Development and Application of Web-Based Interface Ground Station Software (WINGS) for the Operation of SPHERE-1 EYE

The evolution of small satellites as both technological demonstrators and operational platforms has been significant. However, these projects often face constraints like limited budgets and stringent timelines, coupled with growing mission complexities. To address these challenges, the Intelligent Space System Laboratory (ISSL) at the University of Tokyo developed Web-based INterface Ground station Software (WINGS), an open-source ground station software with a modular architecture that includes front-end, back-end, and database components, as well as a telemetry and telecommand interface (WINGS-TMTC-IF). The paper highlights the application of WINGS in the SPHERE-1 EYE mission, showcasing its capability to customize and rapidly deploy satellite operations effectively, and compares its features and advantages against other ground station software. It concludes with operational insights and the lessons learned from the SPHERE-1 EYE mission, emphasizing the critical functionalities of ground station software in supporting small satellite operations

A prospective compound screening contest identified broader inhibitors for Sirtuin 1

Potential inhibitors of a target biomolecule, NAD-dependent deacetylase Sirtuin 1, were identified by a contest-based approach, in which participants were asked to propose a prioritized list of 400 compounds from a designated compound library containing 2.5 million compounds using in silico methods and scoring. Our aim was to identify target enzyme inhibitors and to benchmark computer-aided drug discovery methods under the same experimental conditions. Collecting compound lists derived from various methods is advantageous for aggregating compounds with structurally diversified properties compared with the use of a single method. The inhibitory action on Sirtuin 1 of approximately half of the proposed compounds was experimentally accessed. Ultimately, seven structurally diverse compounds were identified

Development and Evaluation of a Novel 99mTc-Labeled Annexin A5 for Early Detection of Response to Chemotherapy

99mTc-HYNIC-annexin A5 can be considered as a benchmark in the field of apoptosis imaging. However, 99mTc-HYNIC-annexin A5 has characteristics of high uptake and long retention in non-target tissues such as kidney and liver. To minimize this problem, we developed a novel 99mTc-labeled annexin A5 using a bis(hydroxamamide) derivative [C3(BHam)2] as a bifunctional chelating agent, and evaluated its usefulness as an imaging agent for detecting apoptosis. The amino group of C3(BHam)2 was converted to a maleimide group, and was coupled to thiol groups of annexin A5 pretreated with 2-iminothiolane. 99mTc labeling was performed by a ligand exchange reaction with 99mTc-glucoheptonate. Biodistribution experiments for both 99mTc-C3(BHam)2-annexin A5 and 99mTc-HYNIC-annexin A5 were performed in normal mice. In addition, in tumor-bearing mice, the relationship between the therapeutic effects of chemotherapy (5-FU) and the tumor accumulation of 99mTc-C 3(BHam)2-annexin A5 just after the first treatment of 5-FU was evaluated. 99mTc-C3(BHam)2-annexin A5 was prepared with a radiochemical purity of over 95%. In biodistribution experiments, 99mTc-C3(BHam)2-annexin A5 had a much lower kidney accumulation of radioactivity than 99mTc-HYNIC- annexin A5. In the organs for metabolism, such as liver and kidney, radioactivity after the injection of 99mTc-HYNIC-annexin A5 was residual for a long time. On the other hand, radioactivity after the injection of 99mTc-C3(BHam)2-annexin A5 gradually decreased. In therapeutic experiments, tumor growth in the mice treated with 5-FU was significantly inhibited. Accumulation of 99mTc-C 3(BHam)2-annexin A5 in tumors significantly increased after 5-FU treatment. The accumulation of radioactivity in tumor correlated positively with the counts of TUNEL-positive cells. These findings suggest that 99mTc-C3(BHam)2-annexin A5 may contribute to the efficient detection of apoptotic tumor response after chemotherapy

