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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

PAIRS, The GIS-Based Incident Response System for Pennsylvania, and NASA

Over the past several years the Pennsylvania Departments of Environmental Protection (DEP), Health (DOH), and Agriculture (PDA) built the GIs-based Pennsylvania West Nile Surveillance System. That system has become a model for collecting data that has a field component, laboratory component, reporting and mapping component, and a public information component. Given the success of the West Nile Virus System and the events of September 11, 2001, DEP then embarked on the development of the Pennsylvania Incident Response System, or PAIRS. PAIRS is an effective GIs-based approach to providing a system for response to incidents of any kind, including terrorism because it is building upon the existing experience, infrastructure and databases that were successfully developed to respond to the West Nile Virus by DEP, DOH, and PDA. The proposed system can be described as one that supports data acquisition, laboratory forensics, decision making/response, and communications. Decision makers will have tools to view and analyze data from various sources and, at the same time, to communicate with the large numbers of people responding to the same incident. Recent collaborations with NASA partners are creating mechanisms for the PAIRS system to incorporate space-based and other remote sensing geophysical parameters relevant to public health assessment and management, such as surface temperatures, precipitation, land cover/land use change, and humidity. This presentation will describe the PAIRS system and outline the Pennsylvania-NASA collaboration for integration of space-based data into the PAIRS system.

Conrad, Eric↗
NASA NTRS2016

NASA Human System Risk Assessment Process

NASA utilizes an evidence based system to perform risk assessments for the human system for spaceflight missions. The center of this process is the multi-disciplinary Human System Risk Board (HSRB). The HSRB is chartered from the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO) at NASA Headquarters. The HSRB reviews all human system risks via an established comprehensive risk and configuration management plan based on a project management approach. The HSRB facilitates the integration of human research (terrestrial and spaceflight), medical operations, occupational surveillance, systems engineering and many other disciplines in a comprehensive review of human system risks. The HSRB considers all factors that influence human risk. These factors include pre-mission considerations such as screening criteria, training, age, sex, and physiological condition. In mission factors such as available countermeasures, mission duration and location and post mission factors such as time to return to baseline (reconditioning), post mission health screening, and available treatments. All of the factors influence the total risk assessment for each human risk. The HSRB performed a comprehensive review of all potential inflight medical conditions and events and over the course of several reviews consolidated the number of human system risks to 30, where the greatest emphasis is placed for investing program dollars for risk mitigation. The HSRB considers all available evidence from human research and, medical operations and occupational surveillance in assessing the risks for appropriate mitigation and future work. All applicable DRMs (low earth orbit for 6 and 12 months, deep space for 30 days and 1 year, a lunar mission for 1 year, and a planetary mission for 3 years) are considered as human system risks are modified by the hazards associated with space flight such as microgravity, exposure to radiation, distance from the earth, isolation and a closed environment. Each risk has a summary two-page assessment representing the state of knowledge/evidence of that risk, available risk mitigations, traceability to the Space Flight Human System Standards (SFHSS) and program requirements, and future work required. These data then can drive coordinated budgets across the Human Research Program, the International Space Station, Crew Health and Safety and Advanced Exploration System budgets to provide the most economical and timely mitigations. The risk assessments were completed for the 6 DRMs and serve as the baseline for which subsequent research and technology development and crew health care portfolios can be assessed. The HSRB reviews each risk at least annually or when new evidence/information is available that adds to the body of evidence. The current status of each risk can be reported to program management for operations, budget reviews and general oversight of the human system risk management program.

Francisco, D.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Cooperative and Non-Cooperative UAS Detection

This paper describes a system that enhances airspace situational awareness by detecting and identifying Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). This multi-domain solution tracks both cooperative scientific flights as well as non-cooperative intrusions from "bad actors." The system supports a critical push towards safety within NASA’s advanced air mobility mission. After surveying the existing technologies at Langley Research Center, the radar and visual systems were chosen for the primary and secondary detection mechanisms, respectively. These systems were tuned an upgraded to become more sensitive to UAS activity. Additionally, a Remote Identification receiver was procured and integrated into the flight surveillance system.

