Pre-launch Period Research Articles

Adapting Disease Prevention Protocols for Human Spaceflight During COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Flight Crew Health Stabilization Program (HSP) was historically implemented to minimize infectious disease transmission to astronauts in the immediate prelaunch period. The first ever commercial application and adaptation of the NASA HSP was implemented during the Crew Demo-2 mission in the time of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This article details and discusses the first commercial implementation and adaptation of the HSP prior to the Crew Demo-2 launch.METHODS: This is a retrospective descriptive analysis of the application of NASA disease prevention protocols for human spaceflight during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of the pandemic, extra precautions added to the HSP included daily symptom surveys completed by Primary Contacts of the crew, COVID-19 RT-PCR testing, and improved quarantine protocols.RESULTS: Of the 91 SpaceX Primary Contacts who completed a total of 2720 daily symptom surveys prior to launch, 22 individuals (24.2) and 198 surveys (7.3) returned positive for potential symptoms of COVID-19. Two individuals were removed due to symptoms indistinguishable from COVID-19. Through this survey, systematic quarantine, and PCR testing, the Crew Demo-2 mission was successful with no known infectious diseases transmitted.CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the commercial implementation of the NASA Health Stabilization Program by SpaceX with adjustments required during the COVID-19 pandemic was a success, with protocols allowing identification and removal of potentially infectious persons from the program. The principles of the HSP may provide an adequate infectious disease playbook for commercial spaceflight operations going forward.Petersen E, Pattarini JM, Mulcahy RA, Beger SB, Mitchell MR, Hu YD, Middleton KN, Frazier W, Mormann B, Esparza H, Asadi A, Musk ER, Alter G, Nilles E, Menon AS. Adapting disease prevention protocols for human spaceflight during COVID-19. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2021; 92(7):597602.

The Prevalence of Anxiety, Aggression, and Hostility at Sportswoman: A Study on Boxing

The study of various types of psychological manifestations in women athletes in age groups, in such a primordially masculine form of martial arts, such as boxing, is very relevant and in demand in the study of modern women's sports. This article presents the materials of a study devoted to the identification among women boxers of different age groups of the psychological manifestations of aggressiveness, hostility and their types, as well as personal and situational anxiety during the pre-start period of their sports activities, as well as methods and means of overcoming them by athletes. The aim of the article is the presentation and analysis of the identified indicators of the level of aggressiveness, hostility, personal and situational anxiety in athletes of the studied groups. In the study, we used a survey of athletes, according to the method of Bass-Darki (in the modification of A.K. Osnitsky) and the determination of indices of aggressiveness and hostility, to determine the level of aggressiveness (external manifestation) to specific individuals and the hostility (and its orientation toward the external environment) of the person under study; determination of the degree of personal and situational anxiety of athletes in the pre-launch period, using a test questionnaire according to Ch.D. Spielberger (adapted by V.Yu. Khavkin); extended interviewing method. It was reliably established that in all age groups of athletes (n = 127), different increased levels of aggressiveness were present in 40 (31.50%). A high level of hostility was identified in 39 (30.71%) of all athletes. It was also revealed that all high levels of personal anxiety were identified in 41 (32.28%) athletes of all age groups, and in 46 (36.22%) of all athletes - all high levels of situational anxiety. When conducting extended interviews, it was found that all representatives of different age groups have no aggressiveness directed at rivals. The manifestations of verbal aggression predominate, mainly among athletes of puberty and youthful ages. It was determined that personal and situational anxiety prevails among young athletes with a small sports record and an insufficient level of experience in participating in competitions at various levels. It is noted that the level of aggressiveness, hostility, personal and situational anxiety significantly decreases for all athletes, as their sports experience, professional skill, and competitive experience increase.

