils. Other challenges include the dynamics and genetics of small populations, the psychological challenges for small isolated human groups and measures and options which may be necessary to ensure long-term operation of closed ecological systems.

Key ecological challenges for closed systems facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Mark; Dempster, William F.; Allen, John P.

2013-07-01

Closed ecological systems are desirable for a number of purposes. In space life support systems, material closure allows precious life-supporting resources to be kept inside and recycled. Closure in small biospheric systems facilitates detailed measurement of global ecological processes and biogeochemical cycles. Closed testbeds facilitate research topics which require isolation from the outside (e.g. genetically modified organisms; radioisotopes) so their ecological interactions and fluxes can be studied separate from interactions with the outside environment. But to achieve and maintain closure entails solving complex ecological challenges. These challenges include being able to handle faster cycling rates and accentuated daily and seasonal fluxes of critical life elements such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, macro- and mico-nutrients. The problems of achieving sustainability in closed systems for life support include how to handle atmospheric dynamics including trace gases, producing a complete human diet, recycling nutrients and maintaining soil fertility, the maintenance of healthy air and water and preventing the loss of critical elements from active circulation. In biospheric facilities, the challenge is also to produce analogues to natural biomes and ecosystems, studying processes of self-organization and adaptation in systems that allow specification or determination of state variables and cycles which may be followed through all interactions from atmosphere to soils. Other challenges include the dynamics and genetics of small populations, the psychological challenges for small isolated human groups and backup technologies and strategic options which may be necessary to ensure long-term operation of closed ecological systems.

Environmental control and life support - Partially closed system will save big money

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guy, W. W.

1983-01-01

Although the NASA space station has not yet been completely defined, realistic estimates may be made of the environmental control and life support system requirements entailed by a crew of eight, a resupply interval of 90 days, an initial launch which includes expendables for the first resupply interval, 7.86 lb/day of water per person, etc. An appraisal of these requirements is presented which strongly suggests the utility of a partially closed life support system. Such a scheme would give the crew high quality water to drink, and recycle nonpotable water from hand washing, bathing, clothes and dish washing, and urinal flushing. The excess recovery process water is electrolyzed to provide metabolic and leakage oxygen. The crew would drink electrolysis water and atmospheric humidity control moisture-derived water.

BLSS: a contribution to future life support.

PubMed

Skoog, A I

1984-01-01

For extended duration missions in space the supply of basic life-supporting ingredients represents a formidable logistics problem. Storage volume and launch weight of water, oxygen and food in a conventional non-regenerable life support system are directly proportional to the crew size and the length of the mission. In view of spacecraft payload limitations this will require that the carbon, or food, recycling loop, the third and final part in the life support system, be closed to further reduce logistics cost. This will be practical only if advanced life support systems can be developed in which metabolic waste products are regenerated and food is produced. Biological Life Support Systems (BLSS) satisfy the space station environmental control functions and close the food cycle. A Biological Life Support System has to be a balanced ecological system, biotechnical in nature and consisting of some combination of human beings, animals, plants and microorganisms integrated with mechanical and physico-chemical hardware. Numerous scientific space experiments have been delineated in recent years, the results of which are applicable to the support of BLSS concepts. Furthermore ecological life support systems have become subject to intensified studies and experiments both in the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. The Japanese have also conducted detailed preliminary studies. Dornier System has in recent years undertaken an effort to define requirements and concepts and to analyse the feasibility of BLSS for space applications. Analyses of the BLSS energy-mass relation have been performed, and the possibilities to influence it to achieve advantages for the BLSS (compared with physico-chemical systems) have been determined. The major problem areas which need immediate attention have been defined, and a programme for the development of BLSS has been proposed.

The experience of being a middle-aged close relative of a person who has suffered a stroke--six months after discharge from a rehabilitation clinic.

PubMed

Bäckström, Britt; Sundin, Karin

2010-03-01

Being a close relative brings with it a large number of consequences, with the life situation changing over time. The aim of this study was to illuminate the experiences of being a middle-aged close relative of a person who has suffered a stroke 6 months after being discharged from a medical rehabilitation clinic. Narrative interviews were conducted with nine middle-aged close relatives and analysed using a content analysis with a latent approach. The analysis revealed that being close to someone who had suffered a stroke 6 months after discharge meant; a struggling for control and a renewal of family life in the shadow of suffering and hope. The middle-aged close relatives began to perceive the changed reality. They were struggling to take on something new, become reconciled and find a balance in their family life. Their ability to work, relief from caring concerns and having support and togetherness with others seemed to be essential for the close relatives in their efforts to manage their life situation and maintain their well-being. Having reached the 'halfway point' in their lives and still with half of their life in front of them created worries. They felt dejected about their changed relationships and roles, experience a sense of loss of shared child responsibilities, a negative impact on their marital relationships and sexual satisfaction. They felt trapped in a caring role and they worried about how to endure in the future. The middle-aged close relatives' experiences were of being alone and neglected, in an arduous and complex life situation filled with loss and grief. The findings highlights that health professionals need to see and listen to the close relatives' experiences of transition in order to provide appropriate support adjusted to their varying needs during a time of renewal.

Sustainable Systems for exploration, stays with increased duration in LEO and Earth application -an overview about life support activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slenzka, Klaus; Duenne, Matthias

Solar system exploration with extended stays in totally closed habitats far away from Earth as well as longer stays in LEO requires intensive preparatory activities. Activities supporting life in a more or less close meaning are essential in this context -on a scientific as well as on a technical level. These needed activities are supporting life by e.g.: i) increasing knowledge about the impact of single and combined effects of different exploration related environmental conditions (e. g. microgravity, radiation, reduced pressure and temperature, lunar soil etc.) on biological systems. This is needed to enable safe life of humans itself as well as safe operating of required bioregenerative life support systems. Thus, different human cell types as well as representatives of bioregenerative life support system protagonists (algae, bacteria as well as higher organisms) needs to be addressed. ii) provision of required consumables (oxygen, food, energy equivalents etc.) on site, mainly via bioregenerative life support systems, Bio-ISRU-units etc. Preparation is needed on a scientific as well as technological level. iii) ensuring reduced negative effects on humans (and partially also equipment), which could be caused by living in a closed habitat in general (and thus being not space related per se): E. g. detection systems for the quality of water and air, antimicrobial and selfhealing as well as anti-icing materials without dangerous hazard substances, psychological health enhancing components etc. Referring payloads for above mentioned investigations (scientific evaluation and technology demonstration) must be developed. Extended stays and extended closure in habitats without the possibility of material transport into and out of the system are leading to the necessity of more autonomous technologies and sustainable processes. Latter one will rely mainly on biological processes and structures, which increases additionally the necessity of an intensive scientific and technological verification before routine use under extreme conditions during solar system exploration.

Human life support during interplanetary travel and domicile. III - Mars expedition system trade study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seshan, P. K.; Ferrall, Joseph F.; Rohatgi, Naresh K.

1991-01-01

Several alternative configurations of life-support systems (LSSs) for a Mars missions are compared analytically on a quantitative basis in terms of weight, volume, and power. A baseline technology set is utilized for the illustrations of systems including totally open loop, carbon dioxide removal only, partially closed loop, and totally closed loop. The analytical model takes advantage of a modular, top-down hierarchical breakdown of LSS subsystems into functional elements that represent individual processing technologies. The open-loop systems are not competitive in terms of weight for both long-duration orbiters and short-duration lander vehicles, and power demands are lowest with the open loop and highest with the closed loop. The closed-loop system can reduce vehicle weight by over 70,000 lbs and thereby overcome the power penalty of 1600 W; the closed-loop variety is championed as the preferred system for a Mars expedition.

Optimization of controlled environments for hydroponic production of leaf lettuce for human life support in CELSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, C. A.; Knight, S. L.; Ford, T. L.

1986-01-01

A research project in the food production group of the Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) program sought to define optimum conditions for photosynthetic productivity of a higher plant food crop. The effects of radiation and various atmospheric compositions were studied.

Biological Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

Session MP2 includes short reports on: (1) Crew Regenerative Life Support in Long Duration Space Missions; (2) Bioconversion Systems for Food and Water on Long Term Space Missions; (3) Novel Laboratory Approaches to Multi-purpose Aquatic Biogenerative Closed-Loop Food Production Systems; and (4) Artificial Neural Network Derived Plant Growth Models.

Dynamic Considerations for Control of Closed Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Babcock, P. S.; Auslander, D. M.; Spear, R. C.

1985-01-01

Reliability of closed life support systems depend on their ability to continue supplying the crew's needs during perturbations and equipment failures. The dynamic considerations interact with the basic static design through the sizing of storages, the specification of excess capacities in processors, and the choice of system initial state. A very simple system flow model was used to examine the possibilities for system failures even when there is sufficient storage to buffer the immediate effects of the perturbation. Two control schemes are shown which have different dynamic consequences in response to component failures.

Supporting End of Life Decision Making: Case Studies of Relational Closeness in Supported Decision Making for People with Severe or Profound Intellectual Disability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Joanne; Wilson, Erin; Hagiliassis, Nick

2017-01-01

Background: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) promotes the use of supported decision making in lieu of substitute decision making. To date, there has been a lack of focus on supported decision making for people with severe or profound intellectual disability, including for end of life decisions.…

The Physical/Chemical Closed-Loop Life Support Research Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bilardo, Vincent J., Jr.

1990-01-01

The various elements of the Physical/Chemical Closed-Loop Life Support Research Project (P/C CLLS) are described including both those currently funded and those planned for implementation at ARC and other participating NASA field centers. The plan addresses the entire range of regenerative life support for Space Exploration Initiative mission needs, and focuses initially on achieving technology readiness for the Initial Lunar Outpost by 1995-97. Project elements include water reclamation, air revitalization, solid waste management, thermal and systems control, and systems integration. Current analysis estimates that each occupant of a space habitat will require a total of 32 kg/day of supplies to live and operate comfortably, while an ideal P/C CLLS system capable of 100 percent reclamation of air and water, but excluding recycling of solid wastes or foods, will reduce this requirement to 3.4 kg/day.

Analysis of an algae-based CELSS. II - Options and weight analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holtzapple, Mark T.; Little, Frank E.; Moses, William M.; Patterson, C. O.

1989-01-01

Life support components are evaluated for application to an idealized closed life support system which includes an algal reactor for food production. Weight-based trade studies are reported as 'break-even' time for replacing food stores with a regenerative bioreactor. It is concluded that closure of the life support gases (oxygen recovery) depends on the carbon dioxide reduction chemistry and that an algae-based food production can provide an attractive alternative to re-supply for longer duration missions.

Analysis of an algae-based CELSS. Part 2: options and weight analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holtzapple, M. T.; Little, F. E.; Moses, W. M.; Patterson, C. O.

1989-01-01

Life support components are evaluated for application to an idealized closed life support system which includes an algal reactor for food production. Weight-based trade studies are reported as "break-even" time for replacing food stores with a regenerative bioreactor. It is concluded that closure of the life support gases (oxygen recovery) depends on the carbon dioxide reduction chemistry and that an algae-based food production can provide an attractive alternative to re-supply for longer duration missions.

Mathematical Modeling Of Life-Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seshan, Panchalam K.; Ganapathi, Balasubramanian; Jan, Darrell L.; Ferrall, Joseph F.; Rohatgi, Naresh K.

1994-01-01

Generic hierarchical model of life-support system developed to facilitate comparisons of options in design of system. Model represents combinations of interdependent subsystems supporting microbes, plants, fish, and land animals (including humans). Generic model enables rapid configuration of variety of specific life support component models for tradeoff studies culminating in single system design. Enables rapid evaluation of effects of substituting alternate technologies and even entire groups of technologies and subsystems. Used to synthesize and analyze life-support systems ranging from relatively simple, nonregenerative units like aquariums to complex closed-loop systems aboard submarines or spacecraft. Model, called Generic Modular Flow Schematic (GMFS), coded in such chemical-process-simulation languages as Aspen Plus and expressed as three-dimensional spreadsheet.

The Closed Aquatic System AquaHab® as part of a CELSS for Exploration, Space and Earth Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slenzka, Klaus

AquaHab R is a small, self-sustaining closed microcosm, based on the former space shuttle payload C.E.B.A.S. (Closed Equilibrated Biological Aquatic System). AquaHab R contains on laboratory scale within 8 liters of water volume different groups of organisms (fish, snails, amphipods, plants). During the last years, it was developed to a system for the risk assessment of chemicals as well as an early warning tool for air and water contamination, major concerns during long-term stays in closed habitats for example on Earth's subsurface (deep sea) or later on the Moon or Mars. AquaHab R is now enhanced developed for exploratory missions having implemented an algae reactor system for biomass production etc.. During first tests, the transport of oxygen from the algae reactor into the AquaHab R was demonstrated successfully. In the common AquaHab R - bioreactor system, the different subsystems will serve for several tasks. In the AquaHab R - tank, the removal of waste water (mainly nutrients) as well as the production of some higher plants and fish as food source will be most beneficial; additionally the AquaHab R -tank is supporting astronauts psychological health recovery (home aquaria effect, taking care for pets). The beneficially output of the algae reactors will e.g. be the increased delivery of oxygen and metabolic products with application potential for humans (as e.g. vitamins, drug like acting substances) as well as being a food source in general and also the removal of carbon dioxide. Furthermore, specialized algae can also serve as early warning tool, as all the organisms in the AquaHab R do, or producing energy equivalents. The different subsystems will interact with each other to treat the products of humans being in the closed habitat in the most effective way. This new life support subsystem will be bioregenerative and sustainable in the meaning, that no material transport into the system is needed, and non-usable and maybe toxic end products won‘t be produced. This is of high interest also for life in the closed biosphere Earth. The implementation of an AquaHab R -based life support system in an overall bioregenerative life support system concept for closed habitats is aimed. OHB-System is pushing the development of such a closed aquatic life support system in several projects, dealing with the single elements of the system as well as with the overall integration. First breadboards are tested in R&D-projects and are proposed to study in closed habitat simulation programs. An overview of some subsystems and the actual status will be given at the assembly.

Closed-loop Habitation Air Revitalization Model for Regenerative Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, Maxwell M.

1991-01-01

The primary function of any life support system is to keep the crew alive by providing breathable air, potable water, edible food, and for disposal of waste. In a well-balanced or regenerative life support system, the various components are each using what is available and producing what is needed by other components so that there will always be enough chemicals in the form in which they are needed. Humans are not just users, but also one of the participating parts of the system. If a system could continuously recycle the original chemicals, this would make it virtually a Closed-loop Habitation (CH). Some difficulties in trying to create a miniature version of a CH are briefly discussed. In a miniature CH, a minimal structure must be provided and the difference must be made up by artificial parts such as physicochemical systems that perform the conversions that the Earth can achieve naturally. To study the interactions of these parts, a computer model was designed that simulates a miniature CH with emphasis on the air revitalization part. It is called the Closed-loop Habitation Air Revitalization Model (CHARM).

Sweet potato for closed ecological life support systems using the nutrient film technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Loretan, P. A.; Hill, W. A.; Bonsi, C. K.; Morris, C. E.; Lu, J. Y.; Ogbuehi, C. R. A.; Mortley, D. G.

1990-01-01

Sweet potatoes were grown hydroponically using the nutrient film technique (NFT) in support of the Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) program. Experiments in the greenhouse with the TI-155 sweet potato cultivar produced up to 1790 g/plant of fresh storage roots. Studies with both TI-155 and Georgia Jet cultivars resulted in an edible biomass index of approximately 60 percent, with edible biomass linear growth rates of 12.1 to 66.0 g m(exp -2)d(exp -1) in 0.05 to 0.13 sq meters in 105 to 130 days. Additional experimental results are given. All studies indicate good potential for sweet potatoes in CELSS.

Plant growth and mineral recycle trade-offs in different scenarios for a CELSS. [Closed Ecological Life Support System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballou, E. V.; Wydeven, T.; Spitze, L. A.

1982-01-01

Data for hydroponic plant growth in a manned system test is combined with nutritional recommendations to suport trade-off calculations for closed and partially closed life support system scenarios. Published data are used as guidelines for the masses of mineral nutrients needed for higher plant production. The results of calculations based on various scenarios are presented for various combinations of plant growth chamber utilization and fraction of mineral recycle. Estimates are made of the masses of material needed to meet human nutritional requirements in the various scenarios. It appears that food production from a plant growth chamber with mineral recycle is favorable to reduction of the total launch weight in missions exceeding 3 years.

Conducting Closed Habitation Experiments: Experience from the Lunar Mars Life Support Test Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barta, Daniel J.; Edeen, Marybeth A.; Henninger, Donald L.

2004-01-01

The Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) was conducted from 1995 through 1997 at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) to demonstrate increasingly longer duration operation of integrated, closed-loop life support systems that employed biological and physicochemical techniques for water recycling, waste processing, air revitalization, thermal control, and food production. An analog environment for long-duration human space travel, the conditions of isolation and confinement also enabled studies of human factors, medical sciences (both physiology and psychology) and crew training. Four tests were conducted, Phases I, II, IIa and III, with durations of 15, 30,60 and 91 days, respectively. The first phase focused on biological air regeneration, using wheat to generate enough oxygen for one experimental subject. The systems demonstrated in the later phases were increasingly complex and interdependent, and provided life support for four crew members. The tests were conducted using two human-rated, atmospherically-closed test chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC) and the Integrated Life Support Systems Test Facility (ILSSTF). Systems included test articles (the life support hardware under evaluation), human accommodations (living quarters, kitchen, exercise equipment, etc.) and facility systems (emergency matrix system, power, cooling, etc.). The test team was managed by a lead engineer and a test director, and included test article engineers responsible for specific systems, subsystems or test articles, test conductors, facility engineers, chamber operators and engineering technicians, medical and safety officers, and science experimenters. A crew selection committee, comprised of psychologists, engineers and managers involved in the test, evaluated male and female volunteers who applied to be test subjects. Selection was based on the skills mix anticipated for each particular test, and utilized information from psychological and medical testing, data on the knowledge, experience and skills of the applicants, and team building exercises. The design, development, buildup and operation of test hardware and documentation followed the established NASA processes and requirements for test buildup and operation.

Conducting Closed Habitation Experiments: Experience from the Lunar Mars Life Support Test Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barta, Daniel J.; Edeen, Marybeth A.; Henninger, Donald L.

2006-01-01

The Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) was conducted from 1995 through 1997 at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) to demonstrate increasingly longer duration operation of integrated, closed-loop life support systems that employed biological and physicochemical techniques for water recycling, waste processing, air revitalization, thermal control, and food production. An analog environment for long-duration human space travel, the conditions of isolation and confinement also enabled studies of human factors, medical sciences (both physiology and psychology) and crew training. Four tests were conducted, Phases I, II, IIa and III, with durations of 15, 30, 60 and 91 days, respectively. The first phase focused on biological air regeneration, using wheat to generate enough oxygen for one experimental subject. The systems demonstrated in the later phases were increasingly complex and interdependent, and provided life support for four crew members. The tests were conducted using two human-rated, atmospherically-closed test chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC) and the Integrated Life Support Systems Test Facility (ILSSTF). Systems included test articles (the life support hardware under evaluation), human accommodations (living quarters, kitchen, exercise equipment, etc.) and facility systems (emergency matrix system, power, cooling, etc.). The test team was managed by a lead engineer and a test director, and included test article engineers responsible for specific systems, subsystems or test articles, test conductors, facility engineers, chamber operators and engineering technicians, medical and safety officers, and science experimenters. A crew selection committee, comprised of psychologists, engineers and managers involved in the test, evaluated male and female volunteers who applied to be test subjects. Selection was based on the skills mix anticipated for each particular test, and utilized information from psychological and medical testing, data on the knowledge, experience and skills of the applicants, and team building exercises. The design, development, buildup and operation of test hardware and documentation followed the established NASA processes and requirements for test buildup and operation.

Life Support System Technologies for NASA Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ewert, Michael K.

2007-01-01

The Lunar Mars Life Support Test series successfully demonstrated integration and operation of advanced technologies for closed-loop life support systems, including physicochemical and biological subsystems. Increased closure was obtained when targeted technologies, such as brine dewatering subsystems, were added to further process life support system byproducts to recover resources. Physicochemical and biological systems can be integrated satisfactorily to achieve desired levels of closure. Imbalances between system components, such as differences in metabolic quotients between human crews and plants, must be addressed. Each subsystem or component that is added to increase closure will likely have added costs, ranging from initial launch mass, power, thermal, crew time, byproducts, etc., that must be factored into break even analysis. Achieving life support system closure while maintaining control of total mass and system complexity will be a challenge.

Regenerative life support system research and concepts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1988-01-01

Life support systems that involve recycling of atmospheres, water, food and waste are so complex that models incorporating all the interactions and relationships are vital to design, development, simulations, and ultimately to control of space qualified systems. During early modeling studies, FORTRAN and BASIC programs were used to obtain numerical comparisons of the performance of different regenerative concepts. Recently, models were made by combining existing capabilities with expert systems to establish an Intelligent Design Support Environment for simpliflying user interfaces and to address the need for the engineering aspects. Progress was also made toward modeling and evaluating the operational aspects of closed loop life support systems using Time-step and Dynamic simulations over a period of time. Example models are presented which show the status and potential of developed modeling techniques. For instance, closed loop systems involving algae systeMs for atmospheric purification and food supply augmentation, plus models employing high plants and solid waste electrolysis are described and results of initial evaluations are presented.

Apollo Portable Life Support System

NASA Image and Video Library

1968-06-11

S68-34580 (1968) --- With its exterior removed, the Apollo portable life support system (PLSS) can be easily studied. The PLSS is worn as a backpack over the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), a multi-layered spacesuit used for outside-the-spacecraft activity. JSC photographic frame no. S68-34582 is a close-up view of the working parts of the PLSS.

Life Support Requirements and Challenges for NASA's Constellation Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Carasquillo, Robyn

2007-01-01

NASA's Constellation Program, which includes the mission objectives of establishing a permanently-manned lunar Outpost, and the exploration of Mars, poses new and unique challenges for human life support systems that will require solutions beyond the Shuttle and International Space Station state of the art systems. In particular, the requirement to support crews for 210 days duration at the lunar outpost with limited resource resupply capability wilt require closed-loop regenerative life support systems with minimal expendables. Planetary environmental conditions such as lunar dust and extreme temperatures, as well as the capability to support frequent and extended-duration EVA's will be particularly challenging. This presentation will summarize the key program and mission life support requirements for the Constellation Program and the unique challenges they present for technology and architecture development.

Life sciences report 1987

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

Highlighted here are the major research efforts of the NASA Life Sciences Division during the past year. Topics covered include remote health care delivery in space, space biomedical research, gravitational biology, biospherics (studying planet Earth), the NASA Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS), exobiology, flight programs, international cooperation, and education programs.

Initial assessments of life support technology evolution and advanced sensor requirements, volume 2, appendix A

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, Edward E.

1991-01-01

The primary issues studied were how the transition from a physical/chemical (P/C) to hybrid to a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) could be achieved, what sensors and monitors are needed for a P/C -CELSS hybrid system, and how a CELSS could be automated and what controls would be needed to do so.

Higher Plants in Space for MELiSSA -Literature Review and Future Directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zabrodina, Marina; Kittang, Ann-Iren; Coelho, Liz Helena; Karoliussen, Irene; Aase Wolff, Silje; Iversen, Tor-Henning

The human exploration of space requires the development of closed life support systems to regenerate oxygen, purify water, and produce food. MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) is a model system for advanced life support based on different microbial species and higher plants. The main objective of the LiRHiPliSMe (Literature Review of Higher Plants in Space for MELiSSA) project was to elaborate the preliminary roadmap for higher plant research activities for the MELiSSA project Phase 2 (Preliminary Space Experiments). The first task was to establish an understanding of the current knowledge concerning how higher plant will adapt to Moon/Mars physical factors different from Earth with focus on reduced gravity, space radiation, variations in magnetic field and combined effects of these factors. The literature related to how Moon/Mars physical factors can affect genetic processes, growth regulators, development, morphology, water and nutrients transport, gas exchange and metabolism of higher plants during one life cycle were collected. The possible effects of the space environment on the plant role as a food and on the mass balance in a Life Support System that includes a Higher Plant Compartment are reviewed. Based on this literature review there was made an assessment of where new or extended scientific knowledge about space factors effects on higher plant growth and development is needed. The requirements for research activities on higher plants in enclosed life support systems were identified. The required higher plant research activities for MELiSSA phase 2 both on ground and in space were placed in a timescale from the present until higher plants can be grown in closed life support systems on Moon and Mars.

Space Life Support Technology Applications to Terrestrial Environmental Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartzkopf, Steven H.; Sleeper, Howard L.

1993-01-01

Many of the problems now facing the human race on Earth are, in fact, life support issues. Decline of air Quality as a result of industrial and automotive emissions, pollution of ground water by organic pesticides or solvents, and the disposal of solid wastes are all examples of environmental problems that we must solve to sustain human life. The technologies currently under development to solve the problems of supporting human life for advanced space missions are extraordinarily synergistic with these environmental problems. The development of these technologies (including both physicochemical and bioregenerative types) is increasingly focused on closing the life support loop by removing and recycling contaminants and wastes to produce the materials necessary to sustain human life. By so doing, this technology development effort also focuses automatically on reducing resupply logistics requirements and increasing crew safety through increased self-sufficiency. This paper describes several technologies that have been developed to support human life in space and illustrates the applicability of the technologies to environmental problems including environmental remediation and pollution prevention.

Human Support Technology Research, Development and Demonstration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joshi, Jitendra; Trinh, Eugene

2004-01-01

The Human Support Technology research, development, and demonstration program address es the following areas at TRL: Advanced Power and Propulsion. Cryogenic fluid management. Closed-loop life support and Habitability. Extravehicular activity systems. Scientific data collection and analysis. and Planetary in-situ resource utilization.

Monitoring ethylene emissions from plants cultured for a controlled ecological life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Corey, Kenneth A.

1995-01-01

Emission of hydrocarbons and other volatile compounds by materials and organisms in closed environments will be a major concern in the design and management of advanced life support systems with a bioregenerative component. Ethylene, a simple hydrocarbon synthesized by plants, is involved in the elicitation of a wide range of physiological responses. In closed environments, ethylene may build up to levels which become physiologically active. In several growouts of 'Yecora Rojo' wheat in Kennedy Space Center's Biomass Production Chamber (BPC), it was observed that leaf flecking and rolling occurred in the sealed environment and was virtually eliminated when potassium permanganate was used to scrub the atmospheric environment. It was suggested that ethylene, which accumulated to about 60 ppb in the chamber and which was effectively absorbed by potassium permanganate, was responsible for the symptoms. The objectives of this work were to: (1) determine rates of ethylene evolution from lettuce (Lactuca sativa cultivar Waldemann's Green) and wheat (Triticum aestivum cultivar Yecora Rojo) plants during growth and development; (2) determine the effects of exposure of whole, vegetative stage plants to exogenous ethylene concentrations in the range of what would develop in closed environment growth chambers; and (3) develop predictive functions for changes in ethylene concentration that would develop under different cropping and closed environment configurations. Results will lead to the development of management strategies for ethylene in bioregenerative life support systems.

The development and succession of microbial communities in 90-day Bioregenerative Life Support Experiment in the Lunar Palace 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Yi; Liu, Hong; Fu, Yuming; Liu, Bojie; Su, Qiang; Xie, Beizhen; Qin, Youcai; Dong, Chen; Liu, Guanghui

Lunar Palace 1, as an integrative experiment facility for permanent astrobase life-support artificial closed ecosystem, is an artificial ecosystem which consists of plant cultivation, animal breeding and waste treatment units. It has been used to carry out a 90-day bioregenerative life support experiment with three crew members. Apparently, it’s hard to prevent the growth of microorganisms in such closed ecosystem for their strong adaptive capacity. Original microorganisms in the cabin, microbes in the course of loads delivery and the autologous microorganism by crew members and animals themselves are all the main source of the interior microorganisms, which may grow and regenerate in air, water and plants. Therefore, if these microorganisms could not be effectively monitored and controlled, it may cause microbial contamination and even lead to the unsteadiness of the whole closed ecosystem. In this study, the development and succession of the microbial communities of air, water system, plant system, and key facilities surfaces in Lunar Palace 1 were continuously monitored and analyzed by using plate counting method and molecular biological method during the 90-day experiment. The results were quite useful for the controlling of internal microorganisms and the safe operation of the whole system, and could also reveal the succession rules of microorganisms in an artificial closed ecosystem.

Achieving Closure for Bioregenerative Life Support Systems: Engineering and Ecological Challenges, Research Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempster, William; Allen, John P.

Closed systems are desirable for a number of purposes: space life support systems where precious life-supporting resources need to be kept inside; biospheric systems; where global ecological pro-cesses can be studied in great detail and testbeds where research topics requiring isolation from the outside (e.g. genetically modified organisms; radioisotopes) can be studied in isolation from the outside environment and where their ecological interactions and fluxes can be studied. But to achieve and maintain closure raises both engineering and ecological challenges. Engineering challenges include methods of achieving closure for structures of different materials, and devel-oping methods of allowing energy (for heating and cooling) and information transfer through the materially closed structure. Methods of calculating degree of closure include measuring degradation rates of inert trace gases introduced into the system. An allied problem is devel-oping means of locating where leaks are located so that they may be repaired and degree of closure maintained. Once closure is achieved, methods of dealing with the pressure differen-tials between inside and outside are needed: from inflatable structures which might adjust to the pressure difference to variable volume chambers attached to the life systems component. These issues are illustrated through the engineering employed at Biosphere 2, the Biosphere 2 Test Module and the Laboratory Biosphere and a discussion of methods used by other closed ecological system facility engineers. Ecological challenges include being able to handle faster cycling rates and accentuated daily and seasonal fluxes of critical life elements such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, macro-and mico-nutrients. The problems of achieving sustainability in closed systems for life support include how to handle atmospheric dynamics including trace gases, producing a complete human diet and recycling nutrients and maintaining soil fertility, healthy air and water and preventing the loss of crucial elements from active circulation. In biospheric facilities the challenge is also to produce analogue to natural biomes and ecosys-tems, studying processes of self-organization and adaptation in systems that allow specification or determination of state variables and cycles which may be followed through all interactions from atmosphere to soils.

Closed ecological life-support systems and their applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gitelson, Josef I.

The advent of man-made closed ecosystems (CES) is a solution of the fundamental problem-egress of humans beyond the Earth's biosphere, providing biological basis for exploitation of Space and celestial bodies. Yet, before proceeding to these ambitious project elements of closed life-support biotechnologies, there can be found diverse applications on Earth in human settlements providing for high quality of life under extreme environment conditions: high latitudes, deserts, mountains and industrially polluted areas. This presentation considers these variations of terrestrial applications of CELSS technologies. The version of CES under development is based on making direct use of the light energy in plant photosynthesis. In this case life support of one man on the Earth orbit requires solar light collected from 5-10m2. Among terrestrial applications of prime importance is the development of an ecohome designed to provide people with a high quality of life in Arctic and Antarctic territories. The developed technology of cascade employment of energy makes possible (expending 10-15 kw of installed power per a house-3-5 member family) to provide for: permanent supply of fresh vitamin-full vegetables, absorption and processing oaf excreta, purification of water and air in the living quarters, habitual colour and light conditions in the premises in winter making up to sensorial deprivation and, finally, psychological comfort of close contact with the plants during the long polar night. Ecohabitat based on the technology described in realistic today and depends only on the energy available and the resolution and readiness (sagacity) of the decision-makers to be committed with ecohome assigning. The ecological and economical significance of construction of ecohabitats for the northern territories of Canada, Alaska and Russia is apparent. This principle can be used (with considerable economy of energy and construction costs) to maintain normal partial pressure of oxygen inside the house for human life in alpine conditions.

The possibility of aromorphosis in further development of closed human life support systems using genetically modified organisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gitelson, Josef

Creation of closed systems that would be able to support human life outside the biosphere for extended periods of time (CES) was started after humans went into outer space. The last fifty years have seen the construction of experimental variants of the CES in Russia, USA, and Japan. The "MELISSA" project of the European Space Agency is being prepared to be launched. Much success has been achieved in closing material loops in the CES. An obstacle to constructing a fully closed ecosystem is significant imbalance in material exchange between the producing components and the decomposing ones in the CES. The spectrum of metabolites released by humans does not fully correspond to the requirements of the main producer of the CES -plants. However, this imbalance can be corrected by rather simple physicochemical processes that can be used in the CES without unclosing the system. The major disagreement that prevents further improvement of human life support systems (LSS) is that the spectrum of products of photosynthesis in the CES does not correspond to human food requirements qual-itatively, quantitatively, or in terms of diversity. In the normal, physiologically sound, human diet, this discrepancy is resolved by adding animal products. However, there are technical, technological, and hygienic obstacles to including animals in the closed human life support systems, and if higher animals are considered, there are also ethical arguments. If between the photoautotrophic link, plants, and the heterotrophic link, the human, there were one more heterotrophic link, farm animals, the energy requirements of the system would be increased by nearly an order of magnitude, decreasing its efficiency and making it heavier and bulkier. Is there another way to close loops in human life support systems? In biology, such "findings" of evolution, which open up new perspectives and offer ample opportunities for possible adapta-tions, are termed aromorphoses (Schmalhausen, 1948). In further evolution of the CES, the use of the advantages offered by genetically modified organisms produced by modern biotechnology can be regarded as aromorphosis. If the genetic program of biosyntheses performed by plants in-cludes the new genes that will program the synthesis of all molecules necessary for humans, the plants, both unicellular and higher, will produce the whole range of food substances perfectly corresponding to the requirements of the human body. This is a long way, but the investment of resources and time will be justified not only by the creation of an LSS for long-distance space missions and colonization of planets that will contain as many closed loops as possible and be energy efficient. This will also be a convenient and safest instrument to study and justify the wide use of products of genetically modified plants on Earth. Today, humanity is extremely wary of this idea because of its novelty. As experimental human life support ecosystems are closed systems, they provide the most reliable and safest instrument for studying issues related to GMO and preparing scientifically based suggestions for their practical use. The report will contain data on the spectra of mismatches between vegetable foods produced in BIOS-3 and human requirements, and the objectives of correcting the biosynthesis programs in the CES.

'The ICECAP-SCM tells you more about what I'm going through': A think-aloud study measuring quality of life among patients receiving supportive and palliative care.

PubMed

Bailey, Cara; Kinghorn, Philip; Orlando, Rosanna; Armour, Kathy; Perry, Rachel; Jones, Louise; Coast, Joanna

2016-07-01

The ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure is a self-complete questionnaire developed to aid economic evaluation of supportive care interventions. To determine the feasibility of completing ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure alongside EQ-5D-5L and ICECAP-A (generic measures used in economic evaluation) among patients receiving hospice care, close persons and healthcare professionals. Participants were asked to 'think aloud' while completing ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure and two other generic measures used in economic evaluation, EQ-5D-5L and ICECAP-A, and then participate in a semi-structured interview. From verbatim transcripts, five raters identified the frequency of errors in comprehension, retrieval, judgement and response. Qualitative data were analysed using constant comparison. Eligible patients were identified from one UK hospice by a research nurse. Close persons and healthcare professionals were identified by the patient. In all, 72 semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients (n = 33), close persons (n = 22) and healthcare professionals (n = 17). Patients and close persons reported that the ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure was most appropriate for measuring their quality of life. It appeared more meaningful, easier to complete and had fewest errors (3.9% among patients, 4.5% among close persons) compared to EQ-5D-5L (9.7% among patients, 5.5% among close persons). Healthcare professionals acknowledged the value of the ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure but had fewer errors in completing the EQ-5D-5L (3.5% versus 6.7%). They found it easier to complete because it focuses on observable health states. The ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure is feasible to use and perceived as appropriate for evaluating palliative care interventions. Healthcare professionals with limited knowledge of the patient who act as proxy completers may find the measure difficult to complete. © The Author(s) 2016.

‘The ICECAP-SCM tells you more about what I’m going through’: A think-aloud study measuring quality of life among patients receiving supportive and palliative care

PubMed Central

Bailey, Cara; Kinghorn, Philip; Orlando, Rosanna; Armour, Kathy; Perry, Rachel; Jones, Louise; Coast, Joanna

2016-01-01

Background: The ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure is a self-complete questionnaire developed to aid economic evaluation of supportive care interventions. Aim: To determine the feasibility of completing ICECAP–Supportive Care Measure alongside EQ-5D-5L and ICECAP-A (generic measures used in economic evaluation) among patients receiving hospice care, close persons and healthcare professionals. Design: Participants were asked to ‘think aloud’ while completing ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure and two other generic measures used in economic evaluation, EQ-5D-5L and ICECAP-A, and then participate in a semi-structured interview. From verbatim transcripts, five raters identified the frequency of errors in comprehension, retrieval, judgement and response. Qualitative data were analysed using constant comparison. Setting/participants: Eligible patients were identified from one UK hospice by a research nurse. Close persons and healthcare professionals were identified by the patient. In all, 72 semi-structured interviews were conducted with patients (n = 33), close persons (n = 22) and healthcare professionals (n = 17). Results: Patients and close persons reported that the ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure was most appropriate for measuring their quality of life. It appeared more meaningful, easier to complete and had fewest errors (3.9% among patients, 4.5% among close persons) compared to EQ-5D-5L (9.7% among patients, 5.5% among close persons). Healthcare professionals acknowledged the value of the ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure but had fewer errors in completing the EQ-5D-5L (3.5% versus 6.7%). They found it easier to complete because it focuses on observable health states. Conclusions: The ICECAP-Supportive Care Measure is feasible to use and perceived as appropriate for evaluating palliative care interventions. Healthcare professionals with limited knowledge of the patient who act as proxy completers may find the measure difficult to complete. PMID:26819326

Space colonization.

PubMed

Parrish, Clyde F

2003-12-01

A series of workshops were sponsored by the Physical Science Division of NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research to address operational gravity-compliant in-situ resource utilization and life support techologies. Workshop participants explored a Mars simulation study on Devon Island, Canada; the processing of carbon dioxide in regenerative life support systems; space tourism; rocket technology; plant growth research for closed ecological systems; and propellant extraction of planetary regoliths.

Preliminary evaluation of waste processing in a CELSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacquez, Ricardo B.

1990-01-01

Physical/chemical, biological, and hybrid methods can be used in a space environment for processing wastes generated by a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). Two recycling scenarios are presented. They reflect differing emphases on and responses to the waste system formation rates and their composition, as well as indicate the required products from waste treatment that are needed in a life support system.

Space life support engineering program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seagrave, Richard C.

1991-01-01

This report covers the first six months of work performed under the NASA University Grant awarded to Iowa State University to perform research on two topics relating to the development of closed-loop long-term life support systems. A comprehensive study to develop software to simulate the dynamic operation of water reclamation systems in long-term closed-loop life support systems is being carried out as part of an overall program for the design of systems for a Mars voyage. This project is being done in parallel with a similar effort in the Department of Chemistry to develop durable accurate low-cost sensors for monitoring of trace chemical and biological species in recycled water supplies. Aspen-Plus software is being used on a group of high-performance workstations to develop the steady state descriptions for a number of existing technologies. Following completion, a dynamic simulation package will be developed for determining the response of such systems to changes in the metabolic needs of the crew and to upsets in system hardware performance.

A chamber design for closed ecological systems research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartzkopf, H.; Stofan, P. E.

1981-01-01

A single-plant growth chamber is described which is closed with respect to nutrient and gas flows, in order to serve as a tool in the investigation of control over biological systems. Such control procedures are essential for the use of biological components in the development of a closed ecological life support system (CELSS). The chamber's design consists of two concentric clear plastic cylinders equipped with aeroponic feed tubing, a supporting platform for the plant and a set of sensors that includes an anemometer, thermistors, pressure and strain gauges, and humidity sensors.

Observations on gas exchange and element recycle within a gas-closed algal-mouse system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smernoff, D. T.; Wharton, R. A., Jr.; Averner, M. M.

1986-01-01

Life support systems based on bioregeneration rely on the control and manipulation of organisms. Algae are potentially useful for a variety of Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) functions including the revitalization of atmospheres, production of food and for nitrogen fixation. The results of experiments conducted with a gas-closed algal-mouse system designed to investigate gas exchange phenomena under varying algal environmental conditions, and the ability of algae to utilize oxidized mouse solid waste are reported. Inherent instabilities exist between the uptake and release of carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2) by the mouse and algae in a gas-closed system. Variations in light intensity and cell density alter the photosynthetic rate of the algae and enable short-term steady-state concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and O2. Different nitrogen sources (urea and nitrate) result in different algal assimilatory quotients (AQ). Combinations of photosynthetic rate and AQ ratio manipulations were examined for their potential in stabilizing atmospheric gas concentrations in the gas-closed algal-mouse system.

Waste streams in a crewed space habitat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wydeven, T.; Golub, M. A.

1991-01-01

A judicious compilation of generation rates and chemical compositions of potential waste feed streams in a typical crewed space habitat was made in connection with the waste-management aspect of NASA's Physical/Chemical Closed-Loop Life Support Program. Waste composition definitions are needed for the design of waste-processing technologies involved in closing major life support functions in future long-duration human space missions. Tables of data for the constituents and chemical formulas of the following waste streams are presented and discussed: human urine, feces, hygiene (laundry and shower) water, cleansing agents, trash, humidity condensate, dried sweat, and trace contaminants. Tables of data on dust generation and pH values of the different waste streams are also presented and discussed.

Closing the Black-White Gap in Birth Outcomes: A Life-course Approach

PubMed Central

Lu, Michael C.; Kotelchuck, Milton; Hogan, Vijaya; Jones, Loretta; Wright, Kynna; Halfon, Neal

2015-01-01

In the United States, Black infants have significantly worse birth outcomes than White infants. Over the past decades, public health efforts to address these disparities have focused primarily on increasing access to prenatal care, however, this has not led to closing the gap in birth outcomes. We propose a 12-point plan to reduce Black-White disparities in birth outcomes using a life-course approach. The first four points (increase access to interconception care, preconception care, quality prenatal care, and healthcare throughout the life course) address the needs of African American women for quality healthcare across the lifespan. The next four points (strengthen father involvement, systems integration, reproductive social capital, and community building) go beyond individual-level interventions to address enhancing family and community systems that may influence the health of pregnant women, families, and communities. The last four points (close the education gap, reduce poverty, support working mothers, and undo racism) move beyond the biomedical model to address the social and economic inequities that underlie much of health disparities. Closing the Black-White gap in birth outcomes requires a life course approach which addresses both early life disadvantages and cumulative allostatic load over the life course. PMID:20629248

Closing the Black-White gap in birth outcomes: a life-course approach.

PubMed

Lu, Michael C; Kotelchuck, Milton; Hogan, Vijaya; Jones, Loretta; Wright, Kynna; Halfon, Neal

2010-01-01

In the United States, Black infants have significantly worse birth outcomes than White infants. Over the past decades, public health efforts to address these disparities have focused primarily on increasing access to prenatal care, however, this has not led to closing the gap in birth outcomes. We propose a 12-point plan to reduce Black-White disparities in birth outcomes using a life-course approach. The first four points (increase access to interconception care, preconception care, quality prenatal care, and healthcare throughout the life course) address the needs of African American women for quality healthcare across the lifespan. The next four points (strengthen father involvement, systems integration, reproductive social capital, and community building) go beyond individual-level interventions to address enhancing family and community systems that may influence the health of pregnant women, families, and communities. The last four points (close the education gap, reduce poverty, support working mothers, and undo racism) move beyond the biomedical model to address the social and economic inequities that underlie much of health disparities. Closing the Black-White gap in birth outcomes requires a life course approach which addresses both early life disadvantages and cumulative allostatic load over the life course.

Design of Sensors for Control of Closed Loop Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

A brief summary is presented of a Engineering Design sequence, a cooperation between NASA-Kennedy and the University of Florida on the Controlled Environmental Life Support System (CELSS) program. Part of the class was devoted to learning general principles and techniques of design. The next portion of the class was devoted to learning to design, actually fabricating and testing small components and subsystems of a CELSS.

Design concepts for bioreactors in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seshan, P. K.; Peterson, G. R.; Beard, B.; Boshe, C.; Dunlop, E. H.

1987-01-01

Microbial food sources are becoming viable and more efficient alternatives to conventional food sources, especially in the context of closed ecological life support systems (CELSS) in space habitats. Two bioreactor design concepts presented represent two dissimilar approaches to grappling with the absence of gravity in space habitats and deserve to be tested for adoption as important components of the life support function aboard spacecraft, space stations and other extra-terrestrial habitats.

A physicochemical environmental control/life support system for the Mars transit vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sedej, Melaine M.

1986-01-01

The environmental control/life support system (ECLSS) must be small and maintenance free as possible to allow maximum mission flexibility. A physiocochemical ECLSS concept similar in many ways to several of the partially closed ECLSS concepts proposed for the space station is discussed. However, this concept elmininates several of the space station ECLSS subsystems and potentially eliminates the use of cryogenics and high-pressure gaseous storage.

Space Station Freedom ECLSS: A step toward autonomous regenerative life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dewberry, Brandon S.

1990-01-01

The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is a Freedom Station distributed system with inherent applicability to extensive automation primarily due to its comparatively long control system latencies. These allow longer contemplation times in which to form a more intelligent control strategy and to prevent and diagnose faults. The regenerative nature of the Space Station Freedom ECLSS will contribute closed loop complexities never before encountered in life support systems. A study to determine ECLSS automation approaches has been completed. The ECLSS baseline software and system processes could be augmented with more advanced fault management and regenerative control systems for a more autonomous evolutionary system, as well as serving as a firm foundation for future regenerative life support systems. Emerging advanced software technology and tools can be successfully applied to fault management, but a fully automated life support system will require research and development of regenerative control systems and models. The baseline Environmental Control and Life Support System utilizes ground tests in development of batch chemical and microbial control processes. Long duration regenerative life support systems will require more active chemical and microbial feedback control systems which, in turn, will require advancements in regenerative life support models and tools. These models can be verified using ground and on orbit life support test and operational data, and used in the engineering analysis of proposed intelligent instrumentation feedback and flexible process control technologies for future autonomous regenerative life support systems, including the evolutionary Space Station Freedom ECLSS.

Extraction of mineral elements from inedible wastes of biological components of a life-support system and their utilization for plant nutrition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gribovskaya, I. V.; Gladchenko, I. A.; Zinenko, G. K.

Two methods of extracting mineral elements from otherwise deadlock products of a life-support system are presented. We describe first optimum conditions for recovering elements by water extraction from dry wastes of plants, biomass ash, and solid human wastes after passing them through the catalytic furnace; and, second, we describe acid extracts of biogenous elements by 1N and 2N HNO_3 from these products. Ways to use the extracts of elements in plant nutrition are considered in order to increase the extent to which the mineral loop of a life-support system can be closed.

Controlled ecological life support system breadboard project, 1988

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knott, W. M.

1990-01-01

The Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Breadboard Project, NASA's effort to develop the technology required to produce a functioning bioregenerative system, is discussed. The different phases of the project and its current status are described. The relationship between the project components are shown, and major project activities for fiscal years 1989 to 1993 are listed. The Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) became operational and tests of wheat as a single crop are nearing completion.

Conceptual design and evaluation of selected Space Station concepts, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The partially closed cycle environmental control and Life Support Subsystems is examined. Components of the system include air pressure control, heat control, water management, air and water quality monitors, fire detection and suppression, personnel escape, and EVA support subsystems.

An introduction to the nitrogen dynamics in controlled systems workshop. Life support and nitrogen: NASA's interest in nitrogen cycling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

MacElroy, R. D.; Smernoff, D. T.

1996-01-01

A Workshop on "Nitrogen Dynamics in Controlled Systems" was held September 26-28, 1995 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The meetings were sponsored by the NASA Advanced Life Support program and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and hosted by Prof. Lester Packer of the University of California at Berkeley, and of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The Workshop participants were asked to: 1. summarize current knowledge on the cycling of nitrogen in closed systems; 2. identify the needs that closed systems may have for specific forms of nitrogen; 3. identify possible ways of generating and maintaining (or avoiding) specific forms and concentrations of nitrogen; 4. compare biological and physical/chemical methods of transforming nitrogen.

Generation rates and chemical compositions of waste streams in a typical crewed space habitat

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wydeven, Theodore; Golub, Morton A.

1990-01-01

A judicious compilation of generation rates and chemical compositions of potential waste feed streams in a typical crewed space habitat was made in connection with the waste-management aspect of NASA's Physical/Chemical Closed-Loop Life Support Program. Waste composition definitions are needed for the design of waste-processing technologies involved in closing major life support functions in future long-duration human space missions. Tables of data for the constituents and chemical formulas of the following waste streams are presented and discussed: human urine, feces, hygiene (laundry and shower) water, cleansing agents, trash, humidity condensate, dried sweat, and trace contaminants. Tables of data on dust generation and pH values of the different waste streams are also presented and discussed.

Earth Applications of Closed Ecological Systems: Relevance to the Development of Sustainability in our Global Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempster, W.; van Thillo, M.; Alling, A.; Allen, J.; Silverstone, S.; Nelson, M.

The parallels between the challenges facing bioregenerative life support and closed ecological systems and those in our global biosphere are striking. At the scale of the current global technosphere and human population, it is increasingly obvious that the biosphere can no longer be counted on to be vast enough to safely buffer and absorb technogenic and anthropogenic pollutants. With an increasing percentage of the world's natural resources and primary productivity being dictated by, and directed to, humans, our species is starting to appreciate its survival and quality of life depends on regulating its activities, and insuring that crucial biogeochemical cycles continue to function. This shift of consciousness has led to the widespread call for moving towards the sustainability of human activities. For researchers working on bioreenerative life support, the small volumes and faster cycling times have made it obvious that systems must be created in to ensure renewal of water and atmosphere, nutrient recycling, and where all technical systems can be safely integrated with the maintenance of safe environmental conditions. The development of technical systems that can be fully integrated with the living systems that they support should be a harbinger of new perspectives in the global environment. The paper will review some of these environmental technologies which are emerging from bioregenerative life support system research such as high-yield intensive agricultural methods, waste treatment and nutrient recycling, air purification, modeling, sensor and control systems and their potential applications in the global biosphere. In addition, a review of the human experience in closed ecological systems shows that these can offer opportunities for public education and consciousness-changing of how humans regard our global biosphere.

Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roman, Monsi; Howard, David

2015-01-01

Atmosphere Resource Recovery and Environmental Monitoring (ARREM) is a project focused on evolving existing and maturing emerging 'closed loop' atmosphere revitalization (AR) life support systems that produce clean, breathable air for crewmembers, and developing a suite of low mass, low power environmental monitors to detect and measure air- and waterborne constituents and contaminants. The objective is to improve reliability and efficiency, reduce mass and volume, and increase recovery of oxygen from carbon dioxide created by human metabolism from 43% to greater than 90%. The technology developments under ARREM are vital to extending human space missions from low-Earth orbit like the International Space Station to destinations deeper into space such as Mars where dependency on Earth for resupply of maintenance items and critical life support elements such as water and oxygen is not possible. The primary goal of the ARREM project is to demonstrate that systems meet the more stringent performance parameters for deep space exploration and are compatible with other systems within closed loop life support through a series of integrated tests performed in an environmental test chamber capable of simulating human metabolic activities and measuring systems outputs.

The Influence of Power Limitations on Closed Environment Life Support System Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flynn, Michael; Kliss, Mark (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

The future of manned space exploration will be determined through a process which balances the innate need of humanity to explore its surroundings and the costs associated with accomplishing these goals. For NASA, this balance is derived from economics and budgetary constraints that hold it accountable for the expenditure of public funds. These budgetary realities demand a reduction in cost and expenditures of exploration and research activities. For missions venturing out to the edge of habitability, the development of cost effective life support approaches will have a significant influence on mission viability. Over the past several years, a variety of mission scenarios for potential Lunar and Mars missions have been developed. The most promising of these scenarios attempt to provide basic mission requirements at a minimum cost. As a result, these scenarios are extremely power limited. For Closed Environment Life Support System (CELSS) applications, these realities impose both limitations and direction to future research. This paper presents a summary of these mission scenarios and an evaluation of the impact which these power limitations will have on CELSS system design.

Electrochemical processing of solid waste

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bockris, John OM.

1987-01-01

An investigation of electrochemical waste treatment methods suitable for closed, or partially closed, life support systems for manned space exploration is discussed. The technique being investigated involves the electrolysis of solid waste where the aim is to upgrade waste material (mainly fecal waste) to generate gases that can be recycled in a space station or planetary space environment.

Initial closed operation of the CELSS Test Facility Engineering Development Unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kliss, M.; Blackwell, C.; Zografos, A.; Drews, M.; MacElroy, R.; McKenna, R.; Heyenga, A. G.

2003-01-01

As part of the NASA Advanced Life Support Flight Program, a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Test Facility Engineering Development Unit has been constructed and is undergoing initial operational testing at NASA Ames Research Center. The Engineering Development Unit (EDU) is a tightly closed, stringently controlled, ground-based testbed which provides a broad range of environmental conditions under which a variety of CELSS higher plant crops can be grown. Although the EDU was developed primarily to provide near-term engineering data and a realistic determination of the subsystem and system requirements necessary for the fabrication of a comparable flight unit, the EDU has also provided a means to evaluate plant crop productivity and physiology under controlled conditions. This paper describes the initial closed operational testing of the EDU, with emphasis on the hardware performance capabilities. Measured performance data during a 28-day closed operation period are compared with the specified functional requirements, and an example of inferring crop growth parameters from the test data is presented. Plans for future science and technology testing are also discussed. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

Human life support during interplanetary travel and domicile. II - Generic Modular Flow Schematic modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farral, Joseph F.; Seshan, P. K.; Rohatgi, Naresh K.

1991-01-01

This paper describes the Generic Modular Flow Schematic (GMFS) architecture capable of encompassing all functional elements of a physical/chemical life support system (LSS). The GMFS can be implemented to synthesize, model, analyze, and quantitatively compare many configurations of LSSs, from a simple, completely open-loop to a very complex closed-loop. The GMFS model is coded in ASPEN, a state-of-the-art chemical process simulation program, to accurately compute the material, heat, and power flow quantities for every stream in each of the subsystem functional elements (SFEs) in the chosen configuration of a life support system. The GMFS approach integrates the various SFEs and subsystems in a hierarchical and modular fashion facilitating rapid substitutions and reconfiguration of a life support system. The comprehensive ASPEN material and energy balance output is transferred to a systems and technology assessment spreadsheet for rigorous system analysis and trade studies.

Techniques for optimal crop selection in a controlled ecological life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccormack, Ann; Finn, Cory; Dunsky, Betsy

1993-01-01

A Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) utilizes a plant's natural ability to regenerate air and water while being grown as a food source in a closed life support system. Current plant research is directed toward obtaining quantitative empirical data on the regenerative ability of each species of plant and the system volume and power requirements. Two techniques were adapted to optimize crop species selection while at the same time minimizing the system volume and power requirements. Each allows the level of life support supplied by the plants to be selected, as well as other system parameters. The first technique uses decision analysis in the form of a spreadsheet. The second method, which is used as a comparison with and validation of the first, utilizes standard design optimization techniques. Simple models of plant processes are used in the development of these methods.

Techniques for optimal crop selection in a controlled ecological life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccormack, Ann; Finn, Cory; Dunsky, Betsy

1992-01-01

A Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) utilizes a plant's natural ability to regenerate air and water while being grown as a food source in a closed life support system. Current plant research is directed toward obtaining quantitative empirical data on the regenerative ability of each species of plant and the system volume and power requirements. Two techniques were adapted to optimize crop species selection while at the same time minimizing the system volume and power requirements. Each allows the level of life support supplied by the plants to be selected, as well as other system parameters. The first technique uses decision analysis in the form of a spreadsheet. The second method, which is used as a comparison with and validation of the first, utilizes standard design optimization techniques. Simple models of plant processes are used in the development of these methods.

Approaches to lunar base life support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, M. F.; Edeen, M. A.

1990-01-01

Various approaches to reliable, low maintenance, low resupply regenerative long-term life support for lunar base application are discussed. The first approach utilizes Space Station Freedom physiochemical systems technology which has closed air and water loops with approximately 99 and 90 percent closure respectively, with minor subsystem changes to the SSF baseline improving the level of water resupply for the water loop. A second approach would be a physiochemical system, including a solid waste processing system and improved air and water loop closure, which would require only food and nitrogen for resupply. A hybrid biological/physiochemical life support system constitutes the third alternative, incorporating some level of food production via plant growth into the life support system. The approaches are described in terms of mass, power, and resupply requirements; and the potential evolution of a small, initial outpost to a large, self-sustaining base is discussed.

Using Pyrolysis and its Bioproducts to Help Close the Loop in Sustainable Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCoy, LaShelle E.

2012-01-01

The next step in human exploration of space is beyond low Earth orbit and possibly to sites such as the Moon and Mars. Resupply of critical life support components for missions such as these are difficult or impossible. Life support processes for closing the loop of water, oxygen and carbon have to be identified .. Currently, there are many technologies proposed for terrestrial missions for waste, water, air processing and the creation of consumables. There are a variety of different approaches, but few address all of these issues simultaneously. One candidate is pyrolysis; a method where waste streams can be heated in the absence of oxygen to undergo a thermochemical conversion producing a series of bioproducts. Bioproducts like biochar made from non-edible biomass and human solid waste can possibly provide valuable benefits such as waste reduction, regolith fertilization for increased food production, and become a consumable for water processing and air revitalization systems. Syngas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and cbon dioxide, can be converted to methane and dimethyl ether to create propellants. Bio-oils can be utilized as a heating fuel or fed to bioreactors that utilize oil-eating microbes. Issues such as carbon sequestration and subsequent carbon balance of the closed system and identifying ideal process methods to achieve the highest quality products, whilst being energy friendly, will also be addressed.

Design Rules for Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry

2002-01-01

This paper considers some of the common assumptions and engineering rules of thumb used in life support system design. One general design rule is that the longer the mission, the more the life support system should use recycling and regenerable technologies. A more specific rule is that, if the system grows more than half the food, the food plants will supply all the oxygen needed for the crew life support. There are many such design rules that help in planning the analysis of life support systems and in checking results. These rules are typically if-then statements describing the results of steady-state, "back of the envelope," mass flow calculations. They are useful in identifying plausible candidate life support system designs and in rough allocations between resupply and resource recovery. Life support system designers should always review the design rules and make quick steady state calculations before doing detailed design and dynamic simulation. This paper develops the basis for the different assumptions and design rules and discusses how they should be used. We start top-down, with the highest level requirement to sustain human beings in a closed environment off Earth. We consider the crew needs for air, water, and food. We then discuss atmosphere leakage and recycling losses. The needs to support the crew and to make up losses define the fundamental life support system requirements. We consider the trade-offs between resupplying and recycling oxygen, water, and food. The specific choices between resupply and recycling are determined by mission duration, presence of in-situ resources, etc., and are defining parameters of life support system design.

Extended family and friendship support and suicidality among African Americans.

PubMed

Nguyen, Ann W; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Chatters, Linda M; Taylor, Harry Owen; Lincoln, Karen D; Mitchell, Uchechi A

2017-03-01

This study examined the relationship between informal social support from extended family and friends and suicidality among African Americans. Logistic regression analysis was based on a nationally representative sample of African Americans from the National Survey of American Life (N = 3263). Subjective closeness and frequency of contact with extended family and friends and negative family interaction were examined in relation to lifetime suicide ideation and attempts. Subjective closeness to family and frequency of contact with friends were negatively associated with suicide ideation and attempts. Subjective closeness to friends and negative family interaction were positively associated with suicide ideation and attempts. Significant interactions between social support and negative interaction showed that social support buffers against the harmful effects of negative interaction on suicidality. Findings are discussed in relation to the functions of positive and negative social ties in suicidality.

Bios-3: Siberian experiments in bioregenerative life support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salisbury, F. B.; Gitelson, J. I.; Lisovsky, G. M.

1997-01-01

The Russian experience with the bioregenerative life support system Bios-3 at Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, is reviewed. A brief review of other bioregenerative systems examines Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona, and the Bios-1 and Bios-2 systems that preceded Bios-3. Physical details of the Bios-3 facility are provided. The use of Chlorella and higher plants for gas exchange is examined. Long-term studies of human habitation are discussed. Other topics include microflora in Bios-3, the theory of closed systems, and problems for the future.

Exploration Life Support Critical Questions for Future Human Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ewert, Michael K.; Barta, Daniel J.; McQuillan, Jeff

2009-01-01

Exploration Life Support (ELS) is a project under NASA s Exploration Technology Development Program. The ELS Project plans, coordinates and implements the development of advanced life support technologies for human exploration missions in space. Recent work has focused on closed loop atmosphere and water systems for a lunar outpost, including habitats and pressurized rovers. But, what are the critical questions facing life support system developers for these and other future human missions? This paper explores those questions and discusses how progress in the development of ELS technologies can help answer them. The ELS Project includes Atmosphere Revitalization Systems (ARS), Water Recovery Systems (WRS), Waste Management Systems (WMS), Habitation Engineering, Systems Integration, Modeling and Analysis (SIMA), and Validation and Testing, which includes the sub-elements Flight Experiments and Integrated Testing. Systems engineering analysis by ELS seeks to optimize the overall mission architecture by considering all the internal and external interfaces of the life support system and the potential for reduction or reuse of commodities. In particular, various sources and sinks of water and oxygen are considered along with the implications on loop closure and the resulting launch mass requirements.

