The Flight Operation Procedures of the SIMBIO-SYS instrument aboard the BepiColombo ESA mission

The aim of this document is to describe all the Flight Operation Procedures (FOPs) implemented for the Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS) and to be used during all the operational phases of the instrument

SIMBIO-SYS delta NECP Interchannel Test Report

This document contains the results and the discussion on the interchannel tests performed during the delta-Near Earth Commissioning Phase (dNECP) for the Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS). The dNECP was requested by the SIMBIO-SYS team to verify the behaviour of the instrument during the execution of the NECP tests. In particular, SIMBIO-SYS repeated the Interchannel test limiting to the “Orbit Test” whose results in NECP did not confirm the correct operation of the instrument

SIMBIO-SYS Checkout#01 Test Summary

In this document we describe all the tests to be performed during the Instrument CheckOut (ICO) # 01 for the Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS)

BC-SIM-TN-004 SIMBIO-SYS_FOP_update_after_NECP_12May2019

This document, in according to the Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS) Technical Note, Layout and Data flow agreement reports all the Flight Operation Procedures (FOPs) SIMBIO-SYS to be used during the operational phases of the instrument. It conseiders all the improvements made after the Near Earth Commissioning Phase (NECP) and before ICO1 phase. Differently from the date in the header, present Technical Note refers to activities performed between December 2018 and June 2019 partially anticipated in BC-SIM-TN-001-SIMBIOSYS_FOPs_Description_Issue

SIMBIO-SYS Delta NECP Test Summary

In this document we describe all the tests to be performed during the delta-Near Earth Commissioning Phase (dNECP) for the Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS)

SIMBIO-SYS Checkout#03 Test Summary

In this document we describe all the tests to be performed during the Instrument CheckOut (ICO) # 03 for the Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS)

BC-SIM-PL-004 SIMBIO-SYS Checkout#02 Test Summary

In this document we describe all the tests to be performed during the Instrument CheckOut (ICO) # 02 for the Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory SYStem (SIMBIO-SYS)

The economic impact of biosimilars in Italy : a scenario analysis

Background: the first generation of biotechnology drugs is reaching, or has already reached, the patent expiry and a large number of biosimilars is entering the Italian pharmaceutical market. The objective of the analysis was to evaluate the economic impacts of biosimilars on the national health expenditure in Italy between 2014 and 2020. Methods: Based on the information deriving from consumption per standard unit and equivalent patients, it was estimated monthly expenditure for some of the biological drugs currently available in Italy that have had or will have a patent expiry within the analysis period (infliximab, etanercept, adalimumab, insulin glargine, trastuzumab, rituximab, bevacizumab and insulin aspart). Pharmaceutical expenditure was calculated on hospital sales prices net of transparent discounts required by law and visible from the AIFA database. Three alternative scenarios have been developed based on the perceptions of a board of clinical experts, pharmacologists and pharmacoeconomists involved in the study. The experts involved analyzed the estimates of treated patients between 2014 and 2017 and reports their hypothetical biosimilar penetration during the period 2018-2020. The results were represented as the difference between the estimated expenditure in the absence of biosimilars and the estimated expenditure in the presence of biosimilars with the real or hypothetical biosimilar penetration. Results: considering the standard units dispensed for each year, the economic model estimate an annual expenditure in 2014 equal to € 1.47 billion for the molecules considered in the analysis. These estimates rise to € 1.54, € 1.50 billion and € 1.51 billion during 2015, 2016 and 2017 in the scenario without biosimilar introduction. Biosimilar introduction generates cost savings between € 3.8 million in 2015 and € 32.9 million in 2017 if compared with the scenario without. Assuming an increasing biosimilar penetration between 2018 and 2020, scenario analysis estimates a cumulative cost reduction equal to € 597 million. Conclusions: Overall, biosimilar penetration generates important cost reduction that could be re-invested in the National Health Sistem

Apoptosis Signal-Regulating Kinase 1 Mediates MPTP Toxicity and Regulates Glial Activation

Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1), a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 family, is activated by oxidative stress. The death-signaling pathway mediated by ASK1 is inhibited by DJ-1, which is linked to recessively inherited Parkinson's disease (PD). Considering that DJ-1 deficiency exacerbates the toxicity of the mitochondrial complex I inhibitor 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), we sought to investigate the direct role and mechanism of ASK1 in MPTP-induced dopamine neuron toxicity. In the present study, we found that MPTP administration to wild-type mice activates ASK1 in the midbrain. In ASK1 null mice, MPTP-induced motor impairment was less profound, and striatal dopamine content and nigral dopamine neuron counts were relatively preserved compared to wild-type littermates. Further, microglia and astrocyte activation seen in wild-type mice challenged with MPTP was markedly attenuated in ASK1−/− mice. These data suggest that ASK1 is a key player in MPTP-induced glial activation linking oxidative stress with neuroinflammation, two well recognized pathogenetic factors in PD. These findings demonstrate that ASK1 is an important effector of MPTP-induced toxicity and suggest that inhibiting this kinase is a plausible therapeutic strategy for protecting dopamine neurons in PD

SIMBIO-SYS Near Earth Commissioning Phase: a step forward toward Mercury

On December 2018, the Near Earth Commissioning Phase (NECP) has been place forSIMBIO-SYS (Spectrometers and Imagers for MPO BepiColombo Integrated Observatory - SYStem), the suite part of the scientific payload of the BepiColombo ESA-JAXA mission. SIMBIO-SYS is composed of three channels: the high resolution camera (HRIC), the stereo camera (STC) and the Vis/NIR spectrometer (VIHI) . During the NECP the three channels have been operated properly. For the three channels were checked the operativity and the performance. The commanded operations allowed to verify all the instrument functionalities demonstrating that all SIMBIO-SYS channels and subsystems work nominally. During this phase we also validated the Ground Segment Equipment (GSE) and the data analysis tools developed by the team