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At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Cerebral versus systemic hemodynamics during graded orthostatic stress in humans

BACKGROUND: Orthostatic syncope is usually attributed to cerebral hypoperfusion secondary to systemic hemodynamic collapse. Recent research in patients with neurocardiogenic syncope has suggested that cerebral vasoconstriction may occur during orthostatic hypotension, compromising cerebral autoregulation and possibly contributing to the loss of consciousness. However, the regulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) in such patients may be quite different from that of healthy individuals, particularly when assessed during the rapidly changing hemodynamic conditions associated with neurocardiogenic syncope. To be able to interpret the pathophysiological significance of these observations, a clear understanding of the normal responses of the cerebral circulation to orthostatic stress must be obtained, particularly in the context of the known changes in systemic and regional distributions of blood flow and vascular resistance during orthostasis. Therefore, the specific aim of this study was to examine the changes that occur in the cerebral circulation during graded reductions in central blood volume in the absence of systemic hypotension in healthy humans. We hypothesized that cerebral vasoconstriction would occur and CBF would decrease due to activation of the sympathetic nervous system. We further hypothesized, however, that the magnitude of this change would be small compared with changes in systemic or skeletal muscle vascular resistance in healthy subjects with intact autoregulation and would be unlikely to cause syncope without concomitant hypotension. METHODS AND RESULTS: To test this hypothesis, we studied 13 healthy men (age, 27 +/- 7 years) during progressive lower body negative pressure (LBNP). We measured systemic flow (Qc is cardiac output; C2H2 rebreathing), regional forearm flow (FBF; venous occlusion plethysmography), and blood pressure (BP; Finapres) and calculated systemic (SVR) and forearm (FVR) vascular resistances. Changes in brain blood flow were estimated from changes in the blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral artery (VMCA) using transcranial Doppler. Pulsatility (systolic minus diastolic/mean velocity) normalized for systemic arterial pressure pulsatility was used as an index of distal cerebral vascular resistance. End-tidal PACO2 was closely monitored during LBNP. From rest to maximal LBNP before the onset of symptoms or systemic hypotension, Qc and FBF decreased by 29.9% and 34.4%, respectively. VMCA decreased less, by 15.5% consistent with a smaller decrease in CBF. Similarly, SVR and FVR increased by 62.8% and 69.8%, respectively, whereas pulsatility increased by 17.2%, suggestive of a mild degree of small-vessel cerebral vasoconstriction. Seven of 13 subjects had presyncope during LBNP, all associated with a sudden drop in BP (29 +/- 9%). By comparison, hyperventilation alone caused greater changes in VMCA (42 +/- 2%) and pulsatility but never caused presyncope. In a separate group of 3 subjects, superimposition of hyperventilation during highlevel LBNP caused a further decrease in VMCA (31 +/- 7%) but no change in BP or level of consciousness. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that cerebral vasoconstriction occurs in healthy humans during graded reductions in central blood volume caused by LBNP. However, the magnitude of this response is small compared with changes in SVR or FVR during LBNP or other stimuli known to induce cerebral vasoconstriction (hypocapnia). We speculate that this degree of cerebral vasoconstriction is not by itself sufficient to cause syncope during orthostatic stress. However, it may exacerbate the decrease in CBF associated with hypotension if hemodynamic instability develops.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗
NASA NTRS2002

Interactions between gravitropism and phototropism in plants

To receive adequate light and nutrients for survival, plants orient stems and stem-like organs toward light and away from the gravity vector and, conversely, orient roots into the soil, away from light toward the direction of gravity. Therefore, both gravity and light can influence the differential growth of plant organs. To add to the complexity of the interactions between gravity and light, each stimulus can enhance or reduce the effectiveness of the other. On earth, the constant presence of gravity makes it difficult to determine whether plant growth and development is influenced by gravity or light alone or the combination of the two stimuli. In the past decade, our understanding of the gravity and light transduction pathways has advanced through the use of mutants in either gravitropic or phototropic responses and the use of innovative techniques that reduce the effects of one stimulus on the other. Thus, both unique and common elements in the transduction pathways of the gravitropic and phototropic responses have been isolated. This article is focused on the interactions between the light- and gravity-transduction pathways and describes methods used to separate the influences of these two environmental stimuli.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS1998

