Optical properties monitor: Experiment definition phase

The stability of materials used in the space environment will continue to be a limiting technology for space missions. The Optical Properties Monitor (OPM) Experiment provides a comprehensive space research program to study the effects of the space environment-both natural and induced-on optical, thermal and space power materials. The OPM Experiment was selected for definition under the NASA/OAST In-Space Technology Experiment Program. The results of the OPM Definition Phase are presented. The OPM Experiment will expose selected materials to the space environment and measure the effects with in-space optical measurements. In-space measurements include total hemispherical reflectance total integrated scatter and VUV reflectance/transmittance. The in-space measurements will be augmented with extensive pre- and post-flight sample measurements to determine other optical, mechanical, electrical, chemical or surface effects of space exposure. Environmental monitors will provide the amount and time history of the sample exposure to solar irradiation, atomic oxygen and molecular contamination

Studies of BONuS12 Radial GEM Detector and TCS Beam Spin Asymmetry in CLAS12

The Barely Offshell Nucleon Structure (BONuS12) experiment adopted the concept of spectator tagging technique to study the nearly-free neutron structure function F2n in the CLAS12 of Jefferson Lab. A novel Radial Time Projection Chamber (RTPC) detector was built, tested and integrated into the CLAS12 system to detect a back-moving low momentum tagged proton in d(e, ep)X deep-inelastic scattering. It was a 40 cm long gaseous detector consisting of 3 layers of cylindrical GEM foils for the charge amplification, with the data readout directly from the surrounding padboard. The RTPC detected the recoiling spectator proton, in coincidence with the scattered electron in the CLAS12. Nucleon structure functions are directly related to the partonic functions, quarks momentum distribution in one dimension. A Generalized Parton Distribution (GPD) came to the lime-light as it encodes the information of both longitudinal momentum and transverse position of partons inside the nucleons. Factorization of hard process such as DVCS allows to access GPDs. Timelike Compton Scattering (TCS), γp → γ∗p, is another process that allows to access the GPDs. TCS is studied experimentally in the CLAS12 of Jefferson lab using the quasi-real photoproduction of time-like photon which eventually decays to lepton pair. This dissertation presents the concept of spectator tagging in BONuS12, and the research and development efforts during the BONuS12 preparation leading up to the successful data-taking during spring and summer 2020. In addition, analysis framework to extract the beam spin asymmetry of TCS events through the CLAS12 Run group A data is presented

Production of a SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Vaccine Using the Baculovirus Expression Vector System

Various COVID-19 vaccines are currently in development, as the COVID-19 pandemic has created an unmet need for protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus. While there are many different types of vaccines, we focused on developing one that would be safe, affordable, and quickly available for emergency use. A vaccine synthesized using recombinant proteins utilizes a reliable and well-studied technological platform, avoids the safety risks inherent to viral vectors, and provides a cost-effective, scalable method of production of antigen used to induce an immune response. Other vaccines on the market notably include Pfizer’s and Moderna’s mRNA based vaccines. Although these are widely used, there is still a large demand for an inexpensive yet safe and effective vaccine. Herein, we propose the production of 500 million doses of a recombinant spike protein-based COVID-19 vaccine in a quick time frame and cost-effective manner, using the baculovirus expression vector system (BEVS). Our upstream process involves a three-stage cellular scale-up from shake flasks to WAVE bioreactors to perfusion to production bioreactors, as well as an additional two-stage viral amplification from flasks to WAVE bioreactors. Our downstream process involves a six-stage protein recovery with depth filtration, his-tag chromatography, viral inactivation, ion-exchange chromatography, viral filtration, and diafiltration. We will be partnering with a contract manufacturing organization (CMO) for this project, as we do not have the time to quickly build a plant to get these vaccines out for emergency use. This arrangement makes this process highly profitable. Selling each dose for $16 yields net earnings near$2 billion and an extremely high IRR due to the lack of permanent and fixed costs other than our rental fee. The IRR for the CMO is estimated to be at least 16% with the NPV of the plant at $855,000 and an ROI of 18%

Topical Workshop on Electronics for Particle Physics

The purpose of the workshop was to present results and original concepts for electronics research and development relevant to particle physics experiments as well as accelerator and beam instrumentation at future facilities; to review the status of electronics for the LHC experiments; to identify and encourage common efforts for the development of electronics; and to promote information exchange and collaboration in the relevant engineering and physics communities

Wideband digital instrumentation for the Italian radio telescopes

Italy has a key role in the radio astronomical international context thanks to large collaborations like the VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) in which all three radio telescopes (Sardinia,Medicina, Noto) are deeply involved. However, also the single dish activity represents a great opportunity to understand the fundamental laws of nature in the Universe. Usually, in the past, ad-hoc digital backends were developed for each particular scientific goal; however, although highly optimised, they very often do not keep upwith the times. In addition to the absent versatility even if based on reconfigurable FPGA-based hardware, the major issue why digital backends are often obsolete - even before they can be fully exploited - is the very long time necessary to make them integrated into the software controlling the radio telescope. In this thesis, a different approach - both regarding hardware and software - has been developed to overcome aforementioned drawbacks and is described here. The unprecedented achieved scientific results are presented in different fields (imaging, polarimetry, spectroscopy, pulsars), and confirm the forcefulness of the adopted solution. The versatility of the proposed infrastructure also allows us the development of innovative spectrometers, which are able to meet the main requirements astronomers asking us: wide-bandwidth, high-spectral resolution and an uniform passband response (namely, no spectral “holes”). Finally, we describe an innovative infrastructure for the SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence) international program. In particular, the KLT (Kahrunen-Loeve Transform) has been investigated togetherwith the FFT approach usually adopted

