The Wide Field Imaging Interferometry Testbed

We are developing a Wide-Field Imaging Interferometry Testbed (WIIT) in support of design studies for NASA's future space interferometry missions, in particular the SPIRIT and SPECS far-infrared/submillimeter interferometers. WIIT operates at optical wavelengths and uses Michelson beam combination to achieve both wide-field imaging and high-resolution spectroscopy. It will be used chiefly to test the feasibility of using a large-format detector array at the image plane of the sky to obtain wide-field interferometry images through mosaicing techniques. In this setup each detector pixel records interferograms corresponding to averaging a particular pointing range on the sky as the optical path length is scanned and as the baseline separation and orientation is varied. The final image is constructed through spatial and spectral Fourier transforms of the recorded interferograms for each pixel, followed by a mosaic/joint-deconvolution procedure of all the pixels. In this manner the image within the pointing range of each detector pixel is further resolved to an angular resolution corresponding to the maximum baseline separation for fringe measurements. We present the motivation for building the testbed, show the optical, mechanical, control, and data system design, and describe the image processing requirements and algorithms. WIIT is presently under construction at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, IEEE Aerospace Conference 200

Reference Interferometer Using a Semiconductor Laser/LED Reference Source in a Cryogenic Fourier-Transform Spectrometer

A combination of a single mode AlGaAs laser diode and broadband LED was used in a Michelson interferometer to provide reference signals in a Fourier transform spectrometer, the Composite Infrared Spectrometer, on the Cassini mission to Saturn. The narrowband light from the laser produced continuous fringes throughout the travel of the interferometer, which were used to control the velocity of the scan mechanism and to trigger data sampling. The broadband light from the LED produced a burst of fringes at zero path difference, which was used as a fixed position reference. The system, including the sources, the interferometer, and the detectors, was designed to work both at room temperature and instrument operating temperature of 170 Kelvin. One major challenge that was overcome was preservation, from room temperature to 170 K, of alignment sufficient for high modulation of fringes from the broadband source. Another was the shift of the source spectra about 30 nm toward shorter wavelengths upon cooldown

IceSat 2 ATLAS Photon-Counting Receiver - Initial On-Orbit Performance

Photon-counting receivers are deployed on the NASA Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat2) Advance Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS). The ATLAS laser altimeter design has total six ground tracks with three strong and three weak tracks. The strong track has nominally 4 times more laser power than the weak track. The receiver is operated in photon counting mode. There are 16 photon-counting channels for each strong track and 4 photon-counting channels for each weak track. Hamamatsu photomultiplier with a 4x4-array anode was used as photon counting detector. This receiver design has high counting efficiency (>15%) at 532 nm, low dark count rate (<400 counts per second), low jitter (less than 285ps), short dead time (<3 ns), long lifetime under large solar background radiation, radiation harden for space operation, and ruggedized for survives the harsh vibration during the launch. In this paper, we will present the initial on-orbit performance of this photon-counting receiver

Patient Perspectives on Adherence to the New Hepatitis C Antiviral Medications: ‘A New Lease on Life’

This study explored patients’ perspectives about taking the new direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for the treatment of Hepatitis C (i.e., sofosbuvir, simeprevir, ledipasvir/sofosbuvir, ombitasvir/paritraprevir/ritonavir and dasabuvir) to identify facilitators of medication adherence. The project was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 12 Veterans who successfully completed a treatment course on the new DAAs. The Veterans were recruited using purposive sampling. The data collected from the semi-structured interviews was analyzed using an adapted open coding method outlined by Auerbach and Silverstein (2003), with identification of relevant text sub-grouped into repeating ideas, and then creation of overarching themes and constructs. Results obtained provide insight into factors that influenced the Veterans’ medication adherence during the course of treatment. Key constructs, embodying major themes supported by repeating ideas, included recognizing the “burden of HCV,” the importance of the “treatment engagement process,” and anticipation of “positive outcomes.” Clinical implications are discussed

IceSat 2 ATLAS photon-counting receiver - initial on-orbit performance

No abstract availabl

Associations of the neighbourhood built and natural environment with cardiometabolic health indicators : A cross-sectional analysis of environmental moderators and behavioural mediators

Background: Most studies examining the effects of neighbourhood urban design on cardiometabolic health focused solely on the built or natural environment. Also, they did not consider the roles of neighbourhood socioeconomic status (SES) and ambient air pollution in the observed associations, and the extent to which these associations were mediated by physical activity and sedentary behaviours. Methods: We used data from the AusDiab3 study (N = 4141), a national cohort study of Australian adults to address the above-mentioned knowledge gaps. Spatial data were used to compute indices of neighbourhood walkability (population density, intersection density, non-commercial land use mix, commercial land use), natural environment (parkland and blue spaces) and air pollution (annual average concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter <2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5)). Census indices were used to define neighbourhood SES. Clinical assessments collected data on adiposity, blood pressure, blood glucose and blood lipids. Generalised additive mixed models were used to estimate associations. Results: Neighbourhood walkability showed indirect beneficial associations with most indicators of cardiometabolic health via resistance training, walking and sitting for different purposes; indirect detrimental associations with the same indicators via vigorous gardening; and direct detrimental associations with blood pressure. The neighbourhood natural environment had beneficial indirect associations with most cardiometabolic health indicators via resistance training and leisure-time sitting, and beneficial direct associations with adiposity and blood lipids. Neighbourhood SES and air pollution moderated only a few associations of the neighbourhood environment with physical activity, blood lipids and blood pressure. Conclusions: Within a low-density and low-pollution context, denser, walkable neighbourhoods with good access to nature may benefit residents’ cardiometabolic health by facilitating the adoption of an active lifestyle. Possible disadvantages of living in denser neighbourhoods for older populations are having limited opportunities for gardening, higher levels of noise and less healthy dietary patterns associated with eating out

