Radiation and Dust Sensor for Mars Environmental Dynamic Analyzer Onboard M2020 Rover.

The Radiation and Dust Sensor is one of six sensors of the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer onboard the Perseverance rover from the Mars 2020 NASA mission. Its primary goal is to characterize the airbone dust in the Mars atmosphere, inferring its concentration, shape and optical properties. Thanks to its geometry, the sensor will be capable of studying dust-lifting processes with a high temporal resolution and high spatial coverage. Thanks to its multiwavelength design, it will characterize the solar spectrum from Mars' surface. The present work describes the sensor design from the scientific and technical requirements, the qualification processes to demonstrate its endurance on Mars' surface, the calibration activities to demonstrate its performance, and its validation campaign in a representative Mars analog. As a result of this process, we obtained a very compact sensor, fully digital, with a mass below 1 kg and exceptional power consumption and data budget features.

Transposition of the Great Arteries in Fetal Life: Accuracy of Diagnosis and Short-Term Outcome.

OBJECTIVE: To review our series of prenatally diagnosed transposition of the great arteries (TGA) to analyze the accuracy of fetal echocardiography for achieving a precise diagnosis of the TGA type (simple vs. complex) and to examine the short-term outcome. METHODS: A total of 94 cases of simple and complex TGA types (ventriculoarterial discordance with atrioventricular concordance) prenatally evaluated in our referral center between 1998 and 2014 were included. Fetuses with additional congenital anomalies and those with incomplete follow-up were excluded. Prenatal diagnostic accuracy and short-term survival were analyzed for the different types of TGA. RESULTS: The TGA type was correctly ascertained prenatally in 93.3%. Most fetuses were diagnosed with simple TGA (62.7%). There were 6 discrepancies: 5 fetuses with simple TGA had postnatally TGA + ventricular septal defect (VSD; n = 3) or TGA + VSD + coarctation of the aorta (n = 2), and 1 fetus with TGA + VSD postnatally showed severe left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. The mortality rate was 6.6%; it was higher in complex versus simple forms (12.8 vs. 1.9%, p = 0.038), and in cases with intramural coronary artery versus those without (60 vs. 3.5%, p < 0.001). We found no relationship between the arrangement of the great arteries and coronary arterial abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: Simple TGA has a better outcome than the complex forms. A discrepancy rate of 7% with potential influence on the prognosis of survival between the prenatal diagnosis of the TGA type and the definitive diagnosis was found.

Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Neonatal Arterial Switch Surgery for Correction of Transposition of the Great Arteries.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: There are few reports of the appearance of pulmonary arterial hypertension following arterial switch surgery in the neonatal period to correct transposition of the great arteries. We assessed the frequency and clinical pattern of this complication in our series of patients. METHODS: Our database was reviewed to select patients with transposition of the great arteries corrected by neonatal arterial switch at our hospital and who developed pulmonary hypertension over time. RESULTS: We identified 2 (1.3%) patients with transposition of the great arteries successfully repaired in the first week of life who later experienced pulmonary arterial hypertension. The first patient was a 7-year-old girl diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension at age 8 months who did not respond to medical treatment and required lung transplantation. The anatomic pathology findings were consistent with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension. The second patient was a 24-month-old boy diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension at age 13 months who did not respond to medical therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Pulmonary hypertension is a rare but very severe complication that should be investigated in all patients with transposition of the great arteries who have undergone neonatal arterial switch, in order to start early aggressive therapy for affected patients, given the poor therapeutic response and poor prognosis involved.