SensorWeb Evolution Using the Earth Observing One (EO-1) Satellite as a Test Platform

The Earth Observing One (EO-1) satellite was launched in November 2000 as a one year technology demonstration mission for a variety of space technologies. After the first year, in addition to collecting science data from its instruments, the EO-1 mission has been used as a testbed for a variety of technologies which provide various automation capabilities and which have been used as a pathfinder for the creation of SensorWebs. A SensorWeb is the integration of variety of space, airborne and ground sensors into a loosely coupled collaborative sensor system that automatically provides useful data products. Typically, a SensorWeb is comprised of heterogeneous sensors tied together with a messaging architecture and web services. This paper provides an overview of the various technologies that were tested and eventually folded into normal operations. As these technologies were folded in, the nature of operations transformed. The SensorWeb software enables easy connectivity for collaboration with sensors, but the side benefit is that it improved the EO-1 operational efficiency. This paper presents the various phases of EO-1 operation over the past 12 years and also presents operational efficiency gains demonstrated by some metrics

Hyperspectral Cubesat Constellation for Rapid Natural Hazard Response

Earth Observing 1 (E0-1) satellite has an imaging spectrometer (hyperspectral) instrument called Hyperion. The satellite is able to image any spot on Earth in the nadir looking direction every 16 days. With slewing of the satellite and allowing for up to a 23 degree view angle, any spot on the Earth can be imaged approximately every 2 to 3 days. EO-1 has been used to track many natural hazards such as wildfires, volcanoes and floods. An enhanced capability that is sought is the ability to image natural hazards in a daily time series for space based imaging spectrometers. The Hyperion can not provide this capability on EO-1 with the present polar orbit. However, a constellation of cubesats, each with the same imaging spectrometer, positioned strategically in the same orbit, can be used to provide daily coverage, cost-effectively

Data Products on Cloud

This presentation lays out the data processing products that exist and are planned for the Matsu cloud for Earth Observing 1. The presentation focuses on a new feature called co-registration of Earth Observing 1 with Landsat Global Land Survey chips

Outcomes of Over 40,000 Eyes Treated for Diabetic Macula Edema in Routine Clinical Practice: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Introduction: We investigated effectiveness and safety outcomes of diabetic macula edema (DME) treatment in routine clinical practice. Methods: A literature search was conducted of peer-reviewed articles published from January 2011 to September 2021. Studies of DME treatment in real-world practice of at least 6 months with at least 50 eyes at baseline were included. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were excluded. The primary outcome for this meta-analysis was change in visual acuity (VA) 12 months after starting treatment. Results: Of 3034 initially identified studies, 138 met selection criteria, representing more than 40,000 eyes. The mean 12-month VA gain was 4.6 letters (95% CI 3.7, 5.4; baseline 58.6) for vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitors (anti-VEGF), 4.4 (2.5, 6.3; baseline 54.2) for steroids, and 2.1 (- 1.2, 5.3; baseline 63.6) for macular laser. Australian and New Zealand studies had better baseline VA when initiating treatment compared with Asia, Europe, and North America, translating to better VA at 12 months. Fewer anti-VEGF injections were delivered in real-world practice than registrational RCTs. Neither systemic nor ocular safety was consistently reported. Conclusions: Intravitreal anti-VEGF or steroids for DME generally led to visual gains in real-world practice but these were less impressive than RCTs, with undertreatment and differences in baseline characteristics likely contributing factors. Keywords: Diabetic macula edema; Meta-analysis; Observational; Outcomes; Real-world data; Systematic review; Treatment

SensorWeb 3G: Extending On-Orbit Sensor Capabilities to Enable Near Realtime User Configurability

This research effort prototypes an implementation of a standard interface, Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS), which is an Open Geospatial Consortium(OGC) standard, to enable users to define, test, upload and execute algorithms for on-orbit sensor systems. The user is able to customize on-orbit data products that result from raw data streaming from an instrument. This extends the SensorWeb 2.0 concept that was developed under a previous Advanced Information System Technology (AIST) effort in which web services wrap sensors and a standardized Extensible Markup Language (XML) based scripting workflow language orchestrates processing steps across multiple domains. SensorWeb 3G extends the concept by providing the user controls into the flight software modules associated with on-orbit sensor and thus provides a degree of flexibility which does not presently exist. The successful demonstrations to date will be presented, which includes a realistic HyspIRI decadal mission testbed. Furthermore, benchmarks that were run will also be presented along with future demonstration and benchmark tests planned. Finally, we conclude with implications for the future and how this concept dovetails into efforts to develop "cloud computing" methods and standards

Hyperspectral Cubesat Constellation for Natural Hazard Response (Follow-on)

The authors on this paper are team members of the Earth Observing 1 (E0-1) mission which has flown an imaging spectrometer (hyperspectral) instrument called Hyperion for the past 15+ years. The satellite is able to image any spot on Earth in the nadir looking direction every 16 days and with slewing, of the satellite for up to a 23 degree view angle, any spot on the Earth can be imaged approximately every 2 to 3 days. EO-1 has been used to track many natural hazards such as wildfires, volcanoes and floods. An enhanced capability that has been sought is the ability to image natural hazards in a daily time series for space-based imaging spectrometers. The Hyperion cannot provide this capability on EO-1 with the present polar orbit. However, a constellation of cubesats, each with the same imaging spectrometer, positioned strategically can be used to provide daily coverage or even diurnal coverage, cost-effectively. This paper sought to design a cubesat constellation mission that would accomplish this goal and then to articulate the key tradeoffs

Modeling of a compact, implantable, dual-band antenna for biomedical applications

Different implantable antenna designs exist to establish communication with implantable devices depending on the domain of use and the implantation space. Owing to their nature and purposes, these antennas have many imposed criteria on various characteristics, such as bandwidth, multiband behavior, radiation pattern, gain, and specific absorption rate (SAR). This presents a challenge when it comes to achieving satisfying results without a major compromise in any of these crucial parameters. Additionally, many of the existing designs do not follow a specific approach to obtain results. Measuring different parameters of such fabricated structures requires special conditions and special environments mimicking the tissues where they are supposed to be placed. For such issues, the use of biological or synthetic phantoms is widely employed to validate what is obtained in simulation, and a multitude of formulas exist for the creation of such phantoms, each with its advantages and drawbacks. In this paper, a miniature dual-band structure derived from the first iteration of the Koch fractal structure is designed to operate 2 mm below the skin in the arm of the human body, with the MICS (Medical Implant Communication System) and ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) 2.4 GHz bands. The purposes of the design are to derive structures from commonly used shapes with certain behavior while maintaining miniaturization, and to easily design dual-band implantable antennas. More than one band is used to diversify uses, since bands such as the MICS band are mainly dedicated to telemetry. The structure is characterized not only by its low profile compared to various structures found in the literature with dimensions of 17.2 × 14.8 × 0.254 mm3, but also its ease of design, independent shifting of resonant frequencies, and the absence of the need for a matching circuit and a shorting pin (via) for miniaturization. It exhibits satisfying performance: bandwidths of 23 MHz in the MICS band and 190 and 70 MHz in the vicinity of the ISM 2.4 GHz band, and measured gain in the latter band of −18.66 and −17 dBi in the azimuth and elevation radiation patterns, respectively. To validate the antenna’s properties in a skin-mimicking environment, two simple phantom formulas found in the literature were explored and compared in order to identify the best option in terms of accuracy and ease of fabrication.The authors would like to thank Nicolas Corrao for his tremendous effortsthroughout the challenging fabrication process of the preliminary models at the HYPER platform,IMEP-LaHC, University of Grenoble Alpes. R. Silva would like to thank FCT for grant 2021.06819.BD.All individuals included in this section have consented to the acknowledgement

Combined Treatment Strategies for Microtubule Stabilizing Agent-Resistant Tumors

Background: Resistance to microtubule-stabilizing agents is a major hurdle for successful cancer therapy. We investigated combined treatment of microtubule-stabilizing agents (MSAs) with inhibitors of angiogenesis to overcome MSA resistance. Methods: Treatment regimens of clinically relevant MSAs (patupilone and paclitaxel) and antiangiogenic agents (everolimus and bevacizumab) were investigated in genetically defined MSA-resistant lung (A549EpoB40) and colon adenocarcinoma (SW480) tumor xenografts in nude mice (CD1-Foxn1, ICRnu; 5-14 per group). Tumor growth delays were calculated by Kaplan-Meier analysis with Holm-Sidak tests. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Inhibition of mTOR-kinase by everolimus only minimally reduced the proliferative activity of β tubulin-mutated lung adenocarcinoma cells alone and in combination with the MSA patupilone, but everolimus inhibited expression and secretion of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) from these cells. mTOR-kinase inhibition strongly sensitized tumor xenografts derived from these otherwise MSA-resistant tumor cells to patupilone. Tumors treated with the combined modality of everolimus and patupilone had statistically significantly reduced tumor volume and stronger tumor growth delay (16.2±1.01 days) than control- (7.7±0.3 days, P = .004), patupilone- (10±0.97 days, P = .009), and everolimus-treated (10.6±1.4 days, P = .014) tumors. A combined treatment modality with bevacizumab also resensitized this MSA-refractory tumor model to patupilone. Treatment combination also strongly reduced microvessel density, corroborating the relevance of VEGF targeting for the known antivasculature-directed potency of MSA alone in MSA-sensitive tumor models. Resensitization to MSAs was also probed in P glycoprotein-overexpressing SW480-derived tumor xenografts. Different bevacizumab regimens also sensitized this otherwise-resistant tumor model to clinically relevant MSA paclitaxel. Conclusions: A treatment combination of MSAs with antiangiogenic agents is potent to overcome tumor cell-linked MSA resistance and should be considered as strategy for MSA-refractory tumor entitie

