Remote geochemical experiment package for Discovery class missions

Remote sensing x-ray and gamma-ray spectrometers can be used to infer elemental composition on atmosphereless bodies, such as asteroids, the moon, and Mercury. The composition of the planetary body and variations in its surface chemistry are of fundamental importance in understanding the formation and dynamics of that body. Thus, for Discovery class missions, x-ray fluorescence (XRF), gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS), or a combined Geochemical Experiment Package (GEP) have been proposed. These instruments can meet the mission science objectives, while still meeting the weight, power, and cost constraints. These missions include the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, the Main-belt Asteroid Rendezvous, and others such as HERMES (Mercury Orbiter). This paper presents the results of calculations done to assess the sensitivity of a combined instrument to obtain elemental compositions of planetary bodies with an uncertainty small enough to be scientifically useful

Greater Than the Sum: Systems Thinking in Tobacco control

Tobacco control and public health have evolved into a complex set of interconnected and largely self-organizing systems. Their components include international, national, and local governmental agencies; individual advocacy groups; policy makers; health care professionals; nonprofit foundations; and the general population itself. The issues require the exploration of approaches and methodologies that speak to the evolving, dynamic nature of this systems environment. This monograph focuses on the first two years of the Initiative on the Study and Implementation of Systems (ISIS), which was funded by the National Cancer Institute to examine the potential for systems thinking in tobacco control and public health. ISIS explored the general idea of a systems thinking rubric encompassing a great variety of systems-oriented methodologies and approaches. Four approaches have particular promise for their applicability to tobacco control and public health and thus were chosen as areas for initial investigation: (1) organizing and managing as a system, (2) system dynamics and how to model those dynamics, (3) system networks and their analysis, and (4) systems knowledge and its management and translation. As a transdisciplinary effort that linked both tobacco control stakeholders and systems experts, ISIS combined a number of exploratory projects and case studies within these four approaches with a detailed examination of the potential for systems thinking in tobacco control. Its end product was a set of expert consensus guidelines for the future implementation of systems thinking and systems perspectives for tobacco control and public health.https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb/monographs/18/index.htm

Bulk element compositions of meteorites: A guide for interpreting remote-sensing geochemical measurements of planets and asteroids

We report a large database of bulk meteorite elemental abundances, compiled to aid in the interpretation of elemental abundance data determined by remote-sensing instrumentation on planetary missions. A custom user interface was developed for easy access and manipulation of the abundance data. The database contains almost 3000 individual analyses of more than 1000 individual meteorites. Most major and minor elements are included, as well as small number of trace elements measurable by remote-sensing gamma-ray spectroscopy (notably Th and U). All meteorite classes show variability in bulk compositions between individual analyses. Some of this spread is intrinsic to the parent bodies of the meteorites. However, some variability is undoubtedly due to systematic uncertainties, caused by inter-laboratory bias, misclassification, effect of weathering, and unrepresentative sampling. We use the database here to investigate both how well different meteorite groups can be distinguished on the basis of bulk compositions and how bulk compositions can be related to the cosmochemical and geological processes that produced them. The major elements measurable by X-ray and gamma-ray remote-sensing-oxygen, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, sulfur, calcium and iron-reflect to differing degrees nebular elemental fractionations and parent-body igneous processes and can be used together to distinguish most classes and sub-classes of meteorites. Potassium is potentially useful as a tracer of thermal processes in the early solar system. Thorium and uranium abundances could be used to trace igneous processes on differentiated asteroids

Mercury Orbiter: Report of the Science Working Team

The results are presented of the Mercury Orbiter Science Working Team which held three workshops in 1988 to 1989 under the auspices of the Space Physics and Planetary Exploration Divisions of NASA Headquarters. Spacecraft engineering and mission design studies at the Jet Propulsion Lab were conducted in parallel with this effort and are detailed elsewhere. The findings of the engineering study, summarized herein, indicate that spin stabilized spacecraft carrying comprehensive particles and fields experiments and key planetology instruments in high elliptical orbits can survive and function in Mercury orbit without costly sun shields and active cooling systems

Educational intervention improves fruit and vegetable intake in young adults with metabolic syndrome components

