Determination of lunar ilmenite abundances from remotely sensed data

The mineral ilmenite (FeTiO3) was found in abundance in lunar mare soils returned during the Apollo project. Lunar ilmenite often contains greater than 50 weight-percent titanium dioxide (TiO2), and is a primary potential resource for oxygen and other raw materials to supply future lunar bases. Chemical and spectroscopic analysis of the returned lunar soils produced an empirical function that relates the spectral reflectance ratio at 400 and 560 nm to the weight percent abundance of TiO2. This allowed mapping of the lunar TiO2 distribution using telescopic vidicon multispectral imaging from the ground; however, the time variant photometric response of the vidicon detectors produced abundance uncertainties of at least 2 to 5 percent. Since that time, solid-state charge-coupled device (CCD) detector technology capable of much improved photometric response has become available. An investigation of the lunar TiO2 distribution was carried out utilizing groundbased telescopic CCD multispectral imagery and spectroscopy. The work was approached in phases to develop optimum technique based upon initial results. The goal is to achieve the best possible TiO2 abundance maps from the ground as a precursor to lunar orbiter and robotic sample return missions, and to produce a better idea of the peak abundances of TiO2 for benefaction studies. These phases and the results are summarized

Commercial Insurance Coverage Decline Associated with Affordable Care Act: What's Next?

BACKGROUND: A key feature of the Affordable Care Act was the establishment of insurance exchanges and subsidies to assist Americans in obtaining affordable commercial insurance. This study was undertaken to determine whether this effort has met its goal. METHODS: A review of all patients requiring surgery for maxillofacial trauma at a level 1 trauma center was undertaken for time periods before the Affordable Care Act was passed (2008 and 2009), while partially in effect (2012), and after the establishment exchanges and subsidies (2014). Insurance statuses were recorded and rates of commercial insurance coverage during each period were compared. RESULTS: A total of 1,123 patients were included. Of these, 511 were treated before passage of the Affordable Care Act, 288 were treated in 2012, and 324 were treated in 2014. Before passage, 50.5% of patients had commercial insurance. This number was virtually unchanged in 2012. However, after the insurance exchanges and subsidies were established, the percentage of patients with commercial insurance fell to 36.73% (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Surprisingly, the establishment of insurance exchanges and subsidies through the Affordable Care Act was associated with a decline in rates of commercial insurance coverage. Trends in reimbursement patterns will need to be followed if the law is repealed and replaced

Long-tailed Duck, Clangula hyemalis, Eider, Somateria spp., and Scoter, Melanitta spp., Distributions in Central Alaska Beaufort Sea Lagoons, 1999-2002

During July and August 1999–2002, distributions of Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis), eiders (Somateria spp.) and scoters (Melanitta spp.) were documented in three barrier island-lagoon systems in the central Alaska Beaufort Sea. Concentration areas for each species were determined during 16 aerial surveys. Kernel density procedures were used to delineate 75% and 50% “activity” or concentration areas for all three species. Long-tailed Ducks were 13 times more numerous than eiders and 38 times more numerous than scoters. The Long-tailed Duck 75% activity area encompassed all three lagoon systems and was three times as large as the eider activity area and one-third larger than the scoter activity area. Eider activity areas were located only in the eastern lagoon, and scoter activity areas were located only in the western lagoon. Density contours showed patterns of repeated habitat use for sea ducks over the four years of sampling and improve our understanding of sea duck habitat use within Beaufort Sea barrier island-lagoon habitats

Determination of an Interaction Network between an Extracellular Bacterial Pathogen and the Human Host

A major gap in understanding infectious diseases is the lack of information about molecular interaction networks between pathogens and the human host. Haemophilus ducreyi causes the genital ulcer disease chancroid in adults and is a leading cause of cutaneous ulcers in children in the tropics. We developed a model in which human volunteers are infected on the upper arm with H. ducreyi until they develop pustules. To define the H. ducreyi and human interactome, we determined bacterial and host transcriptomic and host metabolomic changes in pustules. We found that in vivo H. ducreyi transcripts were distinct from those in the inocula, as were host transcripts in pustule and wounded control sites. Many of the upregulated H. ducreyi genes were found to be involved in ascorbic acid and anaerobic metabolism and inorganic ion/nutrient transport. The top 20 significantly expressed human pathways showed that all were involved in immune responses. We generated a bipartite network for interactions between host and bacterial gene transcription; multiple positively correlated networks contained H. ducreyi genes involved in anaerobic metabolism and host genes involved with the immune response. Metabolomic studies showed that pustule and wounded samples had different metabolite compositions; the top ion pathway involved ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, which correlated with the H. ducreyi transcriptional response and upregulation of host genes involved in ascorbic acid recycling. These data show that an interactome exists between H. ducreyi and the human host and suggest that H. ducreyi exploits the metabolic niche created by the host immune response.IMPORTANCE Dual RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) offers the promise of determining an interactome at a transcriptional level between a bacterium and the host but has yet to be done on any bacterial infection in human tissue. We performed dual RNA-seq and metabolomics analyses on wounded and infected sites following experimental infection of the arm with H. ducreyi Our results suggest that H. ducreyi survives in an abscess by utilizing l-ascorbate as an alternative carbon source, possibly taking advantage of host ascorbic acid recycling, and that H. ducreyi also adapts by upregulating genes involved in anaerobic metabolism and inorganic ion and nutrient transport. To our knowledge, this is the first description of an interaction network between a bacterium and the human host at a site of infection

Using Intercultural Sensitivity to Predict Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy among Preservice Teachers

As student diversity increases, it is imperative that Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) prepare preservice teachers to manage these classrooms. Educators are expected to possess the skillset, experience, and confidence necessary to engage diverse students from varying cultural backgrounds. Thus, intercultural sensitivity is an important affective trait for teachers, however, the connection between intercultural sensitivity and self-efficacy for culturally responsive classroom management has not been well documented in the preservice teacher literature. In this study, one mid-southern university examined the relationship between preservice teachers’ perceptions of their intercultural sensitivity and their self-efficacy for tasks related to culturally responsive classroom management. Findings indicated that preservice teachers are confident in their ability to manage classrooms in a culturally responsive manner and that intercultural sensitivity significantly predicted and explained about a third of variance in culturally responsive classroom management self-efficacy. While EPPs could consider requiring coursework in cultural diversity and classroom management, the results of this study indicated that coursework alone was not enough to improve preservice teachers’ self-efficacy

Cdc53p acts in concert with Cdc4p and Cdc34p to control the G1 to S phase transition and identifies a conserved family of proteins

Regulation of cell cycle progression occurs in part through the targeted degradation of both activating and inhibitory subunits of the cyclin-dependent kinases. During G1, CDC4, encoding a WD-40 repeat protein, and CDC34, encoding a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, are involved in the destruction of these regulators. Here we describe evidence indicating that CDC53 also is involved in this process. Mutations in CDC53 cause a phenotype indistinguishable from those of cdc4 and cdc34 mutations, numerous genetic interactions are seen between these genes, and the encoded proteins are found physically associated in vivo. Cdc53p defines a large family of proteins found in yeasts, nematodes, and humans whose molecular functions are uncharacterized. These results suggest a role for this family of proteins in regulating cell cycle proliferation through protein degradation

Common Eider (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) Nest Cover and Depredation on Central Alaskan Beaufort Sea Barrier Islands

