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NASA NTRS2018

Preparation for Pick-and-Eat Food Production on the International Space Station: Flight Definition for the VEG-04 and VEG-05 Missions

Growth of fresh, nutritious, palatable produce for crew consumption during spaceflight may provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients and enhance the dietary experience as we move toward longer-duration missions. Tending plants also may serve as a countermeasure for crew psychological stresses associated with long duration spaceflight. However, requirements to support consistent growth of a variety of high quality, nutritious crops under spaceflight environmental conditions is unknown. This study is exploring the potential to grow plants for food production on the International Space Station (ISS) using the Veggie vegetable production system. Ground testing is underway to compare the impacts of several fertilizer and lighting treatments on growth, quality, and nutritional composition of the leafy green crop mizuna, and the dwarf tomato crop Red Robin when subjected to Veggie ISS environmental conditions. Early testing focused on the leafy crop Tokyo Bekana Chinese cabbage, but ground tests indicated that this plant suffered from stress responses when grown under LEDs and the chronically elevated CO2 levels found on the ISS. Mizuna, a related leafy variety that grows well in the presence of high CO2, and has excellent organoleptic characteristics, was selected as an alternate crop. Tomato crops have been grown using two fertilizer formulations and two pollination techniques, and growth tests using different red:blue lighting environments are underway. Chemical analysis is also being conducted and these data, when coupled with the growth results, will be used to down-select to the two best lighting treatments and best fertilizer treatment for future testing of each crop on the ISS. Additionally, seed-source testing has become important, with mizuna seeds from two different vendors growing very differently. A seed source has been selected, and seed-surface-sanitizing methods have been confirmed for mizuna, but these remain under development for tomato. A crop-handling protocol is also being evaluated to support food safety. All harvests reserve a subset of samples for microbial analysis to determine baseline microbial levels and help establish critical control points for food safety. Testing was initially conducted in hardware analogs of the standard Veggie plant pillows. However, a new Veggie watering system, the Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System or PONDS, has been designed and is being prepared for future flight experiments. With the selection of this growth system, ground tests have shifted to analog PONDS systems. Crop tests on ISS, designated VEG-04 for mizuna and VEG-05 for tomato, are planned in 2018 to evaluate any additional impacts of spaceflight on the light and fertilizer conditions down-selected from ground tests. A set of Veggie-specific questions has been developed to characterize the psychological impacts of plant growth and plant-care activities during spaceflight. Organoleptic questionnaires have been developed to assess produce attributes in microgravity taste sessions. These tests for plants growing in the Veggie hardware on ISS will help to mitigate the risk of an inadequate food supply for long duration missions by developing methods and determining hardware requirements to integrate fresh vegetables as a dietary supplement. This research was co-funded by the Human Research Program and Space Biology (MTL1075) in the ILSRA 2015 NRA call.

Veggie↗

NASA NTRS2017

Chronic Hypergravity Induces Changes in the Dopaminergic Neuronal System in Drosophila Melanogaster

Upon atmospheric exitre-entry and during training, astronauts are subjected to temporary periods of hypergravity, which has been implicated in the activation of oxidative stress pathways contributing to mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal degeneration. The pathogenesis of Parkinsons disease and other neurodegenerative disorders is associated with oxidative damage to neurons involved in dopamine systems of the brain. Our study aims to examine the effects of a hypergravitational developmental environment on the degeneration of dopaminergic systems in Drosophila melanogaster. Male and female flies (Gal4-UAS transgenic line) were hatched and raised to adulthood in centrifugal hypergravity (97rpm, 3g). The nuclear expression of the reporter, Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) is driven by the dopaminergic enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) promoter, allowing for the targeted visualization of dopamine producing neurons. After being raised to adulthood and kept in hypergravity until 18 days of age, flies were dissected and the expression of TH was measured by fluorescence confocal microscopy. TH expression in the fly brains was used to obtain counts of healthy dopaminergic neurons for flies raised in chronic hypergravity and control groups. Dopaminergic neuron expression data were compared with those of previous studies that limited hypergravity exposure to late life in order to determine the flies adaptability to the gravitational environment when raised from hatching through adulthood. Overall, we observed a significant effect of chronic hypergravity exposure contributing to deficits in dopaminergic neuron expression (p 0.003). Flies raised in 3g had on average lower dopaminergic neuron counts (mean 97.7) when compared with flies raised in 1g (mean 122.8). We suspect these lower levels of TH expression are a result of oxidative dopaminergic cell loss in flies raised in hypergravity. In future studies, we hope to further elucidate the mechanism by which hypergravity-induced oxidative stress damages the dopaminergic neuronal system, as well as examining possible chemical countermeasures to the hypergravity-induced oxidative stress response in dopaminergic neurons in order to combat cell death and consequent mental and behavioral deficits.

