ALBERT

Beschreibung: This presented study demonstrates the need that PMA-PCR can be used to capture the loss of viability of a sample that is much more specific and time-efficient than alternative methods. This protocol is particularly useful in scenarios in which sterilization treatments may inactivate organisms but not degrade their DNA. The use of a PCR-based method of pathogen detection without first inactivating the DNA of nonviable cells will potentially lead to false positives. The loss of culturability, by heat-killing, did not prevent amplified PCR products, which supports the use of PMA to prevent amplification and differentiate between viable and dead cells. PMA was shown to inhibit the amplification of DNA by PCR in vegetative cells that had been heat-killed.

Beschreibung: This paper derives an explicit expression for an effective albedo of vegetated terrain from the zero- and multiple- order radiative transfer (RT) model comparison. The formulation establishes a direct physical link between the effective vegetation parameterization and the theoretical description of absorption and scattering within the canopy. The paper will present an evaluation of the derived albedo for corn canopies with data taken during an experiment at Alabama A&M Winfield A. Thomas Agricultural Research Station near Huntsville, Alabama in June, 1998. The test site consisted of two 50-m x 60-m plots - one with a bare surface and the other with grass cover - and four 30-m x 50-m plots of corn at different planting densities. One corn field was planted at a full density of 9.5 plants/sq m while the others were planted at 1/3, 1/2 and 2/3 of the full density. The fields were observed with a truck-mounted L-band radiometer at incident angle of 15 degree for the period of two weeks. Soil moisture (SM) changed daily due to irrigation and natural rainfall. Variations in gravimetric SM from 18 % to 34 % were seen during this period. Ground truth data, including careful characterization of the corn size and orientation statistics, and its dielectric, was also collected and used to simulate the effective albedo for the vegetation. The single-scattering albedo is defined as the fractional power scattered from individual vegetation constituents with respect to canopy extinction. It represents single-scattering properties of vegetation elements only, and is independent of ground properties. The values of the albedo get higher when there is dense vegetation (i.e. forest, mature corn, etc.) with scatterers, such as branches and trunks (or stalks in the case of corn), which are large with respect to the wavelength. This large albedo leads to a reduction in brightness temperature in the zero-order RT solution (known as tau-omega model). Higher-order multiple-scattering RT solutions are required for proper representation of scattering within vegetation. In this paper, an expression for an effective albedo for the whole canopy including the ground is derived for use in the zero-order RT model-based SM retrieval. This effective albedo takes into account of all the processes taking place within the canopy, including multiple-scattering. This new formulation will be presented and its importance for microwave SM retrieval will be evaluated for corn canopies in conjunction with the detailed ground truth data obtained during the experiment at Alabama in 1998. Emphasis will be placed on examining how the radiometer response to SM is modified by the corn canopy scattering under different field conditions. A semi-empirical parameterization of the effective albedo will be investigated through analysis of SM and vegetation water content effects on the effective albedo.

Beschreibung: In modern organisms proteins perform a majority of cellular functions, such as chemical catalysis, energy transduction and transport of material across cell walls. Although great strides have been made towards understanding protein evolution, a meaningful extrapolation from contemporary proteins to their earliest ancestors is virtually impossible. In an alternative approach, the origin of water-soluble proteins was probed through the synthesis and in vitro evolution of very large libraries of random amino acid sequences. In combination with computer modeling and simulations, these experiments allow us to address a number of fundamental questions about the origins of proteins. Can functionality emerge from random sequences of proteins? How did the initial repertoire of functional proteins diversify to facilitate new functions? Did this diversification proceed primarily through drawing novel functionalities from random sequences or through evolution of already existing proto-enzymes? Did protein evolution start from a pool of proteins defined by a frozen accident and other collections of proteins could start a different evolutionary pathway? Although we do not have definitive answers to these questions yet, important clues have been uncovered. In one example (Keefe and Szostak, 2001), novel ATP binding proteins were identified that appear to be unrelated in both sequence and structure to any known ATP binding proteins. One of these proteins was subsequently redesigned computationally to bind GTP through introducing several mutations that introduce targeted structural changes to the protein, improve its binding to guanine and prevent water from accessing the active center. This study facilitates further investigations of individual evolutionary steps that lead to a change of function in primordial proteins. In a second study (Seelig and Szostak, 2007), novel enzymes were generated that can join two pieces of RNA in a reaction for which no natural enzymes are known. Recently it was found that, as in the previous case, the proteins have a structure unknown among modern enzymes. In this case, in vitro evolution started from a small, non-enzymatic protein. A similar selection process initiated from a library of random polypeptides is in progress. These results not only allow for estimating the occurrence of function in random protein assemblies but also provide evidence for the possibility of alternative protein worlds. Extant proteins might simply represent a frozen accident in the world of possible proteins. Alternative collections of proteins, even with similar functions, could originate alternative evolutionary paths.

Beschreibung: The primary motion of squat and deadlift exercise involves flexion and extension of the hips, knees, and ankles, but each exercise can be performed with variations in stance width. These variations may result in differing kinematics and ground reaction forces (GRF), which may in turn affect joint loading. PURPOSE: The purpose of this investigation was to compare ankle, knee, and hip kinematics and kinetics of normal squat (NS), wide-stance squat (WS), normal deadlift (ND), and sumo deadlift (SD). We hypothesized that hip joint kinematics and work at each joint would differ between exercise variations. METHODS: Six subjects (3 m/3 f; 70.0 plus or minus 13.7 kg; 168 plus or minus 9.9 cm) performed each lift in normal gravity on the ground-based version of the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) used on the International Space Station. The ARED provided resistance with a combination vacuum tube/flywheel mechanism designed to replicate the gravitational and inertial forces of free weights. Subjects completed each lift with their 10-repetition maximum load. Kinematic data were collected at 250 Hz by a 12-camera motion-capture system (Smart-D, BTS Bioengineering, Milan, Italy), and GRF data were collected at 1000 Hz with independent force platforms for each leg (Model 9261, Kistler Instruments AG, Winterhur, Switzerland). All data were captured simultaneously on a single workstation. The right leg of a single lift for each motion was analyzed. Modeling software (OpenSim 2.2.0, Simbios, Palo Alto, CA) determined joint kinematics and net positive and negative work at each lower extremity joint. Total work was found as the sum of work across all joints and was normalized by system mass. Effect sizes and their 95% confidence intervals were computed between conditions. RESULTS: Peak GRF were similar for each lift. There were no differences between conditions in hip flexion range of motion (ROM). For hip adduction ROM, there were no differences between the NS, WS, and SD. However, hip adduction ROM was greater during the NS and SD than during the ND. Hip rotation ROM was greater during the WS than during the NS and SD, and was greater during the SD than during the ND. For knee and ankle flexion ROM, the ND, WS, and SD were not different, but ROM was greater during the NS than the ND and greater during the WS than the SD. Total eccentric work was greater during the WS than the SD. Otherwise, there were no differences in eccentric or concentric work between conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Although squat and deadlift exercises consist of similar motions, there are kinematic differences between them that depend on stance width. Total eccentric and concentric work are similar for different lifts, but differing kinematics may require activation of different musculature for each variation. With respect to each condition, in the ND the ROM of each joint tended to be less, and the WS tended to trade knee motion for hip motion. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Knowledge of differences in kinematics and kinetics between different squat and deadlift variations is important for coaches and rehabilitation personnel to understand when prescribing exercise. Our results suggest that each variation of the squat and deadlift should be considered a separate exercise that may induce different long-term training effects.

Beschreibung: Background: The opportunistic pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus, experiences fluctuations in fluid shear during infection and colonization of a human host. Colonization frequently occurs at mucus membrane sites such as in the gastrointestinal tract where the bacterium may experience low levels of fluid shear. The response of S. aureus to low fluid shear remains unclear. Methods: S. aureus was cultured to stationary phase using Rotating-Wall Vessel (RWV) bioreactors which produce a physiologically relevant low fluid shear environment. The bacterial aggregates that developed in the RWV were evaluated by electron microscopy as well as for antibiotic resistance and other virulence-associated stressors. Genetic expression profiles for the low-shear cultured S. aureus were determined by microarray analysis and quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Planktonic S. aureus cultures in the low-shear environment formed aggregates completely encased in high amounts of extracellular polymeric substances. In addition, these aggregates demonstrated increased antibiotic resistance indicating attachment-independent biofilm formation. Carotenoid production in the low-shear cultured S. aureus was significantly decreased, and these cultures displayed an increased susceptibility to oxidative stress and killing by whole blood. The hfq gene, associated with low-shear growth in Gram negative organisms, was also found to be down-regulated in S. aureus. Conclusions: Collectively, this data suggests that S. aureus decreases virulence characteristics in favor of a biofilm-dwelling colonization phenotype in response to a low fluid shear environment. Furthermore, the identification of an Hfq response to low-shear culture in S. aureus, in addition to the previously reported responses in Gram negative organisms, strongly suggests an evolutionarily conserved response to mechanical stimuli among structurally diverse prokaryotes.

Beschreibung: Chromosome aberrations were measured in human peripheral blood lymphocytes after in vitro exposure to Si-28-ions with energies ranging from 90 to 600 MeV/u, Ti-48-ions with energies ranging from 240 to 1000 MeV/u, or to Fe-56-ions with energies ranging from 200 to 5,000 MeV/u. The LET of the various Si beams in this study ranged from 48 to 158 keV/ m, the LET of the Ti ions ranged from 107 to 240 keV/micron, and the LET of the Fe-ions ranged from 145 to 440 keV/ m. Doses delivered were in the 10- to 200-cGy range. Dose-response curves for chromosome exchanges in cells at first division after exposure, measured using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with whole-chromosome probes, were fitted with linear or linear-quadratic functions. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) was estimated from the initial slope of the dose-response curve for chromosome damage with respect to gamma-rays. The estimates of RBEmax values for total chromosome exchanges ranged from 4.4+/-0.4 to 31.5+/-2.6 for Fe ions, 21.4+/-1.7 to 28.3+/-2.4 for Ti ions, and 11.8+/-1.0 to 42.2+/-3.3 for Si ions. The highest RBEmax value for Fe ions was obtained with the 600 MeV/u beam, the highest RBEmax value for Ti ions was obtained 1000 MeV/u beam, and the highest RBEmax value for Si ions was obtained with the 170 MeV/u beam. For Si and Fe ions the RBEmax values increased with LET, reaching a maximum at about 180 keV/micron for Fe and about 100 keV/micron for Si, and decreasing with further increase in LET. Additional studies for low doses Si-28-ions down to 0.02 Gy will be discussed.

Beschreibung: Pollen can be transported great distances. Van de Water et. al., 2003 reported Juniperus pollen, a significant aeroallergen was transported 200-600 km. Hence local observations of plant phenology may not be consistent with the timing and source of pollen collected by pollen sampling instruments. The DREAM (Dust REgional Atmospheric Model, Yin 2007) is a verified model for atmospheric dust transport modeling using MODIS data products to identify source regions and quantities of dust (Yin 2007). The use of satellite data products for studying phenology is well documented (White and Nemani 2006). We are modifying the DREAM model to incorporate pollen transport. The linkages already exist with DREAM through PHAiRS (Public Health Applications in remote Sensing) to the public health community. This linkage has the potential to fill this data gap so that health effects of pollen can better be tracked for linkage with health outcome data including asthma, respiratory effects, myocardial infarction, and lost work days. DREAM is based on the SKIRON/Eta modeling system and the Eta/NCEP regional atmospheric model. The dust modules of the entire system incorporate the state of the art parameterizations of all the major phases of the atmospheric dust life such as production, diffusion, advection, and removal. These modules also include effects of the particle size distribution on aerosol dispersion. The dust production mechanism is based on the viscous/turbulent mixing, shear-free convection diffusion, and soil moisture. In addition to these sophisticated mechanisms, very high resolution databases, including elevation, soil properties, and vegetation cover are utilized. The DREAM model was modified to use pollen sources instead of dust (PREAM). Pollen release will be estimated based on satellite-derived phenology of Juniperus spp. communities. The MODIS surface reflectance product (MOD09) will provide information on the start of the plant growing season, growth stage, peak greenness, dry-down and pollen release. Ground based observational records of pollen release timing and quantities will be used as verification. Techniques developed using MOD09 surface reflectance products will be directly applicable to the next generation sensors such as VIIRS. The resulting deterministic model for predicting and simulating pollen emission and downwind concentration to study details of phenology and meteorology and their dependencies. This information will be used to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s National Environmental Public Health Tracking Program (EPHT) and the State of New Mexico environmental public health decision support for asthma and allergies alerts

Beschreibung: Phytoplankton absorption spectra and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) pigment observations from the Eastern U.S. and global observations from NASA's SeaBASS archive are used in a linear inverse calculation to extract pigment-specific absorption spectra. Using these pigment-specific absorption spectra to reconstruct the phytoplankton absorption spectra results in high correlations at all visible wavelengths (r(sup 2) from 0.83 to 0.98), and linear regressions (slopes ranging from 0.8 to 1.1). Higher correlations (r(sup 2) from 0.75 to 1.00) are obtained in the visible portion of the spectra when the total phytoplankton absorption spectra are unpackaged by multiplying the entire spectra by a factor that sets the total absorption at 675 nm to that expected from absorption spectra reconstruction using measured pigment concentrations and laboratory-derived pigment-specific absorption spectra. The derived pigment-specific absorption spectra were further used with the total phytoplankton absorption spectra in a second linear inverse calculation to estimate the various phytoplankton HPLC pigments. A comparison between the estimated and measured pigment concentrations for the 18 pigment fields showed good correlations (r(sup 2) greater than 0.5) for 7 pigments and very good correlations (r(sup 2) greater than 0.7) for chlorophyll a and fucoxanthin. Higher correlations result when the analysis is carried out at more local geographic scales. The ability to estimate phytoplankton pigments using pigment-specific absorption spectra is critical for using hyperspectral inverse models to retrieve phytoplankton pigment concentrations and other Inherent Optical Properties (IOPs) from passive remote sensing observations.