Female common eiders (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) generally select nest sites in areas with driftwood cover. Previous studies of common eiders have shown a positive relationship between nest success and driftwood cover. Our observations led us to hypothesize that cover does not enhance nest success when mammalian predators are present. To evaluate nest cover selection in common eiders, we examined five years of nesting data to determine the interactions between the probability of nest activity and the amount of driftwood cover in the presence of avian versus mammalian predators. Most common eider nests were surrounded by low (40%) or moderate (38%) driftwood cover. Nest failure rates were high (32%– 95%), and arctic foxes (Alopex lagopus), alone or with polar bears (Ursus maritimus), appeared to be more destructive than glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) to eider nests. Logistic regression was used to model common eider nest activity associated with driftwood cover and predators. When glaucous gulls were the only predators, more driftwood cover consistently increased the probability of nest activity. But when foxes were present, nest activity consistently decreased with increasing cover. Our models support our observations that nest cover was beneficial to eiders when glaucous gulls alone were predators. Driftwood cover may be most important for the thermal and structural protection it offers, rather than for the camouflage it provides. The energetic benefit provided by driftwood windbreaks coupled with the common eider’s behavioral response of decreased nest attendance, or increased exposure to avian depredation of nests as energy reserves are depleted during incubation, provides an explanatory mechanism for our model results.L’eider à duvet femelle (Somateria mollissima v-nigrum) choisit en général son site de nidification dans des zones ayant un couvert de bois flotté. Des études précédentes sur les eiders à duvet ont révélé qu’il existe une relation positive entre le succès de la couvée et le couvert de bois flotté. Nos observations nous ont amenés à émettre l’hypothèse que le couvert n’augmente pas le succès de la couvée en présence de prédateurs mammifères. Afin d’évaluer le choix de couvert du nid chez l’eider à duvet, nous avons examiné des données de nidification obtenues sur cinq années, en vue de dégager les interactions entre la probabilité d’activité au nid et la quantité de couvert de bois flotté en présence de prédateurs aviens par opposition aux prédateurs mammifères. La plupart des nids de l’eider à duvet étaient entourés par un faible couvert de bois flotté (40 %) ou un couvert modéré (38 %). Les taux d’insuccès étaient élevés (32 à 95 %) et le renard arctique (Alopex lagopus), seul ou avec l’ours polaire (Ursus maritimus), semblait plus destructeur pour les nids de l’eider que le goéland bourgmestre (Larus hyperboreus). On a utilisé la régression logistique pour simuler l’activité au nid de l’eider à duvet associée au couvert de bois flotté et aux prédateurs. Quand le goéland bourgmestre était le seul prédateur, une plus grande quantité de bois flotté augmentait toujours la probabilité d’activité au nid. En revanche, en présence du renard, l’activité au nid diminuait toujours avec une augmentation du couvert. Nos modèles viennent appuyer nos observations à l’effet que le couvert du nid représentait un avantage pour l’eider quand le goéland bourgmestre était le seul prédateur. Le couvert de bois flotté pourrait bien être d’une importance capitale en raison de la protection thermique et structurale qu’il offre, plutôt que pour ses capacités de camouflage. L’avantage énergétique qu’offrent les brise-vent de bois flotté joint à la réaction comportementale de l’eider à duvet – qui se manifeste par une plus grande présence au nid, ou une plus grande exposition à une déprédation avienne du nid à mesure que s’épuisent les réserves d’énergie durant l’incubation –, ces deux éléments donc fournissent un mécanisme pouvant expliquer les résultats de notre modèle

Climate Change and Biosphere Response: Unlocking the Collections Vault

Natural history collections (NHCs) are an important source of the long-term data needed to understand how biota respond to ongoing anthropogenic climate change. These include taxon occurrence data for ecological modeling, as well as information that can be used to reconstruct mechanisms through which biota respond to changing climates. The full potential of NHCs for climate change research cannot be fully realized until high-quality data sets are conveniently accessible for research, but this requires that higher priority be placed on digitizing the holdings most useful for climate change research (e.g., whole-biota studies, time series, records of intensively sampled common taxa). Natural history collections must not neglect the proliferation of new information from efforts to understand how present-day ecosystems are responding to environmental change. These new directions require a strategic realignment for many NHC holders to complement their existing focus on taxonomy and systematics. To set these new priorities, we need strong partnerships between NHC holders and global change biologists

Oxidation of tertiary amine-derivatized surfaces to control protein adhesion

Selective oxidation of omega-tertiary amine self-assembled thiol monolayers to tertiary amine N-oxides is shown to transform the adhesion of model proteins lysozyme and fibrinogen upon them. Efficient preparation of both secondary and tertiary linker amides as judged by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and water droplet contact angle was achieved with an improved amide bond formation on gold quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensors using 2-(1H-7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyl hexafluorophosphate methanaminium uronium (HATU). Oxidation with hydrogen peroxide was similarly assessed, and adhesion of lysozyme and fibrinogen from phosphate buffered saline was then assayed by QCM and imaged by AFM. Tertiary amine-functionalized sensors adsorbed multilayers of aggregated lysozyme, whereas tertiary amine N-oxides and triethylene glycol-terminated monolayers are consistent with small protein aggregates. The surface containing a dimethylamine N-oxide headgroup and ethyl secondary amide linker showed the largest difference in adsorption of both proteins. Oxidation of tertiary amine decorated surfaces therefore holds the potential for selective deposition of proteins and cells through masking and other patterning techniques