First phase implementation of cardio-oncology program in the middle-income country of Costa Rica at Hospital Metropolitano healthcare system.

e24091 Background: Developing a cardio-oncology program in a middle-income country like Costa Rica can present unique opportunities and challenges. Hospital Metropolitano is a health care system in Costa Rica with a network of two hospitals, 36 clinics, and over 150,000 patients enrolled in its health plan, Medismart. Here we summarize our program, and the initial results of the implementation phase, hoping that institutions with similar resources in low-and-middle-income countries will use this as guidance to develop their own cardio-oncology program. Methods: A cardio-oncology committee was established in May 2019 and includes medical providers, clinical coordinators, administrative workers, and nursing and laboratory staff. A 4-month pre-launch period was established to create an institutional protocol after we reviewed guidelines and literature from similar programs in the United States and Europe. The protocol targets both active cancer patients undergoing treatment and cancer survivors. The program was launched in September 2019 and is currently in the first phase of implementation. Results: During the first phase of implementation, the program was limited to the outpatient setting and patients were referred exclusively by the medical oncology providers from our health care system. In this period, 28 patients met criteria for referral and all enrolled according to our protocol. The median age of our patients was 49 (range 16-77). 25 patients (89%) were female and 20 (71%) had a diagnosis of breast cancer. At the time of enrollment, 21 (75%) were receiving active cancer treatment and 7 (25%) were identified as cancer survivors. All patients are being followed prospectively. A committee review at the end of the first phase of implementation revealed that the most important challenges that the program needs to address for the second phase of implementation include the following: 1) patient education and outreach, 2) cost of care associated with the interventions recommended by the protocol, and 3) data tracking/registry given the lack of an electronic medical record. Conclusions: Our program represents a real-life experience of the challenges and opportunities that institutions in middle-income countries need to consider when launching such initiatives. To our knowledge, this is the first cardio-oncology program formally established in Central America and we are committed to continue to measure our outcomes prospectively and share these with the global oncology community.

Pre- and post-launch emotions in new product development: Insights from twitter analytics of three products

The paper showcases the possible application of social media analytics in new product development (NPD). It compares users’ emotions before and after the launch of three new products in the market—a pizza, a car and a smart phone—for possible inputs for NPD. The user-generated content offers an alternative to conventional survey data and is cross-cultural in nature, relatively inexpensive and provides real-time information about user behaviour. A total of 302,632 tweets that mentioned the three new products before and after the launch were collected and analysed. Sentiment analysis of the tweets from two time periods was conducted and compared. The users’ responses to the pre- and post-launch of three products vary. The dissatisfaction with the new products represented by negative emotions aligns with the market performance. In the pre-launch period, trust and joy were more common for pizza, joy was more common for the car, and trust was more common for the phone. In the post-launch period, anger and disgust were more common for pizza, joy and trust were more common for the car, and joy was more common for only one aspect of the phone. Further analysis showed that for the car and the phone, firms need to focus on user attitudes towards product attributes, whereas for pizza, firms should concentrate on physiological changes, i.e., changes in product attributes, service and promotional sides. By using the proposed alternative approach, businesses can obtain real-time feedback about the expectations and experiences of the new products. The NPD process can be adjusted accordingly.

Consumers’ Social Learning About Videogame Consoles Through Multiple Website Browsing

Abstract This research examines the micro-level correlation between traditional marketing actions (TV ads and public relations) and pre-release consumers’ social learning about videogame consoles (Wii and PS3, launched in 2006). We evaluate consumers’ learning processes via the perusal of information in online communities using “pageview” data for multiple websites from a clickstream panel as indicators. We propose a bivariate Bayesian learning model combined with complementary purchase choices. The proposed model enables simpler estimation of parameters and allows to accommodate detailed information about interactions between social and personal learning processes. From the results, we find empirical evidence that companies’ traditional marketing actions have a greater impact on social learning than on regular personal learning during the pre-launch period. When consumers make purchase decisions, their social beliefs about product quality are weighed at least three times more heavily than their personal beliefs. Counterfactual simulations suggest that by optimizing marketing actions, firms can stimulate consumers’ learning and promote increased product engagement.