NASA's Advanced Life Support Systems Human-Rated Test Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henninger, D. L.; Tri, T. O.; Packham, N. J.

1996-01-01

Future NASA missions to explore the solar system will be long-duration missions, requiring human life support systems which must operate with very high reliability over long periods of time. Such systems must be highly regenerative, requiring minimum resupply, to enable the crews to be largely self-sufficient. These regenerative life support systems will use a combination of higher plants, microorganisms, and physicochemical processes to recycle air and water, produce food, and process wastes. A key step in the development of these systems is establishment of a human-rated test facility specifically tailored to evaluation of closed, regenerative life supports systems--one in which long-duration, large-scale testing involving human test crews can be performed. Construction of such a facility, the Advanced Life Support Program's (ALS) Human-Rated Test Facility (HRTF), has begun at NASA's Johnson Space Center, and definition of systems and development of initial outfitting concepts for the facility are underway. This paper will provide an overview of the HRTF project plan, an explanation of baseline configurations, and descriptive illustrations of facility outfitting concepts.

Assessing Individual Support Needs to Enhance Personal Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van Loon, Jos; Claes, Claudia; Vandevelde, Stijn; Van Hove, Geert; Schalock, Robert L.

2010-01-01

Education and human service organizations providing services to people with intellectual and closely related developmental disabilities are increasingly being impacted by the supports paradigm, the quality of life concept, and the evaluation of personal outcomes. In this article the authors discuss the relationship among these three areas,…

Hybrid Modeling for Testing Intelligent Software for Lunar-Mars Closed Life Support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Nicholson, Leonard S. (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

Intelligent software is being developed for closed life support systems with biological components, for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. The intelligent software functions include planning/scheduling, reactive discrete control and sequencing, management of continuous control, and fault detection, diagnosis, and management of failures and errors. Four types of modeling information have been essential to system modeling and simulation to develop and test the software and to provide operational model-based what-if analyses: discrete component operational and failure modes; continuous dynamic performance within component modes, modeled qualitatively or quantitatively; configuration of flows and power among components in the system; and operations activities and scenarios. CONFIG, a multi-purpose discrete event simulation tool that integrates all four types of models for use throughout the engineering and operations life cycle, has been used to model components and systems involved in the production and transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide in a plant-growth chamber and between that chamber and a habitation chamber with physicochemical systems for gas processing.

Research planning criteria for regenerative life-support systems applicable to space habitats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spurlock, J.; Cooper, W.; Deal, P.; Harlan, A.; Karel, M.; Modell, M.; Moe, P.; Phillips, J.; Putnam, D.; Quattrone, P.

1979-01-01

The second phase of analyses that were conducted by the Life Support Systems Group of the 1977 NASA Ames Summer Study is described. This phase of analyses included a preliminary review of relevant areas of technology that can contribute to the development of closed life-support systems for space habitats, the identification of research options in these areas of technology, and the development of guidelines for an effective research program. The areas of technology that were studied included: (1) nutrition, diet, and food processing; (2) higher plant agriculture; (3) animal agriculture; (4) waste conversion and resource recovery; and (5) system stability and safety. Results of these analyses, including recommended research options and criteria for establishing research priorities among these many options, are discussed.

Exobiochemistry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry

2001-01-01

Exobiochemistry is the putative biochemistry of extraterrestrial life. It suggests the possible energy and material bases of extraterrestrial life and could help detect it. The diverse biochemistry of Earth indicates that a wide range of exobiochemistry is possible on other planets. An exobiochemistry will probably use the same energy sources as Earths ecology, light, biological organic material, and more rarely abiotic chemicals. Extraterrestrial life will be based on familiar chemical principles and probably capture, store, and release energy using oxidation-reduction reactions. Extraterrestrial life will give chemical indications of its existence. Key elements will be concentrated, stored, and recycled, altering their availability and isotopic composition. Any significant departure from chemical equilibrium would be good evidence for exobiochemistry, but an integrated system of departures from the expected equilibrium would be better. Exobiochemistry can be expected to include closed biogeochemical cycles of the major life supporting elements and may well show the complex dynamic close-coupled interactions that characterize the terrestrial biosphere. Terrestrial biochemistry provides a basis for generalization and extrapolation but it does not set bounds on exobiochemistry. In exobiochemistry we can expect: 1. closed chemical cycles that recycle materials, nutrients, and catalysts, 2. organisms with complementary metabolisms that cooperate to close the chemical cycles, 3. a high probability of a carbon and water chemistry, but some possibility of a non-carbon or non-water chemistry in extreme environments, and, 4. life similar to bacteria more prevalent than higher plants and animals.

Challenges for Life Support Systems in Space Environments, Including Food Production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Raymond M.

2012-01-01

Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) refer to the technologies needed to sustain human life in space environments. Histor ically these technologies have focused on providing a breathable atmo sphere, clean water, food, managing wastes, and the associated monitoring capabilities. Depending on the space agency or program, ELCSS has sometimes expanded to include other aspects of managing space enviro nments, such as thermal control, radiation protection, fire detection I suppression, and habitat design. Other times, testing and providing these latter technologies have been associated with the vehicle engi neering. The choice of ECLSS technologies is typically driven by the mission profile and their associated costs and reliabilities. These co sts are largely defined by the mass, volume, power, and crew time req uirements. For missions close to Earth, e.g., low-Earth orbit flights, stowage and resupply of food, some 0 2, and some water are often the most cost effective option. But as missions venture further into spa ce, e.g., transit missions to Mars or asteroids, or surface missions to Moon or Mars, the supply line economics change and the need to clos e the loop on life support consumables increases. These are often ref erred to as closed loop or regenerative life support systems. Regardless of the technologies, the systems must be capable of operating in a space environment, which could include micro to fractional g setting s, high radiation levels, and tightly closed atmospheres, including perhaps reduced cabin pressures. Food production using photosynthetic o rganisms such as plants by nature also provides atmospheric regenerat ion (e.g., CO2 removal and reduction, and 0 2 production), yet to date such "bioregenerative" technologies have not been used due largely t o the high power requirements for lighting. A likely first step in te sting bioregenerative capabilities will involve production of small a mounts of fresh foods to supplement to crew's diet. As humans venture further into space, regenerative life support technologies will becom e more important, and gathering accurate data on their performance an d reliabilities will require long lead times. As we learn more about sustainable living in space, we almost certainly learn more about sust ainable living on Earth.

Personal and professional support for mothers of NICU and healthy newborns.

PubMed

Coffman, S; Levitt, M J; Deets, C

1991-01-01

Personal support provided by close social network members and professional support provided by nurses were studied in 83 postpartum mothers and newborns in neonatal intensive care units and newborn nurseries. Mothers perceived each type of support differently in terms of outcomes. Only personal support was significantly related to emotional affect and life satisfaction outcomes. Both personal and professional support were related to relationship satisfaction outcomes. Findings suggest that personal support and professional support be treated as separate concepts.

Extended family and friendship support and suicidality among African Americans

PubMed Central

Taylor, Robert Joseph; Chatters, Linda M.; Taylor, Harry Owen; Lincoln, Karen D.; Mitchell, Uchechi A.

2016-01-01

Purpose This study examined the relationship between informal social support from extended family and friends and suicidality among African Americans. Methods Logistic regression analysis was based on a nationally representative sample of African Americans from the National Survey of American Life (N = 3263). Subjective closeness and frequency of contact with extended family and friends and negative family interaction were examined in relation to lifetime suicide ideation and attempts. Results Subjective closeness to family and frequency of contact with friends were negatively associated with suicide ideation and attempts. Subjective closeness to friends and negative family interaction were positively associated with suicide ideation and attempts. Significant interactions between social support and negative interaction showed that social support buffers against the harmful effects of negative interaction on suicidality. Conclusions Findings are discussed in relation to the functions of positive and negative social ties in suicidality. PMID:27838732

Deep Space Habitat ECLSS Design Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curley, Su; Stambaugh, Imelda; Swickrath, Michael; Anderson, Molly S.; Rotter, Henry

2012-01-01

Life support is vital to human spaceflight, and most current life support systems employ single-use hardware or regenerable technologies that throw away the waste products, relying on resupply to make up the consumables lost in the process. Because the long-term goal of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is to expand human presence beyond low-earth orbit, life support systems must become self-sustaining for missions where resupply is not practical. From May through October 2011, the life support team at the Johnson Space Center was challenged to define requirements, develop a system concept, and create a preliminary life support system design for a non-planetary Deep Space Habitat that could sustain a crew of four in near earth orbit for a duration of 388 days. Some of the preferred technology choices to support this architecture were passed over because the mission definition has an unmanned portion lasting 825 days. The main portion of the architecture was derived from technologies currently integrated on the International Space Station as well as upcoming technologies with moderate Technology Readiness Levels. The final architecture concept contains only partially-closed air and water systems, as the breakeven point for some of the closure technologies was not achieved with the mission duration.

Deep Space Habitat ECLS Design Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Curley, Su; Stambaugh, Imelda; Swickrath, Mike; Anderson, Molly; Rotter, Hank

2011-01-01

Life support is vital to human spaceflight, and most current life support systems employ single-use hardware or regenerable technologies that throw away the waste products, relying on resupply to make up the consumables lost in the process. Because the long-term goal of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is to expand human presence beyond low-earth orbit, life support systems must become self-sustaining for missions where resupply is not practical. From May through October 2011, the life support team at the Johnson Space Center was challenged to define requirements, develop a system concept, and create a preliminary life support system design for a non-planetary Deep Space Habitat that could sustain a crew of four in near earth orbit for a duration of 388 days. Some of the preferred technology choices to support this architecture were passed over as the mission definition also has an unmanned portion lasting 825 days. The main portion of the architecture was derived from technologies currently integrated on the International Space Station as well as upcoming technologies with moderate Technology Readiness Levels. The final architecture concept contains only partially-closed air and water systems, as the breakeven point for some of the closure technologies was not achieved with the mission duration.

Digital Avionics Information System (DAIS): Impact of DAIS Concept on Life Cycle Cost. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goclowski, John C.; And Others

Designed to identify and quantify the potential impacts of the Digital Avionics Information System (DAIS) on weapon system personnel requirements and life cycle cost (LCC), this study postulated a typical close-air-support (CAS) mission avionics suite to serve as a basis for comparing present day and DAIS configuration specifications. The purpose…

Development of Velopharyngeal Closure for Vocalization during the First 2 Years of Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bunton, Kate; Hoit, Jeannette D.

2018-01-01

Purpose: The vocalizations of young infants often sound nasalized, suggesting that the velopharynx is open during the 1st few months of life. Whereas acoustic and perceptual studies seemed to support the idea that the velopharynx closes for vocalization by about 4 months of age, an aeromechanical study contradicted this (Thom, Hoit, Hixon, &…

Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems: CELSS 1985 Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macelroy, R. D. (Editor); Martello, N. V. (Editor); Smernoff, D. T. (Editor)

1986-01-01

Various topics related to closed ecological systems are discussed. Space habitats, vegetative growth, photosynthesis, recycling, culture techniques, waste utilization bioreactors and controlled atmospheres on space stations are among the topics covered.

A Review: Using Pyrolysis and its Bioproducts to Help Close the Loop in Sustainable Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McCoy, LaShelle E.

2013-01-01

The next step in human exploration of space is beyond low Earth orbit and possibly to sites such as the Moon and Mars. Resupply of critical life support components for missions such as these are difficult or impossible. Life support processes for closing the loop of water, oxygen and carbon have to be identified. Currently, there are many technologies proposed for terrestrial missions for waste, water, air processing. and the creation of consumables. There are a variety of different approaches, but few address all of these issues simultaneously. One candidate is pyrolysis; a method where waste streams can be heated in the absence of oxygen to undergo a thermochemical conversion producing a series of bioproducts. Bioproducts like biochar made from non-edible biomass and human solid waste can possibly provide valuable benefits such as waste reduction, regolith fertilization for increased food production, and become a consumable for water processing and air revitalization systems. Syngas containing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, can be converted to methane and dimethyl ether to create propellants. Bio-oils can be utilized as a heating fuel or fed to bioreactors that utilize oil-eating microbes.

Preliminary design of a family of three close air support aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cox, Brian; Darrah, Paul; Lussier, Wayne; Mills, Nikos

1989-01-01

A family of three Close Air Support aircraft is presented. These aircraft are designed with commonality as the main design objective to reduce the life cycle cost. The aircraft are low wing, twin-boom, pusher turbo-prop configurations. The amount of information displayed to the pilot was reduced to a minimum to greatly simplify the cockpit. The aircraft met the mission specifications and the performance and cost characteristics compared well with other CAS aircraft. The concept of a family of CAS aircraft seems viable after preliminary design.

An Approach for Hydrogen Recycling in a Closed-loop Life Support Architecture to Increase Oxygen Recovery Beyond State-of-the-Art

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abney, Morgan B.; Miller, Lee; Greenwood, Zachary; Alvarez, Giraldo

2014-01-01

State-of-the-art atmosphere revitalization life support technology on the International Space Station is theoretically capable of recovering 50% of the oxygen from metabolic carbon dioxide via the Carbon Dioxide Reduction Assembly (CRA). When coupled with a Plasma Pyrolysis Assembly (PPA), oxygen recovery increases dramatically, thus drastically reducing the logistical challenges associated with oxygen resupply. The PPA decomposes methane to predominantly form hydrogen and acetylene. Because of the unstable nature of acetylene, a down-stream separation system is required to remove acetylene from the hydrogen stream before it is recycled to the CRA. A new closed-loop architecture that includes a PPA and downstream Hydrogen Purification Assembly (HyPA) is proposed and discussed. Additionally, initial results of separation material testing are reported.

Coupling sensing to crop models for closed-loop plant production in advanced life support systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cavazzoni, James; Ling, Peter P.

1999-01-01

We present a conceptual framework for coupling sensing to crop models for closed-loop analysis of plant production for NASA's program in advanced life support. Crop status may be monitored through non-destructive observations, while models may be independently applied to crop production planning and decision support. To achieve coupling, environmental variables and observations are linked to mode inputs and outputs, and monitoring results compared with model predictions of plant growth and development. The information thus provided may be useful in diagnosing problems with the plant growth system, or as a feedback to the model for evaluation of plant scheduling and potential yield. In this paper, we demonstrate this coupling using machine vision sensing of canopy height and top projected canopy area, and the CROPGRO crop growth model. Model simulations and scenarios are used for illustration. We also compare model predictions of the machine vision variables with data from soybean experiments conducted at New Jersey Agriculture Experiment Station Horticulture Greenhouse Facility, Rutgers University. Model simulations produce reasonable agreement with the available data, supporting our illustration.

Technology base for microgravity horticulture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sauer, R. L.; Magnuson, J. W.; Scruby, R. R.; Scheld, H. W.

1987-01-01

Advanced microgravity plant biology research and life support system development for the spacecraft environment are critically hampered by the lack of a technology base. This inadequacy stems primarily from the fact that microgravity results in a lack of convective currents and phase separation as compared to the one gravity environment. A program plan is being initiated to develop this technology base. This program will provide an iterative flight development effort that will be closely integrated with both basic science investigations and advanced life support system development efforts incorporating biological processes. The critical considerations include optimum illumination methods, root aeration, root and shoot support, and heat rejection and gas exchange in the plant canopy.

The Close Relationships of People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Sullivan, Faye; Bowden, Keith; McKenzie, Karen; Quayle, Ethel

2016-03-01

Positive interpersonal relationships have been found to enhance an individual's quality of life. However, people with intellectual disabilities (PWID) often have restricted social networks, and little is known about their views on close social relationships. The study aimed to explore how this group perceives and experiences close relationships. Ten (6 = men 4 = women) PWID participated. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, and analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. The results report on three of five themes drawn from a larger qualitative study: 'Relationships feeling safe and being useful'; 'Who's in charge?' and 'Struggling for an ordinary life'. Close relationships are valued and desired by PWID, but a variety of barriers inhibit their development and maintenance. This includes the failure of others to value, accept and appropriately support the independence and relationships of PWID. Potential ways of addressing these issues are discussed. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Utilization of potatoes in CELSS: Productivity and growing systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tibbitts, T. W.

1986-01-01

The potato plant (solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the basic food crops that should be studied for use in NASA's closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). It offers high yields per unit area and time, with most of this production in the form of highly digestible carbohydrate. Potatoes, like wheat and rice, are particularly useful in human diets because of their nutritional versatility and ease of processing and preparation. The growth of the potato was studied and it was found to be a useful species for life support systems.

The role of plant disease in the development of controlled ecological life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, B.

1986-01-01

Plant diseases could be important factors affecting growth of higher plants in Closed Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS). Disease control, therefore, will be needed to maintain healthy plants. The most important controls should be aimed at preventing the introduction, reproduction and spread of pathogens and preventing plant infection. An integrared ease control program will maximize that approach. In the design and operation of CELSS, plant disease should be considered an important aspect of plant growth. The effects of plant diseases are reviewed and several disease control measures are discussed.

Waste management in space: a NASA symposium. Special issue

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wydeven, T. (Principal Investigator)

1991-01-01

This special issue contains papers from the NASA Symposium on Waste Processing for Advanced Life Support, which was held at NASA Ames Research Center on September 11-13, 1990. Specialists in waste management from academia, government, and industry convened to exchange ideas and advise NASA in developing effective methods for waste management in a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS). Innovative and well-established methods were presented to assist in developing and managing wastes in closed systems for future long-duration space missions, especially missions to Mars.

Sunlight supply and gas exchange systems in microalgal bioreactor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mori, K.; Ohya, H.; Matsumoto, K.; Furune, H.

1987-01-01

The bioreactor with sunlight supply system and gas exchange systems presented has proved feasible in ground tests and shows much promise for space use as a closed ecological life support system device. The chief conclusions concerning the specification of total system needed for a life support system for a man in a space station are the following: (1) Sunlight supply system - compactness and low electrical consumption; (2) Bioreactor system - high density and growth rate of chlorella; and (3) Gas exchange system - enough for O2 production and CO2 assimilation.

study on trace contaminants control assembly for sealed environment chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pang, L. P.; Wang, J.; Liu, L. K.; Liu, H.

The biological and Physicochemical P C life support technologies are all important parts to establish a human Closed Ecological Life Support System CELSS for long-duration mission The latter has the advantages of lower power consumption lower mass and higher efficiency therefore researchers often incorporate the use of biological systems with P C life support technologies to continuously recycle air water and part of the solid waste stream generated such as the Russian BLSS and the NASA-sponsored Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project LMLSTP In short these tests were very successful in integrating biological and P C life support technologies for long-duration life support Therefore we should use a combination of integrated biological with P C life support technologies in a human CELSS Human construction materials plants animals and soils release much trace toxic gases in a CELSS and they will inhibit plant growth and badly affect human health when their concentrations rise over their threshold levels The effect of biological trace contaminant control technologies is slower especially for a human sealed chamber because human produce much more methane and other contaminants A regenerative Trace Contaminant Control Subsystem TCCS with P C technology is a more important part in this case to control quickly the airborne contaminants levels and assure human in good condition in a sealed chamber This paper describes a trace contaminant control test facility incorporated a 8 m3 sealed environment chamber a regenerative TCCS with P C

Managing 'difficult emotions' and family life: exploring insights and social support within online self-management training.

PubMed

Sanders, C; Rogers, A; Gardner, C; Kennedy, A

2011-06-01

Previous research has demonstrated how the Internet can foster emotional support and provide a 'private' space for discussing sensitive issues. Whilst the family has been located as a primary source of support, empirical research on the dynamics of close personal relationships in chronic illness experience remains a challenge. To explore the role of family relationships in supporting self-care and the nature of social support exchanged within an online self-management training course. Qualitative thematic and narrative analysis of online discussion boards. Postings for 218 participants, divided between 11 groups were included for a course section that focused on 'difficult emotions'. Participants exchanged a high degree of emotional support and revealed much about their 'real life' relationships. The latter highlighted the complexities of managing illness within family contexts alongside additional pressures of daily life such as caring commitments and work roles. The private interactive space created within the course allowed insights into the dynamics of family life associated with illness management that are challenging to research. Simultaneously, collective support was developed amongst this group of predominantly working women. The article points to the implications for such interventions and associated evaluative research beyond this selective group.

Closed bioregenerative life support systems: Applicability to hot deserts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polyakov, Yuriy S.; Musaev, Ibrahim; Polyakov, Sergey V.

2010-09-01

Water scarcity in hot deserts, which cover about one-fifth of the Earth's land area, along with rapid expansion of hot deserts into arable lands is one of the key global environmental problems. As hot deserts are extreme habitats characterized by the availability of solar energy with a nearly complete absence of organic life and water, space technology achievements in designing closed ecological systems may be applicable to the design of sustainable settlements in the deserts. This review discusses the key space technology findings for closed biogenerative life support systems (CBLSS), which can simultaneously produce food, water, nutrients, fertilizers, process wastes, and revitalize air, that can be applied to hot deserts. Among them are the closed cycle of water and the acceleration of the cycling times of carbon, biogenic compounds, and nutrients by adjusting the levels of light intensity, temperature, carbon dioxide, and air velocity over plant canopies. Enhanced growth of algae and duckweed at higher levels of carbon dioxide and light intensity can be important to provide complete water recycling and augment biomass production. The production of fertilizers and nutrients can be enhanced by applying the subsurface flow wetland technology and hyper-thermophilic aerobic bacteria for treating liquid and solid wastes. The mathematical models, optimization techniques, and non-invasive measuring techniques developed for CBLSS make it possible to monitor and optimize the performance of such closed ecological systems. The results of long-duration experiments performed in BIOS-3, Biosphere 2, Laboratory Biosphere, and other ground-based closed test facilities suggest that closed water cycle can be achieved in hot-desert bioregenerative systems using the pathways of evapotranspiration, condensation, and biological wastewater treatment technologies. We suggest that the state of the art in the CBLSS design along with the possibility of using direct sunlight for photosynthesis and recent advances in photovoltaic engineering can be used as a basis for building sustainable settlements producing food, water, and energy in hot deserts.

Closing the Gaps: competing estimates of Indigenous Australian life expectancy in the scientific literature

PubMed Central

Rosenstock, Amanda; Mukandi, Bryan; Zwi, Anthony B; Hill, Peter S

2013-01-01

Objective: Closing the gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and other Australians within a generation is central to national Indigenous reform policy (Closing the Gap). Over time, various methods of estimating Indigenous life expectancy and with that, the life expectancy gap, have been adopted with differing, albeit non-comparable results. We present data on the extent of the gap and elucidate the pattern of use and interpretations of the different estimates of the gap, between 2007 and 2012. Methods: An extensive search was conducted for all peer-reviewed health publications citing estimates of and/or discussing the life expectancy of Indigenous Australians, for the period 2007–2012. Results: Five predominant patterns of citation of the gap estimates were identified: 20 years, 17 years, 15–20 years, 13 years, and 11.5 years for males and 9.7 years for females. Some authors misinterpret the most recent estimates as reflecting improvement from the 17-year figure, rather than the result of different methods of estimation. Support for the direct methods used to calculate Indigenous life expectancy is indicated. Conclusions and Implications: A specific estimate of the life expectancy gap has not been established among stakeholders in Indigenous health. Agreement on the magnitude of the gap is arguably needed in order to evaluate strategies aimed at improving health outcomes for Indigenous Australians. Moreover, measuring progress towards ‘closing the gap’ depends on the availability of comparable estimates, using the same techniques of measurement to assess changes over time. PMID:23895479

Social Embeddedness and Late-Life Parenthood: Community Activity, Close Ties, and Support Networks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wenger, G. Clare; Dykstra, Pearl A.; Melkas, Tuula; Knipscheer, Kees C. P. M.

2007-01-01

This article focuses on the ways in which patterns of marriage and fertility shape older people's involvement in community groups and their support networks. The data are from Australia, Finland, Germany, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Findings show that childless older adults, regardless of…

Insects at low pressure: applications to artificial ecosystems and implications for global windborne distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cockell, C.; Catling, D.; Waites, H.

1999-01-01

Insects have a number of potential roles in closed-loop life support systems. In this study we examined the tolerance of a range of insect orders and life stages to drops in atmospheric pressure using a terrestrial atmosphere. We found that all insects studied could tolerate pressures down to 100 mb. No effects on insect respiration were noted down to 500 mb. Pressure toleration was not dependent on body volume. Our studies demonstrate that insects are compatible with plants in low-pressure artificial and closed-loop ecosystems. The results also have implications for arthropod colonization and global distribution on Earth.

Life sciences and space research XXI(2); Proceedings of the Seventh and Eleventh Workshops, Graz, Austria, June 25-July 7, 1984

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oser, H. (Editor); Oro, J. (Editor); Macelroy, R. D. (Editor); Klein, H. P. (Editor); Devincenzi, D. L. (Editor); Young, R. S. (Editor)

1984-01-01

Space-based and space-related research in the life sciences is presented in reviews and reports. Topics examined include the long-term effects of weightlessness, cosmic chemistry and chemical and biological evolution, life-support systems for space travel, planetary protection, and the g-scale factor in gravitational biology. Consideration is given to the role of Ca ions in cytological effects of hypogravity, the organic aerosols of Titan, the role of meteorite impacts in the formation of organic molecules, prebiotic synthesis of purines and pyrimidines, atmosphere behavior of gas-closed mouse-algal systems, air and water regeneration in advanced regenerative environmental-control and life-support systems, and the influence of gravity on the development of animal systems.

Challenges of Enterprise Wide AM for Air Force Sustainment

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

December 2016 Naguy is chief of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Product Support Engineering Division at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in...today and into the future. To truly capitalize on the full potential of AM, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) in close collabora...approach for material standards and quality include un- derstanding powder characteristics, developing an enterprise material characterization

Land-related global habitability science issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

The scientific investigation of the viewpoint of the biosphere that living organisms and their physical and chemical environment are bound, inseparable parts of one set of closely coupled global processes of the global biogeochemical system, life and life support cycles, is discussed as one of the major scientific challenges of the next decade by building from understanding land processes to interdisciplinary, holistic studies of biospheric dynamics including human impacts.

Early-Life Parent-Child Relationships and Adult Children's Support of Unpartnered Parents in Later Life.

PubMed

Lin, I-Fen; Wu, Hsueh-Sheng

2018-02-08

The proportion of older adults who are unpartnered has increased significantly over the past 25 years. Unpartnered older adults often rely on their adult children for support. Most previous studies have focused on proximal factors associated with adult children's support of their parents, while few have examined distal factors, such as parent-child relationships formed during childhood. This study fills the gap by investigating the direct and indirect associations between early-life parent-child relationships and adult children's upward transfers to unpartnered parents. Data came from two supplements to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, in which respondents were asked about their relationships with mothers and fathers before age 17 and their transfers of time and money to parents in 2013. Path models were estimated for unpartnered mother-adult child dyads and father-adult child dyads separately. For adult children of unpartnered mothers, psychological closeness has a direct, positive association with time transfer, while physical violence has an indirect association with time transfer through adult children's marital status. For adult children of unpartnered fathers, psychological closeness has neither a direct nor an indirect association with time or money transfer, but physical violence has a direct, negative association with time transfer. Early-life parent-child relationships play a pivotal role in influencing adult children's caregiving behavior, both directly and indirectly. Our findings suggest that by improving their relationships with children early in life, parents may be able to increase the amount of time transfer that they receive in late life. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Longitudinal Analysis of the Relationships Between Social Support and Health-Related Quality of Life in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients.

PubMed

Liang, Yongchun; Wang, Haifang; Niu, Meie; Zhu, Xiaming; Cai, Jianzheng; Wang, Xiubei

2018-06-22

The correlation between social support and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has been well documented, but whether social support changes or whether social support consistently plays a significant role in the various phases of the treatment process remains unknown among hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients. The aims of this study were to assess the changing trends of HRQOL and social support and evaluate the relationship between HRQOL and social support before and after transplantation. Measures were completed by 122 HSCT patients before and after transplantation. The measures administered included the Perceived Social Support Scale and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant questionnaire. The social support score presented a marked downward trend (F = 17.090, P < .001). The overall HRQOL was the lowest, 103.61 (SD, 19.14) at 1 month and increased steadily over time to 108.10 (SD, 19.58) at 3 months and 110.02 (SD, 18.00) at 6 months after HSCT. The generalized estimating equation models showed that social support consistently had a positive impact on HRQOL in the 6-month period post-HSCT. We confirmed a significant positive association between social support and HRQOL in HSCT recipients. However, it is noteworthy that the social support score declined during the 6-month period even while the HRQOL scores were increasing. Social support is closely related to the HRQOL; thus, clinicians should give close attention to social support to improve the HRQOL of HSCT patients. Social support should not be overlooked during the first 6 months after transplantation.

Change in reciprocity as a predictor of depressive symptoms: a prospective cohort study of Finnish women and men.

PubMed

Väänänen, Ari; Buunk, Abraham P; Kivimäki, Mika; Vahtera, Jussi; Koskenvuo, Markku

2008-12-01

The purpose of the study was to examine gender differences in the association between changes in the balance of give and take in close relationships and depressive symptoms. Data from a 5-year prospective cohort study in Finland (HeSSup Study) (N=18,445) were analyzed. After adjustment for demographic characteristics, recent negative life events, baseline depressive symptoms, hostility, and the supportiveness of social network, a shift of balance toward support receiving was a significant risk factor for future depressive symptoms among women. In contrast, men whose balance of give and take had moved toward support giving had a higher risk of future depressive symptoms than other men. When the analyses were replicated in a sub-cohort of initially non-depressed participants who lived in reciprocal relationships and had no recent life events, the results became even more pronounced among women, although not among men. We conclude that, for women, a shift in their close relationships toward support receiving may lead to increased risk of depressive symptoms, whereas for men a shift toward giving may have a parallel though less evident impact.

Design and implementation of sensor systems for control of a closed-loop life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alnwick, Leslie; Clark, Amy; Debs, Patricia; Franczek, Chris; Good, Tom; Rodrigues, Pedro

1989-01-01

The sensing and controlling needs for a Closed-Loop Life Support System (CLLSS) were investigated. The sensing needs were identified in five particular areas and the requirements were defined for workable sensors. The specific areas of interest were atmosphere and temperature, nutrient delivery, plant health, plant propagation and support, and solids processing. The investigation of atmosphere and temperature control focused on the temperature distribution within the growth chamber as well as the possibility for sensing other parameters such as gas concentration, pressure, and humidity. The sensing needs were studied for monitoring the solution level in a porous membrane material along with the requirements for measuring the mass flow rate in the delivery system. The causes and symptoms of plant disease were examined and the various techniques for sensing these health indicators were explored. The study of sensing needs for plant propagation and support focused on monitoring seed viability and measuring seed moisture content as well as defining the requirements for drying and storing the seeds. The areas of harvesting, food processing, and resource recycling, were covered with a main focus on the sensing possibilities for regulating the recycling process.

Human life support during interplanetary travel and domicile. IV - Mars expedition technology trade study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rohatgi, Naresh K.; Ferrall, Joseph F.; Seshan, P. K.

1991-01-01

Results of trading processing technologies in a closed-loop configuration, in terms of power and weight for the Mars Expedition Mission, are presented. The technologies were traded and compared to a baseline set for functional elements that include CO2 removal, H2O electrolysis, potable H2O cleanup, and hygiene H2O cleanup. These technologies were selected from those being considered for Space Station Freedom and represent only chemical/physical technologies. Attention is given to the technology trade calculation scheme, technology data and selection, the generic modular flow schematic, and life support system specifications.

Effects of the Extraterrestrial Environment on Plants: Recommendations for Future Space Experiments for the MELiSSA Higher Plant Compartment.

PubMed

Wolff, Silje A; Coelho, Liz H; Karoliussen, Irene; Jost, Ann-Iren Kittang

2014-05-05

Due to logistical challenges, long-term human space exploration missions require a life support system capable of regenerating all the essentials for survival. Higher plants can be utilized to provide a continuous supply of fresh food, atmosphere revitalization, and clean water for humans. Plants can adapt to extreme environments on Earth, and model plants have been shown to grow and develop through a full life cycle in microgravity. However, more knowledge about the long term effects of the extraterrestrial environment on plant growth and development is necessary. The European Space Agency (ESA) has developed the Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) program to develop a closed regenerative life support system, based on micro-organisms and higher plant processes, with continuous recycling of resources. In this context, a literature review to analyze the impact of the space environments on higher plants, with focus on gravity levels, magnetic fields and radiation, has been performed. This communication presents a roadmap giving directions for future scientific activities within space plant cultivation. The roadmap aims to identify the research activities required before higher plants can be included in regenerative life support systems in space.

Effects of the Extraterrestrial Environment on Plants: Recommendations for Future Space Experiments for the MELiSSA Higher Plant Compartment

PubMed Central

Wolff, Silje A.; Coelho, Liz H.; Karoliussen, Irene; Jost, Ann-Iren Kittang

2014-01-01

Due to logistical challenges, long-term human space exploration missions require a life support system capable of regenerating all the essentials for survival. Higher plants can be utilized to provide a continuous supply of fresh food, atmosphere revitalization, and clean water for humans. Plants can adapt to extreme environments on Earth, and model plants have been shown to grow and develop through a full life cycle in microgravity. However, more knowledge about the long term effects of the extraterrestrial environment on plant growth and development is necessary. The European Space Agency (ESA) has developed the Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) program to develop a closed regenerative life support system, based on micro-organisms and higher plant processes, with continuous recycling of resources. In this context, a literature review to analyze the impact of the space environments on higher plants, with focus on gravity levels, magnetic fields and radiation, has been performed. This communication presents a roadmap giving directions for future scientific activities within space plant cultivation. The roadmap aims to identify the research activities required before higher plants can be included in regenerative life support systems in space. PMID:25370192

Johnson Space Center's regenerative life support systems test bed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Henninger, Donald L.; Tri, Terry O.; Barta, Daniel J.; Stahl, Randal S.

1991-01-01

The Regenerative Life Support System (RLSS) Test Bed at NASA's Johnson Space Center is an atmospherically closed, controlled environment facility for the evaluation of regenerative life support systems using higher plants in conjunction with physicochemical life support systems. When completed, the facility will be comprised of two large scale plant growth chambers, each with approximately 10 m(exp 2) growing area. One of the two chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC), will be capable of operating at lower atmospheric pressures to evaluate a range of environments that may be used in Lunar or Martian habitats; the other chamber, the Ambient Pressure Growth Chamber (APGC) will operate at ambient atmospheric pressure. The root zone in each chamber will be configurable for hydroponic or solid state media systems. Research will focus on: (1) in situ resource utilization for CELSS systems, in which simulated lunar soils will be used in selected crop growth studies; (2) integration of biological and physicochemical air and water revitalization systems; (3) effect of atmospheric pressure on system performance; and (4) monitoring and control strategies.

Understanding the meaning of social well-being at the end of life.

PubMed

Prince-Paul, Maryjo

2008-05-01

To advance understanding of the social well-being domain, a dimension of quality of life, from the perspective of dying individuals. Qualitative, hermeneutic, and phenomenologic. Private residences in a community setting. 8 terminally ill adult patients with cancer, aged 35-75, enrolled in hospice care. In-depth, semistructured, tape-recorded, and transcribed interviews were analyzed using the Giorgi method. Social well-being and quality of life at the end of life. Six themes emerged that described the meaning of close personal relationships at the end of life: meaning of relationships with family, friends, and coworkers; meaning of relationships with God or a higher power; loss and gains of role function; love; gratitude; and lessons on living. Patients who were terminally ill with advanced cancer expressed the importance of close personal relationships at the end of life and the need to communicate their importance through love and gratitude. All participants believed that personal relationships were strengthened by the end-of-life experience. Nurses can support terminally ill patients by understanding the importance of social relationships at the end of life. The relationships may be enhanced when nurses raise patients' conscious awareness of the relationships and encourage them to express their importance.

NASA Advanced Explorations Systems: 2017 Advancements in Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Walter F.; Shull, Sarah A.

2017-01-01

The NASA Advanced Exploration Systems (AES) Life Support Systems (LSS) project strives to develop reliable, energy-efficient, and low-mass spacecraft systems to provide environmental control and life support systems (ECLSS) critical to enabling long duration human missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). Highly reliable, closed-loop life support systems are among the capabilities required for the longer duration human space exploration missions planned in the mid-2020s and beyond. The LSS Project is focused on four are-as-architecture and systems engineering for life support systems, environmental monitoring, air revitalization, and wastewater processing and water management. Starting with the International Space Station (ISS) LSS systems as a point of departure where applicable, the three-fold mission of the LSS Project is to address discrete LSS technology gaps, to improve the reliability of LSS systems, and to advance LSS systems toward integrated testing aboard the ISS. This paper is a follow on to the AES LSS development status reported in 2016 and provides additional details on the progress made since that paper was published with specific attention to the status of the Aerosol Sampler ISS Flight Experiment, the Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor (SAM) Flight Experiment, the Brine Processor Assembly (BPA) Flight Experiment, the CO2 removal technology development tasks, and the work investigating the impacts of dormancy on LSS systems.

Velocity time integral for right upper pulmonary vein in VLBW infants with patent ductus arteriosus.

PubMed

Lista, Gianluca; Bianchi, Silvia; Mannarino, Savina; Schena, Federico; Castoldi, Francesca; Stronati, Mauro; Mosca, Fabio

2016-10-01

Early diagnosis of significant patent ductus arteriosus reduces the risk of clinical worsening in very low birth weight infants. Echocardiographic patent ductus arteriosus shunt flow pattern can be used to predict significant patent ductus arteriosus. Pulmonary venous flow, expressed as vein velocity time integral, is correlated to ductus arteriosus closure. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between significant reductions in vein velocity time integral and non-significant patent ductus arteriosus in the first week of life. A multicenter, prospective, observational study was conducted to evaluate very low birth weight infants (<1500 g) on respiratory support. Echocardiography was used to evaluate vein velocity time integral on days 1 and 4 of life. The relationship between vein velocity time integral and other parameters was studied. In total, 98 very low birth weight infants on respiratory support were studied. On day 1 of life, vein velocity time integral was similar in patients with open or closed ductus. The mean vein velocity time integral significantly reduced in the first four days of life. On the fourth day of life, there was less of a reduction in patients with patent ductus compared to those with closed patent ductus arteriosus and the difference was significant. A significant reduction in vein velocity time integral in the first days of life is associated with ductus closure. This parameter correlates well with other echocardiographic parameters and may aid in the diagnosis and management of patent ductus arteriosus.

Parental Physical Proximity in End-of-Life Care in the PICU.

PubMed

Falkenburg, Jeannette L; Tibboel, Dick; Ganzevoort, Ruard R; Gischler, Saskia; Hagoort, Jacobus; van Dijk, Monique

2016-05-01

Health professionals in PICUs support both child and parents when a child's death is imminent. Parents long to stay connected to their dying child but the high-tech environment and treatment implications make it difficult to stay physically close. This study explores in what sense physical aspects of end-of-life care in the PICU influence the parent-child relationship. Retrospective, qualitative interview study. Level 3 PICU in Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands. Thirty-six parents of 20 children who had died in this unit 5 years previously. Parents vividly remembered the damage done to the child's physical appearance, an inevitable consequence of medical treatment. They felt frustrated and hurt when they could not hold their child. Yet they felt comforted if facilitated to be physically close to the dying child, like lying with the child in one bed, holding the child in the hour of death, and washing the child after death. End-of-life treatment in the PICU presents both a barrier and an opportunity for parents to stay physically connected to their child. Parents' experiences suggest that aspects of physicality in medical settings deserve more attention. Better understanding of the significance of bodily aspects-other than pain and symptom management-improves end-of-life support and should be part of the humane approach to families.

Antenatal depressive symptoms associated with specific life events and sources of social support among Italian women.

PubMed

Agostini, Francesca; Neri, Erica; Salvatori, Paola; Dellabartola, Sara; Bozicevic, Laura; Monti, Fiorella

2015-05-01

This study aimed to identify different kinds of stressful life events and social support associated with antenatal depressive symptoms in a sample of pregnant Italian women. We conducted the study at a primary health-care centre in an urban area (northeast Italy). Mainly recruited at antenatal classes, 404 eligible pregnant women completed a socio-demographic questionnaire that included questions about the present pregnancy, the Edinburgh Depression Scale (EDS) to estimate the prevalence of depressive symptoms, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and List of Threatening Experiences Questionnaire to investigate the quality and nature of social support and recent negative life events. Of the 404 women, 60 (14.9 %) scored 13 or higher on the EDS. This group reported significantly lower social support from various sources-family, friends, and significant others; only in primiparous women were depressive symptoms significantly related to lower support from friends. Women with EDS scores equal or higher than 13 also reported a higher occurrence of recent stressful life events-specifically, death or a serious problem with a close friend or relative, unemployment, financial problems, and moving or housing difficulties. Regression analyses showed that women with high levels of social support or with a positive experience of pregnancy were less likely to experience antenatal depressive symptoms. Our results underscore the associations among antenatal depression, specific life stressors, and low social support from various sources. Clinical attention to these psychosocial correlates is recommended toward detecting vulnerability to antenatal depressive symptoms.

Animal protein production modules in biological life support systems: Novel combined aquaculture techniques based on the closed equilibrated biological aquatic system (C.E.B.A.S.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blüm, V.; Andriske, M.; Kreuzberg, K.; Schreibman, M. P.

Based on the experiences made with the Closed Equilibrated Biological Aquatic System (C.E.B.A.S.) which was primarily deveoloped for long-term and multi-generation experiments with aquatic animals and plants in a space station highly effective fresh water recycling modules were elaborated utilizing a combination of ammonia oxidizing bacteria filters and higher plants. These exhibit a high effectivity to eliminate phosphate and anorganic nitrogen compounds and arc. in addidition. able to contribute to the oxygen supply of the aquatic animals. The C.E.B.A.S. filter system is able to keep a closed artificial aquatic ecosystem containing teleost fishes and water snails biologically stable for several month and to eliminate waste products deriving from degraded dead fishes without a decrease of the oxygen concentration down to less than 3.5 mg/l at 25 °C. More advanced C.E.B.A.S. filter systems, the BIOCURE filters, were also developed for utilization in semiintensive and intensive aquaculture systems for fishes. In fact such combined animal-plant aquaculture systems represent highly effective productions sites for human food if proper plant and fish species are selected The present papers elucidates ways to novel aquaculture systems in which herbivorous fishes are raised by feeding them with plant biomass produced in the BIOCURE filters and presents the scheme of a modification which utilizes a plant species suitable also for human nutrition. Special attention is paid to the benefits of closed aquaculture system modules which may be integrated into bioregenerative life support systems of a higher complexity for, e. g.. lunar or planetary bases including some psychologiccal aspects of the introduction of animal protein production into plant-based life support systems. Moreover, the basic reproductive biological problems of aquatic animal breeding under reduced gravity are explained leading to a disposition of essential research programs in this context.

The role of social relationships in the link between olfactory dysfunction and mortality.

PubMed

Leschak, Carrianne J; Eisenberger, Naomi I

2018-01-01

Recent work suggests that olfactory dysfunction is a strong predictor of five-year mortality in older adults. Based on past work showing: 1) that olfactory dysfunction impairs social functioning and 2) that social ties are linked with mortality, the current work explored whether impairments in social life mediated the relationship between olfactory dysfunction and mortality. Additionally, based on work showing gender differences in the social consequences of olfactory dysfunction, gender was assessed as a potential moderator of this association. Social network size mediated the olfactory-mortality link for females. To probe what feature of social networks was driving this effect, we investigated two subcomponents of social life: emotional closeness (e.g., perceived social support, loneliness) and physical closeness (e.g., physical contact, in-person socializing with others). Physical closeness significantly mediated the olfactory-mortality link for females, even after controlling for social network size. Emotional closeness did not mediate this link. Possible mechanisms underlying this relationship are discussed.

Program operational summary: Operational 90 day manned test of a regenerative life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jackson, J. K.; Wamsley, J. R.; Bonura, M. S.; Seeman, J. S.

1972-01-01

An operational 90-day manned test of a regenerative life support system was successfully completed. This test was performed with a crew of four carefully selected and trained men in a space station simulator (SSS) which had a two gas atmosphere maintained at a total pressure of 68.9, 10 psia, and composed of oxygen at a partial pressure of 3.05 psia with nitrogen as the diluent. The test was planned to provide data on regenerative life support subsystems and on integrated system operations in a closed ecology, similar to that of a space station. All crew equipment and expendables were stored onboard at the start of the mission to eliminate the need for pass-in operations. The significant accomplishments of the test, some of the pertinent test results, some of the problem areas, and conclusions are presented.

The Utilization of Urine Processing for the Advancement of Life Support Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossi-Soyster, Elysse; Hogan, John; Flynn, Michael

2014-01-01

The success of long-duration missions will depend on resource recovery and the self-sustainability of life support technologies. Current technologies used on the International Space Station (ISS) utilize chemical and mechanical processes, such as filtration, to recover potable water from urine produced by crewmembers. Such technologies have significantly reduced the need for water resupply through closed-loop resource recovery and recycling. Harvesting the important components of urine requires selectivity, whether through the use of membranes or other physical barriers, or by chemical or biological processes. Given the chemical composition of urine, the downstream benefits of urine processing for resource recovery will be critical for many aspects of life support, such as food production and the synthesis of biofuels. This paper discusses the beneficial components of urine and their potential applications, and the challenges associated with using urine for nutrient recycling for space application.

NASA's Controlled Environment Agriculture Testing for Space Habitats

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Raymond M.

2014-01-01

NASA and other space agencies have an interest in using plants for human life support in space. The plants could provide food and O2 for the humans, while removing CO2 and helping purify wastewater. Studies to date have shown that a wide range of crops can be grown in controlled environment conditions envisioned for space. Light is a critical factor both for crop productivity and system power costs, and recent improvements in LEDs make them a preferred lighting option for space. Because space systems would be tightly closed, issues such as ethylene build-up and management must be considered. Ultimately, the costs and reliability of biological life support options must be compared with more conventional life support approaches. Findings to date suggest that about 20-25 sq. meters of crops could supply the O2 for one human, while about 50 sq. meters would be required for food (dietary calories).

Oppurtunities and constraints of closed man-made ecological systems on the Moon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blum, V.; Gitelson, J. I.; Horneck, G.; Kreuzberg, K.

1994-06-01

Most scenarios for a manned lunar base include a combination of physical-chemical and bioregenerative life support systems. Especially on the lunar surface, however, there is a series of special environmental factors which seriously affect the organisms suitable for food production and biological regeneration of the habitat atmosphere and water. So, e.g. the lunar day/night period creates difficult problems for higher plant culture. The paper presents the current scientific approaches to bioregenerative life support systems of a lunar base and discusses critically the possibilities of their realization. Moreover, a scientific strategy is developed with the biologist's point of view to implement in a stepwise manner bioregenerative life support modules into a lunar base covering the possibilities of the utilization of chemolytotrophic bacteria, microalgae and higher plants as well as those of animal breeding and protein production in intensive aquaculture systems.

Bioregenerative Life Support System Research as part of the DLR EDEN Initiative

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bamsey, Matthew; Schubert, Daniel; Zabel, Paul; Poulet, Lucie; Zeidler, Conrad

In 2011, the DLR Institute of Space Systems launched a research initiative called EDEN - Evolution and Design of Environmentally-closed Nutrition-Sources. The research initiative focuses on bioregenerative life support systems, especially greenhouse modules, and technologies for future crewed vehicles. The EDEN initiative comprises several projects with respect to space research, ground testing and spin-offs. In 2014, EDEN’s new laboratory officially opened. This new biological cleanroom laboratory comprises several plant growth chambers incorporating a number of novel controlled environment agriculture technologies. This laboratory will be the nucleus for a variety of plant cultivation experiments within closed environments. The utilized technologies are being advanced using the pull of space technology and include such items as stacked growth systems, PAR-specific LEDs, intracanopy lighting, aeroponic nutrient delivery systems and ion-selective nutrient sensors. The driver of maximizing biomass output per unit volume and energy has much application in future bioregenerative life support systems but can also provide benefit terrestrially. The EDEN laboratory also includes several specially constructed chambers for advancing models addressing the interaction between bioregenerative and physical-chemical life support systems. The EDEN team is presently developing designs for containerized greenhouse modules. One module is planned for deployment to the German Antarctic Station, Neumayer III. The shipping container based system will provide supplementation to the overwintering crew’s diet, provide psychological benefit while at the same time advancing the technology and operational readiness of harsh environment plant production systems. In addition to hardware development, the EDEN team has participated in several early phase designs such as for the ESA Greenhouse Module for Space System and for large-scale vertical farming. These studies often utilize the Institute of Space Systems Concurrent Engineering Facility.

Melissa: The European project of a closed life support system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lasseur, Christophe

The MELISSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support Alternative) project was initiated in 1989. It is intended as a tool to gain understanding of closed life support, as well as the development of the technology for a future life support system for long term manned space missions, e.g. a lunar base or a mission to Mars. The collaboration was established through a Memorandum of Understanding and is managed by ESA. It involves several independent organisations: Ghent University, EPAS, SCK, VITO (B), University of Clermont-Ferrand, SHERPA (F), University Autonoma of Barcelona (E), University of Guelph (CND). It is co-funded by ESA, the MELISSA partners, the Belgian, the Spanish and the Canadian authorities. The driving element of MELISSA is the production of food, water and oxygen from organic waste (inedible biomass, CO2, faeces, urea). Inspired by the principle of an "aquatic" ecosystem, MELISSA process comprises several sub-processes, called compartments, from the anoxygenic fermentor up to the photosynthetic units (i.e. algae and higher plants). The choice of this compartmentalised structure is required by the very high level of safety requirements and justified by the need of an engineering approach and to build deterministic control strategy. During the past 19 years of research and development, a very progressive approach has been developed to understand and control the MELISSA loop. This approach starts from the selection of processes, their characterisation and mathematical modelling, the validation of the control strategy, up to the demonstration on Earth, at pilot scale. The project is organised in 5 phases: Basic Research and Development, Preliminary flight experiment, Ground and space demonstration, Terrestrial transfer, Education and communication.

A Tale of Two Chambers: Iterative Approaches and Lessons Learned from Life Support Systems Testing in Altitude Chambers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callini, Gianluca

2016-01-01

The drive for the journey to Mars is in a higher gear than ever before. We are developing new spacecraft and life support systems to take humans to the Red Planet. The journey that development hardware takes before its final incarnation in a fully integrated spacecraft can take years, as is the case for the Orion environmental control and life support system (ECLSS). Through the Pressure Integrated Suit Test (PIST) series, NASA personnel at Johnson Space Center have been characterizing the behavior of a closed loop ECLSS in the event of cabin depressurization. This kind of testing - one of the most hazardous activities performed at JSC - requires an iterative approach, increasing in complexity and hazards). The PIST series, conducted in the Crew and Thermal Systems Division (CTSD) 11-ft Chamber, started with unmanned test precursors before moving to a human-in-the-loop phase, and continues to evolve with the eventual goal of a qualification test for the final system that will be installed on Orion. Meanwhile, the Human Exploration Spacecraft Testbed for Integration and Advancement (HESTIA) program is an effort to research and develop technologies that will work in concert to support habitation on Mars. September 2015 marked the first unmanned HESTIA test, with the goal of characterizing how ECLSS technologies work together in a closed environment. HESTIA will culminate in crewed testing, but it can benefit from the lessons learned from another test that is farther ahead in its development and life cycle. Discussing PIST and HESTIA, this paper illustrates how we approach testing, the kind of information that facility teams need to ensure efficient collaborations and successful testing, and how we can apply what we learn to execute future tests.

Safety Analysis of Soybean Processing for Advanced Life Support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hentges, Dawn L.

1999-01-01

Soybeans (cv. Hoyt) is one of the crops planned for food production within the Advanced Life Support System Integration Testbed (ALSSIT), a proposed habitat simulation for long duration lunar/Mars missions. Soybeans may be processed into a variety of food products, including soymilk, tofu, and tempeh. Due to the closed environmental system and importance of crew health maintenance, food safety is a primary concern on long duration space missions. Identification of the food safety hazards and critical control points associated with the closed ALSSIT system is essential for the development of safe food processing techniques and equipment. A Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) model was developed to reflect proposed production and processing protocols for ALSSIT soybeans. Soybean processing was placed in the type III risk category. During the processing of ALSSIT-grown soybeans, critical control points were identified to control microbiological hazards, particularly mycotoxins, and chemical hazards from antinutrients. Critical limits were suggested at each CCP. Food safety recommendations regarding the hazards and risks associated with growing, harvesting, and processing soybeans; biomass management; and use of multifunctional equipment were made in consideration of the limitations and restraints of the closed ALSSIT.

Effective Presentation of Metabolic Rate Information for Lunar Extravehicular Activity (EVA)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mackin, Michael A.; Gonia, Philip; Lombay-Gonzalez, Jose

2010-01-01

During human exploration of the lunar surface, a suited crewmember needs effective and accurate information about consumable levels remaining in their life support system. The information must be presented in a manner that supports real-time consumable monitoring and route planning. Since consumable usage is closely tied to metabolic rate, the lunar suit must estimate metabolic rate from life support sensors, such as oxygen tank pressures, carbon dioxide partial pressure, and cooling water inlet and outlet temperatures. To provide adequate warnings that account for traverse time for a crewmember to return to a safe haven, accurate forecasts of consumable depletion rates are required. The forecasts must be presented to the crewmember in a straightforward, effective manner. In order to evaluate methods for displaying consumable forecasts, a desktop-based simulation of a lunar Extravehicular Activity (EVA) has been developed for the Constellation lunar suite s life-support system. The program was used to compare the effectiveness of several different data presentation methods.

Earth to lunar CELSS evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The comprehensive results of human activities on the environment, such as deforestation and ozone depletion, and the natural laws that govern the global environment have yet to be determined. Closed Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) research can play an instrumental role in dispelling these mysteries, as well as have the ability to support life in hostile environments, which the Earth one day may become. CELSS conclusions, such as the timescales in which plants fix carbon dioxide (CO2), will be the key to understanding each component and how it affects the ecological balance between plants and animals, the environment, and the biological engines that drive Earth's system. However, to understand how CELSS can be used as an investigative tool, the concept of a CELSS must be clearly defined. A definition of CELSS is given. The evolutionary establishment of a lunar base with a bioregenerative life support system in a Space Station Freedom (SSF) module to support a crew of four for two weeks duration was chosen as the design topic.

Preliminary results of Physiological plant growth modelling for human life support in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sasidharan L, Swathy; Dussap, Claude-Gilles; Hezard, Pauline

2012-07-01

Human life support is fundamental and crucial in any kind of space explorations. MELiSSA project of European Space Agency aims at developing a closed, artificial ecological life support system involving human, plants and micro organisms. Consuming carbon dioxide and water from the life support system, plants grow in one of the chambers and convert it into food and oxygen along with potable water. The environmental conditions, nutrient availability and its consumption of plants should be studied and necessarily modeled to predict the amount of food, oxygen and water with respect to the environmental changes and limitations. The reliability of a completely closed system mainly depends on the control laws and strategies used. An efficient control can occur, only if the system to control is itself well known, described and ideally if the responses of the system to environmental changes are predictable. In this aspect, the general structure of plant growth model has been designed together with physiological modelling.The physiological model consists of metabolic models of leaves, stem and roots, of which concern specific metabolisms of the associated plant parts. On the basis of the carbon source transport (eg. sucrose) through stem, the metabolic models (leaf and root) can be interconnected to each other and finally coupled to obtain the entire plant model. For the first step, leaf metabolic model network was built using stoichiometric, mass and energy balanced metabolic equations under steady state approach considering all necessary plant pathways for growth and maintenance of leaves. As the experimental data for lettuce plants grown in closed and controlled environmental chambers were available, the leaf metabolic model has been established for lettuce leaves. The constructed metabolic network is analyzed using known stoichiometric metabolic technique called metabolic flux analysis (MFA). Though, the leaf metabolic model alone is not sufficient to achieve the physiological plant model, in the case of lettuce (since the leaf metabolic model predominates), the developed model was verified with the carbon consumption of plant, as input. The model predicts the biomass production (as output) with respect to the quantum of light absorbed by the plant. The obtained result was found satisfying for the first initiation in the physiological plant modelling.

[Interventions to improve quality of life in oncological patients].

PubMed

Klinkhammer-Schalke, Monika; Steinger, Brunhilde; Koller, Michael; Lindberg, Patricia

2017-05-01

The assessment of quality of life is a central aspect in the current debate in support groups, certified cancer centres, benefit assessment, and also in palliative care. Accordingly, quality of life has become an essential part of clinical trials for more than two decades. But most of the time results are presented in a descriptive manner without any concrete therapeutic consequences for the improvement of quality of life. Likewise, there are no uniform recommendations for considering quality of life data in the decision-making process. Therefore, a guide with recommendations for the assessment of quality of life in trials has been developed. Its implementation is illustrated by a complex intervention for a targeted diagnosis and therapy of quality of life in patients with breast cancer or colorectal cancer. The basis is a standardised quality of life assessment and the presentation of results in an intelligible fashion as well as the close collaboration of all healthcare providers to create regional network structures for the targeted support of patients in both the inpatient and outpatient sector. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier GmbH.

Bioregenerative Life Support Experiment for 90-days in a Closed Integrative Experimental Facility LUNAR PALACE 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hong

A 90-day bioregenerative life support experiment with three-member crew was carried out in the closed integrative experimental facility, LUNAR PALACE 1 regenerating basic living necessities and disposing wastes to provide life support for crew. It was composed of higher plant module, animal module, and waste treatment module. The higher plant module included wheat, chufa, pea, carrot and green leafy vegetables, with aim to satisfy requirement of 60% plant food and 100% O2 and water for crew. The yellow mealworm was selected as animal module to provide partial animal protein for crew, and reared on plant inedible biomass. The higher plant and yellow mealworm were both cultivated and harvested in the conveyor-type manner. The partial plant inedible biomass and human feces were mixed and co- fermented in the waste treatment module for preparation of soil-like substrate by bioconversion, maintaining gas balance and increasing closure degree. Meanwhile, in the waste treatment module, the water and partial nitrogen from human urine were recovered by physical-chemical means. Circulation of O2 and water as well as food supply from crops cultivated in the LUNAR PALACE 1 were investigated and calculated, and simultaneously gas exchange, mass flow among different components and system closure degree were also analyzed, respectively. Furthermore, the system robustness with respect to internal variation was tested and evaluated by sensitivity analysis of the aggregative index consisting of key performance indicators like crop yield, gaseous equilibrium concentration, microbial community composition, biogenic elements dynamics, etc., and comprehensively evaluating the operating state, to number change of crew from 2 to 4 during the 90-day closed experiment period.

Efficacy of oxygen-supplying capacity of Azolla in a controlled life support system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Min; Deng, Sufang; Yang, Youquan; Huang, Yibing; Liu, Chongchu

2012-02-01

Azolla shows high growth and propagation rates, strong photosynthetic O2-releasing ability and high nutritional value. It is suitable as a salad vegetable and can be cultured on a multi-layered wet bed. Hence, it possesses potential as a fresh vegetable, and to release O2 and absorb CO2 in a Controlled Ecological Life Support System in space. In this study, we investigated the O2-providing characteristics of Azolla in a closed chamber under manned, controlled conditions to lay a foundation for use of Azolla as a biological component in ground simulation experiments for space applications. A closed test chamber, representing a Controlled Ecological Life Support System including an Azolla wet-culture device, was built to measure the changes in atmospheric O2 and CO2 concentrations inside the chamber in the presence of coexisting Azolla, fish and men. The amount of O2 consumed by fish was 0.0805-0.0831 L kg-1 h-1 and the level of CO2 emission was 0.0705-0.0736 L kg-1 h-1; O2 consumption by the two trial volunteers was 19.71 L h-1 and the volume of respiration-released CO2 was 18.90 L h-1. Under 7000-8000 Lx artificial light and Azolla wet-culture conditions, human and fish respiration and Azolla photosynthesis were complementary, thus the atmospheric O2 and CO2 concentrations inside chamber were maintained in equilibrium. The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration in the closed chamber enhanced the net photosynthesis efficiency of the Azolla colony. This study showed that Azolla has strong photosynthetic O2-releasing ability, which equilibrates the O2 and CO2 concentrations inside the chamber in favor of human survival and verifies the potential of Azolla for space applications.