コガタ クライオサンプラー ヲ モチイタ ショウワキチ デノ セイソウケン タイキ サイシュ ジッケン ダイ49ジタイ ジッケン ホウコク

第49次南極地域観測隊(第49次隊)夏期間に昭和基地において,新たに開発した小型クライオサンプラーを用いた成層圏大気採取実験を実施した.小型クライオサンプラーは高圧ネオンガスを断熱膨張させて液体ネオンを製造し,希薄な成層圏大気を固化・液化採取するものであり,既存の大型サンプラーが必要とした液体ヘリウムが不要であること,小型軽量であるために満膨張時容積1000-2000 m3の小型プラスチック気球を用いて成層圏まで飛揚させることが可能であるという特徴がある.2007年12月30日と2008年1月4日に計4機の小型サンプラーを放球し,すべて回収に成功した.そのうち,2機は高度18 km及び25kmの成層圏大気の採取に成功した.採取された大気試料は国内に持ち帰られた後,各種温室効果気体濃度と同位体比の分析が行われた.As a part of summer observations of the 49th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, stratospheric whole air sampling experiments were conducted at Syowa Station using newly developed compact cryogenic air samplers. The compact sampler uses liquefied neon (produced in-situ) as a refrigerant to solidify or liquefy atmospheric constituents. Because of its reduced size and weight, the sampler can be launched using small-size balloons (1000–2000 m3 in volume). On December 30, 2007 and January 4, 2008, a total of 4 samplers were launched from Syowa Station and recovered on the same day as their launches. Two of them functioned as designed and collected stratospheric air samples at altitudes of 18 and 25 km. The air samples were analyzed for greenhouse gas concentrations and stable isotopes after return to Japan

Band structures under non-Hermitian periodic potentials: Connecting nearly-free and bi-orthogonal tight-binding models

We explore band structures of one-dimensional open systems described by periodic non-Hermitian operators, based on continuum models and tight-binding models. We show that imaginary scalar potentials do not open band gaps but instead lead to the formation of exceptional points as long as the strength of the potential exceeds a threshold value, which is contrast to closed systems where real potentials open a gap with infinitesimally small strength. The imaginary vector potentials hinder the separation of low energy bands because of the lifting of degeneracy in the free system. In addition, we construct tight-binding models through bi-orthogonal Wannier functions based on Bloch wavefunctions of the non-Hermitian operator and its Hermitian conjugate. We show that the bi-orthogonal tight-binding model well reproduces the dispersion relations of the continuum model when the complex scalar potential is sufficiently large.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Enhanced levels of atmospheric low-molecular weight monocarboxylic acids in gas and particulates over Mt. Tai, North China, during field burning of agricultural wastes

To understand the source and atmospheric behaviour of low molecular weight monocarboxylic acids (mono acids), gaseous (G) and particulate (P) organic acids were collected at the summit of Mt. Tai in the North China Plain (NCP) during field burning of agricultural waste (wheat straw). Particulate organic acids were collected with neutral quartz filter whereas gaseous organic acids were collected with KOH-impregnated quartz filter. Normal (C-1-C-10, branched (iC(4)-iC(6)), hydroxy (lactic and glycolic), and aromatic (benzoic) monoacids were determined with a capillary gas chromatography employing p-bromophenacyl esters. We found acetic acid as the most abundant gas-phase species whereas formic acid is the dominant particle-phase species. Concentrations of formic (G/P 1 570/1 410 ng m(-3)) and acetic (3 960/1 120 ng m(-3)) acids significantly increased during the enhanced field burning of agricultural wastes. Concentrations of formic and acetic acids in daytime were found to increase in both G and P phases with those of K+, a field-burning tracer (r = 0.32-0.64). Primary emission and secondary formation of acetic acid is linked with field burning of agricultural wastes. In addition, we found that particle-phase fractions (Fp = P/(G + P)) of formic (0.50) and acetic (0.31) acids are significantly high, indicating that semi-volatile organic acids largely exist as particles. Field burning of agricultural wastes may play an important role in the formation of particulate monoacids in the NCP. High levels (917 ng m(-3)) of particle phase lactic acid, which is characteristic of microorganisms, suggest that microbial activity associated with terrestrial ecosystem significantly contributes to the formation of organic aerosols

