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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

The role of depressed metabolism in increased radio-resistance

The results of experiments on hamsters and rats to determine physiological responses to various temperature conditions are presented. The experimental methods described are considered to be applicable to future mammalian experiments in space. Renal function was examined in the golden hamster as a function of body temperature. Hamsters were also acclimated to heat and metabolic rates, body temperature, skin temperature, cardiac distribution and whole body hematocrits were measured. In addition, the effects of heat stress on the intestinal transport of sugars in the hamster and rat were studied. The biological effects of prolonged space flight and methods of simulating weightlessness are also discussed.

Musacchia, X. J.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Stability, precision, and near-24-hour period of the human circadian pacemaker

Regulation of circadian period in humans was thought to differ from that of other species, with the period of the activity rhythm reported to range from 13 to 65 hours (median 25.2 hours) and the period of the body temperature rhythm reported to average 25 hours in adulthood, and to shorten with age. However, those observations were based on studies of humans exposed to light levels sufficient to confound circadian period estimation. Precise estimation of the periods of the endogenous circadian rhythms of melatonin, core body temperature, and cortisol in healthy young and older individuals living in carefully controlled lighting conditions has now revealed that the intrinsic period of the human circadian pacemaker averages 24.18 hours in both age groups, with a tight distribution consistent with other species. These findings have important implications for understanding the pathophysiology of disrupted sleep in older people.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS2001

Circadian rhythms of women with fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia syndrome is a chronic and debilitating disorder characterized by widespread nonarticular musculoskeletal pain whose etiology is unknown. Many of the symptoms of this syndrome, including difficulty sleeping, fatigue, malaise, myalgias, gastrointestinal complaints, and decreased cognitive function, are similar to those observed in individuals whose circadian pacemaker is abnormally aligned with their sleep-wake schedule or with local environmental time. Abnormalities in melatonin and cortisol, two hormones whose secretion is strongly influenced by the circadian pacemaker, have been reported in women with fibromyalgia. We studied the circadian rhythms of 10 women with fibromyalgia and 12 control healthy women. The protocol controlled factors known to affect markers of the circadian system, including light levels, posture, sleep-wake state, meals, and activity. The timing of the events in the protocol were calculated relative to the habitual sleep-wake schedule of each individual subject. Under these conditions, we found no significant difference between the women with fibromyalgia and control women in the circadian amplitude or phase of rhythms of melatonin, cortisol, and core body temperature. The average circadian phases expressed in hours posthabitual bedtime for women with and without fibromyalgia were 3:43 +/- 0:19 and 3:46 +/- 0:13, respectively, for melatonin; 10:13 +/- 0:23 and 10:32 +/- 0:20, respectively for cortisol; and 5:19 +/- 0:19 and 4:57 +/- 0:33, respectively, for core body temperature phases. Both groups of women had similar circadian rhythms in self-reported alertness. Although pain and stiffness were significantly increased in women with fibromyalgia compared with healthy women, there were no circadian rhythms in either parameter. We suggest that abnormalities in circadian rhythmicity are not a primary cause of fibromyalgia or its symptoms.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1988

Temperature Pill

Ingestible Thermal Monitoring System was developed at Johns Hopkins University as means of getting internal temperature readings for treatments of such emergency conditions as dangerously low (hypothermia) and dangerously high (hyperthermia) body temperatures. ITMS's accuracy is off no more than one hundredth of a degree and provides the only means of obtaining deep body temperature. System has additional applicability in fertility monitoring and some aspects of surgery, critical care obstetrics, metabolic disease treatment, gerontology (aging) and food processing research. Three-quarter inch silicone capsule contains telemetry system, micro battery, and a quartz crystal temperature sensor inserted vaginally, rectally, or swallowed.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1989

Effects of restricted feeding schedules on circadian organization in squirrel monkeys

Free running circadian rhythms of motor activity, food-motivated lever-pressing, and either drinking (N = 7) or body temperature (N = 3) were recorded from 10 squirrel monkeys maintained in constant illumination with unlimited access to food. Food availability was then restricted to a single unsignaled 3-hour interval each day. The feeding schedule failed to entrain the activity rhythms of 8 monkeys, which continued to free-run. Drinking was almost completely synchronized by the schedule, while body temperature showed a feeding-induced rise superimposed on a free-running rhythm. Nonreinforced lever-pressing showed both a free-running component and a 24-hour component that anticipated the time of feeding. At the termination of the schedule, all recorded variables showed free-running rhythms, but in 3 animals the initial phase of the postschedule rhythms was advanced by several hours, suggesting relative coordination. Of the remaining 2 animals, one exhibited stable entrainment of all 3 recorded rhythms, while the other appeared to entrain temporarily to the feeding schedule. These results indicate that restricted feeding schedules are only a weak zeitgeber for the circadian pacemaker generating free-running rhythms in the squirrel monkey. Such schedules, however, may entrain a separate circadian system responsible for the timing of food-anticipatory changes in behavior and physiology.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1995

