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At least 955 records · Page 53

Cardiovascular Disease Risk in NASA Astronauts Across the Lifespan: Historical Cohort Studies

Acute effects of spaceflight on the cardiovascular system have been studied extensively, but the combined chronic effects of spaceflight and aging are not well understood. Preparation for and participation in space flight activities are potentially associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors (e.g., altered dietary and exercise habits, physical and emotional stress, circadian shifts, radiation). Further, astronauts who travel into space multiple times may be at an increased risk across their lifespan. However, comparing the risk of cardiovascular disease in astronauts to other large cohorts is difficult. For example, comparisons between astronauts and large national cohorts, such as the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the National Health Information Survey, are hampered by significant differences in health status between astronauts and the general population, and most of these national studies fail to provide longitudinal data on population health. To address those limitations, NASA's Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health previously sought to compare the astronauts to a cohort of civil servants employed at the Johnson Space Center. However, differences between the astronauts and civil servants at the beginning of the study, as well as differential follow up, limited the ability to interpret the results. To resolve some of these limitations, two unique cohorts of healthy workers, U.S. Air Force aviators and Cooper Center Longitudinal Study participants, have been identified as potential comparison populations for the astronaut corps. The Air Force cohort was chosen due to similarities in health at selection, screening, and some occupational exposures that Air Force aviators endure, many of which mirror that of the astronaut corps. The Cooper Clinic cohort, a generally healthy prevention cohort, was chosen for the vast array of clinical cardiovascular measures collected in a longitudinal manner complementary to those collected on astronauts, for a large number of subjects since 1971. The purpose of this study is to understand the incidence of cardiovascular disease outcomes and risk factors in the astronaut corps and determine whether the rates of disease are different than these two cohorts. The research questions are: 1. Are there differences in the incidence of CVD outcomes (MI, revascularization, and stroke) between each cohort and the NASA Astronaut cohort? 2. Are there differences in the incidence of CVD risks (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, arrhythmias, and diabetes) between each cohort and the NASA Astronaut cohort? 3. Are there differences between each cohort and the NASA Astronaut cohort in how CVD risk factors (e.g., lipids, behaviors) change across time? Collectively, results from these studies will enhance our understanding of how cardiovascular disease outcomes and risk factors change across time in astronauts compared to other longitudinally-studied healthy cohorts and determine if there are interactions between or additive effects of the occupational health effects of spaceflight exposure and normal aging.

Charvat, Jacqueline M.↗

History and Logic Model NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Instrument and Payload Systems Engineering Technical Performance Study

Historically, some NASA missions have exceeded schedule and cost commitments. Studies suggest technical performance is a contributor. The 1980 NASA Project Management Study concluded, "one of the most significant contributors to cost and schedule growth is inadequate definition of technical and management aspects of a program..." (as cited in GAO/NSIAD-93-97, p. 11). The 1991 NASA Roles and Missions Report identified a "need for increased emphasis on technological readiness and requirements on the front end of a program" (as cited in GAO/NSIAD-93-97, p. 11). The 1992 NASA Program Costs Report stated that NASA officials identified, among other things, "insufficient definition studies... [and] program redesigns and technical complexities" as reasons for cost and schedule overruns (GAO/NSAID-93-97, p. 11). The 2002 Task Force on Acquisition of National Security Space Programs found "requirements definition and control issues, unhealthy cost bias in proposal evaluation, widespread lack of budget reserves required to implement high risk programs on schedule, and an overall underappreciation of the importance of appropriately staffed and trained system engineering staff to manage the technologically demanding and unique aspects of space programs" (DoD, 2003, p.i.) In 2007, The NASA Office of the Chief Engineer chartered the NASA Instrument Capability Study (NICS) “to determine whether NASA instrument developers are facing challenges that impact the capability to design and build quality instruments or whether there are flaws in the acquisition strategy evidenced by schedule delays, cost overruns, and increased technical risk via design deficiencies. The... team was also chartered to determine if occurrences [are]... isolated cases or if there are generic issues... If the issues [are] found to be generic, the team [is] to offer solutions to recover such capability" (NICS Report, 2008, p. vi). The 2008 NICS Report, led by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), identified challenges to instrument technical performance consistent with findings from previous reports. In 2017, the Instrument Project Division (IPD) Implementation Study was initiated to determine if there was a change in meeting schedule and cost commitments after implementing certain NICS recommendations. In 2018, the Instrument Technical Performance Study was initiated to determine the current state of Instrument Technical Performance in the GSFC Payload & Instrument Systems Engineering Branch. The purpose of the combined studies is to answer the question, "Is there a relationship between meeting NASA scientific instrument technical success and meeting schedule and cost commitments? If yes, what is the relationship?" References Department of Defense Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. (2003). The report of the defense science board/ air force scientific advisory board joint task force on acquisition of national security space programs. Washington DC. Government Accounting Office. (1992). NASA program costs: Space missions require substantially more funding than initially estimated. GAO/NSIAD-93-97. Washington DC. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, Department of Defense. (2008). The NASA instrument capability study final report. NP-2008-11-058-GSFC. Washington DC.