Lucas Barduson↗
DOE OSTI2022

Autonomous System Subversion Tactics: Prototypes and Recommended Countermeasures

One of the fielding requirements for Advanced and Small Modular Reactors (AR/SMR) is the ability to support remote and autonomous operations. Autonomous Control Systems (ACS) are found on platforms such as Autonomous Space Vehicles, Cruise Missiles, and advanced driver-assistance systems. Each of these ACS implementations depends upon a set of decision support subsystems responsible for supporting Autonomous Mission Managers (names vary based upon field and author preferences). These Autonomous Mission Managers receive inputs from system sensors (e.g., LIDAR collection from an automobile travelling down a street; transients from a nuclear reactor), and perform a set of classifications (e.g., Red Traffic Light; Small Pedestrian at 10m; Load Rejection; Single Coolant Pump Trip), and then use these classifications in combination with recommendation algorithms to achieve platform goals (e.g., Stop the Vehicle at the Traffic Light, Avoid the Small Pedestrian; Trip the Reactor to prevent a Safety Event). The design, implementation, and fielding of an ACS capability will alter the cyber-attack surface such that existing risk management plans will need to be updated to include how to protect and defend against data-science and decision-support-system attack classes. These attack classes would include protection of the design and training environments where algorithm selection and testing and training data would be obvious attack vectors. These attack classes would also require an informed set of detection and response procedures to identify anomalous behaviors and document best practices for anomaly assessment and vulnerability mitigation and remediation. Last year we published a Cyber Threat Assessment Methodology for Autonomous and Remote Operations for AR/SMRs along with a companion publication on Cyber Attack and Defense Use Cases. The focus of the methodology was on describing and enumerating ACS processes, components, and functions such that security engineers could: evaluate subversion options against the target; identify threat actor attributes and capabilities derived from each subversion option; and identify security controls and response countermeasures. The Use Cases document offered detailed methodology examples including an assessment of a Military Base SMR, an Autonomous System Decision Loop, and implementation of AR/SMR Machine Learning algorithms. Our proposal at the end of last year was to focus on implementation of subversion prototypes related to the last Use Case area: AR/SMR Machine Learning (ML) Algorithms. We included six attack scenarios in our Use Cases paper: a Poisoning Attack against ML functions implemented using an FPGA; a Trojaning Attack against ML classifiers exploiting the excitability of Nuclear Engineers; a Backdooring Attack against ML Training environments to ensure persistence of an attack vector; a False Positive Evasion Attack against multi-factor Access Control Systems using clever inputs; an Inference Attack against ML models by an Insider with access to the Operational environment; and an Adversarial Reprogramming Attack against a Material Access Control Video Surveillance System. At the beginning of this year these six attack scenarios were provided to our research teams at Georgia Tech and Idaho State University and each team successfully implemented a subversion attack against a ML implementation to include transient misclassifications. While this is a notable outcome from this type of research, this paper offers the reader insight into not only how to structure and execute these types of attacks, but into the thought process behind how the researcher investigated the problem space, performed initial algorithm implementation, and the trial-and-error behind arriving at the successful subversion prototypes. We include in this paper a set of associated Scenarios on how these subversion prototypes could be implemented and an initial set of guidance for AR/SMR architects, Nuclear Regulators, and Cyber Defenders to implement awareness and defense capabilities into their current operational portfolios.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1986

JPL's role in the SETI program

The goal of the JPL SETI Team is to develop the strategies and the instrumentation required to carry out an effective, yet affordable, SETI Microwave Observing Program. The primary responsibility for JPL is the development and implementation of the Sky Survey component of the bimodal search program recommended by the SETI Science Working Group (NASA Technical Paper 2244, 1983). JPL is also responsible for the design and implementation of microwave analog instrumentation (including antenna feed systems, low noise RF amplifiers, antenna monitor and control interfaces, etc.) to cover the microwave window for the Sky Survey and the Target Search observations. The primary site for the current SETI Field Test activity is the Venus Station of the Goldstone Deep Space Communication Complex. A SETI controller was constructed and installed so that pre-programmed and real time SETI monitor and control data can be sent to and from the station controller. This unit will be interfaced with the MCSA. A SETI Hardware Handbook was prepared to describe the various systems that will be used by the project at the Venus Station; the handbook is frequently being expanded and updated. The 65,000 channel FFT Spectrum analyzer in the RFI Surveillance System was modified to permit operation with variable resolutions (300 Hz to less than 1 Hz) and with real-time accumulation, which will enhance the capability of the system for testing Sky Survey search strategies and signal detection algorithms.

