System Design and Capabilities of a Current Technology, Low-Cost, Small Satellite

Ball Aerospace, with its successful background and strong interest in low-cost lightweight satellites, is studying the designs of current technology satellites for a variety of launchers (e.g., STS/GAS, Pershing, Scout, Poseidon, Conestoga, Titan 11, ILV, and Delta II). Ball Aerospace has completed the design of a current technology, multi-mission, low-cost Scout-compatible satellite. This paper summarizes the system design features and capabilities of this Ball Scout Satellite (BSS). The BSS is designed to accommodate a wide range of Earth and celestially oriented missions, both spinning and 3-axis stabilized. The BSS design provides a marked improvement in payload support capabilities (mass, power, data rate, pointing, interfaces, flexibility, reliability, etc.) than was previously available with earlier Scout satellites, and at a lower cost in current-year dollars

Chemical Composition of Agropyron desertorum as Related to Grass Tetany

Grass tetany, a Mg deficiency of ruminants, accounts for significant economic losses to Western cattlemen during the spring grazing period on Agropyron desertorum. This nutritional deficiency may also occur when ruminants graze other temperate grasses, but the soil-plant-animal factors leading to the problem are not well understood. The objective of this study was to provide definitive data relating seasonal changes in the chemical composition of forage to the occurrence of grass tetany on semiarid grasslands. The field experiment was established on two calcareous soils where grass tetany had previously occurred. Agropyron desertorum forage was harvested from both sites at regular intervals during the spring tetany period in each of 5 years. The forage samples were analyzed for mineral elements, N, total water-soluble carbohydrates (TWSC), higher fatty acids (HFA), ash alkalinity, and aconitic acid. High levels of N and HFA, which are known from other studies to reduce Mg availability to the animal, coincided with the occurrence of tetany. The low Mg concentrations measured in the forage probably provided only marginal levels of available Mg to the grazing animals. A rapid increase in the ratio of N/TWSC coincided with the onset of tetany, and may be the primary factor which indirectly decreases Mg availability and precipitates the occurrence of tetany. Although the relationship of the protein/energy imbalance to grass tetany has been suggested previously, as far as the authors are aware this is the first time that N/TWSC values obtained during the growing season have been documented in conjunction with the occurrence of grass tetany

Seasonal Changes in Trans-aconitate and Mineral Composition of Crested Wheatgrass in Relation to Grass Tetany

Grass tetany (hypomagnesemia) frequently occurs from March through June in cattle grazing crested wheatgrass in western United States. High levels of trans-aconitate and/or citrate, K, K/(Ca + Mg) ratios and low Mg in the grass are implicated in the etiology of the disease. In the moist 1967 season, during periods of "flush" growth following warming trends, trans-aconitate and K increased while Ca and Mg decreased in crested wheatgrass. These characteristics may explain the incidence of grass tetany during periods of "flush" growth. During the dry 1968 season, these trends were not observed. Growth chamber studies confirmed some of the reasons for changes in crested wheatgrass composition observed in 1967 and 1968

Histopathology, vitellogenin and chemical body burden in mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) sampled from six river sites receiving a gradient of stressors

There are over 40,000 chemical compounds registered for use in Australia, and only a handful are monitored in the aquatic receiving environments. Their effects on fish species in Australia are largely unknown. Mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) were sampled from six river sites in Southeast Queensland identified as at risk from a range of pollutants. The sites selected were downstream of a wastewater treatment plant discharge, a landfill, two agricultural areas, and two sites in undeveloped reaches within or downstream of protected lands (national parks). Vitellogenin analysis, histopathology of liver, kidney and gonads, morphology of the gonopodium, and chemical body burden were measured to characterize fish health. Concentrations of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) in water were analyzed by in vitro bioassays and chemical analysis. Estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, anti-androgenic, progestagenic and anti-progestagenic activities and TrOCs were detected in multiple water samples. Several active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), industrial compounds, pesticides and other endocrine active compounds were detected in fish carcasses at all sites, ranging from < 4–4700 ng/g wet weight, including the two undeveloped sites. While vitellogenin protein was slightly increased in fish from two of the six sites, the presence of micropollutants did not cause overt sexual endocrine disruption in mosquitofish (i.e., no abnormal gonads or gonopodia). A correlation between lipid accumulation in the liver with total body burden warrants further investigation to determine if exposure to low concentrations of TrOCs can affect fish health and increase stress on organs such as the liver and kidneys via other mechanisms, including disruption of non-sexual endocrine axes involved in lipid regulation and metabolism

Thinking about growth : a cognitive mapping approach to understanding small business development

School of Managemen

Field Production and Functional Evaluation of Chloroplast-Derived Interferon-α2b

Type I interferons (IFNs) inhibit viral replication and cell growth and enhance the immune response, and therefore have many clinical applications. IFN-α2b ranks third in world market use for a biopharmaceutical, behind only insulin and erythropoietin. The average annual cost of IFN-α2b for the treatment of hepatitis C infection is $26 000, and is therefore unavailable to the majority of patients in developing countries. Therefore, we expressed IFN-α2b in tobacco chloroplasts, and transgenic lines were grown in the field after obtaining United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) approval. Stable, site-specific integration of transgenes into chloroplast genomes and homoplasmy through several generations were confirmed. IFN-α2b levels reached up to 20% of total soluble protein, or 3 mg per gram of leaf (fresh weight). Transgenic IFN-α2b had similar in vitrobiological activity to commercially produced PEG-Intron™ when tested for its ability to protect cells against cytopathic viral replication in the vesicular stomatitis virus cytopathic effect (VSV CPE) assay and to inhibit early-stage human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The antitumour and immunomodulating properties of IFN-α2b were also seen in vivo . Chloroplast-derived IFN-α2b increased the expression of major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC I) on splenocytes and the total number of natural killer (NK) cells. Finally, IFN-α2b purified from chloroplast transgenic lines (cpIFN-α2b) protected mice from a highly metastatic tumour line. This demonstration of high levels of expression of IFN-α2b, transgene containment and biological activity akin to that of commercial preparations of IFN-α2b facilitated the first field production of a plant-derived human blood protein, a critical step towards human clinical trials and commercialization

Comparison of soft and hard tissue ablation with sub-ps and ns pulse lasers

Tissue ablation with ultrashort laser pulses offers several unique advantages. The nonlinear energy deposition is insensitive to tissue type, allowing this tool to be used for soft and hard tissue ablation. The localized energy deposition lead to precise ablation depth and minimal collateral damage. This paper reports on efforts to study and demonstrate tissue ablation using an ultrashort pulse laser. Ablation efficiency and extent of collateral damage for 0.3 ps and 1000 ps duration laser pulses are compared. Temperature measurements of the rear surface of a tooth section is also presented

MMN and Differential Waveform

A mismatch negativity response (MMN) and a new differential waveform were derived in an effort to evaluate a neural refractory or recovery effect in adult listeners. The MMN was elicited using oddball test runs in which the standard and deviant stimuli differed in frequency. To derive the differential waveform, the same standard and deviant stimuli were presented alone. MMN responses were obtained by subtracting the averaged responses to standards from the deviants. The differential waveforms were obtained by subtracting the averaged responses to standards presented alone from deviants presented alone. Scalp topography for the MMN and differential waveforms were similar. A significant (p < .05) positive and negative correlation was found between the earlier and later components of the bimodal MMN and the N1 and P2 component of the differential waveform, respectively. Further, N1 and P2 of the differential waveform were significant (p < .05) predictor variables of early and late peak amplitudes of the MMN. These results suggest that refractory effects may overlay/modify the morphology of the MMN waveform