Fundamental Space Biology-1: HHR and Incubator for ISS Space Life Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Kirven-Brooks, M.; Fahlen, T.; Sato, K.; Reiss-Bubenheim, D.

The Space Station Biological Research Project (SSBRP) is developing an Incubator and a Habitat Holding Rack (HHR) to support life science experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The HHR provides for cooling and power needs, and supports data transfer (including telemetry, commanding, video processing, Ethernet), video compression, and data and command storage). The Incubator is a habitat that provides for controlled temperature between +4 C and +45 C and air circulation. It has a set of connector ports for power, analog and digital sensors, and video pass-through to support experiment-unique hardware within the Incubator specimen chamber. The Incubator exchanges air with the ISS cabin. The Fundamental Space Biology-1 (FSB-1) Project will be delivering, the HHR and two Incubators to ISS. The two inaugural experiments to be conducted on ISS using this hardware will investigate the biological effects of the space environment on two model organisms, Saccharomyces cerevisiae (S. cerevisiae; yeast) and Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans; nematode). The {M}odel {Y}east {C}ultures {o}n {S}tation (MYCOS) experiment will support examination of the effect of microgravity and cosmic radiation on yeast biology. In the second series of experiments during the same increment, the effects of microgravity and space environment radiation on C. elegans will be examined. The {F}undamental Space Biology {I}ncubator {E}xperiment {R}esearch using {C}. {e}legans (FIERCE) study is designed to support a long duration, multi-generational study of nematodes. FIERCE on-orbit science operations will include video monitoring, sub-culturing and periodic fixation and freezing of samples. For both experiments, investigators will be solicited via an International Space Life Sciences Research Announcement. In the near future, the Centrifuge Accommodation Module will be delivered to ISS, which will house the SSBRP 2.5 m Centrifuge Rotor. The Incubator can be placed onto the Centrifuge

Deciphering cancer heterogeneity: the biological space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephanie eRoessler

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Most lethal solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC are considered incurable due to extensive heterogeneity in clinical presentation and tumor biology. Tumor heterogeneity may result from different cells of origin, patient ethnicity, etiology, underlying disease and diversity of genomic and epigenomic changes which drive tumor development. Cancer genomic heterogeneity thereby impedes treatment options and poses a significant challenge to cancer management. Studies of the HCC genome have revealed that although various genomic signatures identified in different HCC subgroups share a common prognosis, each carries unique molecular changes which are linked to different sets of cancer hallmarks whose misregulation has been proposed by Hanahan and Weinberg to be essential for tumorigenesis. We hypothesize that these specific sets of cancer hallmarks collectively occupy different tumor biological space representing the misregulation of different biological processes. In principle, a combination of different cancer hallmarks can result in new convergent molecular networks that are unique to each tumor subgroup and represent ideal druggable targets. Due to the ability of the tumor to adapt to external factors such as treatment or changes in the tumor microenvironment, the tumor biological space is elastic. Our ability to identify distinct groups of cancer patients with similar tumor biology who are most likely to respond to a specific therapy would have a significant impact on improving patient outcome. It is currently a challenge to identify a particular hallmark or a newly emerged convergent molecular network for a particular tumor. Thus, it is anticipated that the integration of multiple levels of data such as genomic mutations, somatic copy number aberration, gene expression, proteomics, and metabolomics, may help us grasp the tumor biological space occupied by each individual, leading to improved therapeutic intervention and outcome.

Biology relevant to space radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fry, R.J.M.

1997-01-01

There are only very limited data on the health effects to humans from the two major components of the radiations in space, namely protons and heavy ions. As a result, predictions of the accompanying effects must be based either on (1) data generated through studies of experimental systems exposed on earth at rates and fluences higher than those in space, or (2) extrapolations from studies of gamma and x rays. Better information is needed about the doses, dose rates, and the energy and LET spectra of the radiations at the organ level that are anticipated to be encountered during extended space missions. In particular, there is a need for better estimates of the relationship between radiation quality and biological effects. In the case of deterministic effects, it is the threshold that is important. The possibility of the occurrence of a large solar particle event (SPE) requires that such effects be considered during extended space missions. Analyses suggest, however, that it is feasible to provide sufficient shielding so as to reduce such effects to acceptable levels, particularly if the dose rates can be limited. If these analyses prove correct, the primary biological risks will be the stochastic effects (latent cancer induction). The contribution of one large SPE to the risk of stochastic effects while undesirable will not be large in comparison to the potential total dose on a mission of long duration

Life sciences space biology project planning

Science.gov (United States)

Primeaux, G.; Newkirk, K.; Miller, L.; Lewis, G.; Michaud, R.

1988-01-01

The Life Sciences Space Biology (LSSB) research will explore the effect of microgravity on humans, including the physiological, clinical, and sociological implications of space flight and the readaptations upon return to earth. Physiological anomalies from past U.S. space flights will be used in planning the LSSB project.The planning effort integrates science and engineering. Other goals of the LSSB project include the provision of macroscopic view of the earth's biosphere, and the development of spinoff technology for application on earth.

Toward biotechnology in space: High-throughput instruments for in situ biological research beyond Earth.

Science.gov (United States)

Karouia, Fathi; Peyvan, Kianoosh; Pohorille, Andrew

2017-11-15

Space biotechnology is a nascent field aimed at applying tools of modern biology to advance our goals in space exploration. These advances rely on our ability to exploit in situ high throughput techniques for amplification and sequencing DNA, and measuring levels of RNA transcripts, proteins and metabolites in a cell. These techniques, collectively known as "omics" techniques have already revolutionized terrestrial biology. A number of on-going efforts are aimed at developing instruments to carry out "omics" research in space, in particular on board the International Space Station and small satellites. For space applications these instruments require substantial and creative reengineering that includes automation, miniaturization and ensuring that the device is resistant to conditions in space and works independently of the direction of the gravity vector. Different paths taken to meet these requirements for different "omics" instruments are the subjects of this review. The advantages and disadvantages of these instruments and technological solutions and their level of readiness for deployment in space are discussed. Considering that effects of space environments on terrestrial organisms appear to be global, it is argued that high throughput instruments are essential to advance (1) biomedical and physiological studies to control and reduce space-related stressors on living systems, (2) application of biology to life support and in situ resource utilization, (3) planetary protection, and (4) basic research about the limits on life in space. It is also argued that carrying out measurements in situ provides considerable advantages over the traditional space biology paradigm that relies on post-flight data analysis. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Space Biology and Medicine. Volume I; Space and Its Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Nicogossian, Arnauld E.; Mohler, Stanley R.; Gazenko, Oleg G.; Grigoryev, Anatoliy I.

1993-01-01

and a path to our common future. But for humanity to embark on this path, we need to understand ourselves in a new environment. As such, an understanding of the biological consequences of and opportunities in space flight is essential. In this, the first volume of a joint U.S./Russian series on space biology and medicine, we describe the current status of our understanding of space and present general information that will prove useful when reading subsequent volumes. Since we are witnesses to the beginning of a new era of interplanetary travel, a significant portion of the first volume will concentrate on the physical and ecological conditions that exist in near and outer space, as well as heavenly bodies from the smallest ones to the giant planets and stars. While space exploration is a comparatively recent endeavor, its foundations were laid much more than 30 years ago, and its history has been an eventful one. In the first part of this volume, Rauschenbach, Sokolskiy, and Gurjian address the "Historical Aspects of Space Exploration" from its beginnings to a present-day view of the events of the space age. The nature of space itself and its features is the focus of the second section of the volume. In the first chapter of the part, "Stars and Interstellar Space," the origin and evolution of stars, and the nature of the portions of space most distant from Earth are described by Galeev and Marochnik. In Chapter 2, Pisarenko, Logachev, and Kurt in "The Sun and Interplanetary Space" bring us to the vicinity of our own solar system and provide a description and discussion of the nearest star and its influence on the space environment that our Earth and the other planets inhabit. In our solar system there are many fascinating objects, remnants of the formation of a rather ordinary star in a rather obscure portion of the galaxy. Historical accident has caused us to be much more curious (and knowledgeable) about "The Inner Planets of the Solar System" than about any of

Synthetic biology assemblies for sustainable space exploration

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The work utilized synthetic biology to create sustainable food production processes by developing technology to efficiently convert inedible crop waste to...