STS-90 Day 15 Highlights

On this fifteeth day of the STS-90 mission, the flight crew, Cmdr. Richard A. Searfoss, Pilot Scott D. Altman, and Mission Specialists Richard M. Linnehan, Dafydd Rhys Williams and Kathryn P. Hire, and Payload Specialists Jay C. Buckey and James A. Pawelczyk turns its attention to dexterity tests and dissections of rats neonates and the ball-catch experiment. Mission Specialists Rick Linnehan and Dave Williams and Payload Specialist Jim Pawelczyk will dissect the newborn rats. The dexterity test will test the response of young rats as they are tilted and turned while walking and climbing on a special apparatus with various surfaces. Later, all four payload crew members will repeat the ball-catch experiment. This experiment studies the ability of the central nervous system to accept and interpret new stimuli in space. The astronauts have performed this test at various points in the mission so scientists can compare their responses as their bodies adapt to weightlessness.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1997

Multiple subclasses of Purkinje cells in the primate floccular complex provide similar signals to guide learning in the vestibulo-ocular reflex

The neural "learning rules" governing the induction of plasticity in the cerebellum were analyzed by recording the patterns of neural activity in awake, behaving animals during stimuli that induce a form of cerebellum-dependent learning. We recorded the simple- and complex-spike responses of a broad sample of Purkinje cells in the floccular complex during a number of stimulus conditions that induce motor learning in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR). Each subclass of Purkinje cells carried essentially the same information about required changes in the gain of the VOR. The correlation of simple-spike activity in Purkinje cells with activity in vestibular pathways could guide learning during low-frequency but not high-frequency stimuli. Climbing fiber activity could guide learning during all stimuli tested but only if compared with the activity present approximately 100 msec earlier in either vestibular pathways or Purkinje cells.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1981

Sensation of rotation about a vertical axis with a fixed visual field in different illuminations and in the dark

The effects of the oculogyro illusion of the relative motion of a spot fixed with respect to the subject during subject rotation and of a fixed striped peripheral visual field under different levels of illumination on perceptions of rotation about a vertical axis are investigated. Subjects were seated in a rotatable flight trainer cockpit with visual fields consisting of darkness, a dim peripheral field, and a bright peripheral field, all fixed with respect to the subject, and subject perceptual thresholds, frequency responses and sensations of displacement and velocity were measured during trainer rotation at constant and varying angular accelerations. The perception of angular acceleration is found to exhibit a significantly lower threshold and a reduced latency time in the illuminated visual fields which was independent of the level of illumination. Subjective frequency responses showed a higher gain in the illuminated presentations, while subjective displacements during triangular velocity stimuli exhibited no difference for the different visual cues. Finally, magnitude estimations of the after-rotation associated with deceleration from a constant velocity showed a greater rising speed, larger velocity and longer duration under illumination. Results show that, for low accelerations, the visual input enhances sensitivity to self-motion, an effect explained by the oculogyral illusion.

Huang, J.↗
NASA NTRS1984

A Role for Presynaptic alpha(sub 2)-Adrenoceptors in Angiotensin 2-Induced Drinking in Rats

Studies from this laboratory have shown that either central or peripheral administration of clonidine, the alpha(sub 2)-adrenoceptor agonist, can attenuate a variety of dipsogenic stimuli in rats. Further, yohimbine and tolazoline, alpha(sub 2)-adrenoceptor antagonists, augment the drinking response to both peripherally administered isoproterenol and angiotensin 2. Studies reported here establish a dose-inhibition relationship between the dose of clonidine administered (2 to 32 micrograms/kg) intracerebroventricularly (IVT) and inhibition of the drinking response to peripherally administered angiotensin 2 (200 micrograms/kg, SC). DI(sub 50) was approximately 4 micrograms/kg. Yohimbine (300 micrograms/kg, SC) reversed the antidipsogenic effect of centrally administered clonidine (32 micrograms/kg, IVT) on angiotensin 2-induced (200 micrograms/kg, SC) water intake. Phenylephrine, an alpha(sub 2)-adrenoceptor agonist, administered IVT (40 and 80 micrograms/kg) also inhibited angiotensin 2-induced drinking in a dose-related fashion. The antidipsogenic effect of phenylephfine (80 micrograms/kg) was blocked by administration of yohimbine (100 micrograms/kg, SC). Thus, this effect of phenylephrine most likely occurs by way of alpha(sub 2)- adrenoceptors. These results support a role for the pre-synaptic alpha(sub 2)-adrenoceptor in the mediation of drinking in rats. Activation of alpha(sub 2)-adrenoceptors is accompanied by reduced water intake while inhibition of these receptors enhances water intake.

