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NASA NTRS1989

Voyager Encounter Highlights

The following are presented: computer animation of trajectories for both Voyagers 1 and 2; view of Jupiter during one orbit of Ganymede; computer animation of Voyager 2's encounter with Jupiter and its satellites; time lapse of the planet's rotation and its satellites; stroboscopic sequence of selected frames; cloud motion; Jupiter's Great Red Spot (4/25 - 5/24, 1979) through a violet filter; and the Great Red Spot through a blue filter by Voyager 1. The dynamics of Jupiter's clouds are shown - the whole planet is shown first, then two closer looks are repeated several times. Also included are pans of stills of Jupiter's satellites and a computer simulation tour of Saturn system from POV just behind Voyager, made of 116 images of Saturn through a green filter and of 516 images taken by Voyager 1 (9/12 - 9/14, 1980). Frames are enhanced to show the motion of features in Saturn's rings. Pans of stills of Saturn's satellites are shown. There is computer animation of the planet's system, rings, and Sigma Sagittari. Images on January 14, 1986 are through an orange filter. Uranus's satellites are shown as is computer animation of an August 1989 encounter.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Unified Air-Sea Visualization System: Survey on Gridding Structures

The goal is to develop a Unified Air-Sea Visualization System (UASVS) to enable the rapid fusion of observational, archival, and model data for verification and analysis. To design and develop UASVS, modelers were polled to determine the gridding structures and visualization systems used, and their needs with respect to visual analysis. A basic UASVS requirement is to allow a modeler to explore multiple data sets within a single environment, or to interpolate multiple datasets onto one unified grid. From this survey, the UASVS should be able to visualize 3D scalar/vector fields; render isosurfaces; visualize arbitrary slices of the 3D data; visualize data defined on spectral element grids with the minimum number of interpolation stages; render contours; produce 3D vector plots and streamlines; provide unified visualization of satellite images, observations and model output overlays; display the visualization on a projection of the users choice; implement functions so the user can derive diagnostic values; animate the data to see the time-evolution; animate ocean and atmosphere at different rates; store the record of cursor movement, smooth the path, and animate a window around the moving path; repeatedly start and stop the visual time-stepping; generate VHS tape animations; work on a variety of workstations; and allow visualization across clusters of workstations and scalable high performance computer systems.

Anand, Harsh↗
NASA NTRS1994

Experiment K-7-28: Lung Morphology Study

There are no previous studies investigating the effect of microgravity exposure during spaceflight on lung tissue. We examined the ultrastructure of the left lungs of 5 Czechoslovakian Wistar rats flown on the 13 day, 19+ hr. Cosmos 2044 mission, and compared them to 5 vivarium and 5 synchronous controls at 1-g conditions, and 5 rats exposed to 14 days of tail-suspension. Within 10 minutes of sacrifice by decapitation, the lungs were removed and immersed in 3% glutaraldehyde in 0.1M phosphate buffer (total osmolarity of the fixative: 560 mOsm; pH = 7.4). The tissue stored at 5 C was transported to our laboratory where it was processed for light and electron microscopy. No significant perivascular cuffing caused by interstitial edema was present in the tissue samples. Some of the flight, tail-suspended, and synchronous control rats showed alveolar edema, while vivarium controls did not. The pulmonary capillaries appeared to be more congested in the flight animals than in the other groups. This could be related to the increased hematocrit due to the microgravity exposure. In all 5 flight, 4 tail-suspended, and 3 synchronous rats, red blood cells (RBC) were present in the alveolar spaces. The RBC were either suspended free in the alveoli or observed lining the alveolar wall. The frequency of RBC lining the alveolar walls appeared greater in the dorsal (gravity non-dependent) than in ventral (gravity dependent) regions of the lung in these three animal groups. In 3 of the vivarium controls, a few RBC were found in the alveolar spaces. Intra-capillary fluid-filled vesicles were observed in the flight, tail-suspended and synchronous animals, but not in the vivarium controls. The formation of intra-capillary fluid-filled vesicles has been previously associated with pulmonary hypertension induced by high altitude exposure and mitral stenosis. In conclusion, pulmonary hemorrhage and alveolar edema of unknown origin occurred to a greater extent in the flight, tail-suspended, and synchronous control animals, and in the dorsal regions of the lung when compared to the vivarium controls. The etiology of these changes, which are possibly due to an increase in pulmonary vascular pressure, requires further investigation.

West, J. B.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Development of the Statocyst in Aplysia Californica: Observations on Statoconial Development - Part 1

The gravity receptor organs of gastropod molluscs, such as Aplysia californica, are bilateral paired statocysts, which contain dense statoconia within a fluid-filled cyst. Gravitational forces on the statoconia are sensed through their interaction with ciliated mechanoreceptor cells in the wall of the cyst. Larval Aplysia contain a single statolith within each statocyst; when the animals grow to a critical size, they begin producing multiple statoconia, a process that continues throughout life. The number of statoconia is highly correlated with animal weight but poorly correlated with age, indicating that stone production is related to total metabolism. The single statolith has an amorphous internal structure whereas the multiple statoconia have calcification deposited on concentric layers of membrane or matrix protein. The statolith appears to be produced within the cyst lumen but the multiple statoconia are produced within supporting cells between the receptor cells. Large adult animals have statoconia larger than those in early post-metamorphic animals which have just started producing multiple stones. The maximum statocyst diameter at which the receptor-cell cilia can suspend the statolith in the center of the cyst lumen is 45 micrometers; production of multiple stones begins when the cyst reaches this size. The mechanisms by which statoconia production is initiated and controlled are discussed.

Wiederhold, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS1979

Studies on the Mechanisms of Microbial Adaptation to the Physical Environment

The environmental factors which affect humans and other animals also influence the microorganisms which are such an important part of our ecology. Some of the microorganisms are very closely associated with animals, living in the digestive tract and synthesizing essential nutrients for the host. For these microbes, most external physical changes are of little consequence, because they are well shielded by the animals' homeostatic systems. The vast majority of microorganisms, however, live free in nature, especially in the soil and oceans. It has been estimated that the upper 15 cm of a fertile soil may contain over 4000 kg of bacteria and fungi per hectare. These organisms are responsible for degrading the complex molecules of plants and animals when they die, eventually producing simple organics, carbon dioxide, and inorganics, which are then used for the next cycle of plant growth. It is believed that over 90 % of the biologically produced carbon dioxide results from the metabolic activity of bacteria and fungi. In addition to recycling plant nutrients, soil bacteria also provide new nutrients through 'fixation' of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia and nitrate, the forms which can be used by plants. Microorganisms so have an enormous capacity for detoxifying both natural and man-made poisons. All of these functions of microorganisms are essential to the operation of the material cycles on Earth. This is true of all locations on the planet, regardless of the climate or other environmental factors. In fact, one of the most impressive attributes of microorganisms is their ability to adapt to every stable environment on Earth. These include such extremes as polar regions, hot springs, water saturated with salt, mountain tops, ocean depths, acid and alkaline waters, deserts, intense radioactivity, soil and water contaminated with toxic chemicals or petroleum, and areas devoid of oxygen.

Heinrich, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Bone Formation Rate in Experimental Disuse Osteoporosis in Monkeys

Specific mechanisms underlying weightless and hypodynamic bone loss are obscure. A principal relationship which must be affected is the balance between bone formation and bone resorption rates. In order to better define the influence of those parameters on bone loss, and also to develop measurements in other species as a useful adjunct to human research, studies were undertaken with experimental monkeys. Tests were conducted with a total of 6 adult male monkeys, weighing 10-13 kg, and approximately 10-12 yrs. of age to evaluate specifically bone formation rate during the development of disuse osteoporosis and osteopenia. Three animals were restrained in a semi-recumbent position for six months; three animals served as normal caged controls. Food intake (Purina) was held relatively constant at 200g/day for each animal. Using a Norland Bone Mineral Analyzer, bone mineral losses of 3.5 to 6% were seen in the mid-shaft of the tibia and in the distal radius. Bone loss was confirmed radiographically, with observation of thinning of the proximal tibial cortex and trabeculae in the calcaneus. Bone formation rate was determined using standard Ca-47 kinetics under metabolic balance conditions. After six months of restraint, accretion was 7.2-13.2 mg Ca/kg/day, compared to 3.2-4.1 mg Ca/kg/day in caged controls and 3-8 mg Ca/kg/day in normal adult humans. Fecal and urine calcium was 25-40% higher in restrained animals than in controls. Dietary calcium absorption decreases during restraint, and calcium turnover increases, implying a rise in bone resorption rate concommitant with the observed rise in bone accretion rate. Further studies dealing specifically with bone resorption are underway to define this more fully.

