Measurement of HO2 and other trace gases in the stratosphere using a high resolution far-infrared spectrometer at 28 km

This report covers the time period 1 January 1993 to 30 June 1993. During this reporting period we had our third Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) correlative balloon flight and submitted the results from this flight to the Central Data Handling Facility (CDHF). We made a number of improvements in our data processing software in preparation for a new analysis of our old balloon data sets. Finally, we continue to analyze the data obtained during the second Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE 2)

Measurement of HO2 and other trace gases in the stratosphere using a high resolution far-infrared spectrometer

This report covers the time period 1 Jul. to 31 Dec. 1993. There were no balloon or airplane flights during this reporting period, instead we concentrated on analyzing our existing data. This was facilitated by a recently completed program of enhancements made in our data reduction software. We are using our data sets to examine the changes in stratospheric chemistry over a variety of time scales. Ongoing projects include investigating the diurnal variation of OH, HO2, and H2O2 and exploring their relationships with other simultaneously measured species; measuring long term trends in HF and HCl; and looking for changes caused by the June 1991 Pinatubo eruption. We are also continuing to analyze the large set of data collected during the AASE 2

Relating diffusion tensor imaging measurements to microstructural quantities in the cerebral cortex in multiple sclerosis

To investigate whether the observed anisotropic diffusion in cerebral cortex may reflect its columnar cytoarchitecture and myeloarchitecture, as a potential biomarker for disease‐related changes, we compared postmortem diffusion magnetic resonance imaging scans of nine multiple sclerosis brains with histology measures from the same regions. Histology measurements assessed the cortical minicolumnar structure based on cell bodies and associated axon bundles in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Area 9), Heschl's gyrus (Area 41), and primary visual cortex (V1). Diffusivity measures included mean diffusivity, fractional anisotropy of the cortex, and three specific measures that may relate to the radial minicolumn structure: the angle of the principal diffusion direction in the cortex, the component that was perpendicular to the radial direction, and the component that was parallel to the radial direction. The cellular minicolumn microcircuit features were correlated with diffusion angle in Areas 9 and 41, and the axon bundle features were correlated with angle in Area 9 and to the parallel component in V1 cortex. This may reflect the effect of minicolumn microcircuit organisation on diffusion in the cortex, due to the number of coherently arranged membranes and myelinated structures. Several of the cortical diffusion measures showed group differences between MS brains and control brains. Differences between brain regions were also found in histology and diffusivity measurements consistent with established regional variation in cytoarchitecture and myeloarchitecture. Therefore, these novel measures may provide a surrogate of cortical organisation as a potential biomarker, which is particularly relevant for detecting regional changes in neurological disorders

Loss of the Metalloprotease ADAM9 Leads to Cone-Rod Dystrophy in Humans and Retinal Degeneration in Mice

Cone-rod dystrophy (CRD) is an inherited progressive retinal dystrophy affecting the function of cone and rod photoreceptors. By autozygosity mapping, we identified null mutations in the ADAM metallopeptidase domain 9 (ADAM9) gene in four consanguineous families with recessively inherited early-onset CRD. We also found reduced photoreceptor responses in Adam9 knockout mice, previously reported to be asymptomatic. In 12-month-old knockout mice, photoreceptors appear normal, but the apical processes of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are disorganized and contact between photoreceptor outer segments (POSs) and the RPE apical surface is compromised. In 20-month-old mice, there is clear evidence of progressive retinal degeneration with disorganized POS and thinning of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) in addition to the anomaly at the POS-RPE junction. RPE basal deposits and macrophages were also apparent in older mice. These findings therefore not only identify ADAM9 as a CRD gene but also identify a form of pathology wherein retinal disease first manifests at the POS-RPE junction

Glyoxal yield from isoprene oxidation and relation to formaldehyde:chemical mechanism, constraints from SENEX aircraft observations, and interpretation of OMI satellite data

Glyoxal (CHOCHO) is produced in the atmosphere by oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It is measurable from space by solar backscatter along with formaldehyde (HCHO), another oxidation product of VOCs. Isoprene emitted by vegetation is the dominant source of CHOCHO and HCHO in most of the world. We use aircraft observations of CHOCHO and HCHO from the SENEX campaign over the Southeast US in summer 2013 to better understand the time-dependent yields from isoprene oxidation, their dependences on nitrogen oxides (NOx ≡ NO + NO2), the behaviour of the CHOCHO-HCHO relationship, the quality of OMI satellite observations, and the implications for using satellite CHOCHO observations as constraints on isoprene emission. We simulate the SENEX and OMI observations with the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model featuring a new chemical mechanism for CHOCHO formation from isoprene. The mechanism includes prompt CHOCHO formation under low-NOx conditions following the isomerization of the isoprene peroxy radical (ISOPO2). The SENEX observations provide support for this prompt CHOCHO formation pathway, and are generally consistent with the GEOS-Chem mechanism. Boundary layer CHOCHO and HCHO are strongly correlated in the observations and the model, with some departure under low-NOx conditions due to prompt CHOCHO formation. SENEX vertical profiles indicate a free tropospheric CHOCHO background that is absent from the model. The OMI CHOCHO data provide some support for this free tropospheric background and show Southeast US enhancements consistent with the isoprene source but a factor of 2 too low. Part of this OMI bias is due to excessive surface reflectivities assumed in the retrieval. The OMI CHOCHO and HCHO seasonal data over the Southeast US are tightly correlated and provide redundant proxies of isoprene emission. Higher temporal resolution in future geostationary satellite observations may enable detection of the prompt CHOCHO production under low-NOx conditions apparent in the SENEX data

