A conceptual design is presented for a low complexity, heritage-based flyby mission to Io, Jupiter's innermost Galilean satellite and the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. The design ...addresses the 2011 Decadal Surveys recommendation for a New Frontiers class mission to Io and is based upon the result of the June 2012 NASA-JPL Planetary Science Summer School. A science payload is proposed to investigate the link between the structure of Io's interior, it's volcanic activity, it's surface composition, and it's tectonics. A study of Io's atmospheric processes and Io's role in the Jovian magnetosphere is also planned. The instrument suite includes a visible/near IR imager, a magnetic field and plasma suite, a dust analyzer and a gimbaled high gain antenna to perform radio science investigations. Payload activity and spacecraft operations would be powered by three Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generators (ASRG). The primary mission includes 10 flybys with close-encounter altitudes as low as 100 km. The mission risks are mitigated by ensuring that relevant components are radiation tolerant and by using redundancy and flight-proven parts in the design. The spacecraft would be launched on an Atlas V rocket with a delta-
of 1.3 km/s. Three gravity assists (Venus, Earth, Earth) would be used to reach the Jupiter system in a 6-year cruise. The resulting concept demonstrates the rich scientific return of a flyby mission to Io.
The 2013 Planetary Science Decadal Survey identified a detailed investigation of the Trojan asteroids occupying Jupiter's L4 and L5 Lagrange points as a priority for future NASA missions. Observing ...these asteroids and measuring their physical characteristics and composition would aid in identification of their source and provide answers about their likely impact history and evolution, thus yielding information about the makeup and dynamics of the early Solar System. We present a conceptual design for a mission to the Jovian Trojan asteroids: the Trojan ASteroid Tour, Exploration, and Rendezvous (TASTER) mission, that is consistent with the NASA New Frontiers candidate mission recommended by the Decadal Survey and the final result of the 2011 NASA-JPL Planetary Science Summer School. Our proposed mission includes visits to two Trojans in the L4 population: a 500km altitude fly-by of 1999 XS143, followed by a rendezvous with and detailed observations of 911 Agamemnon at orbital altitudes of 1000–100 km over a 12 month nominal science data capture period. Our proposed instrument payload – wide- and narrow-angle cameras, a visual and infrared mapping spectrometer, and a neutron/gamma ray spectrometer – would provide unprecedented high-resolution, regional-to-global datasets for the target bodies, yielding fundamental information about the early history and evolution of the Solar System. Although our mission design was completed as part of an academic exercise, this study serves as a useful starting point for future Trojan mission design studies. In particular, we identify and discuss key issues that can make large differences in the complex trade-offs required when designing a mission to the Trojan asteroids.
► Designed a Jovian Trojan asteroids mission (based on NASA New Frontiers 2009 AO). ► Completed during the 2011 NASA-JPL Planetary Science Summer School. ► Involves 2 L4 Trojans: a fly-by of 1999 XS143 and rendezvous with 911 Agamemnon. ► Identifies and discusses key issues in designing a mission to the Trojan asteroids.
Centaurs, minor planets with a semi-major axis between the orbits of Jupiter and Neptune (5–30 AU), are thought to be among the most diverse small bodies in the solar system. These important targets ...for future missions may have recently been Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs), which are thought to be chemically and physically primitive remnants of the early solar system. While the Kuiper Belt spans distances of 30–50 AU, making direct observations difficult, Centaurs' proximity to the Earth and Sun make them more accessible targets for robotic missions. Thus, we outline a mission concept designed to reconnoiter 10199 Chariklo, the largest Centaur and smallest ringed body yet discovered. Named for a legendary Centaur tamer, the conceptual Camilla mission is designed to fit under the cost cap of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) New Frontiers program, leveraging a conservative payload to support a foundational scientific investigation to these primitive bodies. Specifically, the single flyby encounter utilizes a combined high-resolution camera/VIS-IR mapping spectrometer, a sub-mm point spectrometer, and a UV mapping spectrometer. In addition, the mission concept utilizes a kinetic impactor, which would provide the first opportunity to sample the composition of potentially primitive subsurface material beyond Saturn, thus providing key insights into solar system origins. Such a flyby of the Chariklo system would provide a linchpin in the understanding of small body composition, evolution, and transport of materials in the solar system.
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•Flyby concept for 10199 Chariklo, the largest Centaur and smallest ring system.•Opportunity to learn about Kuiper Belt Objects much closer to Earth.•Impactor would provide deepest yet subsurface sampling in the outer Solar System.•Mission concept fits well within NASA New Frontiers Program cost cap.•Mission concept may fit within NASA Discovery Program cost cap.