Beschreibung: Following the discovery of an archived set of samples from Stanley Miller's early experiments, analyses were undertaken to better understand the diversity of compounds produced from electric discharges acting on reducing gas mixtures. The paper chromatography methods that Miller used in the 1950s were only capable of detecting a few amino acids and were unable to provide substantial quantitative data relative to today's techniques. Current analytical techniques are much more sensitive and selective, and are capable of precisely quantifying a much larger range of amino acids and their enantiomeric abundances. In one study, preserved dried samples produced by Miller using a lesser-known volcanic apparatus which differed from Miller's classic apparatus in that it utilized an aspirator that injected steam into the electric discharge chamber, simulating a volcanic eruption. The volcanic apparatus produced a wider variety of amino acids than the classic configuration. Prebiotic compounds synthesized in these environments may have locally accumulated where they could have undergone further processing. An additional preserved set of samples from an experiment conducted in 1958 were also found in Miller's archived collection. These samples which had been generated using a mixture of CH4, NH3, H2S and CO2 were collected, catalogued, and stored by Miller, but for unknown reasons were never studied. In our analyses a total of 23 amino acids and 4 amines, including 7 organosulfur compounds, were detected in these samples. The major amino acids with chiral centers are racemic within the accuracy of the measurements, indicating that they are not contaminants introduced during sample storage. This experiment marks the first synthesis of sulfur amino acids from spark discharge experiments designed to imitate primordial environments. The relative yield of some amino acids, in particular the isomers of amino butyric acid, are the highest ever found in a spark discharge experiment. The simulated primordial conditions used by Miller in these experiments may serve as a model for early volcanic plume chemistry and provide insight to the possible roles such plumes may have played in abiotic organic synthesis. Additionally, the overall abundances of the synthesized amino acids in the presence of H2S are very similar to the abundances found in some carbonaceous meteorites, suggesting that H2S may have played an important role in prebiotic reactions in early solar system environments. Although experiments using a variety of gases as components of the primordial Earth's atmospheric composition and a spark discharge apparatus configured according to Miller's original or volcanic design can be readily carried out, the unique opportunity to investigate samples prepared by the pioneer in abiotic synthesis using state of the art analytical methods is of considerable historic interest.

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: The study will address the following mission concerns: -Extended human presence in the environments of deep space as well as the Moon and Mars will require a solid biological understanding of the integrated effects of diminished gravity, enhanced radiation, and transit- and destination-specific variables from the sub-cellular to the whole organism level. -Biological and associated technologies for biological and robotic precursor missions to realize future objectives for space colonization. -Surfaces, gravity levels, radiation environments, and atmospheres of these nearest neighbors are radically different in chemical and geological make-up from those on our home planet, and all of these contributory effects must be considered.

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: INTRODUCTION: Sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of line of duty death among firefighters, accounting for approximately 45% of fatalities annually. Firefighters perform strenuous muscular work while wearing heavy, encapsulating personal protective equipment in high ambient temperatures, under chaotic and emotionally stressful conditions. These factors can precipitate sudden cardiac events like myocardial infarction, serious dysrhythmias, or cerebrovascular accidents in firefighters with underlying cardiovascular disease. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to deploy and then evaluate the contribution of resting advanced ECG (A-ECG) in addition to other screening tools (family history, lipid profiles, and cardiopulmonary exercise tests, XT) in assessment of an individual fs cardiac risk profile. METHODS: Forty-four career firefighters were recruited to perform comprehensive baseline assessments including tests of aerobic performance, fasting lipids and glucose. Five-min resting 12-lead A-ECGs were obtained in a subset of firefighters (n=21) and transmitted over a secure networked system to a NASA physician collaborator. Using myocardial perfusion and other imaging as the gold standard, A-ECG scoring has been proven useful in accurately identifying a number of cardiac pathologies including coronary artery disease (CAD), left ventricular hypertrophy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and non-ischemic and ischemic cardiomyopathy. RESULTS: Subjects f mean (SD) age was 43 (8) years, weight 91 (13) kg, and BMI 28 (3) kg/m2. Fifty-one percent of subjects had .3 cardiovascular risk factors. One subject had ST depression on XT ECG, at least one positive A-ECG score for CAD, and documented CAD based on cardiology referral. While all other subjects, including those with fewer risk factors, higher aerobic fitness, and normal exercise ECGs, were classified as healthy by A-ECG, there was no trend for association between risk factors and any of 20 A-ECG parameters in the grouped data.

Beschreibung: Radiation risks are estimated in a competing risk formalism where age or time after exposure estimates of increased risks for cancer and circulatory diseases are folded with a probability to survive to a given age. The survival function, also called the life-table, changes with calendar year, gender, smoking status and other demographic variables. An outstanding problem in risk estimation is the method of risk transfer between exposed populations and a second population where risks are to be estimated. Approaches used to transfer risks are based on: 1) Multiplicative risk transfer models -proportional to background disease rates. 2) Additive risk transfer model -risks independent of background rates. In addition, a Mixture model is often considered where the multiplicative and additive transfer assumptions are given weighted contributions. We studied the influence of the survival probability on the risk of exposure induced cancer and circulatory disease morbidity and mortality in the Multiplicative transfer model and the Mixture model. Risks for never-smokers (NS) compared to the average U.S. population are estimated to be reduced between 30% and 60% dependent on model assumptions. Lung cancer is the major contributor to the reduction for NS, with additional contributions from circulatory diseases and cancers of the stomach, liver, bladder, oral cavity, esophagus, colon, a portion of the solid cancer remainder, and leukemia. Greater improvements in risk estimates for NS s are possible, and would be dependent on improved understanding of risk transfer models, and elucidating the role of space radiation on the various stages of disease formation (e.g. initiation, promotion, and progression).

Beschreibung: This paper outlines a preliminary study that was conducted to review, test, and improve on current space suit biocontamination control. Biocontamination from crew members can cause space suit damage and objectionable odors and lead to crew member health hazards. An understanding of the level of biocontamination is necessary to mitigate its effects. A series of tests were conducted with the intent of evaluating current suit materials, ground and on-orbit disinfectants, and potential commercial off-the-shelf antimicrobial materials. Included in this paper is a discussion of the test methodology, results, and analysis method.

Beschreibung: This slide presentation reviews the study that used a model to forecast pollen to assist in warning for asthma populations. Using MODIS daily reflectances to input to a model, PREAM, adapted from the Dust REgional Atmospheric Modeling (DREAM) system, a product of predicted pollen is produced. Using the pollen from Juniper the PREAM model was shown to be an assist in alerting the public of pollen bursts, and reduce the health impact on asthma populations.

Beschreibung: Maintaining vitamin D status without sunlight exposure is difficult without supplementation. This study was designed to better understand interrelationships between periodic cholecalciferol(vitamin D3) supplementation and immune function in Antarctic workers. The effect of 2 oral dosing regimens of vitamin D3 supplementation on vitamin D status and markers of immune function were evaluated in people in Antarctica with no ultraviolet light exposure for 6 mo. Participants were given a 2,000-IU (50 g) daily (n=15) or 10,000-IU (250 g) weekly (n=14) vitamin D3 supplement for 6 mo during a winter in Antarctica. Biological samples were collected at baseline and at 3 and 6 mo. Vitamin D intake, markers of vitamin D and bone metabolism, and latent virus reactivation were determined. After 6 mo the mean (SD) serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 concentration increased from 56 plus or minus 17 to 79 plus or minus 16 nmol/L and 52 plus or minus 10 to 69 plus or minus 9 nmol/L in the 2,000-IU/d and 10,000-IU/wk groups (main effect over time P less than 0.001). Participants with a greater BMI (participant BMI range = 19-43 grams per square meter) had a smaller increase in 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 after 6 mo supplementation (P less than 0.05). Participants with high serum cortisoland higher serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 were less likely to shed Epstein-Barr virus in saliva (P less than 0.05). The doses given raised vitamin D status in participants not exposed to sunlight for 6 mo, and the efficacy was influenced by baseline vitamin D status and BMI. The data also provide evidence that vitamin D, interacting with stress, can reduce risk of latent virus reactivation during the winter in Antarctica.

Beschreibung: A long standing question in the field of prebiotic chemistry is the origin of the genetic macromolecules DNA and RNA. DNA and RNA have very complex structures with repeating subunits of nucleotides, which are composed of nucleobases (nitrogen heterocycles) connected to sugar-phosphate. Due to the instability of some nucleobases (e.g. cytosine), difficulty of synthesis and instability of D-ribose, and the likely scarcity of polyphosphates necessary for the modern nucleotides, alternative nucleotides have been proposed for constructing the first genetic material. Thus, we have begun to investigate the chemistry of nitrogen heterocycles in plausible, complex prebiotic mixtures in an effort to identify robust reactions and potential alternative nucleotides. We have taken a complex prebiotic mixture produced by a spark discharge acting on a gas mixture of N2, CO2, CH4, and H2, and reacted it with four nitrogen heterocycles: uracil, 5-hydroxymethyluracil, guanine, and isoxanthopterin (2-amino-4,7-dihydroxypteridine). The products of the reaction between the spark mixture and each nitrogen heterocycle were characterized by liquid chromatography coupled to UV spectroscopy and Orbitrap mass spectrometry. We found that the reaction between the spark mixtUl'e and isoxanthopterin formed one major product, which was a cyanide adduct. 5-hydroxymethyluracil also reacted with the spark mixture to form a cyanide adduct, uracil-5-acetonitrile, which has been synthesized previously by reacting HCN with S-hydroxymethyluracil. Unlike isoxanthopterin, the chromatogram of the 5-hydroxymethyluracil reaction was much more complex with multiple products including spark-modified dimers. Additionally, we observed that HMU readily self-polymerizes in solution to a variety of oligomers consistent with those suggested by Cleaves. Guanine and uracil, the biological nucleobases, did not react with the spark mixture, even at high temperature (100 C). This suggests that there are alternative nucleobases which are more reactive under prebiotic conditions and may have been involved in producing precursor nucleotides.

Beschreibung: The relationship between biological effects and low doses of absorbed radiation is still uncertain, especially for high LET radiation exposure. Estimates of risks from low-dose and low-dose-rates are often extrapolated using data from Japanese atomic bomb survivor with either linear or linear quadratic models of fit. In this study, chromosome aberrations were measured in human peripheral blood lymphocytes and normal skin fibroblasts cells after exposure to very low dose (0.01 - 0.20 Gy) of 170 MeV/u Si-28 ions or 600 MeV/u Fe-56 ions, including doses where on average less than one direct ion traversal per cell nucleus occurs. Chromosomes were analyzed using the whole-chromosome fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique during the first cell division after irradiation, and chromosome aberrations were identified as either simple exchanges (translocations and dicentrics) or complex exchanges (involving 〉2 breaks in 2 or more chromosomes). The responses for doses above 0.1 Gy (more than one ion traverses a cell) showed linear dose responses. However, for doses less than 0.1 Gy, both Si-28 ions and Fe-56 ions showed a dose independent response above background chromosome aberrations frequencies. Possible explanations for our results are non-targeted effects due to aberrant cell signaling [1], or delta-ray dose fluctuations [2] where a fraction of cells receive significant delta-ray doses due to the contributions of multiple ion tracks that do not directly traverse cell nuclei where chromosome aberrations are scored.

Beschreibung: Having just emerged from the warmest decade on record and watching as the oceans acidify, global resources peak, the world's population continues to climb, and nearly half of all known species face extinction by the end of the century. We stand on the threshold of one of the most important transition in human history-the transition from hunting-and-gathering our energy to cultivating sustainable, carbon-neutral, environmentally-friendly energy supplies. Can we "cultivate" enerm without competing with agriculture for land, freshwater, or fertilizer? Can we develop an "ecology of technology" that optimizes our use of limited resources? Is human activity compatible with improved conditions in the world's oceans? Will our ingenuity prevail in time to make a difference for our children and the children of all species? With support from NASA ARMD and the California Energy Commission, a group of dedicated scientists and engineers are working on a project called OMEGA (Offshore Membrane Enclosures for Growing Algae), to provide practical answers to these critical questions and to leave a legacy of hope for the oceans and for the future.

Beschreibung: Compared to DNA with simple DSBs, the complex lesions can enhance the hydrogen bonds opening rate at the DNA terminus, and increase the mobility of the whole duplex. Binding of Ku drastically reduces the structural disruption and flexibility caused by the complex lesions. In all complex DSBs systems, the binding of DSB terminus with Ku70 is softened while the binding of the middle duplex with Ku80 is tightened. Binding of Ku promotes the rigidity of DNA duplexes, due to the clamp structure of the inner surface of the rings of Ku70/80.

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: A cytometer now under development exploits spatial sorting of sampled cells on a microarray chip followed by use of grating-coupled surface-plasmon-resonance imaging (GCSPRI) to detect the sorted cells. This cytometer on a chip is a prototype of contemplated future miniature cytometers that would be suitable for rapidly identifying pathogens and other cells of interest in both field and laboratory applications and that would be attractive as alternatives to conventional flow cytometers. The basic principle of operation of a conventional flow cytometer requires fluorescent labeling of sampled cells, stringent optical alignment of a laser beam with a narrow orifice, and flow of the cells through the orifice, which is subject to clogging. In contrast, the principle of operation of the present cytometer on a chip does not require fluorescent labeling of cells, stringent optical alignment, or flow through a narrow orifice. The basic principle of operation of the cytometer on a chip also reduces the complexity, mass, and power of the associated laser and detection systems, relative to those needed in conventional flow cytometry. Instead of making cells flow in single file through a narrow flow orifice for sequential interrogation as in conventional flow cytometry, a liquid containing suspended sampled cells is made to flow over the front surface of a microarray chip on which there are many capture spots. Each capture spot is coated with a thin (approximately 50-nm) layer of gold that is, in turn, coated with antibodies that bind to cell-surface molecules characteristic of one the cell species of interest. The multiplicity of capture spots makes it possible to perform rapid, massively parallel analysis of a large cell population. The binding of cells to each capture spot gives rise to a minute change in the index of refraction at the surface of the chip. This change in the index of refraction is what is sensed in GCSPRI, as described briefly below. The identities of the various species in a sample of cells is spatially encoded in the chip by the pattern of capture spots. The number of cells of a particular species is determined from the magnitude of the GCSPRI signal from that spot. GCSPRI as used here can be summarized as follows: The cytometer chip is fabricated with a diffraction grating on its front surface. The chip is illuminated with a light emitting diode (LED) from the front. By proper choice of grating parameters and of the wavelength and the angle of incidence of a laser beam, laser light can be made to be coupled into an electromagnetic mode that resonates with surface plasmons and thus couples light into surface plasmons. Coupling of light into a surface plasmon at a given location reduces the amount of incident light reflected from that location. A change in the index of refraction at the surface of a capture spot gives rise to a change in the resonance condition. Depending on the specific design, the change in the index of refraction could manifest itself as a brightening or darkening, a change in the wavelength needed to excite the plasmon at a given angle of incidence, or a change in the angle of incidence needed to excite the plasmon at a given wavelength. Whereas a multiwavelength laser system with multichannel detection would be needed to detect multiple species in conventional flow cytometry, it suffices to use an LED and a single detector channel in the GCSPRI approach: this contributes significantly to reductions in cost, complexity, size, mass, and power. GCSPRI cytometer chips could be made of plastic and could be mass-produced cheaply by use of molding and other methods adopted from the manufacture of digital video disks. These methods are amenable to a high degree of miniaturization: such additional features as fluidic channels, reaction chambers, and fluid-coupling ports could readily be incorporated into the chips, without incurring substantial additional costs.

Beschreibung: Tissue lithography will enable physicians and researchers to obtain macromolecules with high purity (greater than 90 percent) from desired cells in conventionally processed, clinical tissues by simply annotating the desired cells on a computer screen. After identifying the desired cells, a suitable lithography mask will be generated to protect the contents of the desired cells while allowing destruction of all undesired cells by irradiation with ultraviolet light. The DNA from the protected cells can be used in a number of downstream applications including DNA sequencing. The purity (i.e., macromolecules isolated form specific cell types) of such specimens will greatly enhance the value and information of downstream applications. In this method, the specific cells are isolated on a microscope slide using photolithography, which will be faster, more specific, and less expensive than current methods. It relies on the fact that many biological molecules such as DNA are photosensitive and can be destroyed by ultraviolet irradiation. Therefore, it is possible to protect the contents of desired cells, yet destroy undesired cells. This approach leverages the technologies of the microelectronics industry, which can make features smaller than 1 micrometer with photolithography. A variety of ways has been created to achieve identification of the desired cell, and also to designate the other cells for destruction. This can be accomplished through chrome masks, direct laser writing, and also active masking using dynamic arrays. Image recognition is envisioned as one method for identifying cell nuclei and cell membranes. The pathologist can identify the cells of interest using a microscopic computerized image of the slide, and appropriate custom software. In one of the approaches described in this work, the software converts the selection into a digital mask that can be fed into a direct laser writer, e.g. the Heidelberg DWL66. Such a machine uses a metalized glass plate (with chrome metallization) on which there is a thin layer of photoresist. The laser transfers the digital mask onto the photoresist by direct writing, with typical best resolution of 2 micrometers. The plate is then developed to remove the exposed photoresist, which leaves the exposed areas susceptible to chemical chrome etch. The etch removes the unprotected chrome. The rest of the photoresist is then removed, by either ultraviolet organic solvent or over-development. The remaining chrome pattern is quickly oxidized by atmospheric exposure (typically within 30 seconds). The ready chrome mask is now applied to the tissue slide and aligned manually, or using automatic software and pre-designed alignment marks. The slide plate sandwich is then exposed to UV to destroy the DNA of the unwanted cells. The slide and plate are separated and the slide is processed in a standard way to prepare for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and potential identification of cancer sequences.

Beschreibung: This study presents development of prototype products for terrestrial ecosystems in preparation for the future imaging spectrometer planned for the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) mission. We present a successful demonstration example in a coniferous forest of two product prototypes: fraction of photosynthetic active radiation (PAR) absorbed by chlorophyll of a canopy (fAPAR(sub chl)) and leaf water content (LWC), for future HyspIRI implementation at 60 m spatial resolution. For this, we used existing 30 m resolution imaging spectrometer data available from the Earth Observing One (EO-1) Hyperion satellite to simulate and prototype the level one radiometrically corrected radiance (L1R) images expected from the HyspIRI visible through shortwave infrared spectrometer. The HyspIRI-like images were atmospherically corrected to obtain surface reflectance, and spectrally resampled to produce 60 m reflectance images for wavelength regions that were comparable to all seven of the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land bands. Thus, we developed MODIS-like surface reflectance in seven spectral bands at the HyspIRI-like spatial scale, which was utilized to derive fAPARchl and LWC with a coupled canopy-leaf radiative transfer model (PROSAIL2) for the coniferous forest[1]. With this study, we provide additional evidence that the fAPARchl product is more realistic for describing the physiologically active canopy than the traditional fAPAR parameter for the whole canopy (fAPAR(sub canopy)), and thus should replace it in ecosystem process models to reduce uncertainties in terrestrial carbon cycle studies and ecosystem studies.

Beschreibung: Larch (Larix spp.) dominant forests compose a large proportion of the forests of Russia (i.e., about 40% of forested areas). These forests range from the Yenisei ridge on the west to the Pacific Ocean on the east, and from Lake Baikal on the south to the 73rd parallel in the north. Larch stands comprise the world s northern most forest at Ary-Mas (72 deg 28' N, 102 deg 15' E). Larch dominated forests occupy about 70% of the permafrost areas in Siberia. Larch forms high closure stands as well as open forests, and is found mainly over permafrost, where other tree species barely survive. Wildfires are typical for this territory with the majority occurring as ground fires due to low crown closure. Due to the thin active layer in permafrost soils and a dense lichen-moss cover, ground fires may cause stand mortality. The vast areas of larch-dominant forests is generally considered as a "carbon sink"; however, positive long-term temperature trends at higher latitudes are expected to result in an increase of fire frequency, and thus may convert this area to a source for greenhouse gases. There are recent observations regarding the increase of fire frequency within non-protected territories. Surprisingly, there are few publications on fire chronoseqences for the huge forested territory between the Ural Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Also there is a general understanding that bimodal (late spring -- early summer and late summer-beginning of fall) fire seasonal distribution in the south becomes uni-modal (late spring -- early summer) in the north. The purpose of this study is to investigate the wildfire history at the northern edge of the zone of larch dominance.

Beschreibung: This invention relates to surface modification of porosified silicon (pSi) structures with poly(alkylene) glycols for the purpose of controlled degradation of the silicon matrix and tailored release of encapsulated substances for biomedical applications. The pSi structures are currently used in diverse biomedical applications including bio-molecular screening, optical bio-sensoring, and drug delivery by means of injectable/orally administered carriers and implantable devices. The size of the pores and the surface chemistry of the pSi structure can be controlled during the microfabrication process and thereafter. A fine regulation of the degradation kinetics of mesoporous silicon structures is of fundamental importance. Polyethylene glycols (PEGs) represent the major category of surface modifying agents used in classical drug delivery systems and in pharmaceutical dosage forms. PEGylation enables avoidance of RES uptake, thus prolonging circulation time of intravenously injectable nanovectors. PEG molecules demonstrate little toxicity and immunogenicity, and are cleared from the body through the urine (molecular weight, MW less than 30 kDa) or in the feces (MW greater than 30kDa). The invention focuses on the possibility of finely tuning the degradation kinetics of the pSi nanovectors and other structures through surface conjugation of PEGs with various backbone lengths/MWs. To prove the concept, pSi nanovectors were covalently conjugated to seven PEGs with MW from 245 to 5,000 Da and their degradation kinetics in physiologically relevant media (phosphate buffer saline, PBS pH7.4, and fetal bovine serum) was assessed by the elemental analysis of the Si using inductive coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The conjugation of the PEG with lowest MW to the nanovectors surface did not induce any change in the degradation kinetics in serum, but inhibited degradation and consequently the release of orthosilicic acid into buffer. When PEGs with the longer chains were evaluated, Si mass loss from the nanovectors was slowed down, and the PEGylated structures were almost fully degraded within 18 24 hours in serum and within 48 hours in PBS. The most dramatic effect was observed for high MW PEGs 3,400 and 5,000 Da, which prominently inhibited the degradation of the systems, with complete degradation achieved only after four days. For these PEGs, during the early stages of the degradation, there was a lag period of little or no Si mass loss from the nanovector. The obtained profiles were in agreement with the erosion of the nanovector surface as observed by scanning electron microscopy.

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: The NASA Johnson Space Center s (NASA JSC) Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) recently approved the formation of two human data repositories: the Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health Repository (LSAH-R) for clinical data and the Life Sciences Data Archive Repository (LSDA-R) for research data. The establishment of these repositories forms the foundation for the release of data and information beyond the scope for which the data was originally collected. The release of clinical and research data and information is primarily managed by two NASA groups: the Evidence Base Working Group (EBWG), consisting of members of both repositories, and the LSAH Policy Board. The goal of unifying these repositories and their processes is to provide a mutually supportive approach to handling medical and research data, to enhance the use of medical and research data to reduce risk, and to promote the understanding of space physiology, countermeasures and other mitigation strategies. Over the past year, both repositories have received over 100 data and information requests from a wide variety of requesters. The disposition of these requests has highlighted the challenges faced when attempting to make data collected on a unique set of subjects available beyond the original intent for which the data were collected. As the EBWG works through each request, many considerations must be factored into account when deciding what data can be shared and how - from the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), to NASA s Health Information Management System (10HIMS) and Human Experimental and Research Data Records (10HERD) access requirements. Additional considerations include the presence of the data in the repositories and vetting requesters for legitimacy of their use of the data. Additionally, fair access must be ensured for intramural, as well as extramural investigators. All of this must be considered in the formulation of the charters, policies and workflows for the human data repositories at NASA.

Beschreibung: In 2010, NASA?s Space Life Sciences Directorate announced the successful results from pilot experiments with open innovation methodologies. Specifically, utilization of internet based external crowd sourcing platforms to solve challenging problems in human health and performance related to the future of spaceflight. The follow-up to this success was an internal crowd sourcing pilot program entitled NASA@work, which was supported by the InnoCentive@work software platform. The objective of the NASA@work pilot was to connect the collective knowledge of individuals from all areas within the NASA organization via a private web based environment. The platform provided a venue for NASA Challenge Owners, those looking for solutions or new ideas, to pose challenges to internal solvers, those within NASA with the skill and desire to create solutions. The pilot was launched in 57 days, a record for InnoCentive and NASA, and ran for three months with a total of 20 challenges posted Agency wide. The NASA@work pilot attracted over 6000 participants throughout NASA with a total of 183 contributing solvers for the 20 challenges posted. At the time of the pilot?s closure, solvers provided viable solutions and ideas for 17 of the 20 posted challenges. The solver community provided feedback on the pilot describing it as a barrier breaking activity, conveying that there was a satisfaction associated with helping co-workers, that it was "fun" to think about problems outside normal work boundaries, and it was nice to learn what challenges others were facing across the agency. The results and the feedback from the solver community have demonstrated the power and utility of an internal collaboration tool, such as NASA@work.

Beschreibung: INTRODUCTION Head-down-tilt bed rest (HDT) has been used as a safe gr ound-based analog to mimic and develop countermeasures for the physiological effects of spaceflight, including decrements in postural stability. The purpose of this investigation was to characterize the effects of 30-, 60-, and 90-day bed rest on postural control in men and women. METHODS Twenty-nine subjects (18M,11F) underwent 13 days of ambula tory acclimatization and were placed in 6? HDT for 30 (n=12), 60 (n=8), or 90 (n=9) days, followed by 14 days of ambulatory recovery. Computerized dynamic posturography (CDP) was used to assess changes in sensory and motor components of postural control, and recovery after HDT. Sensory Organization Tests (SOTs) objectively evaluate one?s ability to effectively use or suppress visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive information for postural control. Stability during the SOTs was assessed using peak-to-peak sway and convergence toward stability limits to derive an equilibrium score. Motor Control Tests (MCTs) evaluate one?s ability to recover from unexpected support surface perturbations, with performance determined by center-of-pressure path length. Whole-body kinematic data were collected to determine body-sway strategy used to maintain stability during each condition. Baselines were determined pre-HDT. Recovery was tracked post-HDT on days 0, 1, 2, and 4. RESULTS Immediately after HDT, subjects showed decreased performance on most SOTs, primarily on sway-referenced support conditions, typically returning to baseline levels within 4 days. MCT performance was not significantly affected. There were no significant gender or duration differences in performance. Kinematic data revealed a tendency to use ankle strategy to maintain an upright stance during most SOT conditions. Interestingly, six subjects (2M,4F) experienced orthostatic intolerance and were unable to complete day 0 testing. CONCLUSION HDT mimics some un loading mechanisms of spaceflight and elicits orthostatic issues present post-spaceflight (contributing to instability); however, it does not sufficiently address the vestibular dysfunction which occurs post-spaceflight.

Beschreibung: Is water an absolute prerequisite for life? Life depends on a variety of non-covalent interactions among molecules, the nature of which is determined as much by the solvent in which they occur as by the molecules themselves. Catalysis and information processing, two essential functions of life, require non-covalent molecular recognition with very high specificity. For example, to correctly reproduce a string consisting of 600,000 units of information (e.g ., 600 kilobases, equivalent to the genome of the smallest free living terrestrial organisms) with a 90% success rate requires specificity 〉 107 : 1 for the target molecule vs. incorrect alternatives. Such specificity requires (i) that the correct molecular association is energetically stabilized by at least 40 kJ/mol relative to alternatives, and (ii) that the system is able to sample among possible states (alternative molecular associations) rapidly enough to allow the system to fall under thermodynamic control and express the energetic stabilization. We argue that electrostatic interactions are required to confer the necessary energetic stabilization vs. a large library of molecular alternatives, and that a solvent with polarity and dielectric properties comparable to water is required for the system to sample among possible states and express thermodynamic control. Electrostatic associations can be made in non-polar solvents, but the resulting complexes are too stable to be "unmade" with sufficient frequency to confer thermodynamic control on the system. An electrostatic molecular complex representing 3 units of information (e.g., 3 base pairs) with specificity 〉 107 per unit has a stability in non-polar solvent comparable to that of a carbon-carbon bond at room temperature. These considerations suggest that water, or a solvent with properties very like water, is necessary to support high-fidelity information processing, and can therefore be considered a critical prerequisite for life.

Beschreibung: Since the 19th Century, the unmatched biological diversity of Amazonia has stimulated a diverse set of hypotheses accounting for patterns of species diversity and distribution in mega-diverse tropical environments. Unfortunately, the evidence supporting particular hypotheses to date is at best described as ambiguous, and no generalizations have emerged yet, mostly due to the lack of comprehensive comparative phylogeographic studies with thorough trans-Amazonian sampling of lineages. Here we report on spatial and temporal patterns of diversification estimated from mitochondrial gene trees for 31 lineages of birds associated with upland terra-firme forest, the dominant habitat in modern lowland Amazonia. The results confirm the pervasive role of Amazonian rivers as primary barriers separating sister lineages of birds, and a protracted spatio-temporal pattern of diversification, with a gradual reduction of earlier (1st and 2nd) and older (〉 2 mya) splits associated with each lineage in an eastward direction. (The easternmost tributaries of the Amazon, the Xingu and Tocantins Rivers, are not associated with any splits older than 〉 2 mya). For the suboscine passerines, maximum-likelihood estimates of rates of diversification point to an overall constant rate over the past 5 my (up to a significant downturn at 300,000 y ago). This "younging-eastward" pattern may have an abiotic explanation related to landscape evolution. Triggered by a new pulse of Andean uplift, it has been proposed that modern Amazon basin landscapes may have evolved successively eastward, away from the mountain chain, starting approximately 10 mya. This process was likely based on the deposition of vast fluvial sediment masses, known as megafans, that may have extended progressively and in series eastward from Andean sources. This process plausibly explains the progressive extinction of original Pebas wetland of western-central Amazonia by the present fluvial landsurfaces of a more terra-firme type. The youngest landsurfaces thus lie furthest from the mountains. In this scenario major drainages were also reoriented in wholesale fashion away from a northerly orientation generally towards the east and an Atlantic Ocean outlet. The advance of megafans is best seen by the location of axial rivers such as the Orinoco and Mamore which lie against the cratonic margins furthest from the Andes, at the distal ends of major megafan ramparts. More importantly, other major river courses in western-central Amazonia will have been established at progressively younger dates with distance eastward. If this landscape-sequence scenario is accurate, it parallels the progressive younging of the passerine lineages. The bird DNA data appears to confirm strongly the pervasive role of Amazonian rivers--as primary barriers separating sister lineages of birds, and thus probably as facilitaters of bird speciation. We show for the first time that a general spatio-temporal pattern of diversification for terra-firme lineages in the Amazon is associated with rivers ("younging-eastward"), and furthermore parallels a specific scenario of regional drainage evolution.

Beschreibung: Was the emergence of life a predictable outcome of chemical evolution on earth? Could evolution produce life very different from ours? These are one of the oldest questions in the field of the origin of life that not only have broad philosophical implications but also impact how we approach the problem from the methodological standpoint. Framing the issue in terms of the dichotomy between contingency and determinism is not a fortunate because these two terms in their conventional meaning are neither mutually exclusive nor jointly exhaustive. Determinism, represented in natural sciences by Newtonian physics, relies on the assumption that every event is causally determined by a chain of previous events. In the context of the origin of life it means that once the initial conditions on the early earth have been specified further evolution follows inevitably. Considering uncertainties about conditions on the prebiotic earth, many plausible sets of initial conditions can be defined, each followed by a separate deterministic trajectory. This conventional understanding of determinism does not admit contingency. Further, it has no implications for evaluating how many sets of initial conditions lead to the emergence of life. It appears that a better framing of the problem is as follows: given plausible sets of initial conditions on the early earth how probable and broadly spread are evolutionary trajectories that lead to life? Instead of undertaking an impossible task of specifying microscopic initial conditions for all components of the system one uses a reduced representation of this system and specify only a small set of essential macroscopic parameters, values (or ranges of values) of which can be identified, inferred or estimated from experiment, theory or historical record. The following evolutionary trajectories are still governed by laws of physics and chemistry but become probabilistic and "contingency" is admitted as variations in other variables in the system. A similar reasoning is common in other fields of science, for example in statistical mechanics. Some trajectories lead to life, perhaps in different forms, whereas others do not. Of our true interest is the ratio of these two outcomes. The issue of determinism does not directly enter the picture. The debate about the likelihood of the emergence of life is quite old. One view holds that the origin of life is an event governed by chance, and the result of so many random events (contingencies) is unpredictable. This view was eloquently expressed by Monod. In his book "Chance or Necessity" he argued that life was a product of "nature's roulette." In an alternative view, expressed in particular by deDuve and Morowitz, the origin of life is considered a highly probable or even inevitable event (although its details need not be determined in every respect). Only in this sense the origin of life can be considered a "deterministic event".

Beschreibung: Microbiological analysis of several cold-preserved tissue samples from the Siberian baby mammoth known as Lyuba revealed a number of culturable bacterial strains that were grown on anaerobic media at 4 C. Lactic acid produced by LAB (lactic acid bacteria) group, usually by members of the genera Carnobacterium and Lactosphera, appears to be a wonderful preservative that prevents other bacteria from over-dominating a system. Permafrost and lactic acid preserved the body of this one-month old baby mammoth and kept it in exceptionally good condition, resulting in this mammoth being the most complete such specimen ever recovered. The diversity of novel anaerobic isolates was expressed on morphological, physiological and phylogenetic levels. Here we discuss the specifics of the isolation of new strains, differentiation from trivial contamination, and preliminary results for the characterization of cultures.

Beschreibung: SyNRGE (Symbiotic Nodulation in a Reduced Gravity Environment) was a sortie mission on STS-135 in the Biological Research in Canisters (BRIC) hardware to study the effect of microgravity on a plant-microbe symbiosis resulting in biological nitrogen fixation. Medicago truncatula, a model species of the legume family, was inoculated with its bacterial symbiont, Sinorhizobium meliloti, to observe early events associated with infection and nodulation in Petri Dish Fixation Units (PDFUs). Two sets of experiments were conducted in orbit and in 24-hour delayed ground controls. Experiment one was designed to determine if S. meliloti infect M. truncatula and initiate physiological changes associated with nodule formation. Roots of five-day-old M. truncatula cultivar Jemalong A17 (Enodll::gus) were inoculated 24 hr before launch with either S. meliloti strain 1021 or strain ABS7 and integrated into BRIC-PDFU hardware placed in a 4 C Cold Bag for launch on Atlantis. Inoculated plants and uninoculated controls were maintained in the dark at ambient temperature in the middeck of STS-135 for 11 days before fixation in RNAlater(tM) by crew activation of the PDFU. Experiment two was designed to determine if microgravity altered the process of bacterial infection and host plant nodule formation. Seeds of two M. truncatula cultivar Jemalong A17 lines, the Enodll::gus used in experiment 1, and SUNN, a super-nodulating mutant of A17, were germinated on orbit for 11 days in the middeck cabin and returned to Earth alive inside of BRIC-PDFU's at 4 C. S. meliloti strains 1021 and ABS7 were cultivated separately in broth culture on orbit and also returned to Earth alive. After landing, flight- and groundgrown plants and bacteria were transferred from BRIC-PDFU's into Nunc(tm) 4-well plates for reciprocity crosses. Rates of plant growth and nodule development on Buffered Nodulation Medium (lacking nitrogen) were measured for 14 days. Preliminary analysis' of Experiment 1 confirms that legumes and bacteria cultivated in space 'initiate the symbiotic interaction leading to nitrogen fixation and that bacteria retain the ability to form nodules on M. truncatula roots. Initial assessment of experiment 2 shows 100% seed germination and excellent bacterial growth in microgravity.

Beschreibung: We hypothesize that changes in otolith-mediated reflexes adapted for microgravity contribute to perceptual, gaze and postural disturbances upon return to Earth s gravity. Our goal was to determine pre- versus post-fight differences in unilateral otolith reflexes that reflect these adaptive changes. This study represents the first comprehensive examination of unilateral otolith function following space flight. Ten astronauts participated in unilateral otolith function tests three times pre-flight and up to four times after Shuttle flights from landing day through the subsequent 10 days. During unilateral centrifugation (UC, +/- 3.5cm at 400deg/s), utricular function was examined by the perceptual changes reflected by the subjective visual vertical (SVV) and by video-oculographic measurement of the otolith-mediated ocular counter-roll (OOR). Unilateral saccular reflexes were recorded by measurement of collic Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (cVEMP). Although data from a few subjects were not obtained early post-flight, a general increase in asymmetry of otolith responses was observed on landing day relative to pre-flight baseline, with a subsequent reversal in asymmetry within 2-3 days. Recovery to baseline levels was achieved within 10 days. This fluctuation in the asymmetry measures appeared strongest for SVV, in a consistent direction for OOR, and in an opposite direction for cVEMP. These results are consistent with our hypothesis that space flight results in adaptive changes in central nervous system processing of otolith input. Adaptation to microgravity may reveal asymmetries in otolith function upon to return to Earth that were not detected prior to the flight due to compensatory mechanisms.

Beschreibung: On October 18, 2010, the NASA Human Health and Performance center (NHHPC) was opened to enable collaboration among government, academic and industry members. Membership rapidly grew to 60 members (http://nhhpc.nasa.gov ) and members began identifying collaborative projects as detailed below. In addition, a first workshop in open collaboration and innovation was conducted on January 19, 2011 by the NHHPC resulting in additional challenges and projects for further development. This first workshop was a result of the SLSD successes in running open innovation challenges over the past two years. In 2008, the NASA Johnson Space Center, Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) began pilot projects in open innovation (crowd sourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical problems. From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external challenges were conducted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, Yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive platform, customized to NASA use, and promoted as NASA@Work. The results from the 34 challenges involved not only technical solutions that were reported previously at the 61st IAC, but also the formation of new collaborative relationships. For example, the TopCoder pilot was expanded by the NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate to the NASA Tournament Lab in collaboration with Harvard Business School and TopCoder. Building on these initial successes, the NHHPC workshop in January of 2011, and ongoing NHHPC member discussions, several important collaborations are in development: Space Act Agreement between NASA and GE for collaborative projects, NASA and academia for a Visual Impairment / Intracranial Hypertension summit (February 2011), NASA and the DoD through the Defense Venture Catalyst Initiative (DeVenCI) for a technical needs workshop (June 2011), NASA and the San Diego Zoo in Biomimicry, NASA and the FAA Center of Excellence for Commercial Space Flight for collaborative projects, NASA and the FDA concerning automatic external defibrillators, and NASA and Tufts University for an education pilot. These and other collaborations will be detailed in the paper demonstrating that a government-sponsored convening entity (the NHHPC) can facilitate industry, academic, and non-profit collaborations for products of mutual benefit.

Beschreibung: We developed a modern methodology to retrieve water (H2O) and deuterated water (HDO) in planetary and cometary atmospheres, and constructed an accurate spectral database that combines theoretical and empirical results. On the basis of a greatly expanded set of spectroscopic parameters, we built a full non-resonance cascade fluorescence model and computed fluorescence efficiencies for H2O (500 million lines) and HDO (700 million lines). The new line list was also integrated into an advanced terrestrial radiative transfer code (LBLRTM) and adapted to the CO2 rich atmosphere of Mars, for which we adopted the complex Robert-Bonamy formalism for line shapes. We retrieved water and D/H in the atmospheres of Mars, comet C/2007 W1 (Boattini), and Earth by applying the new formalism to spectra obtained with the high-resolution spectrograph NIRSPEC/Keck II atop Mauna Kea (Hawaii). The new model accurately describes the complex morphology of the water bands and greatly increases the accuracy of the retrieved abundances (and the D/H ratio in water) with respect to previously available models. The new model provides improved agreement of predicted and measured intensities for many H2O lines already identified in comets, and it identifies several unassigned cometary emission lines as new emission lines of H2O. The improved spectral accuracy permits retrieval of more accurate rotational temperatures and production rates for cometary water.

Beschreibung: The present invention includes an apparatus, system and method for stochastic sensing of an analyte to a protein pore. The protein pore may be an engineer protein pore, such as an ion channel at temperatures above 55.degree. C. and even as high as near 100.degree. C. The analyte may be any reactive analyte, including chemical weapons, environmental toxins and pharmaceuticals. The analyte covalently bonds to the sensor element to produce a detectable electrical current signal. Possible signals include change in electrical current. Detection of the signal allows identification of the analyte and determination of its concentration in a sample solution. Multiple analytes present in the same solution may also be detected.

Beschreibung: By both fractal (D1) and branching (Lv) analysis, macular arterial density oscillated with progression from mild NPDR to PDR. Results are consistent with out study reported recently for the entire arterial and venous branching trees within 50 degree FAs by VESGEN generational branching analysis. Current and previous results are important for advances in early-stage regenerative DR therapies, for which reversal of DR progression to a normal vessel density may be possible. For example, potential use of regenerative angiogenesis stimulators to reverse vascular dropout during mild and severe NPDR is not indicated for treatment of moderate NPDR.

Beschreibung: Understanding the potential influence of environmental variation experienced by animals during early stages of development on their subsequent demographic performance can contribute to our understanding of population processes and aid in predicting impacts of global climate change on ecosystem functioning. Using data from 4,178 tagged female Weddell seal pups born into 20 different cohorts, and 30 years of observations of the tagged seals, we evaluated the hypothesis that environmental conditions experienced by young seals, either indirectly through maternal effects and/or directly during the initial period of juvenile nutritional independence, have long-term effects on individual demographic performance. We documented an approximately 3-fold difference in the proportion of each cohort that returned to the pupping colonies and produced a pup within the first 10 years after birth. We found only weak evidence for a correlation between annual environmental conditions during the juvenile-independence period and cohort recruitment probability. Instead, the data strongly supported an association between cohort recruitment probability and the regional extent of sea ice experienced by the mother during the winter the pup was in utero. We suggest that inter-annual variation in winter sea-ice extent influences the foraging success of pregnant seals by moderating the regional abundance of competing predators that cannot occupy areas of consolidated sea ice, and by directly influencing the abundance of mid-trophic prey species that are sea-ice obligates. We hypothesize that this environmentally-induced variation in maternal nutrition dictates the extent of maternal energetic investment in offspring, resulting in cohort variation in mean size of pups at weaning which, in turn, contributes to an individual?s phenotype and its ultimate fitness. These linkages between sea ice and trophic dynamics, combined with demonstrated and predicted changes in the duration and extent of sea ice associated with climate change, suggest significant alterations in Antarctic marine ecosystems in the future.

Beschreibung: Stromatolites are layered sedimentary structures resulting from microbial mat communities that remove carbon dioxide from their environment and biomineralize it as calcium carbonate. Although prevalent in the fossil record, stromatolites are rare in the modem world and are only found in a few locations including Highbome Cay in the Bahamas. The stromatolites found at this shallow marine site are analogs to ancient microbial mat ecosystems abundant in the Precambrian period on ancient Earth. To understand how stromatolites form and develop, it is important to identify what microorganisms are present in these mats, and how these microbes contribute to geological structure. These results will provide insight into the molecular and geochemical processes of microbial communities that prevailed on ancient Earth. Since stromatolites are formed by lithifying microbial mats that are able to mineralize calcium carbonate, understanding the biological mechanisms involved may lead to the development of carbon sequestration technologies that will be applicable in human spaceflight, as well as improve our understanding of global climate and its sustainability. The objective of my project was to analyze the archaeal and bacterial dIversity in stromatolites from Highborn Cay in the Bahamas. The first step in studying the molecular processes that the microorganisms carry out is to ascertain the microbial complexity within the mats, which includes identifying and estimating the numbers of different microbes that comprise these mats.

Beschreibung: Host parasite diversity plays a fundamental role in ecological and evolutionary processes, yet the factors that drive it are still poorly understood. A variety of processes, operating across a range of spatial scales, are likely to influence both the probability of parasite encounter and subsequent infection. Here, we explored eight possible determinants of parasite richness, comprising rainfall and temperature at the population level, ranging behavior and home range productivity at the group level, and age, sex, body condition, and social rank at the individual level. We used a unique dataset describing gastrointestinal parasites in a terrestrial subtropical vertebrate (chacma baboons, Papio ursinus), comprising 662 faecal samples from 86 individuals representing all age-sex classes across two groups over two dry seasons in a desert population. Three mixed models were used to identify the most important factor at each of the three spatial scales (population, group, individual); these were then standardised and combined in a single, global, mixed model. Individual age had the strongest influence on parasite richness, in a convex relationship. Parasite richness was also higher in females and animals in poor condition, albeit at a lower order of magnitude than age. Finally, with a further halving of effect size, parasite richness was positively correlated to day range and temperature. These findings indicate that a range of factors influence host parasite richness through both encounter and infection probabilities, but that individual-level processes may be more important than those at the group or population level.

Beschreibung: Blur is an important attribute of human spatial vision, and sensitivity to blur has been the subject of considerable experimental research and theoretical modeling. Often these models have invoked specialized concepts or mechanisms, such as intrinsic blur, multiple channels, or blur estimation units. In this paper we review the several experimental studies of blur discrimination and find they are in broad empirical agreement. But contrary to previous modeling efforts, we find that the essential features of blur discrimination are fully accounted for by a visible contrast energy model (ViCE), in which two spatial patterns are distinguished when the integrated difference between their masked local contrast energy responses reaches a threshold value.

Beschreibung: Tumor formation in humans or animals is a multi-step process. An early stage of cancer development is believed to be genomic instability (GI) which accelerates the mutation rate in the descendants of the cells surviving radiation exposure. GI is defined as elevated or persistent genetic damages occurring many generations after the cells are exposed. While early studies have demonstrated radiation-induced GI in several cell types as detected in endpoints such as mutation, apoptosis and damages in chromosomes, the dependence of GI on the quality of radiation remains uncertain. To investigate GI in human lymphocytes induced by both low- and high-LET radiation, we initially exposed white blood cells collected from healthy subjects to gamma rays in vitro, and cultured the cells for multiple generations. Chromosome aberrations were analyzed in cells collected at first mitosis post irradiation and at several intervals during the culture period. Among a number of biological endpoints planned for the project, the multi-color banding fluorescent in situ hybridization (mBAND) allows identification of inversions that were expected to be stable. We present here early and late chromosome aberrations detected with mBAND in chromosome 3 after gamma exposure. Comparison of chromosome damages in between human lymphocytes and human epithelial cells is also discussed

Beschreibung: A system with applications in pattern recognition, or classification, of DNA assay samples. Because DNA reference and sample material in wells of an assay may be caused to fluoresce depending upon dye added to the material, the resulting light may be imaged onto an embodiment comprising an array of photodetectors and an adaptive neural network, with applications to DNA analysis. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Beschreibung: The present disclosure provides ex vivo-derived mineralized three-dimensional bone constructs. The bone constructs are obtained by culturing osteoblasts and osteoclast precursors under randomized gravity vector conditions. Preferably, the randomized gravity vector conditions are obtained using a low shear stress rotating bioreactor, such as a High Aspect Ratio Vessel (HARV) culture system. The bone constructs of the disclosure have utility in physiological studies of bone formation and bone function, in drug discovery, and in orthopedics.

Beschreibung: A method for the production of functional proteins including hormones by renal cells in a three dimensional culturing process responsive to shear stress uses a rotating wall vessel. Natural mixture of renal cells expresses the enzyme 1-.alpha.-hydroxylase which can be used to generate the active form of vitamin D: 1,25-diOH vitamin D.sub.3. The fibroblast cultures and co-culture of renal cortical cells express the gene for erythropoietin and secrete erythropoietin into the culture supernatant. Other shear stress response genes are also modulated by shear stress, such as toxin receptors megalin and cubulin (gp280). Also provided is a method of treating an in-need individual with the functional proteins produced in a three dimensional co-culture process responsive to shear stress using a rotating wall vessel.

Beschreibung: Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments an autonomic entity manages a system by generating one or more stay alive signals based on the functioning status and operating state of the system. In some embodiments, an evolvable synthetic neural system is operably coupled to one or more evolvable synthetic neural systems in a hierarchy. The evolvable neural interface receives and generates heartbeat monitor signals and pulse monitor signals that are used to generate a stay alive signal that is used to manage the operations of the synthetic neural system. In another embodiment an asynchronous Alice signal (Autonomic license) requiring valid credentials of an anonymous autonomous agent is initiated. An unsatisfactory Alice exchange may lead to self-destruction of the anonymous autonomous agent for self-protection.