Parkinson's Disorder↗

NASA NTRS2017

Effects of Chronic Hypergravity on the Dopaminergic Neuronal System in Drosophila Melanogaster

Pelos, Andrew↗

NASA NTRS2018

Preparation for Pick-and-Eat Food Production on the International Space Station: Flight Definition for the VEG-04 and VEG-05 Missions

Growth of fresh, nutritious, palatable produce for crew consumption during spaceflight may provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients and enhance the dietary experience as we move toward longer-duration missions. Tending plants also may serve as a countermeasure for crew psychological stresses associated with long duration spaceflight. However, requirements to support consistent growth of a variety of high quality, nutritious crops under spaceflight environmental conditions is unknown. This study is exploring the potential to grow plants for food production on the International Space Station (ISS) using the Veggie vegetable production system. Ground testing is underway to compare the impacts of several fertilizer and lighting treatments on growth, quality, and nutritional composition of the leafy green crop mizuna, and the dwarf tomato crop "Red Robin" when subjected to Veggie ISS environmental conditions. Early testing focused on the leafy crop "Tokyo Bekana" Chinese cabbage, but ground tests indicated that this plant suffered from stress responses when grown under LEDs and the chronically elevated CO2 levels found on the ISS. Mizuna, a related leafy variety that grows well in the presence of high CO2, and has excellent organoleptic characteristics, was selected as an alternate crop. Tomato crops have been grown using two fertilizer formulations and two pollination techniques, and growth tests using different red:blue lighting environments are underway. Chemical analysis is also being conducted and these data, when coupled with the growth results, will be used to down-select to the two best lighting treatments and best fertilizer treatment for future testing of each crop on the ISS. Additionally, seed-source testing has become important, with mizuna seeds from two different vendors growing very differently. A seed source has been selected, and seed-surface-sanitizing methods have been confirmed for mizuna, but these remain under development for tomato. A crop-handling protocol is also being evaluated to support food safety. All harvests reserve a subset of samples for microbial analysis to determine baseline microbial levels and help establish critical control points for food safety. Testing was initially conducted in hardware analogs of the standard Veggie plant pillows. However, a new Veggie watering system, the Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System or PONDS, has been designed and is being prepared for future flight experiments. With the selection of this growth system, ground tests have shifted to analog PONDS systems. Crop tests on ISS, designated VEG-04 for mizuna and VEG-05 for tomato, are planned in 2018 to evaluate any additional impacts of spaceflight on the light and fertilizer conditions down-selected from ground tests. A set of Veggie-specific questions has been developed to characterize the psychological impacts of plant growth and plant-care activities during spaceflight. Organoleptic questionnaires have been developed to assess produce attributes in microgravity taste sessions. These tests for plants growing in the Veggie hardware on ISS will help to mitigate the risk of an inadequate food supply for long duration missions by developing methods and determining hardware requirements to integrate fresh vegetables as a dietary supplement. This research was co-funded by the Human Research Program and Space Biology (MTL#1075) in the ILSRA 2015 NRA call.

LED light↗

NASA NTRS2018

Biomedical Science and Technology on the International Space Station - Benefits for Humanity (Ciencia Y Tecnologia Biomedica En La Estacion Espacial Internacional - Beneficios Para La Humanidad)

The International Space Station is a unique laboratory for performing investigations that affect human health both in space and on Earth. During its time in orbit, the space station has enabled research that is providing a better understanding of many aspects of human health including aging, trauma, disease and environmental impacts. Driven by the need to support astronaut health, several biological and human physiological investigations have yielded important results that we on Earth can also benefit from. These results include new ways to mitigate bone loss, insights into bacterial behavior, and innovative wound-healing techniques. Advances in telemedicine, disease models, psychological stress response systems, nutrition and cell behavior are just a few more examples of the benefits that have been gained from applying studies in orbit to human health back on Earth.

Love, John E.↗

NASA NTRS2014

Exposure to Microgravity for 30 Days Onboard Bion M1 Caused Muscle Atrophy and Decreased Regeneration in the Mouse Femoral Quadriceps

Mechanical unloading of muscle during spaceflight in microgravity is known to cause muscular atrophy, changes in muscle fiber type composition, gene expression, and reductions in regenerative muscle growth. Although limited data exists for long-term effects of microgravity in human muscle, these processes have mostly been studied in rodents for short periods of time. Here we report on how 30-day, long-term, mechanical unloading in microgravity affects mouse muscle of the femoral Quadriceps group. To conduct these studies we used muscle tissue from 6 mice from the NASA Biospecimen Sharing Program conducted in collaboration with the Institute for Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, during the Russian Bion M1 biosatellite mission in 2013. Muscle morphology observed in histological sections shows signs of extensive atrophy and regenerative hypoplasia. Specifically, we observed a two-fold decrease in the number of myonuclei, their central location, low density of myofibers and myofibrils, in fragmentation and swelling of myofibers. Despite obvious atrophy, muscle regeneration nevertheless appears to have continued after 30 days in microgravity as evidenced by thin and short newly formed myofibers. Many of them however showed evidence of apoptotic, TUNEL positive cells and myofibrils degradation, suggesting long-term unloading in microgravity affects late stages of myofiber differentiation. Ground asynchronous and vivarium control animals showed normal, well-developed tissue structure with sufficient blood and nerve supply and evidence of regenerative formation of new myofibers free of apoptotic nuclei. Myonuclei stress response in spaceflight animals was detected by positive nuclear immunolocalization of c-jun and c-myc proteins. Regenerative activity of satellite cells in muscles is detected in mice of all animal groups, by pax7, MyoD, and myogenin immunostaining and myogenin PCR analysis. In summary, long-term spaceflight in microgravity causes significant atrophy and degeneration of the femoral Quadriceps muscle group, and it may interfere with muscle regenerative processes by inducing apoptosis in newly-formed myofibrils during their differentiation phase.

Grigoryan, E. N.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Neutrophil to Lymphocyte Ratio: A Prognostic Indicator for Astronaut Health

Short-term and long-term spaceflight missions can cause immune system dysfunction in astronauts. Recent studies indicate elevated white blood cells (WBC) and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) in astronaut blood, along with unchanged or reduced lymphocyte counts, and reduced T cell function, during short-(days) and long-(months) term spaceflight. A high PMN to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) can acts as a strong predictor of poor prognosis in cancer, and as a biomarker for subclinical inflammation in humans and chronic stress in mouse models, however, the NLR has not yet been identified as a predictor of astronaut health during spaceflight. For this, complete blood cell count data collected from astronauts and rodents that have flown for short- and long-term missions on board the International Space Station (ISS) was repurposed to determine the NLR pre-, in-, and post-flight. The results displayed that the NLR progressively increased during spaceflight in both human and mice, while a spike in the NLR was observed at post-flight landing, suggesting stress-induced factors may be involved. In addition, the ground-based chronic microgravity analog, hindlimb unloading in mice, indicated an increased NLR, along with induced myeloperoxidase expression, as measured by quantitative (q)PCR. The mechanism for increased NLR was further assessed in vitro using the NASA-developed rotating wall vessel (RWV) cell culture suspension system with human WBCs. The results indicated that simulated microgravity led to increased mature PMN counts, NLR profiles, and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Collectively, these studies show that an increased NLR is observed in spaceflight missions, and in chronic microgravity-analog simulation in mice, and that this effect may be potentiated by the oxidative stress response in blood cells under microgravity conditions. Furthermore, these results suggest that a disrupted NLR profile in spaceflight may further disrupt immune homeostasis, potentially causing chronic immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Thus, we propose that the health status of astronauts during short- and long-term space missions can be monitored by their NLR profile, in addition to utilizing this measurement as a tool for interventions and countermeasure development to restore homeostatic immunity.

