The NASA Orbital Debris Engineering Model 3.1: Development, Verification, and Validation

The NASA Orbital Debris Program Office has developed the Orbital Debris Engineering Model (ORDEM) primarily as a tool for spacecraft designers and other users to understand the long-term risk of collisions with orbital debris. The newest version, ORDEM 3.1, incorporates the latest and highest fidelity datasets available to build and validate representative orbital debris populations encompassing low Earth orbit (LEO) to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) altitudes for the years 2016-2050. ORDEM 3.1 models fluxes for object sizes > 10 m within or transiting LEO and > 10 cm in GEO. The deterministic portion of the populations in ORDEM 3.1 is based on the U.S. Space Surveillance Network (SSN) catalog, which provides coverage down to approximately 10 cm in LEO and 1 m in GEO. Observational datasets from radar, in situ, and optical sources provide a foundation from which the model populations are statistically extrapolated to smaller sizes and orbit regions that are not well-covered by the SSN catalog, yet may pose the greatest threat to operational spacecraft. Objects in LEO ranging from approximately 5 mm to 10 cm are modeled using observational data from ground-based radar, namely the Haystack Ultrawideband Satellite Imaging Radar (HUSIR formerly known as Haystack). The LEO population smaller than approximately 3 mm in size is characterized based on a reanalysis of in situ data from impacts to the windows and radiators of the U.S. Space Transportation System orbiter vehicle, i.e., the Space Shuttle. Data from impacts on the Hubble Space Telescope are also used to validate the sub-millimeter model populations in LEO. Debris in GEO with sizes ranging from 10 cm to 1 m is modeled using optical measurement data from the Michigan Orbital DEbris Survey Telescope (MODEST). Specific, major debris-producing events, including the Fengyun-1C, Iridium 33, and Cosmos 2251 debris clouds, and unique populations, such as sodium-potassium droplets, have been re-examined and are modeled and added to the ORDEM environment separately. The debris environment greater than 1 mm is forecast using NASAs LEO-to- GEO ENvironment Debris model (LEGEND). Future explosions of intact objects and collisions involving objects greater than 10 cm are assessed statistically, and the NASA Standard Satellite Breakup Model is used to generate fragments from these events. Fragments smaller than 10 cm are further differentiated based on material density categories, i.e., high-, medium-, and low-density, to better characterize the potential debris risk posed to spacecraft. The future projection of the sub-millimeter environment is computed using a special small-particle degradation model where small particles are created from intact spacecraft and rocket bodies. This work discusses the development, features, and capabilities of the ORDEM 3.1 model; the ne new data analyses used to build the model populations; and sample verification and validation results

Recycling of rayon industry effluent for the recovery and separation of Zn/Ca using Thiophosphinic extractant

In textile industries, waste effluent containing zinc is generated during the manufacture of rayon yam :trom the wood pulp or cotton linters. Due to the strict environmental regulations and the presence of toxic metallic and other constituents, the discharge of industrial effluents in the sewage or disposal of solid sludge as landfill is restricted. Before recycling of zinc as zinc sulphate solution to the spinning-bath of the rayon manufacturing plant the zinc sulphate solution must be free from calcium, which is deleterious to the process as gypsum precipitates with the increase in concentration and forms scale in the bath. In the present work an attempt has been made to develop a process following solvent extraction technique using thiophosphinic extractants, Cyanex 272 and 302 modified with isodecanol and diluted in kerosene to recover zinc from rayon effluent. Various process parameters viz. extraction of zinc from different concentration of solution, distribution ratio, selective extraction, 0/ A ratio on extraction and stripping from the loaded organic, complex formation in the organic phase etc. have been studied to see the feasibility of the process. The extractant Cyanex 302 has be~n found selective for the recovery of 99.99% of zinc from the effluent above equilibrium pH 3.4 maintaining the O/A ratio of 1/30 leaving all the calcium in the raffina1e. It selectively extracted zinc in the form of complex [RzZn.3RH]org and retained all the calcium in the aqueous raffinate. The zinc from the loaded Cyanex 302 can be stripped with 10% sulphuric acid at even 0/ A ratio of 10 without affecting the stripping efficiency. The stripped solution thus obtained could be recycled in the spinning bath of the rayon plant. The raffinate obtained after the recovery of zinc could be disposed safely without affecting environment

