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NASA NTRS2007

Spectral Retrieval of Latent Heating Profiles from TRMM PR data: Moistening Estimates over Tropical Ocean Regions - Part 3

The global hydrological cycle is central to the Earth's climate system, with rainfall and the physics of precipitation formation acting as the key links in the cycle. Two-thirds of global rainfall occurs in the tropics with the associated latent heating (LH) accounting for threefourths of the total heat energy available to the Earth's atmosphere. In the last decade, it has been established that standard products of LH from satellite measurements, particularly TRMM measurements, would be a valuable resource for scientific research and applications. Such products would enable new insights and investigations concerning the complexities of convection system life cycles, the diabatic heating controls and feedbacks related to rne-sosynoptic circulations and their forecasting, the relationship of tropical patterns of LH to the global circulation and climate, and strategies for improving cloud parameterizations In environmental prediction models. However, the LH and water vapor profile or budget (called the apparent moisture sink, or Q2) is closely related. This paper presented the development of an algorithm for retrieving Q2 using 'TRMM precipitation radar. Since there is no direct measurement of LH and Q2, the validation of algorithm usually applies a method called consistency check. Consistency checking involving Cloud Resolving Model (CRM)-generated LH and 42 profiles and algorithm-reconstructed is a useful step in evaluating the performance of a given algorithm. In this process, the CRM simulation of a time-dependent precipitation process (multiple-day time series) is used to obtain the required input parameters for a given algorithm. The algorithm is then used to "~econsti-LKt~h"e heating and moisture profiles that the CRM simulation originally produced, and finally both sets of conformal estimates (model and algorithm) are compared each other. The results indicate that discrepancies between the reconstructed and CM-simulated profiles for Q2, especially at low levels, are larger than those for latent heat. Larger discrepancies in Q2 at low levels are due to moistening for non-precipitating region that algorithm cannot reconstruct. Nevertheless, the algorithm-reconstructed total Q2 profiles are in good agreement with the CRM-simulated ones.

Shige, S.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Applying Analog Integrated Circuits for Hero Protection

One of the most efficient methods for protecting electro-explosive devices (EED's) from HERO and ESD is to shield the EED in a conducting shell (Faraday cage). Electrical energy is transferred to the bridge by means of a magnetic coupling which passes through a portion of the conducting shell that is made from a magnetically permeable but electrically conducting material. This technique was perfected by ML Aviation, a U.K. company, in the early 80's, and was called a Radio Frequency Attenuation Connector (RFAC). It is now in wide use in the U.K. Previously, the disadvantage of RFAC over more conventional methods was its relatively high cost, largely driven by a thick film hybrid circuit used to switch the primary of the transformer. Recently, through a licensing agreement, this technology has been transferred to the U.S. and significant cost reductions and performance improvements have been achieved by the introduction of analog integrated circuits. An integrated circuit performs the following functions: (1) Chops the DC input to a signal suitable for driving the primary of the transformer; (2) Verifies the input voltage is above a threshold; (3) Verifies the input voltage is valid for a pre set time before enabling the device; (4) Provides thermal protection of the circuit; and (5) Provides an external input for independent logic level enabling of the power transfer mechanism. This paper describes the new RFAC product and its applications.

Kenneth E Willis↗

NASA NTRS2011

Rapid Calculation of Spacecraft Trajectories Using Efficient Taylor Series Integration