Gravitational biology and space life sciences: Current status and ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Gravitational and space biology organizations and journals. American Institute of ... of Scientific Unions (now the International Council for. Science). COSPAR ... Greek Aerospace Medical Association & Space Research. (GASMA). Provides ...

Space Synthetic Biology Project

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, David; Roman, Monsi; Mansell, James (Matt)

2015-01-01

Synthetic biology is an effort to make genetic engineering more useful by standardizing sections of genetic code. By standardizing genetic components, biological engineering will become much more similar to traditional fields of engineering, in which well-defined components and subsystems are readily available in markets. Specifications of the behavior of those components and subsystems can be used to model a system which incorporates them. Then, the behavior of the novel system can be simulated and optimized. Finally, the components and subsystems can be purchased and assembled to create the optimized system, which most often will exhibit behavior similar to that indicated by the model. The Space Synthetic Biology project began in 2012 as a multi-Center effort. The purpose of this project was to harness Synthetic Biology principals to enable NASA's missions. A central target for application was to Environmental Control & Life Support (ECLS). Engineers from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) ECLS Systems Development Branch (ES62) were brought into the project to contribute expertise in operational ECLS systems. Project lead scientists chose to pursue the development of bioelectrochemical technologies to spacecraft life support. Therefore, the ECLS element of the project became essentially an effort to develop a bioelectrochemical ECLS subsystem. Bioelectrochemical systems exploit the ability of many microorganisms to drive their metabolisms by direct or indirect utilization of electrical potential gradients. Whereas many microorganisms are capable of deriving the energy required for the processes of interest (such as carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation) from sunlight, it is believed that subsystems utilizing electrotrophs will exhibit smaller mass, volume, and power requirements than those that derive their energy from sunlight. In the first 2 years of the project, MSFC personnel conducted modeling, simulation, and conceptual design efforts to assist the

Space Biology Model Organism Research on the Deep Space Gateway to Pioneer Discovery and Advance Human Space Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, K. Y.; Tomko, D. L.; Levine, H. G.; Quincy, C. D.; Rayl, N. A.; Sowa, M. B.; Taylor, E. M.; Sun, S. C.; Kundrot, C. E.

2018-02-01

Model organisms are foundational for conducting physiological and systems biology research to define how life responds to the deep space environment. The organisms, areas of research, and Deep Space Gateway capabilities needed will be presented.

PhysioSpace: relating gene expression experiments from heterogeneous sources using shared physiological processes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Lenz

Full Text Available Relating expression signatures from different sources such as cell lines, in vitro cultures from primary cells and biopsy material is an important task in drug development and translational medicine as well as for tracking of cell fate and disease progression. Especially the comparison of large scale gene expression changes to tissue or cell type specific signatures is of high interest for the tracking of cell fate in (trans- differentiation experiments and for cancer research, which increasingly focuses on shared processes and the involvement of the microenvironment. These signature relation approaches require robust statistical methods to account for the high biological heterogeneity in clinical data and must cope with small sample sizes in lab experiments and common patterns of co-expression in ubiquitous cellular processes. We describe a novel method, called PhysioSpace, to position dynamics of time series data derived from cellular differentiation and disease progression in a genome-wide expression space. The PhysioSpace is defined by a compendium of publicly available gene expression signatures representing a large set of biological phenotypes. The mapping of gene expression changes onto the PhysioSpace leads to a robust ranking of physiologically relevant signatures, as rigorously evaluated via sample-label permutations. A spherical transformation of the data improves the performance, leading to stable results even in case of small sample sizes. Using PhysioSpace with clinical cancer datasets reveals that such data exhibits large heterogeneity in the number of significant signature associations. This behavior was closely associated with the classification endpoint and cancer type under consideration, indicating shared biological functionalities in disease associated processes. Even though the time series data of cell line differentiation exhibited responses in larger clusters covering several biologically related patterns, top scoring

Improving Satellite Compatible Microdevices to Study Biology in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Kalkus, Trevor; Snyder, Jessica; Paulino-Lima, Ivan; Rothschild, Lynn

2017-01-01

The technology for biology in space lags far behind the gold standard for biological experiments on Earth. To remedy this disparity, the Rothschild lab works on proof of concept, prototyping, and developing of new sensors and devices to further the capabilities of biology research on satellites. One such device is the PowerCell Payload System. One goal for synthetic biology in aiding space travel and colonization is to genetically engineer living cells to produce biochemicals in space. However, such farming in space presupposes bacteria retain their functionality post-launch, bombarded by radiation, and without the 1G of Earth. Our questions is, does a co-culture of cyanobacteria and protein-synthesizing bacteria produce Earth-like yields of target proteins? Is the yield sensitive to variable gravitational forces? To answer these questions, a PowerCell Payload System will spend 1 year aboard the German Aerospace Center's Euglena and Combined Regenerative Organic-food Production In Space (Eu:CROPIS) mission satellite. The PowerCell system is a pair of two 48-well microfluidic cards, each well seeded with bacteria. The system integrates fluidic, thermal, optical, electronic, and control systems to germinate bacteria spores, then measure the protein synthesized for comparison to parallel experiments conducted on the Earth. In developing the PowerCell Payload, we gained insight into the shortcomings of biology experiments on satellites. To address these issues, we have started three new prototyping projects: 1) The development of an extremely stable and radiation resistant cell-free system, allowing for the construction of proteins utilizing only cell components instead of living cells. This can be lyophilized on a substrate, like paper. (2) Using paper as a microfluidic platform that is flexible, stable, cheap, and wicking. The capillary action eliminates the need for pumps, reducing volume, mass, and potential failing points. Electrodes can be printed on the paper to

Crucible: A System for Space Synthetic Biology Experiments

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The goal of this project is to expand the capability and methodologies in experimental extreme biology as a step towards Martian ecopoiesis. The objectives in...

Screens as light biological variable in microgravitational space environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlacht, S.; Masali, M.

Foreword The ability of the biological organisms to orient themselves and to synchronize on the variations of the solar rhythms is a fundamental aspect in the planning of the human habitat above all when habitat is confined in the Space the planetary and in satellite outer space settlements In order to simulate the experience of the astronauts in long duration missions one of the dominant characteristics of the Space confined habitats is the absence of the earthlings solar cycles references The Sun is the main references and guidelines of the biological compass and timepiece The organism functions are influenced from the variation of the light in the round of the 24 hours the human circadian rhythms In these habitats it is therefore necessary to reproduce the color and intensity of the solar light variations along the arc of the day according to defined scientific programs assuring a better performance of the human organism subsubsection Multilayer Foldable Screens as biological environmental variable In the project Multilayer Foldable Screens are the monitors posed in the ceiling of an Outer Space habitat and are made of liquid crystals and covered with Kevlar they stand for a modulate and flexible structure for different arrangements and different visions Screens work sout s on all the solar light frequencies and display the images that the subject needs They are characterized from the emission of an environmental light that restores the earthly solar cycle for intensity and color temperature to irradiate

Relative biological efficiency of 592 MeV protons. Analysis of the biological effect of secondary radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Legeay, G.; Baarli, J.