biomarker↗

NASA NTRS2019

Parameterization-Induced Uncertainties and Impacts of Crop Management Harmonization in a Global Gridded Crop Model Ensemble

Global gridded crop models (GGCMs) combine agronomic or plant growth models with gridded spatial input data to estimate spatially explicit crop yields and agricultural externalities at the global scale. Differences in GGCM outputs arise from the use of different biophysical models, setups, and input data. GGCM ensembles are frequently employed to bracket uncertainties in impact studies without investigating the causes of divergence in outputs. This study explores differences in maize yield estimates from five GGCMs based on the public domain field-scale model Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) that participate in the AgMIP Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison initiative. Albeit using the same crop model, the GGCMs differ in model version, input data, management assumptions, parameterization, and selection of subroutines affecting crop yield estimates via cultivar distributions, soil attributes, and hydrology among others. The analyses reveal inter-annual yield variability and absolute yield levels in the EPIC-based GGCMs to be highly sensitive to soil parameterization and crop management. All GGCMs show an intermediate performance in reproducing reported yields with a higher skill if a static soil profile is assumed or sufficient plant nutrients are supplied. An in-depth comparison of setup domains for two EPIC-based GGCMs shows that GGCM performance and plant stress responses depend substantially on soil parameters and soil process parameterization, i.e. hydrology and nutrient turnover, indicating that these often neglected domains deserve more scrutiny. For agricultural impact assessments, employing a GGCM ensemble with its widely varying assumptions in setups appears the best solution for coping with uncertainties from lack of comprehensive global data on crop management, cultivar distributions and coefficients for agro-environmental processes. However, the underlying assumptions require systematic specifications to cover representative agricultural systems and environmental conditions. Furthermore, the interlinkage of parameter sensitivity from various domains such as soil parameters, nutrient turnover coefficients, and cultivar specifications highlights that global sensitivity analyses and calibration need to be performed in an integrated manner to avoid bias resulting from disregarded core model domains. Finally, relating evaluations of the EPIC-based GGCMs to a wider ensemble based on individual core models shows that structural differences outweigh in general differences in configurations of GGCMs based on the same model, and that the ensemble mean gains higher skill from the inclusion of structurally different GGCMs. Although the members of the wider ensemble herein do not consider crop-soil-management interactions, their sensitivity to nutrient supply indicates that findings for the EPIC-based sub-ensemble will likely become relevant for other GGCMs with the progressing inclusion of such processes.

Folberth, Christian↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Sweating the Small Stuff: A Sensor for Real-Time Neuro-Immune Axis Monitoring

Although manageable with certain precautions, circadian rhythm misalignment and sleep disturbances pose a potential threat to astronaut health. It is well-known that sleep is essential for proper immunological and neurological functioning, while impairments in these functions result in risks for spaceflight success. Neuropeptides and hormones are involved in regulating the circadian clock and are used as biomarkers for circadian alignment. However, in-flight monitoring of these biomarkers is limited due to the lack of real-time sensor systems and sample collection/processing confines. Therefore, real-time measurements of biomarkers in-flight are necessary for mission success and crew health. For this, a robust biomarker involved in the neuro-immune axis of circadian rhythm cycling, physiological stress responses, and inflammation would be well-received as a viable biomarker for assessing physiological health for crew during long-duration missions, as these are currently NASA Human Research Program defined risks. Therefore, this paper describes the development of a wearables we at biosensor to measure the biological clock neuropeptide, orexin/hypocretin. Additionally, potential for implementation of a user-friendly sensor of orexin/hypocretin to be telemetrically reported in real-time, is proposed. In brief, the proposed system has the possibility to be used as a biomarker monitor to support preventive and personalized medicine.