Circadian temperature rhythms of older people

This collection of studies had the aim of exploring whether older (77+ years) men and women have circadian body temperature rhythms different from those of younger adults. A total of 20 older men and 28 older women were compared with either 22 young men or 14 middle-aged men in four protocols; all but the first protocol using a subset of the sample. The four protocols were: 1) 24 h, and 2) 72 h data collections on a normal laboratory routine (sleeping at night); 3) between 36 h and 153 h of field data collection at home; and 4) 36 h of a constant conditions routine (wakeful bedrest under temporal isolation) in the laboratory. There was some evidence for an age-related phase advance in temperature rhythm, especially for the older men on a normal routine, though this was not present in the constant conditions protocol, where 5 of the older subjects showed major delays in the timing of the body temperature trough (10:00 or later). There was no statistically significant evidence from any of the protocols that older subjects generally had lower temperature rhythm amplitudes than younger adults. Only when older men were compared with younger men in 24-h rhythm amplitude by simple t-test did any comparison involving amplitude achieve statistical significance (p < 0.05).

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1975

Response and adaptation of Beagle dogs to hypergravity

Eight male Beagle dogs, five months old, were centrifuged continuously for three months at progressively increasing loads. Heart rate and deep body temperature were monitored continuously by implant biotelemetry. Initially, centrifuged dogs showed transient decreases in heart rate and body temperature along with changes in their diurnal rhythm patterns. Compared with normal gravity controls, exposed dogs showed a slower growth rate and a reduced amount of body fat. Blood protein, total lipids, cholesterol, calcium, packed cell volume, red blood cell count, and hemoglobin were also decreased significantly. Absolute weights of the leg bones of centrifuged dogs were significantly greater than controls. Photon absorptiometry revealed significant density increases in selective regions of the femur and humerus of centrifuged dogs. In spite of the various changes noted, results from this and other studies affirm the view that dogs can tolerate and adapt to sustained loads as high as 2.5 g without serious impairment of their body structure and function.

Oyama, J.↗
NASA NTRS1993

The regulation of rat activity following exposure to hyperdynamic fields

The microgravity of space flight and the hyperdynamic fields produced via centrifugation have allowed researchers to examine the effect of altered gravitational environments on the regulation of physiological systems. In this study, a high frequency light/dark cycle was provided for 24 hours as an environmental challenge to assess the recovery of homeostatic and circadian components of physiological regulation in rats. For example, the nocturnal rat exhibited a homeostatic increase in body temperature during the dark periods and a decrease during the light periods. In addition, the magnitude of the body temperature response exhibits a time of day variation demonstrating the effect on circadian regulation.

Fuller, Charles A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Electronic clinical predictive thermometer using logarithm for temperature prediction

A thermometer that rapidly predicts body temperature based on the temperature signals received from a temperature sensing probe when it comes into contact with the body. The logarithms of the differences between the temperature signals in a selected time frame are determined. A line is fit through the logarithms and the slope of the line is used as a system time constant in predicting the final temperature of the body. The time constant in conjunction with predetermined additional constants are used to compute the predicted temperature. Data quality in the time frame is monitored and if unacceptable, a different time frame of temperature signals is selected for use in prediction. The processor switches to a monitor mode if data quality over a limited number of time frames is unacceptable. Determining the start time on which the measurement time frame for prediction is based is performed by summing the second derivatives of temperature signals over time frames. When the sum of second derivatives in a particular time frame exceeds a threshold, the start time is established.

Cambridge, Vivien J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Homeostasis in Primates in the Hyperdynamic Environment

The influence of chronic centrifugation upon the homestatic regulation of the circadian timekeeping system was examined. The interactions of body temperature regulation and the behavioral state of arousal were studied by evaluating the influence of cephalic fluid shifts induced by lower body positive air pressure (LBPP), upon these systems. The small diurnal squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus) was used as the non-human primate model. Results show that the circadian timekeeping system of these primates is functional in the hyperdynamic environment, however, some of its components appear to be regulated at different homeostatic levels. The LBPP resulted in an approximate 0.7 C decrease in DBT (p 0.01). However, although on video some animals appeared drowsy during LBPP, sleep recording revealed no significant changes in state of arousal. Thus, the physiological mechanisms underlying this lowering of body temperature can be independent of the arousal state.