Klein, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Sensors and sensor systems for guidance and navigation II; Proceedings of the Meeting, Orlando, FL, Apr. 22, 23, 1992

Topics discussed in this volume include aircraft guidance and navigation, optics for visual guidance of aircraft, spacecraft and missile guidance and navigation, lidar and ladar systems, microdevices, gyroscopes, cockpit displays, and automotive displays. Papers are presented on optical processing for range and attitude determination, aircraft collision avoidance using a statistical decision theory, a scanning laser aircraft surveillance system for carrier flight operations, star sensor simulation for astroinertial guidance and navigation, autonomous millimeter-wave radar guidance systems, and a 1.32-micron long-range solid state imaging ladar. Attention is also given to a microfabricated magnetometer using Young's modulus changes in magnetoelastic materials, an integrated microgyroscope, a pulsed diode ring laser gyroscope, self-scanned polysilicon active-matrix liquid-crystal displays, the history and development of coated contrast enhancement filters for cockpit displays, and the effect of the display configuration on the attentional sampling performance.

Welch, Sharon S.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Addressing Parental Vaccine Hesitancy and Other Barriers to Childhood/Adolescent Vaccination Uptake During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Routine childhood immunizations are proven to be one of the most effective public health interventions at controlling numerous deadly diseases. Therefore, the CDC recommends routine immunizations for children and adolescent populations against vaccine-preventable diseases e.g., tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, etc. This current review sought to examine barriers to pediatric vaccine uptake behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also explored the implications for parental vaccine hesitancy/delay during an ongoing health crisis and proposed recommendations for increasing vaccine confidence and compliance. Our review determined that the receipt for vaccinations steadily improved in the last decade for both the United States and Tennessee. However, this incremental progress has been forestalled by the COVID-19 pandemic and other barriers i.e. parental vaccine hesitancy, social determinants of health (SDoH) inequalities, etc. which further exacerbate vaccination disparities. Moreover, non-compliance to routine vaccinations could cause an outbreak of diseases, thereby, worsening the ongoing health crisis and already strained health care system. Healthcare providers are uniquely positioned to offer effective recommendations with presumptive languaging to increase vaccination rates, as well as, address parental vaccine hesitancy. Best practices that incorporate healthcare providers’ quality improvement coaching, vaccination reminder recall systems, adherence to standardized safety protocols (physical distancing, hand hygiene practices, etc.), as well as, offer telehealth and outdoor/drive-through/curbside vaccination services, etc. are warranted. Additionally, a concerted effort should be made to utilize public health surveillance systems to collect, analyze, and interpret data, thereby, ensuring the dissemination of timely, accurate health information for effective health policy decision-making e.g., vaccine distribution, etc.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2014

Oceanic Storm Characteristics off the Kennedy Space Center Coast

Natural cloud-to-ground lightning may behave differently depending on the characteristics of the attachment mediums, including the peak current (inferred from radiation fields) and the number of ground strike locations per flash. Existing literature has raised questions over the years on these characteristics of lightning over oceans, and the behaviors are not yet well understood. To investigate this we will obtain identical electric field observations over adjacent land and ocean regions during both clear air and thunderstorm periods. Oceanic observations will be obtained using a 3-meter NOAA buoy that has been instrumented with a Campbell Scientific electric field mill and New Mexico Techs slow antenna, to measure the electric fields aloft. We are currently obtaining measurements from this system on-shore at the Florida coast, to calibrate and better understand the behavior of the system in elevated-field environments. Sometime during winter 2013, this system will be moored 20NM off the coast of the Kennedy Space Center. Measurements from this system will be compared to the existing on-shore electric field mill suite of 31 sensors and a coastal slow antenna. Supporting observations will be provided by New Mexico Techs Lightning Mapping Array, the Eastern Range Cloud to Ground Lightning Surveillance System, and the National Lightning Detection Network. An existing network of high-speed cameras will be used to capture cloud-to-ground lightning strikes over the terrain regions to identify a valid data set for analysis. This on-going project will demonstrate the value of off-shore electric field measurements for safety-related decision making at KSC, and may improve our understanding of relative lightning risk to objects on the ground vs. ocean. This presentation will provide an overview of this new instrumentation, and a summary of our progress to date.