Robbins, Geraldine↗

Blind Validation Study of PRICE TruePlanning and SEER-H

Two of the primary parametric costing tools used to estimate the development and production cost of future spacecraft hardware are PRICE TruePlanning by PRICE Systems, and System Estimation and Evaluation of Resources-Hardware (SEER-H) by Galorath. These are standard tools used by NASA and industry to estimate the cost of new aerospace hardware. This study is an independent verification of the accuracy of these tools and was originally published in 2018. The purpose of this presentation is to circulate the findings of that study among the NASA cost community. Both PRICE Systems and Galorath have completed internal validation studies of their parametric cost estimating tools; however, they only provided the results of the studies and did not detail the exact methods used to perform the validation. In the present study, cost estimators used PRICE TruePlanning and SEER-H to estimate the cost of twelve different past NASA science missions. The estimators were prevented from knowing the actual cost of the missions in an effort to minimize cognitive biases. In the present study, SEER-H had an average error of 23%, median error of -0.3%, with a standard deviation of 43%. PRICE had an average error of 52%, median error of 50%, and standard deviation of 45%. Nine of the twelve mission's actual costs fell within the 80% confidence interval of SEER's probabilistic estimates; however, none of the missions fell within PRICE’s confidence intervals. There were several factors independent of PRICE and SEER-H which may have affected the accuracy of the results in the present study including: uncertainty in the technical data used for the estimates, the methods used to estimate uncertainty in spacecraft component mass and numbers of prototypes, and the experience of the estimators.

SEER↗

Health Care Usage During the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Adoption of Telemedicine: Retrospective Study of Chronic Disease Cohorts

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated telehealth adoption across disease cohorts of patients. For many patients, routine medical care was no longer an option, and others chose not to visit medical offices in order to minimize COVID-19 exposure. In this study, we take a comprehensive multidisease approach in studying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care usage and the adoption of telemedicine through the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective: We studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on in-person health care usage and telehealth adoption across chronic diseases to understand differences in telehealth adoption across disease cohorts and patient demographics (such as the Social Vulnerability Index [SVI]). Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 6 different disease cohorts (anxiety: n=67,578; depression: n=45,570; diabetes: n=81,885; kidney failure: n=29,284; heart failure: n=21,152; and cancer: n=35,460). We used summary statistics to characterize changes in usage and regression analysis to study how patient characteristics relate to in-person health care and telehealth adoption and usage during the first 12 months of the pandemic. Results: We observed a reduction in in-person health care usage across disease cohorts (ranging from 10% to 24%). For most diseases we study, telehealth appointments offset the reduction in in-person visits. Furthermore, for anxiety and depression, the increase in telehealth usage exceeds the reduction in in-person visits (by up to 5%). We observed that younger patients and men have higher telehealth usage after accounting for other covariates. Patients from higher SVI areas are less likely to use telehealth; however, if they do, they have a higher number of telehealth visits, after accounting for other covariates. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic affected health care usage across diseases, and the role of telehealth in replacing in-person visits varies by disease cohort. Understanding these differences can inform current practices and provides opportunities to further guide modalities of in-person and telehealth visits. Critically, further study is needed to understand barriers to telehealth service usage for patients in higher SVI areas. A better understanding of the role of social determinants of health may lead to more support for patients and help individual health care providers improve access to care for patients with chronic conditions.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Interim Measures Pilot Study Completion Report, South Repeater Building, Solid Waste Management Unit 121, Hydraulic Containment and Groundwater Treatment System for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances

This Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Interim Measures Pilot Study Completion Report was prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration by AECOM Technical Services, Inc. under Contract 80KSC019D0010, Task Order 80KSC021F0096. The purpose of this report is to document the pilot study activities at the South Repeater Building, Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) 121. This report details the additional assessment activities completed from June 2023 through November 2023 and the subsequent pilot study completed at the South Repeater Building conducted in December 2023 through February 2024. Initial activities were conducted in accordance with the Pilot Study Work Plan (NASA 2023), submitted to the KSC Remediation Team and accepted by the team on October 26, 2023. The objectives of the pilot study were to: • Provide information on aquifer characteristics and to aid in future modeling and remedial design activities to mitigate off-KSC migration of PFAS compounds. • Develop information on characteristics of the surficial aquifer system, specifically transmissivity, storage coefficient, hydraulic conductivity, and vertical hydraulic conductivity. • Obtain data to support construction and calibration of a groundwater flow model. • Acquire design parameters necessary for future remedial design activities, specifically radius of influence, drawdown, flow rates, and pump settings. The following activities were completed to meet the pilot study objectives: • Groundwater and surface water sampling • Geophysical investigation via Hydraulic Profiling Tool (HPT) and soil sampling • Installation of observation and extraction wells via rotosonic techniques • Slug, step, and pump testing activities • Initial modeling efforts for a groundwater hydraulic containment system. Results of the pilot study and modeling activities are being used in the development of a groundwater containment and treatment system for the site.

PFAS↗

Site Integration and Regulatory Considerations for a Nuclear Power Plant Colocated with Industrial Facilities: Colocation Studies for a Petroleum Refinery, Methanol Plant, and Wood Pulp Plant

This research explores the colocation of nuclear power plants (NPPs) with industrial applications. Three existing industrial sites were considered to demonstrate the siting process and illuminate technological gaps for future work. The three applications demonstrated for colocation here are a petroleum refinery, a methanol production plant, and a pulp and paper plant. This study uses a modified version of the EPRI siting criteria to explore the geological and demographic characteristics of the location of the current industrial site, as well as exploring external hazards from the industrial plant and its surrounding land use. Data was collected from public databases to estimate site characteristics. We then discuss how the site characteristics may impact the ability to colocate an NPP with an industrial application. The application site and 5 additional sites were explored for each application to give a general indication of the siting implications for an NPP in each area. The hazards for each industrial application was also explored to determine how colocation may impact reactor safety. The following gaps have been identified and should be explored in future research on colocation of NPPs with petroleum refineries, methanol plants, and pulp and paper plants: - There is a variety of industrial use, hazards, and pipelines in the surrounding area. A more thorough review of these hazards should be considered for colocation. - In general, the whole region around some applications seems to have softer soil, with implications for large site preparation costs. Further site investigations should prioritize looking into the geotechnical conditions. - Applications along coastlines are susceptible to flooding and hurricanes. The benefits of colocation should be weighed against the potential design implications. - The benefits of natural gas pipeline infrastructure in place should be explored further. If heat supply from the NPP is not required or not feasible due to the distance between the NPP and the application, there may be an opportunity to supply hydrogen to the plant through an existing pipeline. - Because there are several collocated industrial plants in the regions for the refinery and methanol plant, the benefits of sharing resources from the NPP should be explored further. This may open up additional sites for colocation. The following knowledge gaps were identified for the colocation of NPPs with these three industries, and industrial applications in general. These gaps are: - While the STAND tool contains many important characteristics for the reactor siting process, it is not calibrated for the colocation of NPPs with industrial facilities. - There are aspects of both the NPP and industrial application that need to be quantified for a siting analysis. Particularly, we need to understand the water intake requirements for NPPs and each application. - Further work may focus on adapting the STAND site comparison methodology to comparison of sites for co-location. This will involve using the data documented in this report as a starting point and performing a comprehensive and quantitative comparison. - Without spending significant resources, it would be impossible to gather data for each site to evaluate all aspects of siting. One approach to finding data and understanding its implications to siting is looking at FSARs for existing plants. For example, most sites considered in this study have small Vs30 values, indicating soft soil. However, there are NPPs located in the vicinity of most of the sites (e.g., Waterford Steam Electric Station near New Orleans) and reviewing available site characteristics and geotechnical data for these NPPs, might provide further information for siting. - The siting analysis in this study indicates that colocation of the NPP with the industrial site could be difficult based on external hazards, cooling requirements, weather, or population. We need to determine the impact of distance between the two facilities on cost and quality of energy transport. - This study did not touch on socioeconomic impacts for NPP colocation with industrial facilities. The input-output analysis methodology could be applied to the communities referenced in this study to determine the socioeconomic impact of these projects. - Similarly, the impacts of colocation on emergency planning was not explored in this study. The impacts on emergency planning infrastructure are somewhat related to the socioeconomic impacts, and could be explored using a similar methodology. - This study also did not address physical and cybersecurity, which will be important aspects of co-location [ref] . Cybersecurity will be important, regardless of the distance, but physical security will be important if the facilities are located very closely. Physical security might also be important for the steam lines between the plants, unless they are determined to be non-safety significant. - In many site l

