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AIRS and Infectious Disease: Humidity-Based Influenza Forecasting
No abstract provided
AIRS and Respiratory Disease: Humidity-Based Influenza Forecasting (AIRS STM)
No abstract provided
Study of the effect of space cabin environment on susceptibility to disease
Decreased resistance to infections initiated by respiratory challenge with Klebsiella pneumoniae or influenza virus was observed in mice maintained in a simulated space cabin environment represented by 98% oxygen atmosphere and 27,000 ft altitude (5 psi). The reduced resistance was manifested by increased mortality rates as compared to those seen in mice maintained at ground level condition. However, an adaptation to the stress appeared to be present in mice exposed to the space cabin environment for extended time period, i.e. 36 days, and then challenged with the influenza virus. Reduced resistance was not observed when Salmonella typhimurium was used as the challenge agent. Histopathologic examination of lungs of mice indicated that the severity of damage appeared to be related to the duration of exposure to the simulated space cabin environment.
Prodromal disease: Immune responses of the host macrophage system to humoral factors
A composite is presented of nine studies, each yielding information contributing toward an understanding of methods designed to detect disease during the prodromal stages. The data further point to new areas of study that might be useful in early diagnoses. Five of the none experiments were done in mice. Four of these involved acute infectious disease states and one involved a chronic autoimmune type disease. Of the numerous perimeters studied of the acute diseases, the uptake of H3- thymidine by peripheral blood lymphocytes appeared to yield the earliest indication of disease. This test was not useful in studying the chronic disease state. Four of the nine studies involved application of diagnostic technics to human disease. A normal baseline for H3-thymidine incorporation by human lymphocytes was determined. A subject with severe combined immunodeficiency disease was studied. A human volunteer study was done using Influenza A live attenuated vaccine. Finally, a human volunteer study of subjects infected with Influenza A was done.
Using the information of cosmic rays to predict influence epidemic
A correlation between the incidence of influenza pandemics and increased cosmic ray activity is made. A correlation is also made between the occurrence of these pandemics and the appearance of bright novae, e.g., Nova Eta Car. Four indices based on increased cosmic ray activity and novae are proposed to predict future influenza pandemics and viral antigenic shifts.
Proton Transport
The transport of protons across membranes is an essential process for both bioenergetics of modern cells and the origins of cellular life. All living systems make use of proton gradients across cell walls to convert environmental energy into a high-energy chemical compound, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), synthesized from adenosine diphosphate. ATP, in turn, is used as a source of energy to drive many cellular reactions. The ubiquity of this process in biology suggests that even the earliest cellular systems were relying on proton gradient for harvesting environmental energy needed to support their survival and growth. In contemporary cells, proton transfer is assisted by large, complex proteins embedded in membranes. The issue addressed in this Study was: how the same process can be accomplished with the aid of similar but much simpler molecules that could have existed in the protobiological milieu? The model system used in the study contained a bilayer membrane made of phospholipid, dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) which is a good model of the biological membranes forming cellular boundaries. Both sides of the bilayer were surrounded by water which simulated the environment inside and outside the cell. Embedded in the membrane was a fragment of the Influenza-A M$_2$ protein and enough sodium counterions to maintain system neutrality. This protein has been shown to exhibit remarkably high rates of proton transport and, therefore, is an excellent model to study the formation of proton gradients across membranes. The Influenza M$_2$ protein is 97 amino acids in length, but a fragment 25 amino acids long. which contains a transmembrane domain of 19 amino acids flanked by three amino acids on each side. is sufficient to transport protons. Four identical protein fragments, each folded into a helix, aggregate to form small channels spanning the membrane. Protons are conducted through a narrow pore in the middle of the channel in response to applied voltage. This channel is large enough to contain water molecules. and is normally filled with water. In analogy to the mechanism of proton transfer in some other channels, it has been postulated that protons are translocated along the network of water molecules filling the pore of the channel. This mechanism, however, must involve an additional important step because the channel contains four histidine amino acid residues, one from each of the helices, which are sufficiently large to occlude the pore and interrupt the water network. The histidine residues ensure channel selectivity by blocking transport of small ions, such as sodium or potassium. They have been also implicated in gating protons due to the ability of each histidine to become positively charged by accepting an additional proton. Two mechanisms of gating have been proposed. In one mechanism, all four histidines acquire an additional proton and, due to repulsion between their positive charges, move away from one another, thus opening the channel. The alternative mechanism relies of the ability of protons to move between different atoms in a molecule (tautomerization). Thus, a proton is captured on one side of the gate while another proton is released from the opposite side, and the molecule returns to the initial state through tautomerization. The simulations were designed to test these two mechanisms. Large-scale, atomic-level molecular dynamics simulations of the channel with the histidine residues in different protonation states revealed that all intermediate states of the system involved in the tautomerization mechanism are structurally stable and the arrangement of water molecules in the channel is conducive to the proton transport. In contrast, in the four-protonated state, postulated to exist in the gate-opening mechanism, the electrostatic repulsion between the histidine residues appears to be so large that the channel loses its structural integrity and one helix moves away from the remaining three. Additional information is contained within the original extended abstract.
Use of Giovanni System in Public Health Application
The role of environment and climate in propagating infectious disease has long been recognized since the 5th century. The effect is particularly evident in vector-borne diseases such as malaria where temperature, precipitation and humidity influence the lifecycle of the pathogens and mosquitoes. Likewise, the transmission of respiratory diseases is also often associated with climatic factors. For example, a recent study showed that low humidity and temperature provides efficient condition for seasonal influenza transmission. Understanding of how environment and climate affect infectious diseases would essentially provide guides to prevent and control the spread of disease. Toward this end, our group has developed models for infectious disease risk such as for malaria, dengue and influenza that are driven by climatic and environmental inputs. Results will be presented, especially those that used TRMM data from GIOVANNI.
Antibody formation in hibernating ground squirrels
Specific antibody formation to influenza A virus vaccine /strain PR sub s/ in hibernating ground squirrels /Citellus tridecemlineatus/
Resistance to infection in space-cabin environment.
Space cabin environment simulation effects on resistance to infection caused by pneumonia and influenza virus in rats
Hypothermia, radiation, and the immune response
Hypothermia and ionizing radiation effects on hamsters influenza immune response
Microbial ecology measurement system
The sensitivity and potential rapidity of the PIA test that was demonstrated during the feasibility study warranted continuing the effort to examine the possibility of adapting this test to an automated procedure that could be used during manned missions. The effort during this program has optimized the test conditions for two important respiratory pathogens, influenza virus and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, developed a laboratory model automated detection system, and investigated a group antigen concept for virus detection. Preliminary tests on the handling of oropharygeal clinical samples for PIA testing were performed using the adenovirus system. The results obtained indicated that the PIA signal is reduced in positive samples and is increased in negative samples. Treatment with cysteine appeared to reduce nonspecific agglutination in negative samples but did not maintain the signal in positive samples.
Cellular immune response experiment MA-031
Significant changes in phytohemagglutinin (PHA) lymphocytic responsiveness occurred in the cellular immune response of three astronauts during the 9 day flight of the Apollo Soyuz Test Project. Parameters studied were white blood cell concentrations, lymphocyte numbers, B- and T-lymphocyte distributions in peripheral blood, and lymphocyte responsiveness to PHA, pokeweed mitogen, Concanavalin A, and influenza virus antigen.
Electrophoresis for biological production
Preparative electrophoresis may provide a unique method for meeting ever more stringent purity requirements. Prolonged near zero gravity in space may permit the operation of preparative electrophoresis equipment with 100 times greater throughput than is currently available. Some experiments with influenza Virus Antigen, Erythropoietin and Antihemophaliac Factor, along with process and economic projections, are briefly reviewed.