DEFENDER AUTOMATEDMEDIA FEEDER SYSTEM

Team Defender was tasked under the sponsorship of Neptune Benson to design a device capable of automating the transfer of their filtration media of choice, perlite, from the packaging into their varying Defender ®Regenerative Filtration system models. The current process used for this media transfer is time consuming, inefficient, labor intensive, and leads to overexposure to the perlite media. There were a multitude of parameters that needed to be considered during the concept generation of this particular design in order to properly solve the task at hand. In addition to the aforementioned automation of the feed process and inherent compatibility with the existing Defender design, the product needed to be cost efficient, compact, mobile, and have complimentary safety features. After consultation with the project sponsor, it was determined that the principal issue that would be encountered during the design process would be flow stagnation brought on by the jagged interlocked structure of perlite media. Due to the properties of the perlite media, it was concluded that a mixer would be the most viable, and cost efficient solution as a primary option for ensuring continuous flow. In the first generation prototype, the team weighed the options for mixer designs, and led to the design of a mixer that used arms of various lengths to create a contact with the edge of the conical section of the hopper. This mixer was attached to a rotational motor that was fed through the outlet assembly and into the bottom of the container. After testing at the Neptune Benson facility, it was determined that this stir design was incomplete in its functionality, and that some sort of other contacts would have to be added to the arms in order to produce a viable design. The final design implemented a larger hopper with a steeper cone angle. The new mixer was also added to this design, which included extra rubber flanges to the ends of the stir arms for added contact points on the edge of the container. This setup was placed on a mobile rig, allowing for easy maneuverability. While the final redesign has not yet been field tested, the initial prototype design yielded extremely positive results for the team. While there were still stagnant zones along the edge of the container that created build up of perlite due to incomplete design of the stir; but the overall mass flow rate calculated during the field test was much better than initially anticipated during engineering analysis, as it was found to be 28.86 lb/min. Given on these results, this system is calculated to increase efficiency of the current process by over 500 percent. with the final redesign, a product can be produced that can appeal to consumers as a viable attachment to their Defender units

An update on vitamin B12-related gene polymorphisms and B12 status.

Vitamin B12 is an essential micronutrient in humans needed for health maintenance. Deficiency of vitamin B12 has been linked to dietary, environmental and genetic factors. Evidence for the genetic basis of vitamin B12 status is poorly understood. However, advancements in genomic techniques have increased the knowledge-base of the genetics of vitamin B12 status. Based on the candidate gene and genome-wide association (GWA) studies, associations between genetic loci in several genes involved in vitamin B12 metabolism have been identified. The objective of this literature review was to identify and discuss reports of associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in vitamin B12 pathway genes and their influence on the circulating levels of vitamin B12. Relevant articles were obtained through a literature search on PubMed through to May 2017. An article was included if it examined an association of a SNP with serum or plasma vitamin B12 concentration. Beta coefficients and odds ratios were used to describe the strength of an association, and a  < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Two reviewers independently evaluated the eligibility for the inclusion criteria and extracted the data. From 23 studies which fulfilled the selection criteria, 16 studies identified SNPs that showed statistically significant associations with vitamin B12 concentrations. Fifty-nine vitamin B12-related gene polymorphisms associated with vitamin B12 status were identified in total, from the following populations: African American, Brazilian, Canadian, Chinese, Danish, English, European ancestry, Icelandic, Indian, Italian, Latino, Northern Irish, Portuguese and residents of the USA. Overall, the data analyzed suggests that ethnic-specific associations are involved in the genetic determination of vitamin B12 concentrations. However, despite recent success in genetic studies, the majority of identified genes that could explain variation in vitamin B12 concentrations were from Caucasian populations. Further research utilizing larger sample sizes of non-Caucasian populations is necessary in order to better understand these ethnic-specific associations

Flight Software Development for the EIRSAT-1 Mission

The Educational Irish Research Satellite, knownas EIRSAT-1, is a student-led project to design, build, testand launch Ireland’s first satellite. The on-board softwarefor this mission is being developed using Bright Ascension’sGenerationOne Flight Software Development Kit. Thispaper provides an overview of this kit and of EIRSAT-1’son-board software design. Drawing on the team’scontrasting experience with writing entirely customfirmware for the mission’s science payloads, this workdiscusses the impact of using a kit on the softwaredevelopment process. The challenges associated with theeducational nature of this project are the focus of thisdiscussion. The objective of this paper is to provide usefulinformation for other CubeSat teams assessing softwaredevelopment options.</div