A variable-order, variable-step Taylor series integration algorithm was implemented in NASA Glenn's SNAP (Spacecraft N-body Analysis Program) code. SNAP is a high-fidelity trajectory propagation program that can propagate the trajectory of a spacecraft about virtually any body in the solar system. The Taylor series algorithm's very high order accuracy and excellent stability properties lead to large reductions in computer time relative to the code's existing 8th order Runge-Kutta scheme. Head-to-head comparison on near-Earth, lunar, Mars, and Europa missions showed that Taylor series integration is 15.8 times faster than Runge- Kutta on average, and is more accurate. These speedups were obtained for calculations involving central body, other body, thrust, and drag forces. Similar speedups have been obtained for calculations that include J2 spherical harmonic for central body gravitation. The algorithm includes a step size selection method that directly calculates the step size and never requires a repeat step. High-order Taylor series integration algorithms have been shown to provide major reductions in computer time over conventional integration methods in numerous scientific applications. The objective here was to directly implement Taylor series integration in an existing trajectory analysis code and demonstrate that large reductions in computer time (order of magnitude) could be achieved while simultaneously maintaining high accuracy. This software greatly accelerates the calculation of spacecraft trajectories. At each time level, the spacecraft position, velocity, and mass are expanded in a high-order Taylor series whose coefficients are obtained through efficient differentiation arithmetic. This makes it possible to take very large time steps at minimal cost, resulting in large savings in computer time. The Taylor series algorithm is implemented primarily through three subroutines: (1) a driver routine that automatically introduces auxiliary variables and sets up initial conditions and integrates; (2) a routine that calculates system reduced derivatives using recurrence relations for quotients and products; and (3) a routine that determines the step size and sums the series. The order of accuracy used in a trajectory calculation is arbitrary and can be set by the user. The algorithm directly calculates the motion of other planetary bodies and does not require ephemeris files (except to start the calculation). The code also runs with Taylor series and Runge-Kutta used interchangeably for different phases of a mission.

Scott, James R.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Path to Improving Simulated Properties of Low Clouds over the Beaufort Sea using Airborne In Situ Observations of Subgrid-Scale Variability

Arctic low clouds influence the evolution of the Arctic system through their effects on radiative fluxes, boundary layer mixing, stability, turbulence, humidity, and precipitation. Unfortunately, atmospheric models and retrospective analysis (reanalysis) products struggle to accurately simulate the occurrence and properties of low clouds in the Arctic. One of the main reasons for this problem are the possible unrealistic assumptions that models/reanalyses make about the subgrid-scale (SGS) variability of meteorological properties, as well as the relationship between SGS variability and grid-scale (GS) cloud properties. We utilize cloud and thermodynamic data of low level (primarily) liquid clouds collected from two aircraft campaigns conducted over the Beaufort Sea to better understand and characterize this problem. Examining data from the September 2014 Arctic Radiation-IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment (ARISE) airborne campaign and the 1998 First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE)–Arctic Cloud Experiment (ACE) reveals that GS cloud water variability is closely related with SGS distribution of total water (i.e. water vapor + cloud water). We investigate two related approaches to prediction of GS cloud properties from SGS variability: the critical saturation ratio method, and the critical relative humidity method. We find significant correlation between GS cloud water and SGS supersaturation when the critical saturation ratio is set at 100%, as well as a notable relationship between GS cloud water and the width of the SGS total water distribution. Critical relative humidity also compares well with GS cloud water. However, we also find that the assumptions of a static critical saturation ratio of 100% to be unrealistic, as well as a fixed SGS distribution width. Empirical calculations from the ARISE data show a large sensitivity of these SGS variables to GS relative humidity, and so a SGS parameterization allowing them to vary according to GS thermodynamic properties may result in more realistic GS cloud water values.

J. Brant Dodson↗

NASA NTRS2018

Advances in Hyperspectral Image Classification Methods for Vegetation and Agricultural Cropland Studies