08 HYDROGEN↗

Zilver PTX Post-market Surveillance Study of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Treating Femoropopliteal Artery Disease in Japan: 2-Year Results

Purpose: A prospective, multicenter post-market surveillance study in Japan evaluated the 2-year safety and effectiveness of the DES in real-world patients with complex femoropopliteal artery lesions. Methods: There were no exclusion criteria, and consecutive symptomatic patients with femoropopliteal lesions treated with the DES were enrolled in the study. Clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) was defined as reintervention performed for > 50% diameter stenosis after recurrent clinical symptoms of peripheral arterial disease. Clinical benefit was defined as freedom from persistent or deteriorating ischemic symptoms. Patency was evaluated by duplex ultrasound where physicians considered this standard of care. Results: In this study, 905 patients were enrolled at 95 institutions in Japan. There were numerous comorbidities including a high incidence of diabetes (58.8%) and chronic kidney disease (43.6%). Additionally, 21.4% of patients were classified with critical limb ischemia. Lesions were complex, with an average length of 14.6 ± 9.6 cm (range 0.5–40 cm), 41.5% total occlusions, and 18.7% in-stent restenosis. In total, 1861 DES were placed in 1080 lesions. Two-year follow-up was obtained for > 90% of eligible patients. Freedom from TLR was 83.7%, and clinical benefit was 80.0% through 2 years. The 2-year primary patency rate was 70.3%. Rutherford classification significantly improved (p < 0.01), with approximately 80% of patients classified as Rutherford class 0 or 1 at 2 years. Conclusion: Despite more challenging lesion characteristics, 2-year results from the current study are similar to outcomes from the previous Zilver PTX studies, confirming the efficacy of the Zilver PTX DES in a complicated femoropopliteal lesion (Zilver PTX Post-Market Study in Japan; NCT02254837). Level of Evidence: Post-market surveillance study, Level III.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

State-of-the-art and review of condensation heat transfer for small modular reactor passive safety: Experimental studies

Here this study focused on state-of-the-art and review of condensation heat transfer for small modular reactors (SMR). Nuclear reactors adopt passive containment cooling systems (PCCS) for accident mitigation, containment integrity, and primarily to maintain the last barrier for radioactive particle release to the environment during and beyond design-basis accidents. However, improving the effectiveness of the PCCS is more critical for the SMR than for commercial reactors to ensure higher safety margins and compactness. In the PCCS of SMR, due to its smaller size containment, the filmwise condensation (FWC) is dominant. Therefore, this study emphasized the FWC. Earlier condensation studies for the PCCS did not make SMR the primary focus, so a critical review for formulating the state-of-the-art was necessary. Part-1 of this study covered the review of physics phenomena, previous experimental studies with a brief overview of associated test facilities and empirical correlations. This study identified a research gap with the condensation test data scaling relations by using the information and findings of the previous PCCS studies and applied them to the SMR system.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Assessment of HRA method predictions against operating crew performance: Part I: Study background, design and methodology