Cann, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS1997

Physiological Anatomical Rodent Experiment (PARE): 04 Flight Support

Rats were shipped to Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida, on day 2 of gestation [(G2) (day 1 = morning on which spermatozoa are present in the vagina)] and laparotomized on G7 to determine the number of implantation sites in each uterine horn. On G8, ten pregnant rats meeting flight criteria (at least five implantation sites each horn) were placed into NASA flight cages (animal enclosure modules, AEMS, five rats per cage), loaded onto the mid-deck of the space shuttle Atlantis, and on G9 (November 3, 1994) they were launched into orbit. On gestation day 20, (November 14, 1994) the shuttle returned to Edwards Air Force Base, California and the flight animals were recovered from the shuttle and subjected to unilateral hysterectomy to provide fetal material from one horn to investigators identified by NASA to study selected fetal parameters. After unilateral hysterectomy, the animals were allowed to recover and deliver vaginally. There were three groups (n = 10 each group) of control animals housed at KSC in the study. A synchronous control group, delayed 24 hours with reference to the flight group, received the same surgeries and was housed five rats per AEM and exposed to all flight conditions (identical temperatures, lighting and humidity) except microgravity. Vivarium control group I did not receive any surgery and was housed in the vivarium in clear polycarbonate cages. Vivarium control group 2 received only a unilateral hysterectomy on day 20 of gestation but otherwise was housed like the vivarium control group 1. Control groups were allowed to complete their pregnancy and deliver fetuses from the remaining horn (Synchronous control and vivarium control group 2) or horns (Vivarium control group 1). After surgery, the dams were euthanized and tissues recovered, and the neonates were assigned to foster dams.

Burden, Hubert W.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Development of Gravity-Sensing Organs in Altered Gravity Conditions: Opposite Conclusions From an Amphibian and a Molluscan Preparation

Several components of the systems animals use to orient to gravity might develop differently in micrograms. If the growth of the "test masses" on which gravity acts (otoliths, in vertebrates, statoliths or statoconia in most invertebrates) is controlled on the basis of their weight, larger otoliths (or their analogs) would be expected to develop in micrograms. The vestibular systems in animals reared in altered gravity have been studied in several species, with varied results being reported. Early Russian reports of Xenopus larvae reared in space indicated no qualitative differences in the vestibular organs, compared to ground-reared controls. A similar lack of differences in Xenopus were reported. The ultricular otolith was 30% larger in space-reared Xenopus. No differences in saccular otolith volume between centrifuged and control adult rats were found. A delay in otoconial development in chick embryos reared at 2 grams on a centrifuge was reported but in a later report, no differences in otolith weight between 2 grams and control chicks were found. Increased optokinetic responses in flight-reared Xenopus tadpoles, suggesting that the animals reared in the absence of gravity made greater relative use of their visual system, rather than the vestibular system, in orienting to a moving stimulus was reported. To test early Japanese newt, CYnops pyrrhogaster, were maintained in orbit for 15 days on the IML-2 mission in 1994. All specimens reached orbit before any otoconia were formed and all major components of the inner ear were formed by the end of the flight. In ground-based studies of he Aplysia statocyst, the volume of the statolith in embryos and the number statoconia in post-metamorphic animals were compared between 1-gram controls and specimens reared at 2 to 5.7 grams.