Hyperspectral data are becoming more widely available via sensors on airborne and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platforms, as well as proximal platforms. While space-based hyperspectral data continue to be limited in availability, multiple spaceborne Earth-observing missions on traditional platforms are scheduled for launch, and companies are experimenting with small satellites for constellations to observe the Earth, as well as for planetary missions. Land cover mapping via classification is one of the most important applications of hyperspectral remote sensing and will increase in significance as time series of imagery are more readily available. However, while the narrow bands of hyperspectral data provide new opportunities for chemistry-based modeling and mapping, challenges remain. Hyperspectral data are high dimensional, and many bands are highly correlated or irrelevant for a given classification problem. For supervised classification methods, the quantity of training data is typically limited relative to the dimension of the input space. The resulting Hughes phenomenon, often referred to as the curse of dimensionality, increases potential for unstable parameter estimates, overfitting, and poor generalization of classifiers. This is particularly problematic for parametric approaches such as Gaussian maximum likelihood–based classifiers that have been the backbone of pixel-based multispectral classification methods. This issue has motivated investigation of alternatives, including regularization of the class covariance matrices, ensembles of weak classifiers, development of feature selection and extraction methods, adoption of nonparametric classifiers, and exploration of methods to exploit unlabeled samples via semi-supervised and active learning. Data sets are also quite large, motivating computationally efficient algorithms and implementations. This chapter provides an overview of the recent advances in classification methods for mapping vegetation using hyperspectral data. Three data sets that are used in the hyperspectral classification literature (e.g., Botswana Hyperion satellite data and AVIRIS airborne data over both Kennedy Space Center and Indian Pines) are described in Section 3.2 and used to illustrate methods described in the chapter. An additional high-resolution hyperspectral data set acquired by a SpecTIR sensor on an airborne platform over the Indian Pines area is included to exemplify the use of new deep learning approaches, and a multiplatform example of airborne hyperspectral data is provided to demonstrate transfer learning in hyperspectral image classification. Classical approaches for supervised and unsupervised feature selection and extraction are reviewed in Section 3.3. In particular, nonlinearities exhibited in hyperspectral imagery have motivated development of nonlinear feature extraction methods in manifold learning, which are outlined in Section 3.3.1.4. Spatial context is also important in classification of both natural vegetation with complex textural patterns and large agricultural fields with significant local variability within fields. Approaches to exploit spatial features at both the pixel level (e.g., co-occurrence–based texture and extended morphological attribute profiles [EMAPs]) and integration of segmentation approaches (e.g., HSeg) are discussed in this context in Section 3.3.2. Recently, classification methods that leverage nonparametric methods originating in the machine learning community have grown in popularity. An overview of both widely used and newly emerging approaches, including support vector machines (SVMs), Gaussian mixture models, and deep learning based on convolutional neural networks is provided in Section 3.4. Strategies to exploit unlabeled samples, including active learning and metric learning, which combine feature extraction and augmentation of the pool of training samples in an active learning framework, are outlined in Section 3.5. Integration of image segmentation with classification to accommodate spatial coherence typically observed in vegetation is also explored, including as an integrated active learning system. Exploitation of multisensor strategies for augmenting the pool of training samples is investigated via a transfer learning framework in Section 3.5.1.2. Finally, we look to the future, considering opportunities soon to be provided by new paradigms, as hyperspectral sensing is becoming common at multiple scales from ground-based and airborne autonomous vehicles to manned aircraft and space-based platforms.

Pasolli, Edoardo↗

NASA NTRS2009

Trading Robustness Requirements in Mars Entry Trajectory Design

One of the most important metrics characterizing an atmospheric entry trajectory in preliminary design is the size of its predicted landing ellipse. Often, requirements for this ellipse are set early in design and significantly influence both the expected scientific return from a particular mission and the cost of development. Requirements typically specify a certain probability level (6-level) for the prescribed ellipse, and frequently this latter requirement is taken at 36. However, searches for the justification of 36 as a robustness requirement suggest it is an empirical rule of thumb borrowed from non-aerospace fields. This paper presents an investigation into the sensitivity of trajectory performance to varying robustness (6-level) requirements. The treatment of robustness as a distinct objective is discussed, and an analysis framework is presented involving the manipulation of design variables to effect trades between performance and robustness objectives. The scenario for which this method is illustrated is the ballistic entry of an MSL-class Mars entry vehicle. Here, the design variable is entry flight path angle, and objectives are parachute deploy altitude performance and error ellipse robustness. Resulting plots show the sensitivities between these objectives and trends in the entry flight path angles required to design to these objectives. Relevance to the trajectory designer is discussed, as are potential steps for further development and use of this type of analysis.

