Microlens Parallax Measurements with a Warm Spitzer

Because Spitzer is an Earth-trailing orbit, losing about 0.1 AU/yr, it is excellently located to perform microlens parallax observations toward the Magellanic Clouds (LMC/SMC) and the Galactic bulge. These yield the so-called ``projected velocity'' of the lens, which can distinguish statistically among different populations. A few such measurements toward the LMC/SMC would reveal the nature of the lenses being detected in this direction (dark halo objects, or ordinary LMC/SMC stars). Cool Spitzer has already made one such measurement of a (rare) bright red-clump source, but warm (presumably less oversubscribed) Spitzer could devote the extra time required to obtain microlens parallaxes for the more common, but fainter, turnoff sources. Warm Spitzer could observe bulge microlenses for 38 days per year, which would permit up to 24 microlens parallaxes per year. This would yield interesting information on the disk mass function, particularly old brown dwarfs, which at present are inaccessible by other techniques. Target-of-Opportunity (TOO) observations should be divided into RTOO/DTOO, i.e., ``regular'' and ``disruptive'' TOOs, as pioneered by the Space Interferometry Mission (SIM). LMC/SMC parallax measurements would be DTOO, but bulge measurements would be RTOO, i.e., they could be scheduled in advance, without knowing exactly which star was to be observed.Comment: 6 pages + 1 Figure, To be presented at The Warm Spitzer Mission Workshop, 4-5 June 2007, Pasaden

A study of concept options for the evolution of Space Station Freedom

Two conceptual evolution configurations for Space Station Freedom, a research and development configuration, and a transportation node configuration are described and analyzed. Results of pertinent analyses of mass properties, attitude control, microgravity, orbit lifetime, and reboost requirements are provided along with a description of these analyses. Also provided are brief descriptions of the elements and systems that comprise these conceptual configurations

NASA Light Emitting Diode Medical Applications from Deep Space to Deep Sea

This work is supported and managed through the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center-SBIR Program. LED-technology developed for NASA plant growth experiments in space shows promise for delivering light deep into tissues of the body to promote wound healing and human tissue growth. We present the results of LED-treatment of cells grown in culture and the effects of LEDs on patients’ chronic and acute wounds. LED-technology is also biologically optimal for photodynamic therapy of cancer and we discuss our successes using LEDs in conjunction with light-activated chemotherapeutic drugs

Healthy Outside-Healthy Inside: The Human Health & Well-being Benefits of Alberta\u27s Protected Areas - towards a benefits-based management agenda

This report details the results of an empirical study that examined perceived health and well-being motives and benefits among visitors to a sample of Alberta’s parks and protected areas. The study revealed several major findings with important policy and management implications. First, the human health and well-being benefits that the visitors expected to receive from visits were perceived to be a major personal motivation in the choice to visit Alberta protected areas. The most important motivation factors identified by respondents were psychological and emotional well-being (89.1% of visitors ranked this important), social well-being (88.3%), physical well-being (80.3%), and environmental well-being (79.4%). Second, the perceived benefits that visitors received from their protected areas experiences were substantial. The most frequently reported improvements were related to psychological and emotional (90.5%), social (85%), and physical well-being (77.6%). Interestingly, women perceived greater benefits than men associated with their visit, especially with respect to spiritual, social, and psychological and emotional well-being. Research findings substantiate the need for park agencies to better understand the motivations of visitors representing different social and population subgroups (e.g., youth, elderly, couples, etc.) in order to inform and develop policies and visitor experience programs in support of health and well-being related pursuits. Important policy and management implications for both park managers and health care professionals are highlighted