Should sequels differ from original movies in pre-launch advertising schedule? Lessons from consumers' online search activity

Sequels have become a profitable strategy in the U.S. motion picture industry because of their strong name recognition. However, while the established positioning of a sequel may help insulate it from competing firms' advertising messages, its familiarity may cause moviegoers to be more easily satiated with advertising from the sequel. Therefore, this study examines how sequels differ from original concept movies in terms of their ad effectiveness. We focus our analysis on pre-launch periods, given these periods' importance in shaping the financial outcomes of motion pictures. We consider the weekly online search volume of a movie as a measure of consumer interest in it, and thus as an intermediate response to pre-launch advertising. We then develop a model that assumes ad effectiveness can decline, due to copy and repetition wearout, and increase, due to forgetting, over time. We find that copy wearout is greater for original movies, while repetition wearout and forgetting are greater for sequels. These findings suggest that sequels should allocate more in early pre-launch periods and less immediately before release, relative to originals, to maximize pre-launch consumer interest.

The oral cavity state in professional athletes on the background of intense physical exercises

Aim. To estimate the parameters of dental and immune status of professional athletes’ oral cavity on the background of intense physical exercises. 
 Methods. Clinical and laboratory studies of oral cavity of 122 athletes were conducted. The inclusion criteria for the study group were the athletes involved in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling with identical living conditions, nutrition, training, aged 19 to 27 years. Athletic experience of professional sports was 8 to 13 years. The presence of chronic catarrhal gingivitis and chronic generalized periodontitis of mild and moderate severity were identified. Biochemical studies were conducted in 92 male athletes (wrestlers of the free and classical style) aged 19 to 27 years. Samples of saliva were collected in the morning on an empty stomach 15-30 min prior to training and within 1 h after the intensive training sessions. 
 Results. Before the start of the training of wrestlers with intact periodontium no signs of bleeding gums were detected, but at the end of the training process due to rising intensity of physical exercise, deterioration of the hygienic condition of the oral cavity and increasing blood flow, bleeding developed. After completion of the cycle of intense physical training with heavy loads aimed at the development of strength endurance in the prelaunch period, the immune status of the examined athletes changes a little. In accordance with the received data of laboratory investigations highly qualified athletes have decreased secretory immunoglobulin A on the background of significantly increased proinflammatory cytokine in the same biotope of the oral cavity. 
 Conclusion. Long-term and excessive exercise often lead to changes of local immunity in the oral cavity and development of pathological processes in periodontal tissues that indicates the feasibility of their timely diagnosis and correction.

Applications for ICESat-2 Data: From NASA's Early Adopter Program

NASA's Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) mission, scheduled to launch no later than April 2018 (and currently slated for October 2017), is being developed to continue the multiyear observations of the earth's surface elevation, ice, and clouds started by ICESat. To increase the use of the satellite data after launch, the ICESat-2 mission invested in an applications program aimed at innovatively applying the data in a variety of fields. The program provides a framework for building a broad and well-defined user community during the prelaunch period to maximize the use of data products after launch and to provide early insight into the range of potential uses of the mission data. Ideas and research on how altimetry data will be used for decision making arise from the end users; therefore, the ICESat-2 mission is extending itself through its applications program.

Advertising and Word-of-Mouth Effects on Pre-launch Consumer Interest and Initial Sales of Experience Products

This study examines how consumers' interest in a new experience product develops as a result of advertising and word-of-mouth activities during the pre-launch period. The empirical settings are the U.S. motion picture and video game industries. The focal variables include weekly ad spend, blog volume, online search volume during pre-launch periods, opening-week sales, and product characteristics. We treat pre-launch search volume of keywords as a measure of pre-launch consumer interest in the related product. To identify probable persistent effects among the pre-launch time-series variables, we apply a vector autoregressive modeling approach. We find that blog postings have permanent, trend-setting effects on pre-launch consumer interest in a new product, while advertising has only temporary effects. In the U.S. motion picture industry, the four-week cumulative elasticity of pre-launch consumer interest is 0.187 to advertising and 0.635 to blog postings. In the U.S. video game industry, the elasticities are 0.093 and 1.306, respectively. We also find long-run co-evolution between blog and search volume, which suggests that consumers' interest in the upcoming product cannot grow without bounds for a given level of blog volume.