Lafleur, Jarret M.↗

NASA NTRS1976

Calculations of molecular ionization energies using a self-consistent-charge Hartree-Fock-Slater method

A numerical-variational method for performing self-consistent molecular calculations in the Hartree-Fock-Slater (HFS) model is presented. Molecular wavefunctions are expanded in terms of basis sets constructed from numerical HFS solutions of selected one-center atomlike problems. Binding energies and wavefunctions for the molecules are generated using a discrete variational method for a given molecular potential. In the self-consistent-charge (SCC) approximation to the complete self-consistent-field (SCF) method, results of a Mulliken population analysis of the molecular eigenfunctions are used in each iteration to produce 'atomic' occupation numbers. The simplest SCC potential is then obtained from overlapping spherical atomlike charge distributions. Molecular ionization energies are calculated using the transition-state procedure; results are given for CO, H2O, H2S, AlCl, InCl, and the Ni5O surface complex. Agreement between experimental and theoretical ionization energies for the free-molecule valence levels is generally within 1 eV. The simple SCC procedure gives a reasonably good approximation to the molecular potential, as shown by comparison with experiment, and with complete SCF calculations for CO, H2O, and H2S.

Rosen, A.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Optimal Strategies for Validating TRMM Rainfall Estimates with Rain-Gauge Data

In spite of all their problems, rain gauges measure rainfall in such a direct way when compared with other methods of estimating rainfall that comparing their totals to satellite estimates remains an essential tool in the validation of satellite products. Some disagreement between averages of satellite data and rain-gauge data is expected because of the very different sampling patterns of the two systems--the satellite provides only occasional snapshots of large areas, whereas rain gauges provide continuous measurements over very small areas. A quantitative estimate of the expected level of disagreement due to the differences in sampling is needed in order for comparisons of the two kinds of averages to be informative. As part of an earlier effort to determine the sampling error of satellite averages, a space-time model for rainfall statistics was developed. Sets of parameter values for the model have been obtained for which the model statistics are found to agree quite well with those of radar data taken over the Atlantic during GATE and the western Pacific during TOGA COARE. Although the model was intended to represent the statistics of relatively large scale fluctuations of rain, it is surprisingly consistent with the very different scales on which rain gauges observe. Implications for maximizing the benefit in comparisons of rain gauge averages and TRMM estimates are derived using the model predictions.

Bell, Thomas L.↗

NASA NTRS2009

A Reference Model for Software and System Inspections. White Paper

Software Quality Assurance (SQA) is an important component of the software development process. SQA processes provide assurance that the software products and processes in the project life cycle conform to their specified requirements by planning, enacting, and performing a set of activities to provide adequate confidence that quality is being built into the software. Typical techniques include: (1) Testing (2) Simulation (3) Model checking (4) Symbolic execution (5) Management reviews (6) Technical reviews (7) Inspections (8) Walk-throughs (9) Audits (10) Analysis (complexity analysis, control flow analysis, algorithmic analysis) (11) Formal method Our work over the last few years has resulted in substantial knowledge about SQA techniques, especially the areas of technical reviews and inspections. But can we apply the same QA techniques to the system development process? If yes, what kind of tailoring do we need before applying them in the system engineering context? If not, what types of QA techniques are actually used at system level? And, is there any room for improvement.) After a brief examination of the system engineering literature (especially focused on NASA and DoD guidance) we found that: (1) System and software development process interact with each other at different phases through development life cycle (2) Reviews are emphasized in both system and software development. (Figl.3). For some reviews (e.g. SRR, PDR, CDR), there are both system versions and software versions. (3) Analysis techniques are emphasized (e.g. Fault Tree Analysis, Preliminary Hazard Analysis) and some details are given about how to apply them. (4) Reviews are expected to use the outputs of the analysis techniques. In other words, these particular analyses are usually conducted in preparation for (before) reviews. The goal of our work is to explore the interaction between the Quality Assurance (QA) techniques at the system level and the software level.