Amber M Paul↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NSCOR for Evaluating Risk Factors and Biomarkers for Adaptation and Resilience to Spaceflight: Emotional Valence and Social Processes in ICC/ICE Environments

Space exploration class missions, such as a mission to Mars, will require optimization of human performance, adaptability, and resilience. This NASA Specialized Center of Research (NSCOR) utilizes the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework to identify biological and behavioral markers of individual social adaptation and emotional resilience (as well as vulnerability) to spaceflight-relevant stressors such as living in extended isolation. The overarching goal of this NSCOR is to obtain novel information to help identify biomarkers of individuals who are resilient and/or adaptable to the stressors of isolated, confined, and controlled (ICC) and isolated, confined, and extreme (ICE) environments.A total of N=90 healthy adult astronaut surrogates are being studied in three spaceflight-analog environments: (1) n=40 healthy adults in the Isolation and Confinement Analog Research Unit (ICARUS), an ICC at the University of Pennsylvania, during 7-day missions, for a target total of 280 subject days; (2) n=32 healthy adult astronaut surrogates studied in NASA’s Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA), an ICC at Johnson Space Center during 45-day missions, for a target total of 2,112 subject days; and (3) n=18 healthy adults in the Alfred-Wegener-Institute’s Neumayer Station III, an ICE in Antarctica, during 14-month missions, for a target total of 7,560 subject days. Dr. Nindl’s Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh is analyzing a priori selected protein biomarkers in blood, saliva, and urine. Complementary rodent models of exposure to early life stressors, confinement, and isolation are being evaluated at Dr. Hensch’s Laboratory to further validate the neurobehavioral and biological findings from the human studies.Given the inconsistency and varied definition of resilience/adaptation in the scientific literature, the NSCOR team developed a composite resilience/adaptation measure that reflects the most relevant outcomes to resilience/adaptation across psychosocial and neurobehavioral functions, as well as neurocognitive and spaceflight-relevant operational performance. To achieve this, group consensus was attained from subject matter experts to produce a rank-order of importance for each input variable. The final resilience/adaptation score included 36 variables that were collected across spaceflight analogs. As of 10/1/2021, the NSCOR project acquired data on n=27 subjects at ICARUS, n=16 at HERA, and n=18 at Neumayer. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed data acquisition at ICARUS and HERA.Among subjects studied to date, 99% of neural and neurobehavioral data (e.g., neuroimaging for structure and function, behavioral measures) as well as blood, saliva, and urine for biochemical assays have been acquired. For rodent models, Dr. Hensch’s laboratory has established biochemical and behavioral parameters reflecting confinement stress in social networks of mice for comparison to stress responses in the human spaceflight analog environments.Group social behaviors were measured with a Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach to define objective parameters associated with sociability and its plasticity by sex. This analytic approach may help identify a network of individuals who are more effective teammates or more likely to generate new social relationships. Data acquisition, biomarker assessment, and data quality control will continue through September 2022.

D F Dinges↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Transcriptomic Changes in Seedlings from Seeds Exposed to Simulated Space Radiation

Outside the protection of Earth’s magnetic field, living organisms are constantly exposed to space radiation that consists of energetic protons and other heavier charged particles. With the goal of manned Mars exploration, the production of fresh crop during long duration space missions can be beneficial for meeting astronauts’ nutritional and psychological needs. In our study, we not only evaluated plant/fruit morphometrics and edible fresh mass, but also analyzed transcriptomic changes in seedlings from seeds of three plant species (Arabidopsis, mizuna, and tomato) exposed to simulated Galactic Cosmic Rays(GCR) and solar particle events(SPE). The radiation experiments were performed in the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) facility at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL). 10-day Arabidopsis seedlings were exposed acutely (~240 cGy/hr) to simulated GCR scenarios of combined ions including protons, helium, oxygen, titanium, and/or iron ions at 40 or 80 cGy. Seeds of Arabidopsis, mizuna, and tomato were exposed to 40 or 80 cGy simulated GCR (dry seeds) or SPE (imbibed seeds) at lower dose rates(20-26 cGy/hr). Seedlings from control and irradiated seeds were then collected in RNAlater at similar growth stages with true leaves emerged. Total RNA was isolated and analyzed via Illumina whole transcriptome sequencing technology. Plant species-specific bioinformatics revealed transcriptional biomarkers and signaling pathways induced by simulated space radiation that were found to be dose, dose-rate, and species dependent. DNA damage response, stress signaling, and metabolic pathways are among the most significant changes. These data highlight some critical insights on the mechanisms of how plants respond and adapt to the space radiation environment and provide a molecular basis for crop selection and refinement in deep space exploration.

