Laboratory studies of thermal space weathering on airless bodies

Deriving the surface composition of Mercury from remote sensing hyper spectral data is a challenging task. Mercury’s surface has a low iron abundance, which complicates the application of “traditional” space weathering approach. In addition the high temperatures on Mercury lead to previously unseen changes in the spectral characteristics, which we call “thermal space weathering”. The Planetary Emissivity Laboratory (PEL) at DLR in Berlin was setup specifically to study the effects of high temperatures on the spectral characteristics of planetary analog materials. It allows characterizing “thermal space weathering” and adds temperature as another important factor for the creation of spectral libraries. Thermal space weathering can produce reversible as well as irreversible changes in the spectral characteristics of materials. In comparison to “traditional space weathering” it acts on much shorter timescales. We are going to present a number of examples for thermal space weathering effects in the visible as well as infrared spectral range

The surface of Mercury: interpreting remote sensing images and spectral signatures

Knowing the evolution and composition of the surface of Mercury enables us to discern several processes that operated during the formation of the inner Solar System (e.g. crustal accretion, impact gardening and global cooling of Terrestrial Planets). The elaboration and classification of remote sensing multi-band images allowed the interpretation of the stratigraphy, composition, age and structural evolution of Rembrandt basin and scarp system, i.e. the largest impact basin cross-cutting by contractional structure of the southern hemisphere of Mercury. The interaction of different scale processes has been demonstrated. Since the knowledge of the surface composition of Mercury is based on the interpretation of spectra, Thermal Infra-Red spectra of representative mineral phases have been measured in laboratory at the temperatures of the planetary surface. Significant changes in the high temperature spectra have been detected. Failure to allow for these effects leads to errors in the estimation of chemical compositions by Infra-Red spectr

On the Effect of Emerging Angle on Emissivity Spectra: Application to Small Bodies

We studied the influence of emerging angle on emissivity spectra measured in air and in vacuum, with particular attention to asteroids-like conditions

Validity and reproducibility study of the Manchester foot pain associated disability index in older people

Objetivo: Traduzir, adaptar e estudar as propriedades das medidas - consistência interna, reprodutibilidade e validade do “Índice Manchester de Incapacidade Associada ao Pé Doloroso” (MFPDI) para a língua portuguesa.Métodos: O MFPDI foi traduzido e adaptado culturalmente para a população brasileira de acordo com a metodologia internacional aceita. Para avaliação da reprodutibilidade, os pacientes foram entrevistados duas vezes, na primeira avaliação (entrevistadores 1 e 2) e novamente dentro de um período de 15 dias entrevistador 1). Foram colhidas medidas sócio-demográficas e morfológicas, foi aplicado o MFPDI e a escala analógica visual (EVA) em 50 pacientes com dor no pé e posteriormente acrescidos mais 35 pacientes para a realização da análise do componente principal. Resultados: Usando o MFPDI foi possível observar que a população ambulatorial entrevistada apresentou incapacidade, pois a maioria dos pacientes respondeu “sim, na maioria dos dias/ todos os dias”, mas ainda eram independentes. A consistência interna foi alta (Alfa de Cronbach = 0,80). A análise dos componentes principais revelou uma estrutura de cinco componentes que foram divididos: o componente de incapacidade foi representado entre o primeiro (itens 1-3,5,7-9 Alfa de Cronbach = 0,76) e o terceiro componente (itens 3, 4 e 6; Alfa de Cronbach = 0,609), o componente de dor foi representado pelo segundo (itens 14, 15 e 17; Alfa de Cronbach = 0,643) e o quinto componente (itens 10 e 16; α = 0,587) e o relacionado a preocupação sendo o quarto componente (itens 11-13; Alfa de Cronbach = 0,581). Conclusão: Os resultados são indicativos de que MFPDI traduzido, adaptado e validado para a língua portuguesa pode ser aplicado na população idosa com dor no pé incapacitante.Objective: To study the properties of parameters concerning internal consistency, reproducibility and validity of the "Manchester Foot-Pain Disability Index" (MFPDI), as well as to adapt and translate them into the portuguese language. Methods: The questionnaire was translated into Portuguese, translated back into English, and cross-culturally adapted to the Brazilian environment according internationally recommended methods. To evaluate reliability, patients were interviewed twice at baseline (interviewers 1 and 2) and within a period of 15 days (interviewer 1). Sócio-demographic and morphologic measures were colllected, the MFPDI was applied, as well as the visual analogic scale (VAS), to fifty patients suffering from foot pain, for a reproducibility and validity study. Later, data from another 35 patients were added for analysis of the main components. Results: The use of MFPDI made it possible to notice that the interviewed day-clinic population suffered from some disability, as most of the patients answered "yes, on most of the days/ every day", though they were still independent. The internal consistency was high (Cronbach alpha = 0.80). Analysis of the main components revealed a structure by five components, divided: the disability component was represented between the first (items 1- 3,5,7-9, Cronbach Alpha = 0.76) and the third component (items 3, 4 and 6, Cronbach Alpha = 0.609); the pain component, was represented by the second (items 14, 15, and 17, Cronbach Alpha = 0.643) and the fifth component (items 10 and 16, Cronbach Alpha = 0.587); and the component concerning worry represented by the fourth (items 11-13, Cronbach Alpha = 0.581). Conclusion: The results indicate that the MFPDI, adapted, validated and translated into the Portuguese language can be applied to the aged population suffering from disabling foot pain.BV UNIFESP: Teses e dissertaçõe