Target selection and annotation for the structural genomics of the amidohydrolase and enolase superfamilies

To study the substrate specificity of enzymes, we use the amidohydrolase and enolase superfamilies as model systems; members of these superfamilies share a common TIM barrel fold and catalyze a wide range of chemical reactions. Here, we describe a collaboration between the Enzyme Specificity Consortium (ENSPEC) and the New York SGX Research Center for Structural Genomics (NYSGXRC) that aims to maximize the structural coverage of the amidohydrolase and enolase superfamilies. Using sequence- and structure-based protein comparisons, we first selected 535 target proteins from a variety of genomes for high-throughput structure determination by X-ray crystallography; 63 of these targets were not previously annotated as superfamily members. To date, 20 unique amidohydrolase and 41 unique enolase structures have been determined, increasing the fraction of sequences in the two superfamilies that can be modeled based on at least 30% sequence identity from 45% to 73%. We present case studies of proteins related to uronate isomerase (an amidohydrolase superfamily member) and mandelate racemase (an enolase superfamily member), to illustrate how this structure-focused approach can be used to generate hypotheses about sequence–structure–function relationships

Synaptic Dysbindin-1 Reductions in Schizophrenia Occur in an Isoform-Specific Manner Indicating Their Subsynaptic Location

Background: An increasing number of studies report associations between variation in DTNBP1, a top candidate gene in schizophrenia, and both the clinical symptoms of the disorder and its cognitive deficits. DTNBP1 encodes dysbindin-1, reduced levels of which have been found in synaptic fields of schizophrenia cases. This study determined whether such synaptic reductions are isoform-specific. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using Western blotting of tissue fractions, we first determined the synaptic localization of the three major dysbindin-1 isoforms (A, B, and C). All three were concentrated in synaptosomes of multiple brain areas, including auditory association cortices in the posterior half of the superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) and the hippocampal formation (HF). Tests on the subsynaptic tissue fractions revealed that each isoform is predominantly, if not exclusively, associated with synaptic vesicles (dysbindin-1B) or with postsynaptic densities (dysbindin-1A and -1C). Using Western blotting on pSTG (n = 15) and HF (n = 15) synaptosomal fractions from schizophrenia cases and their matched controls, we discovered that synaptic dysbindin-1 is reduced in an isoform-specific manner in schizophrenia without changes in levels of synaptophysin or PSD-95. In pSTG, about 92% of the schizophrenia cases displayed synaptic dysbindin-1A reductions averaging 48% (p = 0.0007) without alterations in other dysbindin-1 isoforms. In the HF, by contrast, schizophrenia cases displayed normal levels of synaptic dysbindin-1A, but 67% showed synaptic reductions in dysbindin-1B averaging 33% (p = 0.0256), while 80% showed synaptic reductions in dysbindin-1C averaging 35% (p = 0.0171). Conclusions/Significance: Given the distinctive subsynaptic localization of dysbindin-1A, -1B, and -1C across brain regions, the observed pSTG reductions in dysbindin-1A are postsynaptic and may promote dendritic spine loss with consequent disruption of auditory information processing, while the noted HF reductions in dysbindin-1B and -1C are both presynaptic and postsynaptic and could promote deficits in spatial working memory

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

Harnessing the NEON data revolution to advance open environmental science with a diverse and data-capable community

It is a critical time to reflect on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) science to date as well as envision what research can be done right now with NEON (and other) data and what training is needed to enable a diverse user community. NEON became fully operational in May 2019 and has pivoted from planning and construction to operation and maintenance. In this overview, the history of and foundational thinking around NEON are discussed. A framework of open science is described with a discussion of how NEON can be situated as part of a larger data constellation—across existing networks and different suites of ecological measurements and sensors. Next, a synthesis of early NEON science, based on >100 existing publications, funded proposal efforts, and emergent science at the very first NEON Science Summit (hosted by Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder in October 2019) is provided. Key questions that the ecology community will address with NEON data in the next 10 yr are outlined, from understanding drivers of biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales to defining complex feedback mechanisms in human–environmental systems. Last, the essential elements needed to engage and support a diverse and inclusive NEON user community are highlighted: training resources and tools that are openly available, funding for broad community engagement initiatives, and a mechanism to share and advertise those opportunities. NEON users require both the skills to work with NEON data and the ecological or environmental science domain knowledge to understand and interpret them. This paper synthesizes early directions in the community’s use of NEON data, and opportunities for the next 10 yr of NEON operations in emergent science themes, open science best practices, education and training, and community building