Study on O2-supplying characteristics of Azolla in Controlled Ecological Life Support System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Min; Deng, Sufang; Yang, Youquang; Huang, Yibing; Liu, Zhongzhu

Azolla has high growth and propagation rate, strong photosynthetic O2-releasing ability and rich nutrient value. It is able to be used as salad-type vegetable, and can also be cultured on wet bed in multi-layer condition. Hence, it possesses a potential functioning as providing O2, fresh vegetable and absorbing CO2 for Controlled Ecological Life Support System in space. In this study, we try to make clear the O2-providing characteristics of Azolla in controlled close chamber under manned condition in order to lay a foundation for Azolla as a biological component in the next ground simulated experiment and space application. A closed test cham-ber of Controlled Ecological Life Support System and Azolla wet-culturing devices were built to measure the changes of atmospheric O2-CO2 concentration inside chamber under "Azolla-fish -men" coexisting condition. The results showed that, the amount of O2 consumption is 80.49 83.07 ml/h per kilogram fish, the amount of CO2 emissions is 70.49 73.56 ml/(kg • h); O2 consumption of trial volunteers is 19.71 L/h, the volume of respiration release CO2 18.90 L/h .Artificial light intensity of Azolla wet culture under 70009000 Lx, people respiration and Azolla photosynthesis complemented each other, the atmospheric O2-CO2 concentration inside chamber maintained equilibration. Elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations in close chamber have obvious effects on enhancing Azolla net photosynthesis efficiency. This shows that Azolla has strong photosynthetic O2-releasing ability, which equilibrates the O2-CO2 concentration inside chamber in favor of human survival, and then verifies the prospect of Azolla in space application.

Preliminary study of the space adaptation of the MELiSSA life support system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mas-Albaigès, Joan L.; Duatis, Jordi; Podhajsky, Sandra; Guirado, Víctor; Poughon, Laurent

MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) is an European Space Agency (ESA) project focused on the development of a closed regenerative life support system to aid the development of technologies for future life support systems for long term manned planetary missions, e.g. a lunar base or missions to Mars. In order to understand the potential evolution of the MELiSSA concept towards its future use in the referred manned planetary mission context the MELiSSA Space Adaptation (MSA) activity has been undertaken. MSA's main objective is to model the different MELiSSA compartments using EcosimPro R , a specialized simulation tool for life support applications, in order to define a preliminary MELiSSA implementation for service in a man-tended lunar base scenario, with a four-member crew rotating in six-month increments, and performing the basic LSS functions of air revitalization, food production, and waste and water recycling. The MELiSSA EcosimPro R Model features a dedicated library for the different MELiSSA elements (bioreactors, greenhouse, crew, interconnecting elements, etc.). It is used to dimension the MELiSSA system in terms of major parameters like mass, volume and energy needs, evaluate the accuracy of the results and define the strategy for a progressive loop closure from the initial required performance (approx.100 The MELiSSA configuration(s) obtained through the EcosimPro R simulation are further analysed using the Advanced Life Support System Evaluation (ALISSE) metric, relying on mass, energy, efficiency, human risk, system reliability and crew time, for trade-off and optimization of results. The outcome of the MSA activity is, thus, a potential Life Support System architecture description, based on combined MELiSSA and other physico-chemical technologies, defining its expected performance, associated operational conditions and logistic needs.

Development and research program for a soil-based bioregenerative agriculture system to feed a four person crew at a Mars base

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silverstone, S.; Nelson, M.; Alling, A.; Allen, J.

For humans to survive during long-term missions on the Martian surface, bioregenerative life support systems including food production will decrease requirements for launch of Earth supplies, and increase mission safety. It is proposed that the development of ``modular biospheres''- closed system units that can be air-locked together and which contain soil-based bioregenerative agriculture, horticulture, with a wetland wastewater treatment system is an approach for Mars habitation scenarios. Based on previous work done in long-term life support at Biosphere 2 and other closed ecological systems, this consortium proposes a research and development program called Mars On Earth™ which will simulate a life support system designed for a four person crew. The structure will consist of /6 × 110 square meter modular agricultural units designed to produce a nutritionally adequate diet for 4 people, recycling all air, water and waste, while utilizing a soil created by the organic enrichment and modification of Mars simulant soils. Further research needs are discussed, such as determining optimal light levels for growth of the necessary range of crops, energy trade-offs for agriculture (e.g. light intensity vs. required area), capabilities of Martian soils and their need for enrichment and elimination of oxides, strategies for use of human waste products, and maintaining atmospheric balance between people, plants and soils.

Closed Environment Module - Modularization and extension of the Virtual Habitat

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plötner, Peter; Czupalla, Markus; Zhukov, Anton

2013-12-01

The Virtual Habitat (V-HAB), is a Life Support System (LSS) simulation, created to perform dynamic simulation of LSS's for future human spaceflight missions. It allows the testing of LSS robustness by means of computer simulations, e.g. of worst case scenarios.

Dietary and Food Processing for a 90-day Bioregenerative Life Support Experiment in the Lunar Palace 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Zhiruo; Fu, Yuming; Dong, Chen; Liu, Guanghui

A 4-day cycle dietary menu was developed to meet the requirements of balanced diet of the crew within the 90-day closed experiment of bioregenerative life support in the Lunar Palace 1. The menu consisted of items prepared from crops and insect grown inside the system, as well as prestored food. Dairy recipe was composed of breads, vegetables, meats and soups, which provided about 2900 kcal per crew member per day. During food processing, to maximize nutrient recovery and minimize waste production, the whole wheat grains and chufa nuts were milled. Further, the carrot leaves and yellow mealworms were used as salad materials and bread ingredients, respectively. The sensory acceptability of the dishes in the menu was evaluated by flavor, texture, and appearance. Our results show that all dishes in the 4-day cycle menu were highly acceptable, which satisfies nutritional requirement of the crew members in the closed habitation.

Synthesis of Ethylene and Other Useful Products by Reduction of Carbon Dioxide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenberg, Sanders D.; Makel, Darby B.; Finn, John E.

1998-01-01

The synthesis of ethylene and other useful products by reduction of carbon dioxide is discussed. The synthesis of ethylene from carbon dioxide has been undertaken. A few different chemical reactions are presented for the production of ethylene. This ethylene can then form the basis for the manufacture of a variety of useful products. It can be used in the preparation of a variety of plastics that can be used for the fabrication of structural materials, and can be used in creating life support systems, which can lead to the development of closed life support systems based on the use of inorganic processes and chemical engineering principles.

Performance and reliability of the NASA biomass production chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fortson, R. E.; Sager, J. C.; Chetirkin, P. V.

1994-01-01

The Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) at the Kennedy Space Center is part of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Breadboard Project. Plants are grown in a closed environment in an effort to quantify their contributions to the requirements for life support. Performance of this system is described. Also, in building this system, data from component and subsystem failures are being recorded. These data are used to identify problem areas in the design and implementation. The techniques used to measure the reliability will be useful in the design and construction of future CELSS. Possible methods for determining the reliability of a green plant, the primary component of CELSS, are discussed.

Determinants of Oregon hospice chaplains' views on physician-assisted suicide.

PubMed

Goy, Elizabeth R; Carlson, Bryant; Simopoulos, Nicole; Jackson, Ann; Ganzini, Linda

2006-01-01

Although religiousness is a strong predictor of attitudes towards physician-assisted suicide (PAS), Oregon hospice chaplains express wide variation in their opposition to or support for legalized PAS. We explored factors associated with chaplains' views on PAS. A mailed survey to chaplains from 51 Oregon hospices. Fifty of 77 eligible hospice chaplains (65%) returned surveys. Views on PAS were associated with views on suicide in general. Moral and theological beliefs were the most important influences on views on PAS. Chaplains who were opposed to PAS believed that God alone may take life, that life is an absolute good, and that suffering has a divine purpose. Those who supported PAS placed emphasis on the importance of self-determination and sanctity of life as defined by quality of life. Oregon hospice chaplains' diverse views towards PAS are closely related to their views on suicide in general, and their personal and theological beliefs.

Biomedical engineering and the whitaker foundation: a thirty-year partnership.

PubMed

Katona, Peter G

2006-06-01

The Whitaker Foundation, established in 1976, will close in 2006. It will have made awards totaling 805 million US dollars, with over 710 million US dollars in biomedical engineering. Close to 1,500 faculty members received research grants to help them establish academic careers in biomedical engineering, and over 400 graduate students received fellowship support. The Foundation also supported the enhancement or establishment of educational programs in biomedical engineering, especially encouraging the formation of departments. The number of biomedical engineering departments almost tripled during the past 10 years, now numbering close to 75. Leveraging of grants enabled the construction of 13 new buildings. With the field firmly established, the grant program supporting new faculty members will be the one missed the most. New opportunities, however, are emerging as interdisciplinary research is being embraced by both public and private funding sources. The life sciences will be increasingly incorporated into all areas of engineering, and it is expected that such "biofication" will pose both opportunities and challenges to biomedical engineering.

["Are you going to die?" When children and adolescents experience the death of a close one].

PubMed

Röseberg, Franziska

2017-01-01

The illness and death of someone close is a big challenge that affects individuals and the whole system. To understand how children, adolescents and young adults experience the death of a significant other, and more specifically a family member, it is necessary to consider aspects of developmental psychology, the life-cycle phase of the family and the systemic view on the burden and reactions from individuals and the whole system. Palliative care and in particular family-oriented counselling and therapy stabilizes the system. Support of the adult caregiver, facilitating understanding of each other even if there are divergent needs as well as the support of sincere communication are important strategies. Children and adolescents as well as their families are supported to find their coherent way to deal with the imminent death of a close one and to integrate the experience into the biography with maximum mental wellbeing.

Life sciences and space research 25 (3): Natural and artifical ecosystems; Meeting F4 of the COSPAR Plenary Meeting, 29th, Washington, DC, Aug. 28-Sep. 5, 1992

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macelroy, R. D. (Editor); Mitchell, C. A. (Editor); Andre, M. (Editor); Blackwell, C. C. (Editor); Tibbitts, T. W. (Editor); Banin, A. (Editor); Levine, J. S. (Editor)

1994-01-01

Bioregenerative life support systems will be an essential part of long duration manned space flight. Studies have been made of various components of these closed ecological systems. these studies have included those spaceborne experiments on Spacelab and Mir, as well as ground-based simulations. The effects of reduced gravity include alterations in food crop and other plant growth and vigor. Systems have also been designed and tested to provide a balanced regenerative system that recycles airborne and other wastes while providing nutrients and other input for future cycles. Hydroponic cultivation must include control of pathogens. All closed systems require sensing and automatic control.

Closure of Regenerative Life Support Systems: Results of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barta, Daniel; Henninger, D.; Edeen, M.; Lewis, J.; Smth, F.; Verostko, C.

2006-01-01

Future long duration human exploration missions away from Earth will require closed-loop regenerative life support systems to reduce launch mass, reduce dependency on resupply and increase the level of mission self sufficiency. Such systems may be based on the integration of biological and physiocochemical processes to produce potable water, breathable atmosphere and nutritious food from metabolic and other mission wastes. Over the period 1995 to 1998 a series of ground-based tests were conducted at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Johnson Space Center, to evaluate the performance of advanced closed-loop life support technologies with real human metabolic and hygiene loads. Named the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP), four integrated human tests were conducted with increasing duration, complexity and closure. The first test, LMLSTP Phase I, was designed to demonstrate the ability of higher plants to revitalize cabin atmosphere. A single crew member spent 15 days within an atmospherically closed chamber containing 11.2 square meters of actively growing wheat. Atmospheric carbon dioxide and oxygen levels were maintained by control of the rate of photosynthesis through manipulation of light intensity or the availability of carbon dioxide and included integrated physicochemical systems. During the second and third tests, LMLSTP Phases II & IIa, four crew members spent 30 days and 60 days, respectively, in a larger sealed chamber. Advanced physicochemical life support hardware was used to regenerate the atmosphere and produce potable water from wastewater. Air revitalization was accomplished by using a molecular sieve and a Sabatier processor for carbon dioxide absorption and reduction, respectively, with oxygen generation performed by water hydrolysis. Production of potable water from wastewater included urine treatment (vapor compression distillation), primary treatment (ultrafiltration/reverse osmosis and multi-filtration) and post processing. For the Phase II test the water recovery rate ranged from 95 to 98%, depending on the processor. LMLSTP Phase III, the fourth test of the series, had a duration of 91 days and included four crew members. The test demonstrated an integration of physicochemical and biological technologies for air revitalization, water recovery and waste processing. Wheat supplemented the physicochemical air revitalization systems by providing approximately 25% of the oxygen required for the 4-person crew. The water recovery system included immobilized cell and trickling filter bioreactors for primary water treatment, reverse osmosis and air evaporation systems for secondary water treatment, followed by post processing. The 8 day initial supply of water was recycled through the chamber and crew 10 times over the course of the test. Grain from the wheat together with fresh lettuce from a small growth chamber within the crew chamber provided supplementation to the stored food system, but at a level less than 5% of the crew s caloric requirement. An incinerator was used to demonstrate mineralization of the crew s solid waste, with the combustion products (mainly carbon dioxide) returned to the wheat for conversion to oxygen.

Quality-of-life factors in adolescent inflammatory bowel disease.

PubMed

MacPhee, M; Hoffenberg, E J; Feranchak, A

1998-02-01

Little is known about the specific psychosocial factors that influence quality of life in adolescents with newly diagnosed inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We adapted a model by Garrett and Drossman to assess adolescent adjustment to recent-onset IBD. Thirty adolescent-parent pairs completed a set of standardized questionnaires. The inclusion criteria were adolescents 12-18 years of age with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis of < 5 years' duration. Adolescents' health-related quality-of-life scores significantly correlated with satisfaction and degree of closeness with their social support members, such as parents. An unexpected finding was that the adolescents included more extended family than peers in their social support networks. Also of note was that parental coping styles rather than adolescent coping styles significantly correlated with adolescents' quality-of-life health scores. Severity of illness did not correlate with adolescent quality-of-life health scores. There was significant agreement between adolescent and parental quality-of-life health scores and stressful event ratings. Adolescents with recent-onset IBD rely more on family members than their peers for emotional support, and they depend more on their parents' coping skills than their own. These findings may indicate lags in normal adolescent development. Adolescents and parents do communicate and share concerns with each other. Support programs for adolescents with IBD should reinforce existing coping skills and parent-adolescent communication while promoting normative development.

Development of a complex experimental system for controlled ecological life support technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, S.; Tang, Y.; Zhu, J.; Wang, X.; Feng, H.; Ai, W.; Qin, L.; Deng, Y.

A complex experimental system for controlled ecological life support technique can be used as a test platform for plant-man integrated experiments and material close-loop experiments of the controlled ecological life support system CELSS Based on lots of plan investigation plan design and drawing design the system was built through the steps of processing installation and joined debugging The system contains a volume of about 40 0m 3 its interior atmospheric parameters such as temperature relative humidity oxygen concentration carbon dioxide concentration total pressure lighting intensity photoperiod water content in the growing-matrix and ethylene concentration are all monitored and controlled automatically and effectively Its growing system consists of two rows of racks along its left-and-right sides separately and each of which holds two up-and-down layers eight growing beds hold a total area of about 8 4m 2 and their vertical distance can be adjusted automatically and independently lighting sources consist of both red and blue light-emitting diodes Successful development of the test platform will necessarily create an essential condition for next large-scale integrated study of controlled ecological life support technique

Cyanobacteria to Link Closed Ecological Systems and In-Situ Resources Utilization Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Igor

Introduction: A major goal for the Vision of Space Exploration is to extend human presence across the solar sys-tem. With current technology, however, all required consumables for these missions (propellant, air, food, water) as well as habitable volume and shielding to support human explorers will need to be brought from Earth. In-situ pro-duction of consumables (In-Situ Resource Utilization-ISRU) will significantly facilitate current plans for human ex-ploration and colonization of the solar system, especially by reducing the logistical overhead such as recurring launch mass. The production of oxygen from lunar materials is generally recognized as the highest priority process for lunar ISRU, for both human metabolic and fuel oxidation needs. The most challenging technology developments for future lunar settlements may lie in the extraction of elements (O, Fe, Mn, Ti, Si, etc) from local rocks and soils for life support, industrial feedstock and the production of propellants. With few exceptions (e.g., Johannson, 1992), nearly all technology development to date has employed an ap-proach based on inorganic chemistry (e.g. Allen et al., 1996). None of these technologies include concepts for inte-grating the ISRU system with a bioregenerative life support system and a food production systems. Bioregenerative life support efforts have recently been added to the Constellation ISRU development program (Sanders et al, 2007). Methods and Concerns: The European Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) is an ad-vanced concept for organizing a bioregenerative system for long term space flights and extraterrestrial settlements (Hendrickx, De Wever et al., 2005). However the MELiSSA system is a net consumer of ISRU products without a net return to in-situ technologies, e.g.. to extract elements as a result of complete closure of MELiSSA. On the other hand, the physical-chemical processes for ISRU are typically massive (relative to the rate of oxygen production), require significant power (tens of kWh/kg), and in many processes requires high temperatures ( 1000o C) to be effec-tive; therefore they are not compatible with closed life support systems such as MELiSSA. With the release of the NASA Lunar Architecture Team's latest Lunar Mission Strategy, the investigation of more efficient air bioregeneration techniques based on the metabolism of lower order photosynthetic organisms with ability to leach (weather) in situ rocks appears to be very timely and relevant. Cyanobacteria (CB) are known as very effective producers of O2, proteins, vitamins, immunomodulators (Brown et al., 2006) and as mineral destroyers (Friedmann, 1980; Gorbushina and Palinska, 1999) to supply themselves with different elements. Results: As a result of pilot studies, we propose, therefore, to develop a concept for semi-closed integrated system that uses CB to extract useful elements for their sustaining, to revitalize air and produce valuable biomolecules. Such a system could be the foundation of a self-sustaining extraterrestrial outpost (Hendrickx, De Wever et al., 2005; Handford, 2006). A potential advantage of a cyanobacterial photoreactor placed between LSS and ISRU loops is the possibility of supplying these systems with extracted elements and compounds from the regolith. In addition, waste regolith may be transformed into additional products such as methane, biomass, and organic and inorganic soil enrichment for the cultivation of high plants. We have used several species of siderophilic CB isolated from iron-depositing hot springs in Yellowstone Na-tional Park (Brown et al., 2007) to characterize their ability to utilize terrestrial analogs of lunar and martian rocks. Severe dilution of a rich medium for the cultivation of CB with deionized water did not lead to the growth repression of the cyanobacterium JSC-12. It was found that the suspension of JSC Mars-1 soil stimulant in deionized water sup-ports the proliferation of several cyanobacterial species. In parallel, it was found that rocks stimulated the production of 2-ketoglutaric acid, which has chelation properties, by those species. TEM studies revealed that siderophilic CB accumulate colloidal iron in or on cyanobacterial cells. Recent observation suggested that siderophilic CB Leptolyngbya sp. with expressed litholitic activity is also capable to generate hydrogen, which also is a valuable product for use on the Moon and Mars. Conclusion: Despite the harsh lunar environmental conditions, it seems possible to cultivate photosynthetic mi-croorganisms using a closed bioreactor illuminated and heated by solar energy and to produce in-situ geochemical resources. Such bioprocessing might be simultaneously employed in critical ISRU and life support functions, e.g. air revitalization, propellant (oxygen and methane) and food production, as well as divalent cation extraction. The most critical conclusion is that a semi-closed life support system tied to an ISRU facility might be more efficient for sup-port of an extraterrestrial outpost than closed environmental systems. Such a synthesis of technological capability could decrease the demand for energy, transfer mass and cost of future exploration.

Johnson Space Center's Regenerative Life Support Systems Test Bed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barta, D. J.; Henninger, D. L.

1996-01-01

The Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) Test Bed at NASA's Johnson Space Center is an atmospherically closed, controlled environment facility for human testing of regenerative life support systems using higher plants in conjunction with physicochemical life support systems. The facility supports NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. The facility is comprised of two large scale plant growth chambers, each with approximately 11 m2 growing area. The root zone in each chamber is configurable for hydroponic or solid media plant culture systems. One of the two chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC), is capable of operating at lower atmospheric pressures to evaluate a range of environments that may be used in a planetary surface habitat; the other chamber, the Ambient Pressure Growth Chamber (APGC) operates at ambient atmospheric pressure. The air lock of the VPGC is currently being outfitted for short duration (1 to 15 day) human habitation at ambient pressures. Testing with and without human subjects will focus on 1) integration of biological and physicochemical air and water revitalization systems; 2) effect of atmospheric pressure on system performance; 3) planetary resource utilization for ALS systems, in which solid substrates (simulated planetary soils or manufactured soils) are used in selected crop growth studies; 4) environmental microbiology and toxicology; 5) monitoring and control strategies; and 6) plant growth systems design. Included are descriptions of the overall design of the test facility, including discussions of the atmospheric conditioning, thermal control, lighting, and nutrient delivery systems.

Johnson Space Center's Regenerative Life Support Systems Test Bed

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barta, D. J.; Henninger, D. L.

1996-01-01

The Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) Test Bed at NASA's Johnson Space Center is an atmospherically closed, controlled environment facility for human testing of regenerative life support systems using higher plants in conjunction with physicochemical life support systems. The facility supports NASA's Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. The facility is comprised of two large scale plant growth chambers, each with approximately 11 m^2 growing area. The root zone in each chamber is configurable for hydroponic or solid media plant culture systems. One of the two chambers, the Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC), is capable of operating at lower atmospheric pressures to evaluate a range of environments that may be used in a planetary surface habitat; the other chamber, the Ambient Pressure Growth Chamber (APGC) operates at ambient atmospheric pressure. The air lock of the VPGC is currently being outfitted for short duration (1 to 15 day) human habitation at ambient pressures. Testing with and without human subjects will focus on 1) integration of biological and physicochemical air and water revitalization systems; 2) effect of atmospheric pressure on system performance; 3) planetary resource utilization for ALS systems, in which solid substrates (simulated planetary soils or manufactured soils) are used in selected crop growth studies; 4) environmental microbiology and toxicology; 5) monitoring and control strategies; and 6) plant growth systems design. Included are descriptions of the overall design of the test facility, including discussions of the atmospheric conditioning, thermal control, lighting, and nutrient delivery systems.

Oil-Free Rotor Support Technologies for Long Life, Closed Cycle Brayton Turbines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lucero, John M.; DellaCorte, Christopher

2004-01-01

The goal of this study is to provide technological support to ensure successful life and operation of a 50-300 kW dynamic power conversion system specifically with response to the rotor support system. By utilizing technical expertise in tribology, bearings, rotordynamic, solid lubricant coatings and extensive test facilities, valuable input for mission success is provided. A discussion of the history of closed cycle Brayton turboalternators (TA) will be included. This includes the 2 kW Mini-Brayton Rotating Unit (Mini-BRU), the 10kW Brayton Rotating Unit (BRU) and the 125 kW turboalternator-compressor (TAC) designed in mid 1970's. Also included is the development of air-cycle machines and terrestrial oil-free gas turbine power systems in the form of microturbines, specifically Capstone microturbines. A short discussion of the self-acting compliant surface hydrodynamic fluid film bearings, or foil bearings, will follow, including a short history of the load capacity advances, the NASA coatings advancements as well as design model advances. Successes in terrestrial based machines will be noted and NASA tribology and bearing research test facilities will be described. Finally, implementation of a four step integration process will be included in the discussion.

Axiomatic Design of Space Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry W.

2017-01-01

Systems engineering is an organized way to design and develop systems, but the initial system design concepts are usually seen as the products of unexplained but highly creative intuition. Axiomatic design is a mathematical approach to produce and compare system architectures. The two axioms are:- Maintain the independence of the functional requirements.- Minimize the information content (or complexity) of the design. The first axiom generates good system design structures and the second axiom ranks them. The closed system human life support architecture now implemented in the International Space Station has been essentially unchanged for fifty years. In contrast, brief missions such as Apollo and Shuttle have used open loop life support. As mission length increases, greater system closure and increased recycling become more cost-effective.Closure can be gradually increased, first recycling humidity condensate, then hygiene wastewater, urine, carbon dioxide, and water recovery brine. A long term space station or planetary base could implement nearly full closure, including food production. Dynamic systems theory supports the axioms by showing that fewer requirements, fewer subsystems, and fewer interconnections all increase system stability. If systems are too complex and interconnected, reliability is reduced and operations and maintenance become more difficult. Using axiomatic design shows how the mission duration and other requirements determine the best life support system design including the degree of closure.

Integration of Biological, Physical/Chemical and Energy Efficient Systems in the CELSS Antarctic Analog: Performance of Prototype Systems and Issues for Life Support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bubenheim, David L.; Flynn, Michael T.; Lamparter, Richard; Bates, Maynard; Kliss, Mark (Technical Monitor)

1998-01-01

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP) is a joint endeavor between the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs (NSF-OPP), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The fundamental objective is to develop, deploy, and operate a testbed of advanced life support technologies at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station that enable the objectives of both the NSF and NASA. The functions of food production, water purification, and waste treatment, recycle, and reduction provided by CAAP will improve the quality of life for the South Pole inhabitants, reduce logistics dependence, enhance safety, and minimize environmental impacts associated with human presence on the polar plateau. Because of the analogous technical, scientific, and mission features with Planetary missions, such as a mission to Mars, CAAP provides NASA with a method for validating technologies and overall approaches to supporting humans. Prototype systems for waste treatment, water recycle, resource recovery and crop production are being evaluated in a testbed at Ames Research Center. The combined performance of these biological and physical/chemical systems as an integrated function in support of the human habitat will be discussed. Overall system performance will be emphasized. The effectiveness and efficiency of component technologies will be discussed in the context of energy and mass flow within the system and contribution to achieving a mass and energy conservative system. Critical to the discussion are interfaces with habitat functions outside of the closed-loop life support: the ability of the system to satisfy the life support requirements of the habitat and the ability to define input requirements. The significance of analog functions in relation to future Mars habitats will be discussed.

Examining the influence of three types of social support on the mental health of mexican caregivers of individuals with traumatic brain injury.

PubMed

Stevens, Lillian Flores; Perrin, Paul B; Gulin, Shaina; Rogers, Heather L; Villaseñor Cabrera, Teresita; Jiménez-Maldonado, Miriam; Arango-Lasprilla, Juan Carlos

2013-11-01

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of three types of social support (appraisal, belonging, and tangible) on caregiver mental health (anxiety, burden, depression, and satisfaction with life) among Mexican caregivers of individuals with traumatic brain injury. This is a cross-sectional study of 90 family caregivers from Hospital Civil Fray Antonio Alcade in Guadalajara, Mexico. More months spent caregiving was associated with decreases in all three types of social support. Older age and fewer years of education were associated with lower appraisal social support. More hours per week spent caregiving was associated with lower caregiver state anxiety and greater satisfaction with life. Appraisal, belonging, and tangible social support were all significantly correlated with more salubrious caregiver mental health outcomes, except satisfaction with life. Appraisal social support independently predicted lower caregiver depression. Particularly in Latin America, strong social support networks and family connections seem closely tied to key mental health outcomes such as depression. Rehabilitation interventions aimed at strengthening perceptions of social support of caregivers of individuals with traumatic brain injury that specifically target availability of advice may improve mental health and contribute to more optimal informal care for individuals with traumatic brain injury.

NASA Environmental Control and Life Support Technology Development and Maturation for Exploration: 2015 to 2016 Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schneider, Walter F.; Gatens, Robyn L.; Anderson, Molly S.; Broyan, James L.; MaCatangay, Ariel V.; Shull, Sarah A.; Perry, Jay L.; Toomarian, Nikzad

2016-01-01

Over the last year, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has continued to refine the understanding and prioritization of technology gaps that must be closed in order to achieve Evolvable Mars Campaign objectives and near term objectives in the cislunar proving ground. These efforts are reflected in updates to the technical area roadmaps released by NASA in 2015 and have guided technology development and maturation tasks that have been sponsored by various programs. This paper provides an overview of the refined Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) strategic planning, as well as a synopsis of key technology and maturation project tasks that occurred in 2014 and early 2015 to support the strategic needs. Plans for the remainder of 2015 and subsequent years are also described.

[Medical care and support in school and community life to very severe neurologically-impaired children--advance and problems in medical, educational and social management for improvement of QOL].

PubMed

Kitazumi, Eiji

2003-05-01

With an increasing number of children with severe neurological impairment living in their houses, there is growing demand for medical care and support in school and community life. In such cases, respiratory disorder, gastro-esophageal reflux and dysphagia are closely related. To improve these disorders, appropriate rehabilitation and daily managements, such as posture control, are important as well as medical and surgical treatment. Social and educational support is also necessary for improvement of the QOL of these children and their family. For example, daily medical care such as tube feeding and sputum suctioning should be provided by school staffs. Pediatric neurologists should actively participate in such educational and social activities.

Research Opportunities Supporting the Vision for Space Exploration from the Transformation of the Former Microgravity Materials Science Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clinton, R. G., Jr.; Szofran, Frank; Bassler, Julie A.; Schlagheck, Ronald A.; Cook, Mary Beth

2005-01-01

The Microgravity Materials Science Program established a strong research capability through partnerships between NASA and the scientific research community. With the announcement of the vision for space exploration, additional emphasis in strategic materials science areas was necessary. The President's Commission recognized that achieving its exploration objectives would require significant technical innovation, research, and development in focal areas defined as "enabling technologies." Among the 17 enabling technologies identified for initial focus were: advanced structures, advanced power and propulsion; closed-loop life support and habitability; extravehicular activity systems; autonomous systems and robotics; scientific data collection and analysis, biomedical risk mitigation; and planetary in situ resource utilization. Mission success may depend upon use of local resources to fabricate a replacement part to repair a critical system. Future propulsion systems will require materials with a wide range of mechanical, thermophysical, and thermochemical properties, many of them well beyond capabilities of today's materials systems. Materials challenges have also been identified by experts working to develop advanced life support systems. In responding to the vision for space exploration, the Microgravity Materials Science Program aggressively transformed its research portfolio and focused materials science areas of emphasis to include space radiation shielding; in situ fabrication and repair for life support systems; in situ resource utilization for life support consumables; and advanced materials for exploration, including materials science for space propulsion systems and for life support systems. The purpose of this paper is to inform the scientific community of these new research directions and opportunities to utilize their materials science expertise and capabilities to support the vision for space exploration.

Digital Automation and Real-Time Monitoring of an Original Installation for "Wet Combustion" of Organic Wastes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morozov, Yegor; Tikhomirov, Alexander A.; Saltykov, Mikhail; Trifonov, Sergey V.; Kudenko, D.. Yurii A.

2016-07-01

An original method for "wet combustion" of organic wastes, which is being developed at the IBP SB RAS, is a very promising approach for regeneration of nutrient solutions for plants in future spacecraft closed Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS). The method is quick, ecofriendly, does not require special conditions such as high pressure and temperature, and the resulting nitrogen stays in forms easy for further preparation of the fertilizer. An experimental testbed of a new-generation closed ecosystem is being currently run at the IBP SB RAS to examine compatibility of the latest technologies for accelerating the cycling. Integration of "wet combustion" of organic wastes into the information system of closed ecosystem experimental testbed has been studied as part of preparatory work. Digital automation and real-time monitoring of original "wet combustion" installation operation parameters have been implemented. The new system enabled remotely controlled or automatic work of the installation. Data are stored in standard easily processed formats, allowing further mathematical processing where necessary. During ongoing experiments on improving "wet combustion" of organic wastes, automatic monitoring can notice slight changes in process parameters and record them in more detail. The ultimate goal of the study is to include the "wet combustion" installation into future full-scale experiment with humans, thus reducing the time spent by the crew on life support issues while living in the BLSS. The work was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Scientific Foundation (project 14-14-00599).

Cost analysis of water recovery systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yakut, M. M.

1972-01-01

Cost and performance data from Gemini, Skylab, and other aerospace and biotechnology programs were analyzed to identify major cost elements required to establish cost estimating relationships for advanced life support subsystems for long range planning in support of earth orbital programs. Cost analysis are presented for five leading water reclamation systems; (1) RITE waste management-water system;(2) reverse osmosis system;(3) multifiltration system;(4) vapor compression system; and(5) closed air evaporation system with electrolytic pretreatment.

Life systems for a lunar base

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nelson, Mark; Hawes, Philip B.; Augustine, Margret

1992-01-01

The Biosphere 2 project is pioneering work on life systems that can serve as a prototype for long-term habitation on the Moon. This project will also facilitate the understanding of the smaller systems that will be needed for initial lunar base life-support functions. In its recommendation for a policy for the next 50 years in space, the National Commission on Space urged, 'To explore and settle the inner Solar System, we must develop biospheres of smaller size, and learn how to build and maintain them' (National Commission on Space, 1986). The Biosphere 2 project, along with its Biospheric Research and Development Center, is a materially closed and informationally and energetically open system capable of supporting a human crew of eight, undertaking work to meet this need. This paper gives an overview of the Space Biospheres Ventures' endeavor and its lunar applications.

Lunar and Mars missions - Challenges for advanced life support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duke, Michael B.

1988-01-01

The development of a suite of scenarios is a prerequisite to the studies that will enable an informed decision by the United States on a program to meet the recently announced space policy goal to expand human presence beyond earth orbit. NASA's Office of Exploration is currently studying a range of initiative options that would extend the sphere of human activity in space to Mars and include permanent bases or outposts on the moon and on Mars. This paper describes the evolutionary lunar base and the Mars expedition scenarios in some detail so that an evaluation can be made from the point of view of human support and opportunities. Alternative approaches in the development of lunar outposts are outlined along with Mars expeditionary scenarios. Human environmental issues are discussed, including: closed loop life support systems; EVA systems; mobility systems; and medical support, physiological deconditioning, and psychological effects associated with long-duration missions.

Advanced instrumentation: Technology database enhancement, volume 4, appendix G

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1991-01-01

The purpose of this task was to add to the McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Company's Sensors Database, including providing additional information on the instruments and sensors applicable to physical/chemical Environmental Control and Life Support System (P/C ECLSS) or Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) which were not previously included. The Sensors Database was reviewed in order to determine the types of data required, define the data categories, and develop an understanding of the data record structure. An assessment of the MDSSC Sensors Database identified limitations and problems in the database. Guidelines and solutions were developed to address these limitations and problems in order that the requirements of the task could be fulfilled.

Performance and reliability of the NASA Biomass Production Chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sager, J. C.; Chetirkin, P. V.

1994-01-01

The Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) at the Kennedy Space Center is part of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Breadboard Project. Plants are grown in a closed environment in an effort to quantify their contributions to the requirements for life support. Performance of this system is described. Also, in building this system, data from component and subsystem failures are being recorded. These data are used to identify problem areas in the design and implementation. The techniques used to measure the reliability will be useful in the design and construction of future CELSS. Possible methods for determining the reliability of a green plant, the primary component of a CELSS, are discussed.

[Design of medical devices management system supporting full life-cycle process management].

PubMed

Su, Peng; Zhong, Jianping

2014-03-01

Based on the analysis of the present status of medical devices management, this paper optimized management process, developed a medical devices management system with Web technologies. With information technology to dynamic master the use of state of the entire life-cycle of medical devices. Through the closed-loop management with pre-event budget, mid-event control and after-event analysis, improved the delicacy management level of medical devices, optimized asset allocation, promoted positive operation of devices.

Development and research program for a soil-based bioregenerative agriculture system to feed a four person crew at a Mars base.

PubMed

Silverstone, S; Nelson, M; Alling, A; Allen, J

2003-01-01

For humans to survive during long-term missions on the Martian surface, bioregenerative life support systems including food production will decrease requirements for launch of Earth supplies, and increase mission safety. It is proposed that the development of "modular biospheres"--closed system units that can be air-locked together and which contain soil-based bioregenerative agriculture, horticulture, with a wetland wastewater treatment system is an approach for Mars habitation scenarios. Based on previous work done in long-term life support at Biosphere 2 and other closed ecological systems, this consortium proposes a research and development program called Mars On Earth(TM) which will simulate a life support system designed for a four person crew. The structure will consist of 6 x 110 square meter modular agricultural units designed to produce a nutritionally adequate diet for 4 people, recycling all air, water and waste, while utilizing a soil created by the organic enrichment and modification of Mars simulant soils. Further research needs are discussed, such as determining optimal light levels for growth of the necessary range of crops, energy trade-offs for agriculture (e.g. light intensity vs. required area), capabilities of Martian soils and their need for enrichment and elimination of oxides, strategies for use of human waste products, and maintaining atmospheric balance between people, plants and soils. c2002 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Layoffs and Plant Closings on Depression Among Older Workers*

PubMed Central

Brand, Jennie E.; Levy, Becca R.; Gallo, William T.

2009-01-01

Job displacement is widely considered a negative life event associated with subsequent economic decline and depression as established by numerous prior studies. However, little is known about whether the form of job displacement (i.e. layoffs versus plant closings) differentially affects depression. We assess the effects of different ways in which a worker is displaced on subsequent depression among U.S. men and women nearing retirement. We hypothesize that layoffs should be associated with larger effects on depression than plant closings, particularly among men. Our findings generally support our hypotheses. We find that men have significant increases in depression as a result of layoffs, but not as a result of plant closings, while the reverse is true among women. PMID:20011238

A closed-loop air revitalization process technology demonstrator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulloth, Lila; Perry, Jay; Luna, Bernadette; Kliss, Mark

Demonstrating a sustainable, reliable life support system process design that possesses the capability to close the oxygen cycle to the greatest extent possible is required for extensive surface exploration of the Moon and Mars by humans. A conceptual closed-loop air revitalization system process technology demonstrator that combines the CO2 removal, recovery, and reduction and oxygen generation operations in a single compact envelope is described. NASA has developed, and in some cases flown, process technologies for capturing metabolic CO2 from air, reducing CO2 to H2O and CH4, electrolyzing H2O to O2, and electrolyzing CO2 to O2 and CO among a number of candidates. Traditionally, these processes either operate in parallel with one another or have not taken full benefit of a unit operation-based design approach to take complete advantage of the synergy between individual technologies. The appropriate combination of process technologies must capitalize on the advantageous aspects of individual technologies while eliminating or transforming the features that limit their feasibility when considered alone. Such a process technology integration approach also provides advantages of optimized mass, power and volume characteristics for the hardware embodiment. The conceptual air revitalization system process design is an ideal technology demonstrator for the critically needed closed-loop life support capabilities for long duration human exploration of the lunar surface and extending crewed space exploration toward Mars. The conceptual process design incorporates low power CO2 removal, process gas drying, and advanced engineered adsorbents being developed by NASA and industry.

3. A Closed Aquatic System for Space and Earth Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slenzka, K.; Duenne, M.; Jastorff, B.; Ranke, J.; Schirmer, M.

Increased durations in space travel as well as living in extreme environments are requiring reliable life support systems in general and bioregenerative ones in detail. Waste water management, air revitalization and food production are obviously center goals in this research, however, in addition a potential influence by chemicals, drugs etc. released to the closed environment must be considered. On this basis ecotoxicological data become more and more important for CELSS (Closed Ecological Life Support System) development and performance. The experiences gained during the last years in our research group lead to the development of an aquatic habitat, called AquaHab (formerly CBRU), which is a closed, self-sustaining system with a total water volume of 9 liters. In the frame program of a R&D project funded by the state of Bremen and OHB System, AquaHab is under adaptation to become an ecotoxicological research unit containing for example Japanese Medaka or Zebra Fish, amphipods, water snails and water plants. Test runs were standardized and analytical methods were developed. Beside general biological and water chemical parameters, activity measurements of biotransforming enzymes (G6PDH, CytP450-Oxidase, Peroxidase) and cell viability tests as well as residual analysis of the applied substance and respective metabolites were selected as evaluation criteria. In a first series of tests low doses effects of TBT (Tributyltin, 0.1 to 20 μgTBT/l nominal concentration) were analyzed. The AquaHab and data obtained for applied environmental risk assessment will be presented at the assembly.

Life history variation among geographically close populations of the toad-headed lizard (Phrynocephalus przewalskii): Exploring environmental and physiological associations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zeng, Zhi-Gao; Zhao, Jia-Ming; Sun, Bao-Jun

2013-08-01

Geographic variation in life history traits has been extensively studied along latitudinal and altitudinal clines, but life history variation among geographically close populations has received much less attention. We collected gravid female toad-headed lizards (Phrynocephalus przewalskii) and environmental data from three localities (Alxa Zuoqi, Alxa Youqi, and Shandan) across the Gobi desert in China, to examine among-population differences in reproductive strategies. The precipitation was significantly lower in Alxa Youqi than Alxa Zouqi and Shandan. Food availability was highest in Shandan, lowest in Alxa Zuoqi, with Alxa Youqi in between. Females from Shandan population were larger and produced more and larger eggs than their counterparts from the other two populations. Incubation period also differed among the populations, with the lowest incubation period in Alxa Youqi population, and the longest incubation period in Alxa Zuoqi population. Our data on the physiological mechanisms of incubation period indicated that the shortened incubation period in Alxa Youqi population was due to advanced embryogenesis completed prior to oviposition rather than higher embryonic heart rates during incubation. Therefore, our data support the hypothesis that geographically close populations can show different reproductive strategies if environmental factors vary among these populations.

Crop Production for Advanced Life Support Systems - Observations From the Kennedy Space Center Breadboard Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, R. M.; Sager, J. C.; Prince, R. P.; Knott, W. M.; Mackowiak, C. L.; Stutte, G. W.; Yorio, N. C.; Ruffe, L. M.; Peterson, B. V.; Goins, G. D.

2003-01-01

The use of plants for bioregenerative life support for space missions was first studied by the US Air Force in the 1950s and 1960s. Extensive testing was also conducted from the 1960s through the 1980s by Russian researchers located at the Institute of Biophysics in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, and the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow. NASA initiated bioregenerative research in the 1960s (e.g., Hydrogenomonas) but this research did not include testing with plants until about 1980, with the start of the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Program. The NASA CELSS research was carried out at universities, private corporations, and NASA field centers, including Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The project at KSC began in 1985 and was called the CELSS Breadboard Project to indicate the capability for plugging in and testing various life support technologies; this name has since been dropped but bioregenerative testing at KSC has continued to the present under the NASA s Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. A primary objective of the KSC testing was to conduct pre-integration tests with plants (crops) in a large, atmospherically closed test chamber called the Biomass Production Chamber (BPC). Test protocols for the BPC were based on observations and growing procedures developed by university investigators, as well as procedures developed in plant growth chamber studies at KSC. Growth chamber studies to support BPC testing focused on plant responses to different carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, different spectral qualities from various electric lamps, and nutrient film hydroponic culture techniques.

Plant Growth Module (PGM) conceptual design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schwartzkopf, Steven H.; Rasmussen, Daryl

1987-01-01

The Plant Growth Module for the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS), designed to answer basic science questions related to growing plants in closed systems, is described functionally with artist's conception drawings. Subsystems are also described, including enclosure and access; data acquisition and control; gas monitor and control; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning; air delivery; nutrient monitor and control; microbial monitoring and control; plant support and nutrient delivery; illumination; and internal operations. The hardware development plan is outlined.

Closing the Gap: Public Libraries and Senior Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Welliver, Hilary

2017-01-01

This executive position paper (EPP) examines the gap in Delaware's public library services to senior citizens engaged in lifelong learning. Re-envisioning the public library as a center that provides support of lifelong learning for the whole individual and improving the quality of life for Kent County's seniors is one approach that may keep…

Providing Perinatal Mental Health Services in Pediatric Primary Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Talmi, Ayelet; Stafford, Brian; Buchholz, Melissa

2009-01-01

After birth, newborns and their caregivers are seen routinely and frequently in pediatric primary care settings. The close succession of visits in the first few months of life puts pediatric primary care professionals in a unique position to enhance infant mental health by developing strong relationships with caregivers, supporting babies and…

Closing the Loop on Critical Care Life Support for Military en route Care Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2004-09-01

pig’s blood volume. Resuscitation was then initiated by turning on the autocontrol software which ran on an external computer which was receiving mean...that initiated the occlusion alarm. When the occlusion was released, the autocontrol resumed automatically and restored the blood pressure once again

Bacteria/virus filter membrane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lysaght, M. S.; Goodwin, F.; Roebelen, G.

1977-01-01

Hollow acrylate fiber membrane that filters bacterial and viral organisms can be used with closed-cycle life-support systems for underwater habitations or laboratories. Membrane also has applications in fields of medicine, gnotobiotics, pharmaceutical production, and industries and research facilities that require sterile water. Device eliminates need for strong chemicals or sterilizing agents, thereby reducing costs.

CO2 Removal and Atmosphere Revitalization Systems for Next Generation Space Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Luna, Bernadette; Mulloth, Lila M.; Varghese, Mini M.; Hogan, John Andrew

2010-01-01

Removal of metabolic CO2 from breathing air is a vital process for life support in all crewed space missions. A CO2 removal processor called the Low Power CO2 Removal (LPCOR) system is being developed in the Bioengineering Branch at NASA Ames Research Center. LPCOR utilizes advanced adsorption and membrane gas separation processes to achieve substantial power and mass reduction when compared to the state-of-the-art carbon dioxide removal assembly (CORA) of the US segment of the International Space Station (ISS). LPCOR is an attractive alternative for use in commercial spacecraft for short-duration missions and can easily be adapted for closed-loop life support applications. NASA envisions a next-generation closed-loop atmosphere revitalization system that integrates advanced CO2 removal, O2 recovery, and trace contaminant control processes to improve overall system efficiency. LPCOR will serve as the front end to such a system. LPCOR is a reliable air revitalization technology that can serve both the near-term and long-term human space flight needs of NASA and its commercial partners.

Publications of the planetary biology program for 1975: A special bibliography. [on NASA programs and research projects on extraterrestrial life

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Souza, K. A. (Compiler); Young, R. S. (Compiler)

1976-01-01

The Planetary Biology Program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the first and only integrated program to methodically investigate the planetary events which may have been responsible for, or related to, the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe. Research supported by this program is divided into the seven areas listed below: (1) chemical evolution, (2) organic geochemistry, (3) life detection, (4) biological adaptation, (5) bioinstrumentation, (6) planetary environments, and (7) origin of life. The arrangement of references in this bibliography follows the division of research described above. Articles are listed alphabetically by author under the research area with which they are most closely related. Only those publications which resulted from research supported by the Planetary Biology Program and which bear a 1975 publication date have been included. Abstracts and theses are not included because of the preliminary and abbreviated nature of the former and the frequent difficulty of obtaining the latter.

The CELSS Antarctic Analog Project: an advanced life support testbed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica.

PubMed

Straight, C L; Bubenheim, D L; Bates, M E; Flynn, M T

1994-01-01

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP) is a joint endeavor between the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs (NSF-OPP) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its fundamental objective is to develop, deploy and operate a testbed of NASA CELSS technologies and life support approaches at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, located at latitude 90 degrees S, longitude 0 degrees. The goal of NASA's CELSS Program is to develop technologies and systems that will allow spacefaring scientists and explorers to carry out long duration extraterrestrial missions, leading ultimately to permanent habitation of the Solar System, without total dependence on a costly resupply system. A CELSS would do this by providing regenerated life support materials (air, food and water) and by processing "waste" materials into useful resources. This will be accomplished using biological and physical/chemical techniques in a nearly closed environmental habitation system. CELSS technologies also have great implications for application to terrestrial systems with intrinsic transferability to society at large. The CELSS Program intends to provide opportunities for the transfer of these systems and technologies outside the US Space Program, to applications within the American economy as space technology spin-offs.

Space Life-Support Engineering Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seagrave, Richard C. (Principal Investigator)

1995-01-01

This report covers the seventeen months of work performed under an extended one year NASA University Grant awarded to Iowa State University to perform research on topics relating to the development of closed-loop long-term life support systems with the initial principal focus on space water management. In the first phase of the program, investigators from chemistry and chemical engineering with demonstrated expertise in systems analysis, thermodynamics, analytical chemistry and instrumentation, performed research and development in two major related areas; the development of low-cost, accurate, and durable sensors for trace chemical and biological species, and the development of unsteady-state simulation packages for use in the development and optimization of control systems for life support systems. In the second year of the program, emphasis was redirected towards concentrating on the development of dynamic simulation techniques and software and on performing a thermodynamic systems analysis, centered on availability or energy analysis, in an effort to begin optimizing the systems needed for water purification. The third year of the program, the subject of this report, was devoted to the analysis of the water balance for the interaction between humans and the life support system during space flight and exercise, to analysis of the cardiopulmonary systems of humans during space flight, and to analysis of entropy production during operation of the air recovery system during space flight.

Visual Simulation of Microalgae Growth in Bioregenerative Life Support System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Ming

Bioregenerative life support system is one of the key technologies for future human deep space exploration and long-term space missions. BLSS use biological system as its core unit in combination with other physical and chemical equipments, under the proper control and manipulation by crew to complete a specific task to support life. Food production, waste treatment, oxygen and water regeneration are all conducted by higher plants or microalgae in BLSS, which is the most import characteristic different from other kinds of life support systems. Microalgae is light autotrophic micro-organisms, light undoubtedly is the most import factor which limits its growth and reproduction. Increasing or decreasing the light intensity changes the growth rate of microalgae, and then regulates the concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the system. In this paper, based on the mathematical model of microalgae which grew under the different light intensity, three-dimensional visualization model was built and realized through using 3ds max, Virtools and some other three dimensional software, in order to display its change and impacting on oxygen and carbon dioxide intuitively. We changed its model structure and parameters, such as establishing closed-loop control system, light intensity, temperature and Nutrient fluid’s velocity and so on, carried out computer virtual simulation, and observed dynamic change of system with the aim of providing visualization support for system research.

Experimental Study on Fatigue Performance of Foamed Lightweight Soil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, Youqiang; Yang, Ping; Li, Yongliang; Zhang, Liujun

2017-12-01

In order to study fatigue performance of foamed lightweight soil and forecast its fatigue life in the supporting project, on the base of preliminary tests, beam fatigue tests on foamed lightweight soil is conducted by using UTM-100 test system. Based on Weibull distribution and lognormal distribution, using the mathematical statistics method, fatigue equations of foamed lightweight soil are obtained. At the same time, according to the traffic load on real road surface of the supporting project, fatigue life of formed lightweight soil is analyzed and compared with the cumulative equivalent axle loads during the design period of the pavement. The results show that even the fatigue life of foamed lightweight soil has discrete property, the linear relationship between logarithmic fatigue life and stress ratio still performs well. Especially, the fatigue life of Weibull distribution is more close to that derived from the lognormal distribution, in the instance of 50% guarantee ratio. In addition, the results demonstrated that foamed lightweight soil as subgrade filler has good anti-fatigue performance, which can be further adopted by other projects in the similar research domain.

Design of biomass management systems and components for closed loop life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nevill, Gale E., Jr.

1991-01-01

The design of a biomass management system (BMS) for use in a closed loop support system is presented by University of Florida students as the culmination of two design courses. The report is divided into two appendixes, each presenting the results of one of the design courses. The first appendix discusses the preliminary design of the biomass management system and is subdivided into five subsystems: (1) planting and harvesting, (2) food management, (3) resource recovery, (4) refurbishing, and (5) transport. Each subsystem is investigated for possible solutions to problems, and recommendations and conclusions for an integrated BMS are discussed. The second appendix discusses the specific design of components for the BMS and is divided into three sections: (1) a sectored plant growth unit with support systems, (2) a container and receiving mechanism, and (3) an air curtain system for fugitive particle control. In this section components are designed, fabricated, and tested.

The embodiment design of the heat rejection system for the portable life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stuckwisch, Sue; Francois, Jason; Laughlin, Julia; Phillips, Lee; Carrion, Carlos A.

1994-01-01

The Portable Life Support System (PLSS) provides a suitable environment for the astronaut in the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), and the heat rejection system controls the thermal conditions in the space suit. The current PLSS sublimates water to the space environment; therefore, the system loses mass. Since additional supplies of fluid must be available on the Space Shuttle, NASA desires a closed heat rejecting system. This document presents the embodiment design for a radiative plate heat rejection system without mass transfer to the space environment. This project will transform the concept variant into a design complete with material selection, dimensions of the system, layouts of the heat rejection system, suggestions for manufacturing, and financial viability.

Systems engineering aspects of a preliminary conceptual design of the space station environmental control and life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lin, C. H.; Meyer, M. S.

1983-01-01

The systems engineering aspects of developing a conceptual design of the Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) are discussed. Topics covered include defining system requirements and groundrules for approach, formulating possible cycle closure options, and establishing a system-level mass balance on the essential materials processed in oxygen and water cycles. Consideration is also given to the performance of a system trade-off study to determine the best degree of cycle closure for the ECLSS, and the construction of a conceptual design of the ECLSS with subsystem performance specifications and candidate concepts. For the optimum balance between development costs, technological risks, and resupply penalties, a partially closed cycle ECLSS option is suggested.

Mass balances for a biological life support system simulation model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volk, Tyler; Rummel, John D.

1987-01-01

Design decisions to aid the development of future space based biological life support systems (BLSS) can be made with simulation models. The biochemistry stoichiometry was developed for: (1) protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber, and lignin production in the edible and inedible parts of plants; (2) food consumption and production of organic solids in urine, feces, and wash water by the humans; and (3) operation of the waste processor. Flux values for all components are derived for a steady state system with wheat as the sole food source. The large scale dynamics of a materially closed (BLSS) computer model is described in a companion paper. An extension of this methodology can explore multifood systems and more complex biochemical dynamics while maintaining whole system closure as a focus.

Family, friends, and 12-month PTSD among African Americans.

PubMed

Nguyen, Ann W; Chatters, Linda M; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Levine, Debra Siegel; Himle, Joseph A

2016-08-01

Despite a growing literature on the influence of social support on mental health, little is known about the relationship between social support and specific psychiatric disorders for African Americans, such as PTSD. This study investigated the relationship between social support, negative interaction with family and 12-month PTSD among African Americans. Analyses were based on a nationally representative sample of African Americans from the National Survey of American Life (n = 3315). Social support variables included emotional support from family, frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions with family. Results indicated that emotional support from family is negatively associated with 12-month PTSD while negative interaction with family is predictive of 12-month PTSD. Additionally, a significant interaction indicated that high levels of subjective closeness to friends could offset the impact of negative family interactions on 12-month PTSD. Overall, study results converged with previously established findings indicating that emotional support from family is associated with 12-month PTSD, while, negative interaction with family is associated with increased risk of 12-month PTSD. The findings are discussed in relation to prior research on the unique association between social support and mental health among African Americans.

Engineering Challenges for Closed Ecological System facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempster, William; Nelson, Mark; Allen, John P.

2012-07-01

Engineering challenges for closed ecological systems include methods of achieving closure for structures of different materials, and developing methods of allowing energy (for heating and cooling) and information transfer through the materially closed structure. Methods of calculating degree of closure include measuring degradation rates of inert trace gases introduced into the system. An allied problem is developing means of locating where leaks are located so that they may be repaired and degree of closure maintained. Once closure is achieved, methods of dealing with the pressure differentials between inside and outside are needed: from inflatable structures which might adjust to the pressure difference to variable volume chambers attached to the life systems component. These issues are illustrated through the engineering employed at Biosphere 2, the Biosphere 2 Test Module and the Laboratory Biosphere and a discussion of methods used by other closed ecological system facility engineers. Ecological challenges include being able to handle faster cycling rates and accentuated daily and seasonal fluxes of critical life elements such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, macro- and mico-nutrients. The problems of achieving sustainability in closed systems for life support include how to handle atmospheric dynamics including trace gases, producing a complete human diet and recycling nutrients and maintaining soil fertility, healthy air and water and preventing the loss of crucial elements from active circulation. In biospheric facilities the challenge is also to produce analogue to natural biomes and ecosystems, studying processes of self-organization and adaptation in systems that allow specification or determination of state variables and cycles which may be followed through all interactions from atmosphere to soils.

Microgravity: New opportunities to facilitate biotechnology development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, Terry; Todd, Paul; Stodieck, Louis S.

1996-03-01

New opportunities exist to use the microgravity environment to facilitate biotechnology development. BioServe Space Technologies Center for the Commercial Development of Space offers access to microgravity environments for companies who wish to perform research or develop products in three specific life-science fields: Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research, Biotechnology and Bioprocessing Research, and Agricultural and Environmental Research. Examples of each include physiological testing of new pharmaceutical countermeasures against symptoms that are exaggerated in space flight, crystallization and testing of novel, precompetitive biopharmaceutical substances in a convection-free environment, and closed life-support system product development.

Older Women: The Meaning of Involvement in Support Systems.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Greenberg, Reva M.

With the increased longevity American women experience, it is important to begin to define the strengths and resources women bring to old age. Late parental, married women with a mean age of 58 (N=75) completed an interview questionnaire which included open- and closed-ended and scale items. Data analysis developed four life-style orientations…

Interactive Contact as Linguistic Affordance during Short-Term Study Abroad: Myth or Reality?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Heather

2010-01-01

The idea that study abroad (SA) is an ideal context for acquiring language is one largely supported by foreign language (FL) students and their teachers, the latter often recollecting their own successful if not life-transforming sojourns abroad. According to Rivers (1998), SA represents "an environment which most closely resembles the…

Scorpion: Close Air Support (CAS) aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allen, Chris; Cheng, Rendy; Koehler, Grant; Lyon, Sean; Paguio, Cecilia

1991-01-01

The objective is to outline the results of the preliminary design of the Scorpion, a proposed close air support aircraft. The results obtained include complete preliminary analysis of the aircraft in the areas of aerodynamics, structures, avionics and electronics, stability and control, weight and balance, propulsion systems, and costs. A conventional wing, twin jet, twin-tail aircraft was chosen to maximize the desirable characteristics. The Scorpion will feature low speed maneuverability, high survivability, low cost, and low maintenance. The life cycle cost per aircraft will be 17.5 million dollars. The maximum takeoff weight will be 52,760 pounds. Wing loading will be 90 psf. The thrust to weight will be 0.6 lbs/lb. This aircraft meets the specified mission requirements. Some modifications have been suggested to further optimize the design.

Social Support Can Buffer against Stress and Shape Brain Activity

PubMed Central

Hostinar, Camelia E.; Gunnar, Megan R.

2015-01-01

Social support from close relationship partners is an important resource for coping with stress, particularly during childhood. We discuss ethical challenges associated with studying stress and its social buffering in the laboratory, as well as emerging evidence regarding two potential neural substrates for the social buffering of stress: hypothalamic oxytocin activity and activation of areas in the prefrontal cortex associated with effective self-regulation. We also address the role of early-life social experiences in shaping brain development, as well as recommendations for practice and policy that would advance the ethical treatment of children and reduce social inequalities in early-life experiences and opportunities–e.g., investing in programs that prevent child maltreatment and facilitating access to high-quality child care for economically disadvantaged families. We also debate the ethical implications of using oxytocin nasal sprays to simulate the stress-reducing properties of social support and advise waiting for more evidence before recommending their use. PMID:26478822

Structural and functional aspects of social support as predictors of mental and physical health trajectories: Whitehall II cohort study.

PubMed

Hakulinen, Christian; Pulkki-Råback, Laura; Jokela, Markus; E Ferrie, Jane; Aalto, Anna-Mari; Virtanen, Marianna; Kivimäki, Mika; Vahtera, Jussi; Elovainio, Marko

2016-07-01

Social support is associated with better health. However, only a limited number of studies have examined the association of social support with health from the adult life course perspective and whether this association is bidirectional. Participants (n=6797; 30% women; age range from 40 to 77 years) who were followed from 1989 (phase 2) to 2006 (phase 8) were selected from the ongoing Whitehall II Study. Structural and functional social support was measured at follow-up phases 2, 5 and 7. Mental and physical health was measured at five consecutive follow-up phases (3-8). Social support predicted better mental health, and certain functional aspects of social support, such as higher practical support and higher levels of negative aspects in social relationships, predicted poorer physical health. The association between negative aspects of close relationships and physical health was found to strengthen over the adult life course. In women, the association between marital status and mental health weakened until the age of approximately 60 years. Better mental and physical health was associated with higher future social support. The strength of the association between social support and health may vary over the adult life course. The association with health seems to be bidirectional. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Modeling the growth dynamics of four candidate crops for Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volk, Tyler

1987-01-01

The production of food for human life support for advanced space missions will require the management of many different crops. The research to design these food production capabilities along with the waste management to recycle human metabolic wastes and inedible plant components are parts of Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS). Since complete operating CELSS were not yet built, a useful adjunct to the research developing the various pieces of a CELSS are system simulation models that can examine what is currently known about the possible assembly of subsystems into a full CELSS. The growth dynamics of four crops (wheat, soybeans, potatoes, and lettuce) are examined for their general similarities and differences within the context of their important effects upon the dynamics of the gases, liquids, and solids in the CELSS. Data for the four crops currently under active research in the CELSS program using high-production hydroponics are presented. Two differential equations are developed and applied to the general characteristics of each crop growth pattern. Model parameters are determined by closely approximating each crop's data.

Planner-Based Control of Advanced Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muscettola, Nicola; Kortenkamp, David; Fry, Chuck; Bell, Scott

2005-01-01

The paper describes an approach to the integration of qualitative and quantitative modeling techniques for advanced life support (ALS) systems. Developing reliable control strategies that scale up to fully integrated life support systems requires augmenting quantitative models and control algorithms with the abstractions provided by qualitative, symbolic models and their associated high-level control strategies. This will allow for effective management of the combinatorics due to the integration of a large number of ALS subsystems. By focusing control actions at different levels of detail and reactivity we can use faster: simpler responses at the lowest level and predictive but complex responses at the higher levels of abstraction. In particular, methods from model-based planning and scheduling can provide effective resource management over long time periods. We describe reference implementation of an advanced control system using the IDEA control architecture developed at NASA Ames Research Center. IDEA uses planning/scheduling as the sole reasoning method for predictive and reactive closed loop control. We describe preliminary experiments in planner-based control of ALS carried out on an integrated ALS simulation developed at NASA Johnson Space Center.

