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The GLORIA-B (Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere - Balloon) instrument is an adaptation of the very successful GLORIA-AB imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (iFTS) flown on the research aircrafts HALO and M55 Geophysica. The high spectral resolution in the LWIR (Long Wave Infrared) allows for the retrieval of temperature and of a broad range of atmospheric trace gases, with the goal to retrieve O3, H2O, HNO3, C2H6, C2H2, HCOOH, CCl4, PAN, ClONO2, CFC-11, CFC-12, SF6, OCS, NH3, HCN, BrONO2, HO2NO2, N2O5 and NO2. The radiometric sensitivity of the Balloon instrument is further increased in comparison with the GLORIA-AB instrument by having two detector channels on the same focal plane array, while keeping the same concept of a cooled optical system. This system improvement was achieved with minimal adaptation of the existing optical system.The high spatial and temporal resolution of the instrument is ensured by the imaging capability of the Fourier transform spectrometer while stabilizing the line-of-sight in elevation with the instrument and in azimuth with the balloon gondola. In a single measurement lasting 13 seconds, the atmosphere can be sounded from mid-troposphere up to flight altitude, typically 30 km, with a vertical resolution always better than 1 km for most retrieved species; a spatial resolution up to 0.3 km can be achieved in favourable conditions. Temperature retrieval precision between 0.1 and 0.2 K is expected. A spectral sampling up to 0.0625 cm-1 can be achieved.The first flight of GLORIA-B shall take place during the late-summer polar jet turn-around at Kiruna/ESRANGE. This flight is organised in the frame of the HEMERA project and was scheduled for summer 2020, but was ultimately postponed to summer 2021. Beyond qualification of the first balloon-borne iFTS, the scientific goals of the flight are, among others, the quantification of the stratospheric bromine budget and its diurnal evolution by measuring vertical profiles of BrONO2 in combination with BrO observations by the DOAS instrument of University Heidelberg on the same platform.

Observations from aircraft and balloons with remote sensing instruments are an important method to investigate processes within the Earth environment. These applications require powerful computing systems that must be developed or adapted for the measurement task and requirements. In particular, imaging spectrometers generate high data rates by almost 10,000 pixels at about 4,000 frames per second. Accordingly, high performance is needed to provide operational control and data processing with high data bandwidth and the capability to store this data also during long duration flights.A modular processing system architecture based on modified industrial grade board components has been developed to meet these high requirements for processing power and storage capacity. The major advantages of this approach are flexibility, (re)programmability, modularity and module re-use in order to attain lower development time and costs. However, it is a challenge to design this processing system to be suitable for the harsh environments of aircraft or balloon applications in terms of temperature range, humidity and vibration.With an efficient approach ruggedized characteristics are achieved using a conduction cooled design in combination with components based on VPX standard and customized backplane transition modules in order to reduce operational risk with necessary measures of mitigation techniques. This approach results in a processing system that combines hardware and software redundancies to assure system availability and reliability for long duration flights.In this presentation the compact flight proven system design is presented that has been used in recent years for high spectral resolution limb-observations by the GLORIA (Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere) spectrometer aboard the HALO and Geophysica high-altitude aircrafts. Various system configurations and performance results will be shown, which have been achieved in the current design and will be applied in future balloon campaigns.

CubeSats have become very popular science platforms in the past decades, leading to a continuously increasing number of developers in the academic field. For science missions, customized payload electronics have to be developed, depending on measurement tasks and requirements. Especially for the deployment of complex remote sensing payloads, state-of-the-art performance is needed to provide operational control and specific data processing, e.g., for image sensors. Highly integrated system-on-module (SoM) architectures offer low resource requirements regarding power and mass, but moderate to high processing power capabilities. However, a requirement to use a standard SoM in a satellite is to quantify its radiation tolerance. The radiation environment has been modeled, estimating the hazards at module level and reducing the risks to an acceptable level by applying appropriate mitigation techniques. This approach results in a sensor electronics design that combines hardware and software redundancies to assure system availability and reliability for long-life science missions in low earth orbits. Integrated in a miniaturized limb sounding instrument for atmospheric remote sensing imaging, the payload electronics will be deployed on a technology demonstration satellite for in-orbit verification.

Background: The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors have been demonstrated to significantly reduce the risk of recurrent adverse vascular events in high-risk patients w...

Background: The proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors significantly reduce the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events in high risk patients. The most significant bar...

The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA), a Fourier-transform-spectrometer-based limb spectral imager, operates on high-altitude research aircraft to study the transit region between the troposphere and the stratosphere. It is one of the most sophisticated systems to be flown on research aircraft in Europe, requiring constant monitoring and human intervention in addition to an automation system. To ensure proper functionality and interoperability on multiple platforms, a flexible control and communication system was laid out. The architectures of the communication system as well as the protocols used are reviewed. The integration of this architecture in the automation process as well as the scientific campaign flight application context are discussed.

The Gimballed Limb Observer for Radiance Imaging of the Atmosphere (GLORIA) is an imaging limb emission sounder operating in the thermal infrared region. It is designed to provide measurements of the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere with high spatial and high spectral resolution. The instrument consists of an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer integrated into a gimbal. The assembly can be mounted in the belly pod of the German High Altitude and Long Range research aircraft (HALO) and in instrument bays of the Russian M55 Geophysica. Measurements are made in two distinct modes: the chemistry mode emphasises chemical analysis with high spectral resolution, and the dynamics mode focuses on dynamical processes of the atmosphere with very high spatial resolution. In addition, the instrument allows tomographic analyses of air volumes. The first measurement campaigns have shown compliance with key performance and operational requirements.

To determine administrators' views on nutrition education in elementary schools, a questionnaire was mailed to a 39% random sample (426) of superintendents and a 10% random sample (395) of elementary school principals in New York State and northern New Jersey. The questionnaire asked these administrators what they thought about foods and nutrition teaching, how they viewed the teaching that occurs in their schools, and how they have supported that teaching. Overall, 76% of these administrators returned completed questionnaires. Nearly all administrators said that elementary schools should have a role in teaching foods and nutrition to children. Sixty-one percent reported that in their school district there was a policy of teaching it. Teachers, administrators, and school nurses were most influential in determining whether nutrition education was taught and how it was taught. Three-fourths of the administrators expressed an openness to programs developed by specialists outside of their schools. Three-fourths also reported that their teachers wanted to learn more about foods and nutrition teaching, and that most preferred inservice or workshops as a means to do that. Administrators were most active regarding foods and nutrition teaching in discussing materials with teachers or nurses, observing the teaching of it, and in eating with students in school cafeterias.

To determine the status of nutrition education in New York State and northern New Jersey elementary schools and to compare the status of nutrition education in those schools in 1975 and 1981, we mailed a questionnaire to a 2% sample (1,804) of full-time, public school K-6 teachers in New York State and northern New Jersey. Of the 1,217 (67.5%) teachers who returned the questionnaire, 68% reported teaching foods and nutrition during the 1980–81 school year. The teachers in the 1981 sample taught foods and nutrition an average of 11.1 hours compared to 9.7 hours for the 1975 sample. Between 1975 and 1981, the proportion of teachers teaching foods and nutrition did not change but the percentage of teachers reporting participation in an in-service workshop increased dramatically, from 3.3% in 1974–75 to 23% in 1980–81. Results of this study suggest reasons why there have not been dramatic increases in the amount of foods and nutrition education in elementary schools.