Ocean↗
NASA NTRS2014

Pilot Evaluation of a UAS Detect-and-Avoid System's Effectiveness in Remaining Well Clear

Unmanned aircraft will equip with a detect-and-avoid (DAA) system that enables them to comply with the requirement to "see and avoid" other aircraft, an important layer in the overall set of procedural, strategic and tactical separation methods designed to prevent mid-air collisions. Regulators will establish minimum operating standards for DAA effectiveness, but different combinations of algorithms, displays and procedures could be used to meet those standards. The research presented in this paper indicates the effectiveness of the combined pilot-DAA system as a function of the DAA design requirements and provides data that may be used to model the behavior of pilots when employing such systems. Two simulations involving 21 professional unmanned aircraft system (UAS) pilots evaluated eight different DAA system designs in order to assess their ability to maintain the "well clear" separation standard, i.e., the state of maintaining a safe distance from other aircraft that would not normally cause the initiation of a collision avoidance maneuver by either aircraft. When the traffic display was integrated with the primary mission map directly in front of the pilot, there were fewer losses of well clear. Greater warning time provided to the pilot was strongly correlated with success in remaining well clear. Pilots' ability to separate from aircraft with cooperative and non-cooperative surveillance systems was nearly the same after accounting for the amount of alert time provided in each encounter, although the limited surveillance volume for the airborne-equipped aircraft meant alerts tended to occur later and therefore were more difficult to resolve.

detect-and-avoid↗
NASA NTRS2020

Integration Test and Evaluation (IT&E) Flight Test Series 6 Live Virtual Constructive - Distributed Environment (LVC-DE) Test Report

The goals of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) (also UAS-NAS) Project are to reduce the barriers for UAS access and its integration into the NAS. The UAS-NAS project and industry stakeholders conducted a series of flight tests integrating technologies from the Modeling & Simulation (M&S), Human Systems Integration (HSI), and Communication and Control (C2), and Integration, Test & Evaluation (IT&E) research areas. The last of the flight test series, Flight Test Series 6 (FT6) was conducted in late 2019 and focused on evaluating the interaction of the airborne non-cooperative surveillance system and the Detect and Avoid (DAA) technology. The DAA system generated conflict alert and guidance for pilots using a Research Ground Control System (RGCS) to avoid intruder aircraft. The conflict alerting and guidance information was presented on the RGCS’s display using symbology developed by the human factors team. The objective of FT6 was to investigate the interoperability of Low Size, Weight, and Power (Low SWaP) sensors with the DAA alerting, guidance, and display requirements. To support this goal, the distributed test environments (DTE) were developed at Ames Research Center (ARC) and Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) and securely linked over a Virtual Private Network (VPN). These environments took advantage of existing Live Virtual Constructive (LVC) technologies to support research observation at both Centers with the insertion of live UAS and manned intruder aircraft into a simulated NAS environment with Air Traffic Control (ATC) and constructive manned aircraft. The experiment was distributed between AFRC flight operations and research facilities and the Distributed Simulation Research Laboratory (DSRL) and Software Development Laboratory (SDL) in building N243 at ARC. The Air Traffic Controller and pseudo pilots operated from the DSRL and SDL, respectively, using the Multi-Aircraft Control System (MACS). The test subject and researchers operated from the Research Ground Control Station (RGCS) at AFRC using the Vigilant Spirit Control Station (VSCS) and associated DAA software and displays. Flight Operation for the unmanned aircraft (UA) and manned intruder traffic was conducted at AFRC. Virtual traffic was managed by ARC. Voice distribution was accomplished using a combination of disparate communication systems at ARC and AFRC. The purpose of this document is to record the development, design, and execution of activities in support of the FT6 efforts from the perspective of the ARC IT&E team. Furthermore, the Armstrong IT&E team has published a thorough FT6 Test Report, with emphasis on flight test support, facilities and vehicle development; this report complements the Armstrong report. Analysis of collected FT6 data will be conducted and reported by the M&S and HSI teams and will be published in separate reports.

