Using AVIRIS In The NASA BAA Project To Evaluate The Impact Of Natural Acid Drainage On Colorado Watersheds

The Colorado Geological Survey and the co-authors of this paper were awarded one of 15 NASA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) grants in 2001. The project focuses on the use of hyperspectral remote sensing to map acid-generating minerals that affect water quality within a watershed, and to identify the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic sources to that drainage. A further objective is to define the most cost-effective remote sensing instrument configuration for this application

Standardizing kilonovae and their use as standard candles to measure the Hubble constant

The detection of GW170817 is revolutionizing many areas of astrophysics with the joint observation of gravitational waves and electromagnetic emissions. These multimessenger events provide a new approach to determine the Hubble constant, thus, they are a promising candidate for mitigating the tension between measurements of type-Ia supernovae via the local distance ladder and the cosmic microwave background. In addition to the "standard siren"provided by the gravitational-wave measurement, the kilonova itself has characteristics that allow one to improve existing measurements or to perform yet another, independent measurement of the Hubble constant without gravitational-wave information. Here, we employ standardization techniques borrowed from the type-Ia community and apply them to kilonovae, not using any information from the gravitational-wave signal. We use two versions of this technique, one derived from direct observables measured from the light curve, and the other based on inferred ejecta parameters, e.g., mass, velocity, and composition, for two different models. These lead to Hubble constant measurements of H0=109-35+49 km s-1 Mpc-1 for the measured analysis, and H0=85-17+22 km s-1 Mpc-1 and H0=79-15+23 km s-1 Mpc-1 for the inferred analyses. This measurement has error bars within ∼2 to the gravitational-wave measurements (H0=74-8+16 km s-1 Mpc-1), showing its promise as an independent constraint on H0

Expression of Na+/glucose co-transporter 1 (SGLT1) in the intestine of piglets weaned to different concentrations of dietary carbohydrate

Na+/glucose co-transporter 1 (SGLT1) transports dietary sugars from the lumen of the intestine into enterocytes. Regulation of this protein is essential for the provision of glucose to the body and, thus, is important for maintenance of glucose homeostasis. We have assessed expression of SGLT1 at mRNA, protein and functional levels in the intestinal tissue of 28d old piglets weaned onto isoenergetic diets with differing concentrations of digestible carbohydrate (CHO). We show that expression of SGLT1 remains constant when piglets are fed up to 40% CHO-containing diets. However, there is a significant increase in SGLT1 expression when the CHO content of the diet is>50%. Morphometric analyses indicate that the increased expression is not due to a trophic effect. It has been proposed that in rat intestine, in response to a high-CHO diet, GLUT2 (the classical basolateral membrane monosaccharide transporter) is translocated to the luminal membrane of enterocytes to absorb excess dietary glucose. We show, using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting with antibodies raised to amino acids in different epitopes of GLUT2, that under all dietary conditions, low to high CHO, GLUT2 is expressed on the basolateral membrane of pig enterocytes. Furthermore, functional studies indicate that there is no uptake of 2-deoxy-d-glucopyranoside, a specific substrate of Na+-independent glucose transporters into brush-border membrane vesicles isolated from the intestines of piglets either maintained on low- or high-CHO diets. Thus, SGLT1 is the major route for absorption of dietary sugars across the luminal membrane of swine enterocyte

Measuring the Hubble constant with a sample of kilonovae

Kilonovae produced by the coalescence of compact binaries with at least one neutron star are promising standard sirens for an independent measurement of the Hubble constant (H0). Through their detection via follow-up of gravitational-wave (GW), short gamma-ray bursts (sGRBs) or optical surveys, a large sample of kilonovae (even without GW data) can be used for H0 contraints. Here, we show measurement of H0 using light curves associated with four sGRBs, assuming these are attributable to kilonovae, combined with GW170817. Including a systematic uncertainty on the models that is as large as the statistical ones, we find H0 ¼ 73:8þ6:3 5:8 km s1 Mpc1 and H0 ¼ 71:2þ3:2 3:1 km s1 Mpc1 for two different kilonova models that are consistent with the local and inverse-distance ladder measurements. For a given model, this measurement is about a factor of 2-3 more precise than the standard-siren measurement for GW170817 using only GWs

