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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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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

System for controlling child safety seat environment

A system is provided to control the environment experienced by a child in a child safety seat. Each of a plurality of thermoelectric elements is individually controllable to be one of heated and cooled relative to an ambient temperature. A first portion of the thermoelectric elements are positioned on the child safety seat such that a child sitting therein is positioned thereover. A ventilator coupled to the child safety seat moves air past a second portion of the thermoelectric elements and filters the air moved therepast. One or more jets coupled to the ventilator receive the filtered air. Each jet is coupled to the child safety seat and can be positioned to direct the heated/cooled filtered air to the vicinity of the head of the child sitting in the child safety seat.

Dabney, Richard W.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Agent-based simulation and child protection systems: Rationale, implementation, and verification

Simulation models are an important tool used in health care and other disciplines to support operational research and decision-making. In the child protection literature, simulation models are an under-utilized source of research evidence. Here, in this paper, we describe the rationale for and the development of an agent-based simulation of a child protection system in the US. Using the investigation, prevention service, and placement histories of 600,000 children served in an urban child welfare system, we walk the reader through the development of a prototype known as OSPEDALE. The governing equations built into OSPEDALE probabilistically simulate the onset of investigations. Then, drawing from empirical survival distributions, the governing equations trace the probability of subsequent interactions with the system (recurrence of maltreatment, service referrals, and placement) conditional on the characteristics of children, their assessed risk level, and prior child protection system involvement. As an initial test of OSPEDALE's utility, we compare empirical admission counts with counts generated from OSPEDALE. Though the verification step is admittedly simple, the comparison shows that OSPEDALE replicates the empirical count of new admissions closely enough to justify further investment in OSPEDALE. Management of public child protection systems is increasingly research evidence-dependent. The emphasis on research evidence as a decision-support tool has elevated evidence acquired through randomized clinical trials. Though important, the evidence from clinical trials represents only one type of research evidence. Properly specified, simulation models are another source of evidence with real-world relevance.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2014

Environmental Risk Factors and Child Nutritional Status and Survival in a Context of Climate Variability and Change

Much of the population in the developing world resides in rural areas, is dependent on local agriculture for survival, and thus directly subject to increasingly volatile and variable climatic patterns. Poverty limits options for adaptation to unpredictable weather and resultant food insecurity; these concerns are particularly salient in an era of climate change, which threatens to roll back years of development gains. Examining the association between the growing environment and child survival and nutrition is important in this context. Using NASA's satellite remote sensing data with Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data from four West African countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Benin), we assess the association between a climate-related environmental variable (vegetation index - NDVI) and child survival and nutrition. NDVI had a positive association with child survival and nutrition in countries with a wide distribution of NDVI values. NDVI was more likely to be positively associated with wasting rather than stunting. We find that environmental factors can be important for child survival and nutrition outcomes in specific contexts. Additional research is needed to further explore the ways NDVI can be used to inform our understanding of the environment's impact on child survival and nutrition.

Environment↗
DOE OSTI2025

The relationship between below average cognitive ability at age 5 years and the child’s experience of school at age 9

Background At age 5, while only embarking on their educational journey, substantial differences in children’s cognitive ability will already exist. The aim of this study was to examine the causal association between below average cognitive ability at age 5 years and child-reported experience of school and self-concept, and teacher-reported class engagement and emotional-behavioural function at age 9 years. Methods This longitudinal cohort study used data from 7,392 children in the Growing Up in Ireland Infant Cohort, who had completed the Picture Similarities and Naming Vocabulary subtests of the British Abilities Scales at age 5. Principal components analysis was used to produce a composite general cognitive ability score for each child. Children with a general cognitive ability score more than 1 standard deviation (SD) below the mean at age 5 were categorised as ‘Below Average Cognitive Ability’ (BACA), and those scoring above this as ‘Typical Cognitive Development’ (TCD). The outcomes of interest, measured at age 9, were child-reported experience of school, child’s self-concept, teacher-reported class engagement, and teacher-reported emotional behavioural function. Binary and multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine the association between BACA and these outcomes. Results Compared to those with TCD, those with BACA had significantly higher odds of never liking school [Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.82, 95% CI 1.37–2.43, p < 0.001], of being picked on (AOR 1.27, 95% CI 1.09–1.48) and of picking on others (AOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.27–1.84). They had significantly higher odds of experiencing low self-concept (AOR 1.20, 95% CI 1.02–1.42) and emotional-behavioural difficulties (AOR 1.34, 95% CI 1.10–1.63, p = 0.003). Compared to those with TCD, children with BACA had significantly higher odds of hardly ever or never being interested, motivated and excited to learn (AOR 2.29, 95% CI 1.70–3.10). Conclusion Children with BACA at school-entry had significantly higher odds of reporting a negative school experience and low self-concept at age 9. They had significantly higher odds of having teacher-reported poor class engagement and problematic emotional-behavioural function at age 9. The findings of this study suggest BACA has a causal role in these adverse outcomes. Early childhood policy and intervention design should be cognisant of the important role of cognitive ability in school and childhood outcomes.