Effective Demand Lifting through Pre-Launch Movie Marketing Activities

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically how to balance advertising expenditure before and after launch with regard to the direction of word of mouth in the motion picture industry. The vector auto-regression model is applied to assess the dynamic impact of advertising and word of mouth on sales. Empirical data, including advertising, word of mouth, and sales (the number of entries) of 83 movies are used for analysis. The research results show that for a movie having more positive word of mouth in the pre- and post-launch periods, it is worthwhile to spend the advertising budget in the pre-launch period only and to spare it in post-launch period. However, it is worthwhile to spare the advertising budget in the pre-launch period for movies having less positive word of mouth before and after launch, and to concentrate spending in post-launch period instead. Mangers who handle products and services facing shortened lifecycles, such as games, eBooks, and digital music contents, need to check the quality of pre-launch word of mouth for their advertising budget decisions in the pre- and post-launch periods and spend more of the advertising budget in the post- (pre-) launch period if pre-launch word of mouth is negative (positive). For products and services with a shortened lifecycle, it is recommended to spend more of the advertising budget in the post- (pre-) launch period if pre-launch word of mouth is negative (positive).

Effective Demand Lifting through Pre-Launch Movie Marketing Activities

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically how to balance advertising expenditure before and after launch with regard to the direction of word of mouth in the motion picture industry. The vector auto-regression model is applied to assess the dynamic impact of advertising and word of mouth on sales. Empirical data, including advertising, word of mouth, and sales (the number of entries) of 83 movies are used for analysis. The research results show that for a movie having more positive word of mouth in the pre- and post-launch periods, it is worthwhile to spend the advertising budget in the pre-launch period only and to spare it in post-launch period. However, it is worthwhile to spare the advertising budget in the pre-launch period for movies having less positive word of mouth before and after launch, and to concentrate spending in post-launch period instead. Mangers who handle products and services facing shortened lifecycles, such as games, eBooks, and digital music contents, need to check the quality of pre-launch word of mouth for their advertising budget decisions in the pre- and post-launch periods and spend more of the advertising budget in the post- (pre-) launch period if pre-launch word of mouth is negative (positive). For products and services with a shortened lifecycle, it is recommended to spend more of the advertising budget in the post- (pre-) launch period if pre-launch word of mouth is negative (positive).

Exploring the past Behaviour of New Brand Buyers

This research examines the retrospective buying behaviour of customers acquired by a new brand, both at category and brand level. New brand launches are risky endeavours for marketers, as many fail to attract a sustainable customer base. We examine new brand launches in six packaged goods categories in the UK, across a wide range of brand and category conditions, including premium brands and private labels. The results show that, in the pre-launch period, buyers of a new brand are more likely to have been heavier (more frequent) category buyers and, where applicable, heavier buyers of a parent brand. However, despite disproportionately drawing from heavy category buyers, the buyers of new launches tend to become only light brand buyers. This suggests that new brands are more likely to ‘slip’ into the repertoire of heavy category or parent brand buyers. This research contributes to our understanding of repertoire formation in packaged goods categories. It also has implications for the pre-testing of new launches and the scheduling of marketing activities.

An Overview of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Science Data Product Calibration and Validation

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) will launch its first JPSS-1 satellite in early 2017. The JPSS-1 and follow-on satellites will carry aboard an array of instruments including the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS), the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS), and the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS). These instruments are similar to the instruments currently operating on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite. In preparation for the JPSS-1 launch, the JPSS program at the Center for Satellite Applications and Research (JSTAR) Calibration/Validation (Cal/Val) teams, have laid out the Cal/Val plans to oversee JPSS-1 science products’ algorithm development efforts, verification and characterization of these algorithms during the pre-launch period, calibration and validation of the products during post-launch, and long-term science maintenance (LTSM). In addition, the team has developed the necessary schedules, deliverables and infrastructure for routing JPSS-1 science product algorithms for operational implementation. This paper presents an overview of these efforts. In addition, this paper will provide insight into the processes of both adapting S-NPP science products for JPSS-1 and performing upgrades for enterprise solutions, and will discuss Cal/Val processes and quality assurance procedures.