Hydroxy fatty acids in snow pit samples from Mount Tateyama in central Japan: Implications for atmospheric transport of microorganisms and plant waxes associated with Asian dust

We report here the source apportionment of atmospheric soil microorganisms and higher plant metabolites based on chemical markers (hydroxy fatty acids: FAs) in the snowpack samples collected from Mount Tateyama in central Japan during spring 2009 (N = 6) and 2011 (N = 7). A homologous series of beta-hydroxy FAs (C-9-C-20), constituents of Gram-negative bacteria (GNB), in snowpacks clearly suggest a long-range atmospheric transport of dust-associated bacteria followed by scavenging by snowflakes. Similarly, higher atmospheric abundances of alpha-(C-16-C-32) and omega-(C-9-C-30)-hydroxy FAs in the snow layers containing Asian dust revealed contributions from soil microbes and higher plant epicuticular waxes. Moreover, covariation between the concentrations of hydroxy FAs and water-soluble Ca2+ (dust tracer), together with calculated air mass backward trajectories, demonstrated their source regions such as the Taklamakan Desert, Gobi Desert, and Loess Plateau. A close match of molecular distributions of hydroxy FAs (with the predominance of omega- and beta-isomers) is noteworthy between snowpack (present study) and springtime aerosols from Chichijima Island in the western North Pacific (WNP). This observation suggests a "below-cloud scavenging" of transported dust particles and associated soil microbes in the East Asian outflow by snowflakes. These distributions are, however, contrary to those observed in the fresh snow samples from Sapporo, northern Japan (predominance of a-hydroxy FAs), which could be explained by "in-cloud" microbial oxidation processes. This comparison, therefore, provides additional insights regarding the aeolian transport of soil microbes in the East Asian outflow to the WNP, which has not been available

Secondary formation of oxalic acid and related organic species from biogenic sources in a larch forest at the northern slope of Mt. Fuji

To better understand the formation of water-soluble organic aerosols in the forest atmosphere, we measured low molecular weight (LMW) dicarboxylic acids, oxocarboxylic acids, alpha-dicarbonyls, unsaturated fatty acids (UFAs), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in aerosols from a Larix kaempferi forest located at the northern slope of Mt. Fuji, Japan, in summer 2012. Concentrations of dicarboxylic acids, oxocarboxylic acids, alpha-dicarbonyls, and WSOC showed maxima in daytime. Relative abundance of oxalic acid in LMW dicarboxylic acids was on average 52% and its average concentration was 214 ng m(-3). We found that diurnal and temporal variations of oxalic acid are different from those of isoprene and alpha-pinene, whereas biogenic secondary organic aerosols (BSOAs) derived from isoprene and alpha-pinene showed similar variations with oxalic acid. The mass concentration ratios of oxalic acid/BSOAs were relatively constant, although a large variation in the concentrations of toluene that is an anthropogenic volatile organic compound was observed. These results suggest that formation of oxalic acid is associated with the oxidation of isoprene and alpha-pinene with O-3 and other oxidants in the forest atmosphere. In addition, concentrations of UFAs were observed, for the first time, to decrease dramatically during daytime in the forest. Mass concentration ratios of azelaic acid to UFAs showed a positive correlation with O-3, suggesting that UFAs are oxidized to yield azelaic acid, which may be further decomposed to oxalic acid in the forest atmosphere. We found that contributions of oxalic acid to WSOC are significantly high ranging from 3.7 to 9.7% (average 6.0%). This study demonstrates that forest ecosystem is an important source of oxalic acid and other dicarboxylic acids in the atmosphere. (c) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved