Operation of the computer model for direct atomic oxygen exposure of Earth satellites

One of the primary causes of material degradation in low Earth orbit (LEO) is exposure to atomic oxygen. When atomic oxygen molecules collide with an orbiting spacecraft, the relative velocity is 7 to 8 km/sec and the collision energy is 4 to 5 eV per atom. Under these conditions, atomic oxygen may initiate a number of chemical and physical reactions with exposed materials. These reactions contribute to material degradation, surface erosion, and contamination. Interpretation of these effects on materials and the design of space hardware to withstand on-orbit conditions requires quantitative knowledge of the atomic oxygen exposure environment. Atomic oxygen flux is a function of orbit altitude, the orientation of the orbit plan to the Sun, solar and geomagnetic activity, and the angle between exposed surfaces and the spacecraft heading. We have developed a computer model to predict the atomic oxygen exposure of spacecraft in low Earth orbit. The application of this computer model is discussed

Cytological Aspects of Pleural, Peritoneal and Pericardial Fluids From Patients With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74778/1/j.1365-2303.1992.tb00014.x.pd

Resting spores of the freshwater diatoms Acanthoceras and Urosolenia

Diatom resting spores are a widespread, but sometimes misconstrued component of siliceous microfossil assemblages. We illustrate and discuss resting spore morphology found in populations of Acanthoceras and Urosolenia , two widely distributed freshwater genera. Taxonomic status of these genera and the potential paleolimnologic interpretation of resting spores are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43094/1/10933_2004_Article_BF00680035.pd

Hablamos Juntos (Together We Speak): Interpreters, Provider Communication, and Satisfaction with Care

The Hablamos Juntos—Together We Speak (HJ)—national demonstration project targeted the improvement of language access for Spanish-speaking Latinos in areas with rapidly growing Latino populations. The objective of HJ was to improve doctor-patient communication by increasing access to and quality of interpreter services for Spanish-speaking patients. To investigate how access to interpreters for adult Spanish-speaking Latinos is associated with ratings of doctor/office staff communication and satisfaction with care. Cross-sectional cohort study. A total of 1,590 Spanish-speaking Latino adults from eight sites across the United States who participated in the outpatient HJ evaluation. We analyzed two multi-item measures of doctor communication (4 items) and office staff helpfulness (2 items), and one global item of satisfaction with care by interpreter use. We performed regression analyses to control for patient sociodemographic characteristics, survey year, and clustering at the site of care. Ninety-five percent of participants were born outside the US, 81% were females, and survey response rates ranged from 45% to 85% across sites. In this cohort of Spanish-speaking patients, those who needed and always used interpreters reported better experiences with care than their counterparts who needed but had interpreters unavailable. Patients who always used an interpreter had better adjusted ratings of doctor communication [effect size (ES = 0.51)], office staff helpfulness (ES = 0.37), and satisfaction with care (ES = 0.37) than patients who needed but did not always use an interpreter. Patients who needed and always used interpreters also reported better experiences with care in all three domains measured [doctor communication (ES = 0.30), office staff helpfulness (ES = 0.21), and satisfaction with care (ES = 0.23)] than patients who did not need interpreters. Among adult Spanish-speaking Latinos, interpreter use is independently associated with higher satisfaction with doctor communication, office staff helpfulness, and ambulatory care. Increased attention to the need for effective interpreter services is warranted in areas with rapidly growing Spanish-speaking populations

Mesozoic Alpine facies deposition as a result of past latitudinal plate motion

The fragmentation of Pangaea as a consequence of the opening of the Atlantic Ocean is documented in the Alpine-Mediterranean region by the onset of widespread pelagic sedimentation1. Shallow-water sediments were replaced by mainly pelagic limestones in the Early Jurassic period, radiolarian cherts in the Middle-Late Jurassic period, and again pelagic limestones in the Late Jurassic-Cretaceous period. During initial extension, basin subsidence below the carbonate compensation depth (CCD) is thought to have triggered the transition from Early Jurassic limestones to Middle-Late Jurassic radiolarites. It has been proposed that the transition from radiolarites to limestones in the Late Jurassic period was due to an increase in calcareous nannoplankton abundance when the CCD was depressed below the ocean floor. But in modern oceans, sediments below the CCD are not necessarily radiolaritic. Here we present palaeomagnetic samples from the Jurassic-Cretaceous pelagic succession exposed in the Lombardian basin, Italy. On the basis of an analysis of our palaeolatitudinal data in a broader palaeogeographic context, we propose an alternative explanation for the above facies tripartition. We suggest that the Lombardian basin drifted initially towards, and subsequently away from, a near-equatorial upwelling zone of high biosiliceous productivity. Our tectonic model for the genesis of radiolarites adds an essential horizontal plate motion component to explanations involving only vertical variations of CCD relative to the ocean floor. It may explain the deposition of radiolarites throughout the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region during the Jurassic period

Mössbauer mineralogy of rock, soil, and dust at Gusev crater, Mars: Spirit's journey through weakly altered olivine basalt on the plains and pervasively altered basalt in the Columbia Hills