Fregly, Melvin J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Spatial and temporal traction response in human airway smooth muscle cells

Tractions that cells exert on their substrates are essential in cell spreading, migration, and contraction. These tractions can be determined by plating the cells on a flexible gel and measuring the deformation of the gel by using fluorescent beads embedded just below the surface of the gel. In this article we describe the image correlation method (ICM) optimized for determining the displacement field of the gel under a contracting cell. For the calculation of the traction field from the displacement field we use the recently developed method of Fourier transform traction cytometry (FTTC). The ICM and FTTC methods are applied to human airway smooth muscle cells during stimulation with the contractile agonist histamine or the relaxing agonist isoproterenol. The overall intensity of the cell contraction (the median traction magnitude, the energy transferred from the cell to the gel, and the net contractile moment) increased after activation with histamine, and decreased after treatment with isoproterenol. Cells exhibited regional differences in the time course of traction during the treatment. Both temporal evolution and magnitude of traction increase induced by histamine varied markedly among different cell protrusions, whereas the nuclear region showed the smallest response. These results suggest that intracellular mediators of cell adhesion and contraction respond to contractile stimuli with different rates and intensities in different regions of the cell.

NASA Discipline Cell Biology↗
NASA NTRS2002

Ideomotor compatibility in the psychological refractory period effect: 29 years of oversimplification

Four experiments examined whether the psychological refractory period (PRP) effect can be eliminated with ideomotor compatible (IM) but not stimulus-response compatible (SR) tasks, as reported by A. G. Greenwald and H. G. Shulman (1973). Their tasks were used: a left or right movement to a left- or right-pointing arrow (IM) or to the word left or right (SR) for Task 1; saying "A" or "B" (IM) or "1" or "2" (SR) to an auditory A or B for Task 2. The stimulus onset asynchronies were 0, 100, 200, 300, 500, and 1,000 ms in Experiment 1, and only 0, 100, 200, and 1,000 ms in Experiments 2-4. The arrow was in the center of the screen in Experiments 1-3 and to the left or right in Experiment 4. As in Greenwald and Shulman's Experiment 2, the instructions stated that most often the 2 stimuli would be presented simultaneously. A PRP effect was obtained in all conditions, most likely because response-selection decisions are required even for IM tasks.

Refractory Period, Psychological↗
NASA NTRS2003

Ocular motor responses to abrupt interaural head translation in normal humans

We characterized the interaural translational vestibulo-ocular reflex (tVOR) in 6 normal humans to brief (approximately 200 ms), high-acceleration (0.4-1.4g) stimuli, while they fixed targets at 15 or 30 cm. The latency was 19 +/- 5 ms at 15-cm and 20 +/- 12 ms at 30-cm viewing. The gain was quantified using the ratio of actual to ideal behavior. The median position gain (at time of peak head velocity) was 0.38 and 0.37, and the median velocity gain, 0.52 and 0.62, at 15- and 30-cm viewing, respectively. These results suggest the tVOR scales proportionally at these viewing distances. Likewise, at both viewing distances, peak eye velocity scaled linearly with peak head velocity and gain was independent of peak head acceleration. A saccade commonly occurred in the compensatory direction, with a greater latency (165 vs. 145 ms) and lesser amplitude (1.8 vs. 3.2 deg) at 30- than 15-cm viewing. Even with saccades, the overall gain at the end of head movement was still considerably undercompensatory (medians 0.68 and 0.77 at 15- and 30-cm viewing). Monocular viewing was also assessed at 15-cm viewing. In 4 of 6 subjects, gains were the same as during binocular viewing and scaled closely with vergence angle. In sum the low tVOR gain and scaling of the response with viewing distance and head velocity extend previous results to higher acceleration stimuli. tVOR latency (approximately 20 ms) was lower than previously reported. Saccades are an integral part of the tVOR, and also scale with viewing distance.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1975