Clinical and Experimental Applications of NIR-LED Photobiomodulation

This review presents current research on the use of far-red to near-infrared (NIR) light treatment in various in vitro and in vivo models. Low-intensity light therapy, commonly referred to as “photobiomodulation,” uses light in the far-red to near-infrared region of the spectrum (630–1000 nm) and modulates numerous cellular functions. Positive effects of NIR–light-emitting diode (LED) light treatment include acceleration of wound healing, improved recovery from ischemic injury of the heart, and attenuated degeneration of injured optic nerves by improving mitochondrial energy metabolism and production. Various in vitro and in vivo models of mitochondrial dysfunction were treated with a variety of wavelengths of NIR-LED light. These studies were performed to determine the effect of NIR-LED light treatment on physiologic and pathologic processes. NIRLED light treatment stimulates the photoacceptor cytochrome c oxidase, resulting in increased energy metabolism and production. NIR-LED light treatment accelerates wound healing in ischemic rat and murine diabetic wound healing models, attenuates the retinotoxic effects of methanol-derived formic acid in rat models, and attenuates the developmental toxicity of dioxin in chicken embryos. Furthermore, NIR-LED light treatment prevents the development of oral mucositis in pediatric bone marrow transplant patients. The experimental results demonstrate that NIR-LED light treatment stimulates mitochondrial oxidative metabolism in vitro, and accelerates cell and tissue repair in vivo. NIR-LED light represents a novel, noninvasive, therapeutic intervention for the treatment of numerous diseases linked to mitochondrial dysfunction

Discovering cancer vulnerabilities using high-throughput micro-RNA screening

© 2017 The Author(s). Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are potent regulators of gene expression and cellular phenotype. Each miRNA has the potential to target hundreds of transcripts within the cell thus controlling fundamental cellular processes such as survival and proliferation. Here, we exploit this important feature of miRNA networks to discover vulnerabilities in cancer phenotype, and map miRNA-target relationships across different cancer types. More specifically, we report the results of a functional genomics screen of 1280 miRNA mimics and inhibitors in eight cancer cell lines, and its presentation in a sophisticated interactive data portal. This resource represents the most comprehensive survey of miRNA function in oncology, incorporating breast cancer, prostate cancer and neuroblastoma. A user-friendly web portal couples this experimental data with multiple tools for miRNA target prediction, pathway enrichment analysis and visualization. In addition, the database integrates publicly available gene expression and perturbation data enabling tailored and context-specific analysis of miRNA function in a particular disease. As a proof-of-principle, we use the database and its innovative features to uncover novel determinants of the neuroblastoma malignant phenotype

WHS Guidelines for the Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: 2023 Update

The major populations at risk for developing pressure ulcers are older adults who have multiple risk factors that increase their vulnerability, people who are critically ill and those with spinal cord injury/disease. The reported prevalence of pressure ulcers in the United States is 2.5 million. However, this estimate is derived from acute care facilities and does not include people who are living at home or in nursing facilities. Despite the implementation of hospital and facility-based preventive measures, the incidence of pressure ulcers has not decreased in decades. In addition to the burden of pain, infection and death, it is estimated that hospital-acquired pressure ulcers cost the health system $26.8 billion annually with over 50% of the cost attributed to treating Stage 3 and 4 pressure injuries. Thus, it is critical to examine the literature and develop guidelines that will improve the outcomes of this complex and costly condition. This guideline update is a compendium of the best available evidence for the treatment of Pressure Ulcers published since the last update in 2015 and includes a new section based on changing demographics entitled ‘Palliative wound care for seriously ill patients with pressure ulcers’. The overall goal of the Wound Healing Society Guideline project is to present clear, concise and commercial free guidelines that clinicians can use to guide care, that researchers can use to develop studies that will improve treatment and that both clinicians and researchers can use to understand the gaps in our knowledge base

The Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA-AK)

The Alaska Arctic Vegetation Archive (AVA-AK, GIVD-ID: NA-US-014) is a free, publically available database archive of vegetation-plot data from the Arctic tundra region of northern Alaska. The archive currently contains 24 datasets with 3,026 non-overlapping plots. Of these, 74% have geolocation data with 25-m or better precision. Species cover data and header data are stored in a Turboveg database. A standardized Pan Arctic Species List provides a consistent nomenclature for vascular plants, bryophytes, and lichens in the archive. A web-based online Alaska Arctic Geoecological Atlas (AGA-AK) allows viewing and downloading the species data in a variety of formats, and provides access to a wide variety of ancillary data. We conducted a preliminary cluster analysis of the first 16 datasets (1,613 plots) to examine how the spectrum of derived clusters is related to the suite of datasets, habitat types, and environmental gradients. Here, we present the contents of the archive, assess its strengths and weaknesses, and provide three supplementary files that include the data dictionary, a list of habitat types, an overview of the datasets, and details of the cluster analysis

The complete genome, comparative and functional analysis of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia reveals an organism heavily shielded by drug resistance determinants

The complete Stenotrophomonas maltophilia genome sequence suggests that it can act as a reservoir of antibiotic resistance determinants