Incidence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment after Intravitreal Injections of Anti-VEGF for Retinal Diseases: Data from the Fight Retinal Blindness! Registry

PURPOSE To report the estimated incidence, probability, risk factors, and 1-year outcomes of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) in eyes receiving intravitreal injections (IVTs) of VEGF inhibitors for various retinal conditions in routine clinical practice. DESIGN Retrospective analysis of data from a prospectively designed observational outcomes registry: the Fight Retinal Blindness! PROJECT PARTICIPANTS Eyes of patients starting IVTs of VEGF inhibitors (ranibizumab, aflibercept, or bevacizumab) for neovascular age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, or retinal vein occlusion from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2020. All eyes that developed RRD within 90 days of IVTs were defined as cases with RRD and were matched with control eyes. METHODS Estimated incidence, probability, and hazard ratios (HRs) of RRD were measured using Poisson regression, Kaplan-Meier survival curve, and Cox proportional hazards models. Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing curves were used to compare visual acuity (VA) between cases and matched controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Estimated incidence of RRD. RESULTS We identified 16 915 eyes of 13 792 patients who collectively received 265 781 IVTs over 14 years. Thirty-six eyes were reported to develop RRD over the study period. The estimated incidence (95% confidence interval [CI]) per year per 1000 patients and per 10 000 injections was 0.77 (0.54-1.07) and 1.36 (0.95-1.89), respectively. The probability of RRD did not significantly increase at each successive injection (P = 0.95) with the time of follow-up. Older patients (HR [95% CI] = 1.81 [1.21-3.62] for every decade increase in age, P < 0.01) were at a higher risk of RRD, whereas patients with good presenting VA (HR [95% CI] = 0.85 [0.70-0.98] for every 10-letter increase in VA, P = 0.02) were at a lower risk. Neither the type of retinal disease (P = 0.52) nor the VEGF inhibitor (P = 0.09) was significantly associated with RRD risk. Cases with RRD lost 3 lines of vision on average compared with the prior RRD VA and had significantly fewer injections than matched controls over the year after the RRD. CONCLUSIONS Rhegmatogenous retinal detachment is a rare complication of VEGF inhibitor IVT in routine clinical practice with poor visual outcomes at 1 year

Twenty‐four‐month real‐life treatment outcomes of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy versus type 1 macular neovascularization in Caucasians

Background To compare 24‐month real‐world outcomes of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) inhibitors for Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy (PCV) and type 1 Macular Neovascularization (MNV) in a Caucasian population.MethodsRetrospective analysis from a prospectively designed observational database. Data from Italian centres participating in the Fight Retinal Blindness! (FRB!) project were collected. Treatment‐naïve PCV or type 1 MNV commencing treatment after January 2009 were included. The primary outcome was 24‐month visual acuity (VA) change; other outcomes included baseline characteristics, number of anti‐VEGF injections, time to lesion inactivation and proportion of active visits.ResultsA total of 322 eyes (114 PCVs) from 291 patients were included. Median [Q1, Q3] VA at baseline was comparable (70 [55, 75.8] vs. 70 [58.8, 75] letters, p = 0.95). Adjusted VA change at 2 years was higher in PCV (mean [95% CI], +1.2 [−1.6, 4.1] vs. −3.6 [−6, −1.2] letters, p = 0.005). PCV received fewer anti‐VEGF injections over the first 24 months of treatment than type 1 MNV (median [Q1, Q3], 8 [5, 10] vs. 9 [7, 12.2] injections, p = 0.001), inactivated earlier (median [Q1, Q3], 235 [184, 308] vs. 252 [169, 343] days, p = 0.04) and was less frequently graded ‘active’ (62% vs. 68% of visits, p = 0.001). Conclusions PCV had slightly better VA outcomes over 24 months of treatment than type 1 MNV after receiving less anti‐VEGF injections. These results suggest a possible overlap of the two clinical entities with similar visual prognosis in Caucasians