High-Quality Photon Pair Generation in Silicon Photonic Microring and Its Applications

Compact, efficient, high-quality and scalable non-classical photon sources are one of the most critical building blocks for quantum information processing and communications. Photon pair generation via spontaneous four wave mixing is being recognized as an attractive platform for quantum optics which is compatible with the rapidly-maturing classical integrated photonics technology using silicon wafers, which is adopted in industry for its low cost, high performance and scalability. Traditionally, the photon pairs generated from silicon photonic devices, however, have not compared favorably with traditional nonlinear crystals in terms of overall rate, quality and efficiency. This dissertation discusses the factors that affect the quality and efficiency of photon pair generation in silicon integrated photonic microrings, together with their design and characterization. Furthermore, we show how the microrings can be integrated with other photonic devices on the silicon-on-insulator platform, and using proof-of-concept experiments, discuss the feasibility of using these photon-pair sources with technology that is already present in, or will soon be present in, practical fiber-optic networks, such as integrated lasers and modulated classical data streams

Fibre optic hydrogen sensing for long term use in explosive environments

Hydrogen is an explosive and flammable gas with a lower explosive limit of just 4% volume in air. It is important to monitor the concentration of hydrogen in a potentially hazardous environment where hydrogen may be released as a by-product in a reaction or used as a principal gas/liquid. A fibre optic based hydrogen sensor offers an intrinsically safe method of monitoring hydrogen concentration. Previous research studies have demonstrated a variety of fibre optic based techniques for hydrogen detection. However the long-term stability of the hydrogen sensor and interrogation system has not yet been assessed and is the focus of this study. In the case of sensor heads being permanently installed in-situ, they cannot be removed for regular replacement, making long-term stability and reliability of results an important feature of the hydrogen sensor. This thesis describes the investigation and characterisation of palladium coated fibre optic sensor heads using two designs of self-referenced refractometer systems with the aim of finding a system that is stable in the long term (~6 months). Palladium was the chosen sensing material owing to its selective affinity for absorbing hydrogen. Upon hydrogen absorption, palladium forms a palladium- hydride compound that has a lower refractive index and lower reflectivity than pure palladium. The refractometers measured the changes in the reflectivity to enable calculation of the concentration of hydrogen present. A low detection limit of 10ppm H2 in air was demonstrated, with a response time of 40s for 1000ppm H2 in air. A further aspect to sensor stability was investigated in the form of sensor heads that had a larger area for palladium coverage. Hydrogen induced cracking in palladium is a common failure mechanism. A hypothesis is presented that a larger sensor area can reduce the probability of catastrophic failure resulting from cracks, which may improve the predictability of the sensor’s performance. Two sensor head designs have been proposed – fibre with a ball lens at the tip and fibre with a GRIN lens at the tip, both of which potentially offer a larger area than the core of a singlemode optical fibre. The limit of detection and response times of the sensor heads were characterised in hydrogen. For long term stability assessment of the sensor head and the interrogation unit, the system was left running for a period of 1 to 4 weeks and the noise and drift in the system was quantified using an Allan deviation plot

Monoclonal Antibody Production and Purification

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy is a form of immunotherapy that uses mAbs to bind mono-specifically to certain cells or proteins. This may then stimulate the patient\u27s immune system to attack those cells. MAbs are currently used to treat medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis, psoriasis, and Crohn’s Disease, but have the potential to treat countless diseases and disorders. In 2015, the mAb market was valued at $85.4 billion, and is expected to reach$138.6 billion by 2024.1 In manufacturing, mAbs are typically produced in suspension in a series of fed-batch bioreactors using genetically engineered cells originally obtained from Chinese Hamster Ovaries (CHO).2 In this proposal, two upstream bioreactor designs were analyzed for economic comparison given an annual production goal of 100 kg of mAb, with the first design culminating in a 20,000 L volume at low mAb titer and the second design culminating with a 2,000 L volume at high mAb titer. Following upstream mAb production, the protein was purified to meet clinical FDA standards using a series of downstream purification techniques, including centrifugation, filtration, and chromatography. The two designs can be modeled for both an on-patent and off-patent mAb in order to ensure long-term economic viability. In this project, the drug was modeled based on Ocrevus (ocrelizumab), a humanized therapeutic mAb brought to market in 2017 that targets a CD20-positive B cell to treat the symptoms of both primary progressive and relapsing Multiple Sclerosis.3 For an off-patent drug, it is recommended that the mAb be priced at $35,000 per 1200 mg annual treatment in order to earn a 15$65,000 per 1200 mg treatment should be used to recover the R&D costs of developing a new drug and sunk cost of past unsuccessful drugs. After analyzing both designs, it was concluded that the second, smaller design scheme is more scalable, less risky, and more cost effective for the production of both the on- and off-patent drugs