FIELD TESTS OF A UAV-COMPATIBLE SPECTROMETER TO EVALUATE ITS SUITABILITY FOR DETAILED SOIL RADON POTENTIAL MAPPING

As part of ongoing research on radionuclide mapping and radon hazard characterization, field tests were performed to evaluate the suitability and limitations of a UAV-compatible gamma spectrometer. To date, this data set includes completed stationary data collection, mobile ground collection, multi-level UAV flights over a known material transition, as well as redundant ground and multi-level UAV data collection over a relatively uniform area. Total counts were used as a measure of soil radionuclide levels for our data collected above background. Although our test sites were in regions underlain by bedrock with high indoor radon levels, uranium counts were barely above background levels. The spectrometer can delineate obvious surface material contrasts (e.g., grass versus asphalt or concrete) analogous to boundaries such as faults juxtaposing different rock units. As the height of the instrument increases above a single surface type, the sensitivity of the spectrometer decreases linearly above the ground while the on-ground footprint increases geometrically. This limits the ability to resolve geologic boundaries. In areas covered by distinctly different surface types, the variation in counts is a function of both altitude and the proportion of each surface type within the footprint of the spectrometer at that location and height. In some cases, height appears to contribute to an increase in counts if the instrument is over a low-count surface material, but the complete spectrometer footprint is dominated by a high-count surface material. Ongoing research will quantify background variability to help identify local variations in a low signal-to-noise (low gamma) environment, including the feasibility of stacking results from multiple single-height flights or profiles to cancel noise and amplify changes across geologic boundaries. Results from multi-level flights will also contribute to our understanding of instrument sensitivity and spatial resolution as functions of flying height

Investigation of Natural Perchlorate Levels in Antarctic Snow in Relation to the Ozone Hole

Snow samples collected from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide in January 2013 were analyzed for perchlorate concentrations to determine a possible seasonal variation. These samples were dated for the years 2007 through 2012 using annual variations in sulfate concentration as determined by an ion chromatography (IC) method. Perchlorate concentrations in the samples were measured with an IC instrument paired with tandem mass spectrometry detection. The concentration data show that perchlorate reached an annual maximum concentration in the austral autumn seasons, assuming that snowfall was relatively constant throughout the course of each year. Comparison with published total column ozone density at the South Pole shows that the perchlorate annual maximum does not occur in the same seasons when ozone is at a minimum level

LASP SmallSat Science Data Services

We are developing of a set of turn-key science data services for smallsat data management, processing, and hosting. Using cloud computing resources and existing infrastructure, we can rapidly deploy a modular data system for a mission or project. A basic system includes reliable, secure data storage, an API for fast data access worldwide, and a lightweight website with information about the mission and data API documentation. Optional add-ons include the ability to deploy science processing software using Docker containers, interactive web-based data displays, and archive deliveries to NASA or other archive facilities. The use of AWS CloudFormation templates to build new systems makes deployment and support straightforward and cost-efficient, and provides a consistent interface for both mission teams and science data users

Electronic bill presentment and payment--is it just a click away?

This article addresses the following questions about electronic presentment and payment (EBPP) in the business-to-consumer marketplace: Why aren't electronically presented bills always paid electronically? And, if EBPP does aid in the migration to fully electronic end-to-end payment, what are the barriers to its adoption.Payment systems ; Electronic funds transfers

Foundations in Wisconsin: A Directory [26th ed. 2007]

The 2007 edition of Foundations in Wisconsin marks the 26th release of the print directory and the 7th year of the online version (www.wifoundations.org). The directory is designed as a research tool for grantseekers interested in locating information on private, corporate, and community foundations registered in Wisconsin. Each entry in this new edition has been updated or reviewed to provide the most current information available. Most of the data was drawn from IRS 990-PF tax returns filed by the foundations. However, additional information was obtained from surveys, foundation Web sites, annual reports, and newsletters. Wisconsin foundations continue to grow in the following key areas: number, grants, and particularly assets. Active grantmaking foundations now number 1,251, with 73 new foundations identified since last year’s publication, resulting in a 25% increase over the past 10 years. Over the past year, total grants increased by 5.8% to a total of almost $479 million, while assets increased by 12.5$6.2 billion.https://epublications.marquette.edu/lib_fiw/1003/thumbnail.jp

Incorporation of metal-chelating unnatural amino acids into halotag for allylic deamination

The potential of artificial metalloenzymes has led to an increase in interest for the design of novel metal-binding sites in proteins. Metal-chelating unnatural amino acids offer an auspicious solution to engineer active metal sites in a defined way. Herein, we describe the introduction of four metal-chelating unnatural amino acids into HaloTag, an attractive scaffold for the assembly of functional artificial metalloenzymes. HaloTag, engineered with 2-amino-3-(8-hydroxyquinolin-5-yl)propanoic acid (HQ-Ala-1) was used to assemble an artificial metalloenzyme for improved allylic deamination upon complementation with [(η5-C5H5)Ru(MeCN)3]+

HaloTag Engineering for Enhanced Fluorogenicity and Kinetics with a Styrylpyridium Dye

HaloTag is a small self-labeling protein that is frequently used for creating fluorescent reporters in living cells. The small-molecule dyes used with HaloTag are almost exclusively based on rhodamine scaffolds, which are often expensive and challenging to synthesize. Herein, we report the engineering of HaloTag for use with a chemically accessible, inexpensive fluorophore based on the dimethylamino-styrylpyridium dye. Through directed evolution, the maximum fluorogenicity and the apparent second-order bioconjugation rate constants could be improved up to 4-fold and 42-fold, respectively. One of the top variants, HT-SP5, enabled reliable imaging in mammalian cells, with a 113-fold fluorescence enhancement over the parent protein. Additionally, crystallographic characterization of selected mutants suggests the chemical origin of the fluorescent enhancement. The improved dye system offers a valuable tool for imaging and illustrates the viability of engineering self-labeling proteins for alternative fluorophores

HaloTag Engineering for Enhanced Fluorogenicity and Kinetics with a Styrylpyridium Dye

HaloTag is a small self-labeling protein that is frequently used for creating fluorescent reporters in living cells. The small-molecule dyes used with HaloTag are almost exclusively based on rhodamine scaffolds, which are often expensive and challenging to synthesize. Herein, we report the engineering of HaloTag for use with a chemically accessible, inexpensive fluorophore based on the dimethylamino-styrylpyridium dye. Through directed evolution, the maximum fluorogenicity and the apparent second-order bioconjugation rate constants could be improved up to 4-fold and 42-fold, respectively. One of the top variants, HT-SP5, enabled reliable imaging in mammalian cells, with a 113-fold fluorescence enhancement over the parent protein. Additionally, crystallographic characterization of selected mutants suggests the chemical origin of the fluorescent enhancement. The improved dye system offers a valuable tool for imaging and illustrates the viability of engineering self-labeling proteins for alternative fluorophores

Characterization of chromoshadow domain-mediated binding of heterochromatin protein 1α (HP1α) to histone H3.

The chromoshadow domain (CSD) of heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) was recently shown to contribute to chromatin binding and transcriptional regulation through interaction with histone H3. Here, we demonstrate the structural basis of this interaction for the CSD of HP1α. This mode of H3 binding is dependent on dimerization of the CSD and recognition of a PxVxL-like motif, as for other CSD partners. NMR chemical shift mapping showed that the H3 residues that mediate the CSD interaction occur in and adjacent to the αN helix just within the nucleosome core. Access to the binding region would require some degree of unwrapping of the DNA near the nucleosomal DNA entry/exit site