Anirudha Dixit↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Sex differences and deep space stressors: effects of 5-ion gcrsim, simulated microgravityand social isolation on immune function, brain, and behavior in mice

This project is testing the hypothesis that Ionizing Radiation (IR), microgravity and social isolation combine synergistically to trigger an oxidative stress response that alters immune homeostasis, brain structure/function, and neurobehavioral/cognitive performance. Specific Aims for this project are to: (1) Determine dose-response curves for acute ‘Five-Ion GCR Simulation’ exposure for immune, brain and performance responses in crew age-matched adult male and female mice; (2) Determine effects of acute ‘Five-Ion GCR Simulation’ exposure singly and in combination with simulated microgravity and social isolation, on immune, brain and performance responses in crew age-matched male and female mice mimicking deep space missions; and (3) Determine efficacy of the dietary antioxidant, Nicotinamide Mononucleotide (NMN), a key intermediate in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) biosynthesis. Here we report findings from our studies of mature (24-week-old) male and female mice exposed to simulated 5-Ion GCRsim (0, 5, 15, or 50cGy) at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) followed by combinatorial exposures to 15cGy, simulated microgravity via head-down tilt (hindlimb unloading) and social isolation. Immune, brain and behavioral (sensorimotor, risk-taking & cognitive) measures were acquired at ‘Acute’ (IR+24hrs, IR+72hrs), ‘Intermediate’ (IR+14 days) and ‘Delayed’ (IR+28 to IR+124 days) to inform biological responses anticipated during a transit to Mars. This project addresses NASA’s efforts to characterize risks and identify appropriate countermeasures in both women and men in anticipation of future deep space missions. Ensuring crew health and performance during extended transits necessitates that sensorimotor and cognitive abilities remain strong to avoid potentially catastrophic health and safety outcomes. Supported by the NASA Human Research Program (HRP) Human Factors Behavioral Performance Element Grant 18 18FLAG 2 0028.

behavioral sciences↗

NASA NTRS2022

Brain Aging Hallmarks: A Primer for Future Studies on Space Radiation Effects

As humankind endeavors to travel farther away from Earth, many questions remain to be solved to ensure proper preparation for deep space. Multiple spaceflight stressors can elicit adverse health outcomes including exposure to space radiation. Space radiation exposure has been identified by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as an important contributor to cancer, degenerative tissue diseases including cataracts, cardiovascular disease, immune system dysfunction and possible central nervous system decrements. The complexity of the human central nervous system makes it difficult to adequately recapitulate in experimental model systems, which hinders quantitative description of associated decrements. The brain aging hallmarks, as introduced by Mattson and Arumugam in 2018, are measurable cellular and molecular hallmarks that generally contribute to the aging process, describe an aging phenotype, and are part of the etiology of age-related neurodegenerative diseases. These hallmarks include mitochondrial dysfunction, accumulation of oxidatively damaged molecules (oxidative stress), impaired lysosome and proteasome function, dysregulation of neuronal calcium homeostasis, compromised adaptive cellular stress response, aberrant neuronal network activity, impaired deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) repair, inflammation, impaired neurogenesis and dysregulated energy metabolism. Cellular senescence and telomere attrition may also be considered, though more evidence is needed to regard them as brain-specific hallmarks of aging. Radiation exposure has previously been correlated with aging etiology; therefore, investigating the effects of radiation exposure within the context of the hallmarks of brain aging may provide insights into potential health risks facing NASA astronauts, and may provide a means to identify disease processes that may be important targets for disease prevention or intervention. This work describes the hallmarks of brain aging and serves as a primer for future investigation into how the hallmarks of brain aging may compare and contrast with outcomes associated with exposure to the space radiation environment. Further, it will be useful in future identification of hallmarks that may be appropriate to target for radiation countermeasures specific to the central nervous system.

Vivian Lu↗

NASA NTRS2024

Transfer of NASA Technology to the DoD: Mitigating Motion Sickness with Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise

Motion sickness poses a significant safety risk, particularly in the context of aviation. Given its prevalence among aviators and its detrimental impact on performance, researchers have attempted to identify effective mitigation strategies for motion sickness. Currently, many of the existing interventions are pharmacological, and while effective, they present a problem due to their associated adverse side effects. The primary goals of the current research were 1) demonstrate the value of the application of Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE), a physiological training program developed by NASA to mitigate the impact of operational stressors such as motion sickness and spatial disorientation on human physiology and performance and 2) evaluate a new enhanced version of AFTE training software and demonstrate the ability to apply it remotely and train other personnel to administer it. AFTE combines principles of autogenic therapy, and biofeedback in training individuals to control their physiological reactions through a series of relaxation and arousal exercises. This study included twenty-six participants, 17 men and 9 women. On day 1 participants were tested in a rotating chair (pre-test) to determine their motion sickness tolerance (measured as minutes of rotation); days 2-5 consisted of four AFTE training sessions, each 30-min. in duration for a total of 2 hours; and on day 6 the participants were re-tested in the rotating chair. Results revealed a significant increase in motion sickness tolerance with AFTE on the post-test when compared to pre-test, participants had significantly lower symptom diagnostic scores post-test, and there was no significant gender effect. In addressing the first goal it was concluded that the modified 2-hour version of AFTE significantly improved motion sickness tolerance with participants experiencing fewer symptoms. A second goal of this research was to refine and transfer a NASA technology, software and methods for applications within DOD by training other personnel to administer AFTE. A comparison of NASA and NAMRU-D trainers on AFTE outcome for improving participants’ motion sickness tolerance revealed no significant difference indicating the successful transfer of methods to DOD. In addition, remote AFTE training of military aviators at distant sites was feasible. A third goal was to identify individual patterns of interoceptive abilities and related autonomic metrics able to predict stress response and training outcome. These data included measures of personality traits obtained from questionnaires and specific autonomic measures (e.g., heart rate variability) collected by NAMRU-D investigators. These results will be reported in a separate paper.

autonomic nervous system↗

DOE OSTI2021

A physiological signal derived from sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence quantifies crop physiological response to environmental stresses in the U.S. Corn Belt

Sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) measurements have shown unique potential for quantifying plant physiological stress. However, recent investigations found canopy structure and radiation largely control SIF, and physiological relevance of SIF remains yet to be fully understood. This study aims to evaluate whether the SIF-derived physiological signal improves quantification of crop responses to environmental stresses, by analyzing data at three different spatial scales within the U.S. Corn Belt, i.e. experiment plot, field, and regional scales, where ground-based portable, stationary and space-borne hyperspectral sensing systems are used, respectively. We found that, when controlling for variations in incoming radiation and canopy structure, crop SIF signals can be decomposed into non-physiological (i.e. canopy structure and radiation, 60% ~ 82%) and physiological information (i.e. physiological SIF yield, Φ F , 17% ~ 31%), which confirms the contribution of physiological variation to SIF. We further evaluated whether Φ F indicated plant responses under high-temperature and high vapor pressure deficit (VPD) stresses. The plot-scale data showed that Φ F responded to the proxy for physiological stress (partial correlation coefficient, r p = 0.40, p < 0.001) while non-physiological signals of SIF did not respond ( p > 0.1). The field-scale Φ F data showed water deficit stress from the comparison between irrigated and rainfed fields, and Φ F was positively correlated with canopy-scale stomatal conductance, a reliable indicator of plant physiological condition (correlation coefficient r = 0.60 and 0.56 for an irrigated and rainfed sites, respectively). The regional-scale data showed Φ F was more strongly correlated spatially with air temperature and VPD ( r = 0.23 and 0.39) than SIF ( r = 0.11 and 0.34) for the U.S. Corn Belt. The lines of evidence suggested that Φ F reflects crop physiological responses to environmental stresses with greater sensitivity to stress factors than SIF, and the stress quantification capability of Φ F is spatially scalable. Utilizing Φ F for physiological investigations will contribute to improve our understanding of vegetation responses to high-temperature and high-VPD stresses.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRS2001