Does advertising indicate product quality? Evidence from prelaunch and postlaunch advertising in the movie industry

Literature on the informative role of advertising indicates that advertising quantity can serve as an indicator of product quality. As product life cycles grow shorter, firms in many industries spend significant amounts on advertising during the prelaunch period to create large initial demand. Thus, the role of prelaunch advertising may differ from that of postlaunch advertising, and a proper understanding of these differences is important. This study provides an empirical investigation of whether advertising is a reliable indicator of quality before and after product launches, using the data from the movie industry. Analyses of 1078 movies released during 2003-2011 show that post- launch advertising is a reliable quality indicator and increases revenues, whereas pre- launch advertising is not a reliable quality indicator, even if it leads to higher revenues.

Object play in thick-toed geckos during a space experiment

AbstractPlay behavior was observed in thick-toed geckos (Chondrodactylus turneriGRAY 1864) during a 30-day orbital experiment on the unmanned spacecraft “BION-M” No. 1. The geckos wore ornamented colored collars which made it possible to track the behavior of individual animals on video recordings. The object of the play behavior was a collar that one of the geckos had managed to remove in the pre-launch period and which floated weightless in the animal holding unit under microgravity. Four of the five geckos participated in play episodes, which were defined as one-time interactions with the collar, as well in a fuller form of play that included approaching the unmoving collar or observing its approach, manipulations with the collar and further tracking the collar. Manipulations with the collar could take the form of complicated play, such as pressing the snout against the edge of the collar rim, multiple episodes of pushing the collar with the snout, inserting the head into the collar, holding the collar by pressing the head to the container floor and tilting the head with the collar on the snout. There were individual variations in play pattern. Explanations for the rarity of play behavior in reptiles under normal conditions and the geckos’ playfulness in microgravity are discussed. Appropriate video is available athttp://www.momo-p.com/showdetail-e.php?movieid=momo150224ct01a.

Entrepreneurial internationalisation and team dynamics: a case study on a Finnish-Sri Lankan venture establishment

The present study examines how the international operations of new ventures evolve over time as a result of the actions of the cross-national establishment teams. As a starting point, we notice a limited understanding of the individual level behaviours and the related team dynamics in the extant international entrepreneurship research. Through a longitudinal case study approach, the entrepreneurial behaviours and team dynamics in a Finnish-Sri Lankan high tech venture over its establishment process in Sri Lanka are examined. The study illustrates the changing memberships, roles and responsibilities of the involved individuals and their intertwinedness with the venture development. As an end-result, the study calls for further research on the earliest developments in the pre-establishment and pre-launch periods of the ventures and the informal and periodical memberships in the entrepreneurial establishment teams.

Postlaunch calibration and bias characterization of AMSU‐A upper air sounding channels using GPS RO Data

AbstractWhile the calibration accuracy of Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit‐A (AMSU‐A) was well characterized during its prelaunch period, its on‐orbit performance remains important after the launch of each satellite. In this study, Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) data are used to carry out a postlaunch calibration to obtain an estimate of the accuracy of brightness temperatures measured by an AMSU‐A instrument. At each scan angle, the mean difference and a linear regression relationship between AMSU‐A observations and GPS RO brightness temperature simulations can first be derived using data in clear‐sky conditions over ocean. The AMSU‐A upper air sounding channels are then calibrated to GPS RO brightness temperature simulations using either the mean difference or the linear regression relationship. The effect of the above two calibration methods on the biases of AMSU‐A data with respect to National Centers for Environmental Prediction global forecast system (NCEP GFS) 6 h forecast fields is finally examined. It is found that the magnitude and sign of biases vary with channels. After GPS RO calibration, biases are negative and of the same magnitude for all AMSU‐A upper air sounding channels. The negative biases of AMSU‐A brightness temperature are associated with a small warm bias in the physical temperature of NCEP GFS 6 h forecasts compared with GPS RO temperature retrieval above the low troposphere.

PHP111 - Analyzing Investor Preference Towards Bio-Technology Companies In Different Phases

While many small biotechs are acquired by larger pharmaceuticals, few attempt a full scale commercialization of their product. We analyzed the stock market returns of three small, single drug bio-technology firms which had drugs approved by the FDA in 2010. The historical prices adjusted for corporate action were used for all three firms from Q4 2007 through Q3 2012 which accounted for 1,261 trading days per company. All products have been approved by the FDA for at least 8 quarters. Each company’s prices were broken up into daily and quarterly intervals as well as pre-launch and post-launch. Simple statistics and t-tests were run on the stock returns for all intervals. On average, the pooled total return associated with the pre-launch phase was 212.6% higher than post-launch. The average pooled quarterly and daily returns during the pre-launch period were 19.1% and .37% higher than the post-launch period, respectively. The standard deviation of the daily returns during the pre-launch period was on average 24% higher than during the post-launch period. A two-tail t-test assuming unequal variances was run on each of the daily stock prices with a hypothesized mean difference of 0 between pre-launch and post-launch, for all three of the companies the p-value was < 0.05. Investors seemed to prefer the pre-launch period which received a greater return on investment. The difference in the mean prices for each company in the different phases was statistically significant. However this analysis is relatively early in the post-launch term for each drug as smaller companies tend to gain market share more slowly than larger pharmaceuticals. The stock returns of these companies seem to be highest in the pre-launch phase as opposed to post-launch.

Is Search Volume a Good Market Predictor? Product Quality and Predictive Performance of Search Volume

This study explains the varying predictive power of online search volume by examining the impact of perceived quality and quality uncertainty of products on search volume and demand. We develop hypotheses regarding the relationship among the quality variables, online search activities, and actual demand and test them in the empirical setting of the U.S. movie industry. We propose different observable variables to operationalize consumers’ perceived quality and quality uncertainty over a movie’s life-cycle. We relate the observable quality variables with revenue and online search volume in two systems of simultaneous equations: one for the opening week and the other for the subsequent weeks. We find that both quality and quality uncertainty are positively associated with the pre-launch search volume of movies whereas neither of them directly influences opening-week revenue. Similar findings are maintained in the analysis of post-launch weeks: weekly measurements of quality and quality uncertainty are positively associated with weekly search volume, but not with weekly revenue. These findings imply that systematic over-/under-prediction of market success may occur if we use an online search index without considering the effects of quality and quality uncertainty. This study also makes two methodological contributions. First, we propose a practical way of measuring quality-related constructs in the pre-launch period of movies when even professional reviews are not available. Second, we devise a novel method to convert Google search indices to cross-sectionally comparable search volume measures.

Characteristics of physiological responses to +Gx loads in non-professional crew members of short-term missions to the ISS

Analysis of physiological responses to +Gx loads during space flights (SFs) 8–12 days in duration was carried out in ten non-professional crew members of the International Space Station (ISS), many of whom were accepted to participate in SFs while having partial health deficiency. The results were compared to the data on ten apparently healthy crew members of the Mir Orbital Station (OS) who participated in SFs of a similar duration. The age (29–60 years) of the subjects from the ISS crew was older than the age (31–49 years) of the subjects from the Mir OS crew. Objective data showed that subjects from the ISS crew had significantly higher levels of sinus tachycardia and tachypnea during settling into orbit and re-entry than subjects from the Mir OS crew. In some cases, extrasystolic arrhythmias were recorded in subjects from the ISS crew during the pre-launch period. The arrhythmias persisted during the ascent to orbit, and usually became more considerable during the descent to Earth. During the descent to Earth, the subjects from the ISS crew demonstrated, in general, a higher rate of heart rhythm disorders, which were characterized by more pronounced polymorphism and a greater severity. Particularly significant changes in electrocardiograms (ECGs) were observed in two subjects from the ISS crew aged 60 years. These disorders were sporadic in all the cosmonauts. The results of the study show that individual characteristics of cardiac rhythm regulation observed before the start may lead to marked changes in ECG during +Gx loads during the descent from the orbit to Earth. This should be taken into account in preparing individual medical programs for non-professional members of ISS crews in order to minimize health risks. The study has also demonstrated the necessity for stricter criteria of selection for ISS missions for older candidates with partial health deficiency.