UAS-NAS↗
NASA NTRS2005

Modular Software Interfaces for Revolutionary Flexibility in Space Operations

To make revolutionary improvements in exploration, space systems need to be flexible, realtime reconfigurable, and able to trade data transparently among themselves and mission operations. Onboard operations systems, space assembly coordination and EVA systems in exploration and construction all require real-time modular reconfigurability and data sharing. But NASA's current exploration systems are still largely legacies from hastily-developed, one-off Apollo-era practices. Today's rovers, vehicles, spacesuits, space stations, and instruments are not able to plug-and-play, Lego-like: into different combinations. Point-to-point dominates - individual suit to individual vehicle, individual instrument to rover. All are locally optimized, all unique, each of the data interfaces has been recoded for each possible combination. This will be an operations and maintenance nightmare in the much larger Project Constellation system of systems. This legacy approach does not scale to the hundreds of networked space components needed for space construction and for new, space-based approaches to Earth-Moon operations. By comparison, battlefield information management systems, which are considered critical to military force projection, have long since abandoned a point-to-point approach to systems integration. From a system-of-systems viewpoint, a clean-sheet redesign of the interfaces of all exploration systems is a necessary prerequisite before designing the interfaces of the individual exploration systems. Existing communications and Global Information Grid and middleware technologies are probably sufficient for command and control and information interfaces, with some hardware and time-delay modifications for space environments. NASA's future advanced space operations must also be information and data compatible with aerospace operations and surveillance systems being developed by other US Government agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense. This paper discusses fundamental system-of-systems infrastructure: approaches and architectures for modular plug-and-play software interfaces for revolutionary improvements in flexibility, modularity, robustness, ease of maintenance, reconfigurability, safety and productivity. Starting with middleware, databases, and mobile communications technologies, our technical challenges will be to apply these ideas to the requirements of constellations of space systems and to implement them initially on prototype space hardware. This is necessary to demonstrate an integrated information sharing architecture and services. It is a bottom-up approach, one that solves the problem of space operations data integration. Exploration demands uniform software mechanisms for application information interchange, and the corresponding uniformly available software services to enhance these mechanisms. We will examine the issues in plug-and-play, real-time-configurable systems, including common definition and management and tracking of data and information among many different space systems. Different field test approaches are discussed, including the use of the International Space Station and terrestrial analog mission operations at field sites.

Glass, Brian↗
NASA NTRS2012

Evaluation of the Performance Characteristics of CGLSS II and U.S. NLDN Using Ground-Truth Dalta from Launch Complex 398, Kennedy Space Center, Florida

A new comprehensive lightning instrumentation system has been designed for Launch Complex 39B (LC39B) at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This new instrumentation system includes seven synchronized high-speed video cameras, current sensors installed on the nine downconductors of the new lightning protection system (LPS) for LC39B; four dH/dt, 3-axis measurement stations; and five dE/dt stations composed of two antennas each. The LPS received 8 direct lightning strikes (a total of 19 strokes) from March 31 through December 31 2011. The measured peak currents and locations are compared to those reported by the Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Surveillance System (CGLSS II) and the National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN). Results of comparison are presented and analyzed in this paper.

Mata, C. T.↗
NASA NTRS1974

A new method for monitoring global volcanic activity

The ERTS Data Collection System makes it feasible for the first time to monitor the level of activity at widely separated volcanoes and to relay these data rapidly to one central office for analysis. While prediction of specific eruptions is still an evasive goal, early warning of a reawakening of quiescent volcanoes is now a distinct possibility. A prototypical global volcano surveillance system was established under the ERTS program. Instruments were installed in cooperation with local scientists on 15 volcanoes in Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, California, Iceland, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua. The sensors include 19 seismic event counters that count four different sizes of earthquakes and six biaxial borehole tiltmeters that measure ground tilt with a resolution of 1 microradian. Only seismic and tilt data are collected because these have been shown in the past to indicate most reliably the level of volcano activity at many different volcanoes. Furthermore, these parameters can be measured relatively easily with new instrumentation.

Ward, P. L.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Age-specific case data reveal varying dengue transmission intensity in US states and territories

Dengue viruses (DENV) are endemic in the US territories of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands, with focal outbreaks also reported in the states of Florida and Hawaii. However, little is known about the intensity of dengue virus transmission over time and how dengue viruses have shaped the level of immunity in these populations, despite the importance of understanding how and why levels of immunity against dengue may change over time. These changes need to be considered when responding to future outbreaks and enacting dengue management strategies, such as guiding vaccine deployment. We used catalytic models fitted to case surveillance data stratified by age from the ArboNET national arboviral surveillance system to reconstruct the history of recent dengue virus transmission in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Florida, Hawaii, and Guam. We estimated average annual transmission intensity (i.e., force of infection) of DENV between 2010 and 2019 and the level of seroprevalence by age group in each population. We compared models and found that assuming all reported cases are secondary infections generally fit the surveillance data better than assuming all cases are primary infections. Using the secondary case model, we found that force of infection was highly heterogeneous between jurisdictions and over time within jurisdictions, ranging from 0.00008 (95% CrI: 0.00002–0.0004) in Florida to 0.08 (95% CrI: 0.044–0.14) in American Samoa during the 2010–2019 period. For early 2020, we estimated that seropositivity in 10 year-olds ranged from 0.09% (0.02%–0.54%) in Florida to 56.3% (43.7%–69.3%) in American Samoa. In the absence of serological data, age-specific case notification data collected through routine surveillance combined with mathematical modeling are powerful tools to monitor arbovirus circulation, estimate the level of population immunity, and design dengue management strategies.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2001

