On-Orbit Performance of the BCP-100 Green Propellant Infusion Mission

The Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) spacecraft was launched in June of 2019 as a secondary payload on the Air Force’s STP-2 Falcon Heavy launch vehicle. GPIM is a BCP-100, a line of ESPA class spacecraft designed by Ball. The BCP-100 was designed around the capability to support multiple payloads on a single platform, and be able to fly in a wide range of orbits without the need to reconfigure the spacecraft in any way. Proving the flexibility and multi-role capability of the BCP-100 design, there are three secondary payloads on GPIM. In addition to the green propellant payload, iMESA, SWATS, and SOS are hosted on the spacecraft. These were provided by the Air Force through their Space Experiments Review Board (SERB) payload list. Finally, an advanced multi-layer insulation (MLI) technology, integrated MLI (IMLI), was employed as insulation for the propulsion subsystem. This technology was developed by Ball and Quest Thermal Group under Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) funding provided by NASA STMD. GPIM adds to the 15 years of combined flight time for the BCP-100 line. Ball Aerospace built the GPIM spacecraft for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in order to provide a platform to accomplish on-orbit testing and validation of an AF-M315E based green propellant propulsion subsystem. After a very successful spacecraft commissioning phase that was completed in less than 24 hours, check out of the primary green propellant payload commenced. This included testing the primary and redundant catbed heaters, opening the latch valve, and commanding the thrusters in both open loop and closed loop control modes, all of which was accomplished within three and a half days of being on-orbit. The propulsion system employs five protoflight 1 N thrusters, four for attitude control and the fifth for use during delta-v burns to provide higher thrust. Characterization of the green propellant system has been on-going. This characterization includes performing closed loop delta-v burns, 3-axis thruster-based attitude control, and momentum dumping. In addition to these tests, on-orbit measurement of the thruster impulse-bit has been performed over the course of the mission. This measurement involves a complex command sequence in which the spacecraft must execute a delta-v, perform multiple maneuvers, spin down the reaction wheels, and execute a series of 200 msec long open loop thruster pulses. Analysis of the spacecraft motion that results from each thruster pulse provides the amount of force that was applied. This paper provides a brief background of the GPIM program, including objectives of the technology demonstration, and presents on-orbit flight results of propulsion tests performed to date

Evaluation of collared peccary translocations in the Texas Hill Country

Historically, the collared peccary (Tayassu tajacu) occurred throughout much of Texas including the northern portion of the Texas Hill Country. Remaining peccary populations were extirpated in much of their former range due to over harvest and habitat loss. In 2004, efforts to restore peccary populations to the Texas Hill Country began when Texas Parks and Wildlife Department biologists translocated 29 collared peccaries into the 2,157 ha, Mason Mountain Wildlife Management Area (MMWMA). I evaluated the success of peccary translocations for mixed and intact family groups by comparing survival, ranges, and dispersal of translocated, radio-tagged peccaries. In addition, I evaluated two release methods (soft versus hard) to determine differences in population demographics. I found that peccary ranges and dispersal patterns did not differ (P > 0.05) between intact and mixed groups or release method (soft versus hard). However, I did find that peccary fidelity to release sites was greater for soft releases of family groups. Individuals from the soft release group dispersed the shortest distance and stayed on MMWMA. Only 2 individuals from the hard releases stayed on MMWMA while the rest (19 individuals) dispersed 4-8 km. Future peccary translocations should emphasize the release method employed and family structure of individuals released to improve translocation effectiveness in establishing populations in target areas

Assets and Needs Assessment of Senior Residents in the West Bloomington Neighborhood

The experience and process of aging has become a prominent topic of discussion nationwide and Central Illinois is no exception, due to the rapid growth within the senior population in the area. The 60 and over population of Illinois is projected to grow by 87% during the next 30 years (The Maturing of Illinois). An initiative has been developed to evaluate how prepared local communities are for older adults by conducting needs assessments, which can also serve as vital tools for those who plan and provide human services in communities. Often community leaders will form policies and allocate limited resources based on assumptions about the needs of the senior population and outdated information (Parsons and Higley 1995). This report is part of a larger needs assessment that will serve as a resource for community leaders to use in future policies and projects that will involve senior West Bloomington residents. This report examines needs of the senior population of West Bloomington as well as how organizations provide for those needs as evaluated by the senior population themselves. Based on our findings and recognizing the limitations of the study, we make recommendations for action and future research

Time- and region-dependent blood-brain barrier impairment in a rat model of organophosphate-induced status epilepticus

Acute organophosphate (OP) intoxication can trigger seizures that progress to status epilepticus (SE), and survivors often develop chronic morbidities, including spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS). The pathogenic mechanisms underlying OP-induced SRS are unknown, but increased BBB permeability is hypothesized to be involved. Previous studies reported BBB leakage following OP-induced SE, but key information regarding time and regional distribution of BBB impairment during the epileptogenic period is missing. To address this data gap, we characterized the spatiotemporal progression of BBB impairment during the first week post-exposure in a rat model of diisopropylfluorophosphate-induced SE, using MRI and albumin immunohistochemistry. Increased BBB permeability, which was detected at 6 h and persisted up to 7 d post-exposure, was most severe and persistent in the piriform cortex and amygdala, moderate but persistent in the thalamus, and less severe and transient in the hippocampus and somatosensory cortex. The extent of BBB leakage was positively correlated with behavioral seizure severity, with the strongest association identified in the piriform cortex and amygdala. These findings provide evidence of the duration, magnitude and spatial breakdown of the BBB during the epileptogenic period following OP-induced SE and support BBB regulation as a viable therapeutic target for preventing SRS following acute OP intoxication

