Far-ultraviolet Spectroscopy of Venus and Mars at 4 A Resolution with the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope on Astro-2

Far-ultraviolet spectra of Venus and Mars in the range 820-1840 A at 4 A resolution were obtained on 13 and 12 March 1995, respectively, by the Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope (HUT), which was part of the Astro-2 observatory on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Longward of 1250 A, the spectra of both planets are dominated by emission of the CO Fourth Positive band system and strong OI and CI multiplets. In addition, CO Hopfield-Birge bands, B - X (0,0) at 1151 A and C - X (0,0) at 1088 A, are detected for the first time, and there is a weak indication of the E - X (0,0) band at 1076 A in the spectrum of Venus. The B - X band is blended with emission from OI 1152. Modeling the relative intensities of these bands suggests that resonance fluorescence of CO is the dominant source of the emission, as it is for the Fourth Positive system. Shortward of Lyman-alpha, other emission features detected include OII 834, OI lambda 989, HI Lyman-beta, and NI 1134 and 1200. For Venus, the derived disk brightnesses of the OI, OII, and HI features are about one-half of those reported by Hord et al. (1991) from Galileo EUV measurements made in February 1990. This result is consistent with the expected variation from solar maximum to solar minimum. The ArI 1048, 1066 doublet is detected only in the spectrum of Mars and the derived mixing ratio of Ar is of the order of 2%, consistent with previous determinations.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ, July 20, 200

POMK regulates dystroglycan function via LARGE-mediated elongation of matriglycan

Matriglycan [-GlcA-β1,3-Xyl-α1,3-]n serves as a scaffold in many tissues for extracellular matrix proteins containing laminin-G domains including laminin, agrin, and perlecan. Like-acetylglucosaminyltransferase-1 (LARGE1) synthesizes and extends matriglycan on α-dystroglycan (α-DG) during skeletal muscle differentiation and regeneration; however, the mechanisms which regulate matriglycan elongation are unknown. Here, we show that Protein O-Mannose Kinase (POMK), which phosphorylates mannose of core M3 (GalNac-β1,3-GlcNac-β1,4-Man) preceding matriglycan synthesis, is required for LARGE1-mediated generation of full-length matriglycan on α-DG (~150 kDa). In the absence of Pomk in mouse skeletal muscle, LARGE1 synthesizes a very short matriglycan resulting in a ~90 kDa α-DG which binds laminin but cannot prevent eccentric contraction-induced force loss or muscle pathology. Solution NMR spectroscopy studies demonstrate that LARGE1 directly interacts with core M3 and binds preferentially to the phosphorylated form. Collectively, our study demonstrates that phosphorylation of core M3 by POMK enables LARGE1 to elongate matriglycan on α-DG, thereby preventing muscular dystrophy

Estimating the costs for the treatment of abortion complications in two public referral hospitals: a cross-sectional study in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Treatment costs of induced abortion complications can consume a substantial amount of hospital resources. This use of hospitals scarce resources to treat induced abortion complications may affect hospitals’ capacities to deliver other health care services. In spite of the importance of studying the burden of the treatment of induced abortion complications, few studies have been conducted to document the costs of treating abortion complications in Burkina Faso. Our objective was to estimate the costs of six abortion complications including incomplete abortion, hemorrhage, shock, infection/sepsis, cervix or vagina laceration, and uterus perforation treated in two public referral hospital facilities in Ouagadougou and the cost saving of providing safe abortion care services

Far‐UV emissions from the SL9 impacts with Jupiter

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95348/1/grl8617.pd

NuSTAR and Chandra observations of new X-ray transients in the central parsec of the Galaxy

We report NuSTAR and Chandra observations of two X-ray transients, SWIFT J174540.7$-$290015 (T15) and SWIFT J174540.2$-$290037 (T37), which were discovered by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory in 2016 within $r\sim1$ pc of Sgr A*. NuSTAR detected bright X-ray outbursts from T15 and T37, likely in the soft and hard states, with 3-79~keV luminosities of $8\times10^{36}$ and $3\times10^{37}$ erg/s, respectively. No X-ray outbursts have previously been detected from the two transients and our Chandra ACIS analysis puts an upper limit of $L_X \lesssim 2 \times10^{31}$ erg/s on their quiescent 2-8 keV luminosities. No pulsations, significant QPOs, or type I X-ray bursts were detected in the NuSTAR data. While T15 exhibited no significant red noise, the T37 power density spectra are well characterized by three Lorentzian components. The declining variability of T37 above $\nu \sim 10$ Hz is typical of black hole (BH) transients in the hard state. NuSTAR spectra of both transients exhibit a thermal disk blackbody, X-ray reflection with broadened Fe atomic features, and a continuum component well described by Comptonization models. Their X-ray reflection spectra are most consistent with high BH spin ($a_{*} \gtrsim 0.9$) and large disk density ($n_e\sim10^{21}$ cm$^{-3}$). Based on the best-fit ionization parameters and disk densities, we found that X-ray reflection occurred near the inner disk radius, which was derived from the relativistic broadening and thermal disk component. These X-ray characteristics suggest the outbursting BH-LMXB scenario for both transients and yield the first BH spin measurements from X-ray transients in the central 100 pc region.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Twenty-One Days of Lunar Environment Alters Muscle Fiber Areas in Mouse Gastrocnemius

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Dietary nitrate improves vascular function in patients with hypercholesterolemia: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Background: The beneficial cardiovascular effects of vegetables may be underpinned by their high inorganic nitrate content. Objective: We sought to examine the effects of a 6-wk once-daily intake of dietary nitrate (nitrate-rich beetroot juice) compared with placebo intake (nitrate-depleted beetroot juice) on vascular and platelet function in untreated hypercholesterolemics. Design: A total of 69 subjects were recruited in this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel study. The primary endpoint was the change in vascular function determined with the use of ultrasound flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Results: Baseline characteristics were similar between the groups, with primary outcome data available for 67 patients. Dietary nitrate resulted in an absolute increase in the FMD response of 1.1% (an ∼24% improvement from baseline) with a worsening of 0.3% in the placebo group (P 1% of this change, with the proportions of Rothia mucilaginosa trending to increase and Neisseria flavescens (P < 0.01) increased after nitrate treatment relative to after placebo treatment. Conclusions: Sustained dietary nitrate ingestion improves vascular function in hypercholesterolemic patients. These changes are associated with alterations in the oral microbiome and, in particular, nitrate-reducing genera. Our findings provide additional support for the assessment of the potential of dietary nitrate as a preventative strategy against atherogenesis in larger cohorts. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01493752