The Structure of Isolated Synechococcus Strain WH8102 Carboxysomes as Revealed by Electron Cryotomography

Carboxysomes are organelle-like polyhedral bodies found in cyanobacteria and many chemoautotrophic bacteria that are thought to facilitate carbon fixation. Carboxysomes are bounded by a proteinaceous outer shell and filled with ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO), the first enzyme in the CO_2 fixation pathway, but exactly how they enhance carbon fixation is unclear. Here we report the three-dimensional structure of purified carboxysomes from Synechococcus species strain WH8102 as revealed by electron cryotomography. We found that while the sizes of individual carboxysomes in this organism varied from 114 nm to 137 nm, surprisingly, all were approximately icosahedral. There were on average ~250 RuBisCOs per carboxysome, organized into three to four concentric layers. Some models of carboxysome function depend on specific contacts between individual RuBisCOs and the shell, but no evidence of such contacts was found: no systematic patterns of connecting densities or RuBisCO positions against the shell's presumed hexagonal lattice could be discerned, and simulations showed that packing forces alone could account for the layered organization of RuBisCOs

The neighbourhood environment and profiles of the metabolic syndrome

Background There is a dearth of studies on how neighbourhood environmental attributes relate to the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and profiles of MetS components. We examined the associations of interrelated aspects of the neighbourhood environment, including air pollution, with MetS status and profiles of MetS components. Methods We used socio-demographic and MetS-related data from 3681 urban adults who participated in the 3rd wave of the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study. Neighbourhood environmental attributes included area socio-economic status (SES), population density, street intersection density, non-commercial land use mix, percentages of commercial land, parkland and blue space. Annual average concentrations of NO2 and PM2.5 were estimated using satellite-based land-use regression models. Latent class analysis (LCA) identified homogenous groups (latent classes) of participants based on MetS components data. Participants were then classified into five metabolic profiles according to their MetS-components latent class and MetS status. Generalised additive mixed models were used to estimate relationships of environmental attributes with MetS status and metabolic profiles. Results LCA yielded three latent classes, one including only participants without MetS (“Lower probability of MetS components” profile). The other two classes/profiles, consisting of participants with and without MetS, were “Medium-to-high probability of high fasting blood glucose, waist circumference and blood pressure” and “Higher probability of MetS components”. Area SES was the only significant predictor of MetS status: participants from high SES areas were less likely to have MetS. Area SES, percentage of commercial land and NO2 were associated with the odds of membership to healthier metabolic profiles without MetS, while annual average concentration of PM2.5 was associated with unhealthier metabolic profiles with MetS. Conclusions This study supports the utility of operationalising MetS as a combination of latent classes of MetS components and MetS status in studies of environmental correlates. Higher socio-economic advantage, good access to commercial services and low air pollution levels appear to independently contribute to different facets of metabolic health. Future research needs to consider conducting longitudinal studies using fine-grained environmental measures that more accurately characterise the neighbourhood environment in relation to behaviours or other mechanisms related to MetS and its components

Associations between Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Cognitive Function in Australian Urban Settings: The Moderating Role of Diabetes Status

Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is associated with lower cognitive function and diabetes in older adults, but little is known about whether diabetes status moderates the impact of TRAP on older adult cognitive function. We analysed cross-sectional data from 4141 adults who participated in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle (AusDiab) study in 2011–2012. TRAP exposure was estimated using major and minor road density within multiple residential buffers. Cognitive function was assessed with validated psychometric scales, including: California Verbal Learning Test (memory) and Symbol–Digit Modalities Test (processing speed). Diabetes status was measured using oral glucose tolerance tests. We observed positive associations of some total road density measures with memory but not processing speed. Minor road density was not associated with cognitive function, while major road density showed positive associations with memory and processing speed among larger buffers. Within a 300 m buffer, the relationship between TRAP and memory tended to be positive in controls (β = 0.005; p = 0.062), but negative in people with diabetes (β = −0.013; p = 0.026) and negatively associated with processing speed in people with diabetes only (β = −0.047; p = 0.059). Increased TRAP exposure may be positively associated with cognitive function among urban-dwelling people, but this benefit may not extend to those with diabetes

Wide-field Imaging Interferometry Testbed II: Implementation, Performance, and Plans

The Wide-Field Imaging Interferometry Testbed (WIIT) will provide valuable information for the development of space-based interferometers. This laboratory instrument operates at optical wavelengths and provides the ability to test operational algorithms and techniques for data reduction of interferometric data. Here we present some details of the system design and implementation, discuss the overall performance of the system to date, and present our plans for future development of WIIT. In order to make best use of the interferometric data obtained with this system, it is critical to limit uncertainties within the system and to accurately understand possible sources of error. The WIIT design addresses these criteria through a number of ancillary systems. The use of redundant metrology systems is one of the most important features of WIIT, and provides knowledge of the delay line position to better than 10 nm. A light power detector is used to monitor the brightness of our light sources to ensure that small fluctuations in brightness do not affect overall performance. We have placed temperature sensors on critical components of the instrument, and on the optical table, in order to assess environmental effects on the system. The use of these systems provides us with estimates of the overall system uncertainty, and allows an overall characterization of the results to date. These estimates allow us to proceed forward with WIIT, adding rotation stages for 2-D interferometry. In addition, they suggest possible avenues for system improvement. Funding for WIIT is provided by NASA Headquarters through the ROSS/SARA Program and by the Goddard Space Flight Center through the IR&D Program.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure