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At least 1,261 records · Page 70
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2001

Cytoplasmic pH dynamics in maize pulvinal cells induced by gravity vector changes

In maize (Zea mays) and other grasses, changes in orientation of stems are perceived by pulvinal tissue, which responds to the stimulus by differential growth resulting in upward bending of the stem. The amyloplast-containing bundle sheath cells are the sites of gravity perception, although the initial steps of gravity perception and transmission remain unclear. In columella cells of Arabidopsis roots, we previously found that cytoplasmic pH (pH(c)) is a mediator in early gravitropic signaling (A.C. Scott, N.S. Allen [1999] Plant Physiol 121: 1291-1298). The question arises whether pH(c) has a more general role in signaling gravity vector changes. Using confocal ratiometric imaging and the fluorescent pH indicator carboxy seminaphtorhodafluor acetoxymethyl ester acetate, we measured pH(c) in the cells composing the maize pulvinus. When stem slices were gravistimulated and imaged on a horizontally mounted confocal microscope, pH(c) changes were only apparent within the bundle sheath cells, and not in the parenchyma cells. After turning, cytoplasmic acidification was observed at the sides of the cells, whereas the cytoplasm at the base of the cells where plastids slowly accumulated became more basic. These changes were most apparent in cells exhibiting net amyloplast sedimentation. Parenchyma cells and isolated bundle sheath cells did not show any gravity-induced pH(c) changes although all cell types responded to external stimuli in the predicted way: Propionic acid and auxin treatments induced acidification, whereas raising the external pH caused alkalinization. The results suggest that pH(c) has an important role in the early signaling pathways of maize stem gravitropism.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1993

Preliminary observations on the effects of vector-averaged gravity on the embryonic and larval development of the gastropod mollusk, Ilyanassa obsoleta Stimpson

Fertilized eggs of Ilyanassa obsoleta Stimpson were collected immediately after their deposition in egg capsules. Unopened egg capsules then were affixed to glass slides, and incubated either statically (controls) or on a clinostat (experimentals). After incubation for 9-14 days, hatching occurred sooner and in a higher percentage of clinostated capsules than in controls. Embryos that hatched while undergoing clinostat incubation were abnormal in morphology, whereas other embryos present in non-hatched capsules in the same tubes appeared normal, as did embryos in the control tubes. Although the results are compatible with a conclusion that vector-averaged gravity in the experimental tubes caused the altered development, some other aspects of how the incubations were done may have contributed to the differences between the control and experimental results.

NASA Discipline Developmental Biology↗
NASA NTRS1988

Does vector-free gravity simulate microgravity? Functional and morphologic attributes of clinorotated nerve and muscle grown in cell culture

Cocultured Xenopus neurons and myocytes were subjected to non-vectorial gravity by clinostat rotation to determine if microgravity, during space flights, may affect cell development and communications. Clinorotated cells showed changes consistent with the hypothesis that cell differentiation, in microgravity, is altered by interference with cytoskeleton-related mechanisms. We found: increases in the myocyte and its nuclear area, "fragmentation" of nucleoli, appearance of neuritic "aneurysms", decreased growth in the presence of "trophic" factors, and decreased yolk utilization. The effects were most notable at 1-10 rpm and depended on the onset and duration of rotation. Some parameters returned to near control values within 48 hrs after cessation of rotation. Cells from cultures rotated at higher speeds (>50 rpm) appeared comparable to controls. Compensation by centrifugal forces may account for this finding. Our data are consistent, in principle, with effects on other, flighted cells and suggest that "vector-free" gravity may simulate certain aspects of microgravity. The distribution of acetylcholine receptor aggregates, on myocytes, was also altered. This indicates that brain development, in microgravity, may also be affected.

NASA Discipline Cell Biology↗
NASA NTRS1993

Preliminary observations on the effects of vector-averaged gravity on the embryonic and larval development of the gastropod mollusk, Ilyanassa obsoleta Stimpson

Fertilized eggs of Ilyanassa obsoleta Stimpson were collected immediately after their deposition in egg capsules. Unopened egg capsules then were affixed to glass slides, and incubated either statically (controls) or on a clinostat (experimentals). After incubation for 9-14 days, hatching occurred sooner and in a higher percentage of clinostated capsules than in controls. Embryos that hatched while undergoing clinostat incubation were abnormal in morphology, whereas other embryos present in non-hatched capsules in the same tubes appeared normal, as did embryos in the control tubes. Although the results are compatible with a conclusion that vector-averaged gravity in the experimental tubes caused the altered development, some other aspects of how the incubations were done may have contributed to the differences between the control and experimental results.