He, Lulu↗

NASA NTRS1991

Linear quadratic servo control of a reusable rocket engine

The paper deals with the development of a design method for a servo component in the frequency domain using singular values and its application to a reusable rocket engine. A general methodology used to design a class of linear multivariable controllers for intelligent control systems is presented. Focus is placed on performance and robustness characteristics, and an estimator design performed in the framework of the Kalman-filter formalism with emphasis on using a sensor set different from the commanded values is discussed. It is noted that loop transfer recovery modifies the nominal plant noise intensities in order to obtain the desired degree of robustness to uncertainty reflected at the plant input. Simulation results demonstrating the performance of the linear design on a nonlinear engine model over all power levels during mainstage operation are discussed.

Musgrave, Jeffrey L.↗

NASA NTRS2003

A Gold Standards Approach to Training Instructors to Evaluate Crew Performance

The Advanced Qualification Program requires that airlines evaluate crew performance in Line Oriented Simulation. For this evaluation to be meaningful, instructors must observe relevant crew behaviors and evaluate those behaviors consistently and accurately against standards established by the airline. The airline industry has largely settled on an approach in which instructors evaluate crew performance on a series of event sets, using standardized grade sheets on which behaviors specific to event set are listed. Typically, new instructors are given a class in which they learn to use the grade sheets and practice evaluating crew performance observed on videotapes. These classes emphasize reliability, providing detailed instruction and practice in scoring so that all instructors within a given class will give similar scores to similar performance. This approach has value but also has important limitations; (1) ratings within one class of new instructors may differ from those of other classes; (2) ratings may not be driven primarily by the specific behaviors on which the company wanted the crews to be scored; and (3) ratings may not be calibrated to company standards for level of performance skill required. In this paper we provide a method to extend the existing method of training instructors to address these three limitations. We call this method the "gold standards" approach because it uses ratings from the company's most experienced instructors as the basis for training rater accuracy. This approach ties the training to the specific behaviors on which the experienced instructors based their ratings.

Baker, David P.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Locomotion in simulated microgravity: gravity replacement loads

BACKGROUND: When an astronaut walks or runs on a treadmill in microgravity, a subject load device (SLD) is used to return him or her back to the treadmill belt. The gravity replacement load (GRL) in the SLD is transferred, via a harness, to the pelvis and/or the shoulders. This research compared comfort and ground reaction forces during treadmill running in a microgravity locomotion simulator at GRLs of 60%, 80%, and 100% of body weight (BW). Two harness designs (shoulder springs only (SSO) and waist and shoulder springs (WSS)) were used. HYPOTHESES: 1) The 100% BW gravity replacement load conditions would be comfortably tolerated and would result in larger ground reaction forces and loading rates than the lower load conditions, and 2) the WSS harness would be more comfortable than the SSO harness. METHODS: Using the Penn State Zero Gravity Locomotion Simulator (ZLS), 8 subjects ran at 2.0 m x s(-1) (4.5 mph) for 3 min at each GRL setting in each harness. Subjective ratings of harness comfort, ground reaction forces, and GRL data were collected during the final minute of exercise. RESULTS: The 100% BW loading conditions were comfortably tolerated (2.3 on a scale of 0-10), although discomfort increased as the GRL increased. There were no overall differences in perceived comfort between the two harnesses. The loading rates (27.1, 33.8, 39.1 BW x s(-1)) and the magnitudes of the first (1.0, 1.4, 1.6 BW) and second (1.3, 1.7, 1.9 BW) peaks of the ground reaction force increased with increasing levels (60, 80, 100% BW respectively) of GRL. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects were able to tolerate a GRL of 100% BW well. The magnitude of the ground reaction force peaks and the loading rate is directly related to the magnitude of the GRL.

