MSFC Skylab instrumentation and communication system mission evaluation

An evaluation of the in-orbit performance of the instrumentation and communications systems installed on Skylab is presented. Performance is compared with functional requirements and the fidelity of communications. In-orbit performance includes processing engineering, scientific, experiment, and biomedical data, implementing ground-generated commands, audio and video communication, generating rendezvous ranging information, and radio frequency transmission and reception. A history of the system evolution based on the functional requirements and a physical description of the launch configuration is included. The report affirms that the instrumentation and communication system satisfied all imposed requirements

Widespread stop-codon recoding in bacteriophages may regulate translation of lytic genes

Bacteriophages (phages) are obligate parasites that use host bacterial translation machinery to produce viral proteins. However, some phages have alternative genetic codes with reassigned stop codons that are predicted to be incompatible with bacterial translation systems. We analysed 9,422 phage genomes and found that stop-codon recoding has evolved in diverse clades of phages that infect bacteria present in both human and animal gut microbiota. Recoded stop codons are particularly over-represented in phage structural and lysis genes. We propose that recoded stop codons might function to prevent premature production of late-stage proteins. Stop-codon recoding has evolved several times in closely related lineages, which suggests that adaptive recoding can occur over very short evolutionary timescales

On the Energy Transfer Performance of Mechanical Nanoresonators Coupled with Electromagnetic Fields

We study the energy transfer performance in electrically and magnetically coupled mechanical nanoresonators. Using the resonant scattering theory, we show that magnetically coupled resonators can achieve the same energy transfer performance as for their electrically coupled counterparts, or even outperform them within the scale of interest. Magnetic and electric coupling are compared in the Nanotube Radio, a realistic example of a nano-scale mechanical resonator. The energy transfer performance is also discussed for a newly proposed bio-nanoresonator composed of a magnetosomes coated with a net of protein fibers.Comment: 9 Pages, 3 Figure

Discordant Risk: Overweight and cardiometabolic risk in Chinese adults

Recent US work identifies “metabolically healthy overweight” and “metabolically at risk normal weight” individuals. Less is known for modernizing countries with recent increased obesity. Fasting blood samples, anthropometry and blood pressure from 8,233 adults aged 18–98 in the 2009 nationwide China Health and Nutrition Survey, were used to determine prevalence of overweight (Asian cut point, BMI≥23 kg/m2) and five risk factors [pre-diabetes/diabetes (HbA1c≥5.7%) inflammation (hsCRP ≥3 mg/L), pre-hypertension/hypertension (SBP/DBP≥130/85 mmHg), high triglycerides (≥150 mg/dL), low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (70 years: 73%). Abdominal obesity was highly predictive of metabolic risk, irrespective of overweight (e.g., “metabolically at risk overweight” relative to “metabolically healthy normal weight” [men: Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) =39.06; 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 23.47, 65.00; women: RRR=22.26; 95% CI: 17.49, 28.33]). To conclude, a large proportion of Chinese adults have metabolic abnormalities. High hypertension risk with age, irrespective of obesity underlies the low prevalence of metabolically healthy overweight. Screening for cardiometabolic-related outcomes dependent upon overweight will likely miss a large portion of the Chinese at-risk population

Search for electroweak production of charginos and neutralinos in WH events in proton-proton collisions at s√=13 TeV

Results are reported from a search for physics beyond the standard model in proton-proton collision events with a charged lepton (electron or muon), two jets identified as originating from a bottom quark decay, and significant imbalance in the transverse momentum. The search was performed using a data sample corresponding to 35.9 fb−1, collected by the CMS experiment in 2016 at s√=13 TeV. Events with this signature can arise, for example, from the electroweak production of gauginos, which are predicted in models based on supersymmetry. The event yields observed in data are consistent with the estimated standard model backgrounds. Limits are obtained on the cross sections for chargino-neutralino (χ~±1χ~02) production in a simplified model of supersymmetry with the decays χ±1→W±χ~01andχ~02→Hχ01. Values of mχ~±1 between 220 and 490 GeV are excluded at 95% confidence level by this search when the χ~01 is massless, and values of mχ~01 are 1 excluded up to 110 GeV for mχ~±1≈450 GeV

The emergence of cardiometabolic disease risk in Chinese children and adults: consequences of changes in diet, physical activity and obesity: Cardiometabolic disease risk in China

Strong secular declines in physical activity, increased fat and salt intake, and increased obesity, especially abdominal obesity, mark China's recent nutrition transition. The China Health and Nutrition 2009 Survey collected anthropometry, blood pressure, and fasting blood samples from more than 9,000 individuals ≥ seven years of age. We focus on elevated blood pressure and plasma markers of diabetes, inflammation, and dyslipidemia. We used international definitions of cardiometabolic risk and estimated age- and sex-specific prevalence ratios for each outcome for high waist circumference or overweight. We used logistic regression to assess each risk factor's association with diet, physical activity, overweight, and abdominal obesity. Cardiometabolic risk prevalence was high in all age groups Prevalence ratios for most risk factors were nearly doubled for overweight or high waist circumference groups. Prevalence ratios were higher in younger than older adults. Low physical activity consistently predicted higher cardiometabolic risk across most outcomes and age-sex groups. The co-occurrence of overweight and high waist circumference was highly predictive of dyslipidemia, elevated glycated hemoglobin, and diabetes. High prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors and their strong association with weight status and abdominal obesity in young adults portend increases in cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality. Early interventions will be required to reverse trends

Tuning of the Fano Effect through a Quantum Dot in an Aharonov-Bohm Interferometer

The Fano effect, which arises from an interference between a localized state and the continuum, reveals a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics. We have realized a tunable Fano system in a quantum dot (QD) in an Aharonov-Bohm interferometer, which is the first convincing demonstration of this effect in mesoscopic systems. With the aid of the continuum, the localized state inside the QD acquires itinerancy over the system even in the Coulomb blockade. Through tuning of the parameters, which is an advantage of the present system, unique properties of the Fano effect on the phase and coherence of electrons have been revealed.Comment: REVTEX, 4 pages, 4 figures included. Discussion and figures are improved. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

Effect of Intragastric pH on the Absorption of Oral Zinc Acetate and Zinc Oxide in Young Healthy Volunteers

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142255/1/jpen0393.pd