Bowe, Andrea K.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Microflora analysis of a child with severe combined immune deficiency

The paper presents a microflora analysis of a 5-year-old male child with severe combined immune deficiency who was delivered by Caesarean section and continuously maintained in an isolator. Despite precautions, it was found that the child had come in contact with at least 54 different microbial contaminants. While his skin autoflora was similar to that of a reference group of healthy male adults in numbers of different species and the number of viable cells present per square centimeter of surface area, the subject's autoflora differed from the reference group in that significantly fewer anaerobic species were recovered from the patient's mouth and feces. It is suggested that the child's remaining disease free shows that the reported bacteria are noninvasive or that the unaffected components of the child's immune defense mechanisms are important.

Taylor, G. R.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Child's Tantrum: El Nino. The Origin of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation

In 1997, a child's tantrums caught the world's attention. These tantrums took the form not of crying and foot stamping, but of droughts and floods. Obviously, this was no ordinary child. It was, in fact, The Child, or El Nino, as it was, named in the late 1800s by South American observers, who noted that its timing coincided with the Christmas holiday. El Nino is a reversal in sea surface temperature (SST) distributions that occurs once every few years in the tropical Pacific. When it coincides with a cyclical shift in air pressure, known as the Southern Oscillation, normal weather patterns are drastically altered. The combined phenomenon is known as El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Although ENSO is a regular phenomenon, it was unusually strong in 1997. It produced heavy rainfall and floods in California and bestowed spring-like temperatures on the Midwest during the winter. These drastic changes in normal weather patterns captured the public imagination, from news reports to jokes on late-night talk shows. Naturally, people wanted to. know as much, about El Nino as possible. Fortunately, scientists had at their disposal new satellites and ocean sensors that provided an unprecedented level of information. Consequently, not only was the 1997 ENSO the strongest in recent memory, but it was also the most thoroughly studied. Prominent groups such as the NASA Seasonalto-Interannual Prediction Project (NSIPP) combined numerous aspects of climate modeling into a single, predictive endeavor.

Picault, Joel↗
NASA NTRS2023

Considering Soil Moisture in Models of Climate Impacts on Child Health in Farming-Centric Countries

Soil moisture reflects the amount of water available to crops in the top layer of soil. As such, considering soil moisture provides important insight into water availability and ultimately crop yields in agricultural settings. In studies of climate change, food security, and health, however, soil moisture is rarely empirically considered despite its connection to crop health and yields. In this project, we aim to advance understanding of climate impacts on food security by incorporating soil moisture into quantitative models of child health. Combining spatially referenced health survey data from the Demographic and Health Surveys for 2005 and 2010 in Senegal and 2007, 2011, and 2014 in Bangladesh, with soil moisture data from the Famine Early Warning System Network Land Data Assimilation System, we explore the linkages between sub-annual and sub-seasonal climate conditions and child malnutrition in two rainfed agriculture dependent countries—Bangladesh and Senegal. Results suggest that soil moisture, measured on very short time scales, may be associated with reductions in anthropometric weight-for-height z-scores, but the relationship is highly dependent upon geographic context.

Child health↗
NASA NTRS2024

KSC Child Development Center (PRL 149) Confirmatory Sampling Report and Interim Measures Work Plan

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit requires identification and evaluation of known Solid Waste Management Units (SWMU) located at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The KSC Child Development Center (KCDC), the “site,” is designated as potential release location (PRL) 149 under the NASA RCRA permit. This report summarizes the results of the Confirmatory Sampling (CS) activities carried out on March 19, 2022, and May 16, 2023, at KCDC, PRL 149, KSC, Florida. This report additionally presents the results of an assessment conducted between July 7 and July 27, 2023, to determine whether construction activities in 2023 to replace certain playground equipment and the rubberized play surface released arsenic (As) contaminated soil.

CDC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Individualized Adaptive Radiation Therapy Allows for Safe Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Child-Turcotte-Pugh B Liver Disease

Previous reports of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) suggest unacceptably high rates of toxicity in patients with Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) B liver disease. We hypothesized that an individualized adaptive treatment approach based on midtreatment liver function would maintain good local control while limiting toxicity in this population.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2021

A multi-dimensional Child–Langmuir law for any diode geometry

While prior theoretical studies of multi-dimensional space-charge limited current (SCLC) assumed emission from a small patch on infinite electrodes, none have considered emission from an entire finite electrode. In this paper, we apply variational calculus (VC) and conformal mapping, which have previously been used to derive analytic solutions for SCLC density (SCLCD) for nonplanar one-dimensional geometries, to obtain mathematical relationships for any multi-dimensional macroscopic diode with finite cathode and anode. We first derive a universal mathematical relationship between space-charge limited potential and vacuum potential for any diode and apply this technique to determine SCLCD for an eccentric spherical diode. We then apply VC and the Schwartz–Christoffel transformation to derive an exact equation for SCLCD in a general two-dimensional planar geometry with emission from a finite emitter. Particle-in-cell simulations using VSim agreed within 4%–13% for a range of ratios of emitter width to gap distance using the thinnest electrodes practical for the memory constraints of our hardware, with the difference partially attributed to the theory's assumption of infinitesimally thin electrodes. After generalizing this approach to determine SCLCD for any orthogonal diode as a function of only the vacuum capacitance and vacuum potential, we derive an analytical formulation of the three-dimensional Child–Langmuir law for finite parallel rectangular and disk geometries. These results demonstrate the utility for calculating SCLCD for any diode geometry using vacuum capacitance and vacuum potential, which are readily obtainable for many diode geometries, to guide experiment and simulation development.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Collisional space-charge-limited current with monoenergetic velocity: From Child–Langmuir to Mott–Gurney

All theories coupling electron emission theories ultimately approach the space-charge-limited current (SCLC) in vacuum, given by the Child–Langmuir (CL) law, for sufficiently high voltage, or the Mott–Gurney (MG) law for finite electron mobility and high (but not infinite) voltage. These analyses demonstrate the presence of an SCLC regime that cannot be described by either CL or MG. Here, we derive an exact solution for SCLC for general electron mobility and nonzero velocity. We recover the traditional CL with nonzero initial velocity at high voltage. For low mobility (or infinite collision frequency), we derive corrections to the MG law that depend on the ratio of initial velocity to the product of collision frequency and gap distance or initial velocity to drift velocity for low and high voltage, respectively. Increasing collisionality decreases the correction to SCLC for nonzero velocity, indicating that these corrections are less important for low-mobility materials (e.g., solids) than high-mobility materials (e.g., air or vacuum). For a given gap distance (collision frequency), increasing the collision frequency (gap distance) increases the voltage necessary to make the gap appear more like vacuum. These results provide a generalized SCLC for both collisionality and initial velocity when assessing the transitions between electron emission mechanisms.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Spontaneous bodily coordination varies across affective and intellectual child-adult interactions

Research on child-adult interactions has identified that the morphology of bodily coordination seems to be sensitive to age and type of interaction. Mirror-like imitation emerges earlier in life and is more common during emotionally laden interactions, while anatomical imitation is acquired later and associated with cognitive tasks. However, it remains unclear whether these morphologies also vary with age and type of interaction during spontaneous coordination. Here we report a motion capture study comparing the spontaneous coordination patterns of thirty-five 3-year-old (20 girls; M age = 3.15 years) and forty 6-year-old children (20 girls; M age = 6.13 years) interacting with unacquainted adults during two storytelling sessions. The stories narrated the search of a character for her mother (Predominantly Affective Condition) or an object (Predominantly Intellectual Condition) inside a supermarket. Results show that children of both ages consistently coordinated their spontaneous movements towards adult storytellers, both in symmetric and asymmetric ways. However, symmetric coordination was more prominent in 3-year-old children and during predominantly emotional interactions, whereas asymmetric coordination prevailed in 6-year-old children and during predominantly intellectual interactions. These results add evidence from spontaneous interactions in favor of the hypothesis that symmetric coordination is associated with affective interactions and asymmetric coordination with intellectual ones.

Cornejo, Carlos↗
NASA NTRS2007

Cushion system for multi-use child safety seat

A cushion system for use with a child safety seat has a plurality of bladders assembled to form a seat cushion that cooperates with the seat's safety harness. One or more sensors coupled to the safety harness sense tension therein and generate a signal indicative of the tension. Each of the bladders is individually pressurized by a pressurization system to define a support configuration of the seat cushion. The pressurization system is disabled when tension in the safety harness has attained a threshold level.