Next Generation Life Support Project Status

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barta, Daniel J.; Chullen, Cinda; Vega, Leticia; Cox, Marlon R.; Aitchison, Lindsay T.; Lange, Kevin E.; Pensinger, Stuart J.; Meyer, Caitlin E.; Flynn, Michael; Jackson, W. Andrew;

Influence of Social Support on Health-Related Quality of Life in New-Generation Migrant Workers in Eastern China.

PubMed

Xing, Haiyan; Yu, Wei; Chen, Sanmei; Zhang, Dengke; Tan, Rongmei

2013-08-01

The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) has generally been used for patients, few studies in migrants who move from rural to urban within one country. Many studies asserted that social isolation presents a risk to individual health. Poor social networks are associated with worse QOL. This study examined health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and social support in new-generation migrant workers and compared it with urban workers. Nine hundred thirty new-generation migrant workers and 939 urban controls completed the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire and Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) by stratified sampling in 2011. Spearman's correlation was performed to clarify the relationship between social support and HRQOL in migrants. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to identify the variables that were associated with HRQOL. The general health, psychological health, and environmental scores of QOL in new-generation migrant workers were lower than in urban workers. New-generation migrants had poorer social support compared with urban controls with regard to general support, objective support, and support utilization. A positive correlation was found between social support and HRQOL. Workers with a higher level of education achieved better psychological, environmental, and general scores than workers with a primary education. Physical, social, environmental, and general health was also closely connected with the age factor. Physical health scores were higher in males than in females. These data suggest that new-generation migrant workers have significant impairment in HRQOL and receive less social support. HRQOL may be affected by social support, education, age, and gender.

Integrated Evaluation of Closed Loop Air Revitalization System Components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murdock, K.

2010-01-01

NASA s vision and mission statements include an emphasis on human exploration of space, which requires environmental control and life support technologies. This Contractor Report (CR) describes the development and evaluation of an Air Revitalization System, modeling and simulation of the components, and integrated hardware testing with the goal of better understanding the inherent capabilities and limitations of this closed loop system. Major components integrated and tested included a 4-Bed Modular Sieve, Mechanical Compressor Engineering Development Unit, Temperature Swing Adsorption Compressor, and a Sabatier Engineering and Development Unit. The requisite methodolgy and technical results are contained in this CR.

Analysis of an algae-based CELSS. I - Model development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holtzapple, Mark T.; Little, Frank E.; Makela, Merry E.; Patterson, C. O.

1989-01-01

A steady state chemical model and computer program have been developed for a life support system and applied to trade-off studies. The model is based on human demand for food and oxygen determined from crew metabolic needs. The model includes modules for water recycle, waste treatment, CO2 removal and treatment, and food production. The computer program calculates rates of use and material balance for food, O2, the recycle of human waste and trash, H2O, N2, and food production/supply. A simple noniterative solution for the model has been developed using the steady state rate equations for the chemical reactions. The model and program have been used in system sizing and subsystem trade-off studies of a partially closed life support system.

Analysis of an algae-based CELSS. Part 1: model development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holtzapple, M. T.; Little, F. E.; Makela, M. E.; Patterson, C. O.

1989-01-01

A steady state chemical model and computer program have been developed for a life support system and applied to trade-off studies. The model is based on human demand for food and oxygen determined from crew metabolic needs. The model includes modules for water recycle, waste treatment, CO2 removal and treatment, and food production. The computer program calculates rates of use and material balance for food. O2, the recycle of human waste and trash, H2O, N2, and food production supply. A simple non-iterative solution for the model has been developed using the steady state rate equations for the chemical reactions. The model and program have been used in system sizing and subsystem trade-off studies of a partially closed life support system.

Microbial ecology of the closed artificial ecosystem MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative): reinventing and compartmentalizing the Earth's food and oxygen regeneration system for long-haul space exploration missions.

PubMed

Hendrickx, Larissa; De Wever, Heleen; Hermans, Veronik; Mastroleo, Felice; Morin, Nicolas; Wilmotte, Annick; Janssen, Paul; Mergeay, Max

2006-01-01

MELiSSA is a bioregenerative life support system designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for the complete recycling of gas, liquid and solid wastes during long distance space exploration. The system uses the combined activity of different living organisms: microbial cultures in bioreactors, a plant compartment and a human crew. In this minireview, the development of a short-cut ecological system for the biotransformation of organic waste is discussed from a microorganism's perspective. The artificial ecological model--still in full development--that is inspired by Earth's own geomicrobiological ecosystem serves as an ideal study object on microbial ecology and will become an indispensable travel companion in manned space exploration.

Advanced Life Support Systems: Opportunities for Technology Transfer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fields, B.; Henninger, D.; Ming, D.; Verostko, C. E.

1994-01-01

NASA's future missions to explore the solar system will be of long-duration possibly lasting years at a time. Human life support systems will have to operate with very high reliability for these long periods with essentially no resupply from Earth. Such life support systems will make extensive use of higher plants, microorganisms, and physicochemical processes for recycling air and water, processing wastes, and producing food. Development of regenerative life support systems will be a pivotal capability for NASA's future human missions. A fully functional closed loop human life support system currently does not exist and thus represents a major technical challenge for space exploration. Technologies where all life support consumables are recycled have many potential terrestrial applications as well. Potential applications include providing human habitation in hostile environments such as the polar regions or the desert in such a way as to minimize energy expenditures and to minimize negative impacts on those often ecologically-sensitive areas. Other potential applications include production of food and ornamental crops without damaging the environment from fertilizers that contaminate water supplies; removal of trace gas contaminants from tightly sealed, energy-efficient buildings (the so-called sick building syndrome); and even the potential of gaining insight into the dynamics of the Earth's biosphere such that we can better manage our global environment. Two specific advanced life support technologies being developed by NASA, with potential terrestrial application, are the zeoponic plant growth system and the Hybrid Regenerative Water Recovery System (HRWRS). The potential applications for these candidate dual use technologies are quite different as are the mechanisms for transfer. In the case of zeoponics, a variety of commercial applications has been suggested which represent potentially lucrative markets. Also, the patented nature of this product offers opportunities for licensing to commercial entities. In the case of the HRWRS, commercial markets with broad applications have not been identified but some terrestrial applications are being explored where this approach has advantages over other methods of waste water processing. Although these potential applications do not appear to have the same broad attraction from the standpoint of rapid commercialization, they represent niches where commercialization possibilities as well as social benefits could be realized.

Air regenerating and conditioning

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grishayenkov, B. G.

1975-01-01

Various physicochemical methods of regenerating and conditioning air for spacecraft are described with emphasis on conditions which affect efficiency of the system. Life support systems used in closed, hermetically sealed environments are discussed with references to actual application in the Soviet Soyuz and Voskhod manned spacecraft. Temperature and humidity control, removal of carbon dioxide, oxygen regeneration, and removal of bacteria and viruses are among the factors considered.

Social Networks and Community Support: Sustaining Women in Need of Community-Based Adult Education Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Albertini, Velmarie L.

2009-01-01

Life for uneducated women involves contending with myriad barriers to economic self-sufficiency. The average income for individuals without at least a high school diploma or GED is about $18,734. That income level falls close to the poverty line established by the federal government for a family of three or more. Further compounding the problem…

Plan for CELSS test bed project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knott, W. M.

1986-01-01

The Closed Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) testbed project will achieve two major goals: It will develop the knowledge and technology needed to build and test biological or combined biological physiochemical regenerative life support systems. It will fabricate, test, and operate ground based facilities to accomplish proof-of-concent testing and evaluation leading to flight experimentation. The project will combine basic research and applied research/engineering to achieve a phased, integrated development of hardware, systems, and techniques for food and oxygen production, food processing, and waste processing in closed systems. The project will design, fabricate, and operate within three years a botanical production system scaled to a sufficient size to verify oxygen and nutrient load production (carbohydrates, fats, proteins) at a useable level. It will develop within five years a waste management system compatible with the botanical production system and a food processing system that converts available biomass into edible products. It will design, construct, and operate within ten years a ground based candidate CELSS that includes man as an active participant in the system. It will design a flight CELSS module within twelve years and construct and conduct initial flight tests within fifteen years.

Gut microbes in correlation with mood: case study in a closed experimental human life support system.

PubMed

Li, L; Su, Q; Xie, B; Duan, L; Zhao, W; Hu, D; Wu, R; Liu, H

2016-08-01

Gut microbial community, which may influence our mood, can be shaped by modulating the gut ecosystem through dietary strategies. Understanding the gut-brain correlationship in healthy people is important for maintenance of mental health and prevention of mental illnesses. A case study on the correlation between gut microbial alternation and mood swing of healthy adults was conducted in a closed human life support system during a 105-day experiment. Gut microbial community structures were analyzed using high-throughput sequencing every 2 weeks. A profile of mood states questionnaire was used to record the mood swings. Correlation between gut microbes and mood were identified with partial least squares discrimination analysis. Microbial community structures in the three healthy adults were strongly correlated with mood states. Bacterial genera Roseburia, Phascolarctobacterium, Lachnospira, and Prevotella had potential positive correlation with positive mood, while genera Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium, Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Anaerostipes were correlated with negative mood. Among which, Faecalibacterium spp. had the highest abundance, and showed a significant negative correlation with mood. Our results indicated that the composition of microbial community could play a role in emotional change in mentally physically healthy adults. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Religious Music and Health in Late Life: A Longitudinal Investigation

PubMed Central

Krause, Neal; Hayward, R. David

2013-01-01

Listening to religious music is often an important part of religious life. Yet there has been little empirical research on it. The purpose of this study is to test a conceptual model that specifies one way in which religious music may be associated with change in health over time. This model contains the following core relationships: (1) people who attend worship services more often will have stronger emotional reactions to religious music; (2) individuals who are more emotionally involved in religious music will be more likely to feel a close sense of connectedness with other people; (3) people who feel more closely connected with others will be more hopeful about the future; and (4) individuals who feel more hopeful will be more likely to rate their health in a favorably over time. The data provide support for each of these relationships. Significant variations by race were also observed in the findings. PMID:24363543

Quality of life among Iranian refugees resettled in Sweden.

PubMed

Ghazinour, Mehdi; Richter, Jörg; Eisemann, Martin

2004-04-01

The relationships between quality of life, psychopathological manifestations and coping related variables (coping resources, social support, sense of coherence) were examined among individuals who have perceived several severe traumata. One hundred Iranian refugees resettled in Sweden have been investigated by the Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Coping Resources Inventory (CRI), and the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction (ISSI), the Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC), and the WHOQoL-100 questionnaire in a cross-sectional study. Individuals, traumatized by combat experiences as a soldier during the war, with low BDI scores showed on average the significantly highest overall quality of life, the best physical health, the highest scores according to the sense of coherence most pronounced for "Meaningfulness," and the best availability of social integration compared to participants who did not had these experiences in combats and those with the experience but scored high in the BDI. Quality of life, coping resources, and social support were found closely related to psychopathological manifestations. Motivational orientations (highly developed Meaningfulness-SOC) and various coping competencies probably enable some traumatized individuals to resist against several traumata and to live in a good quality of life without psychopathological disturbances.

Human Exploration System Test-Bed for Integration and Advancement (HESTIA) Support of Future NASA Deep-Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Marmolejo, Jose; Ewert, Michael

2016-01-01

The Engineering Directorate at the NASA - Johnson Space Center is outfitting a 20-Foot diameter hypobaric chamber in Building 7 to support future deep-space Environmental Control & Life Support System (ECLSS) research as part of the Human Exploration System Test-bed for Integration and Advancement (HESTIA) Project. This human-rated chamber is the only NASA facility that has the unique experience, chamber geometry, infrastructure, and support systems capable of conducting this research. The chamber was used to support Gemini, Apollo, and SkyLab Missions. More recently, it was used to conduct 30-, 60-, and 90-day human ECLSS closed-loop testing in the 1990s to support the International Space Station and life support technology development. NASA studies show that both planetary surface and deep-space transit crew habitats will be 3-4 story cylindrical structures driven by human occupancy volumetric needs and launch vehicle constraints. The HESTIA facility offers a 3-story, 20-foot diameter habitat consistent with the studies' recommendations. HESTIA operations follow stringent processes by a certified test team that including human testing. Project management, analysis, design, acquisition, fabrication, assembly and certification of facility build-ups are available to support this research. HESTIA offers close proximity to key stakeholders including astronauts, Human Research Program (who direct space human research for the agency), Mission Operations, Safety & Mission Assurance, and Engineering Directorate. The HESTIA chamber can operate at reduced pressure and elevated oxygen environments including those proposed for deep-space exploration. Data acquisition, power, fluids and other facility resources are available to support a wide range of research. Recently completed HESTIA research consisted of unmanned testing of ECLSS technologies. Eventually, the HESTIA research will include humans for extended durations at reduced pressure and elevated oxygen to demonstrate very high reliability of critical ECLSS and other technologies.

Family, Friends, and 12-month PTSD among African Americans

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Ann W.; Chatters, Linda M.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Levine, Debra Siegel; Himle, Joseph A.

2016-01-01

Purpose Despite a growing literature on the influence of social support on mental health, little is known about the relationship between social support and specific psychiatric disorders for African Americans, such as PTSD. This study investigated the relationship between social support, negative interaction with family and 12-month PTSD among African Americans. Methods Analyses were based on a nationally representative sample of African Americans from the National Survey of American Life (n=3,315). Social support variables included emotional support from family, frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions with family. Results Results indicated that emotional support from family is negatively associated with 12-month PTSD while negative interaction with family is predictive of 12-month PTSD. Additionally, a significant interaction indicated that high levels of subjective closeness to friends could offset the impact of negative family interactions on 12-month PTSD. Conclusions Overall, study results converged with previously established findings indicating that emotional support from family is associated with 12-month PTSD, while, negative interaction with family is associated with increased risk of 12-month PTSD. The findings are discussed in relation to prior research on the unique association between social support and mental health among African Americans. PMID:27189209

Closeness to God among those doing God's work: a spiritual well-being measure for clergy.

PubMed

Proeschold-Bell, Rae Jean; Yang, Chongming; Toth, Matthew; Corbitt Rivers, Monica; Carder, Kenneth

2014-06-01

Measuring spiritual well-being among clergy is particularly important given the high relevance of God to their lives, and yet its measurement is prone to problems such as ceiling effects and conflating religious behaviors with spiritual well-being. To create a measure of closeness to God for Christian clergy, we tested survey items at two time points with 1,513 United Methodist Church clergy. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated support for two, six-item factors: Presence and Power of God in Daily Life, and Presence and Power of God in Ministry. The data supported the predictive and concurrent validity of the two factors and evidenced high reliabilities without ceiling effects. This Clergy Spiritual Well-being Scale may be useful to elucidate the relationship among dimensions of health and well-being in clergy populations.

A review of the habitability aspects of prior space flights from the flight crew perspective with an orientation toward designing Space Station Freedom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stramler, J. H.

1990-01-01

Habitability is a very important issue in long-duration spaceflight. With this concern, a review of much of the existing U.S. Skylab, Spacelab, and some Soviet literature on habitability aspects of long-duratioin space flight was completed for the Astronaut Space Station Support Office. The data were organized to follow as closely as possible the SSF distributed systems, such as Life Support, Data Management, etc. A new definition of habitability is proposed.

Human factors in spacecraft design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harrison, Albert A.; Connors, Mary M.

1990-01-01

This paper describes some of the salient implications of evolving mission parameters for spacecraft design. Among the requirements for future spacecraft are new, higher standards of living, increased support of human productivity, and greater accommodation of physical and cultural variability. Design issues include volumetric allowances, architecture and layouts, closed life support systems, health maintenance systems, recreational facilities, automation, privacy, and decor. An understanding of behavioral responses to design elements is a precondition for critical design decisions. Human factors research results must be taken into account early in the course of the design process.

EVA Suit Studies: Human Forward Contamination Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rucker, Michelle

2017-01-01

Background: NASA Strategic Knowledge Gap B5: Forward Contamination for Mars. Issue: we have knowledge gaps!: Whether / how microbes are released from crewed pressure systems. Why do we care?: Informs Mars operational concepts - How to protect the science; Informs architecture decisions - How “open” Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) systems are; Informs landing site selection decisions - How close we can land / operate to where life may be present. Project goal: get some data to fill in these gaps: Data will help determine whether we’re ready to go to Mars, or if we need to change our systems or operational designs.

Novel aquatic modules for bioregenerative life-support systems based on the closed equilibrated biological aquatic system (c.e.b.a.s.)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bluem, Volker; Paris, Frank

2002-06-01

The closed equilibrated biological aquatic system (C.E.B.A.S) is a man-made aquatic ecosystem which consists of four subcomponents: an aquatic animal habitat, an aquatic plant bioreactor, an ammonia oxidizing bacteria filter and a data acquisition/control unit. It is a precursor for different types of fish and aquatic plant production sites which are disposed for the integration into bioregenerative life-support systems. The results of two successful spaceflights of a miniaturized C.E.B.A.S version (the C.E.B.A.S. MINI MODULE) allow the optimization of aquatic food production systems which are already developed in the ground laboratory and open new aspects for their utilization as aquatic modules in space bioregenerative life support systems. The total disposition offers different stages of complexity of such aquatic modules starting with simple but efficient aquatic plant cultivators which can be implemented into water recycling systems and ending up in combined plant/fish aquaculture in connection with reproduction modules and hydroponics applications for higher land plants. In principle, aquaculture of fishes and/or other aquatic animals edible for humans offers optimal animal protein production under lowered gravity conditions without the tremendous waste management problems connected with tetrapod breeding and maintenance. The paper presents details of conducted experimental work and of future dispositions which demonstrate clearly that aquaculture is an additional possibility to combine efficient and simple food production in space with water recycling utilizing safe and performable biotechnologies. Moreover, it explains how these systems may contribute to more variable diets to fulfill the needs of multicultural crews.

Nitrogen cycling in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems: Challenges for waste refinery and food production processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clauwaert, Peter; Muys, Maarten; Alloul, Abbas; De Paepe, Jolien; Luther, Amanda; Sun, Xiaoyan; Ilgrande, Chiara; Christiaens, Marlies E. R.; Hu, Xiaona; Zhang, Dongdong; Lindeboom, Ralph E. F.; Sas, Benedikt; Rabaey, Korneel; Boon, Nico; Ronsse, Frederik; Geelen, Danny; Vlaeminck, Siegfried E.

2017-05-01

In order to sustain human life in an isolated environment, an efficient conversion of wasted nutrients to food might become mandatory. This is particularly the case for space missions where resupply from earth or in-situ resource utilization is not possible or desirable. A combination of different technologies is needed to allow full recycling of e.g. nitrogenous compounds in space. In this review, an overview is given of the different essential processes and technologies that enable closure of the nitrogen cycle in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS). Firstly, a set of biological and physicochemical refinery stages ensures efficient conversion of waste products into the building blocks, followed by the production of food with a range of biological methods. For each technology, bottlenecks are identified. Furthermore, challenges and outlooks are presented at the integrated system level. Space adaptation and integration deserve key attention to enable the recovery of nitrogen for the production of nutritional food in space, but also in closed loop systems on earth.

Liquid-handling Lego robots and experiments for STEM education and research

PubMed Central

Gerber, Lukas C.; Calasanz-Kaiser, Agnes; Hyman, Luke; Voitiuk, Kateryna; Patil, Uday

2017-01-01

Liquid-handling robots have many applications for biotechnology and the life sciences, with increasing impact on everyday life. While playful robotics such as Lego Mindstorms significantly support education initiatives in mechatronics and programming, equivalent connections to the life sciences do not currently exist. To close this gap, we developed Lego-based pipetting robots that reliably handle liquid volumes from 1 ml down to the sub-μl range and that operate on standard laboratory plasticware, such as cuvettes and multiwell plates. These robots can support a range of science and chemistry experiments for education and even research. Using standard, low-cost household consumables, programming pipetting routines, and modifying robot designs, we enabled a rich activity space. We successfully tested these activities in afterschool settings with elementary, middle, and high school students. The simplest robot can be directly built from the widely used Lego Education EV3 core set alone, and this publication includes building and experiment instructions to set the stage for dissemination and further development in education and research. PMID:28323828

Liquid-handling Lego robots and experiments for STEM education and research.

PubMed

Gerber, Lukas C; Calasanz-Kaiser, Agnes; Hyman, Luke; Voitiuk, Kateryna; Patil, Uday; Riedel-Kruse, Ingmar H

2017-03-01

Liquid-handling robots have many applications for biotechnology and the life sciences, with increasing impact on everyday life. While playful robotics such as Lego Mindstorms significantly support education initiatives in mechatronics and programming, equivalent connections to the life sciences do not currently exist. To close this gap, we developed Lego-based pipetting robots that reliably handle liquid volumes from 1 ml down to the sub-μl range and that operate on standard laboratory plasticware, such as cuvettes and multiwell plates. These robots can support a range of science and chemistry experiments for education and even research. Using standard, low-cost household consumables, programming pipetting routines, and modifying robot designs, we enabled a rich activity space. We successfully tested these activities in afterschool settings with elementary, middle, and high school students. The simplest robot can be directly built from the widely used Lego Education EV3 core set alone, and this publication includes building and experiment instructions to set the stage for dissemination and further development in education and research.

Carbon balance in bioregenerative life support systems: some effects of system closure, waste management, and crop harvest index

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Raymond M.

2003-01-01

In Advanced Life Support (ALS) systems with bioregenerative components, plant photosynthesis would be used to produce O2 and food, while removing CO2. Much of the plant biomass would be inedible and hence must be considered in waste management. This waste could be oxidized (e.g., incinerated or aerobically digested) to resupply CO2 to the plants, but this would not be needed unless the system were highly closed with regard to food. For example, in a partially closed system where some of the food is grown and some is imported, CO2 from oxidized waste when combined with crew and microbial respiration could exceed the CO2 removal capability of the plants. Moreover, it would consume some O2 produced from photosynthesis that could have been used by the crew. For partially closed systems it would be more appropriate to store or find other uses for the inedible biomass and excess carbon, such as generating soils or growing woody plants (e.g., dwarf fruit trees). Regardless of system closure, high harvest crops (i.e., crops with a high edible to total biomass ratio) would increase food production per unit area and O2 yields for systems where waste biomass is oxidized to recycle CO2. Such interlinking effects between the plants and waste treatment strategies point out the importance of oxidizing only that amount of waste needed to optimize system performance. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

Carbon balance in bioregenerative life support systems: some effects of system closure, waste management, and crop harvest index.

PubMed

Wheeler, Raymond M

2003-01-01

In Advanced Life Support (ALS) systems with bioregenerative components, plant photosynthesis would be used to produce O2 and food, while removing CO2. Much of the plant biomass would be inedible and hence must be considered in waste management. This waste could be oxidized (e.g., incinerated or aerobically digested) to resupply CO2 to the plants, but this would not be needed unless the system were highly closed with regard to food. For example, in a partially closed system where some of the food is grown and some is imported, CO2 from oxidized waste when combined with crew and microbial respiration could exceed the CO2 removal capability of the plants. Moreover, it would consume some O2 produced from photosynthesis that could have been used by the crew. For partially closed systems it would be more appropriate to store or find other uses for the inedible biomass and excess carbon, such as generating soils or growing woody plants (e.g., dwarf fruit trees). Regardless of system closure, high harvest crops (i.e., crops with a high edible to total biomass ratio) would increase food production per unit area and O2 yields for systems where waste biomass is oxidized to recycle CO2. Such interlinking effects between the plants and waste treatment strategies point out the importance of oxidizing only that amount of waste needed to optimize system performance. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

Carbon balance in bioregenerative life support systems: Some effects of system closure, waste management, and crop harvest index

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wheeler, Raymond M.

In Advanced Life Support (ALS) systems with bioregenerative components, plant photosynthesis would be used to produce O2 and food, while removing CO2. Much of the plant biomass would be inedible and hence must be considered in waste management. This waste could be oxidized (e.g., incinerated or aerobically digested) to resupply CO2 to the plants, but this would not be needed unless the system were highly closed with regard to food. For example, in a partially closed system where some of the food is grown and some is imported, CO2 from oxidized waste when combined with crew and microbial respiration could exceed the CO2 removal capability of the plants. Moreover, it would consume some O2 produced from photosynthesis that could have been used by the crew. For partially closed systems it would be more appropriate to store or find other uses for the inedible biomass and excess carbon, such as generating soils or growing woody plants (e.g., dwarf fruit trees). Regardless of system closure, high harvest crops (i.e., crops with a high edible to total biomass ratio) would increase food production per unit area and O2 yields for systems where waste biomass is oxidized to recycle CO2. Such interlinking effects between the plants and waste treatment strategies point out the importance of oxidizing only that amount of waste needed to optimize system performance.

Family and Friendship Networks and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Among African Americans and Black Caribbeans.

PubMed

Himle, Joseph A; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Nguyen, Ann W; Williams, Monnica T; Lincoln, Karen D; Taylor, Harry Owen; Chatters, Linda M

2017-03-01

Although there is a large literature on the influence of social support on mental health there is limited research on social support and OCD. This is especially the case for African Americans and Black Caribbeans. This study examines the relationship between family and friendship networks and the prevalence of OCD. The analysis is based on the National Survey of American Life a nationally representative sample of African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Variables included frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions (conflict, criticisms) with family members. The results indicated that only negative interaction with family members was significantly associated with OCD prevalence. African Americans and Black Caribbeans with more frequent negative interactions with family members had a higher likelihood of having OCD. Subjective closeness and frequency of contact with family and friends was not protective of OCD. Overall the findings are consistent with previous work which finds that social support is an inconsistent protective factor of psychiatric disorders, but negative interactions with support network members is more consistently associated with mental health problems.

Family and Friendship Networks and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Among African Americans and Black Caribbeans

PubMed Central

Himle, Joseph A.; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Nguyen, Ann W.; Williams, Monnica T.; Lincoln, Karen D.; Taylor, Harry Owen; Chatters, Linda M.

2017-01-01

Although there is a large literature on the influence of social support on mental health there is limited research on social support and OCD. This is especially the case for African Americans and Black Caribbeans. This study examines the relationship between family and friendship networks and the prevalence of OCD. The analysis is based on the National Survey of American Life a nationally representative sample of African Americans and Black Caribbeans. Variables included frequency of contact with family and friends, subjective closeness with family and friends, and negative interactions (conflict, criticisms) with family members. The results indicated that only negative interaction with family members was significantly associated with OCD prevalence. African Americans and Black Caribbeans with more frequent negative interactions with family members had a higher likelihood of having OCD. Subjective closeness and frequency of contact with family and friends was not protective of OCD. Overall the findings are consistent with previous work which finds that social support is an inconsistent protective factor of psychiatric disorders, but negative interactions with support network members is more consistently associated with mental health problems. PMID:28321149

Develop Recovery Systems for Separations of Salts from Process Streams for use in Advanced Life Support System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colon, Guillermo

1998-01-01

The main objectives of this project were the development of a four-compartment electrolytic cell using high selective membranes to remove nitrate from crop residue leachate and convert it to nitric acid, and the development of an six compartment electrodialysis cell to remove selectively sodium from urine wastes. The recovery of both plant inedible biomass and human wastes nutrients to sustain a biomass production system are important aspects in the development of a controlled ecological life support system (CELSS) to provide the basic human needs required for life support during long term space missions. A four-compartment electrolytic cell has been proposed to remove selectively nitrate from crop residue and to convert it to nitric acid, which is actually used in the NASA-KSC Controlled Ecological Life Support System to control the pH of the aerobic bioreactors and biomass production chamber. Human activities in a closed system require large amount of air, water and minerals to sustain life and also generate wastes. Before using human wastes as nutrients, these must be treated to reduce organic content and to remove some minerals which have adverse effects on plant growth. Of all the minerals present in human urine, sodium chloride (NACl) is the only one that can not be used as nutrient for most plants. Human activities also requires sodium chloride as part of the diet. Therefore, technology to remove and recover sodium chloride from wastes is highly desirable. A six-compartment electrodialysis cell using high selective membranes has been proposed to remove and recover NaCl from human urine.

[Psychological evaluation and support in patients with left ventricular assist devices: preliminary data at 6-month follow-up].

PubMed

Voltolini, Alessandra; Minotti, Anna; Verde, Alessandro; Cipriani, Manlio; Garascia, Andrea; Turazza, Fabio; Macera, Francesca; Perna, Enrico; Russo, Claudio F; Fumagalli, Emilia; Frigerio, Maria

2016-11-01

Heart disease has an impact on patient's identity and self-perception. Taking into account the wide literature about psychological aspects before and after heart transplant, it clearly emerges that there is a lack of data and results for patients up to implantation of ventricular assist devices (VAD). The aim of the present study was to explore quality of life and factors correlated with psychological adjustment in patients supported with VAD. From February 2013 to August 2014, 18 patients (17 male, mean age 57 years) under clinical evaluation before and after VAD implantation were enrolled. During interviews, patients were assessed with EuroQoL-5D questionnaire to monitor improvement of quality of life before implantation and at 3 and 6 months; critical issues, needs and point of views of patients have been described. A significant improvement in the quality of life score was observed at 3 (score 38 [interquartile range 30-40] vs 75 [60-80], p<0.05) and 6 months (38 [30-40] vs 70 [60-80], p<0.05). Overall, patients' psychological state investigated by the test showed a clear and positive trend. All patients need to empower through complete information about the device, related risks and life expectancy. Interdisciplinary approach improved compliance with therapy. Successful treatment and efficient psychological care are closely related to assessment and continuous clinical support. This approach ensures a better selection of patients and improves their compliance. Further data are needed to support our preliminary observations and to explore long-term quality of life.

Survey of the incidence and effect of major life events on graduate medical education trainees

PubMed Central

Grimm, Lars J.; Nagler, Alisa; Maxfield, Charles M.

2015-01-01

Purpose This study aims to assess the incidence of major life events during graduate medical education (GME) training and to establish any associations with modifiable activities and career planning. Methods The authors surveyed graduating GME trainees from their parent institution in June 2013. Demographic information (clinical department, gender, training duration) and major life events (marriage, children, death/illness, home purchase, legal troubles, property loss) were surveyed. Respondents were queried about the relationship between life events and career planning. A multivariable logistic regression model tested for associations. Results A total of 53.2% (166/312) of graduates responded to the survey. 50% (83/166) of respondents were female. Major life events occurred in 96.4% (160/166) of respondents. Male trainees were more likely (56.1% [46/82] vs. 30.1% [25/83]) to have a child during training (p=0.01). A total of 41.6% (69/166) of responders consciously engaged or avoided activities during GME training, while 31.9% (53/166) of responders reported that life events influenced their career plans. Trainees in lifestyle residencies (p=0.02), those who experienced the death or illness of a close associate (p=0.01), and those with legal troubles (p=0.04) were significantly more likely to consciously control life events. Conclusion Major life events are very common and changed career plans in nearly a third of GME trainees. Furthermore, many trainees consciously avoided activities due to their responsibilities during training. GME training programs should closely assess the institutional support systems available to trainees during this difficult time. PMID:26070948

Marital satisfaction: the differential impact of social support dependent on situation and gender in medical staff in Iran.

PubMed

Rostami, Arian; Ghazinour, Mehdi; Richter, Jörg

2013-05-12

Stress is unavoidable in everyday life and it can effect on marital relationship. Social support especially from emotionally closed persons as a protective factor can help individuals to deal with stress and buffers the negative effects of life stress on marital satisfaction. In the present cross-sectional study we investigated the relationship between social and spousal support and marital satisfaction in medical staff in Iran. Data collection was performed in 653 medical staff using socio-demographic questions, the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Inventory, and the Social Support Questionnaire. Women and men did not differ in total social support satisfaction and the total number of supporting people; but, women were more often support providers for their husbands than men were for their wives. Spouse support was a more important indicator of marital satisfaction for women than for men. Also results revealed that spouse support is more important than social support from other resources to explain marital satisfaction. Job satisfaction had an explanatory effect on marital satisfaction especially in men. Furthermore, the findings showed that social support could decrease the explanatory impact of job satisfaction on scales of marital satisfaction. Therefore, focusing on social support, especially spouse support could be an effective approach in family counseling or family education programs to improve marital satisfaction in medical staff.

Marital Satisfaction: The Differential Impact of Social Support Dependent on Situation and Gender in Medical Staff in Iran

PubMed Central

Rostami, Arian; Ghazinour, Mehdi; Richter, Jörg

2013-01-01

Stress is unavoidable in everyday life and it can effect on marital relationship. Social support especially from emotionally closed persons as a protective factor can help individuals to deal with stress and buffers the negative effects of life stress on marital satisfaction. In the present cross-sectional study we investigated the relationship between social and spousal support and marital satisfaction in medical staff in Iran. Data collection was performed in 653 medical staff using socio-demographic questions, the ENRICH Marital Satisfaction Inventory, and the Social Support Questionnaire. Women and men did not differ in total social support satisfaction and the total number of supporting people; but, women were more often support providers for their husbands than men were for their wives. Spouse support was a more important indicator of marital satisfaction for women than for men. Also results revealed that spouse support is more important than social support from other resources to explain marital satisfaction. Job satisfaction had an explanatory effect on marital satisfaction especially in men. Furthermore, the findings showed that social support could decrease the explanatory impact of job satisfaction on scales of marital satisfaction. Therefore, focusing on social support, especially spouse support could be an effective approach in family counseling or family education programs to improve marital satisfaction in medical staff. PMID:23777731

Performance of Sweetpotato for Bioregenerative Life Support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barta, Daniel J.; Henderson, Keith E.; Mortley, Desmond G.; Henninger, Donald L.

2001-01-01

Sweetpotato was successfully grown to harvest maturity in a large-scale atmospherically-closed controlled environment chamber. Yield of edible biomass and capacity for contributing to air revitalization and water recovery were documented. Yield was slightly less than that found in smaller-scale studies, but this is not unusual (Wheeler 1999). Continued work is suggested to improve control of storage root initiation, bulking and vine growth.

The Prediction of Teachers' Perceptions of School Climate from Their School's Utilization of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Quackenbush, Rebecca J.

2017-01-01

School climate is an aspect of school life that has been examined closely in recent literature as it related to student interactions, behavior, and student achievement. Problem behaviors can affect students' academic learning as well as teachers' instructional time. Research has emphasized how a healthy school climate can yield positive effects on…

Design concepts for bioreactors in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seshan, P. K.; Peterson, G. R.; Beard, B.; Dunlop, E. H.

1986-01-01

Microbial food sources are becoming viable and more efficient alternatives to conventional food sources especially in the context of Closed Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) in space habitats. Since bioreactor designs for terrestrial operation will not readily apply to conditions of microgravity, there is an urgent need to learn about the differences. These differences cannot be easily estimated due to the complex nature of the mass transport and mixing mechanisms in fermenters. Therefore, a systematic and expeditious experimental program must be undertaken to obtain the engineering data necessary to lay down the foundations of designing bioreactors for microgravity. Two bioreactor design concepts presented represent two dissimilar approaches to grappling with the absence of gravity in space habitats and deserve to be tested for adoption as important components of the life support function aboard spacecrafts, space stations and other extra-terrestrial habitats.

Space life support engineering program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seagrave, Richard C.

1992-01-01

A comprehensive study to develop software to simulate the dynamic operation of water reclamation systems in long-term closed-loop life support systems is being carried out as part of an overall program for the design of systems for a moon station or a Mars voyage. This project is being done in parallel with a similar effort in the Department of Chemistry to develop durable accurate low-cost sensors for monitoring of trace chemical and biological species in recycled water supplies. Aspen-Plus software is being used on a group of high-performance work stations to develop the steady state descriptions for a number of existing technologies. Following completion, a dynamic simulation package will be developed for determining the response of such systems to changes in the metabolic needs of the crew and to upsets in system hardware performance.

The Concept and Analytical Investigation of CO2 and Steam Co-Electrolysis for Resource Utilization in Space Exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McKellar, Michael G.; Stoots, Carl M.; Sohal, Manohar S.; Mulloth, Lila M.; Luna, Bernadette; Abney, Morgan B.

2010-01-01

CO2 acquisition and utilization technologies will have a vital role in designing sustainable and affordable life support and in situ fuel production architectures for human and robotic exploration of Moon and Mars. For long-term human exploration to be practical, reliable technologies have to be implemented to capture the metabolic CO2 from the cabin air and chemically reduce it to recover oxygen. Technologies that enable the in situ capture and conversion of atmospheric CO2 to fuel are essential for a viable human mission to Mars. This paper describes the concept and mathematical analysis of a closed-loop life support system based on combined electrolysis of CO2 and steam (co-electrolysis). Products of the coelectrolysis process include oxygen and syngas (CO and H2) that are suitable for life support and synthetic fuel production, respectively. The model was developed based on the performance of a co-electrolysis system developed at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Individual and combined process models of the co-electrolysis and Sabatier, Bosch, Boudouard, and hydrogenation reactions are discussed and their performance analyses in terms of oxygen production and CO2 utilization are presented.

The development of the MELiSSA Pilot Plant Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godia, Francesc; Dussap, Claude-Gilles; Dixon, Mike; Peiro, Enrique; Fossen, Arnaud; Lamaze, Brigitte; Brunet, Jean; Demey, Dries; Mas-Albaigès, Joan L.

MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) is a closed artificial ecosystem intended as a tool for the development of a bio-regenerative life support system for longterm manned missions. The MELiSSA loop is formed by five interconnected compartments, organized in three different loops (solid, liquid and gas). This compartments are microbial bioreactors and higher plant chambers. The MELiSSA Pilot Plant facility has been designed to achieve the preliminary terrestrial demonstration of the MELiSSA concept at pilot scale, using animals as a model for the crew compartent. The experience gained in the operation of such a facility will be highly relevant for planning future life support systems in Space. In this communication, the latests developments in the MELiSSA Pilot Plant will be reported. Particularly, the completion of the design phase and instalation of all the different compartments will be discussed in detail. Each of the compartments had to be designed and constructed according to very specific characteristics, associated to the biological systems to be cultured, as part of the complete MELiSSA loop (anerobic, oxygenic, thermophilic, heterotrophic, autotrophic, axenic, photosynthetic, etc.). Additionally, the sizing of each reactor (ranging from 8 to 100 Liters, depending of each particular compartment) should compile with the global integration scenario proposed, and with the final goal of connection of all compartments to provide a demonstration of the MELiSSA concept, and generate data for the design and operation of future biological life support systems.

Clearing the Air: New Approaches to Life Support in Outer Space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knox, J.; Howard, D.

2008-01-01

This article reports on research into atmospheric revitalization systems for long-term space travel and the use ofCOMSOL Multiphysics to understand how structured sorbents can be used to improve the performance of adsorption processes via thermal management. We are developing the next generation of atmosphere revitalization systems, which will reach for new levels of resource conservation via a high percentage of loop closure. For example, a high percentage of carbon dioxide, exhaled by crew, can be converted via reaction to drinking water, closing the loop from human metabolic waste to supply. Adsorption processes play a lead role in these new/closed loop systems.

Patients after colostomy: relationship between quality of life and acceptance of disability and social support.

PubMed

Zhang, Tie-Ling; Hu, Ai-Ling; Xu, Hong-Lian; Zheng, Mei-Chun; Liang, Ming-Juan

2013-11-01

The aim of this research was to explore quality of life (QOL) and acceptance of disability and social support of colostomy patients as well as the relationship between these factors. A descriptive, correlational study was conducted using four scales: the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Colorectal Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-CR38) scales, the Acceptance of Disability Scale (ADS), and the Social Relational Quality Scale (SRQS). A convenience sample of 111 colostomy patients from four hospitals in Guangzhou who underwent colostomy operation at least one month prior to the study and who visited the stoma clinic or association from August 2011 to February 2012 was evaluated for inclusion in the study. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 17.0 software (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The patients' general health status was better than the reference level recommended by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, and the overall ADS score was average. The SRQS score was similar to that found in a Hong Kong study. The general health status and dimensions of QOL were significantly correlated with ADS and all of its dimensions (P < 0.05). The general health status and dimensions of QOL were also significantly correlated with SRQS and all of its dimensions (P < 0.05). QOL, acceptance of disability, and social relational quality of colostomy patients were closely related. Our results emphasize that patients should work to form rational values and close bonds with families and friends to achieve a better QOL.

Biospheric Life Support - integrating biological regeneration into protection of humans in space.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rocha, Mauricio; Iha, Koshun

2016-07-01

A biosphere stands for a set of biomes (regional biological communities) interacting in a materially closed (though energetically open) ecological system (CES). Earth's biosphere, the thin layer of life on the planet's surface, can be seen as a natural CES- where life "consumables" are regenerated/restored via biological, geological and chemical processes. In Life Sciences, artificial CESs- local ecosystems extracts with varying scales and degrees of closure, are considered convenient/representatives objects of study. For outer space, these concepts have been applied to the issue of life support- a significant consideration as long as distance from Earth increases. In the nineties, growing on the Russian expertise on biological life support, backed by a multidisciplinary science team, the famous Biosphere 2 appeared. That private project innovated, by assembling a set of Earth biomes samples- plus an organic ag one, inside a closed Mars base-like structure, next to 1.5 ha under glass, in Arizona, US. The crew of 8 inside completed their two years contract, though facing setbacks- the system failed, e.g., to produce enough food/air supplies. But their "failures"- if this word can be fairly applied to science endeavors, were as meaningful as their achievements for the future of life support systems (LSS) research. By this period, the Russians had accumulated experience in extended orbital stays, achieving biological outcomes inside their stations- e.g. complete wheat cycles. After reaching the Moon, the US administration decided to change national priorities, putting the space program as part of a "détente" policy, to relieve international tensions. Alongside the US space shuttle program, the Russians were invited to join the new International Space Station (ISS), bringing to that pragmatic project, also their physical/chemical LSS- top air/water regenerative technology at the time. Present US policy keeps the ISS operational, extending its service past its planned retirement (2016). The extension will allow partner agencies to deploy new experiments there, resuming basic research focusing more forward-looking goals. For deep-space, since consumables logistics becomes more difficult- and habitability an issue, with diminishing Earth's view, further research has been recommended. Four major areas have been identified for human protection: (1) radiation mitigation; (2) highly recyclable bio-regenerative (BR) LSS; (3) micro-gravity countermeasures- including artificial gravity (AG), and (4) psychological safety. To contribute to the efforts to address these issues, a basic lab/virtual iterative research has been proposed, assuming (in a worst case scenario) that: I) It won't be possible to send people to long deep space missions, safely, with the current (low quality of life) support technology (ISS micro-gravity 'up-gradings'); II) The alternative to implant a Mars surface human supportive biosphere would also not be possible, due to environmental/ evolutionary restraints (life could adapt and survive, but not necessarily to favor humans). From the above considerations arises the question: Would an average approach be possible where, by applying the artificial gravity concept to S/Cs, a fragment of Earth bio-regenerative environment could be integrated inside reusable manned vehicles- thus enhancing its habitability/autonomy in long deep space missions? For this research question a provisory answer/hypothesis has been provided. And to test it, a small AG+BR bench simulator (plus computer methods) has been devised.

Adjustable Autonomy Testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Schrenkenghost, Debra K.

2001-01-01

The Adjustable Autonomy Testbed (AAT) is a simulation-based testbed located in the Intelligent Systems Laboratory in the Automation, Robotics and Simulation Division at NASA Johnson Space Center. The purpose of the testbed is to support evaluation and validation of prototypes of adjustable autonomous agent software for control and fault management for complex systems. The AA T project has developed prototype adjustable autonomous agent software and human interfaces for cooperative fault management. This software builds on current autonomous agent technology by altering the architecture, components and interfaces for effective teamwork between autonomous systems and human experts. Autonomous agents include a planner, flexible executive, low level control and deductive model-based fault isolation. Adjustable autonomy is intended to increase the flexibility and effectiveness of fault management with an autonomous system. The test domain for this work is control of advanced life support systems for habitats for planetary exploration. The CONFIG hybrid discrete event simulation environment provides flexible and dynamically reconfigurable models of the behavior of components and fluids in the life support systems. Both discrete event and continuous (discrete time) simulation are supported, and flows and pressures are computed globally. This provides fast dynamic simulations of interacting hardware systems in closed loops that can be reconfigured during operations scenarios, producing complex cascading effects of operations and failures. Current object-oriented model libraries support modeling of fluid systems, and models have been developed of physico-chemical and biological subsystems for processing advanced life support gases. In FY01, water recovery system models will be developed.

Effects of Gravity on Cells, Tissues, and Organisms: Their Implications on Habitat and Human Support in Microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kizito, John

2004-01-01

This presentation will demonstrate that gravity plays a major role in advanced human life support in a closed habitat. The examples include, but are not limited to, control of purity in drinking water supplies (application of biocides), control of urine in space rodent habitats and operation of space septic tanks (waste management). Our goal is to understand and determine possible mechanisms that describe the process by which cells anchor to a substrate to form dynamic, vibrant communities of cells which influence human health in absence of gravity. The balance of all forces (mechanotransduction) acting on a cell will determine whether a cell thrives and multiplies or dies in a process called apoptosis and/or necrosis. The balance of forces are tightly coupled to the transport of nutrients and metabolic products (biochemotransduction) to and from the cell interface. We will highlight our effort to improve astronaut health by showing that microgravity life support systems have to be designed differently from those on Earth.

Homophily, Close Friendship, and Life Satisfaction among Gay, Lesbian, Heterosexual, and Bisexual Men and Women

PubMed Central

Gillespie, Brian Joseph; Frederick, David; Harari, Lexi; Grov, Christian

2015-01-01

Friends play important roles throughout our lives by providing expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. We examined sexual orientation, gender, and age differences in the number of friends people can rely on for expressive, instrumental, and companionate support. Additionally, we examined the extent to which people relied on same-gender versus cross-gender friends for these types of support. Participants (N = 25,185) completed a survey via a popular news website. Sexual orientation differences in number of same-gender and cross-gender friends were generally small or non-existent, and satisfaction with friends was equally important to overall life satisfaction for all groups. However, the extent to which people’s friendship patterns demonstrated gender-based homophily varied by sexual orientation, gender, and age. Young adult gay and bisexual men, and to some extent bisexual women and older bisexual men, did not conform to gendered expectations that people affiliate primarily with their own gender. PMID:26087008

Algae for controlled ecological life support system diet characterization of cyanobacteria 'spirulina' in batch cultures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tadros, M. G.

1990-01-01

Spirulina sp. is a bioregenerative photosynthetic and edible alga for space craft crews in a Closed Ecological Life Support System (CLESS). It was characterized for growth rate and biomass yield in batch cultures, under various environmental conditions. The cell characteristics were identified for one strain of Spirulina: S. maxima. Fast growth rate and high yield were obtained. The partitioning of the assimulatory products (proteins, carbohydrates, lipids) were manipulated by varying the environmental conditions. Experiments with Spirulina demonstrated that under stress conditions carbohydrate increased at the expense of protein. In other experiments, where the growth media were sufficient in nutrients and incubated under optimum growth conditions, the total proteins were increased up to almost 70 percent of the organic weight. In other words, the nutritional quality of the alga could be manipulated by growth conditions. These results support the feasibility of considering Spirulina as a subsystem in CELSS because of the ease with which its nutrient content can be manipulated.

A Closed Mars Analog Simulation: The Approach of Crew 5 At the Mars Desert Research Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clancey, William J.; Koga, Dennis (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

For twelve days in April 2002 we performed a closed simulation in the Mars Desert Research Station, isolated from other people, as on Mars, while performing systematic surface exploration and life support chores. Email provided our only means of contact; no phone or radio conversations were possible. All mission-related messages were mediated by a remote mission support team. This protocol enabled a systematic and controlled study of crew activities, scheduling, and use of space. The analysis presented here focuses on two questions: Where did the time go-why did people feel rushed and unable to complete their work? How can we measure and model productivity, to compare habitat designs, schedules, roles, and tools? Analysis suggests that a simple scheduling change-having lunch and dinner earlier, plus eliminating afternoon meetings-increased the available productive time by 41%.

Adaptive support ventilation: State of the art review

PubMed Central

Fernández, Jaime; Miguelena, Dayra; Mulett, Hernando; Godoy, Javier; Martinón-Torres, Federico

2013-01-01

Mechanical ventilation is one of the most commonly applied interventions in intensive care units. Despite its life-saving role, it can be a risky procedure for the patient if not applied appropriately. To decrease risks, new ventilator modes continue to be developed in an attempt to improve patient outcomes. Advances in ventilator modes include closed-loop systems that facilitate ventilator manipulation of variables based on measured respiratory parameters. Adaptive support ventilation (ASV) is a positive pressure mode of mechanical ventilation that is closed-loop controlled, and automatically adjust based on the patient's requirements. In order to deliver safe and appropriate patient care, clinicians need to achieve a thorough understanding of this mode, including its effects on underlying respiratory mechanics. This article will discuss ASV while emphasizing appropriate ventilator settings, their advantages and disadvantages, their particular effects on oxygenation and ventilation, and the monitoring priorities for clinicians. PMID:23833471

Students with disabilities in higher education - perceptions of support needs and received support: a pilot study.

PubMed

Simmeborn Fleischer, Ann; Adolfsson, Margareta; Granlund, Mats

2013-12-01

Students with disabilities in higher education frequently need support to succeed in their studies. Perceived problems in managing studies and everyday life may be the same for students with different disabilities, although the reasons for support may vary between them. In this pilot study, a questionnaire aimed to survey everyday functioning in students with disabilities was tested. Thirty-four students with Asperger syndrome, motor disabilities or deafness/hearing impairments were asked 55 close-ended and open-ended questions on participation restrictions and available support programmes. One aim of this study was to test the usefulness of the questionnaire, and another aim was to identify students' perceptions of their everyday student life and the support they are offered, with a special focus on comparing perceptions of needs and support between students with Asperger syndrome and other student groups. The results indicate the need to plan recruitment of participants carefully and that the questionnaire was useful. The descriptive analyses indicated that the groups primarily reported the same difficulties; however, the open-ended comments indicated that the reasons for the problems vary between the groups. It indicates that Likert-type responses to questions concerning perceived difficulties need to be supplemented by open-ended questions on the perceived reasons to problems.

Positive and Negative Experiences of Social Support and Risk of Dementia in Later Life: An Investigation Using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

PubMed Central

Khondoker, Mizanur; Rafnsson, Snorri Bjorn; Morris, Stephen; Orrell, Martin; Steptoe, Andrew

2017-01-01

Background: Having a network of close relationships may reduce the risk of developing dementia. However, social exchange theory suggests that social interaction entails both rewards and costs. The effects of quality of close social relationships in later life on the risk of developing dementia are not well understood. Objective: To investigate the effects of positive and negative experiences of social support within key relationships (spouse or partner, children, other immediate family, and friends) on the risk of developing dementia in later life. Methods: We analyzed 10-year follow up data (2003/4 to 2012/13) in a cohort of 10,055 dementia free (at baseline) core participants aged 50 years and over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Incidence of dementia was identified from participant or informant reported physician diagnosed dementia or overall score of informant-completed IQCODE questionnaire. Effects of positive and negative experiences of social support measured at baseline on risk of developing dementia were investigated using proportional hazards regression accommodating interval censoring of time-to-dementia. Results: There were 340 (3.4%) incident dementia cases during the follow-up. Positive social support from children significantly reduced the risk of dementia (hazard ratio, HR = 0.83, p = 0.042, 95% CI: 0.69 to 0.99). Negative support from other immediate family (HR = 1.26, p = 0.011, CI: 1.05 to 1.50); combined negative scores from spouse and children (HR = 1.23, p = 0.046, CI: 1.004 to 1.51); spouse, children, and other family (HR = 1.27, p = 0.021, CI = 1.04 to 1.56); other family & friends (HR = 1.25, p = 0.033, CI: 1.02 to 1.55); and the overall negative scores (HR = 1.31, p = 0.019, CI: 1.05 to 1.64) all were significantly associated with increased risk of dementia. Conclusion: Positive social support from children is associated with reduced risk of developing dementia whereas experiences of negative social support from children and other immediate family increase the risk. Further research is needed to better understand the causal mechanisms that drive these associations. PMID:28387667

Positive and Negative Experiences of Social Support and Risk of Dementia in Later Life: An Investigation Using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

PubMed

Khondoker, Mizanur; Rafnsson, Snorri Bjorn; Morris, Stephen; Orrell, Martin; Steptoe, Andrew

2017-01-01

Having a network of close relationships may reduce the risk of developing dementia. However, social exchange theory suggests that social interaction entails both rewards and costs. The effects of quality of close social relationships in later life on the risk of developing dementia are not well understood. To investigate the effects of positive and negative experiences of social support within key relationships (spouse or partner, children, other immediate family, and friends) on the risk of developing dementia in later life. We analyzed 10-year follow up data (2003/4 to 2012/13) in a cohort of 10,055 dementia free (at baseline) core participants aged 50 years and over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Incidence of dementia was identified from participant or informant reported physician diagnosed dementia or overall score of informant-completed IQCODE questionnaire. Effects of positive and negative experiences of social support measured at baseline on risk of developing dementia were investigated using proportional hazards regression accommodating interval censoring of time-to-dementia. There were 340 (3.4%) incident dementia cases during the follow-up. Positive social support from children significantly reduced the risk of dementia (hazard ratio, HR = 0.83, p = 0.042, 95% CI: 0.69 to 0.99). Negative support from other immediate family (HR = 1.26, p = 0.011, CI: 1.05 to 1.50); combined negative scores from spouse and children (HR = 1.23, p = 0.046, CI: 1.004 to 1.51); spouse, children, and other family (HR = 1.27, p = 0.021, CI = 1.04 to 1.56); other family & friends (HR = 1.25, p = 0.033, CI: 1.02 to 1.55); and the overall negative scores (HR = 1.31, p = 0.019, CI: 1.05 to 1.64) all were significantly associated with increased risk of dementia. Positive social support from children is associated with reduced risk of developing dementia whereas experiences of negative social support from children and other immediate family increase the risk. Further research is needed to better understand the causal mechanisms that drive these associations.

Crucial aspects promoting meaning and purpose in life: perceptions of nursing home residents.

PubMed

Drageset, Jorunn; Haugan, Gørill; Tranvåg, Oscar

2017-10-30

Meaning and purpose in life are fundamental to human beings. In changing times, with an aging population and increased life expectancy, the need for health care services and long-term care is likely to grow. More deeply understanding how older long-term care residents perceive meaning and purpose in life is critical for improving the quality of care and the residents' quality of life. The purpose of this study was to explore crucial aspects promoting nursing home residents' experience of meaning and purpose in everyday life. An exploratory hermeneutical design with qualitative interviews for collecting data. Four key experiences were found to promote meaning and purpose in life: 1) physical and mental well-being, 2) belonging and recognition, 3) personally treasured activities and 4) spiritual closeness and connectedness. In supporting meaning and purpose in life of nursing home residents, the residents' everyday well-being should be a central focus of care and facilitate personally treasured activities. Focused attention should also be given to the meaning-making power of experiencing belonging, recognition and spiritual connectedness.

Workshop on Closed System Ecology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

Self maintaining laboratory scale ecological systems completely isolated from exchanges of matter with external systems were demonstrated. These research tools are discussed in terms of their anticipated value in understanding (1) global ecological material and energy balances, (2) the dynamics of stability and instability in ecosystems, (3) the effects of man-made substances and structures on ecosystems, and (4) the precise requirements for dynamic control of controlled ecology life support systems (CELSS).

Biological life support systems for a Mars mission planetary base: Problems and prospects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tikhomirov, A. A.; Ushakova, S. A.; Kovaleva, N. P.; Lamaze, B.; Lobo, M.; Lasseur, Ch.

The study develops approaches to designing biological life support systems for the Mars mission - for the flight conditions and for a planetary base - using experience of the Institute of Biophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IBP SB RAS) with the Bios-3 system and ESA's experience with the MELISSA program. Variants of a BLSS based on using Chlorella and/or Spirulina and higher plants for the flight period of the Mars mission are analyzed. It is proposed constructing a BLSS with a closed-loop material cycle for gas and water and for part of human waste. A higher-plant-based BLSS with the mass exchange loop closed to various degrees is proposed for a Mars planetary base. Various versions of BLSS configuration and degree of closure of mass exchange are considered, depending on the duration of the Mars mission, the diet of the crew, and some other conditions. Special consideration is given to problems of reliability and sustainability of material cycling in BLSS, which are related to production of additional oxygen inside the system. Technologies of constructing BLSS of various configurations are proposed and substantiated. Reasons are given for using physicochemical methods in BLSS as secondary tools both during the flight and the stay on Mars.

NASA's plans for life sciences research facilities on a Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arno, R.; Heinrich, M.; Mascy, A.

1984-01-01

A Life Sciences Research Facility on a Space Station will contribute to the health and well-being of humans in space, as well as address many fundamental questions in gravitational and developmental biology. Scientific interests include bone and muscle attrition, fluid and electrolyte shifts, cardiovascular deconditioning, metabolism, neurophysiology, reproduction, behavior, drugs and immunology, radiation biology, and closed life-support system development. The life sciences module will include a laboratory and a vivarium. Trade-offs currently being evaluated include (1) the need for and size of a 1-g control centrifuge; (2) specimen quantities and species for research; (3) degree of on-board analysis versus sample return and ground analysis; (4) type and extent of equipment automation; (5) facility return versus on-orbit refurbishment; (6) facility modularity, isolation, and system independence; and (7) selection of experiments, design, autonomy, sharing, compatibility, and integration.

Care management in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

PubMed

Soriani, M-H; Desnuelle, C

2017-05-01

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a relentlessly progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive weakness of voluntary muscles of movement as well as those for swallowing, speech and respiration. In the absence of curative treatment, care can improve quality of life, prolong survival, and support ALS patients and their families, and also help them to anticipate and prepare for the end of life. Multidisciplinary management in tertiary centers is recommended in close collaboration with general practitioners, home carers and a dedicated health network. Patients' follow-up deals mainly with motor impairment and physical disability, adaptation, nutrition and respiratory function. Involvement of palliative care as part of the multidisciplinary team management offers patients the possibility of discussing their end of life issues. This review summarizes the different aspects of ALS care, from delivering the diagnosis to the end of life, and the organization of its management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Element exchange in a water-and gas-closed biological life support system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1997-01-01

Liquid human wastes and household water used for nutrition of wheat made possible to realize 24% closure for the mineral exchange in an experiment with a 2-component version of ``Bios-3'' life support system (LSS) Input-output balances of revealed, that elements (primarily trace elements) within the system. The structural materials (steel, titanium), expanded clay aggregate, and catalytic furnace catalysts. By the end of experiment, the permanent nutrient solution, plants, and the human diet gradually built up Ni, Cr, Al, Fe, V, Zn, Cu, and Mo. Thorough selection and pretreatment of materials can substantially reduce this accumulation. To enhance closure of the mineral exchange involves processing of human- metabolic wastes and inedible biomes inside LSS. An efficient method to oxidize wastes by hydrogen peroxide in a quartz reactor at the temperature of 80°C controlled electromagnetic field is proposed.

Element exchange in a water-and gas-closed biological life support system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gribovskaya, I. V.; Kudenko, Yu. A.; Gitelson, J. I.

1997-01-01

Liquid human wastes and household water used for nutrition of wheat made possible to realize 24% closure for the mineral exchange in an experiment with a 2-component version of ``Bios-3'' life support system (LSS) Input-output balances of revealed, that elements (primarily trace elements) within the system. The structural materials (steel, titanium), expanded clay aggregate, and catalytic furnace catalysts. By the end of experiment, the permanent nutrient solution, plants, and the human diet gradually built up Ni, Cr, Al, Fe, V, Zn, Cu, and Mo. Thorough selection and pretreatment of materials can substantially reduce this accumulation. To enhance closure of the mineral exchange involves processing of human- metabolic wastes and inedible biomes inside LSS. An efficient method to oxidize wastes by hydrogen peroxide in a quartz reactor at the temperature of 80 degC controlled electromagnetic field is proposed.

Detailed Modeling of Distillation Technologies for Closed-Loop Water Recovery Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allada, Rama Kumar; Lange, Kevin E.; Anderson, Molly S.

2011-01-01

Detailed chemical process simulations are a useful tool in designing and optimizing complex systems and architectures for human life support. Dynamic and steady-state models of these systems help contrast the interactions of various operating parameters and hardware designs, which become extremely useful in trade-study analyses. NASA?s Exploration Life Support technology development project recently made use of such models to compliment a series of tests on different waste water distillation systems. This paper presents efforts to develop chemical process simulations for three technologies: the Cascade Distillation System (CDS), the Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD) system and the Wiped-Film Rotating Disk (WFRD) using the Aspen Custom Modeler and Aspen Plus process simulation tools. The paper discusses system design, modeling details, and modeling results for each technology and presents some comparisons between the model results and recent test data. Following these initial comparisons, some general conclusions and forward work are discussed.