Wiederhold, Michael L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Resting Energy Expenditure of Rats Acclimated to Hyper-Gravity

To determine the influence of body mass and age on resting energy expenditure (EE) following acclimation to hyper-gravity, oxygen consumption (VO2) and carbon dioxide production (VCO2) were measured to calculate resting energy expenditure (EE), in male rats, ages 40 to 400 days, acclimated to 1.23 or 4.1 G for a minimum of two weeks. Animals were maintained on a centrifuge to produce the hyper-gravity environment. Measurements were made over three hours in hyper-gravity during the period when the lights were on, the inactive period of rats. In rats matched for body mass (approximately 400 g) hyper-gravity increased VO2 by 18% and VCO2 by 27% compared to controls, resulting in an increase in RER, 0.80 to 0.87. There were increases in resting EE with an increase in gravity. This increase was greater when the mass of the rat was larger. Rating EE for 400g animals were increased from 47 +/- 1 kcal/kg/day at 1 G, to 57 +/- 1.5 and 5.8 +/- 2.2 kcal/kg/day at 2,3 and 4.1 G, respectively. There was no difference between the two hyper-gravity environments. When differences in age of the animals were accounted for, the increase in resting EE adjusted for body mass was increased by over 36% in older animals due to exposure to hyper-gravity. Acclimation to hyper-gravity increases the resting EE of rats, dependent upon body mass and age, and appears to alter substrate metabolism. Increasing the level of hyper-gravity, from 2.3 to 4.1 G, produced no further changes raising questions as to a dose effect of gravity level on resting metabolism.

Wade, Charles E.↗
NASA NTRS1994

The Influence of Sound Cues on the Maintenance of Temporal Organization in the Sprague-Dawley Rat

Temporal organization is a fundamental property of living matter. From single cells to complex animals including man, most physiological systems undergo daily periodic changes in concert with environmental cues (e.g., light, temperature etc.). It is known that pulsed Environmental synchronizers, zeitgebers, (e.g. light) can modify rhythm parameters. Rhythm stability is a necessary requirement for most animal experiments. The extent to which sound can influence the circadian system of laboratory rats is poorly understood. This has implications to animal habitats in the novel environments of the Space-Laboratory or Space Station. A series of three white noise (88+/-0.82 db) zeitgeber experiments were conducted (n=6/experiment).The sound cue was introduced in the circadian free-running phase (DD-NQ) and in one additional case sound was added to the usual photoperiod (12L:12D) to determine masking effects. Circadian rhythm parameters of drinking frequency, feeding frequency, and gross locomotor activity were continuously monitored. Data analysis for these studies included macroscopic and microscopic methods. Raster plots to visually detect entrainment versus free-running period, were plotted for each animal, for all three parameters, during all sound perturbation tested. These data were processed through a series of detrending (robust locally weighted regression analyses) and complex demodulation analyses. In summary, these findings show that periodic "white" noise "influences" the rats circadian system but does not "entrain" the feeding, drinking or locomotor activity rhythms.

Winget, C. M.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Effect of Actual and Simulated Microgravity on Cardiac Mass and Function in the Rat

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that exposure to actual or simulated microgravity induces cardiac atrophy in male Sprague-Dawley rats. For the microgravity study, rats were subdivided into four groups: Preflight (PF, n = 12); Flight (FL, n = 7); Flight Cage Simulation (SIM, n = 6), and Vivarium Control (VIV, n = 7). Animals in the FL group were exposed to 7 days of microgravity during the Spacelab 3 mission. Animals in the simulated microgravity study were subdivided into three groups: Control (CON, n = 20); 7 day hindlimb unloaded (7HU, n = 10); and 28 day unloaded (28HU, n = 19). In a subset of CON (n = 7) and 28HU (n = 6) rats, a catheter was advanced into the left ventricle to measure the rate of rise in ventricular pressure (+dP/dt) during standing as an estimate of cardiac contractility. After completion of their respective treatments, hearts were removed and weighed. Animals in the PF group were sacrificed 24 hr prior to launch while the FL group was sacrificed 11- 17 hr after landing. The SM and VIV groups were sacrificed 48 and 96 hr after the FL group, respectively. Heart mass was unchanged in adult animals exposed to 7 days of actual microgravity (PF 1.33 +/- .03 g; FL 1.32 +/- 0.02 g; SIM 1.28 +/- 0.04 g; VIV 1.35 +/- 0.04 g). Similarly, heart mass was unaltered with hin~limb unloading (CON 1.40 +/- 0.04 g; 7HU 1.35 +/- 0.06 g; 28HU 1.42 +/- 0.03 g). Hindlimb unloading also had no effect on myocardial contractility (CON 8055 +/- 385 mmHg/sec; 28HU 8545 +/- 755 mmHg/sec). These data suggest that cardiac atrophy does not occur following short-term exposure to microgravity, and that neither short- nor long-term simulated microgravity alter cardiac mass or function.