Effects on sleep of noise from two proposed STOL aircraft

Responses, both overt behavior and those measured by electroencephalograph, to noise by eight male subjects were studied for sixteen consecutive nights. Test stimuli were: (1) The simulated sideline noise of a short takeoff and landing aircraft with blown flaps; (2) the simulated sideline noise of a STOL aircraft of turbofan design; (3) the simulated takeoff noise of the blown flap STOL aircraft; and (4) a four second burst of simulated pink noise. Responses to each noise were tested at three noise intensities selected to represent levels expected indoors from operational aircraft. The results indicate that the blown flap STOL aircraft noise resulted in 8 to 10 percent fewer sleep disturbance responses than did the turbofan STOL aircraft when noises of comparable intensities from similar maneuvers were used.

Lukas, J. S.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Vestibular short latency responses to pulsed linear acceleration in unanesthetized animals

Linear acceleration transients were used to elicit vestibular compound action potentials in non-invasively prepared, unanesthetized animals for the first time (chicks, Gallus domesticus, n = 33). Responses were composed of a series of up to 8 dominant peaks occurring within 8 msec of the stimulus. Response amplitudes for 1.0 g stimulus ranged from 1 to 10 microV. A late, slow, triphasic, anesthesia-labile component was identified as a dominant response feature in unanesthetized animals. Amplitudes increased and latencies decreased as stimulus intensity was increased (MANOVA P less than 0.05). Linear regression slope ranges were: amplitudes = 1.0-5.0 microV/g; latencies = -300 to -1100 microseconds/g. Thresholds for single polarity stimuli (0.035 +/- 0.022 g, n = 11) were significantly lower than those of alternating polarity (0.074 +/- 0.028 g, n = 18, P less than 0.001). Bilateral labyrinthectomy eliminated responses whereas bilateral extirpation of cochleae did not significantly change response thresholds. Intense acoustic masking (100/104 dB SL) produced no effect in 2 animals, but did produce small to moderate effects on response amplitudes in 7 others. Changes were attributed to effects on vestibular end organs. Results of unilateral labyrinth blockade (tetrodotoxin) suggest that P1 and N1 preferentially reflect ipsilateral eighth nerve compound action potentials whereas components beyond approximately 2 msec reflect activity from vestibular neurons that depend on both labyrinths. The results demonstrate that short latency vestibular compound action potentials can be measured in unanesthetized, non-invasively prepared animals.

NASA Discipline Neuroscience↗
NASA NTRS2026

Helicopter and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Laboratory Comparison (HULC) Psychoacoustic Test

The Helicopter and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Laboratory Comparison (HULC) psychoacoustic test was conducted in July 2025 to compare human annoyance responses to noise from UAM vehicles and helicopters. This document provides a literature review, describes the HULC test methodology including stimuli selection and test administration procedures, and presents results from an initial analysis using multilevel statistical modeling. The test utilized 123 sound stimuli from four helicopters and six UAM vehicles across three flight phases (departure, cruise, and approach), presented to 40 subjects in the Exterior Effects Room (EER) at NASA's Langley Research Center. Subjects rated their annoyance on a 0 to 10 scale while imagining hearing these sounds multiple times daily near their homes. Key findings revealed that, at the same A-weighted sound exposure levels, UAM vehicles and helicopters produced similar annoyance responses across all flight phases, with mean differences of only approximately 1 dB and overlapping confidence intervals. However, at equivalent observer distances, UAM vehicles had inherently quieter operations and lower mean annoyance ratings. These results suggest that UAM vehicles and helicopters may be assessed in a similar manner for community noise impact. The quieter noise characteristics of UAM vehicles may provide advantages for operating in communities and integrating into urban environments.

psychoacoustics↗
NASA NTRS2008

Design of Test Articles and Monitoring System for the Characterization of HIRF Effects on a Fault-Tolerant Computer Communication System