Helicopter In-Flight Tracking System (HITS) for the Gulf of Mexico

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center (ARC) is sponsoring deployment and testing of the Helicopter In-flight Tracking System (HITS) in a portion of the Gulf of Mexico offshore area. Using multilateration principles, HITS determines the location and altitude of all transponder-equipped aircraft without requiring changes to current Mode A, C or S avionics. HITS tracks both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft operating in the 8,500 sq. mi. coverage region. The minimum coverage altitude of 100 ft. is beneficial for petroleum industry, allowing helicopters to be tracked onto the pad of most derricks. In addition to multilateration, HITS provides surveillance reports for aircraft equipped for Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B), a new surveillance system under development by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center) is supporting NASA in managing HITS installation and operation, and in evaluating the system's effectiveness. Senses Corporation is supplying, installing and maintaining the HITS ground system. Project activities are being coordinated with the FAA and local helicopter operators. Flight-testing in the Gulf will begin in early 2002. This paper describes the HITS project - specifically, the system equipment (architecture, remote sensors, central processing system at Intracoastal City, LA, and communications) and its performance (accuracy, coverage, and reliability). The paper also presents preliminary results of flight tests.

Martone, Patrick↗
NASA NTRS2003

Digital Avionics

Digital Avionics activities played an important role in the advancements made in civil aviation, military systems, and space applications. This document profiles advances made in each of these areas by the aerospace industry, NASA centers, and the U.S. military. Emerging communication technologies covered in this document include Internet connectivity onboard aircraft, wireless broadband communication for aircraft, and a mobile router for aircraft to communicate in multiple communication networks over the course of a flight. Military technologies covered in this document include avionics for unmanned combat air vehicles and microsatellites, and head-up displays. Other technologies covered in this document include an electronic flight bag for the Boeing 777, and surveillance systems for managing airport operations.

Terry G Koelbl↗
DOE OSTI2024

Comparative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 neutralization titers reveals consistency between human and animal model serum and across assays

The evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) requires ongoing monitoring to judge the ability of newly arising variants to escape the immune response. A surveillance system necessitates an understanding of differences in neutralization titers measured in different assays and using human and animal serum samples. We compared 18 datasets generated using human, hamster, and mouse serum and six different neutralization assays. Datasets using animal model serum samples showed higher titer magnitudes than datasets using human serum samples in this comparison. Fold change in neutralization of variants compared to ancestral SARS-CoV-2, immunodominance patterns, and antigenic maps were similar among serum samples and assays. Most assays yielded consistent results, except for differences in fold change in cytopathic effect assays. Hamster serum samples were a consistent surrogate for human first-infection serum samples. These results inform the transition of surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 antigenic variation from dependence on human first-infection serum samples to the utilization of serum samples from animal models.

Cell Biology↗
NASA NTRS2016

Evaluation of Different MODIS AOD Retrieval Algorithms for PM (sub 2.5) Estimation in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States with Implications for Public Health

This study was part of the research activities of the Center for Applied Atmospheric Research and Education (CAARE) funded by the NASA MUREP (Minority University Research and Education Project) Institutional Research Opportunity (MIRO) Program. Satellite measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) have been shown to be correlated with ground measurements of fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns PM (sub 2.5), which in turn has been linked to respiratory and heart diseases. The strength of the correlation between AOD and PM (sub 2.5) varies for different AOD retrieval algorithms and geographic regions. We evaluated several Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) AOD products from different satellites (Aqua vs. Terra), retrieval algorithms (Dark Target versus Deep Blue), Collections (5.1 versus 6) and spatial resolutions (10-kilometers versus 3-kilometers) for cities in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern U.S. We developed and validated PM (sub 2.5) prediction models using remotely-sensed AOD data, which were improved by incorporating meteorological variables (temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, wind speed, and wind direction) from the North American Land Data Assimilation System Phase 2 (NLDAS-2). Adding these meteorological data significantly improved the predictive power of all the PM (sub 2.5) models, especially in the Western U.S. Temperature, relative humidity and wind speed were the most significant meteorological variables throughout the year in the Western U.S. Wind speed was the most significant meteorological variable for the cold season while temperature was the most significant variable for the warm season in the Midwestern and Southeastern U.S. Our study re-establishes the connection between PM (sub 2.5) and public health concerns including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (asthma, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, heart attack, and stroke). Using PM (sub 2.5) data and health data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), our statistical analysis showed that heart attack and stroke occurrences had the strongest correlations with PM (sub 2.5).

Environmental Public Health↗