NASA Discipline Musculoskeletal↗

NASA NTRS2013

Mixed Linear/Square-Root Encoded Single-Slope Ramp Provides Low-Noise ADC with High Linearity for Focal Plane Arrays

Single-slope analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) are particularly useful for onchip digitization in focal plane arrays (FPAs) because of their inherent monotonicity, relative simplicity, and efficiency for column-parallel applications, but they are comparatively slow. Squareroot encoding can allow the number of code values to be reduced without loss of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by keeping the quantization noise just below the signal shot noise. This encoding can be implemented directly by using a quadratic ramp. The reduction in the number of code values can substantially increase the quantization speed. However, in an FPA, the fixed pattern noise (FPN) limits the use of small quantization steps at low signal levels. If the zero-point is adjusted so that the lowest column is onscale, the other columns, including those at the center of the distribution, will be pushed up the ramp where the quantization noise is higher. Additionally, the finite frequency response of the ramp buffer amplifier and the comparator distort the shape of the ramp, so that the effective ramp value at the time the comparator trips differs from the intended value, resulting in errors. Allowing increased settling time decreases the quantization speed, while increasing the bandwidth increases the noise. The FPN problem is solved by breaking the ramp into two portions, with some fraction of the available code values allocated to a linear ramp and the remainder to a quadratic ramp. To avoid large transients, both the value and the slope of the linear and quadratic portions should be equal where they join. The span of the linear portion must cover the minimum offset, but not necessarily the maximum, since the fraction of the pixels above the upper limit will still be correctly quantized, albeit with increased quantization noise. The required linear span, maximum signal and ratio of quantization noise to shot noise at high signal, along with the continuity requirement, determines the number of code values that must be allocated to each portion. The distortion problem is solved by using a lookup table to convert captured code values back to signal levels. The values in this table will be similar to the intended ramp value, but with a correction for the finite bandwidth effects. Continuous-time comparators are used, and their bandwidth is set below the step rate, which smoothes the ramp and reduces the noise. No settling time is needed, as would be the case for clocked comparators, but the low bandwidth enhances the distortion of the non-linear portion. This is corrected by use of a return lookup table, which differs from the one used to generate the ramp. The return lookup table is obtained by calibrating against a stepped precision DC reference. This results in a residual non-linearity well below the quantization noise. This method can also compensate for differential non-linearity (DNL) in the DAC used to generate the ramp. The use of a ramp with a combination of linear and quadratic portions for a single-slope ADC is novel. The number of steps is minimized by keeping the step size just below the photon shot noise. This in turn maximizes the speed of the conversion. High resolution is maintained by keeping small quantization steps at low signals, and noise is minimized by allowing the lowest analog bandwidth, all without increasing the quantization noise. A calibrated return lookup table allows the system to maintain excellent linearity.

Wrigley, Chris J.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Variable mixer propulsion cycle

A design technique, method and apparatus are delineated for controlling the bypass gas stream pressure and varying the bypass ratio of a mixed flow gas turbine engine in order to achieve improved performance. The disclosed embodiments each include a mixing device for combining the core and bypass gas streams. The variable area mixing device permits the static pressures of the core and bypass streams to be balanced prior to mixing at widely varying bypass stream pressure levels. The mixed flow gas turbine engine therefore operates efficiently over a wide range of bypass ratios and the dynamic pressure of the bypass stream is maintained at a level which will keep the engine inlet airflow matched to an optimum design level throughout a wide range of engine thrust settings.

Rundell, D. J.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Gas temperature measurements using the dual-line detection Rayleigh scattering technique

A new laser-induced Rayleigh scattering method is presented for the improved temperature diagnostics of gas flows. In the present technique, the two lines of a copper vapor laser are used to obtain the time and space resolved temperature. A single set of optics is used to form the optical probe and to collect the signal simultaneously from both the 510 nm and the 578 nm lines. The dual-line detection allows for the determination and removal of surface-scattered laser light from a Rayleigh signal thereby improving the applicability of Rayleigh scattering to near wall flows with a high degree of glare. An optical system using the dual-line detection technique is built, calibrated and tested in a hot air jet under various levels of background contamination. The results indicate that highly accurate temperature measurements are possible even when the laser-line background intensity, captured by the collecting optics, is five times that of the Rayleigh signal.