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: It is difficulties for the computer simulation method to study radiation regime at large-scale. Simplified coniferous model was investigate d in the present study. It makes the computer simulation methods such as L-systems and radiosity-graphics combined method (RGM) more powerf ul in remote sensing of heterogeneous coniferous forests over a large -scale region. L-systems is applied to render 3-D coniferous forest scenarios: and RGM model was used to calculate BRF (bidirectional refle ctance factor) in visible and near-infrared regions. Results in this study show that in most cases both agreed well. Meanwhiie at a tree and forest level. the results are also good.

Beschreibung: In this work we describe the first real world case study for the self-healing eDNA (electronic DNA) architecture by implementing the control and data processing of a Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) on an eDNA prototype. For this purpose the eDNA prototype has been ported from a Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA to an embedded system consisting of a PowerPC and a Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA. The FTS instrument features a novel liquid crystal waveguide, which consequently eliminates all moving parts from the instrument. The addition of the eDNA architecture to do the control and data processing has resulted in a highly fault-tolerant FTS instrument. The case study has shown that the early stage prototype of the autonomous self-healing eDNA architecture is expensive in terms of execution time.

Beschreibung: This paper reviews the results from two studies that employed the methodology of multiple converging indicators (physiological measures, subjective self-reports and performance metrics) to examine individual differences in the ability of humans to adapt and function in high stress environments. The first study was a joint collaboration between researchers at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and NASA Ames Research Center. Twenty-four men and women active duty soldiers volunteered as participants. Field tests were conducted in the Command and Control Vehicle (C2V), an enclosed armored vehicle, designed to support both stationary and on-the-move operations. This vehicle contains four computer workstations where crew members are expected to perform command decisions in the field under combat conditions. The study objectives were: 1) to determine the incidence of motion sickness in the C2V relative to interior seat orientation/position, and parked, moving and short-haul test conditions; and 2) to determine the impact of the above conditions on cognitive performance, mood, and physiology. Data collected during field tests included heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, and skin conductance, self-reports of mood and symptoms, and cognitive performance metrics that included seven subtests in the DELTA performance test battery. Results showed that during 4-hour operational tests over varied terrain motion sickness symptoms increased; performance degraded by at least 5 percent; and physiological response profiles of individuals were categorized based on good and poor cognitive performance. No differences were observed relative to seating orientation or position.

Beschreibung: This slide presentation reviews the new strategies for problem solving in the life sciences in the suborbital realm. Topics covered are: an overview of the space life sciences, the strategic initiatives that the Space Life Sciences organization engaged in, and the new business model that these initiatives were developed. Several opportunities for research are also reviewed.

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: A method for determining postural stability of a person can include acquiring a plurality of pressure data points over a period of time from at least one pressure sensor. The method can also include the step of identifying a postural state for each pressure data point to generate a plurality of postural states. The method can include the step of determining a postural state of the person at a point in time based on at least the plurality of postural states.

Beschreibung: Low field SQUID MRI devices, components and methods are disclosed. They include a portable low field (SQUID)-based MRI instrument and a portable low field SQUID-based MRI system to be operated under a bed where a subject is adapted to be located. Also disclosed is a method of distributing wires on an image encoding coil system adapted to be used with an NMR or MRI device for analyzing a sample or subject and a second order superconducting gradiometer adapted to be used with a low field SQUID-based MRI device as a sensing component for an MRI signal related to a subject or sample.

Beschreibung: Empirical evidence from multiple sources show the Earth has been warming since the late 19th century. More recently, evidence for this warming trend is strongly supported by satellite data since the late 1970s from the cryosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and land that confirms increasing temperature trends and their consequences (e.g., reduced Arctic sea ice, rising sea level, ice sheet mass loss, etc.). At the same time, satellite observations of the Sun show remarkably stable solar cycles since the late 1970s, when direct observations of the Sun's total solar irradiance began. Numerical simulation models, driven in part by assimilated satellite data, suggest that future-warming trends will lead to not only a warmer planet, but also a wetter and drier climate depending upon location in a fashion consistent with large-scale atmospheric processes. Continued global warming poses new opportunities for the emergence and spread of fungal disease, as climate systems change at regional and global scales, and as animal and plant species move into new niches. Our contribution to this proceedings is organized thus: First, we review empirical evidence for a warming Earth. Second, we show the Sun is not responsible for the observed warming. Third, we review numerical simulation modeling results that project these trends into the future, describing the projected abiotic environment of our planet in the next 40 to 50 years. Fourth, we illustrate how Rift Valley fever outbreaks have been linked to climate, enabling a better understanding of the dynamics of these diseases, and how this has led to the development of an operational predictive outbreak model for this disease in Africa. Fifth, We project how this experience may be applicable to predicting outbreaks of fungal pathogens in a warming world. Lastly, we describe an example of changing species ranges due to climate change, resulting from recent warming in the Andes and associated glacier melt that has enabled amphibians to colonize higher elevation lakes, only to be followed shortly by the emergence of fungal disease in the new habitats.

Beschreibung: No abstract available

Beschreibung: This viewgraph presentation describes a nutritional biochemistry assessment of astronauts in preflight, in-flight, and post-flight operations. In-flight collections of blood and urine samples from astronauts to test the effects of Vitamin K, Pro K, Vitamin D, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Iron, and Sodium in spaceflight is shown. A demonstration of a 1-carbon metabolism pathway that determines the existence of enzymes and polymorphisms is also presented.

Beschreibung: Tidal marshes are highly productive ecosystems that support migratory birds as roosting and over-wintering habitats on the Pacific Flyway. Microphytobenthos, or more commonly 'biofilms' contribute significantly to the primary productivity of wetland ecosystems, and provide a substantial food source for macroinvertebrates and avian communities. In this study, biofilms were characterized based on taxonomic classification, density differences, and spectral signatures. These techniques were then applied to remotely sensed images to map biofilm densities and distributions in the South Bay Salt Ponds and predict the carrying capacity of these newly restored ponds for migratory birds. The GER-1500 spectroradiometer was used to obtain in situ spectral signatures for each density-class of biofilm. The spectral variation and taxonomic classification between high, medium, and low density biofilm cover types was mapped using in-situ spectral measurements and classification of EO-1 Hyperion and Landsat TM 5 images. Biofilm samples were also collected in the field to perform laboratory analyses including chlorophyll-a, taxonomic classification, and energy content. Comparison of the spectral signatures between the three density groups shows distinct variations useful for classification. Also, analysis of chlorophyll-a concentrations show statistically significant differences between each density group, using the Tukey-Kramer test at an alpha level of 0.05. The potential carrying capacity in South Bay Salt Ponds is estimated to be 250,000 birds.

Beschreibung: Modern biology techniques present potentials for a wide range of molecular, cellular, and biochemistry applications in space, including detection of infectious pathogens and environmental contaminations, monitoring of drug-resistant microbial and dangerous mutations, identification of new phenotypes of microbial and new life species. However, one of the major technological blockades in enabling these technologies in space is a lack of devices for sample preparation in the space environment. To overcome such an obstacle, we constructed a prototype of a DNA/RNA isolation device based on our novel designs documented in the NASA New Technology Reporting System (MSC-24811-1/3-1). This device is self-enclosed and pipette free, purposely designed for use in the absence of gravity. Our design can also be modified easily for preparing samples in space for other applications, such as flowcytometry, immunostaining, cell separation, sample purification and separation according to its size and charges, sample chemical labeling, and sample purification. The prototype of our DNA/RNA isolation device was tested for efficiencies of DNA and RNA isolation from various cell types for PCR analysis. The purity and integrity of purified DNA and RNA were determined as well. Results showed that our developed DNA/RNA isolation device offers similar efficiency and quality in comparison to the samples prepared using the standard protocol in the laboratory.

Beschreibung: About 20% of astronauts on International Space Station missions have developed measurable ophthalmic changes after flight. This study was conducted to determine whether the folate-dependent 1-carbon pathway is altered in these individuals. Data were modeled to evaluate differences between individuals with ophthalmic changes (n=5) and those without them (n=15). We also correlated mean preflight serum concentrations of the 1-carbon metabolites with changes in measured refraction after flight. Serum homocysteine (HCy), cystathionine, 2-methylcitric acid, and methylmalonic acid concentrations were 25%-45% higher (P〈0.001) in astronauts with ophthalmic changes than in those without them. These differences existed before, during, and after flight. Preflight serum HCy and cystathionine, and in-flight serum folate, were significantly (P〈0.05) correlated with postflight change in refraction, and preflight serum concentrations of 2-methylcitric acid tended to be associated (P=0.06) with ophthalmic changes. The biochemical differences observed in those with vision issues strongly suggests impairment of the folate-dependent 1-carbon transfer pathway. Impairment of this pathway, by polymorphisms, diet or other means, may interact with components of the microgravity environment to influence these pathophysiologic changes. This study was funded by the NASA Human Research Program.

Beschreibung: INTRODUCTION: Increased exposure to radiation is one physiological stressor associated with spaceflight and it is feasible to conduct ground experiments using known radiation exposures. The health of the liver, especially the activity rate of its metabolic enzymes, determines the concentration of circulating drugs as well as the duration of their efficacy. While radiation is known to alter normal physiological function, how radiation affects liver metabolism of administered medications is unclear. Crew health could be affected if the actions of medications used in spaceflight deviated from expectations formed during terrestrial medication use. This study is an effort to identify liver metabolic enzymes whose expression is altered by spaceflight or by radiation exposures that mimic features of the spaceflight environment. METHODS: Using procedures approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee, mice were exposed to either 137Cs (controls, 50 mGy, 6Gy, or 50 mGy + 6Gy separated by 24 hours) or 13 days of spaceflight on STS 135. Animals were anesthetized and sacrificed at several time points (4 hours, 24 hours or 7 days) after their last radiation exposure, or within 6 hours of return to Earth for the STS 135 animals. Livers were removed immediately and flash-frozen in liquid nitrogen. Tissue was homogenized, RNA extracted, purified and quality-tested. Complementary DNA was prepared from high-quality RNA samples, and used in RT-qPCR experiments to determine relative expression of a wide variety of genes involved in general metabolism and drug metabolism. RESULTS: Results of the ground radiation exposure experiments indicated ~65 genes of the 190 tested were significantly affected by at least one of the radiation doses. Many of the affected genes are involved in the metabolism of drugs with hydrophobic or steroid-like structures, maintenance of redox homeostasis and repair of DNA damage. Most affected genes returned to near control expression levels by 7 days post-treatment. Not all recovered completely by the final time point tested: with 6 Gy exposure, metallothionein expression was 132-fold more than control at the 4 hr time point, and fell at each later time point (11-fold at 24 hrs, and 8-fold at 7 days). In contrast, there were other genes whose expression was altered and remained relatively constant through the 7 day period we tested. One examples is Cyp17a1, which showed a 4-fold elevation at 4 hrs after exposure and remained constant for 7 days after the last treatment. Spaceflight samples evaluated with similar methods and comparisons will be made between the radiation-treated groups and the spaceflight samples. CONCLUSION It seems likely that radiation exposure triggers homeostatic mechanisms, which could include alterations of gene expression. Better understanding of these pathways could aid in optimizing medications doses given to crewmembers who require treatment and eventually, to development of new countermeasures to ameliorate or prevent radiation-induced damage to cells and tissues.

Beschreibung: The hydrostatic hyperbaric chamber (HHC) represents the merger of several technologies in development for NASA aerospace applications, harnessed to directly benefit global health. NASA has significant experience developing composite hyperbaric chambers for a variety of applications, including the treatment of medical conditions. NASA also has researched the application of water-filled vessels to increase tolerance of acceleration forces. The combination of these two applications has resulted in the hydrostatic chamber, which has been conceived as a safe, affordable means of making hyperbaric oxygen therapy available in the developing world for the treatment of a variety of medical conditions. Specifically, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is highly-desired as a possibly curative treatment for Buruli Ulcer, an infectious condition that afflicts children in sub-Saharan Africa. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is simply too expensive and too dangerous to implement in the developing world using standard equipment. The hydrostatic hyperbaric chamber technology changes the paradigm. The HHC differs from standard hyperbaric chambers in that the majority of its volume is filled with water which is pressurized by oxygen being supplied in the portion of the chamber containing the patient s head. This greatly reduces the amount of oxygen required to sustain a hyperbaric atmosphere, thereby making the system more safe and economical to operate. An effort was taken to develop an HHC system to apply HBOT to children that is simple and robust enough to support transport, assembly, maintenance and operation in developing countries. This paper details the concept for an HHC ventilation and pressurization system that will provide controlled pressurization of the system, and provide adequate washout of carbon dioxide while the subject is enclosed in the confined space during the administration of the medical treatment. The concept took into consideration operational complexity, safety to the patient and operating personnel, and physiological considerations. The simple schematic, comprised of easily acquired commercial hardware, supports sustainability.