Response vs. Perception

Three experiments were conducted in which college students read, and then attempted to match, a series of written descriptive passages with the referent photographs on which they were based; the photographs sho wed the face of an actor, representing a variety of emotional expressions. In Experiment I, subjects provided with a series of context passages depicting a narrow range of emotions (neither pleasant nor unpleasant) chose “matches” having more extreme pleasantness values than did subjects provided with context passages depicting a wide range of descriptions on the pleasantness dimension when responding to test descriptions embedded within the context series. In Experiments II and III, contrast effects were obtained; subjects who had read mostly unpleasant context passages chose more pleasant referents in response to neutral test descriptions than did those who had read mostly pleasant descriptions. The results of all three experiments suggested that these effects were mediated in large part by a response bias, the tendency to use each response alternative with roughly equal frequency. In Experiments II and III, there was suggestive evidence for the possibility that a more central (or perceptual) mechanism may also have contributed to the observed results.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45367/1/11031_2004_Article_BF00992590.pd

The relationship of employment to self-perception and well-being in women: A cognitive analysis

We investigated the relationship of employment to self-perception and well-being in women who held two different cognitive orientations toward paid work (career oriented and not career oriented) and who also varied in the degree to which their current employment status realized their view of paid work. The data were taken from a 1977 survey of a large sample of women and included responses to questions about self-esteem, life satisfaction, and self-perception. The results indicated that career-oriented women who were employed full time were happier with themselves and their lives than those employed part time or not employed. In contrast, for women who were not career oriented, being employed was not associated with greater self-esteem or well-being. In addition, career-oriented women who were employed were the most likely to emphasize job-related characteristics in their self-descriptions. These findings suggest that the psychological benefits of employment that have been identified repeatedly in previous research are likely to be accrued only by women who regard paid work as a meaningful self-fulfilling activity.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45581/1/11199_2004_Article_BF00288148.pd

Immature B cells preferentially switch to IgE with increased direct Sμ to Sε recombination

Immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) class-switch recombination (CSR) replaces initially expressed Cμ (IgM) constant regions (C(H)) exons with downstream C(H) exons. Stimulation of B cells with anti-CD40 plus interleukin-4 induces CSR from Cμ to Cγ1 (IgG1) and Cε (IgE), the latter of which contributes to the pathogenesis of atopic diseases. Although Cε CSR can occur directly from Cμ, most mature peripheral B cells undergo CSR to Cε indirectly, namely from Cμ to Cγ1, and subsequently to Cε. Physiological mechanisms that influence CSR to Cγ1 versus Cε are incompletely understood. In this study, we report a role for B cell developmental maturity in IgE CSR. Based in part on a novel flow cytometric IgE CSR assay, we show that immature B cells preferentially switch to IgE versus IgG1 through a mechanism involving increased direct CSR from Cμ to Cε. Our findings suggest that IgE dysregulation in certain immunodeficiencies may be related to impaired B cell maturation

Ontogeny of serotonin and serotonin2A receptors in rat auditory cortex

Maturation of the mammalian cerebral cortex is, in part, dependent upon multiple coordinated afferent neurotransmitter systems and receptor-mediated cellular linkages during early postnatal development. Given that serotonin (5-HT) is one such system, the present study was designed to specifically evaluate 5-HT tissue content as well as 5-HT2A receptor protein levels within the developing auditory cortex (AC). Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), 5-HT and the metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), was measured in isolated AC, which demonstrated a developmental dynamic, reaching young adult levels early during the second week of postnatal development. Radioligand binding of 5-HT2A receptors with the 5-HT2A/2C receptor agonist, 125I-DOI ((+/−)-1-(2,5- dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane HCl; in the presence of SB206553, a selective 5-HT2C receptor antagonist, also demonstrated a developmental trend, whereby receptor protein levels reached young adult levels at the end of the first postnatal week (P8), significantly increased at P10 and at P17, and decreased back to levels not significantly different from P8 thereafter. Immunocytochemical labeling of 5-HT2A receptors and confocal microscopy revealed that 5-HT2A receptors are largely localized on layer II/III pyramidal cell bodies and apical dendrites within AC. When considered together, the results of the present study suggest that 5-HT, likely through 5-HT2A receptors, may play an important role in early postnatal AC development