1968-01-01

The relative biological efficiency (RBE) of high energy protons is of importance because of their effects in the field of radioprotection around large accelerators and during space-flights. The nature of the interactions between 592 MeV protons and biological tissues makes it necessary to take into consideration the contribution of secondary radiation to the biological effect. Since it is not possible to obtain from a synchrotron a beam having a sufficiently large cross-section to irradiate large animals, one has to resort to certain devices concerning the mode of exposure when small laboratory animals are used. By irradiating rats individually and in groups, and by using the lethal test as a function of time, the authors show that the value of the RBE is different for animals of the same species having the same biological parameters. Thus there appears an increase in the biological effect due to secondary radiation produced in nuclear cascades which develop in a large volume, for example that of a human being. (author) [fr

Biological effects of space-induced mutation on robinia pseudoacacia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Cunquan; Li Yun; Lu Chao; Yang Min; Zhang Yuyao

2010-01-01

Dry seeds of Robinia pseudoacacia were carried by Shijian No.8 breeding satellite for mutagenesis and the biological effect of space-induced mutation was studied. The parameters of Robinia pseudoacacia such as plant height, stem base, branch number, knot spacing, length of thorn and chlorophyll content were analyzed, and, at the same time, the genetic diversity was tested by SSR marker. The results showed that the plant height and stem base of 2-year-old seedlings which derived from space mutagenesis were 22.0% and 24.1% lower than those of control, and 3-year-old seedlings were 13.1% and 22.4% lower than those of control, respectively. While the inhibiting effect of plant height became undermined in the following growth years. However, the inhibiting effect in stem base existed all the time,the length of thorn of branch and stem were 15.6% and 28.6% shorter than the control,respectively. Compared with the control,the variation of the length of thorn from stem was extremely significant. The variation of chlorophyll a content from space mutagenesis compared with control was not remarkable, while the total chlorophyll and chlorophyll b contents were 18.7% and 9.7% lower than those of control, respectively, and the difference between space mutagenesis and control was significant. While the chlorophyll a/b was 25.6% higher than that of control, but the difference was not significant. The coefficient of variation of the relative traits was increased by the space mutagenesis. The extensively population genome mutation after space-induction were not detected by SSR (Simple Sequence Repeats). (authors)

Bragg Curve, Biological Bragg Curve and Biological Issues in Space Radiation Protection with Shielding

Science.gov (United States)

Honglu, Wu; Cucinotta, F.A.; Durante, M.; Lin, Z.; Rusek, A.

2006-01-01

The space environment consists of a varying field of radiation particles including high-energy ions, with spacecraft shielding material providing the major protection to astronauts from harmful exposure. Unlike low-LET gamma or X-rays, the presence of shielding does not always reduce the radiation risks for energetic charged particle exposure. Since the dose delivered by the charged particle increases sharply as the particle approaches the end of its range, a position known as the Bragg peak, the Bragg curve does not necessarily represent the biological damage along the particle traversal since biological effects are influenced by the track structure of both primary and secondary particles. Therefore, the biological Bragg curve is dependent on the energy and the type of the primary particle, and may vary for different biological endpoints. To achieve a Bragg curve distribution, we exposed cells to energetic heavy ions with the beam geometry parallel to a monolayer of fibroblasts. Qualitative analyses of gamma-H2AX fluorescence, a known marker of DSBs, indicated increased clustering of DNA damage before the Bragg peak, enhanced homogenous distribution at the peak, and provided visual evidence of high linear energy transfer (LET) particle traversal of cells beyond the Bragg peak. A quantitative biological response curve generated for micronuclei (MN) induction across the Bragg curve did not reveal an increased yield of MN at the location of the Bragg peak. However, the ratio of mono-to bi-nucleated cells, which indicates inhibition in cell progression, increased at the Bragg peak location. These results, along with other biological concerns, show that space radiation protection with shielding can be a complicated issue.

Life sciences payloads analyses and technical program planning studies. [project planning of space missions of space shuttles in aerospace medicine and space biology

Science.gov (United States)

1976-01-01

Contractural requirements, project planning, equipment specifications, and technical data for space shuttle biological experiment payloads are presented. Topics discussed are: (1) urine collection and processing on the space shuttle, (2) space processing of biochemical and biomedical materials, (3) mission simulations, and (4) biomedical equipment.

Effects of space environment on biological characteristics of melanoma B16 cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geng Chuanying; Xiang Qing; Xu Mei; Li Hongyan; Xu Bo; Fang Qing; Tang Jingtian; Guo Yupeng

2006-01-01

Objective: To examine the effects of space environment on biological characteristics of melanoma B16 Cells. Methods: B16 cells were carried to the space (in orbit for 8 days, circle the earth 286 times) by the 20th Chinese recoverable satellite, and then harvested and monocloned. 110 strains of space B16 cells were obtained in total. Ten strains of space B16 cells were selected and its morphological changes were examined with the phasecontrast microscope. Flow cytometry and MTT assay were carried out to evaluate the cell cycle and cell viability. Results Morphological changes were observed in the space cells, and melainin granules on the surface in some cells. It was demonstrated by MTF assay that space cells viability varied muti- directionally. It was showed by flow cytometry analysis that G1 phase of space cells was prolonged, S phase shortened. Conclusion: Space environment may change the biological characteristics of melanoma B16 cells. (authors)

Historical parallels of biological space experiments from Soyuz, Salyut and Mir to Shenzhou flights

Science.gov (United States)

Nechitailo, Galina S.; Kondyurin, Alexey

2016-07-01

Human exploitation of space is a great achievement of our civilization. After the first space flights a development of artificial biological environment in space systems is a second big step. First successful biological experiments on a board of space station were performed on Salyut and Mir stations in 70-90th of last century such as - first long time cultivation of plants in space (wheat, linen, lettuce, crepis); - first flowers in space (Arabidopsis); - first harvesting of seeds in space (Arabidopsis); - first harvesting of roots (radish); - first full life cycle from seeds to seeds in space (wheat), Guinness recorded; - first tissue culture experiments (Panax ginseng L, Crocus sativus L, Stevia rebaundiana B; - first tree growing in space for 2 years (Limonia acidissima), Guinness recorded. As a new wave, the modern experiments on a board of Shenzhou Chinese space ships are performed with plants and tissue culture. The space flight experiments are now focused on applications of the space biology results to Earth technologies. In particular, the tomato seeds exposed 6 years in space are used in pharmacy industry in more then 10 pharmaceutical products. Tissue culture experiments are performed on the board of Shenzhou spaceship for creation of new bioproducts including Space Panax ginseng, Space Spirulina, Space Stetatin, Space Tomato and others products with unique properties. Space investments come back.

Scale relativity theory and integrative systems biology: 2. Macroscopic quantum-type mechanics.

Science.gov (United States)

Nottale, Laurent; Auffray, Charles

2008-05-01

In these two companion papers, we provide an overview and a brief history of the multiple roots, current developments and recent advances of integrative systems biology and identify multiscale integration as its grand challenge. Then we introduce the fundamental principles and the successive steps that have been followed in the construction of the scale relativity theory, which aims at describing the effects of a non-differentiable and fractal (i.e., explicitly scale dependent) geometry of space-time. The first paper of this series was devoted, in this new framework, to the construction from first principles of scale laws of increasing complexity, and to the discussion of some tentative applications of these laws to biological systems. In this second review and perspective paper, we describe the effects induced by the internal fractal structures of trajectories on motion in standard space. Their main consequence is the transformation of classical dynamics into a generalized, quantum-like self-organized dynamics. A Schrödinger-type equation is derived as an integral of the geodesic equation in a fractal space. We then indicate how gauge fields can be constructed from a geometric re-interpretation of gauge transformations as scale transformations in fractal space-time. Finally, we introduce a new tentative development of the theory, in which quantum laws would hold also in scale space, introducing complexergy as a measure of organizational complexity. Initial possible applications of this extended framework to the processes of morphogenesis and the emergence of prokaryotic and eukaryotic cellular structures are discussed. Having founded elements of the evolutionary, developmental, biochemical and cellular theories on the first principles of scale relativity theory, we introduce proposals for the construction of an integrative theory of life and for the design and implementation of novel macroscopic quantum-type experiments and devices, and discuss their potential

US and Russian Cooperation in Space Biology and Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Sawin, C.F.; Hanson, S.I.; House, N.G.; Pestov, I.D.