Model-based parameter estimation using cardiovascular response to orthostatic stress

This paper presents a cardiovascular model that is capable of simulating the short-term (< or approximately equal to 3 min) transient hemodynamic response to gravitational stress and a gradient-based optimization method that allows for the automated estimation of model parameters from simulated or experimental data. We perform a sensitivity analysis of the transient heart rate response to determine which parameters of the model impact the heart rate dynamics significantly. We subsequently include only those parameters in the estimation routine that impact the transient heart rate dynamics substantially. We apply the estimation algorithm to both simulated and real data and showed that restriction to the 20 most important parameters does not impair our ability to match the data.

Non-NASA Center↗

DOE OSTI2022

Mechanical response and microstructure evolution from multiaxial stress relaxation in textured zircaloy nuclear cladding

Modern energy markets provide motivation for nuclear reactors to increase operational flexibility and load following capacity of existing reactor designs. The operational power changes result in fuel pellet expansion and contraction resulting in pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) and high cladding stresses that are strongly related to stressed corrosion cracking (SCC) which can lead to fuel rod failure. This work aims to quantify the stress fields in cladding with a focus on multiaxial stress relaxation response from an imposed strain and the resulting microstructure changes in textured zircaloy claddings. Stress relaxation tests resulting in multiaxial stress fields are performed to measure the material response of Zircaloy-4 nuclear cladding. Multiple experiments using samples from the same piece of cladding are performed so samples with the same processing history may be removed at strategic points throughout mechanical testing for microstructure characterization. The microstructure evolution is analyzed with mechanical response to evaluate the static recovery impact on crystallographic texture and grain morphology. Experiments are performed at Idaho National Laboratory using an experimental device capable of applying internal pressure and independent axial load to commercial nuclear cladding at elevated temperatures with stress- or strain-controlled experimental capability. X-ray diffraction and electron backscatter diffraction are used for microstructure analysis. Rheological models are used to visualize the multiaxial stress-strain relationships and isolate elastic, plastic, and viscoplastic material properties for analysis.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Expression Patterns of Energy-Related Genes in Single Cells Uncover Key Isoforms and Enzymes That Gain Priority Under Nanoparticle-Induced Stress

Cellular responses to nanoparticles (NPs) have been largely studied in cell populations, providing averaged values that often misrepresent the true molecular processes that occur in the individual cell. To understand how a cell redistributes limited molecular resources to achieve optimal response and survival requires single-cell analysis. Here we applied multiplex single molecule-based fluorescence in situ hybridization (fliFISH) to quantify the expression of 10 genes simultaneously in individual intact cells, including glycolysis and glucose transporter genes, which are critical for restoring and maintaining energy balance. We focused on individual gill epithelial cell responses to lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) NPs, which are actively pursued as cathode materials in lithium-ion batteries, raising concerns about their impact on the environment and human health. We found large variabilities in the expression levels of all genes between neighboring cells under the same exposure conditions, from only a few transcripts to over 100 copies in individual cells. Gene expression ratios among the 10 genes in each cell uncovered shifts in favor of genes that play key roles in restoring and maintaining energy balance. Among these genes are isoforms that can secure and increase glycolysis rates more efficiently, as well as genes with multiple cellular functions, in addition to glycolysis, including DNA repair, regulation of gene expression, cell cycle progression, and proliferation. Our study uncovered prioritization of gene expression in individual cells for restoring energy balance under LCO NP exposures. Broadly, our study gained insight into single-cell strategies for redistributing limited resources to achieve optimal response and survival under stress.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