Analysis of Mice Lacking DNaseI Hypersensitive Sites at the 5′ End of the IgH Locus

The 5′ end of the IgH locus contains a cluster of DNaseI hypersensitive sites, one of which (HS1) was shown to be pro-B cell specific and to contain binding sites for the transcription factors PU.1, E2A, and Pax5. These data as well as the location of the hypersensitive sites at the 5′ border of the IgH locus suggested a possible regulatory function for these elements with respect to the IgH locus. To test this notion, we generated mice carrying targeted deletions of either the pro-B cell specific site HS1 or the whole cluster of DNaseI hypersensitive sites. Lymphocytes carrying these deletions appear to undergo normal development, and mutant B cells do not exhibit any obvious defects in V(D)J recombination, allelic exclusion, or class switch recombination. We conclude that deletion of these DNaseI hypersensitive sites does not have an obvious impact on the IgH locus or B cell development

A Novel Modular Antigen Delivery System for Immuno Targeting of Human 6-sulfo LacNAc-Positive Blood Dendritic Cells (SlanDCs)

Previously, we identified a major myeloid-derived proinflammatory subpopulation of human blood dendritic cells which we termed slanDCs (e.g. Schäkel et al. (2006) Immunity 24, 767-777). The slan epitope is an O-linked sugar modification (6-sulfo LacNAc, slan) of P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1). As slanDCs can induce neoantigen-specific CD4+ T cells and tumor-reactive CD8+ cytotoxic T cells, they appear as promising targets for an in vivo delivery of antigens for vaccination. However, tools for delivery of antigens to slanDCs were not available until now. Moreover, it is unknown whether or not antigens delivered via the slan epitope can be taken up, properly processed and presented by slanDCs to T cells.Single chain fragment variables were prepared from presently available decavalent monoclonal anti-slan IgM antibodies but failed to bind to slanDCs. Therefore, a novel multivalent anti-slanDC scaffold was developed which consists of two components: (i) a single chain bispecific recombinant diabody (scBsDb) that is directed on the one hand to the slan epitope and on the other hand to a novel peptide epitope tag, and (ii) modular (antigen-containing) linker peptides that are flanked at both their termini with at least one peptide epitope tag. Delivery of a Tetanus Toxin-derived antigen to slanDCs via such a scBsDb/antigen scaffold allowed us to recall autologous Tetanus-specific memory T cells.In summary our data show that (i) the slan epitope can be used for delivery of antigens to this class of human-specific DCs, and (ii) antigens bound to the slan epitope can be taken up by slanDCs, processed and presented to T cells. Consequently, our novel modular scaffold system may be useful for the development of human vaccines

Natural Killer Cells from Patients with Recombinase-Activating Gene and Non-Homologous End Joining Gene Defects Comprise a Higher Frequency of CD56bright NKG2A+++ Cells, and Yet Display Increased Degranulation and Higher Perforin Content.

Mutations of the recombinase Activating Genes 1 and 2 (RAG1, RAG2) in humans are associated with a broad range of phenotypes. For patients with severe clinical presentation, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) represents the only curative treatment, however high rates of graft failure and incomplete immune reconstitution have been observed, especially after unconditioned haploidentical transplantation. Studies in mice have shown that Rag-/- NK cells have a mature phenotype, reduced fitness and increased cytotoxicity. We aimed to analyze NK cell phenotype and function in patients with mutations in RAG and in non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) genes. Here we provide evidence that NK cells from these patients have an immature phenotype, with significant expansion of CD56bright CD16-/int CD57- cells, yet increased degranulation and high perforin content. Correlation was observed between in vitro recombinase activity of the mutant proteins, NK cell abnormalities, and in vivo clinical phenotype. Addition of serotherapy in the conditioning regimen, with the aim of depleting the autologous NK cell compartment, may be important to facilitate engraftment and immune reconstitution in patients with RAG and NHEJ defects treated by HSCT