This is the first in a series of four papers document ing two large -scale human reliability analysis (HRA) empirical studies – the International HRA Empirical Study and the US HRA Empirical Study. The two studies are the first major efforts in recent years to benchmark HRA methods by comparing HRA method predictions against actual operator performance in accident scenarios simulated on nuclear power plant (NPP) simulators. When a met hod was applied by different analyst teams, the predictions of the different teams were also compared against each other. The purpose of the comparisons was to obtain insights concerning the strengths and weaknesses of the HRA methods addressed in the studies as well as the factors contributing to inter-analyst (or intra-method) variability. The background and motivation for the studies is first presented in the article. Then, the overall study design is described with a discussion on high-level tasks and participants. Next, the methodology to achieve the high-level tasks is discussed. Finally, concluding remarks are made concerning lessons learned on benchmarking HRA methods with crew performance of scenarios on NPP simulators.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Study of Energy Saving Analysis for Different Industries

This study analyzes the energy consumption and saving performance in the industries in the U.S.A. All energy assessments implemented were for facilities whose annual energy consumptions were less than 9,000,000 kWh (small- and medium-sized industries) that belong to the manufacturing industries with Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes ranging from 2000 to 3999 in addition to SIC codes starting with 49. In this study, assessments are classified based on the SIC codes with recommendations analysis for each classification to get a better idea of what recommendations were suggested in each major industrial sector, knowing that 68 assessments were made, and their SIC ranged from 14 to 49. In addition, this study could be considered as a guide for energy engineers and other personnel involved in the energy assessment process. The information investigated can give a better prediction for composing better energy-demanding industries and minimizing energy consumption. More than 61 energy assessments were conducted for manufacturing facilities and analyzing the data gathered and processed. Through the research, the Fabricated Metal industry achieved the highest average kWh savings and cost savings within the industries studied in this study. According to the average gigajoule (GJ) savings, the fabricated metal industry ranked second within the studied industries. Conversely, Food and Kindred Products achieved the highest GJ energy savings within the studied industries. Overall, lighting, motors, compressors, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) were the most contributing industries in a total of 547 recommendations.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Detection of significant antiviral drug effects on COVID-19 with reasonable sample sizes in randomized controlled trials: A modeling study

Development of an effective antiviral drug for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global health priority. Although several candidate drugs have been identified through in vitro and in vivo models, consistent and compelling evidence from clinical studies is limited. The lack of evidence from clinical trials may stem in part from the imperfect design of the trials. We investigated how clinical trials for antivirals need to be designed, especially focusing on the sample size in randomized controlled trials. A modeling study was conducted to help understand the reasons behind inconsistent clinical trial findings and to design better clinical trials. We first analyzed longitudinal viral load data for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) without antiviral treatment by use of a within-host virus dynamics model. The fitted viral load was categorized into 3 different groups by a clustering approach. Comparison of the estimated parameters showed that the 3 distinct groups were characterized by different virus decay rates (p-value < 0.001). The mean decay rates were 1.17 d -1 (95% CI: 1.06 to 1.27 d -1 ), 0.777 d -1 (0.716 to 0.838 d -1 ), and 0.450 d -1 (0.378 to 0.522 d -1 ) for the 3 groups, respectively. Such heterogeneity in virus dynamics could be a confounding variable if it is associated with treatment allocation in compassionate use programs (i.e., observational studies). Subsequently, we mimicked randomized controlled trials of antivirals by simulation. An antiviral effect causing a 95% to 99% reduction in viral replication was added to the model. To be realistic, we assumed that randomization and treatment are initiated with some time lag after symptom onset. Using the duration of virus shedding as an outcome, the sample size to detect a statistically significant mean difference between the treatment and placebo groups (1:1 allocation) was 13,603 and 11,670 (when the antiviral effect was 95% and 99%, respectively) per group if all patients are enrolled regardless of timing of randomization. The sample size was reduced to 584 and 458 (when the antiviral effect was 95% and 99%, respectively) if only patients who are treated within 1 day of symptom onset are enrolled. We confirmed the sample size was similarly reduced when using cumulative viral load in log scale as an outcome. We used a conventional virus dynamics model, which may not fully reflect the detailed mechanisms of viral dynamics of SARS-CoV-2. The model needs to be calibrated in terms of both parameter settings and model structure, which would yield more reliable sample size calculation. In this study, we found that estimated association in observational studies can be biased due to large heterogeneity in viral dynamics among infected individuals, and statistically significant effect in randomized controlled trials may be difficult to be detected due to small sample size. The sample size can be dramatically reduced by recruiting patients immediately after developing symptoms. We believe this is the first study investigated the study design of clinical trials for antiviral treatment using the viral dynamics model.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Spatial Study 2022: Surface Water Samples, Cotton Strip Degradation, and Hydrologic Sensor Data across the Yakima River Basin, Washington, USA (v3)