Fuller, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Thermoregulation is impaired in an environment without circadian time cues

Thirteen adult male squirrel monkeys were restrained to a metabolism chair for periods of two or more weeks within an isolation chamber having controlled environmental lighting and ambient temperature. The monkeys were subjected to mild 6-hour cold exposures at all circadian phases of the day. It was found that a prominent circadian rhythm in body temperature, regulated against mild cold exposure, was present in those monkeys synchronized in a 24-hour light-dark cycle. Cold exposures were found to produce decreased core body temperatures when the circadian rhythms were free running or when environmental time indicators were not present. It is concluded that the thermoregulating system depends on the internal synchronization of the circadian time-keeping system.

Fuller, C. A.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Effect of artificial gravity on thermoregulation, respiratory metabolism and intermediary metabolism of animals

Metabolic alterations in animals exposed to radial acceleration are reported. Temperatures in acutely stressed animals dropped profoundly in correlation with decreased food consumption. Repeated exposure of the acutely stressed animal caused a decrease in hypothermic response whereas deceleration or reduction of G load did not significantly change body temperatures. Adrenal corticosteroids affected significantly the animal's recovery rate. No changes occured in body temperature patterns of chronically centrifuged animals after full adaptation; their respiratory rate increased very significantly in terms of CO2 output as did their glucose uptake by muscle tissues and their insulin responsiveness or sensitivity.

Oyama, J.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Research on the properties of circadian systems amenable to study in space

Three areas of inquiry are reported for the Skylab Experiment S-071 whose objective was to study the circadian system of a mammal during space flight. The thermoregulatory behavior of the Perognathus longimembris, or little pocket mouse, was studied under conditions of constant dark and constant temperature in the prolonged weightless environment of Skylab. The following specific questions were studied: (1) the effects of weightlessness on circadian periodicity in the little pocket mouse; (2) stability of the free-running circadian period of body temperature of the little pocket mouse exposed to simulated launch stress; and (3) characteristics of the circadian rhythm of body temperature in the little pocket mouse. Diagrams of the electronic circuitry and hardware used in the experiment are shown and results are given in both graphical and tabular form. The methods used in the experiment are fully documented, along with conclusions and recommendations for future research.

Lindberg, R. G.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Heat Stress Monitor

The heavy, cumbersome body protection suits worn by members of hazardous materials response teams cause marked elevation of body temperatures, which can reduce effectiveness and lead to heat stress and injury. The CorTemp System, marketed by Human Technologies, Inc., provides the basis for a body temperature monitoring alarm system. Encased in a three-quarter-inch ingestible capsule, the system includes a mini-thermometer, miniature telemetry system, a microbattery and temperature sensor. It makes its way through the digestive system, continuously monitoring temperature. Findings are sent to the recorder by telemetry, and then displayed and stored for transfer to a computer.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2008

LOX/Methane Main Engine Igniter Tests and Modeling

The LOX/methane propellant combination is being considered for the Lunar Surface Access Module ascent main engine propulsion system. The proposed switch from the hypergolic propellants used in the Apollo lunar ascent engine to LOX/methane propellants requires the development of igniters capable of highly reliable performance in a lunar surface environment. An ignition test program was conducted that used an in-house designed LOX/methane spark torch igniter. The testing occurred in Cell 21 of the Research Combustion Laboratory to utilize its altitude capability to simulate a space vacuum environment. Approximately 750 ignition test were performed to evaluate the effects of methane purity, igniter body temperature, spark energy level and frequency, mixture ratio, flowrate, and igniter geometry on the ability to obtain successful ignitions. Ignitions were obtained down to an igniter body temperature of approximately 260 R with a 10 torr back-pressure. The data obtained is also being used to anchor a CFD based igniter model.

Breisacher, Kevin J.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Determination of the total outgoing radiance of the earth-atmosphere system

Utilizing eighty atmospheric models, the equivalent black body temperatures for the 6-7, 10-11, 15-16 and the 20-24 micron spectral regions, corresponding to the Nimbus 3 medium resolution infrared radiometer were computed. The black body temperatures for the 5-30 micron channel and the total outgoing radiances for these atmospheres were also computed. It was found that the total radiation can be estimated from the 10-11 micron channel alone with a standard error of 2.2 watts/sq m sr.

Pasternak, M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Effects of clouds on the Earth radiation budget; Seasonal and inter-annual patterns

Seasonal and regional variations of clouds and their effects on the climatological parameters were studied. The climatological parameters surface temperature, solar insulation, short-wave absorbed, long wave emitted, and net radiation were considered. The data of climatological parameters consisted of about 20 parameters of Earth radiation budget and clouds of 2070 target areas which covered the globe. It consisted of daily and monthly averages of each parameter for each target area for the period, Jun. 1979 - May 1980. Cloud forcing and black body temperature at the top of the atmosphere were calculated. Interactions of clouds, cloud forcing, black body temperature, and the climatological parameters were investigated and analyzed.

Dhuria, Harbans L.↗