2009-01-01

This slide presentation concerns the 5th volume of a joint publication that describes the cooperation between the United States and Russia in research into space biology and medicine. Each of the chapters is briefly summarized.

Intangible life functorial connections in relational biology

CERN Document Server

Louie, A H

2017-01-01

This rare publication continues an exploratory journey in relational biology, a study of biology in terms of the organization of networked connections in living systems. It builds on the author’s two earlier monographs which looked at the epistemology of life and the ontogeny of life. Here the emphasis is on the intangibility of life, that the real nature of living systems is conveyed not by their tangible material basis but by their intangible inherent processes.    Relational biology is the approach that hails ‘function dictates structure’; it is mathematics decoded into biological realizations. Therefore, the work begins with a concise introduction to category theory, equiping the reader with the mathematical metalanguage of relation biology. The book is organized around three parts:   Part I is a comprehensive study of the most important functor in relational biology, the power set functor.  The author lays the set-theoretic foundations of the functorial connections in relational biology, explor...

Biologic relativity: Who is the observer and what is observed?

Science.gov (United States)

Torday, John S; Miller, William B

2016-05-01

When quantum physics and biological phenomena are analogously explored, it emerges that biologic causation must also be understood independently of its overt appearance. This is similar to the manner in which Bohm characterized the explicate versus the implicate order as overlapping frames of ambiguity. Placed in this context, the variables affecting epigenetic inheritance can be properly assessed as a key mechanistic principle of evolution that significantly alters our understanding of homeostasis, pleiotropy, and heterochrony, and the purposes of sexual reproduction. Each of these become differing manifestations of a new biological relativity in which biologic space-time becomes its own frame. In such relativistic cellular contexts, it is proper to question exactly who has observer status, and who and what are being observed. Consideration within this frame reduces biology to cellular information sharing through cell-cell communication to resolve ambiguities at every scope and scale. In consequence, it becomes implicit that eukaryotic evolution derives from the unicellular state, remaining consistently adherent to it in a continuous evolutionary arc based upon elemental, non-stochastic physiologic first principles. Furthermore, the entire cell including its cytoskeletal apparatus and membranes that participate in the resolution of biological uncertainties must be considered as having equivalent primacy with genomes in evolutionary terms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Modeling Dispersion of Chemical-Biological Agents in Three Dimensional Living Space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

William S. Winters

2002-01-01

This report documents a series of calculations designed to demonstrate Sandia's capability in modeling the dispersal of chemical and biological agents in complex three-dimensional spaces. The transport of particles representing biological agents is modeled in a single room and in several connected rooms. The influence of particle size, particle weight and injection method are studied

Evaluating the feasibility of biological waste processing for long term space missions

Science.gov (United States)

Garland, J. L.; Alazraki, M. P.; Atkinson, C. F.; Finger, B. W.; Sager, J. C. (Principal Investigator)

1998-01-01

Recycling waste products during orbital (e.g., International Space Station) and planetary missions (e.g., lunar base, Mars transit mission, Martian base) will reduce storage and resupply costs. Wastes streams on the space station will include human hygiene water, urine, faeces, and trash. Longer term missions will contain human waste and inedible plant material from plant growth systems used for atmospheric regeneration, food production, and water recycling. The feasibility of biological and physical-chemical waste recycling is being investigated as part of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Advanced Life Support (ALS) Program. In-vessel composting has lower manpower requirements, lower water and volume requirements, and greater potential for sanitization of human waste compared to alternative bioreactor designs such as continuously stirred tank reactors (CSTR). Residual solids from the process (i.e. compost) could be used a biological air filter, a plant nutrient source, and a carbon sink. Potential in-vessel composting designs for both near- and long-term space missions are presented and discussed with respect to the unique aspects of space-based systems.

Biological and Medical Experiments on the Space Shuttle, 1981 - 1985

Science.gov (United States)

Halstead, Thora W. (Editor); Dufour, Patricia A. (Editor)

1986-01-01

This volume is the first in a planned series of reports intended to provide a comprehensive record of all the biological and medical experiments and samples flown on the Space Shuttle. Experiments described have been conducted over a five-year period, beginning with the first plant studies conducted on STS-2 in November 1981, and extending through STS 61-C, the last mission to fly before the tragic Challenger accident of January 1986. Experiments were sponsored within NASA not only by the Life Sciences Division of the Office of Space Science and Applications, but also by the Shuttle Student Involvement Program (SSIP) and the Get Away Special (GAS) Program. Independent medical studies were conducted as well on the Shuttle crew under the auspices of the Space Biomedical Research Institute at Johnson Space Center. In addition, cooperative agreements between NASA and foreign government agencies led to a number of independent experiments and also paved the way for the joint US/ESA Spacelab 1 mission and the German (DFVLR) Spacelab D-1. Experiments included: (1) medically oriented studies of the crew aimed at identifying, preventing, or treating health problems due to space travel; (2) projects to study morphological, physiological, or behavioral effects of microgravity on animals and plants; (3) studies of the effects of microgravity on cells and tissues; and (4) radiation experiments monitoring the spacecraft environment with chemical or biological dosimeters or testing radiation effects on simple organisms and seeds.

Synthetic Biology as an Enabling Technology for Space Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Rothschild, Lynn J.

2016-01-01

Human exploration off planet is severely limited by the cost of launching materials into space and by re-supply. Thus materials brought from Earth must be light, stable and reliable at destination. Using traditional approaches, a lunar or Mars base would require either transporting a hefty store of metals or heavy manufacturing equipment and construction materials for in situ extraction; both would severely limit any other mission objectives. Long-term human space presence requires periodic replenishment, adding a massive cost overhead. Even robotic missions often sacrifice science goals for heavy radiation and thermal protection. Biology has the potential to solve these problems because life can replicate and repair itself, and perform a wide variety of chemical reactions including making food, fuel and materials. Synthetic biology enhances and expands life's evolved repertoire. Using organisms as feedstock, additive manufacturing through bioprinting will make possible the dream of producing bespoke tools, food, smart fabrics and even replacement organs on demand. This new approach and the resulting novel products will enable human exploration and settlement on Mars, while providing new manufacturing approaches for life on Earth.

Relations between Intuitive Biological Thinking and Biological Misconceptions in Biology Majors and Nonmajors

Science.gov (United States)

Coley, John D.; Tanner, Kimberly

2015-01-01

Research and theory development in cognitive psychology and science education research remain largely isolated. Biology education researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed misconceptions, among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, cognitive and developmental psychologists have described intuitive conceptual systems—teleological, essentialist, and anthropocentric thinking—that humans use to reason about biology. We hypothesize that seemingly unrelated biological misconceptions may have common origins in these intuitive ways of knowing, termed cognitive construals. We presented 137 undergraduate biology majors and nonmajors with six biological misconceptions. They indicated their agreement with each statement, and explained their rationale for their response. Results indicate frequent agreement with misconceptions, and frequent use of construal-based reasoning among both biology majors and nonmajors in their written explanations. Moreover, results also show associations between specific construals and the misconceptions hypothesized to arise from those construals. Strikingly, such associations were stronger among biology majors than nonmajors. These results demonstrate important linkages between intuitive ways of thinking and misconceptions in discipline-based reasoning, and raise questions about the origins, persistence, and generality of relations between intuitive reasoning and biological misconceptions. PMID:25713093

Landing in the future: Biological experiments on Earth and in space orbit

Science.gov (United States)

Pokrovskiy, A.