This report describes the design of the test articles and monitoring systems developed to characterize the response of a fault-tolerant computer communication system when stressed beyond the theoretical limits for guaranteed correct performance. A high-intensity radiated electromagnetic field (HIRF) environment was selected as the means of injecting faults, as such environments are known to have the potential to cause arbitrary and coincident common-mode fault manifestations that can overwhelm redundancy management mechanisms. The monitors generate stimuli for the systems-under-test (SUTs) and collect data in real-time on the internal state and the response at the external interfaces. A real-time health assessment capability was developed to support the automation of the test. A detailed description of the nature and structure of the collected data is included. The goal of the report is to provide insight into the design and operation of these systems, and to serve as a reference document for use in post-test analyses.

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo↗
NASA NTRS1998

Human Physiological Responses to Cycle Ergometer Leg Exercise During +Gz Acceleration

Spaceflight and bed-rest deconditioning decrease maximal oxygen uptake (aerobic power), strength, endurance capacity, and orthostatic tolerance. In addition to extensive use of muscular exercise conditioning as a countermeasure for the reduction in aerobic power (VO(sub 2max)), stimuli from some form of +Gz acceleration conditioning may be necessary to attenuate the orthostatic intolerance component of this deconditioning. Hypothesis: There will be no significant difference in the physiological responses (oxygen uptake, heart rate, ventilation, or respiratory exchange ratio) during supine exercise with moderate +Gz acceleration.

Chou, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Adaptive Changes In Postural Equilibrium And Motion Sickness Following Repeated Exposures To Virtual Environments

Virtual environments offer unique training opportunities, particularly for training astronauts and preadapting them to the novel sensory conditions of microgravity. Two unresolved human factors issues in virtual reality (VR) systems are: 1) potential "cybersickness", and 2) maladaptive sensorimotor performance following exposure to VR systems. Interestingly, these aftereffects are often quite similar to adaptive sensorimotor responses observed in astronauts during and/or following space flight. Changes in the environmental sensory stimulus conditions and the way we interact with the new stimuli may result in motion sickness, and perceptual, spatial orientation and sensorimotor disturbances. Initial interpretation of novel sensory information may be inappropriate and result in perceptual errors. Active exploratory behavior in a new environment, with resulting feedback and the formation of new associations between sensory inputs and response outputs, promotes appropriate perception and motor control in the new environment. Thus, people adapt to consistent, sustained alterations of sensory input such as those produced by microgravity, unilateral labyrinthectomy and experimentally produced stimulus rearrangements. Adaptation is revealed by aftereffects including perceptual disturbances and sensorimotor control disturbances. The purpose of the current study was to compare disturbances in postural control produced by dome and head-mounted virtual environment displays, and to examine the effects of exposure duration, and repeated exposures to VR systems. Forty-one subjects (21 men, 20 women) participated in the study with an age range of 21-49 years old. One training session was completed in order to achieve stable performance on the posture and VR tasks before participating in the experimental sessions. Three experimental sessions were performed each separated by one day. The subjects performed a navigation and pick and place task in either a dome or head-mounted display (HMD) VR system for either 30 or 60 min. The environment was a square room with 15 pedestals on two opposite walls. The objects appeared on one set of pedestals and the subject s objective was to move the objects to the other set of pedestals. After the subject picked up an object, a pathway appeared and they were required to follow the pathway to the other side of the room. The subject was instructed to perform the task as quickly and accurately as possible, avoiding hitting walls and other any obstacles and placing the object on the center of the pedestal. Postural equilibrium was measured (using the Equitest CDP balance system, Neurocom, International) before, immediately after, and at 1 hr, 2 hr, 4 hr and 6 hr following exposure to VR. Postural equilibrium was measured during quiet stance with eyes open, eyes closed and vision and/or ankle proprioceptive inputs selectively altered by servo-controlling the visual surround and/or support surface to the subject s center of mass sway. Posture data was normalized using a log transformation and motion sickness data were normalized using the square root. In general, we found that exposure to VR resulted in decrements in postural stability. The largest decrements were observed in the tests performed immediately following exposure to VR and showed a fairly rapid recovery across the remaining test sessions. In addition, subjects generally showed improvement across days. We found significant main effects for day and time for the composite equilibrium score and for sensory organization tests (SOT) 1, 2 and 6. Significant main effects were observed for day for SOT 3 and 5. Although we found no significant main effects for gender (when center of gravity was used as a covariate), we did observe significant gender X time interaction effects for composite equilibrium and for SOT 1, 3, 4 and 5. Women appeared to show larger decrements in postural stability immediately after exposure to VR than men, but recover more quickly than n. Finally, we found no significant main effects for type of VR device or for exposure duration, however, these factors did interact with other factors during some of the SOTs. Subjects exhibited rapid recovery of motion sickness symptoms across time following exposure to VR and significantly less severe symptoms across days. We did not observe main effects for gender, type of device or duration of exposure. Individuals recovered from the detrimental effects of exposure to virtual reality on postural control and motion sickness within one hour. Sickness severity and initial decrements in postural equilibrium decreases over days, which suggests that subjects become dual-adapted over time. These findings provide some direction for developing training schedules for VR users that facilitate adaptation, and support the idea that preflight training of astronauts may serve as useful countermeasure for the sensorimotor effects of space flight.