NASA Discipline Cell Biology↗
NASA NTRS1998

PAB3D Simulations of a Nozzle with Fluidic Injection for Yaw Thrust-Vector Control

An experimental and computational study was conducted on an exhaust nozzle with fluidic injection for yaw thrust-vector control. The nozzle concept was tested experimentally in the NASA Langley Jet Exit Test Facility (JETF) at nozzle pressure ratios up to 4 and secondary fluidic injection flow rates up to 15 percent of the primary flow rate. Although many injection-port geometries and two nozzle planforms (symmetric and asymmetric) were tested experimentally, this paper focuses on the computational results of the more successful asymmetric planform with a slot injection port. This nozzle concept was simulated with the Navier-Stokes flow solver, PAB3D, invoking the Shih, Zhu, and Lumley algebraic Reynolds stress turbulence model (ASM) at nozzle pressure ratios (NPRs) of 2,3, and 4 with secondary to primary injection flow rates (w(sub s)/w(sub p)) of 0, 2, 7 and 10 percent.

Deere, Karen A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Spatial orientation and balance control changes induced by altered gravitoinertial force vectors

To better understand the mechanisms of human adaptation to rotating environments, we exposed 19 healthy subjects and 8 vestibular-deficient subjects ("abnormal"; four bilateral and four unilateral lesions) to an interaural centripetal acceleration of 1 g (resultant 45 degrees roll-tilt of 1.4 g) on a 0.8-m-radius centrifuge for periods of 90 min. The subjects sat upright (body z-axis parallel to centrifuge rotation axis) in the dark with head stationary, except during 4 min of every 10 min, when they performed head saccades toward visual targets switched on at 3- to 5-s intervals at random locations (within +/- 30 degrees) in the earth-horizontal plane. Eight of the normal subjects also performed the head saccade protocol in a stationary chair adjusted to a static roll-tilt angle of 45 degrees for 90 min (reproducing the change in orientation but not the magnitude of the gravitoinertial force on the centrifuge). Eye movements, including voluntary saccades directed along perceived earth- and head-referenced planes, were recorded before, during, and immediately after centrifugation. Postural center of pressure (COP) and multisegment body kinematics were also gathered before and within 10 min after centrifugation. Normal subjects overestimated roll-tilt during centrifugation and revealed errors in perception of head-vertical provided by directed saccades. Errors in this perceptual response tended to increase with time and became significant after approximately 30 min. Motion-sickness symptoms caused approximately 25% of normal subjects to limit their head movements during centrifugation and led three normal subjects to stop the test early. Immediately after centrifugation, subjects reported feeling tilted 10 degrees in the opposite direction, which was in agreement with the direction of their earth-referenced directed saccades. Postural COP, segmental body motion amplitude, and hip-sway frequency increased significantly after centrifugation. These postural effects were short-lived, however, with a recovery time of several postural test trials (minutes). There were also asymmetries in the direction of postcentrifugation COP and head tilt which depended on the subject's orientation during the centrifugation adaptation period (left ear or right ear out). The amount of total head movements during centrifugation correlated poorly or inversely with postcentrifugation postural stability, and the most unstable subject made no head movements. There was no decrease in postural stability after static tilt, although these subjects also reported a perceived tilt briefly after return to upright, and they also had COP asymmetries. Abnormal subjects underestimated roll-tilt during centrifugation, and their directed saccades revealed permanent spatial distortions. Bilateral abnormal subjects started out with poor postural control, but showed no postural decrements after centrifugation, while unilateral abnormal subjects had varying degrees of postural decrement, both in their everyday function and as a result of experiencing the centrifugation. In addition, three unilateral, abnormal subjects, who rode twice in opposite orientations, revealed a consistent orthogonal pattern of COP offsets after centrifugation. These results suggest that both orientation and magnitude of the gravitoinertial vector are used by the central nervous system for calibration of multiple orientation systems. A change in the background gravitoinertial force (otolith input) can rapidly initiate postural and perceptual adaptation in several sensorimotor systems, independent of a structured visual surround.

Clinical Trial↗
NASA NTRS1998

Replication-deficient adenovirus vector transfer of gfp reporter gene into supraoptic nucleus and subfornical organ neurons

The present studies used defined cells of the subfornical organ (SFO) and supraoptic nuclei (SON) as model systems to demonstrate the efficacy of replication-deficient adenovirus (Ad) encoding green fluorescent protein (GFP) for gene transfer. The studies investigated the effects of both direct transfection of the SON and indirect transfection (i.e., via retrograde transport) of SFO neurons. The SON of rats were injected with Ad (2 x 10(6) pfu) and sacrificed 1-7 days later for cell culture of the SON and of the SFO. In the SON, GFP fluorescence was visualized in both neuronal and nonneuronal cells while only neurons in the SFO expressed GFP. Successful in vitro transfection of cultured cells from the SON and SFO was also achieved with Ad (2 x 10(6) to 2 x 10(8) pfu). The expression of GFP in in vitro transfected cells was higher in nonneuronal (approximately 28% in SON and SFO) than neuronal (approximately 4% in SON and 10% in SFO) cells. The expression of GFP was time and viral concentration related. No apparent alterations in cellular morphology of transfected cells were detected and electrophysiological characterization of transfected cells was similar between GFP-expressing and nonexpressing neurons. We conclude that (1) GFP is an effective marker for gene transfer in living SON and SFO cells, (2) Ad infects both neuronal and nonneuronal cells, (3) Ad is taken up by axonal projections from the SON and retrogradely transported to the SFO where it is expressed at detectable levels, and (4) Ad does not adversely affect neuronal viability. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using adenoviral vectors to deliver genes to the SFO-SON axis. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

NASA Discipline Regulatory Physiology↗
NASA NTRS1984

Velocity Vector Analysis of a Juncture Flow Using a Three-Component Laser Velocimeter

A specialized single-axis, five-beam three-component laser velocimeter was constructed and used to study the flow field in a juncture. The juncture was defined by a blunt leading, edged vertical splitter plate and a sharp leading edged horizontal plate. The investigations were conducted in the Low Turbulence Pressure Tunnel at a Mach number of 0.1 and a Reynolds number of 2.2 x 10(exp 6) per meter over the model. The three-component velocity flow field in the juncture was measured, Reynolds stresses calculated and the velocity vector analysis performed.

Meyers, James F.↗
NASA NTRS2004

A Convective Vorticity Vector Associated With Tropical Convection: A 2D Cloud-Resolving Modeling Study

Although dry/moist potential vorticity is a useful physical quantity for meteorological analysis, it cannot be applied to the analysis of 2D simulations. A convective vorticity vector (CVV) is introduced in this study to analyze 2D cloud-resolving simulation data associated with 2D tropical convection. The cloud model is forced by the vertical velocity, zonal wind, horizontal advection, and sea surface temperature obtained from the TOGA COARE, and is integrated for a selected 10-day period. The CVV has zonal and vertical components in the 2D x-z frame. Analysis of zonally-averaged and mass-integrated quantities shows that the correlation coefficient between the vertical component of the CVV and the sum of the cloud hydrometeor mixing ratios is 0.81, whereas the correlation coefficient between the zonal component and the sum of the mixing ratios is only 0.18. This indicates that the vertical component of the CVV is closely associated with tropical convection. The tendency equation for the vertical component of the CVV is derived and the zonally-averaged and mass-integrated tendency budgets are analyzed. The tendency of the vertical component of the CVV is determined by the interaction between the vorticity and the zonal gradient of cloud heating. The results demonstrate that the vertical component of the CVV is a cloud-linked parameter and can be used to study tropical convection.

Gao, Shou-Ting↗
NASA NTRS1996

Arabidopsis thaliana sku mutant seedlings show exaggerated surface-dependent alteration in root growth vector

Roots of wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings in the Wassilewskija (WS) and Landsberg erecta (Ler) ecotypes often grow aslant on vertical agar surfaces. Slanted root growth always occurs to the right of the gravity vector when the root is viewed through the agar surface, and is not observed in the Columbia ecotype. Right-slanted root growth is surface-dependent and does not result directly from directional environmental stimuli or gradients in the plane of skewing. We have isolated two partially dominant mutations in WS (sku1 and sku2) that show an exaggerated right-slanting root-growth phenotype on agar surfaces. The right-slanting root-growth phenotype of wild-type and mutant roots is not the result of diagravitropism or of an alteration in root gravitropism. It is accompanied by a left-handed rotation of the root about its axis within the elongation zone, the rate of which positively correlates with the degree of right-slanted curvature. Our data suggest that the right-slanting root growth phenotype results from an endogenous structural asymmetry that expresses itself by a directional root-tip rotation.

