Equity trade-offs in conservation decision making

Conservation decisions increasingly involve multiple environmental and social objectives, which result in complex decision contexts with high potential for trade-offs. Improving social equity is one such objective that is often considered an enabler of successful outcomes and a virtuous ideal in itself. Despite its idealized importance in conservation policy, social equity is often highly simplified or ill-defined and is applied uncritically. What constitutes equitable outcomes and processes is highly normative and subject to ethical deliberation. Different ethical frameworks may lead to different conceptions of equity through alternative perspectives of what is good or right. This can lead to different and potentially conflicting equity objectives in practice. We promote a more transparent, nuanced, and pluralistic conceptualization of equity in conservation decision making that particularly recognizes where multidimensional equity objectives may conflict. To help identify and mitigate ethical conflicts and avoid cases of good intentions producing bad outcomes, we encourage a more analytical incorporation of equity into conservation decision making particularly during mechanistic integration of equity objectives. We recommend that in conservation planning motivations and objectives for equity be made explicit within the problem context, methods used to incorporate equity objectives be applied with respect to stated objectives, and, should objectives dictate, evaluation of equity outcomes and adaptation of strategies be employed during policy implementation

High Density Circumstellar Interaction in the Luminous Type IIn SN 2010jl: The first 1100 days

HST and ground based observations of the Type IIn SN 2010jl are analyzed, including photometry, spectroscopy in the ultraviolet, optical and NIR bands, 26-1128 days after first detection. At maximum the bolometric luminosity was $\sim 3\times10^{43}$ erg/s and even at 850 days exceeds $10^{42}$ erg/s. A NIR excess, dominating after 400 days, probably originates in dust in the circumstellar medium (CSM). The total radiated energy is $> 6.5\times10^{50}$ ergs, excluding the dust component. The spectral lines can be separated into one broad component due to electron scattering, and one narrow with expansion velocity $\sim 100$ km/s from the CSM. The broad component is initially symmetric around zero velocity but becomes blueshifted after $\sim 50$ days, while remaining symmetric about a shifted centroid velocity. Dust absorption in the ejecta is unlikely to explain the line shifts, and we attribute the shift instead to acceleration by the SN radiation. From the optical lines and the X-ray and dust properties, there is strong evidence for large scale asymmetries in the CSM. The ultraviolet lines indicate CNO processing in the progenitor, while the optical shows a number of narrow coronal lines excited by the X-rays. The bolometric light curve is consistent with a radiative shock in an $r^{-2}$ CSM with a mass loss rate of $\sim 0.1$ M_sun/yr. The total mass lost is $> 3$ M_sun. These properties are consistent with the SN expanding into a CSM characteristic of an LBV progenitor with a bipolar geometry. The apparent absence of nuclear processing is attributed to a CSM still opaque to electron scattering.Comment: ApJ in press. Updated and changed after referees comment

Synergies of Robotic Asteroid Redirection Technologies and Human Space Exploration

This paper summarizes the results of a 2014 KISS workshop that identified a wide variety of ways that the technologies (and their near-term derivatives) developed for the proposed Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) would beneficially impact the Nation’s space interests including: human missions to Mars and its moons, planetary defense, orbital debris removal, robotic deep-space science missions, commercial communication satellites, and commercial asteroid resource utilization missions. This wide applicability of asteroid retrieval technology is, in many ways, is just as surprising as was the initial finding about the feasibility of ARM. The current Asteroid Redirect Mission concept consists of two major parts: the development of an advanced Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) capability and the retrieval of a near-Earth asteroid. The improvement in SEP technology required by ARM provides an extensible path to support human missions to Mars, is applicable to all planetary defense techniques, could reduce the time required for the LEO-to-GEO transfer of large commercial or military satellites, would enable new deep space robotic science missions, and could enable affordable removal of large orbital debris objects. The asteroid retrieval part of ARM would greatly improve the understanding of the structure of rubble-pile asteroids necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of primary asteroid deflection techniques, demonstrate at least one secondary asteroid deflection technique, greatly accelerate the use of material resources obtained in space to further space exploration and exploitation, and further planetary science

Type IIb Supernova SN 2011dh: Spectra and Photometry from the Ultraviolet to the Near-Infrared

We report spectroscopic and photometric observations of the Type IIb SN 2011dh obtained between 4 and 34 days after the estimated date of explosion (May 31.5 UT). The data cover a wide wavelength range from 2,000 Angstroms in the UV to 2.4 microns in the NIR. Optical spectra provide line profiles and velocity measurements of HI, HeI, CaII and FeII that trace the composition and kinematics of the SN. NIR spectra show that helium is present in the atmosphere as early as 11 days after the explosion. A UV spectrum obtained with the STIS reveals that the UV flux for SN 2011dh is low compared to other SN IIb. The HI and HeI velocities in SN 2011dh are separated by about 4,000 km/s at all phases. We estimate that the H-shell of SN 2011dh is about 8 times less massive than the shell of SN 1993J and about 3 times more massive than the shell of SN 2008ax. Light curves (LC) for twelve passbands are presented. The maximum bolometric luminosity of $1.8 \pm 0.2 \times 10^{42}$ erg s$^{-1}$ occurred about 22 days after the explosion. NIR emission provides more than 30% of the total bolometric flux at the beginning of our observations and increases to nearly 50% of the total by day 34. The UV produces 16% of the total flux on day 4, 5% on day 9 and 1% on day 34. We compare the bolometric light curves of SN 2011dh, SN 2008ax and SN 1993J. The LC are very different for the first twelve days after the explosions but all three SN IIb display similar peak luminosities, times of peak, decline rates and colors after maximum. This suggests that the progenitors of these SN IIb may have had similar compositions and masses but they exploded inside hydrogen shells that that have a wide range of masses. The detailed observations presented here will help evaluate theoretical models for this supernova and lead to a better understanding of SN IIb.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 9 tables, accepted by Ap