Dabney, Richard W.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Cushion System for Multi-Use Child Safety Seat

A cushion system for use with a child safety seat has a plurality of bladders assembled to form a seat cushion that cooperates with the seat's safety harness. One or more sensors coupled to the safety harness sense tension therein and generate a signal indicative of the tension. Each of the bladders is individually pressurized by a pressurization system to define a support configuration of the seat cushion. The pressurization system is disabled when tension in the safety harness has attained a threshold level.

Dabney, Richard W.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Forest Cover Associated with Improved Child Health and Nutrition: Evidence from the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey and Satellite Data

Healthy forests provide human communities with a host of important ecosystem services, including the provision of food, clean water, fuel, and natural medicines. Yet globally, about 13 million hectares of forests are lost every year, with the biggest losses in Africa and South America. As biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation due to deforestation continue at unprecedented rates, with concomitant loss of ecosystem services, impacts on human health remain poorly understood. Here, we use data from the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey, linked with satellite remote sensing data on forest cover, to explore and better understand this relationship. Our analysis finds that forest cover is associated with improved health and nutrition outcomes among children in Malawi. Children living in areas with net forest cover loss between 2000 and 2010 were 19% less likely to have a diverse diet and 29% less likely to consume vitamin A-rich foods than children living in areas with no net change in forest cover. Conversely, children living in communities with higher percentages of forest cover were more likely to consume vitamin A-rich foods and less likely to experience diarrhea. Net gain in forest cover over the 10-year period was associated with a 34% decrease in the odds of children experiencing diarrhea (P5.002). Given that our analysis relied on observational data and that there were potential unknown factors for which we could not account, these preliminary findings demonstrate only associations, not causal relationships, between forest cover and child health and nutrition outcomes. However, the findings raise concerns about the potential short- and long-term impacts of ongoing deforestation and ecosystem degradation on community health in Malawi, and they suggest that preventing forest loss and maintaining the ecosystems services of forests are important factors in improving human health and nutrition outcomes.

malawi↗
NASA NTRS2015

NASA Child Fitness Promotion Program in Young Children in South Korea

Childhood obesity is a serious global public health concern (WHO, 2015; Wang Y & Lobstein T, 2006). Low self-esteem and related mental health problems are common in obese children (Strauss RS, 2000) as well as poor academic performance and career development (Gurley-Calvez T, 2010).Westernized dietary habits and sedentary lifestyles are identified as the major risk factors of current alarming rate of obesity along with genetic susceptibility (Popkin BM, 1999). Children in many countries, including South Korea, have become increasingly sedentary due to urbanization changes in their respective societies (Ng SW, et al. 2009, Salmon J et al. 2011). In particular, South Korea had abundant dissemination of mobile technology, such as tablet and smart phone devices. Children have become reliant on mobile devices and are less likely to perform physical activities (Do, et al, 2013). Effective and sustainable intervention programs are needed to fight the global obesity epidemic (IOM, 2012; Wang Y et al, 2013; Wang Y et al, 2015). Previous studies suggested focus on prevention strategies that begin in early childhood, a period when children establish their life habits. (Salmon J et al. 2011). Recent systematic reviews and meta-analysis including ours found that obesity prevention programs for young children have a greater intervention effect (Waters E, et al, 2011; Wang Y et al, 2013; Wang Y et al, 2015). The NASA Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut (MX) program was developed to promote children's exercise and healthy eating with excitement for training like an astronaut (Lloyd C, 2012).At present, the NASA MX Program covered 28 countries, enrolled children through their teachers in school setting (MX report 2014, 2015). This pilot study adapted the NASA MX intervention program for young children in South Korea. We assessed its feasibility and effectiveness in promoting physical activity (PA) in children and in improving parents' perspectives. We also examined the status of PA in young children. More than 80% of five-year-old children go to a Kindergarten or day care center in South Korea (MH Suh et al, 2013).Thus, reaching young children through child care and education settings could be a good approach for early childhood obesity prevention.

Min, Jungwon↗
NASA NTRS2024

KSC Child Development Center (Potential Release Location 149) Confirmatory Sampling Report and Interim Measures Work Plan

This Confirmatory Sampling (CS) Report and Interim Measures (IM) Work Plan was prepared for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, by HydroGeoLogic, Inc. (HGL) under Contract Number 80KSC019D0012, Task Order 80KSC019F0118. This document presents the results of the CS activities performed in March 2022, and May 202, at the KSC Child Development Center (KCDC), Potential Release Location (PRL) 149, KSC, Florida. This report additionally presents the results of an assessment conducted in July 2023 to determine whether construction activities in 2023 to replace certain playground equipment and the rubberized play surface allowed soil contaminated by arsenic (As) to migrate from beneath the play surface.

arsenic↗