The FRUVEDomics study investigates the effect of a diet intervention focused on increasing fruit and vegetable intake on the gut microbiome and cardiovascular health of young adults with/at risk for metabolic syndrome(MetS). It was hypothesized that the recommended diet would result in metabolic and gut microbiome changes. The 9-week dietary intervention adhered to the US Department of Agriculture Dietary Guidelines for Americansand focused on increasing fruit and vegetable intake to equal half of the diet. Seventeen eligible young adults with/or at high risk of MetS consented and completed preintervention and postintervention measurements, including anthropometric, body composition, cardiovascular, complete blood lipid panel, and collection of stool sample for microbial analysis. Participants attended weekly consultations to assess food logs, food receipts, and adherence to the diet. Following intention-to-treat guidelines, all 17 individuals were included in the dietary, clinical, and anthropometric analysis. Fruit and vegetable intake increased from 1.6 to 3.4 cups of fruits and vegetables (P \u3c .001) daily. Total fiber (P = .02) and insoluble fiber (P \u3c .0001) also increased. Clinical laboratory changes included an increase in sodium (P = .0006) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = .04). In the fecal microbiome, Erysipelotrichaceae (phylum Firmicutes) decreased (log2 fold change: −1.78, P = .01) and Caulobacteraceae (phylum Proteobacteria) increased (log2 fold change = 1.07, P = .01). Implementing a free-living 9-week diet, with intensive education and accountability, gave young adults at high risk for/or diagnosed with MetS the knowledge, skills, and feedback to improve diet. To yield greater impact, a longer diet intervention may be needed in this population

Monetary Cost of the MyPlate Diet in Young Adults: Higher Expenses Associated with Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Background. Cost is a commonly reported barrier to healthy eating. This is a secondary research analysis designed to examine the food expenditures of young adults on a university campus following the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) MyPlate guidelines for fruits and vegetables. Methods. Meal receipts and dietary intake were recorded weekly. Anthropometrics and clinical assessments were recorded before intervention. Researchers rated compliance based on the participant’s dietary food log, receipt matching, food pictures, and reports during weekly 1-hour consultations. Results. Fifty-three young adults (18–30 years old) at-risk of, or diagnosed with, metabolic syndrome (MetS) were enrolled in the study, with 10 excluded (n = 43) from analyses due to enrollment in a fixed cost university campus dining meal plan. A two sample t-test assessed differences in food costs and regression analysis determined associations between food cost and diet compliance while controlling for confounding factors of age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Diet compliant subjects (n = 38) had higher weekly food cost at $95.73 compared to noncompliant subjects (n = 5) who spent$66.24 (). A regression analysis controlling for age, sex, BMI, and geographical region also indicated cost differences based on diet compliance (). Conclusion. Results indicate an ∼$29.00 per week increase in food cost when eating the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables. These findings can contribute to research incentive design, program planning cost, and determining effective interventions to improve diet in this population

Mentholation affects the cigarette microbiota by selecting for bacteria resistant to harsh environmental conditions and selecting against potential bacterial pathogens

There is a paucity of data regarding the microbial constituents of tobacco products and their impacts on public health. Moreover, there has been no comparative characterization performed on the bacterial microbiota associated with the addition of menthol, an additive that has been used by tobacco manufacturers for nearly a century. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted bacterial community profiling on tobacco from user- and custom-mentholated/non-mentholated cigarette pairs, as well as a commercially-mentholated product. Total genomic DNA was extracted using a multi-step enzymatic and mechanical lysis protocol followed by PCR amplification of the V3-V4 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene from five cigarette products (18 cigarettes per product for a total of 90 samples): Camel Crush, user-mentholated Camel Crush, Camel Kings, custom-mentholated Camel Kings, and Newport Menthols. Sequencing was performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform and sequences were processed using the Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) software package. In all products, Pseudomonas was the most abundant genera and included Pseudomonas oryzihabitans and Pseudomonas putida, regardless of mentholation status. However, further comparative analysis of the five products revealed significant differences in the bacterial compositions across products. Bacterial community richness was higher among non-mentholated products compared to those that were mentholated, particularly those that were custom-mentholated. In addition, mentholation appeared to be correlated with a reduction in potential human bacterial pathogens and an increase in bacterial species resistant to harsh environmental conditions. Taken together, these data provide preliminary evidence that the mentholation of commercially available cigarettes can impact the bacterial community of these products.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-017-0235-