Ray, Chester H.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Effects of Chronic 2.0% and 0.7% CO2 Exposures on the Well-Being, Growth and Renal Function of Rats

On the Space Shuttle and MIR, mean CO2 levels have been 0.3% which is ten times that of normal air. There have also been extended periods with levels of 0.7% CO2 with peak concentrations at 2.0%. The Space Station program had proposed that CO2 concentration levels be maintained, on average, at 0.7%, and not to exceed 1.0%. To ensure that these levels of CO2 would not compromise the integrity of the science performed on the Space Station, the effects of chronic exposure of rats to 2.0% and 0.7% CO2 were investigated. Ten male rats per group were placed in individual metabolic cages for monitoring of food and water consumption, as well as fecal and urine production. Cages were placed in a large (4W x 10L x 4H ft.) plexiglass chamber with a controlled atmospheric environment. Following 7 days of cage adaptation, animals were exposed to experimental (2.0% or 0.7% CO2) or control (ambient air) conditions for 30 days. Daily body weight, food and water intake, and fecal and urine excretions were measured for the last three days of adaptation and the first ten days of exposure and then every three to four days for the remaining three weeks. Urine was measured for pH and total CO2. During 2.0% and 0.7% CO2 exposures, animal growth, fecal production and food and water consumption were within normal ranges. Urine excretion was significantly (p less than 0.05) higher in both experimental groups compared to controls. Urine pH of animals exposed to 2.0% CO2 was decreased by 0.32 over the first 6 days of exposure, followed by a 0.63 increase by day 30. In animals exposed to 0.7% CO2, urine pH did not decrease early in the exposure period, but did increase by 0.37 by day 30. Urine CO2 excretion did not change the first 6 days of exposure, but significantly increased in both 2.0% and 0.7% CO2 by day 30 (897 and 402 mmol/day, respectively). These results of chronic exposure to 2.0% and 0.7% CO2 are consistent with renal compensation in response to an altered acid-base homeostasis. These findings may impact science conducted on the Space Shuttle or the Space Station if CO2 concentrations reach 0.7%.

Lang, C. K.↗
NASA NTRS1997

National Institutes of Health, Rodent 4 (NIH.R4); Calcium Metabolism and Vascular Function After Spaceflight: A Collaborative Series with NASA and NIH

The NIH.R4 payload was a collaborative experiment conducted by NASA's Ames Research Center in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This middeck payload was the fourth in a series of experiments focusing on developmental biology and the effects of microgravity on mammalian systems. The NIH.R4 payload was flown onboard STS-80, which launched November 19, 1996, and landed at Kennedy Space Center on December 7, 1996, and was the longest shuttle mission to date. Fourteen male Spontaneously Hypertensive rats (SHR) were flown; seven in each of two Animal Enclosure Modules (AEM) in the shuttle middeck. The flight animals were exposed to 18 days of microgravity. Two synchronous control groups were utilized for this study in addition to an asynchronous post-flight AEM control study conducted at the PI lab. The animals were fed two different calcium diets in the NASA food bar (2.0% and 0.2%) three weeks prior to launch and insight. Blood pressures were taken at pre-determined intervals and were the basis for flight selection. Upon recovery Dwight animals blood pressure was measured and a variety of tissues were collected. Project testing and data will be presented.