1980-01-01

The development of an Earth biosatellite to duplicate the parameters of pressure, temperature, humidity and others in a space environment onboard Cosmos-1129 is discussed. Effects of a space environment on fruit flies, dogs, laboratory rats in procreation, behavior, stress, biorhythm, body composition, gravitation preference, and cell cultures are examined. The space environment for agricultural products is also studied. The effects of heavy nuclei of galactic space radiation on biological objects inside and outside the satellite is studied, and methods of electrostatic protection are developed.

Landing in the future: Biological experiments on Earth and in space orbit

Science.gov (United States)

Pokrovskiy, A.

1980-09-01

The development of an Earth biosatellite to duplicate the parameters of pressure, temperature, humidity and others in a space environment onboard Cosmos-1129 is discussed. Effects of a space environment on fruit flies, dogs, laboratory rats in procreation, behavior, stress, biorhythm, body composition, gravitation preference, and cell cultures are examined. The space environment for agricultural products is also studied. The effects of heavy nuclei of galactic space radiation on biological objects inside and outside the satellite is studied, and methods of electrostatic protection are developed.

Biological effects of space radiation on human cells. History, advances and outcomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maalouf, M.; Foray, N.; Durante, M.

2011-01-01

Exposure to radiation is one of the main concerns for space exploration by humans. By focusing deliberately on the works performed on human cells, we endeavored to review, decade by decade, the technological developments and conceptual advances of space radiation biology. Despite considerable efforts, the cancer and the toxicity risks remain to be quantified: the nature and the frequency of secondary heavy ions need to be better characterized in order to estimate their contribution to the dose and to the final biological response; the diversity of radiation history of each astronaut and the impact of individual susceptibility make very difficult any epidemiological analysis for estimating hazards specifically due to space radiation exposure. Cytogenetic data undoubtedly revealed that space radiation exposure produce significant damage in cells. However, our knowledge of the basic mechanisms specific to low-dose, to repeated doses and to adaptive response is still poor. The application of new radiobiological techniques, like immunofluorescence, and the use of human tissue models different from blood, like skin fibroblasts, may help in clarifying all the above items. (author)

Workshop summary. Biomedical and Space-Related Research with Heavy Ions at the BEVALAC

Science.gov (United States)

Schimmerling, W.; Curtis, S. B.

1989-01-01

The authors provide an overview of papers presented at a workshop on Biomedical and Space-Related Research with Heavy Ions at the BEVALAC at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Goals of the meeting were to determine the critical experiments using heavy ions as probes in radiation physics, radiation chemistry, macromolecular and cellular biology, evolution science, basic neurophysiology, and medical therapies; how beam lines and facilities at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory can be improved for these experiments; and implications in priorities and funding for national policy. Workshop topics included physics and facilities, cellular and molecular biology, tissue radiobiology, and the future of heavy ion research.

Relations between intuitive biological thinking and biological misconceptions in biology majors and nonmajors.

Science.gov (United States)

Coley, John D; Tanner, Kimberly

2015-03-02

Research and theory development in cognitive psychology and science education research remain largely isolated. Biology education researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed misconceptions, among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, cognitive and developmental psychologists have described intuitive conceptual systems--teleological, essentialist, and anthropocentric thinking--that humans use to reason about biology. We hypothesize that seemingly unrelated biological misconceptions may have common origins in these intuitive ways of knowing, termed cognitive construals. We presented 137 undergraduate biology majors and nonmajors with six biological misconceptions. They indicated their agreement with each statement, and explained their rationale for their response. Results indicate frequent agreement with misconceptions, and frequent use of construal-based reasoning among both biology majors and nonmajors in their written explanations. Moreover, results also show associations between specific construals and the misconceptions hypothesized to arise from those construals. Strikingly, such associations were stronger among biology majors than nonmajors. These results demonstrate important linkages between intuitive ways of thinking and misconceptions in discipline-based reasoning, and raise questions about the origins, persistence, and generality of relations between intuitive reasoning and biological misconceptions. © 2015 J. D. Coley and K. Tanner. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2015 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

The Forgetful Professor and the Space Biology Adventure

Science.gov (United States)

Massa, Gioia D.; Jones, Wanda; Munoz, Angela; Santora, Joshua

2014-01-01

This video was created as one of the products of the 2013 ISS Faculty Fellows Summer Program. Our High School science teacher faculty fellows developed this video as an elementary/middle school education component. The video shows a forgetful professor who is trying to remember something, and along the journey she learns more about the space station, space station related plant science, and the Kennedy Space Center. She learns about the Veggie hardware, LED lighting for plant growth, the rotating garden concept, and generally about space exploration and the space station. Lastly she learns about the space shuttle Atlantis.

Evolution to Space

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Jacob

2013-01-01

This presentation will discuss recent space exploration results (LCROSS, KEPLER, etc.), increase access to space and the small and cube satellites platform as it relates to the future of space exploration. It will highlight the concept of modularization and the use of biology, and specifically synthetic biology in the future. The presentation will be a general public presentation. When speaking to a younger audience, I will discuss my background. All slides contain only public information. No technical ITAR/Export controlled material will be discussed.

Space Biology and Medicine. Volume 4; Health, Performance, and Safety of Space Crews

Science.gov (United States)

Dietlein, Lawrence F. (Editor); Pestov, Igor D. (Editor)

2004-01-01

Volume IV is devoted to examining the medical and associated organizational measures used to maintain the health of space crews and to support their performance before, during, and after space flight. These measures, collectively known as the medical flight support system, are important contributors to the safety and success of space flight. The contributions of space hardware and the spacecraft environment to flight safety and mission success are covered in previous volumes of the Space Biology and Medicine series. In Volume IV, we address means of improving the reliability of people who are required to function in the unfamiliar environment of space flight as well as the importance of those who support the crew. Please note that the extensive collaboration between Russian and American teams for this volume of work resulted in a timeframe of publication longer than originally anticipated. Therefore, new research or insights may have emerged since the authors composed their chapters and references. This volume includes a list of authors' names and addresses should readers seek specifics on new information. At least three groups of factors act to perturb human physiological homeostasis during space flight. All have significant influence on health, psychological, and emotional status, tolerance, and work capacity. The first and most important of these factors is weightlessness, the most specific and radical change in the ambient environment; it causes a variety of functional and structural changes in human physiology. The second group of factors precludes the constraints associated with living in the sealed, confined environment of spacecraft. Although these factors are not unique to space flight, the limitations they entail in terms of an uncomfortable environment can diminish the well-being and performance of crewmembers in space. The third group of factors includes the occupational and social factors associated with the difficult, critical nature of the

Biological and Physical Space Research Laboratory 2002 Science Review

Science.gov (United States)

Curreri, P. A. (Editor); Robinson, M. B. (Editor); Murphy, K. L. (Editor)

2003-01-01

With the International Space Station Program approaching core complete, our NASA Headquarters sponsor, the new Code U Enterprise, Biological and Physical Research, is shifting its research emphasis from purely fundamental microgravity and biological sciences to strategic research aimed at enabling human missions beyond Earth orbit. Although we anticipate supporting microgravity research on the ISS for some time to come, our laboratory has been vigorously engaged in developing these new strategic research areas.This Technical Memorandum documents the internal science research at our laboratory as presented in a review to Dr. Ann Whitaker, MSFC Science Director, in July 2002. These presentations have been revised and updated as appropriate for this report. It provides a snapshot of the internal science capability of our laboratory as an aid to other NASA organizations and the external scientific community.

Identifying biological concepts from a protein-related corpus with a probabilistic topic model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lu Xinghua

2006-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Biomedical literature, e.g., MEDLINE, contains a wealth of knowledge regarding functions of proteins. Major recurring biological concepts within such text corpora represent the domains of this body of knowledge. The goal of this research is to identify the major biological topics/concepts from a corpus of protein-related MEDLINE© titles and abstracts by applying a probabilistic topic model. Results The latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA model was applied to the corpus. Based on the Bayesian model selection, 300 major topics were extracted from the corpus. The majority of identified topics/concepts was found to be semantically coherent and most represented biological objects or concepts. The identified topics/concepts were further mapped to the controlled vocabulary of the Gene Ontology (GO terms based on mutual information. Conclusion The major and recurring biological concepts within a collection of MEDLINE documents can be extracted by the LDA model. The identified topics/concepts provide parsimonious and semantically-enriched representation of the texts in a semantic space with reduced dimensionality and can be used to index text.

