Heater-Free, Lowest Power Consumption & Highest Volume Availability Gas-Generator Propulsion System - Most Suitable for Micro to Nano Satellites

Patchedconics, LLC. of Japan successfully delivered a gas generator propulsion system to a Japanese venture satellite company, ALE, in 2019, and now presents the new product featuring Heater-free, Lowest Power Consumption & Highest Volume Availability Gas-Generator Propulsion System. It is the most suitable solution for Micro to Nano Satellites with significant cost reduction. To create such propulsion units, which fit especially for micro to nano satellites, key intellectual assests were developed. This system continuously vaporizes a liquidized gas in space. Vaporizing systems are not new technology. However, Patchedconics way is different, and allows gas generation without heater, through its proprietary isenthalpic pressure reducer. The system also utilizes energy harvesting technique, which takes advantage of the heat from the spacecraft structure. Those technologies enable the propulsion system to get rid of high power consumption. The only remaining power consuming components being the electromagnetic valves and PCBs. Another feature of the new system is in terms of the volume efficiency with no dead volume. Most of the system is built buried in the propellant storage. This is also one of the intellectual properties that Patchedconics possesses and enables constructing surprisingly concise, high density system with lowered cost. Patchedconics also presents now its orbit control strategy, developed for maximizing lifetime of satellites on Low Earth Orbit, based on data from an operational satellite

The Marco Polo mission: a sample return from a low-albedo Near Earth Object in the ESA Cosmic Vision Program 2015-2025

Marco Polo is a sample return mission to a Near-Earth Object (NEO) which was originally proposed as a joint European-Japanese mission for the scientific program Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 of the European Space Agency (ESA) in June 2007 and selected for an assessment study until fall 2009. The main goal of this mission is to return a sample from a dark taxonomic type (low albedo) NEO for detailed laboratory analysis in order to answer questions related to planetary formation, evolution and the origin of Life. In addition, it will provide detailed information on the physical and chemical properties of a body belonging to the population of potential Earth impactors, and therefore it is also directly relevant to the problems of risk assessment and mitigation. We review basic information on NEOs, potential targets for a sample return mission and the Marco Polo mission, with emphasis on their relevance to impact risk assessment and mitigation. More details on the Marco Polo mission and scientific objectives can be found in [1]

Marco Polo - a mission to return a sample from a Near-Earth Object - science requirements and operational scenarios

Marco Polo is a mission to return a sample from a Near-Earth Object of primitive type (class C or D). It is foreseen as a collaborative effort between the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). Marco Polo is currently in a Phase-A study. This paper focuses on the scientific requirements provided to the industrial study consortia in Europe as well as the possible mission scenario at the target object in order to achieve the overall mission science objectives. The main scientific reasons for going to a Near-Earth Object are to understand the initial conditions and evolution history of the solar nebula, to understand how major events (e.g. agglomeration, heating) influence the history of planetesimals, whether primitive class objects contain presolar material, what the organics were in primitive materials, how organics could shed light on the origin of molecules necessary for life, and what the role of impacts by NEOs would be in the origin and evolution of life on Earth

Pain Evaluation During Colonoscopy by the Erythema Index of the Facial Image

[Background] Endoscopy of the digestive tract is useful but is associated with significant pain to the patient. Its safety and tolerability could be improved by an immediate and objective method to evaluate the pain level and give feedback to the examiner. However, under the current circumstances, it is difficult to measure and assess the pain level objectively.[Methods] We previously developed a discomfort assessment device that measures the changes in brain activity caused by changes in the pain level by extracting the changes in the erythema index from facial color data. In this study, to evaluate the usefulness of this discomfort assessment device, the association between the changes in the erythema index of facial images during colonoscopy and the subjective pain level during the examination were evaluated. For the recording of the subjective pain level during the examination, a subjective pain level recording device that we developed to measure grip strength over time was used. The subjective pain level, facial image, and percutaneous venous oxygen saturation during the examination were recorded in 30 patients who underwent colonoscopy at our hospital. [Results] The duration of colonoscopy was divided into the insertion section and the removal section. The subjective pain level was found to be significantly greater during the insertion section than during the removal section, and the changes in the erythema index of the facial images were significantly different between the two groups. [Conclusion] These findings indicate that the erythema index changes on facial images determined by the discomfort assessment device may facilitate objective evaluation of the pain level during colonoscopy

The Shock State of Itokawa Sample

One of the fundamental aspects of any astromaterial is its shock history, since this factor elucidates critical historical events, and also because shock metamorphism can alter primary mineralogical and petrographic features, and reset chronologies [1]. Failure to take shock history into proper account during characterization can result in seriously incorrect conclusions being drawn. Thus the Hayabusa Preliminary Examination Team (HASPET) made shock stage determination of the Itokawa samples a primary goal [2]. However, we faced several difficulties in this particular research. The shock state of ordinary chondrite materials is generally determined by simple optical petrographic observation of standard thin sections. The Itokawa samples available to the analysis team were mounted into plastic blocks, were polished on only one side, and were of non-standard and greatly varying thickness, all of which significantly complicated petrographic analysis but did not prevent it. We made an additional estimation of the sample shock state by a new technique for this analysis - electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) in addition to standard petrographic techniques. We are also investigating the crystallinity of Itokawa olivine by Synchrotron X-ray diffraction (SXRD)

A Kinetic Model of Dopamine- and Calcium-Dependent Striatal Synaptic Plasticity

Corticostriatal synapse plasticity of medium spiny neurons is regulated by glutamate input from the cortex and dopamine input from the substantia nigra. While cortical stimulation alone results in long-term depression (LTD), the combination with dopamine switches LTD to long-term potentiation (LTP), which is known as dopamine-dependent plasticity. LTP is also induced by cortical stimulation in magnesium-free solution, which leads to massive calcium influx through NMDA-type receptors and is regarded as calcium-dependent plasticity. Signaling cascades in the corticostriatal spines are currently under investigation. However, because of the existence of multiple excitatory and inhibitory pathways with loops, the mechanisms regulating the two types of plasticity remain poorly understood. A signaling pathway model of spines that express D1-type dopamine receptors was constructed to analyze the dynamic mechanisms of dopamine- and calcium-dependent plasticity. The model incorporated all major signaling molecules, including dopamine- and cyclic AMP-regulated phosphoprotein with a molecular weight of 32 kDa (DARPP32), as well as AMPA receptor trafficking in the post-synaptic membrane. Simulations with dopamine and calcium inputs reproduced dopamine- and calcium-dependent plasticity. Further in silico experiments revealed that the positive feedback loop consisted of protein kinase A (PKA), protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), and the phosphorylation site at threonine 75 of DARPP-32 (Thr75) served as the major switch for inducing LTD and LTP. Calcium input modulated this loop through the PP2B (phosphatase 2B)-CK1 (casein kinase 1)-Cdk5 (cyclin-dependent kinase 5)-Thr75 pathway and PP2A, whereas calcium and dopamine input activated the loop via PKA activation by cyclic AMP (cAMP). The positive feedback loop displayed robust bi-stable responses following changes in the reaction parameters. Increased basal dopamine levels disrupted this dopamine-dependent plasticity. The present model elucidated the mechanisms involved in bidirectional regulation of corticostriatal synapses and will allow for further exploration into causes and therapies for dysfunctions such as drug addiction