A molecular phylogeny of the genus Alloteropsis (Panicoideae, Poaceae) suggests an evolutionary reversion from C4 to C3 photosynthesis

The grass Alloteropsis semialata is the only plant species with both C(3) and C(4) subspecies. It therefore offers excellent potential as a model system for investigating the genetics, physiology and ecological significance of the C(4) photosynthetic pathway. Here, a molecular phylogeny of the genus Alloteropsis is constructed to: (a) confirm the close relationship between the C(3) and C(4) subspecies of A. semialata; and (b) infer evolutionary relationships between species within the Alloteropsis genus

Comparison of Illumina and 454 Deep Sequencing in Participants Failing Raltegravir-Based Antiretroviral Therapy

Background: The impact of raltegravir-resistant HIV-1 minority variants (MVs) on raltegravir treatment failure is unknown. Illumina sequencing offers greater throughput than 454, but sequence analysis tools for viral sequencing are needed. We evaluated Illumina and 454 for the detection of HIV-1 raltegravir-resistant MVs. Methods: A5262 was a single-arm study of raltegravir and darunavir/ritonavir in treatment-naïve patients. Pre-treatment plasma was obtained from 5 participants with raltegravir resistance at the time of virologic failure. A control library was created by pooling integrase clones at predefined proportions. Multiplexed sequencing was performed with Illumina and 454 platforms at comparable costs. Illumina sequence analysis was performed with the novel snp-assess tool and 454 sequencing was analyzed with V-Phaser. Results: Illumina sequencing resulted in significantly higher sequence coverage and a 0.095% limit of detection. Illumina accurately detected all MVs in the control library at ≥0.5% and 7/10 MVs expected at 0.1%. 454 sequencing failed to detect any MVs at 0.1% with 5 false positive calls. For MVs detected in the patient samples by both 454 and Illumina, the correlation in the detected variant frequencies was high (R2 = 0.92, P<0.001). Illumina sequencing detected 2.4-fold greater nucleotide MVs and 2.9-fold greater amino acid MVs compared to 454. The only raltegravir-resistant MV detected was an E138K mutation in one participant by Illumina sequencing, but not by 454. Conclusions: In participants of A5262 with raltegravir resistance at virologic failure, baseline raltegravir-resistant MVs were rarely detected. At comparable costs to 454 sequencing, Illumina demonstrated greater depth of coverage, increased sensitivity for detecting HIV MVs, and fewer false positive variant calls

The Stem Cell Discovery Engine: an integrated repository and analysis system for cancer stem cell comparisons

Mounting evidence suggests that malignant tumors are initiated and maintained by a subpopulation of cancerous cells with biological properties similar to those of normal stem cells. However, descriptions of stem-like gene and pathway signatures in cancers are inconsistent across experimental systems. Driven by a need to improve our understanding of molecular processes that are common and unique across cancer stem cells (CSCs), we have developed the Stem Cell Discovery Engine (SCDE)—an online database of curated CSC experiments coupled to the Galaxy analytical framework. The SCDE allows users to consistently describe, share and compare CSC data at the gene and pathway level. Our initial focus has been on carefully curating tissue and cancer stem cell-related experiments from blood, intestine and brain to create a high quality resource containing 53 public studies and 1098 assays. The experimental information is captured and stored in the multi-omics Investigation/Study/Assay (ISA-Tab) format and can be queried in the data repository. A linked Galaxy framework provides a comprehensive, flexible environment populated with novel tools for gene list comparisons against molecular signatures in GeneSigDB and MSigDB, curated experiments in the SCDE and pathways in WikiPathways. The SCDE is available at http://discovery.hsci.harvard.edu

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

Extended Sentinel Monitoring of Helicoverpa zea Resistance to Cry and Vip3Aa Toxins in Bt Sweet Corn: Assessing Changes in Phenotypic and Allele Frequencies of Resistance

Transgenic corn and cotton that produce Cry and Vip3Aa toxins derived from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are widely planted in the United States to control lepidopteran pests. The sustainability of these Bt crops is threatened because the corn earworm/bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is evolving a resistance to these toxins. Using Bt sweet corn as a sentinel plant to monitor the evolution of resistance, collaborators established 146 trials in twenty-five states and five Canadian provinces during 2020–2022. The study evaluated overall changes in the phenotypic frequency of resistance (the ratio of larval densities in Bt ears relative to densities in non-Bt ears) in H. zea populations and the range of resistance allele frequencies for Cry1Ab and Vip3Aa. The results revealed a widespread resistance to Cry1Ab, Cry2Ab2, and Cry1A.105 Cry toxins, with higher numbers of larvae surviving in Bt ears than in non-Bt ears at many trial locations. Depending on assumptions about the inheritance of resistance, allele frequencies for Cry1Ab ranged from 0.465 (dominant resistance) to 0.995 (recessive resistance). Although Vip3Aa provided high control efficacy against H. zea, the results show a notable increase in ear damage and a number of surviving older larvae, particularly at southern locations. Assuming recessive resistance, the estimated resistance allele frequencies for Vip3Aa ranged from 0.115 in the Gulf states to 0.032 at more northern locations. These findings indicate that better resistance management practices are urgently needed to sustain efficacy the of corn and cotton that produce Vip3Aa