Stellar Polarimetry: Where Are We and Where Are We Going?

On the final day of the Stellar Polarimetry conference, participants split up into three "breakout sessions" to discuss the future of the field in the areas of instrumentation, upcoming opportunities, and community priorities. This contribution compiles the major recommendations arising from each breakout session. We hope that the polarimetric community will find these ideas useful as we consider how to maintain the vitality of polarimetry in the coming years.Comment: 7 pages, published in proceedings of "Stellar Polarimetry: From Birth to Death" (Madison, WI, June 2011

Cloning of terminal transferase cDNA by antibody screening

A cDNA library was prepared from a terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-containing thymoma in the phage vector λgt11. By screening plaques with anti-terminal transferase antibody, positive clones were identified of which some had β-galactosidase-cDNA fusion proteins identifiable after electrophoretic fractionation by immunoblotting with anti-terminal transferase antibody. The predominant class of cross-hybridizing clones was determined to represent cDNA for terminal transferase by showing that one representative clone hybridized to a 2200-nucleotide mRNA in close-matched enzyme-positive but not to enzyme-negative cells and that the cDNA selected a mRNA that translated to give a protein of the size and antigenic characteristics of terminal transferase. Only a small amount of genomic DNA hybridized to the longest available clone, indicating that the sequence is virtually unique in the mouse genome

How variable is mixing efficiency in the abyss?

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 47 (2020): e2019GL086813, doi: 10.1029/2019GL086813.Mixing efficiency is an important turbulent flow property in fluid dynamics, whose variability potentially affects the large‐scale ocean circulation. However, there are several confusing definitions. Here we compare and contrast patch‐wise versus bulk estimates of mixing efficiency in the abyss by revisiting data from previous extensive field surveys in the Brazil Basin. Observed patch‐wise efficiency is highly variable over a wide range of turbulence intensity. Bulk efficiency is dominated by rare extreme turbulence events. In the case where enhanced near‐bottom turbulence is thought to be driven by breaking of small‐scale internal tides, the estimated bulk efficiency is 20%, close to the conventional value of 17%. On the other hand, where enhanced near‐bottom turbulence appears to be convectively driven by hydraulic overflows, bulk efficiency is suggested to be as large as 45%, which has implications for a further significant role of overflow mixing on deep‐water mass transformation.TI is a JSPS Overseas Research Fellow. LS, KLP, and JMT acknowledge support from the U.S. National Science Foundation and Office of Naval Research. The authors express their gratitude to Ali Mashayek and an anonymous reviewer for their useful comments on the original manuscript. Data used in this study is available from the Woods Hole Open Access Server (https://hdl.handle.net/1912/25456).2020-09-2

System, Device, and Method for Determination of Intraocular Pressure

A system for determination of intraocular pressure includes: an intraocular pressure sensor; a light source illuminating the sensor with one or more wavelengths of light; and a detector that measures emitted light from the sensor. The sensor includes a substrate member, a spacer member, and a flexible membrane, which define a sealed cavity. The flexible membrane moves in response to intraocular pressure changes. A device for measuring intraocular pressure includes: the sensor; an anchoring member attached to the sensor for immobilizing the sensor in an eye; and a protective member attached to the anchoring member and covering the sensor to prevent contact between the flexible membrane and the eye. A method for determination of intraocular pressure includes: placing the sensor in an eye; illuminating, with a light source, the sensor with one or more wavelengths of light; and detecting, with a detector, a resultant light that contains information about intraocular pressure

LIPOGENESIS IN ADIPOSE TISSUE FROM OVARIECTOMIZED AND INTACT HEIFERS IMMUNIZED AGAINST ESTRADIOL AND(OR) IMPLANTED WITH TRENBOLONE ACETATE

Forty-two heifers were allotted randomly to six treatment groups: 1) intact controls, 2) intact heifers implanted with trenbolone acetate, 3) ovariectomized heifers, 4) ovariectomized heifers implanted with trenbolone acetate, 5) intact heifers immunized against estradiol and 6) intact heifers immunized against estradiol and implanted with trenbolone acetate. Blood titers of estradiol-17β were increased over lO0-fold in heifers immunized against estradiol in Freund\u27s complete adjuvant or saline:squalene/arlacel containing Mycobacterium. Lipogenic enzyme activities and acetate incorporation into fatty acids were increased in subcutaneous adipose tissue obtained at slaughter from heifers receiving immunization or the combination of immunization and trenbolone acetate. The increased lipogenic capacity was not reflected in either cell diameter or cells per gram adipose tissue. Ovariectomy in combination with trenbolone acetate caused the lowest activities for all enzymes measured. This treatments also caused the greatest decrease in cell diameter, which resulted in the largest number of cells per gram of adipose tissue. Trenbotone acetate alone had no detectable effect on lipogenesis in the intact heifer, but the combination of ovariectomy and trenbolone acetate caused substantial decreases in enzyme activities, in most cases a significant decrease as compared with ovariectomized heifers. The data suggest that trenbolone acetate is able to depress lipogenesis only when not competing with the effects of circulating estradiol

LIPOGENESIS IN ADIPOSE TISSUE FROM OVARIECTOMIZED AND INTACT HEIFERS IMMUNIZED AGAINST ESTRADIOL AND(OR) IMPLANTED WITH TRENBOLONE ACETATE

Forty-two heifers were allotted randomly to six treatment groups: 1) intact controls, 2) intact heifers implanted with trenbolone acetate, 3) ovariectomized heifers, 4) ovariectomized heifers implanted with trenbolone acetate, 5) intact heifers immunized against estradiol and 6) intact heifers immunized against estradiol and implanted with trenbolone acetate. Blood titers of estradiol-17β were increased over lO0-fold in heifers immunized against estradiol in Freund\u27s complete adjuvant or saline:squalene/arlacel containing Mycobacterium. Lipogenic enzyme activities and acetate incorporation into fatty acids were increased in subcutaneous adipose tissue obtained at slaughter from heifers receiving immunization or the combination of immunization and trenbolone acetate. The increased lipogenic capacity was not reflected in either cell diameter or cells per gram adipose tissue. Ovariectomy in combination with trenbolone acetate caused the lowest activities for all enzymes measured. This treatments also caused the greatest decrease in cell diameter, which resulted in the largest number of cells per gram of adipose tissue. Trenbotone acetate alone had no detectable effect on lipogenesis in the intact heifer, but the combination of ovariectomy and trenbolone acetate caused substantial decreases in enzyme activities, in most cases a significant decrease as compared with ovariectomized heifers. The data suggest that trenbolone acetate is able to depress lipogenesis only when not competing with the effects of circulating estradiol

Long range transport of ultra cold atoms in a far-detuned 1D optical lattice

We present a novel method to transport ultra cold atoms in a focused optical lattice over macroscopic distances of many Rayleigh ranges. With this method ultra cold atoms were transported over 5 cm in 250 ms without significant atom loss or heating. By translating the interference pattern together with the beam geometry the trap parameters are maintained over the full transport range. Thus, the presented method is well suited for tightly focused optical lattices that have sufficient trap depth only close to the focus. Tight focusing is usually required for far-detuned optical traps or traps that require high laser intensity for other reasons. The transport time is short and thus compatible with the operation of an optical lattice clock in which atoms are probed in a well designed environment spatially separated from the preparation and detection region.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

Construction and Assembly of the Wire Planes for the MicroBooNE Time Projection Chamber

In this paper we describe how the readout planes for the MicroBooNE Time Projection Chamber were constructed, assembled and installed. We present the individual wire preparation using semi-automatic winding machines and the assembly of wire carrier boards. The details of the wire installation on the detector frame and the tensioning of the wires are given. A strict quality assurance plan ensured the integrity of the readout planes. The different tests performed at all stages of construction and installation provided crucial information to achieve the successful realisation of the MicroBooNE wire planes.Comment: 24 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication as Technical Report in JINS

Why do models overestimate surface ozone in the Southeast United States

Ozone pollution in the Southeast US involves complex chemistry driven by emissions of anthropogenic nitrogen oxide radicals (NOx  ≡  NO + NO2) and biogenic isoprene. Model estimates of surface ozone concentrations tend to be biased high in the region and this is of concern for designing effective emission control strategies to meet air quality standards. We use detailed chemical observations from the SEAC4RS aircraft campaign in August and September 2013, interpreted with the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model at 0.25°  ×  0.3125° horizontal resolution, to better understand the factors controlling surface ozone in the Southeast US. We find that the National Emission Inventory (NEI) for NOx from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is too high. This finding is based on SEAC4RS observations of NOx and its oxidation products, surface network observations of nitrate wet deposition fluxes, and OMI satellite observations of tropospheric NO2 columns. Our results indicate that NEI NOx emissions from mobile and industrial sources must be reduced by 30–60 %, dependent on the assumption of the contribution by soil NOx emissions. Upper-tropospheric NO2 from lightning makes a large contribution to satellite observations of tropospheric NO2 that must be accounted for when using these data to estimate surface NOx emissions. We find that only half of isoprene oxidation proceeds by the high-NOx pathway to produce ozone; this fraction is only moderately sensitive to changes in NOx emissions because isoprene and NOx emissions are spatially segregated. GEOS-Chem with reduced NOx emissions provides an unbiased simulation of ozone observations from the aircraft and reproduces the observed ozone production efficiency in the boundary layer as derived from a regression of ozone and NOx oxidation products. However, the model is still biased high by 6 ± 14 ppb relative to observed surface ozone in the Southeast US. Ozonesondes launched during midday hours show a 7 ppb ozone decrease from 1.5 km to the surface that GEOS-Chem does not capture. This bias may reflect a combination of excessive vertical mixing and net ozone production in the model boundary layer