NASA Program Space Biology↗
NASA NTRS1956

Effect of Wing Height and Dihedral on the Lateral Stability Characteristics at Low Lift of a 45 Deg Swept-Wing Airplane Configuration as Obtained from Time-Vector Analyses of Rocket-Propelled-Model Flights at Mach Numbers from 0.7 to 1.3

Lateral-stability flight tests were made over the Mach number range from 0.7 to 1.3 of models of three airplane configurations having 45deg sweptback wings. One model had a high wing; one, a low wing; and one, a high wing with cathedral. The models were otherwise identical. The lateral oscillations of the models resulting from intermittent yawing disturbances were interpreted in terms of full-scale airplane flying qualities and were further analyzed by the time-vector method to obtain values of the lateral stability derivatives. The effects of changes i n wing height on the static sideslip derivatives were fairly constant in the speed range investigated and agreed well with estimated values based on subsonic wind-tunnel tests. Effects of geometric dihedral on the rolling moment due to sideslip agreed well with theoretical and other experimental results and with a theoretical relation involving the damping in roll. The damping in roll, when compared with theoretical and other experimental results, shared good agreement at supersonic speeds but was somewhat higher at a Mach number of 1.0 and at subsonic speeds. The damping in yaw shared no large changes in the transonic region.

Gillis, Clarence L.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Development of Techniques for Visualization of Scalar and Vector Fields in the Immersive Environment

Visualization of scalar and vector fields in the immersive environment (CAVE - Cave Automated Virtual Environment) is important for its application to radiation shielding research at NASA Langley Research Center. A complete methodology and the underlying software for this purpose have been developed. The developed software has been put to use for the visualization of the earth s magnetic field, and in particular for the study of the South Atlantic Anomaly. The methodology has also been put to use for the visualization of geomagnetically trapped protons and electrons within Earth's magnetosphere.

Bidasaria, Hari B.↗
NASA NTRS2005

A Quasioptical Vector Interferometer for Polarization Control

We present a mathematical description of a Quasioptical Vector Interferometer (QVI), a device that maps an input polarization state to an output polarization state by introducing a phase delay between two linear orthogonal components of the input polarization. The advantages of such a device over a spinning wave-plate modulator for measuring astronomical polarization in the far-infrared through millimeter are: 1. The use of small, linear motions eliminates the need for cryogenic rotational bearings, 2. The phase flexibility allows measurement of Stokes V as well as Q and U, and 3. The QVI allows for both multi-wavelength and broadband modulation. We suggest two implementations of this device as an astronomical polarization modulator. The first involves two such modulators placed in series. By adjusting the two phase delays, it is possible to use such a modulator to measure Stokes Q, U, and V for passbands that are not too large. Conversely, a single QVI may be used to measure Q and V independent of frequency. In this implementation, Stokes U must be measured by rotating the instrument. We conclude this paper by presenting initial laboratory results.

Chuss, David T.↗
NASA NTRS2005

HYBRID NEURAL NETWORK AND SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE METHOD FOR OPTIMIZATION

System and method for optimization of a design associated with a response function, using a hybrid neural net and support vector machine (NN/SVM) analysis to minimize or maximize an objective function, optionally subject to one or more constraints. As a first example, the NN/SVM analysis is applied iteratively to design of an aerodynamic component, such as an airfoil shape, where the objective function measures deviation from a target pressure distribution on the perimeter of the aerodynamic component. As a second example, the NN/SVM analysis is applied to data classification of a sequence of data points in a multidimensional space. The NN/SVM analysis is also applied to data regression.

Rai, Man Mohan↗
NASA NTRS1996

Vector Along-Track Interferometry for Ocean Current mapping

We examine the feasibility of measuring Along-Track Interferometric (ATI) vector ocean velocities using the azimuth beamwidth of the SAR antenna to obtain angular diversity, at the expense of spatial resolution. A simple model of the measurement is introduced for point targets and moving ocean surfaces to help interpret the velocity measurements.

velocity measurements Along-Track Interferometric ↗