Harm, D. L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

PVT+AUDIO. Online Psychoacoustic Testing iOS App for Evaluating AAM/UAM Noise Resonse

PVT+AUDIO is an extension of the existing Psychomoter Vigilance Task application that NASA released over 2 years ago for evaluating pilot fatigue. PVT+AUDIO is designed to present audio stimuli using a method of limits to determine the relationship between objective acoustic parameters and psychacoustic response, for application to Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Responses include annoyance, acceptance, blend with ambient sound, and detection. The app runs within Apple's iOS ecosystem and utilizes binaural audio simulations of vehicles and ambient sound, and is designed to compensate for headphone response. A prototype experiment is described, along with issues related to calibration and subject engagement.

aircraft noise disturbance↗
NASA NTRS2004

Control of gravitropic orientation. I. Non-vertical orientation by primary roots of maize results from decay of competence for orthogravitropic induction

Plant organs may respond to gravity by vertical (orthogravitropic), oblique (plagiogravitropic) or horizontal (diagravitropic) growth. Primary roots of maize (Zea mays L.) provide a good system for studying such behaviours because they are reportedly capable of displaying all three responses. In current work using maize seedlings of the Silver Queen cultivar, stabilisation of growth at an oblique orientation was commonplace. Hypothetically, plagiogravitropism may be accomplished either by a process we call graded orthogravitropism or by hunting about a sensed non-vertical setpoint. In graded orthotropism primary bending is unidirectional and depends on facilitative stimuli that determine its extent. The hallmark of the setpoint mechanism is restorative curvature of either sign following a displacement; both diagravitropism and orthogravitropism are based on setpoints. Roots settled in a plagiogravitropic orientation were tested with various illumination and displacement protocols designed to distinguish between these two hypotheses. The tests refuted the setpoint hypothesis and supported that of graded orthotropism. No evidence of diagravitropism could be found, thus, earlier claims were likely based on inadequately controlled observations of graded orthotropism. We propose that orthotropism is graded by the sequential action of dual gravity receptors: induction of a vectorial gravitropic response requires gravitational induction of a separate facilitative response, whose decay in the absence of fresh stimuli can brake gravitropism at plagiotropic angles.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS1972

Olfactory bulb units - Activity correlated with inhalation cycles and odor quality.

Single olfactory bulb units were studied in two macrosmatic species of rodents under conditions intended to preserve the cyclical stimulation which normally accompanies nasal breathing. Patterns of unit activity related to the inhalation cycle were observed in all animals, often in the absence of specific stimuli, and could not be explained in simple mechanical terms. Distinctive changes in these patterns occurred in response to certain odors, and were generally independent of changes in the overall firing frequency. These findings indicate that a change in the overall firing frequency of unit discharges is neither a necessary nor sufficient measure of responsiveness to odors in the rodent olfactory bulb, and that stimulus-specific temporal distributions of unit firing may be involved in olfacto-endocrine activities.

Macrides, F.↗