Abstract
Data returned from the Cassini–Huygens mission have strengthened Enceladus, a small icy moon of Saturn, as an important target in the search for life in our solar system. Information ...gathered from Cassini to support this includes the presence of a subsurface liquid water ocean, vapor plumes and ice grains emanating from its south polar region, and the detection of essential elements and organic material that could potentially support life. However, several outstanding questions remain regarding the connectivity of plume material to the ocean and the composition of the complex organic material. Herein we introduce Tiger, a mission concept developed during the 2020 Planetary Science Summer School at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Tiger is a flyby mission that would help further constrain the habitability of Enceladus through two science objectives: (1) determine whether Enceladus’s volatile inventory undergoes synthesis of complex organic species that are evidence for a habitable ocean, and (2) determine whether Enceladus’s plume material is supplied directly from the ocean or if it interfaces with other reservoirs within the ice shell. To address the science goals in a total of eight flybys, Tiger would carry a four-instrument payload, including a mass spectrometer, a single-band ice-penetrating radar, an ultraviolet imaging spectrograph, and an imaging camera. We discuss Tiger's instrument and mission architecture, as well as the trades and challenges associated with a habitability-focused New Frontiers–class flyby mission to Enceladus.
•A plan to investigate Io from the inside out.•A radiation tolerant payload and a low-risk heritage-based design.•A New Frontiers mission to Io as recommended by the Planetary Decadal Survey.
A ...conceptual design is presented for a low complexity, heritage-based flyby mission to Io, Jupiter’s innermost Galilean satellite and the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. The design addresses the 2011 Decadal Survey’s recommendation for a New Frontiers class mission to Io and is based upon the result of the June 2012 NASA-JPL Planetary Science Summer School. A science payload is proposed to investigate the link between the structure of Io’s interior, its volcanic activity, its surface composition, and its tectonics. A study of Io’s atmospheric processes and Io’s role in the Jovian magnetosphere is also planned. The instrument suite includes a visible/near-IR imager, a magnetic field and plasma suite, a dust analyzer, and a gimbaled high gain antenna to perform radio science. Payload activity and spacecraft operations would be powered by three Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generators (ASRG). The primary mission includes 10 flybys with close-encounter altitudes as low as 100km. The mission risks are mitigated by ensuring that relevant components are radiation tolerant and by using redundancy and flight-proven parts in the design. The spacecraft would be launched on an Atlas V rocket with a delta-v of 1.3km/s. Three gravity assists (Venus, Earth, Earth) would be used to reach the Jupiter system in a 6-year cruise. The resulting concept demonstrates the rich scientific return of a flyby mission to Io.
The 2013 Planetary Science Decadal Survey identified a detailed investigation of the Trojan asteroids occupying Jupiter's L4 and L5 Lagrange points as a priority for future NASA missions. Observing ...these asteroids and measuring their physical characteristics and composition would aid in identification of their source and provide answers about their likely impact history and evolution, thus yielding information about the makeup and dynamics of the early Solar System. We present a conceptual design for a mission to the Jovian Trojan asteroids: the Trojan ASteroid Tour, Exploration, and Rendezvous (TASTER) mission, that is consistent with the NASA New Frontiers candidate mission recommended by the Decadal Survey and the final result of the 2011 NASA-JPL Planetary Science Summer School. Our proposed mission includes visits to two Trojans in the L4 population: a 500 km altitude fly-by of 1999 XS143, followed by a rendezvous with and detailed observations of 911 Agamemnon at orbital altitudes of 1000 - 100 km over a 12 month nominal science data capture period. Our proposed instrument payload - wide- and narrow-angle cameras, a visual and infrared mapping spectrometer, and a neutron/gamma ray spectrometer - would provide unprecedented high-resolution, regional-to-global datasets for the target bodies, yielding fundamental information about the early history and evolution of the Solar System. Although our mission design was completed as part of an academic exercise, this study serves as a useful starting point for future Trojan mission design studies. In particular, we identify and discuss key issues that can make large differences in the complex trade-offs required when designing a mission to the Trojan asteroids.
Patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) adopt compensatory movement patterns as muscles weaken. The Duchenne Video Assessment (DVA) measures patient ease of movement through identification of ...compensatory movement patterns. The DVA directs caregivers to video record patients performing specific movement tasks at home using a secure mobile application, and DVA-certified physical therapists (PTs) score the videos using scorecards with prespecified compensatory movement criteria. The goal of this study was to develop and refine the DVA scorecards.
To develop the initial scorecards, 4 PTs collaboratively created compensatory movement lists for each task, and researchers structured the lists into scorecards. A 2-round modified Delphi process was used to gather expert opinion on the understandability, comprehensiveness, and clinical meaningfulness of the compensatory movements on the scorecards. Eight PTs who had evaluated ≥50 patients with DMD and participated in ≥10 DMD clinical trials were recruited for the panel. In Round 1, panelists evaluated compensatory movement criteria understandability via questionnaire and tested the scorecards. In Round 2, panelists participated in an in-person meeting to discuss areas of disagreement from Round 1 and reach consensus (≥75% agreement) on all revisions to the scorecards.