Human subjects concerns in ground based ECLSS testing - Managing uncertainty in closely recycled systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crump, William J.; Janik, Daniel S.; Thomas, L. Dale

1990-01-01

U.S. space missions have to this point used water either made on board or carried from earth and discarded after use. For Space Station Freedom, long duration life support will include air and water recycling using a series of physical-chemical subsystems. The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) designed for this application must be tested extensively at all stages of hardware maturity. Human test subjects are required to conduct some of these tests, and the risks associated with the use of development hardware must be addressed. Federal guidelines for protection of human subjects require careful consideration of risks and potential benefits by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) before and during testing. This paper reviews the ethical principles guiding this consideration, details the problems and uncertainties inherent in current hardware testing, and presents an incremental approach to risk assessment for ECLSS testing.

Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project. Phase 2; Human Factors and Crew Interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ming, D. W.; Hurlbert, K. M.; Kirby, G.; Lewis, J. F.; ORear, P.

1997-01-01

Phase 2 of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project was conducted in June and July of 1996 at the NASA Johnson Space Center. The primary objective of Phase 2 was to demonstrate and evaluate an integrated physicochemical air revitalization and regenerative water recovery system capable of sustaining a human crew of four for 30 days inside a closed chamber. The crew (3 males and 1 female) was continuously present inside a chamber throughout the 30-day test. The objective of this paper was to describe crew interactions and human factors for the test. Crew preparations for the test included training and familiarization of chamber systems and accommodations, and medical and psychological evaluations. During the test, crew members provided metabolic loads for the life support systems, performed maintenance on chamber systems, and evaluated human factors inside the chamber. Overall, the four crew members found the chamber to be comfortable for the 30-day test. The crew performed well together and this was attributed in part to team dynamics, skill mix (one commander, two system experts, and one logistics lead), and a complementary mix of personalities. Communication with and support by family, friends, and colleagues were identified as important contributors to the high morale of the crew during the test. Lessons learned and recommendations for future testing are presented by the crew in this paper.

Effectiveness of web-based versus folder support interventions for young informal carers of persons with mental illness: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Ali, Lilas; Krevers, Barbro; Sjöström, Nils; Skärsäter, Ingela

2014-03-01

Compare the impact of two interventions, a web-based support and a folder support, for young persons who care for people who suffer from mental illness. This study was a randomized control trial, following the CONSORT statements, which compared the impact of two interventions. Primary outcome variable was stress, and secondary outcome variables were caring situation, general self-efficacy, well-being, health, and quality of life of young informal carers (N=241). Data were collected in June 2010 to April 2011, with self-assessment questionnaires, comparing the two interventions and also to detect changes. The stress levels were high in both groups at baseline, but decreased in the folder group. The folder group had improvement in their caring situation (also different from the web group), general self-efficacy, well-being, and quality of life. The web group showed increase in well-being. Young informal carers who take on the responsibility for people close to them; suffer consequences on their own health. They live in a life-situation characterized by high stress and low well-being. This signals a need for support. The non-significant differences show that each intervention can be effective, and that it depends upon the individual's preferences. This highlights the importance of adopting person-centered approach, in which young persons can themselves choose support strategy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

PLANET TOPERS: Planets, Tracing the Transfer, Origin, Preservation, and Evolution of their ReservoirS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dehant, Veronique; Breuer, Doris; Claeys, Philippe; Debaille, Vinciane; De Keyser, Johan; Javaux, Emmanuelle; Goderis, Steven; Karatekin, Ozgur; Mattielli, Nadine; Noack, Lena; Spohn, Tilman; Carine Vandaele, Ann; Vanhaecke, Frank; Van Hoolst, Tim; Wilquet, Valerie

2013-04-01

The PLANET TOPERS (Planets, Tracing the Transfer, Origin, Preservation, and Evolution of their ReservoirS) group is an Inter-university attraction pole (IAP) addressing the question of habitability in our Solar System. Habitability is commonly understood as "the potential of an environment (past or present) to support life of any kind" (Steele et al., 2005, http://mepag.jpl.nasa.gov/reports/archive.html). Based on the only known example of Earth, the concept refers to whether environmental conditions are available that could eventually support life, even if life does not currently exist (Javaux and Dehant, 2010, Astron. Astrophys. Rev., 18, 383-416, DOI: 10.1007/s00159-010-0030-4). Life includes properties such as consuming nutrients and producing waste, the ability to reproduce and grow, pass on genetic information, evolve, and adapt to the varying conditions on a planet (Sagan, 1970, Encyclopedia Britannica, 22, 964-981). Terrestrial life requires liquid water. The stability of liquid water at the surface of a planet defines a habitable zone (HZ) around a star. In the Solar System, it stretches between Venus and Mars, but excludes these two planets. If the greenhouse effect is taken into account, the habitable zone may have included early Mars while the case for Venus is still debated. Important geodynamic processes affect the habitability conditions of a planet. As envisaged by the group, this IAP develops and closely integrates the geophysical, geological, and biological aspects of habitability with a particular focus on Earth neighboring planets, Mars and Venus. It works in an interdisciplinary approach to understand habitability and in close collaboration with another group, the Helmholtz Alliance "Life and Planet Evolution", which has similar objectives. The dynamic processes, e.g. internal dynamo, magnetic field, atmosphere, plate tectonics, mantle convection, volcanism, thermo-tectonic evolution, meteorite impacts, and erosion, modify the planetary surface, the possibility to have liquid water, the thermal state, the energy budget and the availability of nutrients. Shortly after formation (Hadean 4.4-4.0 Ga (billion years)), evidence supports the presence of a liquid ocean and continental crust on Earth (Wilde et al., 2001, Nature, 409, 175-178), Earth may thus have been habitable very early on. The origin of life is not understood yet but the oldest putative traces of life occur in the early Archaean (~3.5 Ga). Studies of early Earth habitats documented in rock containing traces of fossil life provide information about environmental conditions suitable for life beyond Earth, as well as methodologies for their identification and analyses. The extreme values of environmental conditions in which life thrives today can also be used to characterize the "envelope" of the existence of life and the range of potential extraterrestrial habitats. The requirement of nutrients for biosynthesis, growth, and reproduction suggest that a tectonically active planet, with liquid water is required to replenish nutrients and sustain life (as currently known). These dynamic processes play a key role in the apparition and persistence of life. This contribution will focus on the highlights of the work of the IAP Planet TOPERS.

Closure of a local public hospital in Korea: focusing on the organizational life cycle

PubMed Central

Yeo, Young Hyun; Lee, Keon-Hyung; Kim, Hye Jeong

2016-01-01

Just as living organisms have a creation-maintenance-extinction life cycle, organizations also have a life cycle. Private organizations will not survive if they fail to acquire necessary resources through market competition. Public organizations, however, continue to survive because the government has provided financial support in order to enhance public interest. Only a few public organizations in Korea have closed. With the introduction of new public management since the economic crisis in 1997, however, public organizations have had to compete with private organizations. Public hospitals are not free to open or close their business. They are also controlled by the government in terms of their prices, management, budgets, and operations. As they pursue public interest by fulfilling the government’s order such as providing free or lower-priced care to the vulnerable population, they tend to provide a lower quality of care and suffer a financial burden. Employing a case study analysis, this study attempts to understand the external environment that local public hospitals face. The fundamental problem of local public hospitals in Korea is the value conflict between public interest and profitability. Local public hospitals are required to pursue public interest by assignment of a public mission including building a medical safety net for low-income patients and managing nonprofitable medical facilities and emergent health care situations. At the same time, they are required to pursue profitability by achieving high-quality care through competition and the operation of an independent, self-supporting system according to private business logic. Under such paradoxical situations, a political decision may cause an unexpected result. PMID:29355194

Former patients' experiences of recovery from self-harm as an individual, prolonged learning process: a phenomenological hermeneutical study.

PubMed

Tofthagen, Randi; Talseth, Anne Grethe; Fagerstrøm, Lisbeth Maria

2017-10-01

To explore, describe and understand former patients' experiences of recovery from self-harm. Previous research shows that a person's development towards a more secure self-image, mastery of their emotions, an understanding of what triggers self-harm and mastery of new ways to cope with problems are central to recovery. Recovery from self-harm is still a relatively new field of research. A phenomenological hermeneutical approach. Eight participants were interviewed in 2013. Inclusion criteria were as follows: to have committed no self-harm during the past 2 years, to have experienced recovery and to be 18 or older. We analysed data using a phenomenological hermeneutical method. The findings resulted in three themes with subthemes. The first theme, the turning point, occurred at the start of the recovery process. Participants learned to choose life, verbally express their inner pain and reconcile with their life histories. In the second theme, coping with everyday life, participants learned how to choose alternative actions instead of self-harm and attend to their basic, physical needs. In the third theme, valuing close relationships and relationships with mental health nurses, participants learned to receive support from close relationships with others and mental health nurses. A tentative model illustrates the comprehensive understanding of the recovery process, described as an individual, prolonged learning process. To achieve recovery, persons who self-harm need guidance and knowledge of how to realize a personal learning process. More research is needed on how mental health nurses can support individual transition processes and thereby facilitate recovery. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Closure of a local public hospital in Korea: focusing on the organizational life cycle.

PubMed

Yeo, Young Hyun; Lee, Keon-Hyung; Kim, Hye Jeong

2016-01-01

Just as living organisms have a creation-maintenance-extinction life cycle, organizations also have a life cycle. Private organizations will not survive if they fail to acquire necessary resources through market competition. Public organizations, however, continue to survive because the government has provided financial support in order to enhance public interest. Only a few public organizations in Korea have closed. With the introduction of new public management since the economic crisis in 1997, however, public organizations have had to compete with private organizations. Public hospitals are not free to open or close their business. They are also controlled by the government in terms of their prices, management, budgets, and operations. As they pursue public interest by fulfilling the government's order such as providing free or lower-priced care to the vulnerable population, they tend to provide a lower quality of care and suffer a financial burden. Employing a case study analysis, this study attempts to understand the external environment that local public hospitals face. The fundamental problem of local public hospitals in Korea is the value conflict between public interest and profitability. Local public hospitals are required to pursue public interest by assignment of a public mission including building a medical safety net for low-income patients and managing nonprofitable medical facilities and emergent health care situations. At the same time, they are required to pursue profitability by achieving high-quality care through competition and the operation of an independent, self-supporting system according to private business logic. Under such paradoxical situations, a political decision may cause an unexpected result.

A pilot randomized, controlled trial of the effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention on family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer.

PubMed

Leow, Mabel; Chan, Sally; Chan, Moon

2015-03-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention, the Caring for the Caregiver Programme (CCP).
 A pilot randomized, controlled trial, two-group pretest, and repeated post-tests.
 Four home hospice organizations and an outpatient clinic in Singapore.
 80 caregivers were randomized into experimental and standard care groups.
 Outcomes were measured at baseline, week 4, and week 8 after the intervention. The standard care group received routine home hospice care, and the intervention group received the CCP in addition to routine care.
 Quality of life (QOL), social support, stress and depression, self-efficacy in self-care, closeness with the patient, rewards, and knowledge.
 Compared to the standard care group, the intervention group reported significantly higher QOL, social support satisfaction and number of supported people, closeness with the patient, self-efficacy in self-care, rewards of caregiving, and knowledge, and lower stress and depression. 
 The CCP had positive effects on family caregivers of patients with advanced cancer. 
 A psychoeducational intervention potentially could help caregivers cope with the demands of caregiving. 


Air-Cooled Design of a Temperature-Swing Adsorption Compressor for Closed-Loop Air Revitalization Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulloth, Lila M.; Affleck, Dave L.; Rosen, Micha; LeVan, M. Douglas; Wang, Yuan; Cavalcante, Celio L.

2004-01-01

The air revitalization system of the International Space Station (ISS) operates in an open loop mode and relies on the resupply of oxygen and other consumables from earth for the life support of astronauts. A compressor is required for delivering the carbon dioxide from a removal assembly to a reduction unit to recover oxygen and thereby closing the air-loop. We have a developed a temperature-swing adsorption compressor (TSAC) for performing these tasks that is energy efficient, quiet, and has no rapidly moving parts. This paper discusses the mechanical design and the results of thermal model validation tests of a TSAC that uses air as the cooling medium.

A review of algal research in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niederwieser, Tobias; Kociolek, Patrick; Klaus, David

2018-05-01

With the continued expansion of human presence into space, typical mission durations will routinely exceed six months and extend to distances beyond the Moon. As such, sending periodic resupply vehicles, as currently provided to the International Space Station, will likely no longer be feasible. Instead, self-sustaining life support systems that recycle human waste products will become increasingly necessary, especially for planetary bases. The idea of bioregenerative life support systems using algal photobioreactors has been discussed since the beginning of the space age. In order to evaluate how such a system could be implemented, a variety of space flight studies aimed at characterizing the potential for using algae in air revitalization, water recycling, food production, and radiation shielding applications have been conducted over the years. Also, given the recent, growing interest in algal research for regenerative fuel production, food supplements, and cosmetics, many algal strains are already well documented from related terrestrial experiments. This paper reviews past algal experiments flown in space from 1960 until today. Experimental methods and results from 51 investigations utilizing either green algae (Chlorophyta), cyanobacteria (Cyanophyta), or Euglenophyta are analyzed and categorized by a variety of parameters, including size, species and duration. The collected data are summarized in a matrix that allows easy comparison between the experiments and provides important information for future life support system requirement definition and design. Similarities between experiment results are emphasized. Common problems and shortcomings are summarized and analyzed in terms of potential solutions. Finally, key research gaps, which must be closed before developing a functional life support system, are identified.

How to Take 30 Years Off the Life of an Earth-Orbiter Network

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Berner, C. D.; Perkins, R. C.; Baker, N.

1995-01-01

In the mid 1960's the NASA/JPL Deep Space Network installed a global 26-meter antenna network to support a large group of Low Earth Orbiters and Highly Elliptical Orbiters. Although this network was equipped with then state-of-the-art equipment, operations were labor- intensive. A study is discussed which takes a close look at re- engineering the 26-meter antenna network from all aspects.

A perspective on CELSS control issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blackwell, Ann L.

1990-01-01

Some issues of Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) analysis and design are effectively addressed from a systems control perspective. CELSS system properties that may be elucidated using control theory in conjunction with mathematical and simulation modeling are enumerated. The approach that is being taken to the design of a control strategy for the Crop Growth Research Chamber (CGRC) and the relationship of that approach to CELSS plant growth unit subsystems control is described.

A Life Worth Giving? The Threshold for Permissible Withdrawal of Life Support From Disabled Newborn Infants

PubMed Central

Wilkinson, Dominic James

2011-01-01

When is it permissible to allow a newborn infant to die on the basis of their future quality of life? The prevailing official view is that treatment may be withdrawn only if the burdens in an infant's future life outweigh the benefits. In this paper I outline and defend an alternative view. On the Threshold View, treatment may be withdrawn from infants if their future well-being is below a threshold that is close to, but above the zero-point of well-being. I present four arguments in favor of the Threshold View, and identify and respond to several counterarguments. I conclude that it is justifiable in some circumstances for parents and doctors to decide to allow an infant to die even though the infant's life would be worth living. The Threshold View provides a justification for treatment decisions that is more consistent, more robust, and potentially more practical than the standard view. PMID:21337273

Developing Reliable Life Support for Mars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry W.

2017-01-01

A human mission to Mars will require highly reliable life support systems. Mars life support systems may recycle water and oxygen using systems similar to those on the International Space Station (ISS). However, achieving sufficient reliability is less difficult for ISS than it will be for Mars. If an ISS system has a serious failure, it is possible to provide spare parts, or directly supply water or oxygen, or if necessary bring the crew back to Earth. Life support for Mars must be designed, tested, and improved as needed to achieve high demonstrated reliability. A quantitative reliability goal should be established and used to guide development t. The designers should select reliable components and minimize interface and integration problems. In theory a system can achieve the component-limited reliability, but testing often reveal unexpected failures due to design mistakes or flawed components. Testing should extend long enough to detect any unexpected failure modes and to verify the expected reliability. Iterated redesign and retest may be required to achieve the reliability goal. If the reliability is less than required, it may be improved by providing spare components or redundant systems. The number of spares required to achieve a given reliability goal depends on the component failure rate. If the failure rate is under estimated, the number of spares will be insufficient and the system may fail. If the design is likely to have undiscovered design or component problems, it is advisable to use dissimilar redundancy, even though this multiplies the design and development cost. In the ideal case, a human tended closed system operational test should be conducted to gain confidence in operations, maintenance, and repair. The difficulty in achieving high reliability in unproven complex systems may require the use of simpler, more mature, intrinsically higher reliability systems. The limitations of budget, schedule, and technology may suggest accepting lower and less certain expected reliability. A plan to develop reliable life support is needed to achieve the best possible reliability.

An estimate of the second law thermodynamic efficiency of the various units comprising an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterjee, Sharmista; Seagrave, Richard C.

1993-01-01

The objective of this paper is to present an estimate of the second law thermodynamic efficiency of the various units comprising an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). The technique adopted here is based on an evaluation of the 'lost work' within each functional unit of the subsystem. Pertinent information for our analysis is obtained from a user interactive integrated model of an ECLSS. The model was developed using ASPEN. A potential benefit of this analysis is the identification of subsystems with high entropy generation as the most likely candidates for engineering improvements. This work has been motivated by the fact that the design objective for a long term mission should be the evaluation of existing ECLSS technologies not only the basis of the quantity of work needed for or obtained from each subsystem but also on the quality of work. In a previous study Brandhorst showed that the power consumption for partially closed and completely closed regenerable life support systems was estimated as 3.5 kw/individual and 10-12 kw/individual respectively. With the increasing cost and scarcity of energy resources, our attention is drawn to evaluate the existing ECLSS technologies on the basis of their energy efficiency. In general the first law efficiency of a system is usually greater than 50 percent. From literature, the second law efficiency is usually about 10 percent. The estimation of second law efficiency of the system indicates the percentage of energy degraded as irreversibilities within the process. This estimate offers more room for improvement in the design of equipment. From another perspective, our objective is to keep the total entropy production of a life support system as low as possible and still ensure a positive entropy gradient between the system and the surroundings. The reason for doing so is as the entropy production of the system increases, the entropy gradient between the system and the surroundings decreases, and the system will gradually approach equilibrium with the surroundings until it reaches the point where the entropy gradient is zero. At this point no work can be extracted from the system. This is called the 'dead state' of the system.

Architectures and Evaluation for Adjustable Control Autonomy for Space-Based Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malin, Jane T.; Schreckenghost, Debra K.

2001-01-01

In the past five years, a number of automation applications for control of crew life support systems have been developed and evaluated in the Adjustable Autonomy Testbed at NASA's Johnson Space Center. This paper surveys progress on an adjustable autonomous control architecture for situations where software and human operators work together to manage anomalies and other system problems. When problems occur, the level of control autonomy can be adjusted, so that operators and software agents can work together on diagnosis and recovery. In 1997 adjustable autonomy software was developed to manage gas transfer and storage in a closed life support test. Four crewmembers lived and worked in a chamber for 91 days, with both air and water recycling. CO2 was converted to O2 by gas processing systems and wheat crops. With the automation software, significantly fewer hours were spent monitoring operations. System-level validation testing of the software by interactive hybrid simulation revealed problems both in software requirements and implementation. Since that time, we have been developing multi-agent approaches for automation software and human operators, to cooperatively control systems and manage problems. Each new capability has been tested and demonstrated in realistic dynamic anomaly scenarios, using the hybrid simulation tool.

Rapid Analysis, Self-Calibrating Array for Air Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homer, Margie L.; Shevade, Abhijit V.; Lara, Liana; Huerta, Ramon; Vergara, Alexander; Muezzinoglua, Mehmet K.

2012-01-01

Human space missions have critical needs for monitoring and control for life support systems. These systems have monitoring needs that include feedback for closed loop processes and quality control for environmental factors. Sensors and monitoring technologies assure that the air environment and water supply for the astronaut crew habitat fall within acceptable limits, and that the life support system is functioning properly and efficiently. The longer the flight duration and the more distant the destination, the more critical it becomes to have carefully monitored and automated control systems for life support. Past experiments with the JPL ENose have demonstrated a lifetime of the sensor array, with the software, of around 18 months. The lifetime of the calibration, for some analytes, was as long as 24 months. We are working on a sensor array and new algorithms that will include sensor response time in the analysis. The preliminary array analysis for two analytes shows that the analysis time, of an event, can be dropped from 45 minutes to less than10 minutes and array training time can be cut substantially. We will describe the lifetime testing of an array and show lifetime data on individual sensors. This progress will lead to more rapid identification of analytes, and faster training time of the array.

Managing the equipment service life in rendering engineering support to NPP operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ryasnyy, S. I.

2015-05-01

Apart from subjecting metal to nondestructive testing and determining its actual state, which are the traditional methods used for managing the service life of NPP equipment during its operation, other approaches closely linked with rendering engineering support to NPP operation have emerged in recent decades, which, however, have been covered in publications to a lesser extent. Service life management matters occupy the central place in the structure of engineering support measures. Application of the concept of repairing NPP equipment based on assessing its technical state and the risk of its failure makes it possible to achieve significantly smaller costs for maintenance and repairs and produce a larger amount of electricity due to shorter planned outages. Decreasing the occurrence probability of a process-related abnormality through its prediction is a further development of techniques for monitoring the technical state of equipment and systems. The proposed and implemented procedure for predicting the occurrence of process-related deviations from normal NPP operation opens the possibility to record in the online mode the trends in changes of process parameters that are likely to lead to malfunctions in equipment operation and to reduce the probability of power unit unloading when an abnormal technical state of equipment occurs and develops by recording changes in the state at an early stage and taking timely corrective measures. The article presents the structure of interconnections between the objectives and conditions of adjustment and commissioning tests, in which the management of equipment service life (saving and optimizing the service life) occupies the central place. Special attention is paid to differences in resource saving and optimization measures.

Depression, anxiety and quality of life in suicide survivors: a comparison of close and distant relationships.

PubMed

Mitchell, Ann M; Sakraida, Teresa J; Kim, Yookyung; Bullian, Leann; Chiappetta, Laurel

2009-02-01

The study's purpose was to describe and compare depression, anxiety, and quality of life, by degree of relationship, between closely related and distantly related survivors (persons close to the suicide victim, or "suicide survivors"; N = 60) during the acute phase of bereavement (within 1 month of the death). The close relationship category included spouses, parents, children, and siblings, whereas the distant relationship category included in-laws, aunts/uncles, and nieces/nephews. Analysis of covariance examined differences between the two groups on the symptom measures. Results indicate that, after controlling for age and gender effects, closely related survivors had significantly higher mean levels of depression and anxiety and had lower levels of mental health quality of life. There were no statistically significant differences on the physical health quality of life subscale.

New Directions for NASA's Advanced Life Support Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barta, Daniel J.

2006-01-01

Advanced Life Support (ALS), an element of Human Systems Research and Technology s (HSRT) Life Support and Habitation Program (LSH), has been NASA s primary sponsor of life support research and technology development for the agency. Over its history, ALS sponsored tasks across a diverse set of institutions, including field centers, colleges and universities, industry, and governmental laboratories, resulting in numerous publications and scientific articles, patents and new technologies, as well as education and training for primary, secondary and graduate students, including minority serving institutions. Prior to the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) announced on January 14th, 2004 by the President, ALS had been focused on research and technology development for long duration exploration missions, emphasizing closed-loop regenerative systems, including both biological and physicochemical. Taking a robust and flexible approach, ALS focused on capabilities to enable visits to multiple potential destinations beyond low Earth orbit. ALS developed requirements, reference missions, and assumptions upon which to structure and focus its development program. The VSE gave NASA a plan for steady human and robotic space exploration based on specific, achievable goals. Recently, the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) was chartered by NASA s Administrator to determine the best exploration architecture and strategy to implement the Vision. The study identified key technologies required to enable and significantly enhance the reference exploration missions and to prioritize near-term and far-term technology investments. This technology assessment resulted in a revised Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) technology investment plan. A set of new technology development projects were initiated as part of the plan s implementation, replacing tasks previously initiated under HSRT and its sister program, Exploration Systems Research and Technology (ESRT). The Exploration Life Support (ELS) Project, under the Exploration Technology Development Program, has recently been initiated to perform directed life support technology development in support of Constellation and the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). ELS) has replaced ALS, with several major differences. Thermal Control Systems have been separated into a new stand alone project (Thermal Systems for Exploration Missions). Tasks in Advanced Food Technology have been relocated to the Human Research Program. Tasks in a new discipline area, Habitation Engineering, have been added. Research and technology development for capabilities required for longer duration stays on the Moon and Mars, including bioregenerative system, have been deferred.

Simulation of the MELiSSA closed loop system as a tool to define its integration strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poughon, Laurent; Farges, Berangere; Dussap, Claude-Gilles; Godia, Francesc; Lasseur, Christophe

Inspired from a terrestrial ecosystem, MELiSSA (Micro Ecological Life Support System Alternative) is a project of closed life support system future long-term manned missions (Moon and Mars bases). Started on ESA in 1989, this 5 compartments concept has evolved following a mechanistic engineering approach for acquiring both theoretical and technical knowledge. In its current state of development the project can now start to demonstrate the MELiSSA loop concept at a pilot scale. Thus an integration strategy for a MELiSSA Pilot Plant (MPP) was defined, describing the different phases for tests and connections between compartments. The integration steps should be started in 2008 and be completed with a complete operational loop in 2015, which final objective is to achieve a closed liquid and gas loop with 100 Although the integration logic could start with the most advanced processes in terms of knowledge and hardware development, this logic needs to be completed by high politic of simulation. Thanks to this simulation exercise, the effective demonstrations of each independent process and its progressive coupling with others will be performed in operational conditions as close as possible to the final configuration. The theoretical approach described in this paper is based on mass balance models of each of the MELiSSA biological compartments which are used to simulate each integration step and the complete MPP loop itself. These simulations will help to identify criticalities of each integration steps and to check the consistencies between objectives, flows, recycling efficiencies and sizing of the pilot reactors. A MPP scenario compatible with the current knowledge of the operation of the pilot reactors was investigated and the theoretical performances of the system compared to the objectives of the MPP. From this scenario the most important milestone steps in the integration are highlighted and their behaviour can be simulated.

Pressure Control System Design for a Closed Crop Growth Chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsai, K.; Blackwell, C.; Harper, Lynn D. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) is an area of active research at NASA. CELSS is a plant-based bioregenerative life support system for long term manned space flights where resupply is costly or impractical. The plants in a CELSS will function to convert the carbon dioxide (exhaled by the crew) into oxygen, purify non-potable water into potable quality water, and provide food for the crew. Prior to implementing a CELSS life support system, one must have knowledge on growing plants in a closed chamber under low gravity. This information will come from research to be conducted on the CELSS Test Facility that will operate on the Space Station Freedom. Currently a ground-based CELSS Test Facility is being built at NASA Ames Research Center. It is called the EDU (Engineering Development Unit). This system will allow researchers to identify issues that may cause difficulties in the development of the CELSS Test Facility and aid in the development of new needed technologies. The EDU consists of a 1 m2 crop growth chamber that is surrounded by a containment enclosure. The containment enclosure isolates the system so there is very little mass and thermal exchange with the ambient. The leakage rate is on the order of 1 % of the enclosure's volume per day (with 0.2S psi pressure difference). The thermal leakage is less than 0.5% of the electrical power supplied to the system per degree Celsius difference from the surrounding. The pressure in the containment enclosure is regulated at 62.5 Pa below the ambient by an active controller. The goal is to maintain this set point for a variety of conditions, such as a range of operating temperatures, heat load variations that occur when the lights are turned on and off, and fluctuations in ambient pressure. In addition certain transition tracking performance is required. This paper illustrates the application of some advanced systems control methods to the task of synthesizing the EDU's pressure control system.

A bioreactor system for the nitrogen loop in a Controlled Ecological Life Support System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saulmon, M. M.; Reardon, K. F.; Sadeh, W. Z.

1996-01-01

As space missions become longer in duration, the need to recycle waste into useful compounds rises dramatically. This problem can be addressed by the development of Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) (i.e., Engineered Closed/Controlled Eco-Systems (ECCES)), consisting of human and plant modules. One of the waste streams leaving the human module is urine. In addition to the reclamation of water from urine, recovery of the nitrogen is important because it is an essential nutrient for the plant module. A 3-step biological process for the recycling of nitrogenous waste (urea) is proposed. A packed-bed bioreactor system for this purpose was modeled, and the issues of reaction step segregation, reactor type and volume, support particle size, and pressure drop were addressed. Based on minimization of volume, a bioreactor system consisting of a plug flow immobilized urease reactor, a completely mixed flow immobilized cell reactor to convert ammonia to nitrite, and a plug flow immobilized cell reactor to produce nitrate from nitrite is recommended. It is apparent that this 3-step bioprocess meets the requirements for space applications.

The Virtual Habitat - A tool for dynamic life support system simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czupalla, M.; Zhukov, A.; Schnaitmann, J.; Olthoff, C.; Deiml, M.; Plötner, P.; Walter, U.

2015-06-01

In this paper we present the Virtual Habitat (V-HAB) model, which simulates on a system level the dynamics of entire mission scenarios for any given life support system (LSS) including a dynamic representation of the crew. We first present the V-HAB architecture. Thereafter we validate in selected case studies the V-HAB submodules. Finally, we demonstrate the overall abilities of V-HAB by first simulating the LSS of the International Space Station (ISS) and showing how close this comes to real data. In a second case study we simulate the LSS dynamics of a Mars mission scenario. We thus show that V-HAB is able to support LSS design processes, giving LSS designers a set of dynamic decision parameters (e.g. stability, robustness, effective crew time) at hand that supplement or even substitute the common Equivalent System Mass (ESM) quantities as a proxy for LSS hardware costs. The work presented here builds on a LSS heritage by the exploration group at the Technical University at Munich (TUM) dating from even before 2006.

Applications of Support Vector Machines In Chemo And Bioinformatics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayaraman, V. K.; Sundararajan, V.

2010-10-01

Conventional linear & nonlinear tools for classification, regression & data driven modeling are being replaced on a rapid scale by newer techniques & tools based on artificial intelligence and machine learning. While the linear techniques are not applicable for inherently nonlinear problems, newer methods serve as attractive alternatives for solving real life problems. Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers are a set of universal feed-forward network based classification algorithms that have been formulated from statistical learning theory and structural risk minimization principle. SVM regression closely follows the classification methodology. In this work recent applications of SVM in Chemo & Bioinformatics will be described with suitable illustrative examples.

Life sciences and space research XXIII(3): Natural and artificial ecosystems; Proceedings of the Topical Meetings of the 27th COSPAR Plenary Meeting, Espoo, Finland, July 18-29, 1988

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macelroy, R. D. (Editor); Tibbitts, T. W. (Editor); Thompson, B. G. (Editor); Volk, T. (Editor)

1989-01-01

The present conference discusses topics in the fields of higher plant growth under controlled environmental conditions, waste oxidation, carbon cycling, and biofermentor design and operation. Attention is given to CO2 and O2 effects on the development and fructification of wheat in closed systems, transpiration during life cycle in controlled wheat growth, sources and processing of CELSS wastes, waste-recycling in bioregenerative life support, and the effect of iodine disinfection products on higher plants. Also discussed are carbon cycling by cellulose-fermenting nitrogen-fixing bacteria, a bioreactor design with sunlight supply and operations systems for use in the space environment, gas bubble coalescence in reduced gravity conditions, and model system studies of a phase-separated membrane bioreactor.

Design and implementation of a vegetarian food system for a closed chamber test.

PubMed

Kloeris, V; Vodovotz, Y; Bye, L; Stiller, C Q; Lane, E

1998-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is conducting a series of closed chamber environmental tests, called the Lunar Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP), which is designed to provide data for the development of surface habitats for the Moon and Mars. These surface habitats will be closed loop environmental systems that will recycle air and water and will grow crops to provide food for crew members. In conjunction with these tests, the Food Systems Engineering Facility at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) tested a 10-day vegetarian menu based on items that can be made from the projected crop list for these habitats. The planned menu met most of the nutritional requirements of the four crew members and was found highly acceptable. Automation of the food preparation and processing equipment was strongly recommended because the preparation time was judged excessive. The waste generated was largely due to leftovers.

Oil-Free Turbomachinery Technologies for Long-Life, Maintenance-Free Power Generation Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dellacorte, Christopher

2013-01-01

Turbines have long been used to convert thermal energy to shaft work for power generation. Conventional turbines rely upon oil-lubricated rotor supports (bearings, seals, etc.) to achieve low wear, high efficiency and reliability. Emerging Oil-Free technologies such as gas foil bearings and magnetic bearings offer a path for reduced weight and complexity and truly maintenance free systems. Oil-Free gas turbines, using gaseous and liquid fuels are commercially available in power outputs to at least 250kWe and are gaining acceptance for remote power generation where maintenance is a challenge. Closed Brayton Cycle (CBC) turbines are an approach to power generation that is well suited for long life space missions. In these systems, a recirculating gas is heated by nuclear, solar or other heat energy source then fed into a high-speed turbine that drives an electrical generator. For closed cycle systems such as these, the working fluid also passes through the bearing compartments thus serving as a lubricant and bearing coolant. Compliant surface foil gas bearings are well suited for the rotor support systems of these advanced turbines. Foil bearings develop a thin hydrodynamic gas film that separates the rotating shaft from the bearing preventing wear. During start-up and shut down when speeds are low, rubbing occurs. Solid lubricants are used to reduce starting torque and minimize wear. Other emerging technologies such as magnetic bearings can also contribute to robust and reliable Oil-Free turbomachinery. In this presentation, Oil-Free technologies for advanced rotor support systems will be reviewed as will the integration and development processes recommended for implementation.

Causes and consequences of variation in conifer leaf life-span

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reich, P.B.; Koike, T.; Gower, S.T.

1995-07-01

Species with mutually supporting traits, such as high N{sub mass}, SLA, and A{sub mass}, and short leaf life-span, tend to inhabit either generally resource-rich environments or spatial and/or temporal microhabitats that are resource-rich in otherwise more limited habitats (e.g., {open_quotes}precipitation{close_quotes} ephemerals in warm deserts or spring ephemerals in the understory of temperate deciduous forests). In contrast, species with long leaf life-span often support foliage with low SLA, N{sub mass}, and A{sub mass}, and often grow in low-temperature limited, dry, and/or nutrient-poor environments. The contrast between evergreen and deciduous species, and the implications that emerge from such comparisons, can be consideredmore » a paradigm of modern ecological theory. However, based on the results of Reich et al. (1992) and Gower et al. (1993), coniferous species with foliage that persists for 9-10 years are likely to assimilate and allocate carbon and nutrients differently than other evergreen conifers that retain foliage for 2-3 years. Thus, attempts to contrast ecophysiological or ecosystem characteristics of evergreen versus deciduous life forms may be misleading, and pronounced differences among evergreen conifers may be ignored. Clearly, the deciduous-evergreen contrast, although useful in several ways, should be viewed from the broader perspective of a gradient in leaf life-span.« less

The rate-size trade-off structures intraspecific variation in Daphnia ambigua life history parameters.

PubMed

DeLong, John P; Hanley, Torrance C

2013-01-01

The identification of trade-offs is necessary for understanding the evolution and maintenance of diversity. Here we employ the supply-demand (SD) body size optimization model to predict a trade-off between asymptotic body size and growth rate. We use the SD model to quantitatively predict the slope of the relationship between asymptotic body size and growth rate under high and low food regimes and then test the predictions against observations for Daphnia ambigua. Close quantitative agreement between observed and predicted slopes at both food levels lends support to the model and confirms that a 'rate-size' trade-off structures life history variation in this population. In contrast to classic life history expectations, growth and reproduction were positively correlated after controlling for the rate-size trade-off. We included 12 Daphnia clones in our study, but clone identity explained only some of the variation in life history traits. We also tested the hypothesis that growth rate would be positively related to intergenic spacer length (i.e. the growth rate hypothesis) across clones, but we found that clones with intermediate intergenic spacer lengths had larger asymptotic sizes and slower growth rates. Our results strongly support a resource-based optimization of body size following the SD model. Furthermore, because some resource allocation decisions necessarily precede others, understanding interdependent life history traits may require a more nested approach.

Prosocial family processes and the quality of life of persons with schizophrenia.

PubMed

Greenberg, Jan S; Knudsen, Kraig J; Aschbrenner, Kelly A

2006-12-01

Research on the family's contribution to the quality of life of persons with serious mental illness has largely focused on negative family interactions associated with poorer client outcomes. The purpose of this naturalistic study of aging mothers and adults with schizophrenia was to investigate prosocial family processes that potentially enhance, rather than detract from, the life satisfaction of persons with serious mental illness. The data were drawn from a longitudinal study of aging parents caring for a son or daughter with schizophrenia. This report is based on 122 mother-adult child dyads who participated in the third wave of the study. Mothers completed an in-home interview and questionnaire that included measures of the quality of the relationship between the mother and adult child, maternal warmth, and maternal praise of the adult child. The adult with schizophrenia completed a life satisfaction questionnaire. The adults with schizophrenia had higher life satisfaction when their mothers expressed greater warmth and praise of their son or daughter with schizophrenia and when their mothers reported the quality of their relationship as being close and mutually supportive. Past research has emphasized changing families, most typically by lowering expressed emotion, with little emphasis on the families' strengths, in particular, prosocial family processes that may enhance the life satisfaction of their loved one. As a recovery orientation focuses on the strengths of adults with mental illness, it also should focus equally on the supportive presence of families in the lives of clients.

Environmental and cultural considerations for growth of potatoes in CELSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tibbitts, Theodore W.; Bennett, Susan M.; Morrow, Robert C.

1990-01-01

The white potato (Solanum tuberosum) was evaluated for use in the Closed Ecology Life Support System (CELSS) because of its high ratio of edible to inedible biomass and highly nutritious tuber that consists of readily digestible carbohydrates and proteins. Results are given for conditions that will produce the highest yields. The results, given in tabluar form, indicate the optimum temperatures, irradiance, carbon dioxide concentration, root environment, plant spacing, root and stolen containment, and harvesting times.

Comparative effect of lunar fines and terrestrtrial ash on the growth of a blue-green alga and germinating radish seeds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ridley, E. J.

1983-01-01

Although it is understood that photosynthetic organisms will be required as components of a closed ecological life support system (CELSS) for a manned lunar based, a basic problem is to identify organisms best capable of utilizing lunar regolith materials. Also, there is need to determine what nutrient supplements have to be added to lunar soils, and at what levels in order to promote high bio-mass production.

NASA's Biomass Production Chamber: a testbed for bioregenerative life support studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, R. M.; Mackowiak, C. L.; Stutte, G. W.; Sager, J. C.; Yorio, N. C.; Ruffe, L. M.; Fortson, R. E.; Dreschel, T. W.; Knott, W. M.; Corey, K. A.

1996-01-01

The Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) located at Kennedy Space Center, FL, USA provides a large (20 m2 area, 113 m3 vol.), closed environment for crop growth tests for NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) program. Since the summer of 1988, the chamber has operated on a near-continuous basis (over 1200 days) without any major failures (excluding temporary power losses). During this time, five crops of wheat (64-86 days each), three crops of soybean (90 to 97 days), five crops of lettuce (28-30 days), and four crops of potato (90 to 105 days were grown, producing 481 kg of dry plant biomass, 196 kg edible biomass, 540 kg of oxygen, 94,700 kg of condensed water, and fixing 739 kg of carbon dioxide. Results indicate that total biomass yields were close to expected values for the given light input, but edible biomass yields and harvest indices were slightly lower than expected. Stand photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, and nutrient uptake rates were monitored throughout growth and development of the different crops, along with the build-up of ethylene and other volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere. Data were also gathered on system hardware maintenance and repair, as well as person-hours required for chamber operation. Future tests will include long-term crop production studies, tests in which nutrients from waste treatment systems will be used to grow new crops, and multi-species tests.

Response of photosynthetic characters to CO2 change on C3 and C4 cereal crops grown in Lunar Palace 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Minjuan; Liu, Hong; Fu, Yuming; Shao, Lingzhi; Dong, Chen; Liu, Guanghui

Lunar Palace 1, as an integrative experiment facility for Permanent Astrobase Life-support Artificial Closed Ecosystem (P.A.L.A.C.E.), provides a largely closed environment for crop growth tests for Bioregenerative Life Support System (BLSS). In this study, we evaluated the response of photosynthetic characters of two soybean cultivars (Glycine max (L.) Merr., ‘Zhonghuang13’and ‘Heihe35’) of C _{3} plants and one maize ( Zea mays L.) of C _{4} plants, which were selected as candidates for cultivation in BLSS. Plants were cultivated in stainless steel pots equipped with the porous-tube nutrient delivery system (PTNDS) and grew under controlled environmental conditions of Lunar Palace 1 (12 h photoperiod, light intensity 500 umol m (-2) s (-1) , temperature regime 26/22 (o) C light/dark). Fertigation was performed with a standard Hoagland solution, in which pH was kept at 5.8. A gas exchange/chlorophyII fluorescence analysis was performed to determine their net photosynthesis (Pn), stomatal (g _{s}) and mesophyll (g _{m}) conductances, intercellular CO _{2} concentration (Ci), and transpiration rate (E) under different elevated CO _{2} concentration. In order to partially describe how leaf physiology responds to the elevated CO _{2}, Chl content and the activity and amount of rubisco were analyzed. This study provides a theoretical basis for the crop selection in BLSS.

Atmospheric dynamics of combined crops of wheat, cowpea, pinto beans in the Laboratory Biosphere closed ecological system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempster, W.; Nelson, M.; Silverstone, S.; Allen, J.; Alling, A.; van Thillo, M.

A mixed crop consisting of cowpeas pinto beans and Apogee ultra-dwarf wheat was grown in Laboratory Biosphere a 40 m 3 closed life system equipped with 12000 watts of high pressure sodium lamps over planting beds with 5 37 m 2 of soil Similar to earlier reported experiments the concentration of carbon dioxide initially increased to 7860 ppm at 10 days after planting due to soil respiration plus CO 2 contributed from researchers breathing while in the chamber for brief periods before plant growth became substantial fell rapidly as plant growth increased up to 29 days after planting and then was maintained mostly in the range of about 200 -- 3000 ppm with a few excursions by CO 2 injections to feed plant growth Numerous analyses of rate of change of CO 2 concentration at many different concentrations and at many different days after planting reveals a strong dependence of fixation rates on CO 2 concentration In the middle period of growth days 31 -- 61 fixation rates doubled for CO 2 at 450 ppm compared to 270 ppm doubled again at 1000 ppm and increased a further 50 at 2040 ppm High productivity from these crops and the increase of fixation rates with elevated CO 2 concentration supports the concept that enhanced CO2 can be a useful strategy for remote life support systems

Virtual Habitat -a dynamic simulation of closed life support systems -human model status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markus Czupalla, M. Sc.; Zhukov, Anton; Hwang, Su-Au; Schnaitmann, Jonas

In order to optimize Life Support Systems on a system level, stability questions must be in-vestigated. To do so the exploration group of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) is developing the "Virtual Habitat" (V-HAB) dynamic LSS simulation software. V-HAB shall provide the possibility to conduct dynamic simulations of entire mission scenarios for any given LSS configuration. The Virtual Habitat simulation tool consists of four main modules: • Closed Environment Module (CEM) -monitoring of compounds in a closed environment • Crew Module (CM) -dynamic human simulation • P/C Systems Module (PCSM) -dynamic P/C subsystems • Plant Module (PM) -dynamic plant simulation The core module of the simulation is the dynamic and environment sensitive human module. Introduced in its basic version in 2008, the human module has been significantly updated since, increasing its capabilities and maturity significantly. In this paper three newly added human model subsystems (thermal regulation, digestion and schedule controller) are introduced touching also on the human stress subsystem which is cur-rently under development. Upon the introduction of these new subsystems, the integration of these into the overall V-HAB human model is discussed, highlighting the impact on the most important I/F. The overall human model capabilities shall further be summarized and presented based on meaningful test cases. In addition to the presentation of the results, the correlation strategy for the Virtual Habitat human model shall be introduced assessing the models current confidence level and giving an outlook on the future correlation strategy. Last but not least, the remaining V-HAB mod-ules shall be introduced shortly showing how the human model is integrated into the overall simulation.

Water cycles in closed ecological systems: effects of atmospheric pressure.

PubMed

Rygalov, Vadim Y; Fowler, Philip A; Metz, Joannah M; Wheeler, Raymond M; Bucklin, Ray A

2002-01-01

In bioregenerative life support systems that use plants to generate food and oxygen, the largest mass flux between the plants and their surrounding environment will be water. This water cycle is a consequence of the continuous change of state (evaporation-condensation) from liquid to gas through the process of transpiration and the need to transfer heat (cool) and dehumidify the plant growth chamber. Evapotranspiration rates for full plant canopies can range from ~1 to 10 L m-2 d-1 (~1 to 10 mm m-2 d-1), with the rates depending primarily on the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) between the leaves and the air inside the plant growth chamber. VPD in turn is dependent on the air temperature, leaf temperature, and current value of relative humidity (RH). Concepts for developing closed plant growth systems, such as greenhouses for Mars, have been discussed for many years and the feasibility of such systems will depend on the overall system costs and reliability. One approach for reducing system costs would be to reduce the operating pressure within the greenhouse to reduce structural mass and gas leakage. But managing plant growth environments at low pressures (e.g., controlling humidity and heat exchange) may be difficult, and the effects of low-pressure environments on plant growth and system water cycling need further study. We present experimental evidence to show that water saturation pressures in air under isothermal conditions are only slightly affected by total pressure, but the overall water flux from evaporating surfaces can increase as pressure decreases. Mathematical models describing these observations are presented, along with discussion of the importance for considering "water cycles" in closed bioregenerative life support systems.

Water cycles in closed ecological systems: effects of atmospheric pressure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rygalov, Vadim Y.; Fowler, Philip A.; Metz, Joannah M.; Wheeler, Raymond M.; Bucklin, Ray A.; Sager, J. C. (Principal Investigator)

2002-01-01

In bioregenerative life support systems that use plants to generate food and oxygen, the largest mass flux between the plants and their surrounding environment will be water. This water cycle is a consequence of the continuous change of state (evaporation-condensation) from liquid to gas through the process of transpiration and the need to transfer heat (cool) and dehumidify the plant growth chamber. Evapotranspiration rates for full plant canopies can range from 1 to 10 L m-2 d-1 (1 to 10 mm m-2 d-1), with the rates depending primarily on the vapor pressure deficit (VPD) between the leaves and the air inside the plant growth chamber. VPD in turn is dependent on the air temperature, leaf temperature, and current value of relative humidity (RH). Concepts for developing closed plant growth systems, such as greenhouses for Mars, have been discussed for many years and the feasibility of such systems will depend on the overall system costs and reliability. One approach for reducing system costs would be to reduce the operating pressure within the greenhouse to reduce structural mass and gas leakage. But managing plant growth environments at low pressures (e.g., controlling humidity and heat exchange) may be difficult, and the effects of low-pressure environments on plant growth and system water cycling need further study. We present experimental evidence to show that water saturation pressures in air under isothermal conditions are only slightly affected by total pressure, but the overall water flux from evaporating surfaces can increase as pressure decreases. Mathematical models describing these observations are presented, along with discussion of the importance for considering "water cycles" in closed bioregenerative life support systems.

40Ar/ 39Ar dating of Late Permian evaporites, southeastern New Mexico, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Renne, Paul R.; Sharp, Warren D.; Montañez, Isabel P.; Becker, Tim A.; Zierenberg, Robert A.

2001-12-01

40Ar/ 39Ar dating of the potassium-magnesium sulfate mineral langbeinite from Permian evaporites of the Salado formation near Carlsbad, New Mexico, provides quantitative evidence that some salts in these deposits have not recrystallized for 251 Myr since deposition. Survival of Permian salts supports the possibility that Bacillus bacteria recovered from nearby halite was isolated in a closed system and represents a sample of uncontaminated Permian life. Local recrystallization of langbeinite and other nearby minerals is also indicated by the dating, suggesting both the need and the opportunity to document closed system behavior more rigorously. The shoaling and desiccation event recorded by the Salado formation began at least 1 Myr before the Permian-Triassic boundary. Temporal correlation of the Salado with the Zechstein evaporites of north-central Europe supports previously inferred regression models for the origin of these deposits. Significant paleoenvironmental change at the Permian-Triassic boundary thus occurred on a time scale more protracted than that implied by geologically instantaneous events such as bolide impacts.

Social and occupational factors associated with psychological distress and disorder among disaster responders: a systematic review.

PubMed

Brooks, Samantha K; Dunn, Rebecca; Amlôt, Richard; Greenberg, Neil; Rubin, G James

2016-04-26

When disasters occur, there are many different occupational groups involved in rescue, recovery and support efforts. This study aimed to conduct a systematic literature review to identify social and occupational factors affecting the psychological impact of disasters on responders. Four electronic literature databases (MEDLINE®, Embase, PsycINFO® and Web of Science) were searched and hand searches of reference lists were carried out. Papers were screened against specific inclusion criteria (e.g. published in peer-reviewed journal in English; included a quantitative measure of wellbeing; participants were disaster responders). Data was extracted from relevant papers and thematic analysis was used to develop a list of key factors affecting the wellbeing of disaster responders. Eighteen thousand five papers were found and 111 included in the review. The psychological impact of disasters on responders appeared associated with pre-disaster factors (occupational factors; specialised training and preparedness; life events and health), during-disaster factors (exposure; duration on site and arrival time; emotional involvement; peri-traumatic distress/dissociation; role-related stressors; perceptions of safety, threat and risk; harm to self or close others; social support; professional support) and post-disaster factors (professional support; impact on life; life events; media; coping strategies). There are steps that can be taken at all stages of a disaster (before, during and after) which may minimise risks to responders and enhance resilience. Preparedness (for the demands of the role and the potential psychological impact) and support (particularly from the organisation) are essential. The findings of this review could potentially be used to develop training workshops for professionals involved in disaster response.

Catalytic recombination of dissociation products with Pt/SnO2 for rare and common isotope long-life, closed-cycle CO2 lasers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Kenneth G.; Sidney, B. D.; Schryer, D. R.; Upchurch, B. T.; Miller, I. M.

1986-01-01

This paper reports results on recombination of pulsed CO2 laser dissociation products with Pt/SnO2 catalysts, and supporting studies in a surrogate laboratory catalyst reactor. The closed-cycle, pulsed CO2 laser has been continuously operated for one million pulses with an overall power degradation of less than 5 percent by flowing the laser gas mixture through a 2-percent Pt/SnO2 catalyst bed. In the surrogate laboratory reactor, experiments have been conducted to determine isotopic exchange with the catalyst when using rare-isotope gases. The effects of catalyst pretreatment, sample weight, composition, and temperature on catalyst efficiency have also been determined.

Ultra Reliable Closed Loop Life Support for Long Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry W.; Ewert, Michael K.

2010-01-01

Spacecraft human life support systems can achieve ultra reliability by providing sufficient spares to replace all failed components. The additional mass of spares for ultra reliability is approximately equal to the original system mass, provided that the original system reliability is not too low. Acceptable reliability can be achieved for the Space Shuttle and Space Station by preventive maintenance and by replacing failed units. However, on-demand maintenance and repair requires a logistics supply chain in place to provide the needed spares. In contrast, a Mars or other long space mission must take along all the needed spares, since resupply is not possible. Long missions must achieve ultra reliability, a very low failure rate per hour, since they will take years rather than weeks and cannot be cut short if a failure occurs. Also, distant missions have a much higher mass launch cost per kilogram than near-Earth missions. Achieving ultra reliable spacecraft life support systems with acceptable mass will require a well-planned and extensive development effort. Analysis must determine the reliability requirement and allocate it to subsystems and components. Ultra reliability requires reducing the intrinsic failure causes, providing spares to replace failed components and having "graceful" failure modes. Technologies, components, and materials must be selected and designed for high reliability. Long duration testing is needed to confirm very low failure rates. Systems design should segregate the failure causes in the smallest, most easily replaceable parts. The system must be designed, developed, integrated, and tested with system reliability in mind. Maintenance and reparability of failed units must not add to the probability of failure. The overall system must be tested sufficiently to identify any design errors. A program to develop ultra reliable space life support systems with acceptable mass should start soon since it must be a long term effort.

The water treatment and recycling in 105-day bioregenerative life support experiment in the Lunar Palace 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Beizhen; Zhu, Guorong; Liu, Bojie; Su, Qiang; Deng, Shengda; Yang, Lige; Liu, Guanghui; Dong, Chen; Wang, Minjuan; Liu, Hong

2017-11-01

In the bioregenerative life support system (BLSS), water recycling is one of the essential issues. The Lunar Palace 1, a ground-based bioregenerative life support system experimental facility, has been developed by our team and a 105-day closed bioregenerative life support experiment with multi-crew involved has been accomplished within this large-scale facility. During the 105-day experiment, activated carbon-absorption/ultra-filtration, membrane-biological activated carbon reactor and reduced pressure distillation technology have been used to purify the condensate water, sanitary & kitchen wastewater and urine, respectively. The results demonstrated that the combination of those technologies can achieve 100% regeneration of the water inside the Lunar Palace 1. The purified condensate water (the clean water) could meet the standards for drinking water quality in China (GB5749-2006). The treatment capacity of the membrane-biological activated carbon reactor for sanitary & kitchen wastewater could reach 150 kg/d. During the 105-d experiment, the average volume loading of the bioreactor was 0.441 kgCOD/(m3d), and the average COD removal efficiency was about 85.3%. The quality of the purified sanitary & kitchen wastewater (the greywater) could meet the standards for irrigation water quality (GB 5084-2005). In addition, during the 105-day experiment, the total excreted urine volume of three crew members was 346 L and the contained water was totally treated and recovered. The removal efficiency of ion from urine was about 88.12%. Moreover, partial nitrogen within the urine was recovered as well and the average recovery ratio was about 20.5%. The study laid a foundation for the water recycling technologies which could be used in BLSS for lunar or Mars bases.

Structural and functional measures of social relationships and quality of life among older adults: does chronic disease status matter?

PubMed

Liao, Jing; Brunner, Eric J

2016-01-01

To evaluate the relative importance of structural and functional social relationships for quality of life (QoL) and the extent to which diagnosed chronic disease modifies these associations. Multivariate linear regression was used to investigate time-lagged associations between structural and functional measures of social relationships and QoL assessed 5 years apart by CASP-19, in 5925 Whitehall II participants (mean age 61, SD 6.0). Chronic disease was clinically verified coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes or cancer. Social relationships-QoL associations were consistent across disease status (P-values for interaction: 0.15-0.99). Larger friend network (β = 1.9, 95% CI 1.5-2.3), having a partner (β = 1.2, 95% CI 0.5-1.7), higher confiding support (β = 2.2, 95% CI 1.8-2.7) and lower negative aspects of close relationships (β = 3.3, 95% CI 2.8-3.8) were independently related to improved QoL in old age. The estimated difference in QoL due to social relationships was equivalent to up to 0.5 SD of the CASP-19 score and was stronger than the effect of chronic disease (coronary heart disease β = 2.0, 95% CI 1.4-2.6). We found that beneficial aspects of social relationships in relation to QoL were, in order of importance: avoiding negative aspects of close relationships, having confiding support, having a wide network of friends and having a partner. These associations were not modified by chronic disease. Thus, despite inevitable physical deterioration, we may be able to enhance a satisfying late life by optimizing our social relationships.

Interactions with parents and friends among chronically ill children: examining social networks.

PubMed

Herzer, Michele; Umfress, Kris; Aljadeff, Gabriel; Ghai, Kanika; Zakowski, Sandra G

2009-12-01

Children with medical conditions often experience a combination of positive and negative social interactions with parents and friends. Adult research examining cross-domain buffering effects has documented that supportive social ties can make up for shortcomings in other social relationships. This study examined whether negative effects of strained relationships with loved ones can be buffered when children feel supported by individuals in different support networks (i.e., cross-domain buffering effects). Children with Type I diabetes (n = 56), chronic asthma (n = 54), and cystic fibrosis (n = 17) completed questionnaires during an outpatient hospital visit that assessed perceptions of support and strain from parents and friends, quality of life, self-concept, and emotional/behavioral difficulties. Parental strain was conceptualized as parental overprotection and parental rejection. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that friend support buffered the adverse effects of parental strain on child quality of life, self-concept, and emotional/behavioral difficulties. Interestingly, parental support did not buffer the negative effects of experiencing strained relationships with friends; only main effects on outcome were found. These findings partially support our hypotheses of cross-domain buffering. In this study, friendships were a protective factor for children who experienced strained relationships with parents. In contrast, although parent support had a direct impact on child outcome, it did not make up for feeling rejected by friends. Because close relationships are often strained during medical stressors, findings underscore the importance of promoting social connectedness in chronically ill children to maximize opportunities for experiencing positive social relationships.

The potential of planets orbiting red dwarf stars to support oxygenic photosynthesis and complex life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gale, Joseph; Wandel, Amri

2017-01-01

We review the latest findings on extra-solar planets and their potential of having environmental conditions that could support Earth-like life. Focusing on planets orbiting red dwarf (RD) stars, the most abundant stellar type in the Milky Way, we show that including RDs as potential life supporting host stars could increase the probability of finding biotic planets by a factor of up to a thousand, and reduce the estimate of the distance to our nearest biotic neighbour by up to 10. We argue that binary and multiple star systems need to be taken into account when discussing habitability and the abundance of biotic exoplanets, in particular RDs in such systems. Early considerations indicated that conditions on RD planets would be inimical to life, as their habitable zones would be so close to the host star as to make planets tidally locked. This was thought to cause an erratic climate and expose life forms to flares of ionizing radiation. Recent calculations show that these negative factors are less severe than originally thought. It has also been argued that the lesser photon energy of the radiation of the relatively cool RDs would not suffice for oxygenic photosynthesis (OP) and other related energy expending reactions. Numerous authors suggest that OP on RD planets may evolve to utilize photons in the infrared. We however argue, by analogy to the evolution of OP and the environmental physiology and distribution of land-based vegetation on Earth, that the evolutionary pressure to utilize infrared radiation would be small. This is because vegetation on RD planets could enjoy continuous illumination of moderate intensity, containing a significant component of photosynthetic 400-700 nm radiation. We conclude that conditions for OP could exist on RD planets and consequently the evolution of complex life might be possible. Furthermore, the huge number and the long lifetime of RDs make it more likely to find planets with photosynthesis and life around RDs than around Solar type stars.

Measuring the quality of life of people at the end of life: The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised.

PubMed

Cohen, S Robin; Sawatzky, Richard; Russell, Lara B; Shahidi, Javad; Heyland, Daren K; Gadermann, Anne M

2017-02-01

The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire has been widely used with people with life-threatening illnesses without modification since its publication in 1996. With use, areas for improvement have emerged; therefore, various minor modifications were tested over time. To revise the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised) while maintaining or improving its psychometric properties and length, keeping it as close as possible to the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire to enable reasonable comparison with existing McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire literature. Data sets from eight studies were used (four studies originally used to develop the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire, two to develop new McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire versions, and two with unrelated purposes). The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised was developed using analyses of measurement invariance, confirmatory factor analysis, and calculation of correlations with the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire's global quality of life item. Data were from 1702 people with life-threatening illnesses recruited from acute and palliative care units, palliative home care services, and oncology and HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics. The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised consists of 14 items (plus the global quality of life item). A new Physical subscale was created combining physical symptoms and physical well-being and a new item on physical functioning. The Existential subscale was reduced to four items. The revised Support subscale, renamed Social, focuses more on relationships. The Psychological subscale remains unchanged. Confirmatory factor analysis results provide support for the measurement structure of the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised. The overall scale has good internal consistency reliability ( α = 0.94). The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire-Revised improves on and can replace the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire since it contains improved wording, a somewhat expanded repertoire of concepts with fewer items, and a single subscale for the physical domain, while retaining good psychometric properties.

Development of a model for integrated care at the end of life in advanced dementia: A whole systems UK-wide approach

PubMed Central

Jones, Louise; Candy, Bridget; Davis, Sarah; Elliott, Margaret; Gola, Anna; Harrington, Jane; Kupeli, Nuriye; Lord, Kathryn; Moore, Kirsten; Scott, Sharon; Vickerstaff, Victoria; Omar, Rumana Z; King, Michael; Leavey, Gerard; Nazareth, Irwin; Sampson, Elizabeth L

2015-01-01

Background: The prevalence of dementia is rising worldwide and many people will die with the disease. Symptoms towards the end of life may be inadequately managed and informal and professional carers poorly supported. There are few evidence-based interventions to improve end-of-life care in advanced dementia. Aim: To develop an integrated, whole systems, evidence-based intervention that is pragmatic and feasible to improve end-of-life care for people with advanced dementia and support those close to them. Design: A realist-based approach in which qualitative and quantitative data assisted the development of statements. These were incorporated into the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method to achieve consensus on intervention components. Components were mapped to underlying theory of whole systems change and the intervention described in a detailed manual. Setting/participants: Data were collected from people with dementia, carers and health and social care professionals in England, from expert opinion and existing literature. Professional stakeholders in all four countries of the United Kingdom contributed to the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method process. Results: A total of 29 statements were agreed and mapped to individual, group, organisational and economic/political levels of healthcare systems. The resulting main intervention components are as follows: (1) influencing local service organisation through facilitation of integrated multi-disciplinary care, (2) providing training and support for formal and informal carers and (3) influencing local healthcare commissioning and priorities of service providers. Conclusion: Use of in-depth data, consensus methods and theoretical understanding of the intervention components produced an evidence-based intervention for further testing in end-of-life care in advanced dementia. PMID:26354388

[Billroth and Brahms: personal encounter of medicine and music].