The Mössbauer spectrometer on Spirit measured the oxidation state of Fe, identified Fe-bearing phases, and measured relative abundances of Fe among those phases for surface materials on the plains and in the Columbia Hills of Gusev crater. Eight Fe-bearing phases were identified: olivine, pyroxene, ilmenite, magnetite, nanophase ferric oxide (npOx), hematite, goethite, and a Fe3+-sulfate. Adirondack basaltic rocks on the plains are nearly unaltered (Fe3+/FeT < 0.2) with Fe from olivine, pyroxene (Ol > Px), and minor npOx and magnetite. Columbia Hills basaltic rocks are nearly unaltered (Peace and Backstay), moderately altered (WoolyPatch, Wishstone, and Keystone), and pervasively altered (e.g., Clovis, Uchben, Watchtower, Keel, and Paros with Fe3+/FeT ~ 0.6–0.9). Fe from pyroxene is greater than Fe from olivine (Ol sometimes absent), and Fe2+ from Ol + Px is 40–49% and 9–24% for moderately and pervasively altered materials, respectively. Ilmenite (Fe from Ilm 3–6%) is present in Backstay, Wishstone, Keystone, and related rocks along with magnetite (Fe from Mt 10–15%). Remaining Fe is present as npOx, hematite, and goethite in variable proportions. Clovis has the highest goethite content (Fe from Gt = 40%). Goethite (α-FeOOH) is mineralogical evidence for aqueous processes because it has structural hydroxide and is formed under aqueous conditions. Relatively unaltered basaltic soils (Fe3+/FeT ~ 0.3) occur throughout Gusev crater (60–80% Fe from Ol + Px, 10–30% from npOx, and 10% from Mt). PasoRobles soil in the Columbia Hills has a unique occurrence of high concentrations of Fe3+-sulfate (65% of Fe). Magnetite is identified as a strongly magnetic phase in Martian soil and dust.Additional co-authors: E Kankeleit, P Gütlich, F Renz, SW Squyres, RE Arvidso

Decrypting magnetic fabrics (AMS, AARM, AIRM) through the analysis of mineral shape fabrics and distribution anisotropy

The fieldwork was supported by the DIPS project (grant no. 240467) and the MIMES project (grant no. 244155) funded by the Norwegian Research Council awarded to O.G. O.P.'s position was funded from Y-TEC.Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) and anisotropy of magnetic remanence (AARM and AIRM) are efficient and versatile techniques to indirectly determine rock fabrics. Yet, deciphering the source of a magnetic fabric remains a crucial and challenging step, notably in the presence of ferrimagnetic phases. Here we use X-ray micro-computed tomography to directly compare mineral shape-preferred orientation and spatial distribution fabrics to AMS, AARM and AIRM fabrics from five hypabyssal trachyandesite samples. Magnetite grains in the trachyandesite are euhedral with a mean aspect ratio of 1.44 (0.24 s.d., long/short axis), and > 50% of the magnetite grains occur in clusters, and they are therefore prone to interact magnetically. Amphibole grains are prolate with magnetite in breakdown rims. We identified three components of the petrofabric that influence the AMS of the analyzed samples: the magnetite and the amphibole shape fabrics and the magnetite spatial distribution. Depending on their relative strength, orientation and shape, these three components interfere either constructively or destructively to produce the AMS fabric. If the three components are coaxial, the result is a relatively strongly anisotropic AMS fabric (P’ = 1.079). If shape fabrics and/or magnetite distribution are non-coaxial, the resulting AMS is weakly anisotropic (P’ = 1.012). This study thus reports quantitative petrofabric data that show the effect of magnetite distribution anisotropy on magnetic fabrics in igneous rocks, which has so far only been predicted by experimental and theoretical models. Our results have first-order implications for the interpretation of petrofabrics using magnetic methods.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Variations in Healthcare Access and Utilization Among Mexican Immigrants: The Role of Documentation Status

The objective of this study is to identify differences in healthcare access and utilization among Mexican immigrants by documentation status. Cross-sectional survey data are analyzed to identify differences in healthcare access and utilization across Mexican immigrant categories. Multivariable logistic regression and the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition are used to parse out differences into observed and unobserved components. Mexican immigrants ages 18 and above who are immigrants of California households and responded to the 2007 California Health Interview Survey (2,600 documented and 1,038 undocumented immigrants). Undocumented immigrants from Mexico are 27% less likely to have a doctor visit in the previous year and 35% less likely to have a usual source of care compared to documented Mexican immigrants after controlling for confounding variables. Approximately 88% of these disparities can be attributed to predisposing, enabling and need determinants in our model. The remaining disparities are attributed to unobserved heterogeneity. This study shows that undocumented immigrants from Mexico are much less likely to have a physician visit in the previous year and a usual source of care compared to documented immigrants from Mexico. The recently approved Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will not reduce these disparities unless undocumented immigrants are granted some form of legal status