Transmittance, Reflectance and Emission Spectroscopy of Meteorites from the IV to the IR Spectral Range

In the last decade the Planetary Emissivity Laboratory (PEL) of DLR in Berlin has provided spec-tral measurements of planetary analogues from the visible to the far-infrared range for comparison with remote sens-ing spacecraft/telescopic measurements of planetary surfaces [1-5]. Bi-directional reflection, transmission and emis-sion spectroscopy are the techniques we used to acquire spectral data of target materials. In fall 2015 we started upgrading our laboratory set-up, adding a new spectrometer, three external sources, and new detectors and beamsplitters to further extend the spectral range of measurements that can be performed in the laboratory. Reflecting the wider scope of measurement capabilities the facility was renamed to Planetary Spectros-copy Laboratory (PSL). Two FTIR instruments are operating at PSL, in an air-conditioned room. The spectrometers are two Bruker Ver-tex 80V that can be evacuated to ~.1 mbar. One spectrometer is equipped with aluminum mirrors optimized for the UV, visible and near-IR, the second features gold-coated mirrors for the near to far IR spectral range. Apart from the mirrors the two instruments are identical, and can therefore share the collection of detectors and beamsplitters we have in our equipment to cover a very wide spectral range. The instruments and the accessory units used are fully automatized and the data calibration and reduction are made with software developed at DLR[4]. By using several pairings of detector+beamsplitter we can perform spectral measurements in the whole spectral range from 0.2 to 200 μm

Studying Io's Volcanic History Using Thermal Infrared Measurements

A new thermal infrared instrumentation to observe Io combined with the unique capabilities of PEL will provide new insights into the evolution of Io

Isolation and Cryopreservation of Animal Mesenchymal Stromal Cells

Scientific progress in cellular and molecular biotechnology has led to the development of advanced therapies, such as gene therapy, cell therapy, and tissue engineering. The application of stem cells as therapeutic agents has been investigated for several years in human medicine and, more recently, the same approach has been considered in the veterinary field as a novel opportunity for the treatment of animal diseases. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-based therapies seem to contribute to the healing process by several mechanisms due to their peculiar biological features. It has been shown that MSCs could effectively differentiate into the required cell type to replace the damaged tissue. Furthermore, due to their autocrine and paracrine secretory activities, these cells are a powerful source of trophic mediators, growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular matrix components. The clinical application of MSCs needs great amounts of cells designed for in vivo implantation that can be obtained following their in vitro isolation, serial subcultivations, cryopreservation, and thawing. These procedures could determine their feature changes which could interfere with the therapeutic outcome. For these reasons, to preserve MSCs after in vitro manipulation for future applications, standardized quality controls and a reliable long-term cryopreservation method are required