Beschreibung: With the retirement of the Space Shuttle and the transition of the International Space Station (ISS) from assembly to full laboratory capabilities, the opportunity to perform life science research in space has increased dramatically, while the operational considerations associated with transportation of the experiments has changed dramatically. US researchers have allocations on the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) and Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV). In addition, the International Space Station (ISS) Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) contract will provide consumables and payloads to and from the ISS via the unmanned SpaceX (offers launch and return capabilities) and Orbital (offers only launch capabilities) resupply vehicles. Early requirements drove the capabilities of the vehicle providers; however, many other engineering considerations affect the actual design and operations plans. To better enable the use of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory, ground and on-orbit facility development can augment the vehicle capabilities to better support needs for cell biology, animal research, and conditioned sample return. NASA Life scientists with experience launching research on the space shuttle can find the trades between the capabilities of the many different vehicles to be confusing. In this presentation we will summarize vehicle and associated ground processing capabilities as well as key concepts of operations for different types of life sciences research being launched in the cargo vehicles. We will provide the latest status of vehicle capabilities and support hardware and facilities development being made to enable the broadest implementation of life sciences research on the ISS.

Beschreibung: DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) induced by ionizing radiation (IR) usually contain modified bases such as 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) and thymine glycol, apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) sites, 2-deoxyribonolactone, or single-strand breaks (SSBs). The presence of such lesions in close proximity to the DSB terminus makes the DNA nicks more difficult to repair and rejoin than endogenously induced simple DSBs, and as such a major determinant of the biological effects of high linear energy transfer (LET) radiation as encountered in space travel. In this study we conducted molecular dynamics simulations on a series of DNA duplexes with various complex lesions of 8-oxoG and AP sites, in an effort to investigate the effects of such lesions to the structural integrity and stability of DNA after insulted by IR. We also simulated the interaction of such complex DSBs with the Ku70/80 heterodimer, the first protein in mammalian cells to embark the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) DNA repair pathway. The results indicate, compared to DNA with simple DSBs, the complex lesions can enhance the hydrogen bonds opening rate at the DNA terminus, and increase the mobility of the whole duplex, thus they present more deleterious effects to the genome integrity if not captured and repaired promptly in cells. Simulations also demonstrate the binding of Ku drastically reduces structural disruption and flexibility caused by the complex lesions, and the interactions of Ku with complex DSBs have a different potential energy landscape from the bound structure with simple DSB. In all complex DSBs systems, the binding of DSB terminus with Ku70 is softened while the binding of the middle duplex with Ku80 is tightened. This energy shift may help the Ku protein to secure at the DSB terminus for a longer time, so that other end processing factors or repair pathways can proceed at the lesions before NHEJ repair process starts. These atomic simulations may provide valuable new insight into the selective action of repair proteins on damaged DNA.

Beschreibung: Ataxia telangiectasia (A-T) is a human autosomally recessive syndrome characterized by cerebellar ataxia, telangiectases, immune dysfunction, and genomic instability, and high rate of cancer incidence. A-T cell lines are abnormally sensitive to agents that induce DNA double strand breaks, including ionizing radiation. The diverse clinical features in individuals affected by A-T and the complex cellular phenotypes are all linked to the functional inactivation of a single gene (AT mutated). It is well known that cells deficient in ATM show increased yields of both simple and complex chromosomal aberrations after high-dose-rate irradiation, but, less is known on how cells respond to low-dose-rate irradiation. It has been shown that AT cells contain a large number of unrejoined breaks after both low-dose-rate irradiation and high-dose-rate irradiation, however sensitivity for chromosomal aberrations at low-dose-rate are less often studied. To study how AT cells respond to low-dose-rate irradiation, we exposed confluent normal and AT fibroblast cells to up to 3 Gy of gamma-irradiation at a dose rate of 0.5 Gy/day and analyzed chromosomal aberrations in G0 using fusion PCC (Premature Chromosomal Condensation) technique. Giemsa staining showed that 1 Gy induces around 0.36 unrejoined fragments per cell in normal cells and around 1.35 fragments in AT cells, whereas 3Gy induces around 0.65 fragments in normal cells and around 3.3 fragments in AT cells. This result indicates that AT cells can rejoin breaks less effectively in G0 phase of the cell cycle? compared to normal cells. We also analyzed chromosomal exchanges in normal and AT cells after exposure to 3 Gy of low-dose-rate rays using a combination of G0 PCC and FISH techniques. Misrejoining was detected in the AT cells only? When cells irradiated with 3 Gy were subcultured and G2 chromosomal aberrations were analyzed using calyculin-A induced PCC technique, the yield of unrejoined breaks decreased in both normal and AT cells and misrejoined breaks increased in both cell lines. The present study suggests that AT cells begin to rejoin breaks when a certain number of breaks are accumulated and an increased number of exchanges were observed in G0 AT cells, which is similar situation after high-dose-rate irradiation.

Beschreibung: Chromosomal aberrations were measured in human peripheral blood lymphocytes after in vitro exposure to neon ions at energies of 64, 89, 142, or 267. The corresponding LET values for these energies of neon ranged from 38-103 keV/micrometers and doses delivered were in the 10 to 80 cGy range. Chromosome exchanges were assessed in metaphase and G2 phase cells at first division after exposure using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with whole chromosome probes and dose response curves were generated for different types of chromosomal exchanges. The yields of total chromosome exchanges were similar for the 64, 89, and 142 MeV exposures, whereas the 267 MeV/u neon with LET of 38 keV/micrometers produced about half as many exchanges per unit dose. The induction of complex type chromosome exchanges (exchanges involving three or more breaks and two or more chromosomes) showed a clear LET dependence for all energies. The ratio of simple to complex type exchanges increased with LET from 18 to 51%. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) was estimated from the initial slope of the dose response curve for chromosome damage with respect to gamma-rays. The RBE(sub max) values for total chromosome exchanges for the 64 MeV/u was around 30.

Beschreibung: We have developed a model that can simulate different types of radiation induced chromosomal aberrations (CA's) and can provide predictions on the frequency and size of chromosomes with terminal deletions. Chromosomes with terminal deletions lack telomeres and this can elicit sister chromatid unions and the prolonged breakage/fusion/bridge (B/F/B) cycles that have been observed in mammalian tumors. The loss of a single telomere has been shown to cause extensive genomic instability through the B/F/B cycle process. Our model uses a stochastic process of DNA broken end joining, in which a realistic spectrum of CA's is created from improperly joined DNA free ends formed by DNA double strand breaks (DSBs). The distribution of the DNA free ends is given by a mechanistic model that takes into account the chromatin structure and track structure for high-LET radiation. The model allows for DSB clustering from high-LET radiation and simulates the formation of CA's in stages that correspond to the actual time after radiation exposure. The time scale for CA formation is derived from experimental data on DSB repair kinetics. At any given time a nucleus may have intact chromosomes, CA's, and/or unrepaired fragments, some of which are defined as terminal deletions, if they are capped by one telomere. The model produces a spectrum of terminal deletions with their corresponding probabilities and size distributions for different heavy ions exposures for the first division after exposure. This data provides valuable information because there is limited experimental data available in the literature on the on the actual size of terminal deletions. We compare our model output to the available experimental data and make a reasonable extrapolation on the number of chromosomes lacking telomeres in human lymphocytes exposed to heavy ions. This model generates data which may lead to predictions on the rate of genomic instability in cells after exposure to high charge and energy nuclei affecting astronauts during space missions.

Beschreibung: The Transforming Growth Factor beta (TGFbeta) signaling pathway is a prominent regulatory signaling pathway controlling various important cellular processes. It can be induced by several factors, including ionizing radiation. It is regulated by Smads in a negative feedback loop through promoting increases in the regulatory Smads in the cell nucleus, and subsequent expression of inhibitory Smad, Smad7 to form a ubiquitin ligase with Smurf targeting active TGF receptors for degradation. In this work, we proposed a mathematical model to study the radiation-induced Smad-regulated TGF signaling pathway. By modularization, we are able to analyze each module (subsystem) and recover the nonlinear dynamics of the entire network system. Meanwhile the excitability, a common feature observed in the biological systems, along the TGF signaling pathway is discussed by mathematical analysis and numerical simulation.

Beschreibung: The relationship between biological effects and low doses of absorbed radiation is still uncertain, especially for high LET radiation exposure. Estimates of risks from low-dose and low-dose-rates are often extrapolated using data from Japanese atomic bomb survivor with either linear or linear quadratic models of fit. In this study, chromosome aberrations were measured in human peripheral blood lymphocytes and normal skin fibroblasts cells after exposure to very low dose (.01 - 0.2 Gy) of 170 MeV/u Si-28-ions or 600 MeV/u Fe-56-ions. Chromosomes were analyzed using the whole chromosome fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique during the first cell division after irradiation, and chromosome aberrations were identified as either simple exchanges (translocations and dicentrics) or complex exchanges (involving 〉2 breaks in 2 or more chromosomes). The curves for doses above 0.1 Gy were more than one ion traverses a cell showed linear dose responses. However, for doses less than 0.1 Gy, Si-28-ions showed no dose response, suggesting a non-targeted effect when less than one ion traversal occurs. Additional findings for Fe-56 will be discussed.

Beschreibung: To create a generalized mechanistic model of DNA damage in human cells that will generate analytical and image data corresponding to experimentally observed DNA damage foci and will help to improve the experimental foci yields by simulating spatial foci patterns and resolving problems with quantitative image analysis. Material and Methods: The analysis of patterns of RIFs (radiation-induced foci) produced by low- and high-LET (linear energy transfer) radiation was conducted by using a Monte Carlo model that combines the heavy ion track structure with characteristics of the human genome on the level of chromosomes. The foci patterns were also simulated in the maximum projection plane for flat nuclei. Some data analysis was done with the help of image segmentation software that identifies individual classes of RIFs and colocolized RIFs, which is of importance to some experimental assays that assign DNA damage a dual phosphorescent signal. Results: The model predicts the spatial and genomic distributions of DNA DSBs (double strand breaks) and associated RIFs in a human cell nucleus for a particular dose of either low- or high-LET radiation. We used the model to do analyses for different irradiation scenarios. In the beam-parallel-to-the-disk-of-a-flattened-nucleus scenario we found that the foci appeared to be merged due to their high density, while, in the perpendicular-beam scenario, the foci appeared as one bright spot per hit. The statistics and spatial distribution of regions of densely arranged foci, termed DNA foci chains, were predicted numerically using this model. Another analysis was done to evaluate the number of ion hits per nucleus, which were visible from streaks of closely located foci. In another analysis, our image segmentaiton software determined foci yields directly from images with single-class or colocolized foci. Conclusions: We showed that DSB clustering needs to be taken into account to determine the true DNA damage foci yield, which helps to determine the DSB yield. Using the model analysis, a researcher can refine the DSB yield per nucleus per particle. We showed that purely geometric artifacts, present in the experimental images, can be analytically resolved with the model, and that the quantization of track hits and DSB yields can be provided to the experimentalists who use enumeration of radiation-induced foci in immunofluorescence experiments using proteins that detect DNA damage. An automated image segmentaiton software can prove useful in a faster and more precise object counting for colocolized foci images.

Beschreibung: New experimental data show how chromosomal aberrations for low- and high-LET radiation are dependent on DSB repair deficiencies in wild-type, AT and NBS cells. We simulated the development of chromosomal aberrations in these cells lines in a stochastic track-structure-dependent model, in which different cells have different kinetics of DSB repair. We updated a previously formulated model of chromosomal aberrations, which was based on a stochastic Monte Carlo approach, to consider the time-dependence of DSB rejoining. The previous version of the model had an assumption that all DSBs would rejoin, and therefore we called it a time-independent model. The chromosomal-aberrations model takes into account the DNA and track structure for low- and high-LET radiations, and provides an explanation and prediction of the statistics of rare and more complex aberrations. We compared the program-simulated kinetics of DSB rejoining to the experimentally-derived bimodal exponential curves of the DSB kinetics. We scored the formation of translocations, dicentrics, acentric and centric rings, deletions, and inversions. The fraction of DSBs participating in aberrations was studied in relation to the rejoining time. Comparisons of simulated dose dependence for simple aberrations to the experimental dose-dependence for HF19, AT and NBS cells will be made.

Beschreibung: The relationship between biological effects and low doses of absorbed radiation is still uncertain, especially for high LET radiation exposure. Estimates of risks from low-dose and low-dose-rates are often extrapolated using data from Japanese atomic bomb survivors with either linear or linear quadratic models of fit. In this study, chromosome aberrations were measured in human peripheral blood lymphocytes and normal skin fibroblasts cells after exposure to very low dose (1-20 cGy) of 170 MeV/u Si-28- ions or 600 MeV/u Fe-56-ions. Chromosomes were analyzed using the whole chromosome fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique during the first cell division after irradiation, and chromosome aberrations were identified as either simple exchanges (translocations and dicentrics) or complex exchanges (involving greater than 2 breaks in 2 or more chromosomes). The curves for doses above 10 cGy were fitted with linear or linear-quadratic functions. For Si-28- ions no dose response was observed in the 2-10 cGy dose range, suggesting a non-target effect in this range.