PubMed

Hadaschik, B A; Hadaschik, E N; Hohenfellner, M

2012-02-01

Theodor Billroth and Johannes Brahms shared a decades long personal friendship. The music-loving Billroth influenced the work of the famous composer and in turn Brahms also left traces within Billroth's lifetime achievements. To shed light on the close relationship of medicine and music, this manuscript describes both Billroth's life and surgical career as they were influenced and stimulated by his close friendship to Brahms.Theodor Billroth and Johannes Brahms first met in 1865 in Zurich, Switzerland. After Billroth accepted the chair of surgery at the University of Vienna in 1867, Brahms moved to Vienna in 1869. During the following years, Billroth analyzed most of Brahms' compositions prior to publication. Similar to his effective way of teaching medical students and assistants, Billroth stimulated Brahms to publish many of his later compositions. Brahms on the other hand supported Billroth in writing his essay"Who is musical?". Furthermore, music helped Billroth to cope with the demanding working life of a surgeon.Music and surgery share both structural and emotional analogies. While both professions require meticulous techniques, personal interaction is a prerequisite for success. "Science and art scoop from the same well."

Predictors of professional quality of life among physicians in a conflict setting: the role of risk and protective factors.

PubMed

Haber, Yeela; Palgi, Yuval; Hamama-Raz, Yaira; Shrira, Amit; Ben-Ezra, Menachem

2013-01-01

Unlike other places in the western world, Israeli physicians are prone to be exposed to victims of terror and war (soldiers and civilians alike), while in some cases the patients are close friends or relatives. Moreover, in other armed conflict situations (stemming from war or terror), there is a direct threat to the physician's life and his/her family. Among hospital personnel, there is little research concerning the factors associated with aspects of professional quality of life such as burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction. The current study compared a set of risk and protective factors associated with burnout, compassion fatigue, and compassion satisfaction. The sample consisted of 97 physicians who answered a wide battery of questionnaires tapping to the aforementioned factors that served as predictive variables (age, gender, marital status, PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, dissociative symptoms, life satisfaction, perceived self-efficacy, perceived family support) using multiple regressions. The study results showed that higher levels of PTSD symptoms were associated with higher levels of compassion fatigue (β = .594; t = 4.419; p <.001). A higher level of life satisfaction was associated with lower burnout (β = -.436; t = -4.293; p <.001). The same results were found also in lower level of perceived family support (β = -.203; t = -2.533; p <.05), and higher level of perceived self-efficacy was associated with higher burnout (β = .298; t = 2.702; p <.01). Finally, a higher level of life satisfaction was associated with higher compassion satisfaction (β = .493; t = 4.419; p <.001). These results may suggest that life satisfaction is a predictor associated with burnout and compassion satisfaction. These results are viewed in light of the importance of life satisfaction as a barrier against burnout and its implication for physicians and hospital policy.

Achieving a balance - Science and human exploration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Duke, Michael B.

1992-01-01

An evaluation is made of the opportunities for advancing the scientific understanding of Mars through a research program, conducted under the egis of NASA's Space Exploration Initiative, which emphasizes the element of human exploration as well as the requisite robotic component. A Mars exploration program that involves such complementary human/robotic components will entail the construction of a closed ecological life-support system, long-duration spacecraft facilities for crews, and the development of extraterrestrial resources; these R&D imperatives will have great subsequent payoffs, both scientific and economic.

Photocatalytic post-treatment in waste water reclamation systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cooper, Gerald; Ratcliff, Matthew A.; Verostko, Charles E.

1989-01-01

A photocatalytic water purification process is described which effectively oxidizes organic impurities common to reclaimed waste waters and humidity condensates to carbon dioxide at ambient temperatures. With this process, total organic carbon concentrations below 500 ppb are readily achieved. The temperature dependence of the process is well described by the Arrhenius equation and an activation energy barrier of 3.5 Kcal/mole. The posttreatment approach for waste water reclamation described here shows potential for integration with closed-loop life support systems.

The spinning artificial gravity environment: A design project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pignataro, Robert; Crymes, Jeff; Marzec, Tom; Seibert, Joe; Walker, Gary

1987-01-01

The SAGE, or Spinning Artificial Gravity Environment, design was carried out to develop an artificial gravity space station which could be used as a platform for the performance of medical research to determine the benefits of various, fractional gravity levels for astronauts normally subject to zero gravity. Desirable both for its medical research mission and a mission for the study of closed loop life-support and other factors in prolonged space flight, SAGE was designed as a low Earth orbiting, solar powered, manned space station.

Mars mission benefits - A layman's perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newell, Reginald

Space exploration-related investments such as those currently anticipated for the exploration of Mars promote advancements in technology and have an economic 'multiplier effect' that has been estimated as $2.10 of additional business per dollar spent. These allocations must go to the development of a new heavy-launch vehicle, a space station, supply craft for LEO operations, and perhaps a lunar base; many of these entail a regenerative closed ecological life-support system. An evaluation is made of recent Mars-exploration considerations discussed by Sagan (1991).

Closed-Loop Life Support and Habitability: 2000-2004

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

This custom bibliography from the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program lists a sampling of records found in the NASA Aeronautics and Space Database. The scope of this topic includes technologies for the recycling of oxygen, carbon dioxide, and water for long-duration human presence in space. This area of focus is one of the enabling technologies as defined by NASA s Report of the President s Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy, published in June 2004.

NASA Johnson Space Center's Energy and Sustainability Efforts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ewert, Michael K.

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the efforts that NASA is making to assure a sustainable environment and energy savings at the Johnson Space Center. Sustainability is defined as development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The new technologies that are required for sustainable closed loop life support for space exploration have uses on the ground to reduce energy, greenhouse gas emissions, and water use. Some of these uses are reviewed.

Antibody engineering--a valuable asset in preventing closed environment epidemics.

PubMed

Fjallman, Ted; Hall, J Christopher

2005-01-01

Investigations of Mir, Space Shuttle, Skylab and Apollo missions report extensive colonisation of the spacecraft by bacteria and fungi, which can lead to degradative effects on spacecraft equipment and devastating effects on space-grown crops. More than 80% of terrestrial greenhouse epidemics are due to the fungal genera Phytophthora, Pythium and Fusarium, which have been found in life support system test-beds. The advent of recombinant antibody technologies, including ribosome display and phage display, has made it possible to develop antibodies against virtually any toxin or organism and allows for maturation of antibodies by in vitro molecular evolution. These antibodies may play an important role in an integrated pest management regime for life support systems. Efficacy of existing fungal countermeasures could be increased by chemical linkage to antibodies, which target the site of action of the biocide or trap the pathogen in a biofilter. Novel recombinant antibody-biocide fusions can be expressed in situ by plants or symbiotic microbes to create direct disease resistance. c2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Severe hypertriglyceridemia and colchicine intoxication following suicide attempt.

PubMed

Lev, Shaul; Snyder, David; Azran, Carmil; Zolotarsky, Victor; Dahan, Arik

2017-01-01

Colchicine overdose is uncommon but potentially life threatening. Due to its serious adverse systemic effects, overdose must be recognized and treated. We report a case of an 18-year-old female who ingested 18 mg (~0.4 mg/kg) of colchicine in a suicide attempt. The patient's clinical manifestations included abdominal cramps, vomiting, pancytopenia, hypocholesterolemia, and rhabdomyolysis. Two unique manifestations of toxicity in this patient were profound and persistent, severe hypertriglyceridemia and electrolyte imbalance, mainly hypophosphatemia, with no other evident cause except the colchicine intoxication. Following intensive supportive treatment, including ventilator support, N-acetylcysteine, granulocyte colony stimulating factor, electrolyte repletion, and zinc supplementation, the patient made a complete recovery. Colchicine intoxication is a severe, life-threatening situation that should be followed closely in intensive care units. Severe changes in body functions can rapidly develop, as previously described in the literature. To our knowledge, this extremely elevated triglyceride level has never been reported without the administration of propofol, and requires further evaluation.

Algal culture studies related to a closed ecological life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Radmer, R.; Behrens, P.; Fernandez, E.; Ollinger, O.; Howell, C.

1984-01-01

Studies on the steady-state long-term (4 month) culture of Scenedesmus obliquus algae, maintained in an annular air-lift column operated as a turbidostat, were carried out to evaluate the life-supporting possibilities of this system. Chlorophyll production and cell number as functions of the dry weight were linear at constant illumination. Productivity (measured as the product of dry weight, mg/ml, and the growth rate, ml/hr) vs. dry weight rose linearly until the cell density reached a level at which light became limiting (89 percent absorption of the photosynthetically active radiation). In the initial, linear portion of the curve, the productivity was limited by cell growth at the given light intensity. The maximum dilution rate of the system corresponded to the doubling time of 13.4 hr, about half the maximum rate, with a productivity of 80 percent of the maximum theoretical productivity. The high light utilization efficiencies were contributed by the low (10 percent of full sunlight) incident intensities.

Awareness of basic life support among Saudi dental students and interns.

PubMed

Al-Shamiri, Hashem Motahir; Al-Maweri, Sadeq Ali; Shugaa-Addin, Bassam; Alaizari, Nader Ahmed; Hunaish, Abdulrahman

2017-01-01

Fatal medical emergencies may occur at any time in the dental clinic. The present study assessed the level of awareness and attitudes toward basic life support (BLS) among Saudi dental students and interns. A self-administered questionnaire comprising 23 closed-ended questions was used in this survey. The first part of the questionnaire assessed the demographical profile of the students such as age, gender, and educational level. The second part investigated their knowledge and awareness about BLS. Data from 203 respondents were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Studies version 22.0. The response rate was 81.2%. Overall, the respondents showed a low level of knowledge with significant differences between males and females (<0.001). Surprisingly, final-year dental students showed relatively better knowledge than interns though the differences were not statistically significant. The present study demonstrates poor knowledge among dental students regarding BLS and showed the urgent need for continuous refreshing courses for this critical topic.

Faster Array Training and Rapid Analysis for a Sensor Array Intended for an Event Monitor in Air

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Homer, Margie L.; Shevade, A. V.; Fonollosa, J.; Huerta, R.

2013-01-01

Environmental monitoring, in particular, air monitoring, is a critical need for human space flight. Both monitoring and life support systems have needs for closed loop process feedback and quality control for environmental factors. Monitoring protects the air environment and water supply for the astronaut crew and different sensors help ensure that the habitat falls within acceptable limits, and that the life support system is functioning properly and efficiently. The longer the flight duration and the farther the destination, the more critical it becomes to have carefully monitored and automated control systems for life support. There is an acknowledged need for an event monitor which samples the air continuously and provides near real-time information on changes in the air. Past experiments with the JPL ENose have demonstrated a lifetime of the sensor array, with the software, of around 18 months. We are working on a sensor array and new algorithms that will incorporate transient sensor responses in the analysis. Preliminary work has already showed more rapid quantification and identification of analytes and the potential for faster training time of the array. We will look at some of the factors that contribute to demonstrating faster training time for the array. Faster training will decrease the integrated sensor exposure to training analytes, which will also help extend sensor lifetime.

“Out of our control”: Living through Cyclone Yasi

PubMed Central

Woods, Cindy; West, Caryn; Buettner, Petra; Usher, Kim

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of people who lived through Cyclone Yasi on 3 February 2011. Data from two open-ended questions (Q1: n=344; and Q2: n=339) within a survey completed by 433 residents of cyclone-affected areas between Cairns and Townsville, Australia, were analysed using a qualitative, thematic approach. Experiences were portrayed in three main themes: (1) living in the mode of existential threat describes survivors’ sense of panic and feeling at the mercy of nature as they feared for their life; (2) unforgettable memories describe feelings of emotional helplessness and the unimaginable chaos that the cyclone wrought; and (3) centrality of others shows how community support and closeness helped alleviate losses and uncertainty. A critical finding from this study was the negative role of the media in escalating fears for life prior to and during the cyclone, highlighting the need for government, community leaders, and health professionals to have a media plan in place to ensure that disaster warnings are taken seriously without inciting unnecessary panic. Although survivors experienced extreme vulnerability and a threat to life, the disaster also brought communities closer together and connected family, friends, and neighbours through the caring, support, and help they offered each other. This highlights the central role of others during the recovery process and underlines the importance of promoting and facilitating social support to aid recovery post disaster. PMID:24434053

Perspectives of different type biological life support systems (BLSS) usage in space missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartsev, S. I.; Gitelson, J. I.; Lisovsky, G. M.; Mezhevikin, V. V.; Okhonin, V. A.

1996-10-01

In the paper an attempt is made to combine three important criteria of LSS comparison: minimum mass, maximum safety and maximum quality of life. Well-known types of BLSS were considered: with higher plant, higher plants and mushrooms, microalgae, and hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria. These BLSSs were compared in terms of "integrated" mass for the case of a vegetarian diet and a "normal" one (with animal proteins and fats). It was shown that the BLSS with higher plants and incineration of wastes becomes the best when the exploitation period is more than 1 yr. The dependence of higher plants' LSS structure on operation time was found. Comparison of BLSSs in terms of integral reliability (this criterion includes mass and quality of life criteria) for a lunar base scenario showed that BLSSs with higher plants are advantageous in reliability and comfort. This comparison was made for achieved level of technology of closing and for perspective one.

Missed Opportunity: Spirituality as a Bridge to Resilience in Latinos with Cancer

PubMed Central

Costas-Muñíz, Rosario; Gany, Francesca

2016-01-01

Going through adverse life events can help a person learn how to cope with life’s challenges, overcome them, learn from the adverse experiences, grow, and be positively transformed by them. Spirituality is a resource that supports adaptation and resilience to improve quality of life in patients with cancer or other chronic illnesses. For Latinos, spirituality is an important core cultural value. As such, it is crucial to pay close attention to how cultural values play a role in health-related concerns when caring for Latino cancer patients, and to how spirituality, being an important aspect of Latino culture, influences how Latinos adjust and cope with cancer. Understanding how to facilitate resilience in the face of potentially negative life events, such as cancer, can not only help Latino cancer patients in active treatment, but can also impact effectiveness of managing and coping with the consequences of cancer during survivorship. PMID:25711211

Critical edge between frozen extinction and chaotic life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monetti, Roberto A.; Albano, Ezequiel V.

1995-12-01

The cellular automata ``game of life'' (GL) proposed by J. Conway simulates the dynamic evolution of a society of living organisms. It has been extensively studied in order to understand the emergence of complexity and diversity from a set of local rules. More recently, the capability of GL to self-oranize into a critical state has opened an interesting debate. In this work we adopt a different approach: by introducing stochastic rules in the GL it is found that ``life'' exhibits a very rich critical behavior. Discontinuous (first-order) irreversible phase transitions (IPT's) between an extinct phase and a steady state supporting life are found. A precise location of the critical edge is achieved by means of an epidemic analysis, which also allows us to determine dynamic critical exponents. Furthermore, by means of a damage spreading study we conclude that the living phase is chaotic. The edge of the frozen-chaotic transition coincides with that of the IPT's life extinction. Close to the edge, fractal spreading of the damage is observed; however, deep inside the living phase such spreading becomes homogeneous. (c) 1995 The American Physical Society

Explaining social class differences in depression and well-being.

PubMed

Stansfeld, S A; Head, J; Marmot, M G

1998-01-01

Work characteristics, including skill discretion and decision authority, explain most of the socioeconomic status gradient in well-being and depression in middle-aged British civil servants from the Whitehall II Study, London. Social support explained about one-third of the gradient, life events and material difficulties less than one-third. Socioeconomic status was measured by employment grade. Work characteristics were based on the Karasek model, social support was measured by the Close Persons Questionnaire, depression by the General Health Questionnaire and well-being by the Affect Balance Scale. Despite a small contribution from social selective factors measured by upward mobility, the psychosocial work environment explained most of the cross-sectional socioeconomic status gradient in well-being and depression.

ERMHAN: A Context-Aware Service Platform to Support Continuous Care Networks for Home-Based Assistance

PubMed Central

Paganelli, Federica; Spinicci, Emilio; Giuli, Dino

2008-01-01

Continuous care models for chronic diseases pose several technology-oriented challenges for home-based continuous care, where assistance services rely on a close collaboration among different stakeholders such as health operators, patient relatives, and social community members. Here we describe Emilia Romagna Mobile Health Assistance Network (ERMHAN) a multichannel context-aware service platform designed to support care networks in cooperating and sharing information with the goal of improving patient quality of life. In order to meet extensibility and flexibility requirements, this platform has been developed through ontology-based context-aware computing and a service oriented approach. We also provide some preliminary results of performance analysis and user survey activity. PMID:18695739

Micropollutants in closed life-support systems: the case of triclosan, a biocide excreted via urine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mastroleo, Felice; Pycke, Benny; Boon, Nico; de Wever, Heleen; Hendrickx, Larissa; Mastroleo, Felice; Wattiez, Ruddy; Mergeay, Max; Verstraete, Willy

OBJECTIVES: The impact of triclosan on the growth and physiology of the bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum was studied in the frame of the regenerative life-support system, Micro- Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA). A wide range of compounds, such as steroid hormones, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, might enter the life support system via the excrements that are to be treated and recycled. Triclosan was chosen as the first compound to be tested because MELiSSA is a closed system, which is consequently particularly sensitive to compounds inhibiting the microbial metabolism. Because triclosan is increasingly used as an antimicrobial biocide in hygienic formulations (such as toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorants, etc.) and due to its chemical stability, it is considered an emerging pollutant in terrestrial ecosystems. METHODS: In a first phase, the triclosan concentration expected in the life-support system was estimated, the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) was determined via plating, and the effect on growth kinetics was assessed by comparing growth parameters in the Gompertz model. In a second phase, the secondary effects of triclosan on cell physiology and gene expression were studied through flow-cytometry and microarray analyses, respectively. RESULTS: Based on the pharmacokinetic data from literature, the predicted concentration range is estimated to be 6-25µg/L triclosan in the Rhodospirillum rubrum compartment of the MELiSSA. The minimal inhibitory concentration of triclosan was determined to be 71 µg/L after 7 days of exposure on Sistrom medium. Upon exposure to 50-200µg/L triclosan, triclosan-resistant mutants of Rhodospirillum rubrum arose spontaneously at high frequency (3.1 ∗ 10 - 4). Analysis of the growth kinetics of the wild-type revealed that triclosan causes an important elongation of the lag-phase and a decrease in growth rate. At concentrations higher than 75mg/L(LD = 500mg/L), triclosan is bactericidal to wild-type cells, which coincides with increased membrane permeability. Yet, triclosan depolarises the bacterial membrane by significantly reducing the membrane potential prior to being lethal. Therefore, the lysis of wild-type cells appears not to be directly associated with membrane depolarisation and is probably the result of a disturbance in the cellular envelope by triclosan. CONCLUSIONS: The triclosan concentrations expected in the MELiSSA are within the 'Predicted No Effect Concentration' range. In addition, the effect of triclosan on growth rate is minimal; even at sub-inhibitory effect concentrations, where triclosan is mainly influencing the lag-phase instead of the growth rate. Efficient reactor operation will therefore remain unchanged with slight modification of the operating parameters. However, since there are no clear indication that triclosan might be degraded in the system, except for the nitrifying compartment, triclosan might accumulate in the loop. Therefore, a thorough study of the effect of triclosan on the other compartments in the MELiSSA loop is desired, as well as potential countermeasures. Keywords: triclosan, Rhodospirillum rubrum, MELiSSA, microarray analysis, flow cytometry, chlorinated biphenylether, minimal inhibitory concentration.

Stress, social support, emotional regulation, and exacerbation of diffuse plaque psoriasis.

PubMed

Picardi, A; Mazzotti, E; Gaetano, P; Cattaruzza, M S; Baliva, G; Melchi, C F; Biondi, M; Pasquini, P

2005-01-01

The authors' aim was to investigate the role of stressful events, perceived social support, attachment security, and alexithymia in triggering exacerbations of diffuse plaque psoriasis. Inpatients experiencing a recent exacerbation of diffuse plaque psoriasis (N=33) were compared with inpatients with skin conditions believed to have a negligible psychosomatic component (N=73). Stressful events during the last year were assessed with Paykel's Interview for Recent Life Events. Attachment style, alexithymia, and perceived social support were assessed with the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, respectively. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to control for age, gender, education, marital status, and alcohol consumption. In relation to comparison subjects, the patients with psoriasis had lower perceived social support and higher attachment-related avoidance. Also, they were more likely to have high alexithymic characteristics. There were no differences between the patients with psoriasis and the comparison subjects in scores on the Experiences in Close Relationships anxiety scale, the total number of stressful events, and the number of undesirable, uncontrollable, or major events. Although caution should be applied in generalizing these findings to outpatients, this study suggests that alexithymia, attachment-related avoidance, and poor social support might increase susceptibility to exacerbations of diffuse plaque psoriasis, possibly through impaired emotional regulation. Several physiological mechanisms involving the neuroendocrine and the immune system might mediate the interplay between stress, personality, and diffuse plaque psoriasis.

Attitudes towards end-of-life issues in intensive care unit among Italian anesthesiologists: a nation-wide survey.

PubMed

Cortegiani, Andrea; Russotto, Vincenzo; Raineri, Santi Maurizio; Gregoretti, Cesare; Giarratano, Antonino; Mercadante, Sebastiano

2018-06-01

The aim of this paper is to collect data on the practice of palliative care, withholding and withdrawal of life-sustaining therapies, and management of end of life (EOL) in Italian intensive care units (ICUs). Web-based survey among Italian anesthesiologists endorsed by the Italian Society of Anesthesiology Analgesia Reanimation and Intensive Care (SIAARTI). The survey consists of 27 close-ended and 2 open-ended questions. Eight hundred and five persons responded to the full list of questions. The highest proportion of respondents was of 36-45 years of age (34%) and catholic (66%). Almost 70% of responders declared that palliative/supportive care are applied in their ICU in case of futility of intensive treatments. Decision on withdrawing/withholding of life-sustaining treatments resulted from team consensus in most cases (58%). In more than 70% of responders' ICUs, there is no collaboration with palliative/supportive care experts. Systematic recording of most frequent symptoms experienced by critically ill patients (e.g., pain, dyspnea, thirst) was not common. Vasopressors, extracorporeal therapies, blood component transfusions and invasive monitoring were the most commonly modified/interrupted measures in case of futility. Almost 85% of respondents have not received training in palliative/supportive care. The proportion of respondents whose institution has a palliative care team and who had training in palliative care was not homogenous across the country. These data suggest that training in palliative care and its clinical application should be implemented in Italy. Efforts should be made to improve and homogenize the management of dying patients in ICU.

Perceived needs for support among care home staff providing end of life care for people with dementia: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Vandrevala, T; Samsi, K; Rose, C; Adenrele, C; Barnes, C; Manthorpe, J

2017-02-01

The aim of the current exploratory study was to investigate the impact on care home staff when working with people with dementia at the end of life and to explore how they cope with this aspect of their work. With UK policy encouraging death in the place of residence, rather than hospital, more people with dementia are dying in care homes. A qualitative approach was employed; 20 care home staff working in five English care homes were interviewed. Thematic Analysis was used to analyse the data. Care home staff found the external demands on them and difficulties associated with interacting with people with dementia sometimes challenging, stressful and anxiety-provoking, particularly as residents approached end of life. Emotional aspects of caring for dying residents were sometimes heightened by close attachments with residents and their families. Staff were able to recognise these unmet needs and identified a need for further training and emotional support to manage these stressors. This study revealed rich and complex understandings of the practice dimensions of caring for people with dementia at the end of life and the impact these have on staff. There is a need to develop effective psychosocial interventions that focus on emotional support for care home staff. There will be challenges in providing this in employment settings that are generally low paid, low status, have high turnover and are reliant on temporary or migrant staff, where training is not rewarded, mandatory or culturally valued. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Soil-based filtration technology for air purification: potentials for environmental and space life support application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, Mark; Bohn, Hinrich

Soil biofiltration, also known as Soil bed reactor (SBR), technology was originally developed in Germany to take advantage of the diversity in microbial mechanisms to control gases producing malodor in industrial processes. The approach has since gained wider international acceptance and seen numerous improvements, for example, by the use of high-organic compost beds to maximize microbial processes. This paper reviews the basic mechanisms which underlay soil processes involved in air purification, advantages and limitations of the technology and the cur-rent research status of the approach. Soil biofiltration has lower capital and operating/energetic costs than conventional technologies and is well adapted to handle contaminants in moderate concentrations. The systems can be engineered to optimize efficiency though manipulation of temperature, pH, moisture content, soil organic matter and airflow rates. SBR technology was modified for application in the Biosphere 2 project, which demonstrated in preparatory research with a number of closed system testbeds that soil could also support crop plants while also serving as soil filters with air pumps to push air through the soil. This Biosphere 2 research demonstrated in several closed system testbeds that a number of important trace gases could be kept under control and led to the engineering of the entire agricultural soil of Biosphere 2 to serve as a soil filtration unit for the facility. Soil biofiltration, coupled with food crop produc-tion, as a component of bioregenerative space life support systems has the advantages of lower energy use and avoidance of the consumables required for other air purification approaches. Expanding use of soil biofiltration can aid a number of environmental applications, from the mitigation of indoor air pollution, improvement of industrial air emissions and prevention of accidental release of toxic gases.

Mass exchange in an experimental new-generation life support system model based on biological regeneration of environment.

PubMed

Tikhomirov, A A; Ushakova, S A; Manukovsky, N S; Lisovsky, G M; Kudenko, Yu A; Kovalev, V S; Gubanov, V G; Barkhatov, Yu V; Gribovskaya, I V; Zolotukhin, I G; Gros, J B; Lasseur, Ch

2003-01-01

An experimental model of a biological life support system was used to evaluate qualitative and quantitative parameters of the internal mass exchange. The photosynthesizing unit included the higher plant component (wheat and radish), and the heterotrophic unit consisted of a soil-like substrate, California worms, mushrooms and microbial microflora. The gas mass exchange involved evolution of oxygen by the photosynthesizing component and its uptake by the heterotroph component along with the formation and maintaining of the SLS structure, growth of mushrooms and California worms, human respiration, and some other processes. Human presence in the system in the form of "virtual human" that at regular intervals took part in the respirative gas exchange during the experiment. Experimental data demonstrated good oxygen/carbon dioxide balance, and the closure of the cycles of these gases was almost complete. The water cycle was nearly 100% closed. The main components in the water mass exchange were transpiration water and the watering solution with mineral elements. Human consumption of the edible plant biomass (grains and roots) was simulated by processing these products by a unique physicochemical method of oxidizing them to inorganic mineral compounds, which were then returned into the system and fully assimilated by the plants. The oxidation was achieved by "wet combustion" of organic biomass, using hydrogen peroxide following a special procedure, which does not require high temperature and pressure. Hydrogen peroxide is produced from the water inside the system. The closure of the cycle was estimated for individual elements and compounds. Stoichiometric proportions are given for the main components included in the experimental model of the system. Approaches to the mathematical modeling of the cycling processes are discussed, using the data of the experimental model. Nitrogen, as a representative of biogenic elements, shows an almost 100% closure of the cycle inside the system. The proposed experimental model of a biological system is discussed as a candidate for potential application in the investigations aimed at creating ecosystems with largely closed cycles of the internal mass exchange. The formation and maintenance of sustainable cycling of vitally important chemical elements and compounds in biological life support systems (BLSS) is an extremely pressing problem. To attain the stable functioning of biological life support systems (BLSS) and to maintain a high degree of closure of material cycles in than, it is essential to understand the character of mass exchange processes and stoichiometnc proportions of the initial and synthesized components of the system. c2003 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Family and friendship informal support networks and social anxiety disorder among African Americans and Black Caribbeans.

PubMed

Levine, Debra Siegel; Taylor, Robert Joseph; Nguyen, Ann W; Chatters, Linda M; Himle, Joseph A

2015-07-01

This study explores relationships between Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) and quality and frequency of involvement with family and friends. Data are from a nationally representative sample of African American and Black Caribbean adults (n = 5191), the National Survey of American Life. SAD was assessed using the DSM-IV World Mental Health Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Findings indicated that among both populations, close supportive ties with family members and friends are protective against meeting criteria for SAD. Negative interactions with family (e.g., conflicts), however, are a risk factor for SAD among both African Americans and Black Caribbeans. For African Americans, an interaction indicates that the relationship between negative interaction and social anxiety is much stronger among African Americans who are not emotionally close to their families. For Caribbean Blacks, an interaction suggests that the odds of meeting criteria for SAD were higher among Black Caribbeans who had high negative interaction with family as well as low levels of friendship closeness. The cross-sectional nature of the study does not allow for causal attributions for findings. This study demonstrates that SAD may impact black ethnic subgroups differently, which has important implications for understanding the nature, etiology, and treatment of this disorder.

EVA-Compatible Microbial Swab Tool

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rucker, Michelle A.

2016-01-01

When we send humans to search for life on Mars, we'll need to know what we brought with us versus what may already be there. To ensure our crewed spacecraft meet planetary protection requirements—and to protect our science from human contamination—we'll need to know whether micro-organisms are leaking/venting from our ships and spacesuits. This is easily done by swabbing external vents and suit surfaces for analysis, but requires a specialized tool for the job. Engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently developed an Extravehicular Activity (EVA)-compatible swab tool that can be used to sample current space suits and life support systems. Data collected now will influence Mars life support and EVA hardware early in the planning process, before design changes become difficult and expensive.NASA’s EVA swab tool pairs a Space Shuttle-era tool handle with a commercially available swab tip mounted into a custom-designed end effector. A glove-compatible release mechanism allows the handle to quickly switch between swab tips, much like a shaving razor handle can snap onto a disposable blade cartridge. Swab tips are stowed inside individual sterile containers, each fitted with a microbial filter that allows the container to equalize atmospheric pressure, but prevents cabin contaminants from rushing into the container when passing from the EVA environment into a pressurized cabin. A bank of containers arrayed inside a tool caddy allows up to six individual samples to be collected during a given spacewalk.NASA plans to use the tool in 2016 to collect samples from various spacesuits during ground testing to determine what (if any) human-borne microbial contamination leaks from the suit under simulated thermal vacuum conditions. Next, the tool will be used on board the International Space Station to assess the types of microbial contaminants found on external environmental control and life support system vents. Data will support advanced EVA and life support system maturation studies, helping to answer questions such as “how close can an EVA-suited crew member approach an area of scientific interest without compromising the science?”

Extracorporeal life support: moving at the speed of light.

PubMed

Dalton, Heidi J

2011-09-01

Extracorporeal life support (ECLS), or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as it is also known, has been used to support over 45,000 patients to date. Overall survival is 62%. After many years of no change in equipment and technology, there has been a recent flurry of new pumps, cannulas, and oxygenators available for ECLS use. While the impact of this new technology is not yet completely defined, initial results have found that these systems provide safe support with lower priming volumes and less bleeding complications. New cannulas are also available, some making it easier for venovenous support in patients, from infants through adults. The reported success of ECLS in patients with H1N1 during the 2009-2010 epidemic and the improved survival of patients randomized to the ECMO arm of a recently completed adult study of respiratory failure have also brought ECLS into the spotlight much more than other years. Whether these developments will usher in a new era of ECLS expansion to a wider range of patients will require close consideration and observation. Other areas that need to be further refined include anticoagulation management, treatment of bleeding complications, learning to "nurse" patients in an awake state, such as is done in some European (and a few United States) centers, and neurodevelopmental outcome on a long-term basis. 2011 Daedalus Enterprises

"Replaying Life's Tape": Simulations, metaphors, and historicity in Stephen Jay Gould's view of life.

PubMed

Sepkoski, David

2016-08-01

In a famous thought experiment, Stephen Jay Gould asked whether, if one could somehow rewind the history of life back to its initial starting point, the same results would obtain when the "tape" was run forward again. This hypothetical experiment is generally understood as a metaphor supporting Gould's philosophy of evolutionary contingency, which he developed and promoted from the late 1980s until his death in 2002. However, there was a very literal, non-metaphorical inspiration for Gould's thought experiment: since the early 1970s, Gould, along with a group of other paleontologists, was actively engaged in attempts to model and reconstruct the history of life using computer simulations and database analysis. These simulation projects not only demonstrate the impact that computers had on data analysis in paleontology, but also shed light on the close relationship between models and empirical data in data-oriented science. In a sense, I will argue, the models developed by paleontologists through simulation and quantitative analysis of the empirical fossil record in the 1970s and beyond were literal attempts to "replay life's tape" by reconstructing the history of life as data. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Conceptual Design Support Tool Founded on Formalization of Conceptual Design Process for Regenerative Life Support Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyajima, Hiroyuki; Yuhara, Naohiro

Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS), which maintain human lives by recycling substances essential for living, are comprised of humans, plants, and material circulation systems. The plants supply food to the humans or reproduce water and gases by photosynthesis, while the material circulation systems recycle physicochemically and circulate substances disposed by humans and plants. RLSS attracts attention since manned space activities have been shifted from previous short trips to long-term stay activities as such base as a space station, a lunar base, and a Mars base. The present typical space base is the International Space Station (ISS), a manned experimental base for prolonged stays, where RLSS recycles only water and air. In order to accommodate prolonged and extended manned activity in future space bases, developing RLSS that implements food production and regeneration of resources at once using plants is expected. The configuration of RLSS should be designed to suit its own duty, for which design requirements for RLSS with an unprecedented configuration may arise. Accordingly, it is necessary to establish a conceptual design method for generalized RLSS. It is difficult, however, to systematize the design process by analyzing previous design because there are only a few ground-experimental facilities, namely CEEF (Closed Ecology Experiment Facilities) of Japan, BIO-Plex (Bioregenerative Planetary Life Support Systems Test Complex) of the U.S., and BIOS3 of Russia. Thus a conceptual design method which doesn’t rely on previous design examples is required for generalized RLSS from the above reasons. This study formalizes a conceptual design process, and develops a conceptual design support tool for RLSS based on this design process.

The conceptual design of a hybrid life support system based on the evaluation and comparison of terrestrial testbeds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czupalla, M.; Horneck, G.; Blome, H. J.

This report summarizes a trade study of different options of a bioregenerative Life Support System (LSS) and a subsequent conceptual design of a hybrid LSS. The evaluation was based mainly on the terrestrial testbed projects MELISSA (ESA) and BIOS (Russia). In addition, some methods suggested by the Advanced Life Support Project (NASA) were considered. Computer models, including mass flows were established for each of the systems with the goal of closing system loops to the extent possible. In order to cope with the differences in the supported crew size and provided nutrition, all systems were scaled for supporting a crew of six for a 780 day Mars mission (180 days transport to Mars; 600 days surface period) as given in the NASA Design Reference Mission Scenario [Hoffman, S.J., Kaplan, D.L. Human exploration of Mars: the Reference Mission of the NASA Mars Exploratory Study, 1997]. All models were scaled to provide the same daily allowances, as of calories, to the crew. Equivalent System Mass (ESM) analysis was used to compare the investigated system models against each other. Following the comparison of the terrestrial systems, the system specific subsystem options for Food Supply, Solid Waste Processing, Water Management and Atmosphere Revitalization were evaluated in a separate trade study. The best subsystem technologies from the trade study were integrated into an overall design solution based on mass flow relationships. The optimized LSS is mainly a bioregenerative system, complemented by a few physico-chemical elements, with a total ESM of 18,088 kg, which is about 4 times higher than that of a pure physico-chemical LSS, as designed in an earlier study.

The conceptual design of a hybrid life support system based on the evaluation and comparison of terrestrial testbeds.

PubMed

Czupalla, M; Horneck, G; Blome, H J

2005-01-01

This report summarizes a trade study of different options of a bioregenerative Life Support System (LSS) and a subsequent conceptual design of a hybrid LSS. The evaluation was based mainly on the terrestrial testbed projects MELISSA (ESA) and BIOS (Russia). In addition, some methods suggested by the Advanced Life Support Project (NASA) were considered. Computer models, including mass flows were established for each of the systems with the goal of closing system loops to the extent possible. In order to cope with the differences in the supported crew size and provided nutrition, all systems were scaled for supporting a crew of six for a 780 day Mars mission (180 days transport to Mars; 600 days surface period) as given in the NASA Design Reference Mission Scenario [Hoffman, S.J., Kaplan, D.L. Human exploration of Mars: the Reference Mission of the NASA Mars Exploratory Study, 1997]. All models were scaled to provide the same daily allowances, as of calories, to the crew. Equivalent System Mass (ESM) analysis was used to compare the investigated system models against each other. Following the comparison of the terrestrial systems, the system specific subsystem options for Food Supply, Solid Waste Processing, Water Management and Atmosphere Revitalization were evaluated in a separate trade study. The best subsystem technologies from the trade study were integrated into an overall design solution based on mass flow relationships. The optimized LSS is mainly a bioregenerative system, complemented by a few physico-chemical elements, with a total ESM of 18,088 kg, which is about 4 times higher than that of a pure physico-chemical LSS, as designed in an earlier study. c2005 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Receiving power through confirmation: the meaning of close relatives for people who have been critically ill.

PubMed

Engström, Asa; Söderberg, Siv

2007-09-01

This paper is a report of a study to elucidate the meaning of close relatives for people who have been critically ill and received care in an intensive care unit. Falling critically ill can bring about a difficult change in life. In previous reports such events are described as frightening experiences, and close relatives are described as an important source of support in this difficult situation. A purposive sample of 10 adults, eight men and two women, narrated how they experienced their close relatives during and after the time they were critically ill. The data were collected in 2004. The interview texts were transcribed and interpreted using a phenomenological hermeneutic approach influenced by the philosophy of Ricoeur. One major theme was identified, experiencing confirmation, with six sub-themes: receiving explanations; a feeling of being understood; a feeling of safety; gaining strength and will-power; having possibilities and realizing their value. Close relatives served as tools for the person who was ill, facilitating better communication and an increased ability to do various things. Simultaneously, feelings of dependence on the close relatives were expressed. There were descriptions of loneliness and fear in the absence of close relatives and, in order to feel safe, the participants wanted their close relatives to stay near them. Close relatives are vital, as they are the ill person's motivation to stay alive and to continue the struggle. Their presence is of great importance for the ill person and must be facilitated by staff.

[Non-medical therapy in heart failure: instrumental treatment and cardiac transplantation].

PubMed

Leprince, Pascal

2010-09-20

Circulatory support devices and cardiac transplantation are closely interlinked and are the treatment of severe heart failure refractory to medical therapy. In acute situation, ECMO allows stabilization of unstable hemodynamic situation related to cardiogenic shock. In patients who require longer term support, the use of continuous flow pumps is associated with better survival and better quality of life. Those pumps can be used either as a bridge to transplantation or as a bridge to recovery but also as destination therapy. Early implantation before occurrence of severe right heart failure allows preferential use of LVAD. Approximately 350 cardiac transplantations are performed every year in France. Indication in based on several criteria appreciating the severity of functional impairment. Contra-indications have to be discussed case by case, and chronologic age should not be a too rigid limit. High urgency list allows transplanting the sickest patients in priority. Conditional half-life in patients surviving the first year post transplantation is 12 years. Mechanical circulatory support and cardiac transplantation should be used as complementary treatment of severe heart failure in order to avoid progressive but sometime irreversible deterioration of patients with chronic heart failure.

Mothers may shape the variations in social organization among gorillas

PubMed Central

Gray, Maryke; Breuer, Thomas; Manguette, Marie; Stokes, Emma J.; Uwingeli, Prosper; Mburanumwe, Innocent; Kagoda, Edwin; Robbins, Martha M.

2016-01-01

When mothers continue to support their offspring beyond infancy, they can influence the fitness of those offspring, the strength of social relationships within their groups, and the life-history traits of their species. Using up to 30 years of demographic data from 58 groups of gorillas in two study sites, this study extends such findings by showing that mothers may also contribute to differences in social organization between closely related species. Female mountain gorillas remained with their sons for significantly longer than western gorillas, which may explain why male philopatry and multimale groups are more common among mountain gorillas. The presence of the putative father and other familiar males did not vary significantly between species, and we found only limited support for the socio-ecological theory that the distribution of adult males is influenced by the distribution of females. Within each gorilla species, variations in those distributions may also reflect the different stages in the typical life cycle of a group. Collectively, our results highlight the potentially far-reaching consequences of maternal support that extends beyond infancy, and they illustrate the opportunity to incorporate additional factors into phylogenetic analyses of variations in social organization, including studies of human evolution. PMID:27853570

Solid Waste Processing: An Essential Technology for the Early Phases of Mars Exploration and Colonization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wignarajah, Kanapathipillai; Pisharody, Suresh; Fisher, John; Flynn, Michael; Kliss, Mark (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

Terraforming of Mars is the long-term goal of colonization of Mars. However, this process is likely to be a very slow process and conservative estimates involving a synergic, technocentric approach estimate that it may take around 10,000 years before the planet can be parallel to that of Earth and where humans can live in open systems. Hence, any early missions will require the presence of a closed life support system where all wastes, both solids and liquids, will need to be recycled or where all consumables will need to be supplied. The economics of both are often a matter of speculation and conjecture, but some attempt is made here to evaluate the choice. If a choice is made to completely resupply and eject the waste mass, a number of unknown issues are at hand. On the other hand, processing of the wastes, will enable predictability and reliability of the ecosystem. Solid wastes though smaller in volume and mass than the liquid wastes contains more than 90% of the essential elements required by humans and plants. Further, if left unprocessed they present a serious risk to human health. This paper presents the use of well established technology in processing solid wastes, ensuring that the biogeochemical cycles of ecosystems are maintained, reliability of the closed life support system maintained and the establishment of the early processes necessary for the permanent presence of humans on Mars.

Inclusion of products of physicochemical oxidation of organic wastes in matter recycling of biological-technical life support systems.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tikhomirov, Alexander A.; Kudenko, Yurii; Trifonov, Sergei; Ushakova, Sofya

Inclusion of products of human and plant wastes' `wet' incineration in 22 medium using alter-nating current into matter recycling of biological-technical life support system (BTLSS) has been considered. Fluid and gaseous components have been shown to be the products of such processing. In particular, the final product contained all necessary for plant cultivation nitrogen forms: NO2, NO3, NH4+. As the base solution included urine than NH4+ form dominated. At human solid wastes' mineralization NO2 NH4+ were registered in approximately equal amount. Comparative analysis of mineral composition of oxidized human wastes' and standard Knop solutions has been carried out. On the grounds of that analysis the dilution methods of solutions prepared with addition of oxidized human wastes for their further use for plant irrigation have been suggested. Reasonable levels of wheat productivity cultivated at use of given solutions have been obtained. CO2, N2 and O2 have been determined to be the main gas components of the gas admixture emitted within the given process. These gases easily integrate in matter recycling process of closed ecosystem. The data of plants' cultivation feasibility in the atmosphere obtained after closing of gas loop including physicochemical facility and vegetation chamber with plants-representatives of LSS phototrophic unit has been received. Conclusion of advance research on creation of matter recycling process in the integrated physical-chemical-biological model system has been drawn.

Closing a School: The Life and Death of Innovate Manhattan Charter School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Penberg, David

2016-01-01

Most articles about schools and what goes on inside of them address issues of currency--instructional core, evaluation, standards, teacher development, leadership, or opening a new school--but what about the closing of one? This, too, is part of the life span and reality of many schools. Are there best practices for closing schools? In this…

[Quality of life of older women with dependency and abuse experience].

PubMed

Lang, G; Enzenhofer, E

2013-01-01

Quality of life is largely determined by changing biographical contexts of a person's behavioural action. In later age, health and social relationships are major determinants for a "good life". A decline in health status may lead to the need for support which may result in further dependency; thus, social relations play an even more important role for older people. Relationships characterised by strain and tension may increase the risk of exposure to force and violence. This article investigates the influence of dependency and abuse on the subjective quality of life of older people. The dataset was drawn from an Austrian survey of 593 home-dwelling older women aged 60 and over (71.0 ± 8.1 years). Quality of life was assessed by the EUROHIS-QOL Scale, dependency by the degree of need for support with respect to activities of daily living and by the levels of care allowance received by this cohort. Following the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS), six different types of abuse have been operationalised by 34 indicators. The data were analysed by descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. With increasing dependency the subjective quality of life of older women decreases. At the same time it is reduced by the experience of abuse in the close social environment. Neglect, psychological abuse and the violation of personal liberties and rights can be identified as factors which have a negative impact on quality of life. It is also noted that neglect can be found particularly among women with a greater need for support and a higher level of care allowance, which is a particularly problematic situation. Dependency and abuse are major risk factors for low quality of life in old age. The results stress the importance of raising general awareness on violence and highlight the social taboos around the issue of abuse against older people, especially in the case of increasing dependency. In addition, the results point to an increasing demand for specific measures of health promotion and prevention activities addressing vulnerable older people.

The relationships between atopy, rhinitis and asthma: pathophysiological considerations.

PubMed

Boulay, Marie-Eve; Boulet, Louis-Philippe

2003-02-01

A close relationship has been described between atopy, allergic rhinitis and asthma. The purpose of this work was to review recent data that have become available on the interactions between these conditions and the ways in which they influence one another. Recent findings support previous observations suggesting that atopic dermatitis and rhinitis often accompany or precede the development of asthma. Further data support the notion that early-life exposure to domestic animals, a farming environment, passive smoking, and being raised in a large family, may be protective against the development of atopy and/or allergic diseases, although this seems modulated by genetic factors. Furthermore, the appearance of house-dust-mite-specific immunoglobulin E antibodies in early childhood has been identified as a major risk factor for the development of asthma in children with atopic dermatitis; and the association between sensitization to specific allergens and airway hyperresponsiveness was reported to be the strongest for indoor allergens such as house-dust-mite and cat. Allergen exposure can increase airway responsiveness in non-asthmatic subjects with allergic rhinitis and is associated with an increase in markers of lower airway inflammation, particularly with indoor allergens. Furthermore, nasal allergen provocation can induce bronchial inflammation and vice versa, suggesting close interrelations between upper and lower airways. In summary, the recent observations on the relationships between atopy, rhinitis and asthma support the hypothesis of a unique systemic condition with variable manifestations, which may develop following an imbalance between T helper cell types 1 and 2 lymphocyte populations. The latter may be influenced by environmental exposure in early life. Upper- and lower-airway inflammatory events influence each other, supporting the concept of 'united airways'. Further studies should look at the relationships between these conditions to identify individuals at high-risk of developing them and develop strategies to possibly prevent their onset.

Biological factors of natural and artificial ecosystems stable (unstable) functioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pechurkin, Nikolai S.

The problem of sustainable development of humanity on Earth and the problem of supporting human life in space have the same scientific and methodological bases. The key to solve both problems is a long term maintenance of balanced material cycle. As a whole, natural or artificial ecosystems are to be more closed than open, but their elements (links of systems) are to be substantially open in interactions with each other. Prolonged stable interactions of different links have to have unique joint results - closed material cycling or biotic turnover. It is necessary to include, at least, three types of main links into any system to support real material cycling: producers, consumers, reducers. Producer links are now under studies in many laboratories. It is evident that the higher productivity of link, the lower link stability. Especially, it concerns with parasite impact to plants. As usual, artificial ecosystems are more simple (incomplete) than natural ecosystems, sometimes, they have not enough links for prolonged stable functioning. For example, life support system for space flight can be incomplete in consumer link, having only some crew persons, instead of interacting populations of consumers. As for reducer link, it is necessary to "organize" a special coordinated work of microbial biocenoses to fulfill proper cycling. Possible evolution of links, their self development is a matter of special attention for the maintenance of prolonged stable functioning. It's the most danger for systems with populations of quickly reproducing, so-called, R - strategists, according to symbols of logistic equation. From another side, quick reproduction of R - strategists is able to increase artificial ecosystems and their links functioning. After some damages of system, R - strategist's link can be quickly "self repaired" up to level of normal functioning. Some experimental data of this kind and mathematical models are to be discussed in the paper. This work is supported by grant, Yenissey, 07-04-96806

Water cycle and its management for plant habitats at reduced pressures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rygalov, Vadim Y.; Fowler, Philip A.; Wheeler, Raymond M.; Bucklin, Ray A.

2004-01-01

Experimental and mathematical models were developed for describing and testing temperature and humidity parameters for plant production in bioregenerative life support systems. A factor was included for analyzing systems operating at low (10-101.3 kPa) pressure to reduce gas leakage and structural mass (e.g., inflatable greenhouses for space application). The expected close relationship between temperature and relative humidity was observed, along with the importance of heat exchanger coil temperature and air circulation rate. The presence of plants in closed habitats results in increased water flux through the system. Changes in pressure affect gas diffusion rates and surface boundary layers, and change convective transfer capabilities and water evaporation rates. A consistent observation from studies with plants at reduced pressures is increased evapotranspiration rates, even at constant vapor pressure deficits. This suggests that plant water status is a critical factor for managing low-pressure production systems. The approach suggested should help space mission planners design artificial environments in closed habitats.

Water cycle and its management for plant habitats at reduced pressures.

PubMed

Rygalov, Vadim Y; Fowler, Philip A; Wheeler, Raymond M; Bucklin, Ray A

2004-01-01

Experimental and mathematical models were developed for describing and testing temperature and humidity parameters for plant production in bioregenerative life support systems. A factor was included for analyzing systems operating at low (10-101.3 kPa) pressure to reduce gas leakage and structural mass (e.g., inflatable greenhouses for space application). The expected close relationship between temperature and relative humidity was observed, along with the importance of heat exchanger coil temperature and air circulation rate. The presence of plants in closed habitats results in increased water flux through the system. Changes in pressure affect gas diffusion rates and surface boundary layers, and change convective transfer capabilities and water evaporation rates. A consistent observation from studies with plants at reduced pressures is increased evapotranspiration rates, even at constant vapor pressure deficits. This suggests that plant water status is a critical factor for managing low-pressure production systems. The approach suggested should help space mission planners design artificial environments in closed habitats.

Flexural fatigue life prediction of closed hat-section using materially nonlinear axial fatigue characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Razzaq, Zia

1989-01-01

Straight or curved hat-section members are often used as structural stiffeners in aircraft. For instance, they are employed as stiffeners for the dorsal skin as well as in the aerial refueling adjacent area structure in F-106 aircraft. The flanges of the hat-section are connected to the aircraft skin. Thus, the portion of the skin closing the hat-section interacts with the section itself when resisting the stresses due to service loads. The flexural fatigue life of such a closed section is estimated using materially nonlinear axial fatigue characteristics. It should be recognized that when a structural shape is subjected to bending, the fatigue life at the neutral axis is infinity since the normal stresses are zero at that location. Conversely, the fatigue life at the extreme fibers where the normal bending stresses are maximum can be expected to be finite. Thus, different fatigue life estimates can be visualized at various distances from the neural axis. The problem becomes compounded further when significant portions away from the neutral axis are stressed into plastic range. A theoretical analysis of the closed hat-section subjected to flexural cyclic loading is first conducted. The axial fatigue characteristics together with the related axial fatigue life formula and its inverted form given by Manson and Muralidharan are adopted for an aluminum alloy used in aircraft construction. A closed-form expression for predicting the flexural fatigue life is then derived for the closed hat-section including materially nonlinear action. A computer program is written to conduct a study of the variables such as the thicknesses of the hat-section and the skin, and the type of alloy used. The study has provided a fundamental understanding of the flexural fatigue life characteristics of a practical structural component used in aircraft when materially nonlinear action is present.

Living Slow and Being Moral : Life History Predicts the Dual Process of Other-Centered Reasoning and Judgments.

PubMed

Zhu, Nan; Hawk, Skyler T; Chang, Lei

2018-06-01

Drawing from the dual process model of morality and life history theory, the present research examined the role of cognitive and emotional processes as bridges between basic environmental challenges (i.e., unpredictability and competition) and other-centered moral orientation (i.e., prioritizing the welfare of others). In two survey studies, cognitive and emotional processes represented by future-oriented planning and emotional attachment, respectively (Study 1, N = 405), or by perspective taking and empathic concern, respectively (Study 2, N = 424), positively predicted other-centeredness in prosocial moral reasoning (Study 1) and moral judgment dilemmas based on rationality or intuition (Study 2). Cognitive processes were more closely related to rational aspects of other-centeredness, whereas the emotional processes were more closely related to the intuitive aspects of other-centeredness (Study 2). Finally, the cognitive and emotional processes also mediated negative effects of unpredictability (i.e., negative life events and childhood financial insecurity), as well as positive effects of individual-level, contest competition (i.e., educational and occupational competition) on other-centeredness. Overall, these findings support the view that cognitive and emotional processes do not necessarily contradict each other. Rather, they might work in concert to promote other-centeredness in various circumstances and might be attributed to humans' developmental flexibility in the face of environmental challenges.

Special aspects of social support: Qualitative analysis of oncologic rehabilitation through a belly dancing peer support group.

PubMed

Szalai, M; Szirmai, A; Füge, K; Makai, A; Erdélyi, G; Prémusz, V; Bódis, J

2017-11-01

Tumour-related peer support groups (PSGs) show long-term development in quality of life and coping, and decrease distress in cancer care. To clarify channels of social support in oncologic rehabilitation by combined exercise and psychosocial therapy, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted after 1 year additional belly dance rehabilitation in a closed PSG among 51 patients with malignant tumour diagnosis in Budapest, Hungary. Interview data were transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis (ATLAS.ti 6 Win). Results suggest that group experience provides emotional-, practical- and informational support. We could point out specific social effects of "role model" function and extend the coping model. The group dispose all the features of effective suggestion and may be effectively applied as additional therapy for patients with malignancies. The extended coping model and the introduction of "role model" function could be useful for PSGs' efficacy assessment. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The lived experience of family caregivers who provided end-of-life care to persons with advanced dementia.

PubMed

Peacock, Shelley; Duggleby, Wendy; Koop, Priscilla

2014-04-01

Dementia is a terminal illness, and family caregivers play a vital role in providing end-of-life care to their relative. The present study begins to address the paucity of research regarding end-of-life caregiving experience with dementia. This study utilized Munhall's methodology for interpretive phenomenology. Seven women and four men were interviewed two to three times within a year of their relative's death; interviews were transcribed verbatim and hermeneutically analyzed. Findings reveal two essential aspects of end-of-life dementia caregiving: being-with and being-there. Further findings are organized according to the existential life worlds. Examination of the life worlds demonstrates that 1) spatiality provided a sense or lack of feeling welcome to provide end-of-life care; 2) temporality was an eternity or time melting away quickly, or the right or wrong time to die; 3) corporeality revealed feelings of exhaustion; and 4) relationality was felt as a closeness to others or in tension-filled relationships. An understanding from bereaved caregivers' perspectives will help healthcare practitioners better support and empathize with family caregivers. Further research is warranted that focuses on other places of death and differences in experience based on gender or relationship to the care receiver.

[Relationships between suicide attitudes and perception of life purpose and meaning of life in college students].

PubMed

Xie, Xingli; Zou, Bing; Huang, Zhongyan

2012-10-01

To investigate the suicide attitudes of college students and analyze the impact of the perception of life purpose and meaning of life on their suicide attitudes using structural equation modeling. A total of 1050 college students were tested by Suicide Attitude Questionnaire (QSA), Purpose in Life test (PIL) and Chinese version of Meaning of Life questionnaire (C-MLQ). A theoretical model was established for confirming the influence of the purpose in life and meaning in life on suicide attitudes of the college students. The college students had generally a negative attitude towards suicide. The female students tended to show more objective attitudes towards suicide and the students from rural areas had a stronger attitude against euthanasia.The meanings and purposes in life were closely correlated with the attitudes towards suicide, and the structural equation modeling well fitted the data (Χ(2)/df=1.924, GFI=0.936, AGFI=0.915, NFI=0.937, CFI=0.940, and RMSEA=0.045). The perception of meaning and purposes in life had a direct predictive value on the suicide attitude of the college students, and the presumptions derived from the theoretical model were strongly supported by structural equation modeling. The perceptions in meanings in life and purposes in livelihood have important influence on the suicide attitudes of college students, and intervention with effective life education should be administered to guide the suicide attitude of the college students.

Four aspects of self-image close to death at home.

PubMed

Carlander, Ida; Ternestedt, Britt-Marie; Sahlberg-Blom, Eva; Hellström, Ingrid; Sandberg, Jonas

2011-04-21

Living close to death means an inevitable confrontation with one's own existential limitation. In this article, we argue that everyday life close to death embodies an identity work in progress. We used a narrative approach and a holistic-content reading to analyze 12 interviews conducted with three persons close to death. By illuminating the unique stories and identifying patterns among the participants' narratives, we found four themes exemplifying important aspects of the identity work related to everyday life close to death. Two of the themes, named "Inside and outside of me" and "Searching for togetherness," represented the core of the self-image and were framed by the other themes, "My place in space" and "My death and my time." Our findings elucidate the way the individual stories moved between the past, the present, and the future. This study challenges the idea that everyday life close to impending death primarily means limitations. The findings show that the search for meaning, new knowledge, and community can form a part of a conscious and ongoing identity work close to death.

Four aspects of self-image close to death at home

PubMed Central

Carlander, Ida; Ternestedt, Britt-Marie; Sahlberg-Blom, Eva; Hellström, Ingrid; Sandberg, Jonas

2011-01-01

Living close to death means an inevitable confrontation with one's own existential limitation. In this article, we argue that everyday life close to death embodies an identity work in progress. We used a narrative approach and a holistic-content reading to analyze 12 interviews conducted with three persons close to death. By illuminating the unique stories and identifying patterns among the participants’ narratives, we found four themes exemplifying important aspects of the identity work related to everyday life close to death. Two of the themes, named “Inside and outside of me” and “Searching for togetherness,” represented the core of the self-image and were framed by the other themes, “My place in space” and “My death and my time.” Our findings elucidate the way the individual stories moved between the past, the present, and the future. This study challenges the idea that everyday life close to impending death primarily means limitations. The findings show that the search for meaning, new knowledge, and community can form a part of a conscious and ongoing identity work close to death. PMID:21526139

Microbiological Tests Performed During the Design of the International Space Station Environmental Control and Life Support Systems. Part 1, Bulk Phase. Part 1; Bulk Phase

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roman, Monsi C.; Mittelman, Marc W.

2010-01-01

The design and manufacturing of the main Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) for the United States segments of the International Space Station (ISS) was an involved process that started in the mid 1980s, with the assessment and testing of competing technologies that could be used to clean the air and recycle water. It culminated in 2009 with the delivery and successful activation of the Water Recovery System (WRS) water processor (WP). The ECLSS required the work of a team of engineers and scientist working together to develop systems that could clean and/or recycle human metabolic loads to maintain a clean atmosphere and provide the crew clean water. One of the main goals of the ECLSS is to minimize the time spent by the crew worrying about vital resources not available in the vacuum of space, which allows them to spend most of their time learning to live in a microgravity environment many miles from the comforts of Earth and working on science experiments. Microorganisms are a significant part of the human body as well as part of the environment that we live in. Therefore, the ISS ECLSS design had to take into account the effect microorganisms have on the quality of stored water and wastewater, as well as that of the air systems. Hardware performance issues impacted by the accumulation of biofilm and/or microbiologically influenced corrosion were also studied during the ECLSS development stages. Many of the tests that were performed had to take into account the unique aspects of a microgravity environment as well as the challenge of understanding how to design systems that could not be sterilized or maintained in a sterile state. This paper will summarize the work of several studies that were performed to assess the impacts and/or to minimize the effects of microorganisms in open, semi-closed and closed loop life support system. The biofilm and biodeterioration studies that were performed during the design and test periods will be presented in a future publication.

Creation of closed life support systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gitelson, I.

The 40-year-long experience in devising ecological systems with a significantly closed material cycling (CES), which are intended for human life support outside the Earth's biosphere, allows us to state that this problem has been largely solved technically. To test the terrestrial prototypes of these systems: Bios in Krasnoyarsk, the Terrestrial Ecological System (TES) in Moscow, and Bioplex in Houston, crews of humans stayed inside them over long periods of time. In Bios-3 humans could be fully (100%) provided with regenerated air and water and with a vegetable part (80%) of their diet. One human requires 4.5 kW of light energy, which is equal to the light energy incident on an 8-m2 surface perpendicular to solar rays in the Earth's orbit. The regeneration of air and water can be alternatively performed by a 17-L2 microalgal cultivator with a light-receiving surface of 8 m at 2 kW of light energy or by a conveyer culture of agricultural plants. To regenerate the vegetable part of2 the diet to the full, the area must increase to 31.5 m per person. Similar values have been obtained in the TES and in Bioplex. It can be concluded that the system is ready to be implemented in the engineering-technical designs of specific versions: for orbital flights, for missions to Mars and other planets, and for stations on the Moon and Mars. To improve the CES further, a number of new key problems should be resolved. The first of them are: to robotize the technological processes and to establish an optimized system of the internal control of the CES by the crew working in it; to develop a hybrid physicochemical-biological technology for returning the dead-end products of biosynthesis into the system's cycling; to solve the fundamental problem of regenerating the human ration completely inside the CES by the autotrophic chemo - and photosynthesis. Once this problem is solved, the energy requirements for life support in space will be significantly reduced. This will also considerably contribute to the solution of the most pressing terrestrial problem - energy efficient production of food.

The Importance of Engine External's Health

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoner, Barry L.

2006-01-01

Engine external components include all the fluid carrying, electron carrying, and support devices that are needed to operate the propulsion system. These components are varied and include: pumps, valves, actuators, solenoids, sensors, switches, heat exchangers, electrical generators, electrical harnesses, tubes, ducts, clamps and brackets. The failure of any component to perform its intended function will result in a maintenance action, a dispatch delay, or an engine in flight shutdown. The life of each component, in addition to its basic functional design, is closely tied to its thermal and dynamic environment .Therefore, to reach a mature design life, the component's thermal and dynamic environment must be understood and controlled, which can only be accomplished by attention to design analysis and testing. The purpose of this paper is to review analysis and test techniques toward achieving good component health.

Social support and medication adherence in HIV disease in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

PubMed

Ncama, Busisiwe P; McInerney, Patricia A; Bhengu, Busisiwe R; Corless, Inge B; Wantland, Dean J; Nicholas, Patrice K; McGibbon, Chris A; Davis, Sheila M

2008-12-01

A supportive social environment is critical for those with HIV/AIDS. In KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa, antiretroviral therapy is available to some HIV-positive individuals. Antiretroviral adherence is an important issue for limiting HIV infection. Adherence to therapy may be linked to social support, particularly amidst the stigma prevalent in HIV. The purpose of this study was to examine characteristics related to social support and antiretroviral medication adherence. This cross-sectional, descriptive study explored the nature of the relationships among social support and other selected variables, including sociodemographic variables, quality of life, and adherence. After ethical review board approval, the sample of HIV-infected individuals who received care in outpatient clinics were recruited and completed the self-report instruments. The sample included English and/or isiZulu-speaking (n=149) individuals over the age of 18 years receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS. A total of 149 patients with a diagnosis of HIV/AIDS agreed to participate and completed questionnaires after completing informed consent procedures. The study participants were recruited at four outpatient settings in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. A descriptive, exploratory, cross-sectional design was utilized to explore the research questions: What are the characteristics of social support and the relationship to antiretroviral adherence in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa? Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were used to answer the research questions. Data analyses indicated that social support scores on the Medical Outcomes Study Social Support Survey were moderate (M=64.4; S.D.=14.7) among the study participants. The number of close friends and family were significantly correlated with a greater sense of social support. Despite this, the lowest scores on the quality-of-life measure using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 item survey were reported on the Social Functioning Scale. In summary, the study findings suggest that a supportive social network is essential for those living with HIV/AIDS. However, social functioning and quality of life amidst the stigma of living with HIV in South Africa may be a concern and require further investigation.

Automated Diagnosis Of Conditions In A Plant-Growth Chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clinger, Barry R.; Damiano, Alfred L.

1995-01-01

Biomass Production Chamber Operations Assistant software and hardware constitute expert system that diagnoses mechanical failures in controlled-environment hydroponic plant-growth chamber and recommends corrective actions to be taken by technicians. Subjects of continuing research directed toward development of highly automated closed life-support systems aboard spacecraft to process animal (including human) and plant wastes into food and oxygen. Uses Microsoft Windows interface to give technicians intuitive, efficient access to critical data. In diagnostic mode, system prompts technician for information. When expert system has enough information, it generates recovery plan.

Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) System Engineering Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, Laurie J.

2009-01-01

This slide presentation begins with a recap on a previous lecture on the ECLSS subsystems, and the various types (i.e., Non-regenerative vs Regenerative, open loop vs closed loop, and physical-chemical vs bioregenerative) It also recaps the Equivalent system mass (ESM) metric. The presentation continues with a review of the ECLSS of the various NASA manned space exploration programs from Mercury, to the current planned Altair lunar landing, and Lunar base operations. There is also a team project to establish the ESM of two conceptualized missions.

Facility for generating crew waste water product for ECLSS testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Buitekant, Alan; Roberts, Barry C.

1990-01-01

An End-use Equipment Facility (EEF) has been constructed which is used to simulate water interfaces between the Space Station Freedom Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) and man systems. The EEF is used to generate waste water to be treated by ECLSS water recovery systems. The EEF will also be used to close the water recovery loop by allowing test subjects to use recovered hygiene and potable water during several phases of testing. This paper describes the design and basic operation of the EEF.

Trade Spaces in Crewed Spacecraft Atmosphere Revitalization System Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Perry, Jay L.; Bagdigian, Robert M.; Carrasquillo, Robyn L.

2010-01-01

Developing the technological response to realizing an efficient atmosphere revitalization system for future crewed spacecraft and space habitats requires identifying and describing functional trade spaces. Mission concepts and requirements dictate the necessary functions; however, the combination and sequence of those functions possess significant flexibility. Us-ing a closed loop environmental control and life support (ECLS) system architecture as a starting basis, a functional unit operations approach is developed to identify trade spaces. Generalized technological responses to each trade space are discussed. Key performance parameters that apply to functional areas are described.

Biodeterioration of materials in water reclamation systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ford, Tim; Maki, James S.; Mitchell, Ralph

1992-01-01

The chemicals produced by the microbial processes involved in the 'biofilms' which form on the surfaces of manned spacecraft water reclamation systems encompass both metals and organic poisons; both are potential hazards to astronaut health and the growth of the plants envisioned for closed-cycle life support systems. Image analysis is here shown to be a very useful technique for the study of biofilm formation on candidate water-processor materials for Space Station Freedom. The biodeterioration of materials exposed to biofilms can be swiftly evaluated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

Studies on maximum yield of wheat for the controlled environments of space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bugbee, B. G.; Salisbury, F. B.

1986-01-01

The economic feasibility of using food-producing crop plants in a closed ecological Life-Support System (CELSS) will ultimately depend on the energy and area (or volume) required to provide the nutritional requirements for each person. Energy and area requirements are, to some extent, inversely related; that is, an increased energy input results in a decreased area requirement and vice versa. A major goal of the research effort was to determine the controlled-environment good-production efficiency of wheat per unit area, per unit time, and per unit energy input.

Automated biowaste sampling system feces monitoring system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunt, S. R.; Glanfield, E. J.

1979-01-01

The Feces Monitoring System (FMS) Program designed, fabricated, assembled and tested an engineering model waste collector system (WCS) to be used in support of life science and medical experiments related to Shuttle missions. The FMS design was patterned closely after the Shuttle WCS, including: interface provisions; mounting; configuration; and operating procedures. These similarities make it possible to eventually substitute an FMS for the Shuttle WCS of Orbiter. In addition, several advanced waste collection features, including the capability of real-time inertial fecal separation and fecal mass measurement and sampling were incorporated into the FMS design.

Condensate Recycling in Closed Plant Growth Chambers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bledsoe, J. O.; Sager, J. C.; Fortson, R. E.

1994-01-01

Water used in the the Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Breadboard Project at the Kennedy Space Center is being recycled. Condensation is collected in the air ducts, filtered and deionized, and resupplied to the system for nutrient solutions, supplemental humidification, solvents and diluents. While the system functions well from a process control standpoint, precise and accurate tracking of water movement through the system to answer plant physiological questions is not consistent. Possible causes include hardware errors, undetected vapor loss from chamber leakage, and unmeasured changes in water volume in the plant growth trays.

The Role of Plants in Space Exploration: Some History and Background

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Raymond M.

2016-01-01

For over 3 decades, NASA has sponsored research on crops for human life support in space. Specialized watering techniques have even been tested for weightless settings, but most studies used conventional watering, such as hydroponics, which should work well on surface settings of the Moon or Mars. NASAs testing has spanned a wide range of crops and studied innovative techniques to increase yields, reduce power, minimize growing volume, and recycle water and nutrients. These issues closely parallel challenges faced in terrestrial controlled environment agriculture, which is expanding around the world.

The air transportation industry birthplace of reliability-centered maintenance

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Matteson, T.D.

1996-08-01

The 1980s and 1970s provided a timely opportunity for examining and radically changing the process called {open_quotes}preventive maintenance{close_quotes} as it is applied to the aircraft used for scheduled air transportation. The Federal Aviation Administration and four major airlines, United, American, Pan American and Trans World, were the {open_quotes}principals{close_quotes} in that process. While United`s work with the FAA on the Boeing 737 had opened the door a crack, the Boeing 747 presented a major opportunity to radically improve the process for maintenance program design. That program was guided by the results of United`s analyses of failure data from operations of severalmore » fleets, each larger than 100 aircraft, and the concurrent experience of American, Pan American and Trans World. That knowledge provided the insights necessary to support an entirely different approach to maintenance program design. As a result, while United`s existing maintenance program required scheduled overhaul of 339 items on each DC-8, it required overhaul of only 8 items on the B-7471 Although the initial thrust of that work focused on components of active systems, there was concurrent work focused on items whose principal function was to carry the loads associated with operations. That program focused on the classification of structurally-significant items and their classification as {open_quotes}safe life{close_quotes} or {open_quotes}damage tolerant{close_quote} to determine what periodic replacements or repeated inspections were required. That work came to the attention of the Department of Defense which supported preparation of the book-length report by F. Stanley Nowlan and Howard F. Heap at United Airlines entitled {open_quote}Reliability-Centered maintenance{close_quotes}.« less

Environmental Control and Life Support System, Water Recovery System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2000-01-01

The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Group of the Flight Projects Directorate at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is responsible for designing and building the life support systems that will provide the crew of the International Space Station (ISS) a comfortable environment in which to live and work. This is a close-up view of ECLSS Water Recovery System (WRS) racks. The MSFC's ECLSS Group overseas much of the development of the hardware that will allow a constant supply of clean water for four to six crewmembers aboard the ISS. The WRS provides clean water through the reclamation of wastewaters, including water obtained from the Space Shuttle's fuel cells, crewmember urine, used shower, handwash and oral hygiene water cabin humidity condensate, and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) wastes. The WRS is comprised of a Urine Processor Assembly (UPA), and a Water Processor Assembly (WPA). The UPA accepts and processes pretreated crewmember urine to allow it to be processed along with other wastewaters in the WPA, which removes free gas, organic, and nonorganic constituents before the water goes through a series of multifiltration beds for further purification. Product water quality is monitored primarily through conductivity measurements. Unacceptable water is sent back through the WPA for reprocessing. Clean water is sent to a storage tank. The water must meet stringent purity standards before consumption by the crew. The UPA provided by the MSFC and the WRA is provided by the prime contractor, Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems, International (HSSSI) from Cornecticut.

Silkworm feeding as the source of the animal protein for human

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yunan, Y.; Tang, L.; Liu, H.

Controlled Ecological Life-Support System CELSS which is also called Bioregenerative Life Support System has been considered now as the most advanced and complicated Closed Ecological System in the world Based on the construction principle of the CELSS the resources could be permanently regenerated so the flexibility and security for long-term spaceflight and lunar-base missions could be improved The cost could be also decreased CELSS is more appropriated for long-term manned spaceflight and applied for the possibility of long-term space missions or planetary probe in the lower cost The increasing closure and reliability is considered as the development and integrality direction of Life-Support System LSS The LSS closure and configuration is mainly depended on the human space diet composition Vast researches have been carried on this aspect but these researches mainly concentrate on the space vegetable protein exploitation The animal protein supply is still a problem the solution should be found and the LSS constitution analysis also deserves being explored Many animals have been taken into account to provide the animal proteins nowadays world-wide animals selection mainly focus on the poultry for instance sheep chicken fish etc But the poultry feeding exist many problems such as the long growth periods low efficiency complex feeding procedures and capacious feeding space and these animals also cause the water and air pollution The complete food composition is often depended on the features of the nation diet habit Chinese have

A Discussion of Oxygen Recovery Definitions and Key Performance Parameters for Closed-Loop Atmosphere Revitalization Life Support Technology Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Abney, Morgan B.; Perry, Jay L.

2016-01-01

Over the last 55 years, NASA has evolved life support for crewed space exploration vehicles from simple resupply during Project Mercury to the complex and highly integrated system of systems aboard the International Space Station. As NASA targets exploration destinations farther from low Earth orbit and mission durations of 500 to 1000 days, life support systems must evolve to meet new requirements. In addition to having more robust, reliable, and maintainable hardware, limiting resupply becomes critical for managing mission logistics and cost. Supplying a crew with the basics of food, water, and oxygen become more challenging as the destination ventures further from Earth. Aboard ISS the Atmosphere Revitalization Subsystem (ARS) supplies the crew's oxygen demand by electrolyzing water. This approach makes water a primary logistics commodity that must be managed carefully. Chemical reduction of metabolic carbon dioxide (CO2) provides a method of recycling oxygen thereby reducing the net ARS water demand and therefore minimizing logistics needs. Multiple methods have been proposed to achieve this recovery and have been reported in the literature. However, depending on the architecture and the technology approach, "oxygen recovery" can be defined in various ways. This discontinuity makes it difficult to compare technologies directly. In an effort to clarify community discussions of Oxygen Recovery, we propose specific definitions and describe the methodology used to arrive at those definitions. Additionally, we discuss key performance parameters for Oxygen Recovery technology development including challenges with comparisons to state-of-the-art.

The Tulip GT® airway versus the facemask and Guedel airway: a randomised, controlled, cross-over study by Basic Life Support-trained airway providers in anaesthetised patients.

PubMed

Shaikh, A; Robinson, P N; Hasan, M

2016-03-01

We performed a randomised, controlled, cross-over study of lung ventilation by Basic Life Support-trained providers using either the Tulip GT® airway or a facemask with a Guedel airway in 60 anaesthetised patients. Successful ventilation was achieved if the provider produced an end-tidal CO2 > 3.5 kPa and a tidal volume > 250 ml in two of the first three breaths, within 60 sec and within two attempts. Fifty-seven (95%) providers achieved successful ventilation using the Tulip GT compared with 35 (58%) using the facemask (p < 0.0001). Comparing the Tulip GT and facemask, the mean (SD) end-tidal CO2 was 5.0 (0.7) kPa vs 2.5 (1.5) kPa, tidal volume was 494 (175) ml vs 286 (186) ml and peak inspiratory pressure was 18.3 (3.4) cmH2 O vs 13.6 (7) cmH2 O respectively (all p < 0.0001). Forty-seven (78%) users favoured the Tulip GT airway. These results are similar to a previous manikin study using the same protocol, suggesting a close correlation between human and manikin studies for this airway device. We conclude that the Tulip GT should be considered as an adjunct to airway management both within and outside hospitals when ventilation is being undertaken by Basic Life Support-trained airway providers. © 2015 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

Growing up with perinatal human immunodeficiency virus-A life not expected.

PubMed

Williams, Elaine Fay; Ferrer, Kathleen; Lee, Marlene A; Bright, Kimberly; Williams, Keetra; Rakhmanina, Natella Y

2017-12-01

To describe the lived experience of young adults with perinatally acquired HIV (PaHIV). With the advancement of the highly active antiretroviral treatment, PaHIV infection has transformed into a chronic lifelong illness that is faced by young adults who grew up with HIV. The known challenges that are associated with HIV are poverty, stigma and social and emotional isolation. This was a qualitative single-interview study of a convenience sample of PaHIV-infected young adults receiving care at a large metropolitan pediatric hospital. The participants had individual face-to-face interviews which were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Themes were developed to describe their living space, and Max Van Manen's lifeworld guide was used to describe their lived experience. Seventeen participants (eight males/nine females) were enrolled. Four major themes emerged: (i) limited social capital, especially when orphaned participants reflected on a life void of parental guidance; (ii) incomplete education and unemployment, participants described an idle existence; (iii) a harsh life, described as participants facing difficulties meeting their life's milestones; (iv) unanticipated adult issues, where participants described their limited ability to care for themselves and their children. Van Manen lifeworld themes also described the space they occupied, their memories growing up with PaHIV, their health care and relationships. Our study provides a valuable insight into the social and emotional difficulties faced by youth with PaHIV. The findings underscore the importance of extensive support and coordination of services between adult and pediatric providers to optimize long-term outcomes among young adults with PaHIV. The young adults with PaHIV require close attention and support from the healthcare providers, who can offer them a safe space to discuss lived experiences and support their ability to achieve full lives. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Enriching step-based product information models to support product life-cycle activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarigecili, Mehmet Ilteris

The representation and management of product information in its life-cycle requires standardized data exchange protocols. Standard for Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) is such a standard that has been used widely by the industries. Even though STEP-based product models are well defined and syntactically correct, populating product data according to these models is not easy because they are too big and disorganized. Data exchange specifications (DEXs) and templates provide re-organized information models required in data exchange of specific activities for various businesses. DEXs show us it would be possible to organize STEP-based product models in order to support different engineering activities at various stages of product life-cycle. In this study, STEP-based models are enriched and organized to support two engineering activities: materials information declaration and tolerance analysis. Due to new environmental regulations, the substance and materials information in products have to be screened closely by manufacturing industries. This requires a fast, unambiguous and complete product information exchange between the members of a supply chain. Tolerance analysis activity, on the other hand, is used to verify the functional requirements of an assembly considering the worst case (i.e., maximum and minimum) conditions for the part/assembly dimensions. Another issue with STEP-based product models is that the semantics of product data are represented implicitly. Hence, it is difficult to interpret the semantics of data for different product life-cycle phases for various application domains. OntoSTEP, developed at NIST, provides semantically enriched product models in OWL. In this thesis, we would like to present how to interpret the GD & T specifications in STEP for tolerance analysis by utilizing OntoSTEP.

Experimental biological life support system. I. Continuous cultivation of algae as a link of a closed ecosystem.

PubMed

Kirensky, L V; Terskov, I A; Gitelson, I I; Lisovsky, G M; Kovrov, B G; Okladnikov, Y N

1968-01-01

According to the opinion of many researchers, a culture of microalgae may serve as a regenerator of atmosphere in the cabin of a spaceship. To use microalgae for these objectives, it was necessary to have an automatic unit possessing a high productivity of the cultivation process. This unit, containing a minimum of equipment, enables carrying on for an unlimited time the cultivation of algae without a drop in their productivity. The unit meeting these requirements (the cultivator) was developed by the authors and will be described in the presentation. The stability of the microalga photosynthetic system is characterized by the fact that after 70% biosynthesis repression by the ultraviolet radiation, a full regeneration of the productivity level takes place within 24 hours. In our experiments the system was functioning with the stable estimated productivity for many days (up to two months without interruption). During the process, no biological inhibitions to permanent performance and further prolongation of its life were found. As to the productivity, stability and control, the described biotechnological method may appear to be useful as a link of the closed ecosystem.

Shared Relationship Efficacy of Dyad Can Increase Life Satisfaction in Close Relationships: Multilevel Study

PubMed Central

Ito, Kenichi; Yoshida, Toshikazu

2016-01-01

Characteristics of relationship itself play an important role in determining well-being of individuals who participate in the relationship. We used efficacy expectations mutually shared between close friends or romantic partners as a characteristic of relationship and investigated its impact on their life satisfaction. In Study 1, we conducted a cross-sectional study among 137 pairs of close same-sex friends to test whether the efficacy expectations shared between friends are associated with levels of life satisfaction. In Study 2, we conducted a longitudinal study among 114 heterosexual romantic couples to test predictive validity of the efficacy expectations shared between couples predict levels of life satisfaction 2 month later. In both studies we found a consistent result that as degrees of the efficacy expectations shared between individuals in a relationship increased, the degree of their life satisfaction also increased. Underlying mechanisms that explain how characteristics of relationship itself increase life satisfaction are discussed. PMID:27437946

Overview of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Testing At MSFC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Traweek, Mary S.; Tatara, James D.

1998-01-01

Previously, almost all water used by the crew during space flight has been transported from earth or generated in-flight as a by-product of fuel cells. Additionally, this water has been stored and used for relatively short periods. To achieve the United States' commitment to a permanent manned presence in space, more innovative techniques are demanded. Over 20,000 pounds of water and large quantities of air would have to be transported to the International Space Station (ISS) every 90 days with a corresponding amount of waste returned to earth, for an 8-person crew. This approach results in prohibitive logistics costs, and necessitates near complete recovery and recycling of water. The potential hazards associated with long-term reuse of reclaimed water and revitalized air resulted in the recognition that additional characterization of closed-loop systems and products is essential. Integrated physical/chemical systems have been designed, assembled, and operated to provide air and potable water meeting ISS quality specifications. The purpose of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) test program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is to conduct research related to the performance of the ISS and its Environmental Control components. The ECLSS Test Program encompasses the Water Recovery Test (WRT), the Integrated Air Revitalization Test (IART), and Life Testing, which permits ECLSS design evaluation. These subsystems revitalize air and reclaim waste waters representative of those to be generated on-orbit. This paper provides an overview of MSFC's 1997 ECLSS testing. Specific tests include: the Stage 10 Water Recovery Test; the Contaminant Injection Test; the Performance Enhancement Test and Life Testing of the Four Bed Molecular Sieve; the Oxygen Generator Assembly Life Test; and the ISS Water Distribution Biofilm Life Test.

A three-genome phylogeny of malaria parasites (Plasmodium and closely related genera): evolution of life-history traits and host switches.

PubMed

Martinsen, Ellen S; Perkins, Susan L; Schall, Jos J

2008-04-01

Phylogenetic analysis of genomic data allows insights into the evolutionary history of pathogens, especially the events leading to host switching and diversification, as well as alterations of the life cycle (life-history traits). Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of malaria parasite species exploit squamate reptiles, birds, and mammals as vertebrate hosts as well as many genera of dipteran vectors, but the evolutionary and ecological events that led to this diversification and success remain unresolved. For a century, systematic parasitologists classified malaria parasites into genera based on morphology, life cycle, and vertebrate and insect host taxa. Molecular systematic studies based on single genes challenged the phylogenetic significance of these characters, but several significant nodes were not well supported. We recovered the first well resolved large phylogeny of Plasmodium and related haemosporidian parasites using sequence data for four genes from the parasites' three genomes by combining all data, correcting for variable rates of substitution by gene and site, and using both Bayesian and maximum parsimony analyses. Major clades are associated with vector shifts into different dipteran families, with other characters used in traditional parasitological studies, such as morphology and life-history traits, having variable phylogenetic significance. The common parasites of birds now placed into the genus Haemoproteus are found in two divergent clades, and the genus Plasmodium is paraphyletic with respect to Hepatocystis, a group of species with very different life history and morphology. The Plasmodium of mammal hosts form a well supported clade (including Plasmodium falciparum, the most important human malaria parasite), and this clade is associated with specialization to Anopheles mosquito vectors. The Plasmodium of birds and squamate reptiles all fall within a single clade, with evidence for repeated switching between birds and squamate hosts.

Association between Subjective School Adaptation and Life Skills in Elementary School Children with Chronic Diseases.

PubMed

Aoji, Yurina; Miyai, Nobuyuki

2016-01-01

In this study, we investigated the association between subjective school adaptation and life skills in elementary school children with chronic diseases. A cross-sectional sample of children with chronic diseases (n=76), who were being treated as pediatric outpatients and who were in the 4th to 6th grade of public elementary schools, was selected. The subjects completed a self-administered questionnaire that comprised an Adaptation Scale for School Environments on Six Spheres (ASSESS) and life skills scales for self-management and stress coping strategies. Structural equation modeling was conducted to identify the inter-relationship between subjective school adaptation and life skills. Compared with the gender- and schoolyear-matched healthy controls (n=380), a large number of children with chronic diseases had low scores on the measure of interpersonal relationship in school. From the structural equation modeling, the subscales "friend's support" and "victimized relationship" in interpersonal relationship were two of the factors closely related to subjective adaptation of learning as well as school satisfaction in the children with chronic diseases. Furthermore, the "decision-making" and "goal-setting" components of self-management skills demonstrated positive contributions to the adaptation of learning and interpersonal relationship either directly affected by the skills themselves or through the affirmative effects of stress coping strategies. These results suggest that life skills education, focusing on self-management and stress coping strategies along with support to improve interpersonal relationships, is effective in promoting subjective school adaptation and leads to increased school satisfaction in children with chronic diseases.

The BioHome: A spinoff of space technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Anne

1990-01-01

The discussion of the BioHome is prefaced with some information about the work done at the environmental lab over the past 15 years concerning environmental issues related to biological life support such as the use of water hyacinths for wastewater purification, artificial marshes, indoor polluted air revitalization, and the reduction of organic contaminants using a biological system comprised of plants and microorganisms. One of the main concerns, especially with respect to a closed environment, is whether or not these systems are expelling microorganisms into the air. Analyses are being conducted to determine the numbers and types of microbes that are emitted. The BioHome is a 650 sq ft habitat that will enable the evaluation of the efficiency of bioregenerative technology in a closed system. This BioHome system is described and its functions discussed.

Biosphere 2: a prototype project for a permanent and evolving life system for Mars base.

PubMed

Nelson, M; Allen, J P; Dempster, W F

1992-01-01

As part of the ground-based preparation for creating long-term life systems needed for space habitation and settlement, Space Biospheres Ventures (SBV) is undertaking the Biosphere 2 project near Oracle, Arizona. Biosphere 2, currently under construction, is scheduled to commence its operations in 1991 with a two-year closure period with a crew of eight people. Biosphere 2 is a facility which will be essentialy materially-closed to exchange with the outside environment. It is open to information and energy flow. Biosphere 2 is designed to achieve a complex life-support system by the integration of seven areas or "biomes"--rainforest, savannah, desert, marsh, ocean, intensive agriculture and human habitat. Unique bioregenerative technologies, such as soil bed reactors for air purification, aquatic waste processing systems, real-time analytic systems and complex computer monitoring and control systems are being developed for the Biosphere 2 project. Its operation should afford valuable insight into the functioning of complex life systems necessary for long-term habitation in space. It will serve as an experimental ground-based prototype and testbed for the stable, permanent life systems needed for human exploration of Mars.

Assessing physician/patient relationships in the presence of HIV/AIDS: an exploratory study.

PubMed

Taylor, S A; Madrigal, C

1998-01-01

The following study investigates the nature of the relationship between physicians and HIV/AIDS patients within the context of the rapidly evolving services/relationship marketing literatures. The emerging evidence suggests that service providers generally play a critical role in the development of positive consumer attitudes and behaviors, and that relationship marketing practices can contribute to the delivery of health services. However, to date, there appears little evidence supporting the efficacy of employing relationship marketing practices in relation to a target market of HIV/AIDS patients. This exploratory study contributes to the body of knowledge by more closely investigating the nature of the patient-physician relationship relative to HIV/AIDS patients' attitudes, marketing-related behaviors, and overall quality-of-life/life satisfaction judgments. The results of this study first suggest that HIV/AIDS patients use the expectancy disconfirmation model when evaluating the performance of their physician. A reliance on expectancy disconfirmation suggests the likely prevalent role of service quality perceptions and satisfaction judgments in evaluating their relationship with their physician. Second, the results appear to support the conclusion that the patient's evaluation of their physician relationship and subsequent behaviors (e.g., word-of-mouth) are directly related to the patient's general perception of received health services. Thus, the patient/physician relationship may play a particularly powerful role in determining patient (marketing related) outcomes relative to other health service settings. Third, a direct influence is supported between negative affective reactions by patients and subsequent outcome behaviors. This finding lends support for the potential efficacy of service recovery efforts when rendering treatment to HIV/AIDS patients. Finally, evidence is presented demonstrating the effect of positive perceptions of the patient/provider relationship on these patients' overall evaluation of their quality-of-life/life satisfaction. The managerial and research implications of this study are presented and discussed.

Assessment of the Impacts of ACLS on the ISS Life Support System Using Dynamic Simulations in V-HAB

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Putz, Daniel; Olthoff, Claas; Ewert, Michael; Anderson, Molly

2016-01-01

The Advanced Closed Loop System (ACLS) is currently under development by Airbus Defense and Space and is slated for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2017. The addition of new hardware into an already complex system such as the ISS life support system (LSS) always poses operational risks. It is therefore important to understand the impacts ACLS will have on the existing systems to ensure smooth operations for the ISS. This analysis can be done by using dynamic computer simulations and one possible tool for such a simulation is the Virtual Habitat (V-HAB). Based on MATLAB, V-HAB has been under development at the Institute of Astronautics of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) since 2004 and in the past has been successfully used to simulate the ISS life support systems. The existing V-HAB ISS simulation model treated the interior volume of the space station as one large, ideally-stirred container. This model was improved to allow the calculation of the atmospheric composition inside individual modules of the ISS by splitting it into twelve distinct volumes. The virtual volumes are connected by a simulation of the inter-module ventilation flows. This allows for a combined simulation of the LSS hardware and the atmospheric composition aboard the ISS. A dynamic model of ACLS is added to the ISS Simulation and several different operating modes for both ACLS and the existing ISS life support systems are studied and the impacts of ACLS on the rest of the system are determined. The results suggest that the US, Russian and ACLS CO2 systems can operate at the same time without impeding each other. Furthermore, based on the results of this analysis, the US and ACLS Sabatier systems can be operated in parallel as well to a achieve a very low CO2 concentration in the cabin atmosphere.

Assessment of the Impacts of ACLS on the ISS Life Support System using Dynamic Simulations in V-HAB

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Puetz, Daniel; Olthoff, Claas; Ewert, Michael K.; Anderson, Molly S.

2016-01-01

The Advanced Closed Loop System (ACLS) is currently under development by Airbus Defense and Space and is slated for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2017. The addition of new hardware into an already complex system such as the ISS life support system (LSS) always poses operational risks. It is therefore important to understand the impacts ACLS will have on the existing systems to ensure smooth operations for the ISS. This analysis can be done by using dynamic computer simulations and one possible tool for such a simulation is Virtual Habitat (V-HAB). Based on Matlab (Registered Trademark) V-HAB has been under development at the Institute of Astronautics of the Technical University Munich (TUM) since 2006 and in the past has been successfully used to simulate the ISS life support systems. The existing V-HAB ISS simulation model treated the interior volume of the space station as one large ideally-stirred container. This model was improved to allow the calculation of the atmospheric composition inside the individual modules of the ISS by splitting it into ten distinct volumes. The virtual volumes are connected by a simulation of the inter-module ventilation flows. This allows for a combined simulation of the LSS hardware and the atmospheric composition aboard the ISS. A dynamic model of ACLS is added to the ISS simulation and different operating modes for both ACLS and the existing ISS life support systems are studied to determine the impacts of ACLS on the rest of the system. The results suggest that the US, Russian and ACLS CO2 systems can operate at the same time without impeding each other. Furthermore, based on the results of this analysis, the US and ACLS Sabatier systems can be operated in parallel as well to achieve the highest possible CO2 recycling together with a low CO2 concentration.

[Suicide exposure and its modulatory effects on relations between life events and suicide risk in Chinese college students].

PubMed

Zhao, Jiubo; Zhao, Jingbo; Xiao, Rong; Yang, Xueling; Zhang, Xiaoyuan

2013-08-01

To explore the incidence of suicide exposure and its association with suicide risk in Chinese college students, and study the modulatory effects of suicide exposure on the relations between life events and suicide risks. A total of 8202 college students from 12 Chinese colleges and universities in mainland China completed a cross-sectional survey that included suicidal behaviors questionnaire-revised (SBQ-R), Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check List (ASLEC), suicide exposure questionnaire, social and demographic characteristics questionnaire. The incidence of exposure to suicide events involving close relatives and acquaintances were 3.9% and 11.8% among sampled Chinese college students, respectively. Students exposed to suicide events involving close relatives had significantly higher total SBQ-R scores than those who did not (5.51∓2.44 vs 4.68∓2.11, P<0.01), and suicide events of acquaintances were also associated with significantly increased total SBQ-R scores (5.51∓2.44 vs 4.68∓2.11, P<0.01); these suicides events all contributed to significantly increased rates of suicidal ideation, suicide plans and suicide attempts in the college students (P<0.05). The life events showed a significant positive correlation with suicide risks (0.11≤r≤0.26, P<0.01). The interactions of exposure to suicide events involving close relatives and acquaintances and the interactions of life events and suicide of close relatives for suicide risk were not significant (P>0.05), but exposure to acquaintance suicide events moderated the effects of life events on suicide risk (P<0.01), and the college students with a high level of life events and history of acquaintance suicide had the highest risk for suicide. In Chinese college students, the risk of suicide is closely associated with exposure to suicide events and life events, and exposure to suicide events involving acquaintances can modulate the effects of life events on suicide risk.

Early-late life trade-offs and the evolution of ageing in the wild.

PubMed

Lemaître, Jean-François; Berger, Vérane; Bonenfant, Christophe; Douhard, Mathieu; Gamelon, Marlène; Plard, Floriane; Gaillard, Jean-Michel

2015-05-07

Empirical evidence for declines in fitness components (survival and reproductive performance) with age has recently accumulated in wild populations, highlighting that the process of senescence is nearly ubiquitous in the living world. Senescence patterns are highly variable among species and current evolutionary theories of ageing propose that such variation can be accounted for by differences in allocation to growth and reproduction during early life. Here, we compiled 26 studies of free-ranging vertebrate populations that explicitly tested for a trade-off between performance in early and late life. Our review brings overall support for the presence of early-late life trade-offs, suggesting that the limitation of available resources leads individuals to trade somatic maintenance later in life for high allocation to reproduction early in life. We discuss our results in the light of two closely related theories of ageing-the disposable soma and the antagonistic pleiotropy theories-and propose that the principle of energy allocation roots the ageing process in the evolution of life-history strategies. Finally, we outline research topics that should be investigated in future studies, including the importance of natal environmental conditions in the study of trade-offs between early- and late-life performance and the evolution of sex-differences in ageing patterns. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Man as the main component of the closed ecological system of the spacecraft or planetary station.

PubMed

Parin, V V; Adamovich, B A

1968-01-01

Current life-support systems of the spacecraft provide human requirements for food, water and oxygen only. Advanced life-support systems will involve man as their main component and will ensure completely his material and energy requirements. The design of individual components of such systems will assure their entire suitability and mutual control effects. Optimization of the performance of the crew and ecological system, on the basis of the information characterizing their function, demands efficient methods of collection and treatment of the information obtained through wireless recording of physiological parameters and their automatic treatment. Peculiarities of interplanetary missions and planetary stations make it necessary to conform the schedule of physiological recordings with the work-and-rest cycle of the space crew and inertness of components of the ecological system, especially of those responsible for oxygen regeneration. It is rational to model ecological systems and their components, taking into consideration the correction effect of the information on the health conditions and performance of the crewmen. Wide application of physiological data will allow the selection of optimal designs and sharply increase reliability of ecological systems.

Achieving and documenting closure in plant growth facilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knott, W. M.; Sager, John C.; Wheeler, Ray

1992-01-01

As NASA proceeds with its effort to develop a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) that will provide life support to crews during long duration space missions, it must address the question of facility and system closure. The concept of closure as it pertains to CELSS and engineering specifications, construction problems and monitoring procedures used in the development and operation of a closed plant growth facility for the CELSS program are described. A plant growth facility is one of several modules required for a CELSS. A prototype of this module at Kennedy Space Center is the large (7m tall x 3.5m diameter) Biomass Production Chamber (BPC), the central facility of the CELSS Breadboard Project. The BPC is atmospherically sealed to a leak rate of approximately 5 percent of its total volume per 24 hours. This paper will discuss the requirements for atmospheric closure in the facility, present CO2 and trace gas data from initial tests of the BPC with and without plants, and describe how the chamber was sealed atmospherically. Implications that research conducted in this type of facility will have for the CELSS program are discussed.

Turbomachine Sealing and Secondary Flows - Part 3. Part 3; Review of Power-Stream Support, Unsteady Flow Systems, Seal and Disk Cavity Flows, Engine Externals, and Life and Reliability Issues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hendricks, R. C.; Steinetz, B. M.; Zaretsky, E. V.; Athavale, M. M.; Przekwas, A. J.

2004-01-01

The issues and components supporting the engine power stream are reviewed. It is essential that companies pay close attention to engine sealing issues, particularly on the high-pressure spool or high-pressure pumps. Small changes in these systems are reflected throughout the entire engine. Although cavity, platform, and tip sealing are complex and have a significant effect on component and engine performance, computational tools (e.g., NASA-developed INDSEAL, SCISEAL, and ADPAC) are available to help guide the designer and the experimenter. Gas turbine engine and rocket engine externals must all function efficiently with a high degree of reliability in order for the engine to run but often receive little attention until they malfunction. Within the open literature statistically significant data for critical engine components are virtually nonexistent; the classic approach is deterministic. Studies show that variations with loading can have a significant effect on component performance and life. Without validation data they are just studies. These variations and deficits in statistical databases require immediate attention.

Implementation of Sensor and Control Designs for Bioregenerative Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rodriguez, Pedro R. (Editor)

1990-01-01

The goal of the Spring 1990 EGM 4001 Design class was to design, fabricate, and test sensors and control systems for a closed loop life support system (CLLSS). The designs investigated were to contribute to the development of NASA's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Designs included a seed moisture content sensor, a porous medium wetness sensor, a plant health sensor, and a neural network control system. The seed group focused on the design and implementation of a sensor that could detect the moisture content of a seed batch. The porous medium wetness group concentrated on the development of a sensor to monitor the amount of nutrient solution within a porous plate incorporating either infrared reflectance or thermal conductance properties. The plant health group examined the possibility of remotely monitoring the health of the plants within the Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) using infrared reflectance properties. Finally, the neural network group concentrated on the ability to use parallel processing in order to control a robot arm and analyze the data from the health sensor to detect regions of a plant.

Dynamic Modeling of Process Technologies for Closed-Loop Water Recovery Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allada, Rama Kumar; Lange, Kevin; Anderson, Molly

2011-01-01

Detailed chemical process simulations are a useful tool in designing and optimizing complex systems and architectures for human life support. Dynamic and steady-state models of these systems help contrast the interactions of various operating parameters and hardware designs, which become extremely useful in trade-study analyses. NASA s Exploration Life Support technology development project recently made use of such models to compliment a series of tests on different waste water distillation systems. This paper presents dynamic simulations of chemical process for primary processor technologies including: the Cascade Distillation System (CDS), the Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD) system, the Wiped-Film Rotating Disk (WFRD), and post-distillation water polishing processes such as the Volatiles Removal Assembly (VRA) that were developed using the Aspen Custom Modeler and Aspen Plus process simulation tools. The results expand upon previous work for water recovery technology models and emphasize dynamic process modeling and results. The paper discusses system design, modeling details, and model results for each technology and presents some comparisons between the model results and available test data. Following these initial comparisons, some general conclusions and forward work are discussed.

Incineration for resource recovery in a closed ecological life support system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Upadhye, R. S.; Wignarajah, K.; Wydeven, T.

1993-01-01

A functional schematic, including mass and energy balance, of a solid waste processing system for a controlled ecological life support system (CELSS) was developed using Aspen Plus, a commercial computer simulation program. The primary processor in this system is an incinerator for oxidizing organic wastes. The major products derived from the incinerator are carbon dioxide and water, which can be recycled to a crop growth chamber (CGC) for food production. The majority of soluble inorganics are extracted or leached from the inedible biomass before they reach the incinerator, so that they can be returned directly to the CGC and reused as nutrients. The heat derived from combustion of organic compounds in the incinerator was used for phase-change water purification. The waste streams treated by the incinerator system conceptualized in this work are inedible biomass from a CGC, human urine (including urinal flush water) and feces, humidity condensate, shower water, and trash. It is estimated that the theoretical minimum surface area required for the radiator to reject the unusable heat output from this system would be 0.72 sq m/person at 298 K.

Review and analysis of over 40 years of space plant growth systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zabel, P.; Bamsey, M.; Schubert, D.; Tajmar, M.

2016-08-01

The cultivation of higher plants occupies an essential role within bio-regenerative life support systems. It contributes to all major functional aspects by closing the different loops in a habitat like food production, CO2 reduction, O2 production, waste recycling and water management. Fresh crops are also expected to have a positive impact on crew psychological health. Plant material was first launched into orbit on unmanned vehicles as early as the 1960s. Since then, more than a dozen different plant cultivation experiments have been flown on crewed vehicles beginning with the launch of Oasis 1, in 1971. Continuous subsystem improvements and increasing knowledge of plant response to the spaceflight environment has led to the design of Veggie and the Advanced Plant Habitat, the latest in the series of plant growth systems. The paper reviews the different designs and technological solutions implemented in higher plant flight experiments. Using these analyses a comprehensive comparison is compiled to illustrate the development trends of controlled environment agriculture technologies in bio-regenerative life support systems, enabling future human long-duration missions into the solar system.

Opioids and social bonding: naltrexone reduces feelings of social connection

PubMed Central

Ray, Lara A.; Irwin, Michael R.; Way, Baldwin M.; Eisenberger, Naomi I.

2016-01-01

Close social bonds are critical to a happy and fulfilled life and yet little is known, in humans, about the neurochemical mechanisms that keep individuals feeling close and connected to one another. According to the brain opioid theory of social attachment, opioids may underlie the contented feelings associated with social connection and may be critical to continued bonding. However, the role of opioids in feelings of connection toward close others has only begun to be examined in humans. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study of naltrexone (an opioid antagonist), 31 volunteers took naltrexone for 4 days and placebo for 4 days (separated by a 10-day washout period). Participants came to the laboratory once on the last day of taking each drug to complete a task designed to elicit feelings of social connection. Participants also completed daily reports of feelings of social connection while on naltrexone and placebo. In line with hypotheses, and for the first time in humans, results demonstrated that naltrexone (vs placebo) reduced feelings of connection both in the laboratory and in daily reports. These results highlight the importance of opioids for social bonding with close others, lending support to the brain opioid theory of social attachment. PMID:26796966

History of nutrition in space flight: overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lane, Helen W.; Feeback, Daniel L.

2002-01-01

Major accomplishments in nutritional sciences for support of human space travel have occurred over the past 40 y. This article reviews these accomplishments, beginning with the early Gemini program and continuing through the impressive results from the first space station Skylab program that focused on life sciences research, the Russian contributions through the Mir space station, the US Shuttle life sciences research, and the emerging International Space Station missions. Nutrition is affected by environmental conditions such as radiation, temperature, and atmospheric pressures, and these are reviewed. Nutrition with respect to space flight is closely interconnected with other life sciences research disciplines including the study of hematology, immunology, as well as neurosensory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, circadian rhythms, and musculoskeletal physiology. These relationships are reviewed in reference to the overall history of nutritional science in human space flight. Cumulative nutritional research over the past four decades has resulted in the current nutritional requirements for astronauts. Space-flight nutritional recommendations are presented along with the critical path road map that outlines the research needed for future development of nutritional requirements.

History of nutrition in space flight: overview.

PubMed

Lane, Helen W; Feeback, Daniel L

2002-10-01

Major accomplishments in nutritional sciences for support of human space travel have occurred over the past 40 y. This article reviews these accomplishments, beginning with the early Gemini program and continuing through the impressive results from the first space station Skylab program that focused on life sciences research, the Russian contributions through the Mir space station, the US Shuttle life sciences research, and the emerging International Space Station missions. Nutrition is affected by environmental conditions such as radiation, temperature, and atmospheric pressures, and these are reviewed. Nutrition with respect to space flight is closely interconnected with other life sciences research disciplines including the study of hematology, immunology, as well as neurosensory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, circadian rhythms, and musculoskeletal physiology. These relationships are reviewed in reference to the overall history of nutritional science in human space flight. Cumulative nutritional research over the past four decades has resulted in the current nutritional requirements for astronauts. Space-flight nutritional recommendations are presented along with the critical path road map that outlines the research needed for future development of nutritional requirements.

End-of-life healthcare expenditure: Testing economic explanations using a discrete choice experiment.

PubMed

Fischer, Barbara; Telser, Harry; Zweifel, Peter

2018-06-07

Healthcare expenditure (HCE) spent during an individual's last year of life accounts for a high share of lifetime HCE. This finding is puzzling because an investment in health is unlikely to have a sufficiently long payback period. However, Becker et al. (2007) and Philipson et al. (2010) have advanced a theory designed to explain high willingness to pay (WTP) for an extension of life close to its end. Their testable implications are complemented by the concept of 'pain of risk bearing' introduced by Eeckhoudt and Schlesinger (2006). They are tested using a discrete choice experiment performed in 2014, involving 1,529 Swiss adults. An individual setting where the price attribute is substantial out-of-pocket payment for a novel drug for treatment of terminal cancer is distinguished from a societal one, where it is an increase in contributions to social health insurance. Most of the economic predictions receive empirical support. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Orphan radon daughters at Denver Radium site

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Holub, R.F.; Droullard, R.F.; Davis, T.H.

During 18 mo of sampling airborne radioactively at a National Priority List ({open_quotes}Superfund{close_quotes}) site in metroPOlitan Denver, Bureau of mines personnel discovered radon daughters that are not supported by the parent radon gas. We refer to them as {open_quotes}orphan{close_quotes} daughters because the parent, radon, is not present in sufficient concentration to support the measured daughter products. Measurements of the {open_quotes}orphan{close_quotes} daughters were made continuously, using the Bureau-developed radon and working-level (radon-daughter) monitors. The data showed high equilibrium ratios, ranging from 0.7 to 3.5, for long periods of time. Repeated, high-volume, 15-min grab samples were made, using the modified Tsivoglou method,more » to measure radon daughters, to which thoron daughters contributed 26 {+-} 12%. On average 28 {+-} 6% of the particulate activity was contributed by thoron daughters. Most samples were mixtures in which the {sup 218}Po concentration was lower than that of {sup 214}Pb and {sup 214}Bi, in agreement with the high-equilibrium factors obtained from the continuous sampling data. In view of the short half-life of radon progeny, we conclude that the source of the orphan daughters is not far from the Superfund sites. The mechanism of this phenomenon is not understood at this time, but we will discuss its possible significance in evaluating population doses.« less

Identification of Belgian mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae) by DNA barcoding.

PubMed

Versteirt, V; Nagy, Z T; Roelants, P; Denis, L; Breman, F C; Damiens, D; Dekoninck, W; Backeljau, T; Coosemans, M; Van Bortel, W

2015-03-01

Since its introduction in 2003, DNA barcoding has proven to be a promising method for the identification of many taxa, including mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae). Many mosquito species are potential vectors of pathogens, and correct identification in all life stages is essential for effective mosquito monitoring and control. To use DNA barcoding for species identification, a reliable and comprehensive reference database of verified DNA sequences is required. Hence, DNA sequence diversity of mosquitoes in Belgium was assessed using a 658 bp fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene, and a reference data set was established. Most species appeared as well-supported clusters. Intraspecific Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) distances averaged 0.7%, and the maximum observed K2P distance was 6.2% for Aedes koreicus. A small overlap between intra- and interspecific K2P distances for congeneric sequences was observed. Overall, the identification success using best match and the best close match criteria were high, that is above 98%. No clear genetic division was found between the closely related species Aedes annulipes and Aedes cantans, which can be confused using morphological identification only. The members of the Anopheles maculipennis complex, that is Anopheles maculipennis s.s. and An. messeae, were weakly supported as monophyletic taxa. This study showed that DNA barcoding offers a reliable framework for mosquito species identification in Belgium except for some closely related species. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Perceived social support among HIV patients newly enrolled in care in rural Ethiopia.

PubMed

Lifson, Alan R; Workneh, Sale; Hailemichael, Abera; Demissie, Workneh; Slater, Lucy; Shenie, Tibebe

2015-01-01

Social support significantly enhances physical and mental health for persons with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). We surveyed 142 rural Ethiopian HIV patients newly enrolled in care for perceived social support and factors associated with low support levels. Using the Social Provisions Scale (SPS), the mean summary score was 19.1 (possible scores = 0-48). On six SPS subscales, mean scores (possible scores = 0-8), were: Reliable Alliance (others can be counted on for tangible assistance) = 2.8, Attachment (emotional closeness providing sense of security) = 2.9, Reassurance of Worth (recognition of competence and value by others) = 3.2, Guidance (provision of advice or information by others) = 3.2, Social Integration (belonging to a group with similar interests and concerns) = 3.5, and Nurturance (belief that others rely on one for their well-being) = 3.6. In multivariate analysis, factors significantly associated with lower social support scores were: lower education level (did not complete primary school) (p = .019), lower total score on knowledge items about HIV care/treatment (p = .038), and greater number of external stigma experiences in past three months (p < .001); greater number of chronic disease symptoms was of borderline significance (p = .098). Among rural Ethiopian patients newly entering HIV care, we found moderate and varying levels of perceived social support, with lowest scores for subscales reflecting emotional closeness and reliance on others for tangible assistance. Given that patients who have recently learned their diagnosis and entered care may be an especially vulnerable group, programs to help identify and address social support needs can provide multiple benefits in facilitating the best possible physical, emotional and functional quality of life for people living with HIV.

Garnets within geode-like serpentinite veins: Implications for element transport, hydrogen production and life-supporting environment formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Plümper, Oliver; Beinlich, Andreas; Bach, Wolfgang; Janots, Emilie; Austrheim, Håkon

2014-09-01

Geochemical micro-environments within serpentinizing systems can abiotically synthesize hydrocarbons and provide the ingredients required to support life. Observations of organic matter in microgeode-like hydrogarnets found in Mid-Atlantic Ridge serpentinites suggest these garnets possibly represent unique nests for the colonization of microbial ecosystems within the oceanic lithosphere. However, little is known about the mineralogical and geochemical processes that allow such unique environments to form. Here we present work on outcrop-scale vein networks from an ultramafic massif in Norway that contain massive amounts of spherulitic garnets (andradite), which help to constrain such processes. Vein andradite spherulites are associated with polyhedral serpentine, brucite, Ni-Fe alloy (awaruite), and magnetite indicative of low temperature (<200 °C) alteration under low fO2 and low aSiO2,aq geochemical conditions. Together with the outcrop- and micro-scale analysis geochemical reaction path modeling shows that there was limited mass transport and fluid flow over a large scale. Once opened the veins remained isolated (closed system), forming non-equilibrium microenvironments that allowed, upon a threshold supersaturation, the rapid crystallization (seconds to weeks) of spherulitic andradite. The presence of polyhedral serpentine spheres indicates that veins were initially filled with a gel-like protoserpentine phase. In addition, massive Fe oxidation associated with andradite formation could have generated as much as 600 mmol H2,aq per 100 cm3 vein. Although no carboneous matter was detected, the vein networks fulfill the reported geochemical criteria required to generate abiogenic hydrocarbons and support microbial communities. Thus, systems similar to those investigated here are of prime interest when searching for life-supporting environments within the deep subsurface.

Spouses of military members' experiences and insights: qualitative analysis of responses to an open-ended question in a survey of health and wellbeing.

PubMed

Runge, Catherine E; Waller, Michael; MacKenzie, Alison; McGuire, Annabel C L

2014-01-01

There are few studies on the experiences of spouses of military members, with most focused on adverse impacts of deployment. Responses to an open-ended question in a survey of spouses' health and wellbeing enabled access to perceptions and insights on a broad range of topics. The objective of this investigation was to examine how respondents used the open-ended question and what they discussed, in aim of informing support service agencies and spouses of military members. Thematic analysis was conducted on responses to the open-ended question. Descriptive analysis was performed on the demographics, military member characteristics and self-reported health of respondents and non-respondents to the open-ended question. Over a quarter (28.5%) of the 1,332 survey participants answered the open-ended question, with respondents having a significantly higher level of education than non-respondents. Respondents expressed negative and positive experiences and insights on military life, provided personal information, commented on the survey, and qualified their responses to closed-ended questions. Topics included 'inadequate support', 'deployment impacts', 'suggestions for supporting agencies', 'appraisal of experiences' and 'coping strategies'. This investigation uncovered issues of importance to spouses of military members that were not included or identified in a quantitative study. The findings provide a platform from which to explore these issues further, particularly the impact of military life on the non-serving spouse's career. The findings also provide support agencies with evidence to strengthen their services and they give spouses an opportunity to reflect on their own and others' feelings and evaluations of military life.

For everything a season? A month-by-month analysis of social network resources in later life.

PubMed

Upenieks, Laura; Settels, Jason; Schafer, Markus H

2018-01-01

It is widely acknowledged that informal social ties provide older persons with many resources that serve to protect and improve their levels of health and well-being. Most studies on this topic, however, ignore the month or season of the year during which data was accumulated. This study proposes two hypotheses to explain seniors' social network resources over the calendar year: the "fluctuation hypothesis", which proposes that seasonal variation, in the form of weather fluctuations, institutional calendars, and holidays, might influence the social lives and resources of older persons, and the "network stability" perspective, which, informed by tenets of convoy theory and socioemotional selectivity theory, emphasizes the increasing importance of close network ties as individuals age and the stability of these ties. Using two waves (2005-2006 and 2010-2011) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP), a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling older adults aged 57-85 in the United States, we examine a diverse set of nine social connectedness outcomes. Results, overall, support the network stability perspective, as the only social connectedness outcome found to significantly vary by month of year was average closeness with network members. We conclude by suggesting some methodological considerations for survey research and by noting how these findings complement the growing literature on inter-year fluctuation in social networks and social support. Changes in older adults' networks, while frequently observable over the course of years, do not seem to be seasonally patterned. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Carbon dioxide dynamics of combined crops of wheat, cowpea, pinto beans in the Laboratory Biosphere closed ecological system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dempster, William F.; Nelson, M.; Silverstone, S.; Allen, J. P.

2009-04-01

A mixed crop consisting of cowpeas, pinto beans and Apogee ultra-dwarf wheat was grown in the Laboratory Biosphere, a 40 m 3 closed life system equipped with 12,000 W of high pressure sodium lamps over planting beds with 5.37 m 2 of soil. Similar to earlier reported experiments, the concentration of carbon dioxide initially increased to 7860 ppm at 10 days after planting due to soil respiration plus CO 2 contributed from researchers breathing while in the chamber for brief periods before plant growth became substantial. Carbon dioxide concentrations then fell rapidly as plant growth increased up to 29 days after planting and subsequently was maintained mostly in the range of about 200-3000 ppm (with a few excursions) by CO 2 injections to feed plant growth. Numerous analyses of rate of change of CO 2 concentration at many different concentrations and at many different days after planting reveal a strong dependence of fixation rates on CO 2 concentration. In the middle period of growth (days 31-61), fixation rates doubled for CO 2 at 450 ppm compared to 270 ppm, doubled again at 1000 ppm and increased a further 50% at 2000 ppm. High productivity from these crops and the increase of fixation rates with elevated CO 2 concentration supports the concept that enhanced CO 2 can be a useful strategy for remote life support systems. The data suggests avenues of investigation to understand the response of plant communities to increasing CO 2 concentrations in the Earth's atmosphere. Carbon balance accounting and evapotranspiration rates are included.

Nonlinear Dynamic Models in Advanced Life Support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jones, Harry

2002-01-01

To facilitate analysis, ALS systems are often assumed to be linear and time invariant, but they usually have important nonlinear and dynamic aspects. Nonlinear dynamic behavior can be caused by time varying inputs, changes in system parameters, nonlinear system functions, closed loop feedback delays, and limits on buffer storage or processing rates. Dynamic models are usually cataloged according to the number of state variables. The simplest dynamic models are linear, using only integration, multiplication, addition, and subtraction of the state variables. A general linear model with only two state variables can produce all the possible dynamic behavior of linear systems with many state variables, including stability, oscillation, or exponential growth and decay. Linear systems can be described using mathematical analysis. Nonlinear dynamics can be fully explored only by computer simulations of models. Unexpected behavior is produced by simple models having only two or three state variables with simple mathematical relations between them. Closed loop feedback delays are a major source of system instability. Exceeding limits on buffer storage or processing rates forces systems to change operating mode. Different equilibrium points may be reached from different initial conditions. Instead of one stable equilibrium point, the system may have several equilibrium points, oscillate at different frequencies, or even behave chaotically, depending on the system inputs and initial conditions. The frequency spectrum of an output oscillation may contain harmonics and the sums and differences of input frequencies, but it may also contain a stable limit cycle oscillation not related to input frequencies. We must investigate the nonlinear dynamic aspects of advanced life support systems to understand and counter undesirable behavior.

The shelf life of chilled sheep livers packed in closed tubs.

PubMed

Gill, C O; Penny, N

1984-01-01

Livers incubated at 30°C in closed tubs developed floras dominated by Enterobacteriaceae. At chiller temperatures, floras were ultimately dominated by psychrotrophic lactobacilli. Tub-packed livers can have an extended shelf life similar to that reported for vacuum-packed liver. Copyright © 1984. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Stressful life events, social support, attachment security and alexithymia in vitiligo. A case-control study.

PubMed

Picardi, A; Pasquini, P; Cattaruzza, M S; Gaetano, P; Melchi, C F; Baliva, G; Camaioni, D; Tiago, A; Abeni, D; Biondi, M

2003-01-01

It has often been suggested that stress might trigger vitiligo. However, only one study supported this hypothesis, and no study explored the role of other personality or social factors. Out-patients experiencing a recent onset or exacerbation of vitiligo (n = 31) were compared with out-patients with skin conditions in which psychosomatic factors are commonly were regarded as negligible (n = 116). Stressful events during the last 12 months were assessed with Paykel's Interview for Recent Life Events. Attachment style, alexithymia and social support were assessed with the 'Experiences in Close Relationships' questionnaire, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, respectively. Cases and controls did not differ regarding the total number of events and the number of undesirable, uncontrollable or major events. Three or more uncontrollable events had occurred more frequently among cases than controls. Perceived social support was lower in cases than in controls. Cases scored higher than controls on anxious attachment, tended towards higher scores on avoidant attachment and were classified more often as insecure. Cases scored higher than controls on the TAS-20 and were classified more often as alexithymic or borderline alexithymic. The occurrence of many uncontrollable events, alexithymia and anxious attachment were associated with vitiligo also in multiple logistic regression analysis. These findings suggest that vulnerability to vitiligo is not increased by stressful events, except for many uncontrollable events. Alexithymia, insecure attachment and poor social support appear to increase susceptibility to vitiligo, possibly through deficits in emotion regulation or reduced ability to cope effectively with stress. Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel

Indian Ocean tsunami: relationships among posttraumatic stress, posttraumatic growth, resource loss, and coping at 3 and 15 months.

PubMed

Sattler, David N; Assanangkornchai, Sawitri; Moller, Adam M; Kesavatana-Dohrs, Wiworn; Graham, James M

2014-01-01

This study examines variables associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) and posttraumatic growth among 2 independent samples of survivors following the Indian Ocean tsunami in Khao Lak, Thailand. Participants were exposed to unprecedented horror and loss of life and property. At 3 months participants (N = 248) were living in temporary shelters, and at 15 months a second sample (N = 255) was living in homes built after the tsunami. Prior traumatic experiences, life threat, loss of personal characteristic resources and condition resources, somatic problems, and social support accounted for close to half of the variance in PTS in each sample. At 3 months, emotion-focused coping and concerns about government favoritism also contributed to PTS. At 15 months, lack of prior disaster experience and loss of energy resources also contributed to PTS. Distress was higher among participants surveyed at 3 months than among those surveyed at 15 months. Posttraumatic growth was positively associated with social support and problem-focused coping in both samples. The findings support conservation of resources stress theory ( Hobfoll, 2012 ) and underscore how systemic issues affect mental health. The implications of the findings are discussed, as is the educational International Tsunami Museum designed by the first author to address systemic stressors.

Spatial patterns of close relationships across the lifespan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jo, Hang-Hyun; Saramäki, Jari; Dunbar, Robin I. M.; Kaski, Kimmo

2014-11-01

The dynamics of close relationships is important for understanding the migration patterns of individual life-courses. The bottom-up approach to this subject by social scientists has been limited by sample size, while the more recent top-down approach using large-scale datasets suffers from a lack of detail about the human individuals. We incorporate the geographic and demographic information of millions of mobile phone users with their communication patterns to study the dynamics of close relationships and its effect in their life-course migration. We demonstrate how the close age- and sex-biased dyadic relationships are correlated with the geographic proximity of the pair of individuals, e.g., young couples tend to live further from each other than old couples. In addition, we find that emotionally closer pairs are living geographically closer to each other. These findings imply that the life-course framework is crucial for understanding the complex dynamics of close relationships and their effect on the migration patterns of human individuals.

Being me and being us in a family living close to death at home.

PubMed

Carlander, Ida; Ternestedt, Britt-Marie; Sahlberg-Blom, Eva; Hellström, Ingrid; Sandberg, Jonas

2011-05-01

We used interpretive description to describe how everyday life close to death was experienced and dealt with in families with one member who had a life-threatening illness. We performed 28 individual, couple, and group interviews with five families. We found two patterns, namely, "being me in a family living close to death" and "being us in a family living close to death." "Being me" meant that every individual in the family had to deal with the impending death, regardless of whether or not he or she was the person with the life-threatening illness. This was linked to ways of promoting the individual's self-image, or "me-ness." This pattern was present at the same time as the pattern of "being us," or in other words, being a family, and dealing with impending death and a new "we-ness" as a group. "Striving for the optimal way of living close to death" was the core theme.