Reiss-Bubenheim, Debra↗
NASA NTRS2003

Gravity Plays an Important Role in Muscle Development and the Differentiation of Contractile Protein Phenotype

Several muscles in the body exist mainly to work against gravity. Whether gravity is important in the development of these muscles is not known. By examining the basic proteins that compose muscle, questions about the role of gravity in muscle development can be answered. Myosin heavy chains (MHCs) are a family of proteins critically important for muscle contraction. Several types of MHCs exist (e.g., neonatal, slow, fast), and each type is produced by a particular gene. Neonatal MHCs are produced early in life. Slow MHCs are important in antigravity muscles, and fast MHCs are found in fast-twitch power muscles. The gene that is turned on or expressed will determine which MHC is produced. Early in development, antigravity skeletal muscles (muscles that work against gravity) normally produce a combination of the neonatal/embryonic MHCs. The expression of these primitive MHCs is repressed early in development; and the adult slow and fast MHC genes become fully expressed. We tested the hypothesis that weightbearing activity is critical for inducing the normal expression of the slow MHC gene typically expressed in adult antigravity muscles. Also, we hypothesized that thyroid hormone, but not opposition to gravity, is necessary for expressing the adult fast IIb MHC gene essential for high-intensity muscle performance. Groups of normal thyroid and thyroid-deficient neonatal rats were studied after their return from the 16-day Neurolab mission and compared to matched controls. The results suggest: (1) Weightlessness impaired body and limb skeletal muscle growth in both normal and thyroid-deficient animals. Antigravity muscles were impaired more than those used primarily for locomotion andor nonweightbearing activity. (2) Systemic and muscle expression of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), an important body and tissue growth factor, was depressed in flight animals. (3) Normal slow, type I MHC gene expression was markedly repressed in the normal thyroid flight group. (4) Fast IIb MHC gene expression was enhanced in fast-twitch muscles of normal thyroid animals exposed to spaceflight; however, thyroid deficiency markedly repressed expression of this gene independently of spaceflight. In summary, the absence of gravity, when imposed at critical stages of development, impaired body and skeletal muscle growth, as well as expression of the MHC gene family of motor proteins. This suggests that normal weightbearing activity is essential for establishing body and muscle growth in neonatal animals, and for expressing the motor gene essential for supporting antigravity functions.

Adams, Gregory A.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Chemically Defined Medium and Caenorhabditis elegans: A Powerful Approach

C. elegans has been established as a powerful genetic system. Growth in a chemically defined medium (C. elegans Maintenance Medium (CeMM)) now allows standardization and systematic manipulation of the nutrients that animals receive. Liquid cultivation allows automated culturing and experimentation and should be of me in large-scale growth and screening of animals. Here we present our initial results from developing culture systems with CeMM. We find that CeMM is versatile and culturing is simple. CeMM can be used in a solid or liquid state, it can be stored unused for at least a year, unattended actively growing cultures may be maintained longer than with standard techniques, and standard C. elegans protocols work well with animals grown in defined medium. We also find that there are caveats of using defined medium. Animals in defined medium grow more slowly than on standard medium, appear to display adaptation to the defined medium, and display altered growth rates as they change defined medium composition. As was suggested with the introduction of C. elegans as a potential genetic system, use of defined medium with C. elegans should prove a powerful tool.

Szewczyk, N. J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Covisualization by computational optical-sectioning microscopy of integrin and associated proteins at the cell membrane of living onion protoplasts

Using higher-resolution wide-field computational optical-sectioning fluorescence microscopy, the distribution of antigens recognized by antibodies against animal beta 1 integrin, fibronectin, and vitronectin has been visualized at the outer surface of enzymatically protoplasted onion epidermis cells and in depectinated cell wall fragments. On the protoplast all three antigens are colocalized in an array of small spots, as seen in raw images, in Gaussian filtered images, and in images restored by two different algorithms. Fibronectin and vitronectin but not beta 1 integrin antigenicities colocalize as puncta in comparably prepared and processed images of the wall fragments. Several control visualizations suggest considerable specifity of antibody recognition. Affinity purification of onion cell extract with the same anti-integrin used for visualization has yielded protein that separates in SDS-PAGE into two bands of about 105-110 and 115-125 kDa. These bands are again recognized by the visualization antibody, which was raised against the extracellular domain of chicken beta 1 integrin, and are also recognized by an antibody against the intracellular domain of chicken beta 1 integrin. Because beta 1 integrin is a key protein in numerous animal adhesion sites, it appears that the punctate distribution of this protein in the cell membranes of onion epidermis represents the adhesion sites long known to occur in cells of this tissue. Because vitronectin and fibronection are matrix proteins that bind to integrin in animals, the punctate occurrence of antigenically similar proteins both in the wall (matrix) and on enzymatically prepared protoplasts reinforces the concept that onion cells have adhesion sites with some similarity to certain kinds of adhesion sites in animals.