In-Vessel Composting of Simulated Long-Term Missions Space-Related Solid Wastes

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez-Carias, Abner A.; Sager, John; Krumins, Valdis; Strayer, Richard; Hummerick, Mary; Roberts, Michael S.

2002-01-01

Reduction and stabilization of solid wastes generated during space missions is a major concern for the Advanced Life Support - Resource Recovery program at the NASA, Kennedy Space Center. Solid wastes provide substrates for pathogen proliferation, produce strong odor, and increase storage requirements during space missions. A five periods experiment was conducted to evaluate the Space Operation Bioconverter (SOB), an in vessel composting system, as a biological processing technology to reduce and stabilize simulated long-term missions space related solid-wastes (SRSW). For all periods, SRSW were sorted into components with fast (FBD) and slow (SBD) biodegradability. Uneaten food and plastic were used as a major FBD and SBD components, respectively. Compost temperature (C), CO2 production (%), mass reduction (%), and final pH were utilized as criteria to determine compost quality. In period 1, SOB was loaded with a 55% FBD: 45% SBD mixture and was allowed to compost for 7 days. An eleven day second composting period was conducted loading the SOB with 45% pre-composted SRSW and 55% FBD. Period 3 and 4 evaluated the use of styrofoam as a bulking agent and the substitution of regular by degradable plastic on the composting characteristics of SRSW, respectively. The use of ceramic as a bulking agent and the relationship between initial FBD mass and heat production was investigated in period 5. Composting SRSW resulted in an acidic fermentation with a minor increase in compost temperature, low CO2 production, and slightly mass reduction. Addition of styrofoam as a bulking agent and substitution of regular by biodegradable plastic improved the composting characteristics of SRSW, as evidenced by higher pH, CO2 production, compost temperature and mass reduction. Ceramic as a bulking agent and increase the initial FBD mass (4.4 kg) did not improve the composting process. In summary, the SOB is a potential biological technology for reduction and stabilization of mission space-related

Application of E-infinity theory to biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Jihuan

2006-01-01

Albert Einstein combined continuous space and time into his special relativity, El-Naschie discovered the transfinite discontinuity of space-time in his E-infinity theory where infinity of dimensions was created. We find a partner of both space-time and E-infinity in biology. In our theory, the number of cells in an organism endows an additional dimension in biology, leading to explanation of many complex phenomena

Interactomes to Biological Phase Space: a call to begin thinking at a new level in computational biology.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davidson, George S.; Brown, William Michael

2007-09-01

Techniques for high throughput determinations of interactomes, together with high resolution protein collocalizations maps within organelles and through membranes will soon create a vast resource. With these data, biological descriptions, akin to the high dimensional phase spaces familiar to physicists, will become possible. These descriptions will capture sufficient information to make possible realistic, system-level models of cells. The descriptions and the computational models they enable will require powerful computing techniques. This report is offered as a call to the computational biology community to begin thinking at this scale and as a challenge to develop the required algorithms and codes to make use of the new data.3

Using novel descriptor accounting for ligand-receptor interactions to define and visually explore biologically relevant chemical space.

Science.gov (United States)

Rabal, Obdulia; Oyarzabal, Julen

2012-05-25

The definition and pragmatic implementation of biologically relevant chemical space is critical in addressing navigation strategies in the overlapping regions where chemistry and therapeutically relevant targets reside and, therefore, also key to performing an efficient drug discovery project. Here, we describe the development and implementation of a simple and robust method for representing biologically relevant chemical space as a general reference according to current knowledge, independently of any reference space, and analyzing chemical structures accordingly. Underlying our method is the generation of a novel descriptor (LiRIf) that converts structural information into a one-dimensional string accounting for the plausible ligand-receptor interactions as well as for topological information. Capitalizing on ligand-receptor interactions as a descriptor enables the clustering, profiling, and comparison of libraries of compounds from a chemical biology and medicinal chemistry perspective. In addition, as a case study, R-groups analysis is performed to identify the most populated ligand-receptor interactions according to different target families (GPCR, kinases, etc.), as well as to evaluate the coverage of biologically relevant chemical space by structures annotated in different databases (ChEMBL, Glida, etc.).

Theories and models on the biological of cells in space

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, P.; Klaus, D. M.

1996-01-01

A wide variety of observations on cells in space, admittedly made under constraining and unnatural conditions in may cases, have led to experimental results that were surprising or unexpected. Reproducibility, freedom from artifacts, and plausibility must be considered in all cases, even when results are not surprising. The papers in symposium on 'Theories and Models on the Biology of Cells in Space' are dedicated to the subject of the plausibility of cellular responses to gravity -- inertial accelerations between 0 and 9.8 m/sq s and higher. The mechanical phenomena inside the cell, the gravitactic locomotion of single eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells, and the effects of inertial unloading on cellular physiology are addressed in theoretical and experimental studies.

Quantum relativity theory and quantum space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banai, M.

1984-01-01

A quantum relativity theory formulated in terms of Davis' quantum relativity principle is outlined. The first task in this theory as in classical relativity theory is to model space-time, the arena of natural processes. It is shown that the quantum space-time models of Banai introduced in another paper is formulated in terms of Davis's quantum relativity. The recently proposed classical relativistic quantum theory of Prugovecki and his corresponding classical relativistic quantum model of space-time open the way to introduce, in a consistent way, the quantum space-time model (the quantum substitute of Minkowski space) of Banai proposed in the paper mentioned. The goal of quantum mechanics of quantum relativistic particles living in this model of space-time is to predict the rest mass system properties of classically relativistic (massive) quantum particles (''elementary particles''). The main new aspect of this quantum mechanics is that it provides a true mass eigenvalue problem, and that the excited mass states of quantum relativistic particles can be interpreted as elementary particles. The question of field theory over quantum relativistic model of space-time is also discussed. Finally it is suggested that ''quarks'' should be considered as quantum relativistic particles. (author)

The reflection of life functional entailment and imminence in relational biology

CERN Document Server

Louie, A H

2013-01-01

A. H. Louie’s The Reflection of Life: Functional Entailment and Imminence in Relational Biology is a continuation of the exploratory journey in relational biology which began with his 2009 monograph More Than Life Itself: A Synthetic Continuation in Relational Biology. The theme of his first book was ‘What is life?’; the theme of this sequel is “How do two life forms interact?” Biology is a subject concerned with organization of relations. Relational biology is the approach that advocates ‘function dictates structure”, rather than ‘structure implies function’. It is mathematics decoded into biological realizations. The book demonstrates some of the powers of the approach of relational biology, and illustrates how pertinent problems in biology can be better addressed this way. In the first volume the theory was developed by using partially ordered sets, lattices, simulations, models, Aristotle’s four causes, graphs, categories, simple and complex systems, anticipatory systems, and metabolis...

The Value of Humans in the Biological Exploration of Space

Science.gov (United States)

Cockell, C. S.

2004-06-01

Regardless of the discovery of life on Mars, or of "no apparent life" on Mars, the questions that follow will provide a rich future for biological exploration. Extraordinary pattern recognition skills, decadal assimilation of data and experience, and rapid sample acquisition are just three of the characteristics that make humans the best means we have to explore the biological potential of Mars and other planetary surfaces. I make the case that instead of seeing robots as in conflict, or even in support, of human exploration activity, from the point of view of scientific data gathering and analysis, we should view humans as the most powerful robots we have, thus removing the separation that dogs discussions on the exploration of space. The narrow environmental requirements of humans, although imposing constraints on the life support systems required, is more than compensated for by their capabilities in biological exploration. I support this view with an example of the "Christmas present effect," a simple demonstration of human data and pattern recognition capabilities.