How just and just how? A systematic review of social equity in conservation research

Background: Conservation decisions not only impact wildlife, habitat, and environmental health, but also human wellbeing and social justice. The inclusion of safeguards and equity considerations in the conservation field has increasingly garnered attention in international policy processes and amongst conservation practitioners. Yet, what constitutes an ‘equitable’ solution can take many forms, and how the concept is treated within conservation research is not standardized. This review explores how social equity is conceptualized and assessed in conservation research.Methods/Design: Using a structured search and screening process, we identified 138 peer-reviewed studies that addressed equity in relation to conservation actions. The authors developed a coding framework to guide the review process, focusing on the current state of, definitions used for, and means of assessing social equity in empirical conservation research.Review Results: Results show that empirical research on social equity in conservation is rapidly growing, with the majority of studies on the topic published only since 2009. Equity within conservation research is skewed toward distributional concerns and to a lesser extent procedural issues, with recognition and contextual equity receiving little attention. Studies are primarily situated in forested biomes of the Global South. Conservation interventions mostly resulted in mixed or negative impacts on equity.Synthesis and Discussion: Our results demonstrate the current limitations of research on equity in conservation, and raise challenging questions about the social impacts of conservation and how to ameliorate equity concerns. Framing of equity within conservation research would benefit from greater transparency of study motivation, more explicit definition of how equity is used within the study context, and consideration for how best to assess it.We recommend that the empirical conservation literature more deeply engage with different notions of equity when studying, planning, and implementing actions to address potential trade-offs among equity and conservation objectives and beneficiaries

CD11c+ Cells Are Gatekeepers for Lymphocyte Trafficking to Infiltrated Islets During Type 1 Diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a T cell mediated autoimmune disease that affects more than 19 million people with incidence increasing rapidly worldwide. For T cells to effectively drive T1D, they must first traffic to the islets and extravasate through the islet vasculature. Understanding the cues that lead to T cell entry into inflamed islets is important because diagnosed T1D patients already have established immune infiltration of their islets. Here we show that CD11

High-density circumstellar interaction in the luminous Type IIn SN 2010jl : the first 1100 days

Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observations of the Type IIn supernova (SN) 2010jl are analyzed, including photometry and spectroscopy in the ultraviolet, optical, and near-IR bands, 26-1128 days after first detection. At maximum, the bolometric luminosity was ~3 × 1043 erg s-1 and even at 850 days exceeds 1042 erg s-1. A near-IR excess, dominating after 400 days, probably originates in dust in the circumstellar medium (CSM). The total radiated energy is >~ 6.5 × 1050 erg, excluding the dust component. The spectral lines can be separated into one broad component that is due to electron scattering and one narrow with expansion velocity ~100 km s-1 from the CSM. The broad component is initially symmetric around zero velocity but becomes blueshifted after ~50 days, while remaining symmetric about a shifted centroid velocity. Dust absorption in the ejecta is unlikely to explain the line shifts, and we attribute the shift instead to acceleration by the SN radiation. From the optical lines and the X-ray and dust properties, there is strong evidence for large-scale asymmetries in the CSM. The ultraviolet lines indicate CNO processing in the progenitor, while the optical shows a number of narrow coronal lines excited by the X-rays. The bolometric light curve is consistent with a radiative shock in an r-2 CSM with a mass-loss rate of Ṁ ∼ 0.1 M⊙ yr-1. The total mass lost is >~ 3 M⊙. These properties are consistent with the SN expanding into a CSM characteristic of a luminous blue variable progenitor with a bipolar geometry. The apparent absence of nuclear processing is attributed to a CSM that is still opaque to electron scattering.Peer reviewe

A Bayesian Network Driven Approach to Model the Transcriptional Response to Nitric Oxide in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The transcriptional response to exogenously supplied nitric oxide in Saccharomyces cerevisiae was modeled using an integrated framework of Bayesian network learning and experimental feedback. A Bayesian network learning algorithm was used to generate network models of transcriptional output, followed by model verification and revision through experimentation. Using this framework, we generated a network model of the yeast transcriptional response to nitric oxide and a panel of other environmental signals. We discovered two environmental triggers, the diauxic shift and glucose repression, that affected the observed transcriptional profile. The computational method predicted the transcriptional control of yeast flavohemoglobin YHB1 by glucose repression, which was subsequently experimentally verified. A freely available software application, ExpressionNet, was developed to derive Bayesian network models from a combination of gene expression profile clusters, genetic information and experimental conditions