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The Effects of Fluctuations in Plant Growth Rate on Material Circulation in ECLSS
Get PDFMasakatsu Nakane, Nihon University, JapanJames Nabity, University of Colorado - Boulder, United StatesICES301: Advanced Life Support Systems ControlThe 54th International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in Prague, Czechia, on 13 July 2025 through 17 July 2025.An Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) is
an essential system for living in outer space. Beyond
low-Earth orbit, where resupply becomes more difficult, it
is necessary to regenerate and circulate more of the
materials in the system. To increase the regeneration rate
of substances from the current level and close the material
circulation, a hybrid system of physicochemical and
bioregenerative processes will become essential. One of the
major problems with bioregenerative processing is the
uncertainty of the processing amount. In this paper, we
focus on plant cultivation as a method of food production,
oxygen regeneration, and carbon dioxide reduction. We
calculated the changes in input and output amounts by
changing the plant growth rate of a plant growth model. As
a result, there is a large impact on the material
circulation environment, and it is necessary to design
physicochemical treatment equipment that can absorb these
effects
Richard Zec's MM Conducting Recital 2
Get PDFSerenade No. 11 in E-flat Major, K. 375, W.A. Mozart
Mother Goose Suite, Maurice RavelRelated performance for this degree -- Richard Zec's MM Conducting Recital 1: https://hdl.handle.net/2346/102247Recital recordings are archival copies for educational purposes only. Members of the TTU community may request to listen/view them for educational purposes via the PDF link to the left
Capturing Change: A Proposal for Texas to Assume Long-Term Liability for Carbon Storage Facilities
Get PDFThe article argues that while carbon capture and storage (CCS) is critical for achieving a net-zero economy, current incentives in Texas, such as the Section 45Q federal tax credit, are insufficient to encourage investment due to high costs, potential liabilities, and conflicting regulatory practices. It proposes that Texas adopt legislation shifting long-term liability for onshore carbon storage facilities to the state, similar to statutes in other states, to balance costs, reduce risks, and promote CCS investment
Temporal Genomics Reveal a Century of Genomic Diversity Shifts Across a Biodiversity Hotspot Avian Assemblage
Get PDFBiodiversity has experienced tremendous shifts in community, species, and genetic diversity during the Anthropocene. Understanding temporal diversity shifts is especially critical in biodiversity hotspots, i.e., regions that are exceptionally biodiverse and threatened. Here, we use museomics and temporal genomics approaches to quantify temporal shifts in genomic diversity in an assemblage of eight generalist highland bird species from the Ethiopian Highlands (part of the Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot). With genomic data from contemporary and historical samples, we demonstrate an assemblage-wide trend of increased genomic diversity through time, potentially due to improved habitat connectivity within highland regions. Genomic diversity shifts in these generalist species contrast with general trends of genomic diversity declines in specialist or imperiled species. In addition to genetic diversity shifts, we found an assemblage-wide trend of decreased realized mutational load, indicative of overall trends for potentially deleterious variation to be masked or selectively purged. Across this avian assemblage, we also show that shifts in population genomic structure are idiosyncratic, with species-specific trends. These results are in contrast with other charismatic and imperiled African taxa that have largely shown strong increases in population genetic structure over the recent past. This study highlights that not all taxa respond the same to environmental change, and generalists, in some cases, may even respond positively. Future comparative conservation genomics assessments on species groups or assemblages with varied natural history characteristics would help us better understand how diverse taxa respond to anthropogenic landscape changes.This work was supported by NSF Grants 1953688 to J.D.M. and 1953796 to B.D.M. The TTU Center for Biotechnology & Genomics acquisition of the NovaSeq6000 was supported by NIH grant 1S10OD025115-01
Electrifying Indemnity: The Dark Side of the Texas Health & Safety Code High Voltage Act
Get PDFThe Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 752, intended to protect worker safety, has been broadly interpreted by courts, leading to overprotection of utility companies and unjust outcomes for individuals. The statute's indemnification provision, initially aimed at construction settings, now applies to everyday activities, disproportionately burdening individuals and absolving utility companies of accountability. The article advocates for reform, proposing amendments to limit the statute's scope and incorporate contributory negligence to balance liability and incentivize utility companies to maintain their lines responsibly
Protecting Possessory Parents: The Problems with the Fit-Parent Presumption in In Re C.J.C Comments
Get PDFProtecting Possessory Parents: The Problems with the Fit-Parent Presumption in In re C.J.C. examines the Texas Supreme Court’s application of the fit-parent presumption in custody and visitation disputes. The article explains how In re C.J.C. elevates parental autonomy in ways that can disadvantage possessory parents and disrupt existing parent-child relationships. It analyzes the doctrinal foundations of the fit-parent presumption and its interaction with best-interest-of-the-child standards. The discussion considers the practical consequences of the decision for family law practitioners and trial courts. The article concludes by evaluating alternative approaches that better protect possessory parents while respecting constitutional parental rights
Development of a Transient Wellbore Heat Transfer Model Validated with Distributed Temperature Sensing Data
Get PDFDistributed temperature sensing (DTS) has long been employed in the oil and gas industry to characterize reservoirs, optimize production, and extend well life. More recently, its application has expanded to geothermal energy development, where DTS provides critical insights into transient wellbore temperature profiles and flow behavior. A comprehensive understanding of such field measurements can be achieved by systematically comparing and interpreting DTS data in conjunction with robust numerical models. However, many existing wellbore models rely on steady-state heat transfer assumptions that fail to capture transient dynamics, while fully coupled wellbore–reservoir simulations are often computationally demanding and mathematically complex. This study aims to address this gap by developing a transient wellbore heat transfer model validated with DTS data. The model was formulated using a thermal-analogy approach based on the theoretical framework of Eickmeier et al. and implemented with a finite-difference scheme. Validation was performed by comparing thermal slug velocities predicted by the model with those extracted from DTS measurements. The results demonstrated strong agreement between modeled and measured slug velocities, confirming the model’s reliability. In addition, the modeled thermal slug velocity was lower than the corresponding fluid velocity, indicating that thermal front propagates more slowly than the fluid front. Consequently, this computationally efficient approach enhances the interpretation of DTS data and offers a practical tool for improved monitoring and management of geothermal operations.This research was funded by U.S. Department of Energy, grant number DE-EE0007080, “Enhanced Geothermal System Concept Testing and Development at the Milford City, Utah FORGE Site.
Effects of Land-Use Intensity on Archaeological Survey
Get PDFFor pedestrian archaeological surveys in agricultural regions, field plowing and crop cultivation are essential mechanisms for bringing artifacts to the surface and making them visible. Although agricultural land use can affect plowzone assemblages, few studies have tested the relationship between how frequently agricultural land is cultivated and the quantity of artifacts recovered. Such an evaluation would require a multiyear record of land use across extensive survey areas, thereby presenting numerous obstacles and challenges. Yet the ever-expanding availability of high temporal and spatial resolution satellite imagery datasets, combined with the accessibility of new tools for analyzing such datasets, makes studies of land-use intensity increasingly feasible. To demonstrate, we present our remote sensing–based evaluation of land-use intensity within the Province of Oristano (west-central Sardinia, Italy), where the Sinis Archaeological Project (SAP) has worked since 2018. Drawing on Sentinel-2 satellite imagery from the past six years, we investigate what factors may explain the modern-day distribution of land-use intensities, which areas SAP has targeted, and what effect land-use intensity has on artifact distribution. We find that modern-day land-use intensity is largely a legacy of recent land reclamation efforts and find no correlation between the intensity of surveyed fields and the quantity of materials recovered therein.The Sinis Archaeological Project has been supported by the Loeb Classical Library Foundation, the European Research Council under Consolidator Grant ERC-2019-COG 865644 for the Migration and the Making of the Ancient Greek World Project (University of Vienna), the Rust Family Foundation under grant RFF-2018-54, the Curtiss T. Brennan and Mary G. Brennan Foundation, the Julia Herzig Desnick Endowment Fund of the Archaeological Institute of America, the DigitalGlobe Foundation, and Texas Tech University
Integrating Emerging Design‐Build Technologies for Resilient Housing in the Navajo Nation
Get PDFThe Navajo Nation faces critical challenges in developing housing that is resilient to climate change while honoring cultural heritage. Socio‐economic disparities, limited infrastructure, and extreme environmental conditions demand innovative solutions that integrate sustainable practices with traditional Navajo values. This study critically examines the potential of smart design‐build technologies to create resilient, culturally appropriate housing tailored to the Navajo Nation’s unique needs, while interrogating the normative assumptions that often accompany Western frameworks of sustainability and innovation. This research combines a multidisciplinary literature review with a graduate‐level design studio’s explorative and applied insight. The literature review synthesizes advancements in sustainable technologies—such as off‐grid power systems, alternative materials, and participatory design methods—through a decolonial lens that challenges dominant planning paradigms. A conceptual framework was constructed to evaluate the intersection of cultural coherence, technological viability, material sustainability, socio‐environmental adaptability, and governance. Off‐grid solutions, including solar panels and wind turbines, offer clean energy alternatives, while locally sourced materials, like earth‐based and carbon‐environmentally informed additive manufacturing solutions, provide cost‐effective, low‐carbon options suitable for the arid climate. The study emphasizes participatory design, engaging local communities in developing housing solutions that align with cultural values and modern needs. By combining traditional Navajo architectural principles—such as circular forms and earthen materials—with smart technologies, the resulting designs are resilient, sustainable, and socially relevant. The design studio component enabled graduate students to explore speculative housing prototypes grounded in this framework, evaluated in dialogue with Navajo cultural liaisons and contextual constraints, thereby centering Indigenous perspectives in both process and output. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on smart, resilient infrastructure, offering insights for policymakers, designers, and funders to support localized, culturally and environmentally informed housing solutions in Indigenous communities.This research received funding from the National Science Foundation under Award No. 2427747 through the
ReDDDoT program. The funded project, of which this research is a part, is a Phase 1 ReDDDoT Planning Grant
titled Co‐DREAM Tech: Building Community‐Driven Resilience and Empowerment through Adaptive Manufacturing
Technologies. The Responsible Design, Development, and Deployment of Technologies (ReDDDoT) program
is a collaboration between the NSF and philanthropic funders, including the Ford Foundation, the Patrick J.
McGovern Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, and the
Siegel Family Endowment
Effects of diet quality on cadmium toxicity and bioenergetics in the Great pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis
Get PDFOrganismal energy budgets describe the allocation and use of energy for different processes including maintenance, growth and reproduction. Energy assimilation and allocation is highly dependent on diet and diet, therefore, has a strong impact on organismal fitness. Energy excess can be stored in energy reserves that could be later used if the organism is under stress such as contaminant exposure. I used cadmium (Cd), a very toxic and ubiquitous heavy metal that is commonly found in the environment but whose sublethal effects on aquatic organisms are not well understood, to test toxicity under different energetic conditions. Further, because cadmium can also affect the offspring of exposed organisms, I explored intergenerational effects and their modification by parental diet. The model organism I used was the great pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis (Lymnaeidae), which is currently proposed as a model species for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standard guideline for gastropod toxicity testing.
The project was initiated as part of a reproductive ring test organized by representatives of the OECD with L. stagnalis and Cd. In the second chapter, I report results of adult snails exposed to 0, 25, 50, 100, 200 and 400 µg Cd/L for 56 days and I found that food consumption, growth, and fecundity were reduced with increasing Cd. For offspring, egg masses were exposed to the same concentration their parents were exposed to and a different set was exposed to contaminant-free water. Parents exposed to Cd affected their offspring performance indicated in hatching and sensitivity tests. For the third chapter, surviving snails from the reproductive test were used and analyzed to determine the concentration of Cd in five subcellular fractions that were either part of the metal sensitive fractions (MSF) or the biologically detoxified metal (BDM) fraction. For the fourth chapter, total content of lipids, carbohydrates and proteins (macronutrients) were measured in a different set of surviving snails from the initial 56-day exposure (Chapter 2). The lipid fraction was separated into glycolipids, neutral lipids and phospholipids, and analyzed as well to determine a baseline of lipid classes for this species. There was an increase in proteins and a decrease in carbohydrates with increasing Cd concentrations in parental snails, while their offspring showed the opposite pattern. For the fifth chapter, hatchlings were fed two different quality diets and exposed to Cd; snails fed a high caloric diet were surprisingly more sensitive to Cd. For the fifth chapter, snails were fed three different diets from hatching until approximately 12 months later. Snails fed a high caloric diet grew faster, contained more lipids and their offspring were more sensitive to Cd. These results support the critically important role of energetics in the ability of organisms to adaptively respond to different environments and this research provides important insights into the reproductive, life cycle and intergenerational effects of Cd on L. stagnalis, a proposed candidate species for standard toxicity testing on mollusks