This dataset supports a broader study examining the drivers of spatial variability in sediment respiration rates in the Yakima River Basin. The dataset provides data and photos generated from sample collection during the same one-week period at 48 sites within multiple rivers throughout the Yakima River Basin in Washington, USA. The contents include surface water geochemistry data; river substrate grain size photos; stream depth data; manual chamber open channel respiration data; and field metadata (including qualitative information on instream and river corridor characteristics). Grain size photos can be used to improve estimates of channel substrate D50 data. The dataset also includes tensile strength and photos from cotton strip field degradation experiments; five-week sensor time series temperature, dissolved oxygen, pressure, pH, specific conductance, chlorophyll A, and turbidity data; plots of the sensor data; and R scripts used to generate the plots. Samples collected during this study were labeled as “Second Spatial Study” or “SSS.” A subset of data from the SSS samples were published in the contiguous United States (CONUS)-Scale Model-Sample (CM) study data package available at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/view/doi:10.15485/1923689 that presents data from across the CONUS. SSS data published in the CM data package were not included in this data package. They include dissolved organic carbon (DOC, measured as non-purgeable organic carbon, NPOC), total nitrogen (TN), grain size, aerobic sediment respiration, dissolved oxygen (DO), and temperature. Parent IDs and Site IDs are consistent between the SSS and CM data packages, and they can be mapped directly so data across packages can be used together. Additionally, sensor data from a similar 2021 spatial study can be found at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/view/doi:10.15485/1892052 and 2021 sample data can be found at https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/view/doi:10.15485/1898914. The 2021 spatial study had some sites in common with this 2022 spatial study. This dataset is comprised of three photo folders and one main data folder with six subfolders. The photo folders contain photographs and videos of cotton strip retrieval and sediment quadrats. The main data folder consists of (1) file-level metadata; (2) data dictionary; (3) field metadata; (4) total suspended solids (TSS) data and cotton strip tensile strength data and averages; (5) field protocol; (6) readme; (7) methods codes; (8) international generic sample number (IGSN) mapping file; (9) sensor installation methods summary; (10) stream depth and averages; and (11) Ultrameter data and averages. The Sonar subfolder consists of Sonar time-series depth data and a processing script. The BarotrollAtm, DepthHOBO, MantaRiver, miniDOT, and miniDOTManualChamber subfolders contain time-series data, plots, and summary files. All files are .csv, .pdf, .txt, .R, .Rmd, .jpg, .jpeg, .AVI, .mp4, or .mov. The data package was originally published in April 2023. It was updated in August 2023 (v2; modified files) and September 2024 (v3; modified files). See the change history section in the readme for details. We acknowledge the Yakama Nation as owners and caretakers of the lands where we collected these data. We thank the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation Tribal Council and Yakama Nation Fisheries for working with us to facilitate sample collection and optimization of data usage according to their values and worldview.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

False Indications of Dose-Response Nonlinearity in Large Epidemiologic Cancer Radiation Cohort Studies; A Simulation Exercise

This study explores the likely prevalence of false indications of dose-response nonlinearity in large epidemiologic cancer radiation cohort studies (A-bomb survivors, INWORKS, Techa River). Reasons: Increasing numbers of tests of nonlinearity are being made in studies. Hypothesized nonlinear dose-response models have been justified to policy makers by analyses that rely in part on isolated findings that could be statistical fluctuations. After removing dose nonlinearity (linearization) by adjusting person-years of observation at each dose category, indications of nonlinearity, necessarily false, were counted in 5,000 randomized replications of six datasets. The average frequency of any false positive for five indicators of nonlinearity tested against a linear null was roughly 25% in Monte Carlo simulations per study, consistent with binomial calculations, increasing to ~50% within 6 studies assessed. Comparable frequencies were found using Akaike's information criterion (AIC) for model selection or multi-model averaging. False above-zero threshold doses were found more than 50% of the time, averaging to 0.05 Gy, consistent with findings in the 6 studies. Such bias, uncorrected, could distort meta-analyses of multiple studies, because meta-analyses can incorporate high P value findings. AIC-based correction for the extra threshold parameter lowered these false occurrences to 8 to 19%. Given the simulation rates, the possibility of false positives might be noted when isolated findings of nonlinearity are discussed in a regulatory context. When reporting a threshold dose with a P value > 0.05, it would be informative to note the expected high false prevalence rate due to bias.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