Beschreibung: During exploration-class missions, sensorimotor disturbances may lead to disruption in the ability to ambulate and perform functional tasks during the initial introduction to a novel gravitational environment following a landing on a planetary surface. The goal of our current project is to develop a sensorimotor adaptability (SA) training program to facilitate rapid adaptation to novel gravitational environments. We have developed a unique training system comprised of a treadmill placed on a motion-base facing a virtual visual scene that provides an unstable walking surface combined with incongruent visual flow designed to enhance sensorimotor adaptability. We have conducted a series of studies that have shown: Training using a combination of modified visual flow and support surface motion during treadmill walking enhances locomotor adaptability to a novel sensorimotor environment. Trained individuals become more proficient at performing multiple competing tasks while walking during adaptation to novel discordant sensorimotor conditions. Trained subjects can retain their increased level of adaptability over a six months period. SA training is effective in producing increased adaptability in a more complex over-ground ambulatory task on an obstacle course. This confirms that for a complex task like walking, treadmill training contains enough of the critical features of overground walking to be an effective training modality. The structure of individual training sessions can be optimized to promote fast/strategic motor learning. Training sessions that each contain short-duration exposures to multiple perturbation stimuli allows subjects to acquire a greater ability to rapidly reorganize appropriate response strategies when encountering a novel sensory environment. Individual sensory biases (i.e. increased visual dependency) can predict adaptive responses to novel sensory environments suggesting that customized training prescriptions can be developed to enhance adaptability. These results indicate that SA training techniques can be added to existing treadmill exercise equipment and procedures to produce a single integrated countermeasure system to improve performance of astro/cosmonauts during prolonged exploratory space missions.

Beschreibung: We have recently investigated the location of breaks involved in intrachromosomal type exchange events, using the multicolor banding in situ hybridization (mBAND) technique for human chromosome 3. In human epithelial cells exposed to both low- and high-LET radiations in vitro, intrachromosome exchanges were found to occur preferentially between a break in the 3p21 and one in the 3q11. Exchanges were also observed between a break in 3p21 and one in 3q26, but few exchanges were observed between breaks in 3q11 and 3q26, even though the two regions were on the same arm of the chromosome. To explore the relationships between intrachromosome exchanges and chromatin structure, we used probes that hybridize the three regions of 3p21, 3q11 and 3q26, and measured the distance between two of the three regions in interphase cells. We further analyzed fragile sites on the chromosome that have been identified in various types of cancers. Our results demonstrated that the distribution of breaks involved in radiation-induced intrachromosome aberrations depends upon both the location of fragile sites and the folding of chromatins

Beschreibung: In a normal healthy population, we desired to determine the most age-dependent conventional and advanced ECG parameters. We hypothesized that changes in several ECG parameters might correlate with age and together reliably characterize the functional age of the heart. Methods: An initial study population of 313 apparently healthy subjects was ultimately reduced to 148 subjects (74 men, 84 women, in the range from 10 to 75 years of age) after exclusion criteria. In all subjects, ECG recordings (resting 5-minute 12-lead high frequency ECG) were evaluated via custom software programs to calculate up to 85 different conventional and advanced ECG parameters including beat-to-beat QT and RR variability, waveform complexity, and signal-averaged, high-frequency and spatial/spatiotemporal ECG parameters. The prediction of functional age was evaluated by multiple linear regression analysis using the best 5 univariate predictors. Results: Ignoring what were ultimately small differences between males and females, the functional age was found to be predicted (R2= 0.69, P 〈 0.001) from a linear combination of 5 independent variables: QRS elevation in the frontal plane (p〈0.001), a new repolarization parameter QTcorr (p〈0.001), mean high frequency QRS amplitude (p=0.009), the variability parameter % VLF of RRV (p=0.021) and the P-wave width (p=0.10). Here, QTcorr represents the correlation between the calculated QT and the measured QT signal. Conclusions: In apparently healthy subjects with normal conventional ECGs, functional cardiac age can be estimated by multiple linear regression analysis of mostly advanced ECG results. Because some parameters in the regression formula, such as QTcorr, high frequency QRS amplitude and P-wave width also change with disease in the same direction as with increased age, increased functional age of the heart may reflect subtle age-related pathologies in cardiac electrical function that are usually hidden on conventional ECG.

Beschreibung: Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut is an international educational challenge focusing on fitness and nutrition as we encourage students to "train like an astronaut." Teams of students (aged 8-12) learn principles of healthy eating and exercise, compete for points by finishing training modules, and get excited about their future as "fit explorers." The 18 core exercises (targeting strength, endurance, coordination, balance, spatial awareness, and more) involve the same types of skills that astronauts learn in their training and use in spaceflight. This first-of-its-kind cooperative outreach program has allowed 14 space agencies and various partner institutions to work together to address quality health/fitness education, challenge students to be more physically active, increase awareness of the importance of lifelong health and fitness, teach students how fitness plays a vital role in human performance for exploration, and inspire and motivate students to pursue careers in STEM fields. The project was initiated in 2009 in response to a request by the International Space Life Sciences Working Group. USA, Netherlands, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Colombia, Spain, and United Kingdom hosted teams for the pilot this past spring, and Japan held a modified version of the challenge. Several more agencies provided input into the preparations. Competing on 131 teams, more than 3700 students from 40 cities worldwide participated in the first round of Mission X. OUTCOMES AND BEST PRACTICES Members of the Mission X core team will highlight the outcomes of this international educational outreach pilot project, show video highlights of the challenge, provide the working group s initial assessment of the project and discuss the future potential of the effort. The team will also discuss ideas and best practices for international partnership in education outreach efforts from various agency perspectives and experiences

Beschreibung: 1.Technology Description-Researchers discovered that when the Varicella Zoster Virus (VZV) reactivates from latency in the body, the virus is consistently present in saliva before the appearance of skin lesions. A small saliva sample is mixed with a specialized reagent in a test kit. If the virus is present in the saliva sample, the mixture turns a red color. The sensitivity and specificity emanates from an antibody-antigen reaction. This technology is a rapid, non-invasive, point of-of-care testing kit for detecting the virus from a saliva sample. The device is easy to use and can be used in clinics and in remote locations to quickly detect VZV and begin treatment with antiviral drugs. 2.Market Opportunity- RST Bioscience will be the first and only company to market a rapid, same day test kit for the detection of VZV in saliva. The RST detection test kit will have several advantages over existing, competitive technology. The test kit is self contained and laboratory equipment is not required for analysis of the sample. Only a single saliva sample is required to be taken instead of blood or cerebral spinal fluid. The test kit is portable, sterile and disposable after use. RST detection test kits require no electrical power or expensive storage equipment and can be used in remote locations. 3.Market Analysis- According to the CDC, it is estimated that 1 million cases of shingles occur each year in the U.S. with more than half over the age of sixty. There is a high demand for rapid diagnostics by the public. The point-of-care testing (POCT) market is growing faster than other segments of in vitro diagnostics. According to a July 2007 InteLab Corporation industry report the overall market for POCT was forecast to increase from $10.3 billion in 2005 to $18.7 billion by 2011. The market value of this test kit has not been determined. 4.Competition- The VZV vaccine prevents 50% of cases and reduces neuralgia by 66%. The most popular test detects VZV-specific IgM antibody in blood. Other tests include running a sample in a polymerase chain reaction analyzer, enzyme immunoassay, latex agglutination, indirect fluorescent antibody and fluorescent antibody to membrane antigen assay. These existing tests require laboratory analysis by trained personnel, expensive equipment, invasive procedures and a longer period of time to obtain test results.

Beschreibung: Optimization of early diagnosis of childhood hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is essential in lowering the risk of HCM complications. Standard echocardiography (ECHO) has shown to be less sensitive in this regard. In this study, we sought to assess whether spatial QRS-T angle deviation, which has shown to predict HCM in adults with high sensitivity, and myocardial Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) could be additional tools in early diagnosis of HCM in childhood. Methods: Children and adolescents with familial HCM (n=10, median age 16, range 5-27 years), and without obvious hypertrophy but with heredity for HCM (n=12, median age 16, range 4-25 years, HCM or sudden death with autopsy-verified HCM in greater than or equal to 1 first-degree relative, HCM-risk) were additionally investigated with TDI and advanced 12-lead ECG analysis using Cardiax(Registered trademark) (IMED Co Ltd, Budapest, Hungary and Houston). Spatial QRS-T angle (SA) was derived from Kors regression-related transformation. Healthy age-matched controls (n=21) were also studied. All participants underwent thorough clinical examination. Results: Spatial QRS-T angle (Figure/ Panel A) and septal E/Ea ratio (Figure/Panel B) were most increased in HCM group as compared to the HCM-risk and control groups (p less than 0.05). Of note, these 2 variables showed a trend toward higher levels in HCM-risk group than in control group (p=0.05 for E/Ea and 0.06 for QRS/T by ANOVA). In a logistic regression model, increased SA and septal E/Ea ratio appeared to significantly predict both the disease (Chi-square in HCM group: 9 and 5, respectively, p less than 0.05 for both) and the risk for HCM (Chi-square in HCM-risk group: 5 and 4 respectively, p less than 0.05 for both), with further increased predictability level when these 2 variables were combined (Chi-square 10 in HCM group, and 7 in HCM-risk group, p less than 0.01 for both). Conclusions: In this small material, Tissue Doppler Imaging and spatial mean QRS-T angle deviation, particularly when combined, appear to be sensitive in predicting the risk for developing childhood HCM. Large-scale, prospective studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.

Beschreibung: The NASA Johnson Space Center Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) and Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering (Wyle) will conduct a one-day business cluster at the 62nd IAC so that IAC attendees will understand the benefits of open innovation (crowdsourcing), review successful results of conducting technical challenges in various open innovation projects, and learn how an organization can effectively deploy these new problem solving tools to innovate more efficiently and effectively. Results from both the SLSD open innovation pilot program and the open innovation workshop conducted by the NASA Human Health and Performance Center will be discussed. NHHPC members will be recruited to participate in the business cluster (see membership http://nhhpc.nasa.gov) and as IAF members. Crowdsourcing may be defined as the act of outsourcing tasks that are traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to an undefined, generally large group of people or community (a crowd) in the form of an open call. The open call may be issued by the organization wishing to find a solution to a particular problem or complete a task, or by an open innovation service provider on behalf of that organization. In 2008, the SLSD, with the support of Wyle, established and implemented pilot projects in open innovation (crowdsourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical challenges. These unsolved technical problems were converted to problem statements, called Challenges by some open innovation service providers, and were then posted externally to seek solutions to these problems. In addition, an open call was issued internally to NASA employees Agency wide (11 Field Centers and NASA HQ) using an open innovation service provider crowdsourcing platform to post NASA challenges from each Center for the others to propose solutions). From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external problems or challenges were posted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive crowdsourcing platform designed for use internal to an organization and customized for NASA use, and promoted as NASA@Work. The results were significant. Of the seven InnoCentive external challenges, two full and five partial awards were made in complex technical areas such as predicting solar flares and long-duration food packaging.

Beschreibung: Models of human thermoregulation and heat transfer date from the early 1970s and have been developed for applications ranging from evaluating thermal comfort in spacecraft and aircraft cabin environments to predicting heat stress during EVAs. Most lumped or compartment models represent the body as an assemblage cylindrical and spherical elements which may be subdivided into layers to describe tissue heterogeneity. Many existing models are of limited usefulness in asymmetric thermal environments, such as may be encountered during an EVA. Conventional whole-body clothing models also limit the ability to describe local surface thermal and evaporation effects in sufficient detail. A further limitation is that models based on a standard man model are not readily scalable to represent large or small subjects. This work describes development of a new human thermal model derived from the 41-node man model. Each segment is divided into four concentric, constant thickness cylinders made up of a central core surrounded by muscle, fat, and skin, respectively. These cylinders are connected by the flow of blood from a central blood pool to each part. The central blood pool is updated at each time step, based on a whole-body energy balance. Results show the model simulates core and surface temperature histories, sweat evaporation and metabolic rates which generally are consistent with controlled exposures of human subjects. Scaling rules are developed to enable simulation of small and large subjects (5th percentile and 95th percentile). Future refinements will include a clothing model that addresses local surface insulation and permeation effects and developing control equations to describe thermoregulatory effects such as may occur with prolonged weightlessness or with aging.