Otugen, M. Volkan↗

NASA NTRS1993

Gas temperature measurements using the dual-line detection Rayleigh scattering technique

Otugen, M. V.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Relationship Between Ecosystem Productivity and Photosynthetically Active Radiation for Northern Peatlands

We analyzed the relationship between net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide (NEE) and irradiance (as photosynthetic photon flux density or PPFD), using published and unpublished data that have been collected during midgrowing season for carbon balance studies at seven peatlands in North America and Europe, NEE measurements included both eddy-correlation tower and clear, static chamber methods, which gave very similar results. Data were analyzed by site, as aggregated data sets by peatland type (bog, poor fen, rich fen, and all fens) and as a single aggregated data set for all peatlands. In all cases, a fit with a rectangular hyperbola (NEE = alpha PPFD P(sub max)/(alpha PPFD + P(sub max) + R) better described the NEE-PPFD relationship than did a linear fit (NEE = beta PPFD + R). Poor and rich fens generally had similar NEE-PPFD relationships, while bogs had lower respiration rates (R = -2.0 micro mol m(exp -2) s(exp -1) for bogs and -2.7 micro mol m(exp -2) s(exp -1)) for fens) and lower NEE at moderate and high light levels (P(sub max)= 5.2 micro mol m(exp -2) s(exp -1) for bogs and 10.8 micro mol m(exp -2) s(exp -1) for fens). As a single class, northern peatlands had much smaller ecosystem respiration (R = -2.4 micro mol m(exp -2) s(exp -1)) and NEE rates (alpha = 0.020 and P(sub max)= 9.2 micro mol m(exp -2) s(exp -1)) than the upland ecosystems (closed canopy forest, grassland, and cropland). Despite this low productivity, northern peatland soil carbon pools are generally 5-50 times larger than upland ecosystems because of slow rates of decomposition caused by litter quality and anaerobic, cold soils.

Frolking, S. E.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Determination of muscle-specific glucose flux using radioactive stereoisomers and microdialysis

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate a novel approach for determining skeletal muscle-specific glucose flux using radioactive stereoisomers and the microdialysis technique. Microdialysis probes were inserted into the vastus lateralis muscle of human subjects and perfused (4 microl/min) with a Ringer solution containing small amounts of radioactive D- and L-glucose as the internal reference markers for determining probe recovery as well as varying concentrations of insulin (0-10 microM). The rationale behind this approach was that both stereoisomers would be equally affected by the factors that determine probe recovery, with the exception of L-glucose, which is nonmetabolizable and would not be influenced by tissue uptake. Therefore, any differences in the probe recovery ratios between the D- and L-stereoisomers represent changes in skeletal muscle glucose uptake directly at the tissue level. There were no differences in probe recovery between the D- (42.3 +/- 3.5%) and L- (41.2 +/- 3.5) stereoisomers during the control period (no insulin), which resulted in a D/L ratio of 1.04 +/- 0.03. However, during insulin perfusion (1 microM), The D/L ratio increased to 1.62 +/- 0.08 and 1.58 +/- 0.07 (P < 0.05) during the two collection (0-15 and 15-30 min) periods, respectively. This was accomplished solely by an increase (P < 0.05) in D-glucose probe recovery, as L-glucose probe recovery remained unchanged. In a second set of experiments, the perfusion of 10 microM insulin did not increase the D/L ratio (1.40 +/- 0.11) above that observed during 1.0 microM (1.41 +/- 0.07) insulin perfusion. These data suggest that this method is sufficiently sensitive to detect differences in insulin-stimulated glucose uptake; thus the use of radioactive stereoisomers in conjunction with the microdialysis technique provides a novel and useful technique for determining tissue-specific glucose flux and insulin sensitivity.

Non-NASA Center↗