Expression of Na+/glucose co-transporter 1 (SGLT1) is enhanced by supplementation of the diet of weaning piglets with artificial sweeteners

In an intensive livestock production, a shorter suckling period allows more piglets to be born. However, this practice leads to a number of disorders including nutrient malabsorption, resulting in diarrhoea, malnutrition and dehydration. A number of strategies have been proposed to overcome weaning problems. Artificial sweeteners, routinely included in piglets' diet, were thought to enhance feed palatability. However, it is shown in rodent models that when included in the diet, they enhance the expression of Na+/glucose co-transporter (SGLT1) and the capacity of the gut to absorb glucose. Here, we show that supplementation of piglets' feed with a combination of artificial sweeteners saccharin and neohesperidin dihydrochalcone enhances the expression of SGLT1 and intestinal glucose transport function. Artificial sweeteners are known to act on the intestinal sweet taste receptor T1R2/T1R3 and its partner G-protein, gustducin, to activate pathways leading to SGLT1 up-regulation. Here, we demonstrate that T1R2, T1R3 and gustducin are expressed together in the enteroendocrine cells of piglet intestine. Furthermore, gut hormones secreted by the endocrine cells in response to dietary carbohydrates, glucagon-like peptides (GLP)-1, GLP-2 and glucose-dependent insulinotrophic peptide (GIP), are co-expressed with type 1 G-protein-coupled receptors (T1R) and gustducin, indicating that L- and K-enteroendocrine cells express these taste elements. In a fewer endocrine cells, T1R are also co-expressed with serotonin. Lactisole, an inhibitor of human T1R3, had no inhibitory effect on sweetener-induced SGLT1 up-regulation in piglet intestine. A better understanding of the mechanism(s) involved in sweetener up-regulation of SGLT1 will allow the identification of nutritional targets with implications for the prevention of weaning-related malabsorptio

Developmental Cryogenic Active Telescope Testbed, a Wavefront Sensing and Control Testbed for the Next Generation Space Telescope

As part of the technology validation strategy of the next generation space telescope (NGST), a system testbed is being developed at GSFC, in partnership with JPL and Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), which will include all of the component functions envisioned in an NGST active optical system. The system will include an actively controlled, segmented primary mirror, actively controlled secondary, deformable, and fast steering mirrors, wavefront sensing optics, wavefront control algorithms, a telescope simulator module, and an interferometric wavefront sensor for use in comparing final obtained wavefronts from different tests. The developmental. cryogenic active telescope testbed (DCATT) will be implemented in three phases. Phase 1 will focus on operating the testbed at ambient temperature. During Phase 2, a cryocapable segmented telescope will be developed and cooled to cryogenic temperature to investigate the impact on the ability to correct the wavefront and stabilize the image. In Phase 3, it is planned to incorporate industry developed flight-like components, such as figure controlled mirror segments, cryogenic, low hold power actuators, or different wavefront sensing and control hardware or software. A very important element of the program is the development and subsequent validation of the integrated multidisciplinary models. The Phase 1 testbed objectives, plans, configuration, and design will be discussed

​Residential mobility:Towards progress in mobility health research

Research into health disparities has long recognized the importance of residential mobility as a crucial factor in determining health outcomes. However, a lack of connectivity between the health and mobility literatures has led to a stagnation of theory and application on the health side, which lacks the detail and temporal perspectives now seen as critical to understanding residential mobility decisions. Through a critical re-think of mobility processes with respect to health outcomes and an exploitation of longitudinal analytical techniques, we argue that health geographers have the potential to better understand and identify the relationship that residential mobility has with health.“The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) / ERC Grant Agreement n. 615159 (ERC Consolidator Grant DEPRIVEDHOODS, Socio-spatial inequality, deprived neighbourhoods, and neighbourhood effects)”OLD Urban Renewal and Housin