Action semantics at the bottom of the brain: Insights from dysplastic cerebellar gangliocytoma

Recent embodied cognition research shows that access to action verbs in shallow-processing tasks becomes selectively compromised upon atrophy of the cerebellum, a critical motor region. Here we assessed whether cerebellar damage also disturbs explicit semantic processing of action pictures and its integration with ongoing motor responses. We evaluated a cognitively preserved 33-year-old man with severe dysplastic cerebellar gangliocytoma (Lhermitte-Duclos disease), encompassing most of the right cerebellum and the posterior part of the left cerebellum. The patient and eight healthy controls completed two semantic association tasks (involving pictures of objects and actions, respectively) that required motor responses. Accuracy results via Crawford's modified t-tests revealed that the patient was selectively impaired in action association. Moreover, reaction-time analysis through Crawford's Revised Standardized Difference Test showed that, while processing of action concepts involved slower manual responses in controls, no such effect was observed in the patient, suggesting that motor-semantic integration dynamics may be compromised following cerebellar damage. Notably, a Bayesian Test for a Deficit allowing for Covariates revealed that these patterns remained after covarying for executive performance, indicating that they were not secondary to extra-linguistic impairments. Taken together, our results extend incipient findings on the embodied functions of the cerebellum, offering unprecedented evidence of its crucial role in processing non-verbal action meanings and integrating them with concomitant movements. These findings illuminate the relatively unexplored semantic functions of this region while calling for extensions of motor cognition models.Fil: Cervetto Manciameli, Sabrina Fabiana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad de la República; UruguayFil: Abrevaya, Sofia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Martorell Caro, Miguel Angel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Kozono, Giselle. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Muñoz, Edinson. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Ferrari, Jesica. Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Sedeño, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Ibáñez Barassi, Agustín Mariano. Australian Research Council; Australia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe; Colombia. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; ChileFil: García, Adolfo Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; Argentin

A Study of Thermal Expansion on the Predicted Mercury Surface Minerals: Preparing for MERTIS on BepiColombo

The MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission unveiled that most of the detectable surface of Mercury is constituted by low-Fe and Mg-rich basalts [1,2], dismissing the previously assumed widespread presence of more felsic materials - as on the Moon’s surface. In this background, the BepiColombo mission will be fundamental to reveal the residual igneous crust of the Mercury surface, in order to assess its petrogenesis. The Mercury Radiometer and Thermal Infrared Spec¬trometer (MERTIS) on BepiColombo will be able to provide thermal infrared (TIR) emissivity spectra from 7 to 14 μm. This wavelength range is very useful to identify the structural properties of several silicates, and the position of the emissivity bands provides hints on the solid solutions. In addition to space-weathering degradation and impact-induced structural modifications, the thermal expansion driven by the daily tem¬perature variation of the surface of Mercury significantly affects the crystal structure and density of the present minerals and, consequently, their thermal infrared spectral signature. This behaviour has been recently demonstrated for several common terrestrial mineralogical phases [3,4,5], and could be even predicted for other silicates. A more difficult interpretation of the spectra arises, of course, from the simultaneous presence of different minerals, each one with its characteristic thermal expansion coefficient. In addition to the temperature-dependent spectral variations of single constituents (e.g. plagioclases, olivine, pyroxenes), the DLR Planetary Emissivity Laboratory (PEL) is measuring emissivity spectra of linear mixtures that most likely could be present on the surface of Mercury. To this aim, spectra of binary compositions (e.g., anorthosite, gabbro) and their single-phase components are measured along the MERTIS wavelength range in vacuum from low to high-temperatures - up to 450°C