Investigations in space-related molecular biology. [cryo-electron microscopic and diffraction studies on terrestrial and extraterrestrial specimens

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez-Moran, H.; Pritzker, A. N.

1974-01-01

Improved instrumentation and preparation techniques for high resolution, high voltage cryo-electron microscopic and diffraction studies on terrestrial and extraterrestrial specimens are reported. Computer correlated ultrastructural and biochemical work on hydrated and dried cell membranes and related biological systems provided information on membrane organization, ice crystal formation and ordered water, RNA virus linked to cancer, lunar rock samples, and organometallic superconducting compounds. Apollo 11, 12, 14, and 15 specimens were analyzed

Genetics in Relation to Biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, J. Bird

1987-01-01

Claims that most instruction dealing with genetics is limited to sex education and personal hygiene. Suggests that the biology curriculum should begin to deal with other issues related to genetics, including genetic normality, prenatal diagnoses, race, and intelligence. Predicts these topics will begin to appear in British examination programs.…

Networks In Real Space: Characteristics and Analysis for Biology and Mechanics

Science.gov (United States)

Modes, Carl; Magnasco, Marcelo; Katifori, Eleni

Functional networks embedded in physical space play a crucial role in countless biological and physical systems, from the efficient dissemination of oxygen, blood sugars, and hormonal signals in vascular systems to the complex relaying of informational signals in the brain to the distribution of stress and strain in architecture or static sand piles. Unlike their more-studied abstract cousins, such as the hyperlinked internet, social networks, or economic and financial connections, these networks are both constrained by and intimately connected to the physicality of their real, embedding space. We report on the results of new computational and analytic approaches tailored to these physical networks with particular implications and insights for mammalian organ vasculature.

Biospheric Life Support - integrating biological regeneration into protection of humans in space.

Science.gov (United States)

Rocha, Mauricio; Iha, Koshun

2016-07-01

A biosphere stands for a set of biomes (regional biological communities) interacting in a materially closed (though energetically open) ecological system (CES). Earth's biosphere, the thin layer of life on the planet's surface, can be seen as a natural CES- where life "consumables" are regenerated/restored via biological, geological and chemical processes. In Life Sciences, artificial CESs- local ecosystems extracts with varying scales and degrees of closure, are considered convenient/representatives objects of study. For outer space, these concepts have been applied to the issue of life support- a significant consideration as long as distance from Earth increases. In the nineties, growing on the Russian expertise on biological life support, backed by a multidisciplinary science team, the famous Biosphere 2 appeared. That private project innovated, by assembling a set of Earth biomes samples- plus an organic ag one, inside a closed Mars base-like structure, next to 1.5 ha under glass, in Arizona, US. The crew of 8 inside completed their two years contract, though facing setbacks- the system failed, e.g., to produce enough food/air supplies. But their "failures"- if this word can be fairly applied to science endeavors, were as meaningful as their achievements for the future of life support systems (LSS) research. By this period, the Russians had accumulated experience in extended orbital stays, achieving biological outcomes inside their stations- e.g. complete wheat cycles. After reaching the Moon, the US administration decided to change national priorities, putting the space program as part of a "détente" policy, to relieve international tensions. Alongside the US space shuttle program, the Russians were invited to join the new International Space Station (ISS), bringing to that pragmatic project, also their physical/chemical LSS- top air/water regenerative technology at the time. Present US policy keeps the ISS operational, extending its service past its planned

GeneLab: NASA's Open Access, Collaborative Platform for Systems Biology and Space Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Berrios, Daniel C.; Thompson, Terri G.; Fogle, Homer W.; Rask, Jon C.; Coughlan, Joseph C.

2015-01-01

NASA is investing in GeneLab1 (http:genelab.nasa.gov), a multi-year effort to maximize utilization of the limited resources to conduct biological and medical research in space, principally aboard the International Space Station (ISS). High-throughput genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic or other omics analyses from experiments conducted on the ISS will be stored in the GeneLab Data Systems (GLDS), an open-science information system that will also include a biocomputation platform with collaborative science capabilities, to enable the discovery and validation of molecular networks.

The Extended Relativity Theory in Clifford Spaces

CERN Document Server

Castro, C

2004-01-01

A brief review of some of the most important features of the Extended Relativity theory in Clifford-spaces ( $C$-spaces) is presented whose " point" coordinates are noncommuting Clifford-valued quantities and which incoporate the lines, areas, volumes, .... degrees of freedom associated with the collective particle, string, membrane, ... dynamics of the $p$-loop histories (closed p-branes) living in target $D$-dimensional spacetime backgrounds. $C$-space Relativity naturally incoporates the ideas of an invariant length (Planck scale), maximal acceleration, noncommuting coordinates, supersymmetry, holography, superluminal propagation, higher derivative gravity with torsion and variable dimensions/signatures that allows to study the dynamics of all (closed ) p-branes, for all values of $ p $, in a unified footing. It resolves the ordering ambiguities in QFT and the problem of time in Cosmology. A discussion of the maximal-acceleration Relativity principle in phase-spaces follows along with the study of the inva...

Social network size relates to developmental neural sensitivity to biological motion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L.A. Kirby

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The ability to perceive others’ actions and goals from human motion (i.e., biological motion perception is a critical component of social perception and may be linked to the development of real-world social relationships. Adult research demonstrates two key nodes of the brain’s biological motion perception system—amygdala and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS—are linked to variability in social network properties. The relation between social perception and social network properties, however, has not yet been investigated in middle childhood—a time when individual differences in social experiences and social perception are growing. The aims of this study were to (1 replicate past work showing amygdala and pSTS sensitivity to biological motion in middle childhood; (2 examine age-related changes in the neural sensitivity for biological motion, and (3 determine whether neural sensitivity for biological motion relates to social network characteristics in children. Consistent with past work, we demonstrate a significant relation between social network size and neural sensitivity for biological motion in left pSTS, but do not find age-related change in biological motion perception. This finding offers evidence for the interplay between real-world social experiences and functional brain development and has important implications for understanding disorders of atypical social experience. Keywords: Biological motion, Social networks, Middle childhood, Neural specialization, Brain-behavior relations, pSTS

The relative biological effectiveness of antiprotons

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holzscheiter, Michael H.; Alsner, Jan; Bassler, Niels

2016-01-01

Background and purpose: Aside from the enhancement of physical dose deposited by antiprotons annihilating in tissue-like material compared to protons of the same range a further increase of biological effective dose has been demonstrated. This enhancement can be expressed in an increase of the re......Background and purpose: Aside from the enhancement of physical dose deposited by antiprotons annihilating in tissue-like material compared to protons of the same range a further increase of biological effective dose has been demonstrated. This enhancement can be expressed in an increase...... of the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of antiprotons near the end of range. We have performed the first-ever direct measurement of the RBE of antiprotons both at rest and in flight. Materials and methods: Experimental data were generated on the RBE of an antiproton beam entering a tissue-like target...

Effects of space environment on biological characters of cultured rose seedlings

Science.gov (United States)

Min, L.; Huai, X.; Jinying, L.; Yi, P.; Chunhua, Z.