NASA Discipline Plant Biology↗
NASA NTRS2004

Strategies for Small Volume Resuscitation: Hyperosmotic-Hyperoncotic Solutions, Hemoglobin Based Oxygen Carriers and Closed-Loop Resuscitation

Introduction: Logistic constraints on combat casualty care preclude traditional resuscitation strategies which can require volumes and weights 3 fold or greater than hemorrhaged volume. We present a review of quantitative analyses of clinical and animal data on small volume strategies using 1) hypertonic-hyperosmotic solutions (HHS); 2) hemoglobin based oxygen carriers (HBOCs) and 3) closed-loop infusion regimens.Methods and Results: Literature searches and recent queries to industry and academic researchers have allowed us to evaluate the record of 81 human HHS studies (12 trauma trials), 19 human HBOCs studies (3trauma trials) and two clinical studies of closed-loop resuscitation.There are several hundreds animal studies and at least 82 clinical trials and reports evaluating small volume7.2%-7.5% hypertonic saline (HS) most often combined with colloids, e.g., dextran (HSD) or hetastarch(HSS). HSD and HSS data has been published for 1,108 and 392 patients, respectively. Human studies have documented volume sparing and hemodynamic improvements. Meta-analyses suggest improved survival for hypotensive trauma patients treated with HSD with significant reductions in mortality found for patients with blood pressure < 70 mmHg, head trauma, and penetrating injury requiring surgery. HSD and HSS have received regulatory approval in 14 and 3 countries, respectively, with 81,000+ units sold. The primary reported use was head injury and trauma resuscitation. Complications and reported adverse events are surprisingly rare and not significantly different from other solutions.HBOCs are potent volume expanders in addition to oxygen carriers with volume expansion greater than standard colloids. Several investigators have evaluated small volume hyperoncotic HBOCs or HS-HBOC formulations for hypotensive and normotensive resuscitation in animals. A consistent finding in resuscitation with HBOCs is depressed cardiac output. There is some evidence that HBOCs more efficiently unload oxygen from plasma hemoglobin as well as facilitate RBC unloading. We analyzed one volunteer study, 15 intraoperative trials, and 3 trauma studies using HBOCs. Perioperative studies generally suggest ability to deliver oxygen, but one trauma trial using HBOCs (HemAssist) for treatment of trauma resulted in a dramatic increase in mortality, while an intraoperative trauma study using Polyheme demonstrated reductions in blood use and lower mortality compared to historic controls of patients refusing blood. Transfusion reductions with HBOC use have been modest. Two HBOCs (Hemopure and Polyheme) are now in new or planned large-scale multicenter prehospital trials of trauma treatment. A new implementation of small volume resuscitation is closed-loop resuscitation (CLR), which employs microprocessors to titrate just enough fluid to reach a physiologic target . Animal studies suggest less risk of rebleeding in uncontrolled hemorrhage and a reduction in fluid needs with CLR. The first clinical application of CLR was treatment of burn shock and the US Army. Conclusions: Independently sponsored civilian trauma trials and clinical evaluations in operational combat conditions of different small volume strategies are warranted.

Kramer, George C.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Solar System Visualizations

Solar System Visualization products enable scientists to compare models and measurements in new ways that enhance the scientific discovery process, enhance the information content and understanding of the science results for both science colleagues and the public, and create.visually appealing and intellectually stimulating visualization products. Missions supported include MER, MRO, and Cassini. Image products produced include pan and zoom animations of large mosaics to reveal the details of surface features and topography, animations into registered multi-resolution mosaics to provide context for microscopic images, 3D anaglyphs from left and right stereo pairs, and screen captures from video footage. Specific products include a three-part context animation of the Cassini Enceladus encounter highlighting images from 350 to 4 meter per pixel resolution; Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter screen captures illustrating various instruments during assembly and testing at the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy Space Center; and an animation of Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity's 'Rub al Khali' panorama where the rover was stuck in the deep fine sand for more than a month. This task creates new visualization products that enable new science results and enhance the public's understanding of the Solar System and NASA's missions of exploration.

Brown, Alison M.↗