During the Round 1 revisions to the scorecards, there were 67 changes (44%) to the wording of 153 original compensatory movement criteria and 3 criteria were removed. During the Round 2 revisions to the scorecards, there were 47 changes (31%) to the wording of 150 compensatory movement criteria, 20 criteria were added, and 30 criteria were removed. The panel reached 100% agreement on all changes made to scorecards during Round 2.
PTs with extensive experience evaluating patients with DMD confirmed that the compensatory movement criteria included in the DVA scorecards were understandable, comprehensive, and clinically meaningful.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Glucocorticosteroids (GC) are effective in slowing weakness in boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Methods: This is a multisite, 1‐year, open‐label trial of ...twice‐weekly prednisolone (5 mg/kg/dose) in infants/young boys (0.4–2.4 years) with DMD. We compared changes in Bayley III Scales of Infant Development (Bayley‐III) with untreated boys followed for 1 year (historical control cohort HCC). Twenty‐three of 25 participants completed the study. Results: Treated boys gained an average of 0.5 points on the Bayley‐III gross motor scaled score (GMSS) compared with the HCC who, on average, declined 1.3 points (P = 0.03). All boys maintained linear growth, and none developed Cushingoid features. Excessive weight gain occurred in 13 of 23 (56%) boys. Discussion: This study provides evidence that twice‐weekly GC is well tolerated in infants and young boys with DMD and improves GMSS. Excessive weight gain is a potential risk. Longer follow‐up is required to determine whether early GC initiation is feasible in most infants/boys with DMD. Muscle Nerve 59:650–657, 2019
See editorial on pages 638–639 in this issue.
When β-blockers produce reverse-remodeling in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, they partially reverse changes in fetal-adult/contractile protein, natriuretic peptide, SR-Ca(2+)-ATPase gene program ...constituents. The objective of the current study was to further test the hypothesis that reverse-remodeling is associated with favorable changes in myocardial gene expression by measuring additional contractile, signaling, and metabolic genes that exhibit a fetal/adult expression predominance, are thyroid hormone-responsive, and are regulated by β1-adrenergic receptor signaling. A secondary objective was to identify which of these putative regulatory networks is most closely associated with observed changes.
Forty-seven patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (left ventricular ejection fraction, 0.24±0.09) were randomized to the adrenergic-receptor blockers metoprolol (β1-selective), metoprolol+doxazosin (β1/α1), or carvedilol (β1/β2/α1). Serial radionuclide ventriculography and endomyocardial biopsies were performed at baseline, 3, and 12 months. Expression of 50 mRNA gene products was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Thirty-one patients achieved left ventricular ejection fraction reverse-remodeling response defined as improvement by ≥0.08 at 12 months or by ≥0.05 at 3 months (Δ left ventricular ejection fraction, 0.21±0.10). Changes in gene expression in responders versus nonresponders were decreases in NPPA and NPPB and increases in MYH6, ATP2A2, PLN, RYR2, ADRA1A, ADRB1, MYL3, PDFKM, PDHX, and CPT1B. All except PDHX involved increase in adult or decrease in fetal cardiac genes, but 100% were concordant with changes predicted by inhibition of β1-adrenergic signaling.
In addition to known gene expression changes, additional calcium-handling, sarcomeric, adrenergic signaling, and metabolic genes were associated with reverse-remodeling. The pattern suggests a fetal-adult paradigm but may be because of reversal of gene expression controlled by a β1-adrenergic receptor gene network.
URL: www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique Identifier: NCT01798992.
Critical components of successful evaluation of clinical outcome assessments (COAs) in multisite clinical trials and clinical practice are standardized training, administration, and documented ...reliability of scoring. Experiences of evaluators, alongside patient differences from regional standards of care, may contribute to heterogeneity in clinical center’s expertise. Achieving low variability and high reliability of COA is fundamental to clinical research and to give confidence in our ability to draw rational, interpretable conclusions from the data collected. The objective of this manuscript is to provide a framework to guide the learning process for COAs for use in clinics and clinical trials to maximize reliability and validity of COAs in neuromuscular disease (NMD). This is a consensus-based guideline with contributions from fourteen leading experts in clinical outcomes and the field of clinical outcome training in NMD. This framework should guide reliable and valid assessments in NMD specialty clinics and clinical trials. This consensus aims to expedite study start up with a progressive training pathway ranging from research naïve to highly experienced clinical evaluators. This document includes recommendations for education guidelines and roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders in COA assessment and implementation to ensure quality and consistency of outcome administration across different settings.
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