Real-life closeness of social media contacts and depressive symptoms among university students.

PubMed

Shensa, Ariel; Sidani, Jaime E; Escobar-Viera, César G; Chu, Kar-Hai; Bowman, Nicholas D; Knight, Jennifer M; Primack, Brian A

2018-02-16

To examine the association between degree of real-life closeness of social media (SM) contacts and depressive symptoms. Students ages 18-30 (N = 1124) were recruited in August 2016. Participants completed an online survey assessing SM use and depression. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess associations between real-life closeness of SM contacts and depressive symptoms. After controlling for covariates, each 10% increase in the proportion of SM friends with whom participants had no face-to-face relationship was associated with a 9% increase in odds of depressive symptoms (AOR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.05-1.13). However, each 10% increase in the proportion of SM friends with whom participants had a close face-to-face relationship was associated with a 7% decrease in depressive symptoms (AOR = 0.93; 95% CI = 0.89-0.97). Having no in-person relationship with SM contacts is associated with increased depressive symptoms; however, having close in-person relationships with SM contacts is associated with decreased depressive symptoms.

Does Quality-of-Life Policing Widen the Net? A Partial Analysis

PubMed Central

Golub, Andrew; Johnson, Bruce D.; Taylor, Angela; Eterno, John

2013-01-01

In the 1990s, the New York City Police Department instituted a policy of arresting individuals for less serious offenses that impinge on the city’s quality of life (QOL). Critics contend that QOL policing widened the net for arrest, especially among minorities. Alternatively, QOL policing could have created additional opportunities for arresting individuals from the same populations that tend to incur arrests for more serious offenses. This article reports on a comparison of New York City QOL and serious arrestees interviewed in 1999 that provides partial support for this alternative hypothesis; the two groups were similar regarding prior arrests, participation in QOL offenses, and demographic composition. Of note, blacks and Hispanics comprised close to 90% of both arrest populations. These findings suggest that QOL policing does not necessarily widen the net for arrest. PMID:25309134

Preparatory space experiments for development of a CELSS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Salisbury, Frank B.

1990-01-01

The goal of Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) studies is to examine the effects of microgravity on yield and quality of plant products and on the interactions between irradiance and crop area. Measuring yield and quality of crops as a function of irradiance in microgravity is virtually unique to the CELSS program, as is the emphasis on canopies rather than individual plants. The first step for space experiments is to develop a relatively stress free environment for plant growth, something that has so far never been achieved. High light levels are essential, and there must be time enough to complete a significant portion of the life cycle. Optimal atmosphere and nutrients must be provided. Such responses as germination, orientation of roots and shoots, photosynthesis and respiration, floral initiation and development, and seed maturation and viability will be studied.

Preliminary approach of the MELiSSA loop energy balance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poulet, Lucie; Lamaze, Brigitte; Lebrun, Jean

Long duration missions, such as the establishment of permanent bases on the lunar surface or the travel to Mars, require a huge amount of life support consumables (e.g. food, water and oxygen). Current rockets are at the moment unable to launch such a mass from Earth. Consequently Regenerative Life Support Systems are necessary to sustain long-term manned space mission to increase recycling rates and so reduce the launched mass. Thus the European and Canadian research has been concentrating on the MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) project over the last 20 years. MELiSSA is an Environmental Controlled Life Support System (ECLSS), i.e. a closed regenerative loop inspired of a lake ecosystem. Using light as a source of energy, MELiSSA's goal is the recovery of food, water and oxygen from CO2 and organic wastes, using microorganisms and higher plants. The architecture of a ECLSS depends widely on the mission scenario. To compare several ECLSS architectures and in order to be able to evaluate them, ESA is developing a multi criteria evaluation tool: ALISSE (Advanced LIfe Support System Evaluator). One of these criteria is the energy needed to operate the ECLSS. Unlike other criteria like the physical mass, the energy criterion has not been investigated yet and needs hence a detailed analysis. It will consequently be the focus of this study. The main objective of the work presented here is to develop a dynamic tool able to estimate the energy balance for several configurations of the MELiSSA loop. The first step consists in establishing the energy balance using concrete figures from the MELiSSA Pilot Plant (MPP). This facility located at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) is aimed at the ground demonstration of the MELiSSA loop. The MELiSSA loop is structured on several subsystems; each of them is characterized by supplies, exhausts and process reactions. For the purpose of this study (i.e. a generic tool) the solver EES (Engineering Equation Solver) is used. As a result, several configurations of the MELiSSA loop are studied. The main issues in terms of energy costs are identified and in the meantime improvement opportunities, i.e. reduction of energy consumption, are diagnosed.

Persistence of Functional Protein Domains in Mycoplasma Species and their Role in Host Specificity and Synthetic Minimal Life.

PubMed

Kamminga, Tjerko; Koehorst, Jasper J; Vermeij, Paul; Slagman, Simen-Jan; Martins Dos Santos, Vitor A P; Bijlsma, Jetta J E; Schaap, Peter J

2017-01-01

Mycoplasmas are the smallest self-replicating organisms and obligate parasites of a specific vertebrate host. An in-depth analysis of the functional capabilities of mycoplasma species is fundamental to understand how some of simplest forms of life on Earth succeeded in subverting complex hosts with highly sophisticated immune systems. In this study we present a genome-scale comparison, focused on identification of functional protein domains, of 80 publically available mycoplasma genomes which were consistently re-annotated using a standardized annotation pipeline embedded in a semantic framework to keep track of the data provenance. We examined the pan- and core-domainome and studied predicted functional capability in relation to host specificity and phylogenetic distance. We show that the pan- and core-domainome of mycoplasma species is closed. A comparison with the proteome of the "minimal" synthetic bacterium JCVI-Syn3.0 allowed us to classify domains and proteins essential for minimal life. Many of those essential protein domains, essential Domains of Unknown Function (DUFs) and essential hypothetical proteins are not persistent across mycoplasma genomes suggesting that mycoplasma species support alternative domain configurations that bypass their essentiality. Based on the protein domain composition, we could separate mycoplasma species infecting blood and tissue. For selected genomes of tissue infecting mycoplasmas, we could also predict whether the host is ruminant, pig or human. Functionally closely related mycoplasma species, which have a highly similar protein domain repertoire, but different hosts could not be separated. This study provides a concise overview of the functional capabilities of mycoplasma species, which can be used as a basis to further understand host-pathogen interaction or to design synthetic minimal life.

Persistence of Functional Protein Domains in Mycoplasma Species and their Role in Host Specificity and Synthetic Minimal Life

PubMed Central

Kamminga, Tjerko; Koehorst, Jasper J.; Vermeij, Paul; Slagman, Simen-Jan; Martins dos Santos, Vitor A. P.; Bijlsma, Jetta J. E.; Schaap, Peter J.

2017-01-01

Mycoplasmas are the smallest self-replicating organisms and obligate parasites of a specific vertebrate host. An in-depth analysis of the functional capabilities of mycoplasma species is fundamental to understand how some of simplest forms of life on Earth succeeded in subverting complex hosts with highly sophisticated immune systems. In this study we present a genome-scale comparison, focused on identification of functional protein domains, of 80 publically available mycoplasma genomes which were consistently re-annotated using a standardized annotation pipeline embedded in a semantic framework to keep track of the data provenance. We examined the pan- and core-domainome and studied predicted functional capability in relation to host specificity and phylogenetic distance. We show that the pan- and core-domainome of mycoplasma species is closed. A comparison with the proteome of the “minimal” synthetic bacterium JCVI-Syn3.0 allowed us to classify domains and proteins essential for minimal life. Many of those essential protein domains, essential Domains of Unknown Function (DUFs) and essential hypothetical proteins are not persistent across mycoplasma genomes suggesting that mycoplasma species support alternative domain configurations that bypass their essentiality. Based on the protein domain composition, we could separate mycoplasma species infecting blood and tissue. For selected genomes of tissue infecting mycoplasmas, we could also predict whether the host is ruminant, pig or human. Functionally closely related mycoplasma species, which have a highly similar protein domain repertoire, but different hosts could not be separated. This study provides a concise overview of the functional capabilities of mycoplasma species, which can be used as a basis to further understand host-pathogen interaction or to design synthetic minimal life. PMID:28224116

Does living near heavy industry cause lung cancer in women? A case-control study using life grid interviews.

PubMed

Edwards, R; Pless-Mulloli, T; Howel, D; Chadwick, T; Bhopal, R; Harrison, R; Gribbin, H

2006-12-01

The incidence of lung cancer among women is high in the highly industrialised area of Teesside in north-east England. Previous research has implicated industrial pollution as a possible cause. A study was undertaken to investigate whether prolonged residence close to heavy industry is associated with lung cancer among women in Teesside. Two hundred and four women aged <80 years with incident primary lung cancer and 339 age matched community controls were recruited to a population based case-control study. Life course residential, occupational, and active and passive smoking histories were obtained using an interviewer administered questionnaire. The age adjusted odds ratio (OR) for lung cancer among people living >25 years v 0 years near (within 0-5 km) heavy industry in Teesside was 2.13 (95% CI 1.34 to 3.38). After adjustment for confounding factors the OR was 1.83 (95% CI 0.82 to 4.08) for >25 years or 1.10 (95% CI 0.96 to 1.26) for an additional 10 years living near industry. ORs were similar after residence near heavy industry outside Teesside was also included, and when latency was allowed for by disregarding residential exposures within the last 20 years. Adjustment for active smoking had the greatest effect on the OR. This population based study using life grid interviews for life course exposure assessment has addressed many deficiencies in the design of previous studies. The findings support those in most of the international literature of a modestly raised risk of lung cancer with prolonged residence close to heavy industry, although the confidence intervals were wide. The effect of air pollution on the incidence of lung cancer merits continued study.

Future Interstellar Travel Destinations: Assessing the Suitability of Nearby Red Dwarf Stars as Hosts to Habitable Life-bearing Planets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guinan, Edward F.; Engle, S. G.

2013-01-01

As part of our NSF/NASA sponsored “Living with a Red Dwarf Star” program, we are carrying out a comprehensive study of red dwarf stars across the electromagnetic spectrum to assess their suitability as hosts for habitable planets. These cool, dim, long-lived, low mass stars comprise >75% of the stars in our Galaxy. Moreover an increasing number of (potentially habitable) large Earth-size planets are being found hosted by red dwarfs. With intrinsically low luminosities (L < 0.02 Lsun), the habitable zones (HZs) of hosted planets are close to their host stars (typically 0.05 AU < HZ <0.4 AU). Our study indicates red dwarf HZ planets without strong (protective) magnetic fields are especially susceptible to atmospheric erosion & loss by the star’s X-UV and wind fluxes. Also, the frequent flaring of young red dwarf stars and tidal-locking of close-in planets could challenge the development of life. But tidal locking of these planets could have some advantages for the developmenet of life. The long lifetimes of the red dwarfs (> 50 BY) could be favorable for the development of complex (possibly even intelligent) life. We discuss our results in the context of nearby red dwarfs as possible destinations for future interstellar missions program. We illustrate this with examples of the red dwarf exoplanet systems: GJ 581 and HD 85512 (both with large HZ Earth-size planets). Also we discuss the nearest star (4.3 LY) - the red dwarf - Proxima Centauri as a potential destination for future interstellar missions such proposed by Icarus Interstellar and the 100-Year Starship and StarVoyager programs. We gratefully acknowledge the support from NSF-Grant AST-10-09903, Chandra Grants GO1-12124X & GO2-13020X and HST Grant GO-10920.

A randomized, controlled trial of in situ pediatric advanced life support recertification ("pediatric advanced life support reconstructed") compared with standard pediatric advanced life support recertification for ICU frontline providers*.

PubMed

Kurosawa, Hiroshi; Ikeyama, Takanari; Achuff, Patricia; Perkel, Madeline; Watson, Christine; Monachino, Annemarie; Remy, Daphne; Deutsch, Ellen; Buchanan, Newton; Anderson, Jodee; Berg, Robert A; Nadkarni, Vinay M; Nishisaki, Akira

2014-03-01

Recent evidence shows poor retention of Pediatric Advanced Life Support provider skills. Frequent refresher training and in situ simulation are promising interventions. We developed a "Pediatric Advanced Life Support-reconstructed" recertification course by deconstructing the training into six 30-minute in situ simulation scenario sessions delivered over 6 months. We hypothesized that in situ Pediatric Advanced Life Support-reconstructed implementation is feasible and as effective as standard Pediatric Advanced Life Support recertification. A prospective randomized, single-blinded trial. Single-center, large, tertiary PICU in a university-affiliated children's hospital. Nurses and respiratory therapists in PICU. Simulation-based modular Pediatric Advanced Life Support recertification training. Simulation-based pre- and postassessment sessions were conducted to evaluate participants' performance. Video-recorded sessions were rated by trained raters blinded to allocation. The primary outcome was skill performance measured by a validated Clinical Performance Tool, and secondary outcome was behavioral performance measured by a Behavioral Assessment Tool. A mixed-effect model was used to account for baseline differences. Forty participants were prospectively randomized to Pediatric Advanced Life Support reconstructed versus standard Pediatric Advanced Life Support with no significant difference in demographics. Clinical Performance Tool score was similar at baseline in both groups and improved after Pediatric Advanced Life Support reconstructed (pre, 16.3 ± 4.1 vs post, 22.4 ± 3.9; p < 0.001), but not after standard Pediatric Advanced Life Support (pre, 14.3 ± 4.7 vs post, 14.9 ± 4.4; p =0.59). Improvement of Clinical Performance Tool was significantly higher in Pediatric Advanced Life Support reconstructed compared with standard Pediatric Advanced Life Support (p = 0.006). Behavioral Assessment Tool improved in both groups: Pediatric Advanced Life Support reconstructed (pre, 33.3 ± 4.5 vs post, 35.9 ± 5.0; p = 0.008) and standard Pediatric Advanced Life Support (pre, 30.5 ± 4.7 vs post, 33.6 ± 4.9; p = 0.02), with no significant difference of improvement between both groups (p = 0.49). For PICU-based nurses and respiratory therapists, simulation-based "Pediatric Advanced Life Support-reconstructed" in situ training is feasible and more effective than standard Pediatric Advanced Life Support recertification training for skill performance. Both Pediatric Advanced Life Support recertification training courses improved behavioral performance.

Potentially Stressful Life Events and Emotional Closeness between Grandparents and Adult Grandchildren

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wood, Suzanne; Liossis, Poppy

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study is to explore the variation in emotional closeness in the adult grandchild and grandparent relationship in relation to the occurrence of potentially stressful life events in childhood. A sample of university students (N = 119) completed a questionnaire measuring elements of intergenerational solidarity. Comparisons were…

Systems analysis of a closed loop ECLSS using the ASPEN simulation tool. Thermodynamic efficiency analysis of ECLSS components. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterjee, Sharmista

1993-01-01

Our first goal in this project was to perform a systems analysis of a closed loop Environmental Control Life Support System (ECLSS). This pertains to the development of a model of an existing real system from which to assess the state or performance of the existing system. Systems analysis is applied to conceptual models obtained from a system design effort. For our modelling purposes we used a simulator tool called ASPEN (Advanced System for Process Engineering). Our second goal was to evaluate the thermodynamic efficiency of the different components comprising an ECLSS. Use is made of the second law of thermodynamics to determine the amount of irreversibility of energy loss of each component. This will aid design scientists in selecting the components generating the least entropy, as our penultimate goal is to keep the entropy generation of the whole system at a minimum.

Paving the way for space gardens

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phillips, Patricia

1990-01-01

The Ecological Life Support System, a plant growth experiment now in its third year of closed chamber production at the NASA Kennedy Space Center, is discussed. Possible spin-off applications of hydrophonics experiments are noted. It is projected that long-term goals will include the integration of this garden system into the process of waste recycling for fertilization, air refreshment, and potable water recovery in a closed environment. The Biomass Production Chamber, a two-story bubble-shape steel biosphere modified from a Mercury/Gemini program attitude chamber provides a usable volume of 7.3 m x 3.6 m in diameter containing growing racks, piping for nutrient solutions, specialized lighting and sensors that provide information to the computers controlling the chamber and its functions. Computer programs provide highly sensitive monitoring and regulation of the system. Crops successfully harvested to date include dwarf wheat, lettuce, and soybeans.

Silence, death, and D/discourse: critical literary practices with lesbian seniors.

PubMed

Robson, Claire; Sumara, Dennis

2015-01-01

This article reports on a federally funded research project in which old lesbians were invited to separate out and examine the complicated strands of lives lived through times of great social change-times in which notions of "woman," "sexuality," and "subjectivity" have been both over- and under-determined by dominant discourse (Stein, 1997). We argue, with Haug (1992), that close attention to the personal is central to critical feminist perspectives and that writers can become more aware of normalizing cultural influences when they pay close attention to language. In this article, we support our position with a case study of one participant in our "language school" (Haug, 1992). As we analyzed her written life narratives and oral testimony, we conclude that she was able to reconsider comfortable "coming out" narratives in order to construct new meaning and to challenge her understandings of the past.

Candidate Species Selection: Cultural and Photosynthetic Aspects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, C. A.

1982-01-01

Cultural information is provided for a data base that will be used to select candidate crop species for a controlled ecological life support system (CELSS). Lists of food crops which will satisfy most nutritional requirements of humans and also fit within the scope of cultural restrictions that logically would apply to a closed, regenerating system were generated. Cultural and environmental conditions that will allow the most rapid production of edible biomass from candidate species in the shortest possible time are identified. Cultivars which are most productive in terms of edible biomass production by (CE) conditions, and which respond to the ever-closed approach to optimization realized by each shortened production cycle are selected. The experimental approach with lettuce was to grow the crop hydroponically in a growth chamber and to manipulate such variables as light level and duration, day/night temperature, and nutrient form and level in the solution culture.

[Life support of the Mars exploration crew. Control of a zeolite system for carbon dioxide removal from space cabin air within a closed air regeneration cycle].

PubMed

Chekov, Iu F

2009-01-01

The author describes a zeolite system for carbon dioxide removal integrated into a closed air regeneration cycle aboard spacecraft. The continuous operation of a double-adsorbent regeneration system with pCO2-dependable productivity is maintained through programmable setting of adsorption (desorption) semicycle time. The optimal system regulation curve is presented within the space of statistical performance family obtained in quasi-steady operating modes with controlled parameters of the recurrent adsorption-desorption cycle. The automatically changing system productivity ensures continuous intake of concentrated CO2. Control of the adsorption-desorption process is based on calculation of the differential adsorption (desorption) heat from gradient of adsorbent and test inert substance temperatures. The adaptive algorithm of digital control is implemented through the standard spacecraft interface with the board computer system and programmable microprocessor-based controllers.

Ion-exchange chromatography separation applied to mineral recycle in closed systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballou, E.; Spitze, L. A.; Wong, F. W.; Wydeven, T.; Johnson, C. C.

1981-01-01

As part of the controlled ecological life support system (CELSS) program, a study is being made of mineral separation on ion-exchange columns. The purpose of the mineral separation step is to allow minerals to be recycled from the oxidized waste products of plants, man, and animals for hydroponic food production. In the CELSS application, relatively large quantities of minerals in a broad concentration range must be recovered by the desired system, rather than the trace quantities and very low concentrations treated in analytical applications of ion-exchange chromatography. Experiments have been carried out to assess the parameters pertinent to the scale-up of ion-exchange chromatography and to determine feasibility. Preliminary conclusions are that the column scale-up is in a reasonable size range for the CELSS application. The recycling of a suitable eluent, however, remains a major challenge to the suitability of using ion exchange chromatography in closed systems.

Challenges to plant growing in space.

PubMed

Langhans, R W; Dreesen, D R

1988-04-01

Picture yourself a million miles from earth; it's lunch time. What will you eat: meat, fish, bread, fresh vegetables (cooked or uncooked), or food from a tube? What will happen to the waste products from the processed food or even from yourself? What will you breathe? These and hundreds of detailed questions must be answered. At present, we have little knowledge about a totally closed environment life support system (CELSS). We have developed in this paper a list of references that are pertinent to the problem. It is divided into subject areas and listed chronologically, rather than alphabetically.

KSC-08pd3200

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-10-15

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers prepare to close the hatch on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The module is the payload for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. The 15-day mission will deliver equipment and supplies to the space station in preparation for expansion from a three- to six-person resident crew aboard the complex. Leonardo holds supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware. Endeavour is targeted for launch Nov. 14. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-08pd3201

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-10-15

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers prepare to close the hatch on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Leonardo. The module is the payload for space shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. The 15-day mission will deliver equipment and supplies to the space station in preparation for expansion from a three- to six-person resident crew aboard the complex. Leonardo holds supplies and equipment, including additional crew quarters, equipment for the regenerative life support system and spare hardware. Endeavour is targeted for launch Nov. 14. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Use of inedible wheat residues from the KSC-CELSS breadboard facility for production of fungal cellulase

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strayer, R. F.; Brannon, M. A.; Garland, J. L.

1990-01-01

Cellulose and xylan (a hemicellulose) comprise 50 percent of inedible wheat residue (which is 60 percent of total wheat biomass) produced in the Kennedy Space Center Closed Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Breadboard Biomass Production Chamber (BPC). These polysaccharides can be converted by enzymatic hydrolysis into useful monosaccharides, thus maximizing the use of BPC volume and energy, and minimizing waste material to be treated. The evaluation of CELSS-derived wheat residues for production for cellulase enzyme complex by Trichoderma reesei and supplemental beta-glucosidase by Aspergillus phoenicis is in progress. Results to date are given.

Challenges to plant growing in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langhans, R. W.; Dreesen, D. R.

1988-01-01

Picture yourself a million miles from earth; it's lunch time. What will you eat: meat, fish, bread, fresh vegetables (cooked or uncooked), or food from a tube? What will happen to the waste products from the processed food or even from yourself? What will you breathe? These and hundreds of detailed questions must be answered. At present, we have little knowledge about a totally closed environment life support system (CELSS). We have developed in this paper a list of references that are pertinent to the problem. It is divided into subject areas and listed chronologically, rather than alphabetically.

Water and waste water reclamation in a 21st century space colony

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jebens, H. J.; Johnson, R. D.

1977-01-01

The paper presents the results of research on closed-life support systems initiated during a system design study on space colonization and concentrates on the water and waste water components. Metabolic requirements for the 10,000 inhabitants were supplied by an assumed earth-like diet from an intensive agriculture system. Condensed atmospheric moisture provided a source of potable water and a portion of the irrigation water. Waste water was reclaimed by wet oxidation. The dual-water supply required the condensation of 175 kg/person-day of atmospheric water and the processing of 250 kg/person-day of waste water.

Automation of closed environments in space for human comfort and safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

The results are presented of the first year of a three year project on the automation of the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) of the Space Station Freedom (SSF). The results are applicable to other future space mission. The work was done by the Kansas State University NASA/USRA interdisciplinary student design team. The six ECLSS subsystems and how they interact are discussed. Proposed control schemes and their rationale are discussed for the Atmosphere Revitalization (AR) subsystem. Finally, a description of the mathematical models for many components of the ECLSS control system is given.

Experiences of Australian men diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer: a qualitative study

PubMed Central

Chambers, Suzanne K; Hyde, Melissa K; Laurie, Kirstyn; Legg, Melissa; Frydenberg, Mark; Davis, Ian D; Lowe, Anthony; Dunn, Jeff

2018-01-01

Objective To explore men’s lived experience of advanced prostate cancer (PCa) and preferences for support. Design Cross-sectional qualitative study applying open-ended surveys and interviews conducted between June and November 2016. Interviews audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim and analysed from an interpretive phenomenological perspective. Setting Australia, nation-wide. Participants 39 men diagnosed with advanced PCa (metastatic or castration-resistant biochemical progression) were surveyed with 28 men subsequently completing a semistructured in depth telephone interview. Results Thematic analysis of interviews identified two organising themes: lived experience and supportive care. Lived experience included six superordinate themes: regret about late diagnosis and treatment decisions, being discounted in the health system, fear/uncertainty about the future, acceptance of their situation, masculinity and treatment effects. Supportive care included five superordinate themes: communication, care coordination, accessible care, shared experience/peer support and involvement of their partner/family. Conclusions Life course and the health and social context of PCa influence men’s experiences of advanced disease. Multimodal interventions integrating peer support and specialist nurses are needed that more closely articulate with men’s expressed needs. PMID:29455168

Childhood abuse affects emotional closeness with family in mid- and later life.

PubMed

Savla, J Tina; Roberto, Karen A; Jaramillo-Sierra, Ana L; Gambrel, Laura Eubanks; Karimi, Hassan; Butner, L Michelle

2013-06-01

Knowledge about the effects of early life adversity on kin relationships in later years is sparse. The purpose of this study was to examine if childhood abuse and adversity negatively influences emotional closeness with family in mid- and later life. A second goal was to determine the role of psychosocial resources and personality traits in buffering the effects of early adversities. Gender and cohort differences were explored to see if men were differentially affected than women and whether middle-aged adults (35-49 years old) were differentially affected than older adults (50-74 years old) by the effects of childhood abuse and adversity. Using retrospective accounts of early family abuse and adversities of 1,266 middle aged adults and 1,219 older adults from a large population-based survey, the National Survey of Midlife Development in United States (MIDUS), separate multiple regression analyses were conducted for the two cohorts to examine the effects of childhood emotional and physical abuse and family adversities on perceived emotional closeness with family. Interaction effects between childhood abuse and adversity (e.g., being expelled from school, death of sibling, parental divorce, losing a home to a natural disaster) with psychosocial resources (perceived control and self acceptance), personality characteristics (extraversion and neuroticism), and gender were examined. Results of OLS regressions suggest emotional and physical abuse predicted family closeness in middle-aged adults. Conversely, only emotional abuse predicted family closeness in older adults. Moderation models revealed that high levels of self acceptance were associated with better maintenance of emotional closeness among middle-aged adults who were emotionally and physically abused as children. Older adults with lower extraversion who experienced emotional abuse or reported greater number of adversities in childhood were found to be at higher risk for lower emotional closeness with family. Early life adversities were more detrimental for women. Findings suggest that the aftermath of childhood abuse does not dissipate with time, but continues to influence family relationships in mid- and later life. Identifying the links between childhood adversities and adult relationships can help identify strategic points for intervention to reduce the long-term effects of accumulated adverse experiences over the life course. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Understanding How Clinician-Patient Relationships and Relational Continuity of Care Affect Recovery from Serious Mental Illness: STARS Study Results

PubMed Central

Green, Carla A.; Polen, Michael R.; Janoff, Shannon L.; Castleton, David K.; Wisdom, Jennifer P.; Vuckovic, Nancy; Perrin, Nancy A.; Paulson, Robert I.; Oken, Stuart L.

2008-01-01

Objective Recommendations for improving care include increased patient-clinician collaboration, patient empowerment, and greater relational continuity of care. All rely upon good clinician-patient relationships, yet little is known about how relational continuity and clinician-patient relationships interact, or their effects on recovery from mental illness. Methods Individuals (92 women, 85 men) with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, affective psychosis, or bipolar disorder participated in this observational study. Participants completed in-depth interviews detailing personal and mental health histories. Questionnaires included quality of life and recovery assessments and were linked to records of services used. Qualitative analyses yielded a hypothesized model of the effects of relational continuity and clinician-patient relationships on recovery and quality of life, tested using covariance structure modeling. Results Qualitative data showed that positive, trusting relationships with clinicians, developed over time, aid recovery. When “fit” with clinicians was good, long-term relational continuity of care allowed development of close, collaborative relationships, fostered good illness and medication management, and supported patient-directed decisions. Most valued were competent, caring, trustworthy, and trusting clinicians who treated clinical encounters “like friendships,” increasing willingness to seek help and continue care when treatments were not effective and supporting “normal” rather than “mentally ill” identities. Statistical models showed positive relationships between recovery-oriented patient-driven care and satisfaction with clinicians, medication satisfaction, and recovery. Relational continuity indirectly affected quality of life via satisfaction with clinicians; medication satisfaction was associated with fewer symptoms; fewer symptoms were associated with recovery and better quality of life. Conclusions Strong clinician-patient relationships, relational continuity, and a caring, collaborative approach facilitate recovery from mental illness and improved quality of life. PMID:18614445

Understanding how clinician-patient relationships and relational continuity of care affect recovery from serious mental illness: STARS study results.

PubMed

Green, Carla A; Polen, Michael R; Janoff, Shannon L; Castleton, David K; Wisdom, Jennifer P; Vuckovic, Nancy; Perrin, Nancy A; Paulson, Robert I; Oken, Stuart L

2008-01-01

Recommendations for improving care include increased patient-clinician collaboration, patient empowerment, and greater relational continuity of care. All rely upon good clinician-patient relationships, yet little is known about how relational continuity and clinician-patient relationships interact, or their effects on recovery from mental illness. Individuals (92 women, 85 men) with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, affective psychosis, or bipolar disorder participated in this observational study. Participants completed in-depth interviews detailing personal and mental health histories. Questionnaires included quality of life and recovery assessments and were linked to records of services used. Qualitative analyses yielded a hypothesized model of the effects of relational continuity and clinician-patient relationships on recovery and quality of life, tested using covariance structure modeling. Qualitative data showed that positive, trusting relationships with clinicians, developed over time, aid recovery. When "fit" with clinicians was good, long-term relational continuity of care allowed development of close, collaborative relationships, fostered good illness and medication management, and supported patient-directed decisions. Most valued were competent, caring, trustworthy, and trusting clinicians who treated clinical encounters "like friendships," increasing willingness to seek help and continue care when treatments were not effective and supporting "normal" rather than "mentally ill" identities. Statistical models showed positive relationships between recovery-oriented patient-driven care and satisfaction with clinicians, medication satisfaction, and recovery. Relational continuity indirectly affected quality of life via satisfaction with clinicians; medication satisfaction was associated with fewer symptoms; fewer symptoms were associated with recovery and better quality of life. Strong clinician-patient relationships, relational continuity, and a caring, collaborative approach facilitate recovery from mental illness and improved quality of life.

Relicts and models of the RNA world

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehto, Kirsi; Karetnikov, Alexey

2005-01-01

It is widely believed that the current DNA-RNA-protein-based life forms have evolved from preceding RNA-protein-based life forms, and these again, from mere RNA replicons. By rationale, it can be assumed that the early RNA replicons were fully heterotrophic in terms of obtaining all their building blocks from their environment. In the absence of protein catalysts, their essential life functions had to be mediated by simple functional structures and mechanisms, such as RNA secondary structures, RNA-RNA interactions and RNA-mediated catalysis, and possibly by catalytic minerals or clays. The central role of RNA catalysts in early life forms is supported by the fact that several catalytic RNAs still perform central biological functions in current life forms, and at least some of these may be derived as molecular relicts from the early RNA-based life. The RNA-catalysed metabolic reactions and molecular fossils are more conserved in the eukaryotic life forms than in the prokaryotes, suggesting that the linear eukaryote genomes may more closely resemble the structure and function of the early RNA replicons, than what do the circular prokaryote genomes. Present-day RNA viruses and viroids utilize ultimately simple life strategies, which may be similar to those used by the early RNA replicons. Thus, molecular and functional properties of viruses and viroids may be considered as examples or models of the structures and replication mechanisms, which might have been used for the replication of the early biopolymers.

Coping mediates the influence of personality on life satisfaction in patients with rheumatic diseases.

PubMed

Vollmann, Manja; Pukrop, Jörg; Salewski, Christel

2016-04-01

A rheumatic disease can severely impair a person's quality of life. The degree of impairment, however, is not closely related to objective indicators of disease severity. This study investigated the influence and the interplay of core psychological factors, i.e., personality and coping, on life satisfaction in patients with rheumatic diseases. Particularly, it was tested whether coping mediates the effects of personality on life satisfaction. In a cross-sectional design, 158 patients diagnosed with a rheumatic disease completed questionnaires assessing the Big 5 personality traits (BFI-10), several disease-related coping strategies (EFK) and life satisfaction (HSWBS). Data were analyzed using a complex multiple mediation analysis with the Big 5 personality traits as predictors, coping strategies as mediators and life satisfaction as outcome. All personality traits and seven of the nine coping strategies were associated with life satisfaction (rs > |0.16|, ps ≤ 0.05). The mediation analysis revealed that personality traits had no direct, but rather indirect effects on life satisfaction through coping. Neuroticism had a negative indirect effect on life satisfaction through less active problem solving and more depressive coping (indirect effects > -0.03, ps < 0.05). Extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness had positive indirect effects on life satisfaction through more active problem solving, less depressive coping and/or a more active search for social support (indirect effects > 0.06, ps < 0.05). Personality and coping play a role in adjustment to rheumatic diseases. The interplay of these variables should be considered in psychological interventions for patients with rheumatic diseases.

Physical maturation, life-history classes and age estimates of free-ranging western gorillas--insights from Mbeli Bai, Republic of Congo.

PubMed

Breuer, Thomas; Hockemba, Mireille Breuer-Ndoundou; Olejniczak, Claudia; Parnell, Richard J; Stokes, Emma J

2009-02-01

Physical maturation and life-history parameters are seen as evolutionary adaptations to different ecological and social conditions. Comparison of life-history patterns of closely related species living in diverse environments helps to evaluate the validity of these assumptions but empirical data are lacking. The two gorilla species exhibit substantial differences in their environment, which allows investigation into the role of increased frugivory in shaping western gorilla life histories. We present behavioral and morphological data on western gorilla physical maturation and life-history parameters from a 12.5-year study at Mbeli Bai, a forest clearing in the Nouabalé-Ndoki National Park in northern Congo. We assign photographs of known individuals to different life-history classes and propose new age boundaries for life-history classes in western gorillas, which can be used and tested at other western gorilla research sites. Our results show that western gorillas are weaned at a later age compared with mountain gorillas and indicate slower physical maturation of immatures. These findings support the risk-aversion hypothesis for more frugivorous species. However, our methods need to be applied and tested with other gorilla populations. The slow life histories of western gorillas could have major consequences for social structure, mortality patterns and population growth rates that will affect recovery from population crashes of this critically endangered species. We emphasize that long-term studies can provide crucial demographic and life-history data that improve our understanding of life-history evolution and adaptation and help to refine conservation strategies. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Food allergy and attitudes to close interpersonal relationships: An exploratory study on attachment.

PubMed

Polloni, Laura; Schiff, Sami; Ferruzza, Emilia; Lazzarotto, Francesca; Bonaguro, Roberta; Toniolo, Alice; Celegato, Nicolò; Muraro, Antonella

2017-08-01

Food allergy is a common immunologic disease that includes potentially fatal reactions. It impacts considerably on patients' social life including close interpersonal relationships. Attachment theory provides a theoretic framework to evaluate the quality of close interpersonal relationships in chronic disorders. Attachment insecurity, mainly characterized by attachment avoidance, has been found in a variety of health conditions, but still needs to be investigated in food allergy. The study aimed to investigate attachment, as attitude to close interpersonal relationships, among food-allergic young patients, compared to healthy controls. This is a cross-sectional study involving patients suffering from IgE-mediated food allergy sequentially recruited and matched to healthy controls for age and gender. The Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ) was used to assess five factors and two attachment dimensions (Anxiety-Avoidance). Associations with anaphylaxis and adrenaline prescription were explored among patients. 174 participants were assessed (female=45%; mean age=17.51; SD=4.26). Food-allergic patients reported significantly higher levels of Discomfort with Closeness (P<.05), Relationships as Secondary (P<.05) and Attachment Avoidance (P<.0001) compared to controls. Clinicians should be aware of implications of insecure attachment for health and illness. They should support patients in limiting social impairment finding a balance between safety and psychologic well-being. © 2017 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

Closed Classrooms, High Mountains and Strange Lands: An Inquiry into Culture and Caring.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kraft, Richard J.

1992-01-01

The current closed classroom system of education is not sufficient in preparing students for real world life. Proposes that the wilderness, cross-cultural, and international settings are a very powerful learning environment in which life-changing experiences can and do occur. Presents the Outward Bound process and Adler's stage theory of…

Advanced life support technology development for the Space Exploration Initiative

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Evanich, Peggy L.; Voecks, Gerald E.; Seshan, P. K.

1990-01-01

An overview is presented of NASA's advanced life support technology development strategy for the Space Exploration Initiative. Three basic life support technology areas are discussed in detail: air revitalization, water reclamation, and solid waste management. It is projected that regenerative life support systems will become increasingly more complex as system closure is maximized. Advanced life support technology development will utilize three complementary elements, including the Research and Technology Program, the Regenerative Life Support Program, and the Technology Testbed Validations.

Social networks, social support mechanisms, and quality of life after breast cancer diagnosis.

PubMed

Kroenke, Candyce H; Kwan, Marilyn L; Neugut, Alfred I; Ergas, Isaac J; Wright, Jaime D; Caan, Bette J; Hershman, Dawn; Kushi, Lawrence H

2013-06-01

We examined mechanisms through which social relationships influence quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer survivors. This study included 3,139 women from the Pathways Study who were diagnosed with breast cancer from 2006 to 2011 and provided data on social networks (the presence of a spouse or intimate partner, religious/social ties, volunteering, and numbers of close friends and relatives), social support (tangible support, emotional/informational support, affection, positive social interaction), and QOL, measured by the FACT-B, approximately 2 months post diagnosis. We used logistic models to evaluate associations between social network size, social support, and lower versus higher than median QOL scores. We further stratified by stage at diagnosis and treatment. In multivariate-adjusted analyses, women who were characterized as socially isolated had significantly lower FACT-B (OR = 2.18, 95 % CI: 1.72-2.77), physical well-being (WB) (OR = 1.61, 95 % CI: 1.27-2.03), functional WB (OR = 2.08, 95 % CI: 1.65-2.63), social WB (OR = 3.46, 95 % CI: 2.73-4.39), and emotional WB (OR = 1.67, 95 % CI: 1.33-2.11) scores and higher breast cancer symptoms (OR = 1.48, 95 % CI: 1.18-1.87) compared with socially integrated women. Each social network member independently predicted higher QOL. Simultaneous adjustment for social networks and social support partially attenuated associations between social networks and QOL. The strongest mediator and type of social support that was most predictive of QOL outcomes was "positive social interaction." However, each type of support was important depending on outcome, stage, and treatment status. Larger social networks and greater social support were related to higher QOL after a diagnosis of breast cancer. Effective social support interventions need to evolve beyond social-emotional interventions and need to account for disease severity and treatment status.

Daily social interactions, close relationships, and systemic inflammation in two samples: Healthy middle-aged and older adults.

PubMed

Bajaj, Amoha; John-Henderson, Neha A; Cundiff, Jenny M; Marsland, Anna L; Manuck, Stephen B; Kamarck, Thomas W

2016-11-01

Systemic inflammation is thought to be a biological mediator between social relationship quality and premature mortality. Empirical work has yielded mixed support for an association of social relationship variables with systemic inflammation, perhaps due to methodological limitations. To date, research in this literature has focused on global perceptions of social relationships, with limited attention to the covariance of characteristics of daily social interactions with inflammation. Here, we examine whether daily interactions, as assessed by ecological momentary assessment (EMA), associate with peripheral markers of inflammation among midlife and older adults. Global social support and integration were measured using the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) and the Social Network Index (SNI), respectively, in older adults from the Pittsburgh Healthy Heart Project (PHHP), and in middle-aged adults from the Adult Health and Behavior Project-II (AHAB-II). Using time-sampled EMA, we assessed the proportion of the day spent in positive and negative social interactions. Systemic markers of inflammation were interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP). Global measures of support and integration did not associate with inflammation in either sample. In older adults, relative frequency of total positive interactions, those with close others (i.e. spouse, friends, family), and those with coworkers predicted lower concentrations of IL-6 in fully adjusted models, accounting for age, sex, race, education, BMI, smoking and alcohol. In middle-aged adults, relative frequency of positive interactions with close others was also inversely associated with IL-6 level and relative frequency of negative marital interactions was unexpectedly inversely associated with CRP level. Characteristics of daily social interactions among midlife and older adults associate with markers of systemic inflammation that are known to predict risk for cardiovascular disease. Ambulatory measures may better capture health-relevant social processes in daily life than retrospective, global self-report measures. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Development of an atmospheric monitoring plan for space station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casserly, Dennis M.

1989-01-01

An environmental health monitoring plan for Space Station will ensure crew health during prolonged habitation. The Space Station, Freedom, will operate for extended periods, 90+ days, without resupply. A regenerative, closed loop life support system will be utilized in order to minimize resupply logistics and costs. Overboard disposal of wastes and venting of gases to space will be minimal. All waste material will be treated and recycled. The concentrated wastes will be stabilized and stored for ground disposal. The expected useful life of the station (decades) and the diversity of materials brought aboard for experimental or manufacturing purposes, increases the likelihood of cabin contamination. Processes by which cabin contamination can occur include: biological waste production, material off-gassing, process leakage, accidental containment breach, and accumulation due to poor removal efficiencies of the purification units. An industrial hygiene approach was taken to rationalize monitoring needs and to identify the substances likely to be present, the amount, and their hazard.

Extended mission life support systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrone, P. D.

1985-01-01

Extended manned space missions which include interplanetary missions require regenerative life support systems. Manned mission life support considerations are placed in perspective and previous manned space life support system technology, activities and accomplishments in current supporting research and technology (SR&T) programs are reviewed. The life support subsystem/system technologies required for an enhanced duration orbiter (EDO) and a space operations center (SOC), regenerative life support functions and technology required for manned interplanetary flight vehicles, and future development requirements are outlined. The Space Shuttle Orbiters (space transportation system) is space cabin atmosphere is maintained at Earth ambient pressure of 14.7 psia (20% O2 and 80% N2). The early Shuttle flights will be seven-day flights, and the life support system flight hardware will still utilize expendables.

Normative Ideas of Life and Autobiographical Reasoning in Life Narratives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bohn, Annette

2011-01-01

Autobiographical reasoning is closely related to the development of normative ideas about life as measured by the cultural life script. The acquisition of a life script is an important prerequisite for autobiographical reasoning because children learn through the life script which events are expected to go into their life story, and when to expect…

Does an Open Recirculation Line Affect the Flow Rate and Pressure in a Neonatal Extracorporeal Life Support Circuit With a Centrifugal or Roller Pump?

PubMed

Wang, Shigang; Spencer, Shannon B; Woitas, Karl; Glass, Kristen; Kunselman, Allen R; Ündar, Akif

2017-01-01

The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of an open or closed recirculation line on flow rate, circuit pressure, and hemodynamic energy transmission in simulated neonatal extracorporeal life support (ECLS) systems. The two neonatal ECLS circuits consisted of a Maquet HL20 roller pump (RP group) or a RotaFlow centrifugal pump (CP group), Quadrox-iD Pediatric oxygenator, and Biomedicus arterial and venous cannulae (8 Fr and 10 Fr) primed with lactated Ringer's solution and packed red blood cells (hematocrit 35%). Trials were conducted at flow rates ranging from 200 to 600 mL/min (200 mL/min increments) with a closed or open recirculation line at 36°C. Real-time pressure and flow data were recorded using a custom-based data acquisition system. In the RP group, the preoxygenator flow did not change when the recirculation line was open while the prearterial cannula flow decreased by 15.7-20.0% (P < 0.01). Circuit pressure, total circuit pressure drop, and hemodynamic energy delivered to patients also decreased (P < 0.01). In the CP group, the prearterial cannula flow did not change while preoxygenator flow increased by 13.6-18.8% (P < 0.01). Circuit pressure drop and hemodynamic energy transmission remained the same. The results showed that the shunt of an open recirculation line could decrease perfusion flow in patients in the ECLS circuit using a roller pump, but did not change perfusion flow in the circuit using a centrifugal pump. An additional flow sensor is needed to monitor perfusion flow in patients if any shunts exist in the ECLS circuit. © 2016 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Supraoptimal carbon dioxide effects on growth of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, R. M.; Mackowiak, C. L.; Siegriest, L. M.; Sager, J. C.; Knott, W. M. (Principal Investigator)

1993-01-01

In tightly closed environments used for human life support in space, carbon dioxide (CO2) partial pressures can reach 500 to 1000 Pa, which may be supraoptimal or toxic to plants used for life support. To study this, soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. cvs. McCall and Pixie] were grown for 90 days at 50, 100, 200, and 500 Pa partial pressure CO2 (500, 1000, 2000, and 5000 ppm). Plants were grown using recirculating nutrient film technique with a 12-h photoperiod, a 26 degrees C/20 degrees C thermoperiod, and approximately 300 micromoles m-2 s-1 photosynthetic photon flux (PPF). Seed yield and total biomass were greatest at 100 Pa for cv. McCall, suggesting that higher CO2 levels were supraoptimal. Seed yield and total biomass for cv. Pixie showed little difference between CO2 treatments. Average stomatal conductance of upper canopy leaves at 50 Pa CO2 approximately 500 Pa > 200 Pa > 100 Pa. Total water use over 90 d for both cultivars (combined on one recirculating system) equalled 822 kg water for 100 Pa CO2, 845 kg for 50 Pa, 879 kg for 200 Pa, and 1194 kg for 500 Pa. Water use efficiences for both cultivars combined equalled 3.03 (g biomass kg-1 water) for 100 Pa CO2, 2.54 g kg-1 for 200 Pa, 2.42 g kg-1 for 50 Pa, and 1.91 g kg-1 for 500 Pa. The increased stomatal conductance and stand water use at the highest CO2 level (500 Pa) were unexpected and pose interesting considerations for managing plants in a tightly closed system where CO2 concentrations may reach high levels.

Volatiles Evolved from Soybean Products Intended for Use in Long Duration Space Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vodovotz, Yael; Bourland, Charles T.

1999-01-01

Soybeans have been baselined to be grown in a habitat (Advanced Life Support Systems Integration Test Bed, ALSSITB) intended for evaluating advanced life support systems developed for long duration missions to the Moon or Mars. The ALSSITB is being constructed at NASA-Johnson Space Center and is composed of 5 chambers (4.6 m x 11.3 m each) and an airlock joined by an interconnecting tunnel (3.7 m x 19.2 m). Processed soy products such as soy milk and soy bread are planned to be incorporated into a nutritionally sound, plant-based food system. Since all consumables will be recycled and reused, volatile compounds evolved during the manufacturing of these food products need to be quantified to assess their impact on this closed loop system. Soy milk was made in a prototype machine and bread in a commercial bread baking machine. These machines were each placed in a tightly closed chamber and, at the completion of the process, air volatiles were identified and quantified by GC/MS. For soy milk, ethanol, acetaldehyde, methanol, hexanal, propanal and acetone and for soybread, acetaldehyde, ethanol, N-propanol and ethyl acetate were detected in significant quantities. The crew members will spend an average of 180 days in the ALSSITB and it was estimated that 138 batches of soy milk will be processed in the tunnel and 130 loaves of soybread would be baked in the habitat chamber during their stay. The aforementioned volatiles would surpass the 180 day Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentrations (SMACs) if no means of scrubbing are adapted which would lead to toxic levels of these compounds. Therefore, sufficient means for eliminating the contribution of volatiles evolved from food processing and preparation equipment needs to be provided in the ALSSITB.

Physiological Disorders in Closed Environment-Grown Crops for Space Life Support

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wheeler, Raymond; Morrow, Robert

Crop production for life support systems in space will require controlled environments where temperature, humidity, CO2, and light might differ from natural environments where plants evolved. Physiological disorders, i.e., abnormal plant growth and development, can occur under these controlled environments. Among the most common of these disorders are Ca deficiency injuries such as leaf tipburn (e.g., lettuce), blossom-end-rot in fruits (e.g., tomato and pepper), and internal tissue necrosis in fruits or tubers (e.g., cucumber and potato). Increased Ca nutrition to the plants typically has little effect on these disorders, but slowing overall growth or providing better air circulation to increase transpiration can be effective. A second common disorder is oedema or intumescence, which appears as callus-like growth or galls on leaves (e.g., sweetpotato, potato, pepper, and tomato). This disorder can be reduced by increasing the near UV radiation ( 300-400 nm) to the plants. Leaf injury and necrosis can occur under long photoperiods (e.g., tomato, potato, and pepper) and at super-elevated (i.e., ¿ than 4000 mol mol-1) CO2 concentrations (e.g., soybean, potato, and radish), and these can be managed by reducing the photoperiod and CO2 concentration, respectively. Lack of blue light in the spectrum (e.g., under red LEDs or LPS lamps) can result in leggy growth and/or leaves lacking in chlorophyll (e.g., wheat, bean, and radish). Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), most commonly ethylene, can accumulate in tightly closed systems and result in a variety of negative responses. Most of these disorders can be mitigated by altering the environmental set-points or by using more resistant cultivars.

The Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) advanced automation project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dewberry, Brandon S.; Carnes, Ray

1990-01-01

The objective of the environmental control and life support system (ECLSS) Advanced Automation Project is to influence the design of the initial and evolutionary Space Station Freedom Program (SSFP) ECLSS toward a man-made closed environment in which minimal flight and ground manpower is needed. Another objective includes capturing ECLSS design and development knowledge future missions. Our approach has been to (1) analyze the SSFP ECLSS, (2) envision as our goal a fully automated evolutionary environmental control system - an augmentation of the baseline, and (3) document the advanced software systems, hooks, and scars which will be necessary to achieve this goal. From this analysis, prototype software is being developed, and will be tested using air and water recovery simulations and hardware subsystems. In addition, the advanced software is being designed, developed, and tested using automation software management plan and lifecycle tools. Automated knowledge acquisition, engineering, verification and testing tools are being used to develop the software. In this way, we can capture ECLSS development knowledge for future use develop more robust and complex software, provide feedback to the knowledge based system tool community, and ensure proper visibility of our efforts.

Helmet Exhalation Capture System (HECS) Sizing Evaluation for an Advanced Space Suit Portable Life Support System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Paul, Heather L.; Waguespack, Glenn M.; Paul, Thomas H.; Conger, Bruce C.

2008-01-01

As part of NASA s initiative to develop an advanced portable life support system (PLSS), a baseline schematic has been chosen that includes gaseous oxygen in a closed circuit ventilation configuration. Supply oxygen enters the suit at the back of the helmet and return gases pass over the astronaut s body to be extracted at the astronaut s wrists and ankles through the liquid cooling and ventilation garment (LCVG). The extracted gases are then treated using a rapid cycling amine (RCA) system for carbon dioxide and water removal and activated carbon for trace gas removal before being mixed with makeup oxygen and reintroduced into the helmet. Thermal control is provided by a suit water membrane evaporator (SWME). As an extension of the original schematic development, NASA evaluated several Helmet Exhalation Capture System (HECS) configurations as alternatives to the baseline. The HECS configurations incorporate the use of full contact masks or non-contact masks to reduce flow requirements within the PLSS ventilation subsystem. The primary scope of this study was to compare the alternatives based on mass and volume considerations; however other design issues were also briefly investigated. This paper summarizes the results of this sizing analysis task.

Performance testing of collision-avoidance system for power wheelchairs.

PubMed

Lopresti, Edmund F; Sharma, Vinod; Simpson, Richard C; Mostowy, L Casimir

2011-01-01

The Drive-Safe System (DSS) is a collision-avoidance system for power wheelchairs designed to support people with mobility impairments who also have visual, upper-limb, or cognitive impairments. The DSS uses a distributed approach to provide an add-on, shared-control, navigation-assistance solution. In this project, the DSS was tested for engineering goals such as sensor coverage, maximum safe speed, maximum detection distance, and power consumption while the wheelchair was stationary or driven by an investigator. Results indicate that the DSS provided uniform, reliable sensor coverage around the wheelchair; detected obstacles as small as 3.2 mm at distances of at least 1.6 m; and attained a maximum safe speed of 4.2 km/h. The DSS can drive reliably as close as 15.2 cm from a wall, traverse doorways as narrow as 81.3 cm without interrupting forward movement, and reduce wheelchair battery life by only 3%. These results have implications for a practical system to support safe, independent mobility for veterans who acquire multiple disabilities during Active Duty or later in life. These tests indicate that a system utilizing relatively low cost ultrasound, infrared, and force sensors can effectively detect obstacles in the vicinity of a wheelchair.

Review and analysis of over 40 years of space plant growth systems.

PubMed

Zabel, P; Bamsey, M; Schubert, D; Tajmar, M

2016-08-01

The cultivation of higher plants occupies an essential role within bio-regenerative life support systems. It contributes to all major functional aspects by closing the different loops in a habitat like food production, CO2 reduction, O2 production, waste recycling and water management. Fresh crops are also expected to have a positive impact on crew psychological health. Plant material was first launched into orbit on unmanned vehicles as early as the 1960s. Since then, more than a dozen different plant cultivation experiments have been flown on crewed vehicles beginning with the launch of Oasis 1, in 1971. Continuous subsystem improvements and increasing knowledge of plant response to the spaceflight environment has led to the design of Veggie and the Advanced Plant Habitat, the latest in the series of plant growth systems. The paper reviews the different designs and technological solutions implemented in higher plant flight experiments. Using these analyses a comprehensive comparison is compiled to illustrate the development trends of controlled environment agriculture technologies in bio-regenerative life support systems, enabling future human long-duration missions into the solar system. Copyright © 2016 The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR). Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biotechnology

NASA Image and Video Library

2003-02-09

Dwarf wheat were photographed aboard the International Space Station in April 2002. Lessons from on-orbit research on plants will have applications to terrestrial agriculture as well as for long-term space missions. Alternative agricultural systems that can efficiently produce greater quantities of high-quality crops in a small area are important for future space expeditions. Also regenerative life-support systems that include plants will be an important component of long-term space missions. Data from the Biomass Production System (BPS) and the Photosynthesis Experiment and System Testing and Operations (PESTO) will advance controlled-environment agricultural systems and will help farmers produce better, healthier crops in a small area. This same knowledge is critical to closed-loop life support systems for spacecraft. The BPS comprises a miniature environmental control system for four plant growth chambers, all in the volume of two space shuttle lockers. The experience with the BPS on orbit is providing valuable design and operational lessons that will be incorporated into the Plant Growth Units. The objective of PESTO was to flight verify the BPS hardware and to determine how the microgravity environment affects the photosynthesis and metabolic function of Super Dwarf wheat and Brassica rapa (a member of the mustard family).

Dwarf Wheat grown aboard the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2003-01-01

Dwarf wheat were photographed aboard the International Space Station in April 2002. Lessons from on-orbit research on plants will have applications to terrestrial agriculture as well as for long-term space missions. Alternative agricultural systems that can efficiently produce greater quantities of high-quality crops in a small area are important for future space expeditions. Also regenerative life-support systems that include plants will be an important component of long-term space missions. Data from the Biomass Production System (BPS) and the Photosynthesis Experiment and System Testing and Operations (PESTO) will advance controlled-environment agricultural systems and will help farmers produce better, healthier crops in a small area. This same knowledge is critical to closed-loop life support systems for spacecraft. The BPS comprises a miniature environmental control system for four plant growth chambers, all in the volume of two space shuttle lockers. The experience with the BPS on orbit is providing valuable design and operational lessons that will be incorporated into the Plant Growth Units. The objective of PESTO was to flight verify the BPS hardware and to determine how the microgravity environment affects the photosynthesis and metabolic function of Super Dwarf wheat and Brassica rapa (a member of the mustard family).

Heterotrophic Proteobacteria in the vicinity of diffuse hydrothermal venting.

PubMed

Meier, Dimitri V; Bach, Wolfgang; Girguis, Peter R; Gruber-Vodicka, Harald R; Reeves, Eoghan P; Richter, Michael; Vidoudez, Charles; Amann, Rudolf; Meyerdierks, Anke

2016-12-01

Deep-sea hydrothermal vents are highly dynamic habitats characterized by steep temperature and chemical gradients. The oxidation of reduced compounds dissolved in the venting fluids fuels primary production providing the basis for extensive life. Until recently studies of microbial vent communities have focused primarily on chemolithoautotrophic organisms. In our study, we targeted the change of microbial community compositions along mixing gradients, focusing on distribution and capabilities of heterotrophic microorganisms. Samples were retrieved from different venting areas within the Menez Gwen hydrothermal field, taken along mixing gradients, including diffuse fluid discharge points, their immediate surroundings and the buoyant parts of hydrothermal plumes. High throughput 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and targeted metagenome analysis were combined with geochemical analyses. Close to diffuse venting orifices dominated by chemolithoautotrophic Epsilonproteobacteria, in areas where environmental conditions still supported chemolithoautotrophic processes, we detected microbial communities enriched for versatile heterotrophic Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. The potential for alkane degradation could be shown for several genera and yet uncultured clades. We propose that hotspots of chemolithoautotrophic life support a 'belt' of heterotrophic bacteria significantly different from the dominating oligotrophic microbiota of the deep sea. © 2016 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Influence of CO2 change during 90-day experiment on growth characteristics and photosynthetic activity in vegetables grown in Lunar Palace 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Lingzhi; Liu, Hong; Wang, Minjuan; Fu, Yuming; Dong, Chen; Liu, Guanghui

To establish bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) on lunar or Mars bases in the future, it is necessary to firstly conduct manned simulation experiments on the ground. For this purpose, Lunar palace 1 as an integrative experimental facility for permanent astrobase life support artificial closed ecosystem was set up, and 90-day experiment was carried out in this system. Vegtables as one of the important plant units, provide various nutrient content for crews in the system, such as vitamin, antioxidants and so on. However, it is not clear yet that how the CO _{2} change during 90-day experiment to affect on growth characteristics and photosynthetic activity in vegtables grown in the system. In this study, red lettuce, red rape, romaine lettuce, and bibb lettuce grown in the system were chosen as the subject investigated. Growth, expressed as dry weight, length of shoot and root, leaf area, was mearsured, and photosynthesis,expressed as net photosynthetic rate, intercellular CO _{2} concentration, chlorophyll contents and fluorescence was analyzed to detemind influence of CO _{2} change during 90-day experiment on growth in vegtables grown in the system.

Maintenance of CO2 level in a BLSS by controlling solid waste treatment unit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Yingying; Li, Leyuan; Liu, Hong; Fu, Yuming; Xie, Beizhen; Hu, Dawei; Liu, Dianlei; Dong, Chen; Liu, Guanghui

A bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) is an artificial closed ecosystem for providing basic human life support for long-duration, far-distance space explorations such as lunar bases. In such a system, the circulation of gases is one of the main factor for realizing a higher closure degree. O2 produced by higher plants goes to humans, as well as microorganisms for the treatment of inedible plant biomass and human wastes; CO2 produced by the crew and microorganisms is provided for plant growth. During this process, an excessively high CO2 level will depress plant growth and may be harmful to human health; and if the CO2 level is too low, plant growth will also be affected. Thus, keeping the balance between CO2 and O2 levels is a crucial problem. In this study, a high-efficiency, controllable solid waste treatment unit is constructed, which adopts microbial fermentation of the mixture of inedible biomass and human wastes. CO2 production during the fermentation process is controlled by adjusting fermentation temperature, aeration rate, moisture, etc., so as to meet the CO2 requirement of plants

Dynamic Modeling of Process Technologies for Closed-Loop Water Recovery Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Allada, Rama Kumar; Lange, Kevin E.; Anderson, Molly S.

2012-01-01

Detailed chemical process simulations are a useful tool in designing and optimizing complex systems and architectures for human life support. Dynamic and steady-state models of these systems help contrast the interactions of various operating parameters and hardware designs, which become extremely useful in trade-study analyses. NASA s Exploration Life Support technology development project recently made use of such models to compliment a series of tests on different waste water distillation systems. This paper presents dynamic simulations of chemical process for primary processor technologies including: the Cascade Distillation System (CDS), the Vapor Compression Distillation (VCD) system, the Wiped-Film Rotating Disk (WFRD), and post-distillation water polishing processes such as the Volatiles Removal Assembly (VRA). These dynamic models were developed using the Aspen Custom Modeler (Registered TradeMark) and Aspen Plus(Registered TradeMark) process simulation tools. The results expand upon previous work for water recovery technology models and emphasize dynamic process modeling and results. The paper discusses system design, modeling details, and model results for each technology and presents some comparisons between the model results and available test data. Following these initial comparisons, some general conclusions and forward work are discussed.

Postmenopausal women with breast cancer: their experiences of the chemotherapy treatment period.

PubMed

Browall, Maria; Gaston-Johansson, Fannie; Danielson, Ella

2006-01-01

This article illustrates the experience of 20 postmenopausal women with breast cancer who had received chemotherapy treatment. The interviews were of narrative nature and analyzed with content analysis. Four themes, including 12 subthemes, described these women's life during treatment as a journey from the negative experiences of fear of the unknown, affects on body and mind, to the more positive to get by, and a transformed life. The treatment was compared with an assault on the body, and the loss of their hair was experienced more negatively than the loss of a breast. The women described a feeling of imbalance in their relationships due to lack of support from those close to them. The support from healthcare professionals was experienced both positively and negatively, and many of the women revealed variation in the professional's attitude, knowledge, and empathy. The women who chose not to work during the treatment felt pressure from society and healthcare professionals to get back to work as soon as possible. For many, especially those in a leading position, this was experienced as very difficult. The women expressed a feeling of not being afraid of dying but wanted more time to prepare themselves.