The Large UV/Optical/Infrared Surveyor (LUVOIR): Decadal Mission Concept Design Update

In preparation for the 2020 Astrophysics Decadal Survey, NASA has commissioned the study of four large mission concepts, including the Large Ultraviolet / Optical / Infrared (LUVOIR) Surveyor. The LUVOIR Science and Technology Definition Team (STDT) has identified a broad range of science objectives including the direct imaging and spectral characterization of habitable exoplanets around sun-like stars, the study of galaxy formation and evolution, the epoch of reionization, star and planet formation, and the remote sensing of Solar System bodies. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is providing the design and engineering support to develop executable and feasible mission concepts that are capable of the identified science objectives. We present an update on the first of two architectures being studied: a 15-meter-diameter segmented-aperture telescope with a suite of serviceable instruments operating over a range of wavelengths between 100 nm to 2.5 microns. Four instruments are being developed for this architecture: an optical / near-infrared coronagraph capable of 10(exp -10) contrast at inner working angles as small as 2 lambda/D; the LUVOIR UV Multi-object Spectrograph (LUMOS), which will provide low- and medium-resolution UV (100 400 nm) multi-object imaging spectroscopy in addition to far-UV imaging; the High Definition Imager (HDI), a high-resolution wide-field-of-view NUV-Optical-IR imager; and a UV spectro-polarimeter being contributed by Centre National dEtudes Spatiales (CNES). A fifth instrument, a multi-resolution optical-NIR spectrograph, is planned as part of a second architecture to be studied in late 2017

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

Sex ratio of bovine embryos and calves originating from the left and right ovaries

An asymmetric distribution of the sexes within the left and right uterine horns has been described in multiple species. A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the sex ratio (% male) of calves gestated in the left and right uterine horns, as well as the sex ratio of embryos originating from the left and right ovaries of cattle. The sex ratio of calves gestated in the right uterine horn of naturally mated cows was significantly higher compared with the sex ratio of calves gestated in the left uterine horn. In addition, the sex ratio of the left and right uterine horns differed significantly from parity. The sex ratio of embryo transfer calves born following transfer to the left and right uterine horns was not significantly different. Additionally, the proportion of male embryos collected from the right uterine horns was significantly greater than from the left uterine horns of superovulated cows. The sex ratio of embryos collected from the left and right uterine horns of unilaterally ovariectomized cows was not significantly different. However, more female than male embryos were produced when left ovary oocytes fertilized in vitro. In conclusion, the results of these experiments demonstrate that a significantly greater proportion of males are gestated in the right uterine horn of cattle and a greater proportion of females in the left. Additionally, the data indicate that sex-specific selection pressure may be applied to embryos by ovarian factors rather than by the uterine environment. © 2009 by the Society for the Study of Reproduction, Inc

Refill non-adherence to repeat prescriptions leads to treatment gaps or to high extra costs

Objective: To determine the nature and extent of undersupply and the economic consequences of oversupply of medication among non-adherent patients. Methods: This study used copies of repeat prescriptions (=multiple dispensations), collected during 1 week in 2002 at 16 Swedish community pharmacies. For patients with a refill adherence below 80%, treatment gaps were defined as the number of days they had no drug available. The cost of drug oversupply (i.e., refill adherence > 120%) was calculated from the prices of the drug packages dispensed. Results: The number of collected repeat prescriptions was 3,636. The median of treatment gaps among patients with a refill adherence below 80% was 53 days per 90-100 days treatment period and the corresponding median for oversupply was 40 days. The cost of oversupply for exempt patients (i.e., patients who have paid 1,800 SEK (196 euro; US$243) per year for medicines) was 32,000 SEK (3,500 euro; US$ 4,300) higher than for non-exempt patients. An extrapolation to all Sweden indicates that exemption from charges leads to an additional oversupply of about 142 million SEK (15 million euro; US$ 19 million) per year above that of non-exempt patients. Conclusion: Both undersupply and oversupply of prescribed medicines are common in Sweden. Patients with a refill adherence below 80% seem to have less than half of the prescribed treatment available. Oversupply or drug stockpiling occurs more frequently among exempt than among non-exempt patients, and this oversupply leads to high unnecessary costs