INECP Case Studies [Slides]

The following “INECP Case Studies” document contains two case studies: Corrosion-Resistant Valves and Case Study: Dual-Use Items for Gas Centrifuge. The content of both of these case studies was approved for unlimited release in 2013. The case studies have been reorganized or slightly altered to make them more easily presentable during virtual or in-person International Nonproliferation Export Control Program (INECP) programmatic trainings and engagements. The document also contains the original case studies with LA-UR release numbers. The original studies were included in the document as a reference for derivative classification and export control.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

Support for the Core Research Activities and Studies of the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (DE-SC0020446 Final Technical Report)

Supported the core operations of the National Academies' Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB). Helped support planning and conducting of board meetings, identification of priority topics in computer science and other areas of computing and communications technologies, and oversight for CSTB's portfolio of studies and convenings. Activities shaped and overseen included: a workshop on Al for scientific discovery; collaborative work with other Academies units on a study on foundational research gaps and future directions for digital twins; a study on current capabilities, future prospects, and governance of facial recognition technologies, a study on post- exascale computing; a study on fostering responsible computing research, collaborative work with other Academies units on automated research workflows for accelerated scientific discovery; a study on meeting federal cybersecurity workforce needs, and a study of the ecosystem driving information technology innovation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Process for Study of Micro-pilot Diesel-NG Dual Fuel Combustion in a Constant Volume Combustion Vessel Utilizing the Premixed Pre-burn Procedure

A constant volume spray and combustion vessel utilizing the pre-burn mixture procedure to generate pressure, temperature, and composition characteristic of near top dead center (TDC) conditions in compression ignition (CI) engines was modified here with post pre-burn gas induction to incorporate premixed methane gas prior to diesel injection to simulate processes in dual fuel engines. Two variants of the methane induction system were developed and studied. The first used a high-flow modified direct injection injector and the second utilized auxiliary ports in the vessel that are used for normal intake and exhaust events. Flow, mixing, and limitations of the induction systems were studied. As a finding of this study, the high-flow modified direct injection injector was selected because of its controlled actuation and rapid closure. Further studies of the induction system post pre-burn were conducted to determine the temperature limit of the methane auto-ignition. It was found that for sufficient induction and mixing time determined from experimental observations and CFD modeling studies, a maximum core temperature of 750 K at the time of micro-pilot diesel injection can be achieved. Although lower than TDC temperatures in diesel CI engines, this temperature is sufficient for studying dual fuel injection and auto-ignition with high cetane fuels. Results from this work confirm the feasibility of dual fuel combustion using the proposed CV process and provide constraints for further micro-pilot diesel-NG dual fuel combustion studies.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Summary of the recent short-haul systems studies

The results of several NASA sponsored high density short haul air transportation systems studies are reported as well as analyzed. Included are the total STOL systems analysis approach, a companion STOL composites study conducted in conjunction with STOL systems studies, a STOL economic assessment study, an evaluation of STOL aircraft with and without externally blown flaps, an alternative STOL systems for the San Francisco Bay Area, and the quiet, clean experimental engine studies. Assumptions and results of these studies are summarized, their differences, analyzed, and the results compared with those in-house analyses performed by the Systems Studies Division of the NASA-Ames Research Center. Pertinent conclusions are developed and the more significant technology needs for the evaluation of a viable short haul transportation system are identified.

Savin, R. C.↗

Studies of social group dynamics under isolated conditions. Objective summary of the literature as it relates to potential problems of long duration space flight

Scientific literature which deals with the study of human behavior and crew interaction in situations simulating long term space flight is summarized and organized. A bibliography of all the pertinent U.S. literature available is included, along with definitions of the behavioral characteristics terms employed. The summarized studies are analyzed according to behavioral factors and environmental conditions. The analysis consist of two matrices. (1) The matrix of factors studied correlates each research study area and individual study with the behavioral factors that were investigated in the study. (2) The matrix of conclusions identifies those studies whose investigators appeared to draw specific conclusions concerning questions of importance to NASA.

Vinograd, S. P.↗