Cultured rose seedlings were carried into space by SHENZHOU-4 spacecraft and then used as the experimental material to investigate effects of the space environmental conditions on morphology cytology physiology and molecular biology of the seedlings After loaded on the space flight the plant s height number of leaves and fresh weight per seedling were all increased significantly compared to the ground controls The content of chlorophyll was basically unchanged In some cells the ultrastructural changes involved twist contraction and deformation of cell wall curvature and loose arrangement of lamellae of some chloroplasts and a significant increase in number of starch grains per chloroplast In addition the number of mitochondria increased but some mitochondrial outer membrane broke and some mitochondrial cristae disappeared The activities of the defense enzymes such as superoxide dismutase peroxidase and catalyse in rose leaves increased and the content of malondialdehyde decreased In the RAPD analysis with 40 10-mer primers 36 primers generated 148 DNA bands from both of the space flight treated seedlings and the ground controls and five primers amplified polymorphic products The rate of DNA variation was 6 34

A theory of biological relativity: no privileged level of causation.

Science.gov (United States)

Noble, Denis

2012-02-06

Must higher level biological processes always be derivable from lower level data and mechanisms, as assumed by the idea that an organism is completely defined by its genome? Or are higher level properties necessarily also causes of lower level behaviour, involving actions and interactions both ways? This article uses modelling of the heart, and its experimental basis, to show that downward causation is necessary and that this form of causation can be represented as the influences of initial and boundary conditions on the solutions of the differential equations used to represent the lower level processes. These insights are then generalized. A priori, there is no privileged level of causation. The relations between this form of 'biological relativity' and forms of relativity in physics are discussed. Biological relativity can be seen as an extension of the relativity principle by avoiding the assumption that there is a privileged scale at which biological functions are determined.

Relativity effects for space-based coherent lidar experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Gudimetla, V. S. Rao

1996-01-01

An effort was initiated last year in the Astrionics Laboratory at Marshall Space Flight Center to examine and incorporate, if necessary, the effects of relativity in the design of space-based lidar systems. A space-based lidar system, named AEOLUS, is under development at Marshall Space Flight Center and it will be used to accurately measure atmospheric wind profiles. Effects of relativity were also observed in the performance of space-based systems, for example in case of global positioning systems, and corrections were incorporated into the design of instruments. During the last summer, the effects of special relativity on the design of space-based lidar systems were studied in detail, by analyzing the problem of laser scattering off a fixed target when the source and a co-located receiver are moving on a spacecraft. Since the proposed lidar system uses a coherent detection system, errors even in the order of a few microradians must be corrected to achieve a good signal-to-noise ratio. Previous analysis assumed that the ground is flat and the spacecraft is moving parallel to the ground, and developed analytical expressions for the location, direction and Doppler shift of the returning radiation. Because of the assumptions used in that analysis, only special relativity effects were involved. In this report, that analysis is extended to include general relativity and calculate its effects on the design.

Spaces of the possible: universal Darwinism and the wall between technological and biological innovation

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Andreas; Rosen, William

2014-01-01

Innovations in biological evolution and in technology have many common features. Some of them involve similar processes, such as trial and error and horizontal information transfer. Others describe analogous outcomes such as multiple independent origins of similar innovations. Yet others display similar temporal patterns such as episodic bursts of change separated by periods of stasis. We review nine such commonalities, and propose that the mathematical concept of a space of innovations, discoveries or designs can help explain them. This concept can also help demolish a persistent conceptual wall between technological and biological innovation. PMID:24850903

Frontiers in mathematical biology

CERN Document Server

1994-01-01

Volume 100, which is the final volume of the LNBM series serves to commemorate the acievements in two decades of this influential collection of books in mathematical biology. The contributions, by the leading mathematical biologists, survey the state of the art in the subject, and offer speculative, philosophical and critical analyses of the key issues confronting the field. The papers address fundamental issues in cell and molecular biology, organismal biology, evolutionary biology, population ecology, community and ecosystem ecology, and applied biology, plus the explicit and implicit mathematical challenges. Cross-cuttting issues involve the problem of variation among units in nonlinear systems, and the related problems of the interactions among phenomena across scales of space, time and organizational complexity.

Special relativity and space-time geometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Molski, M.

An attempt has been made to formulate the special theory of relativity in a space-time that is explicitly absolute and strictly determines the kinematical characteristics of a particle in uniform translational motion. The approach developed is consistent with Einstein's relativity and permits explanation of the inertia phenomenon.

Automated Miniaturized Instrument for Space Biology Applications and the Monitoring of the Astronauts Health Onboard the ISS

Science.gov (United States)

Karouia, Fathi; Peyvan, Kia; Danley, David; Ricco, Antonio J.; Santos, Orlando; Pohorille, Andrew

2011-01-01

Human space travelers experience a unique environment that affects homeostasis and physiologic adaptation. The spacecraft environment subjects the traveler to noise, chemical and microbiological contaminants, increased radiation, and variable gravity forces. As humans prepare for long-duration missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and beyond, effective measures must be developed, verified and implemented to ensure mission success. Limited biomedical quantitative capabilities are currently available onboard the ISS. Therefore, the development of versatile instruments to perform space biological analysis and to monitor astronauts' health is needed. We are developing a fully automated, miniaturized system for measuring gene expression on small spacecraft in order to better understand the influence of the space environment on biological systems. This low-cost, low-power, multi-purpose instrument represents a major scientific and technological advancement by providing data on cellular metabolism and regulation. The current system will support growth of microorganisms, extract and purify the RNA, hybridize it to the array, read the expression levels of a large number of genes by microarray analysis, and transmit the measurements to Earth. The system will help discover how bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics and how pathogenic bacteria sometimes increase their virulence in space, facilitating the development of adequate countermeasures to decrease risks associated with human spaceflight. The current stand-alone technology could be used as an integrated platform onboard the ISS to perform similar genetic analyses on any biological systems from the tree of life. Additionally, with some modification the system could be implemented to perform real-time in-situ microbial monitoring of the ISS environment (air, surface and water samples) and the astronaut's microbiome using 16SrRNA microarray technology. Furthermore, the current system can be enhanced

Future Food Production System Development Pulling From Space Biology Crop Growth Testing in Veggie

Science.gov (United States)

Massa, Gioia; Romeyn, Matt; Fritsche, Ralph

2017-01-01

lessons, as we learn about growing at different scales and move toward developing systems that require less launch mass. Veggie will be used as a test bed for novel food production technologies. Veggie is a relatively simple precursor food production system but the knowledge gained from space biology validation tests in Veggie will have far reaching repercussions on future exploration food production. This work is supported by NASA.

Smarandache Spaces as a New Extension of the Basic Space-Time of General Relativity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rabounski D.

2010-04-01

Full Text Available This short letter manifests how Smarandache geometries can be employed in order to extend the “classical” basis of the General Theory of Relativity (Riemannian geometry through joining the properties of two or more (different geometries in the same single space. Perspectives in this way seem much profitable: the basic space-time of General Relativity can be extended to not only metric geometries, but even to non-metric ones (where no distances can be measured, or to spaces of the mixed kind which possess the properties of both metric and non-metric spaces (the latter should be referred to as “semi-metric spaces”. If both metric and non-metric properties possessed at the same (at least one point of a space, it is one of Smarandache geometries, and should be re- ferred to as “Smarandache semi-metric space”. Such spaces can be introduced accord- ing to the mathematical apparatus of physically observable quantities (chronometric invariants, if we consider a breaking of the observable space metric in the continuous background of the fundamental metric tensor.

Cell Culture in Microgravity: Opening the Door to Space Cell Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Pellis, Neal R.; Dawson, David L. (Technical Monitor)

1999-01-01

Adaptational response of human cell populations to microgravity is investigated using simulation, short-term Shuttle experiments, and long-term microgravity. Simulation consists of a clinostatically-rotated cell culture system. The system is a horizontally-rotated cylinder completely filled with culture medium. Low speed rotation results in continuous-fall of the cells through the fluid medium. In this setting, cells: 1) aggregate, 2) propagate in three dimensions, 3) synthesize matrix, 4) differentiate, and 5) form sinusoids that facilitate mass transfer. Space cell culture is conducted in flight bioreactors and in static incubators. Cells grown in microgravity are: bovine cartilage, promyelocytic leukemia, kidney proximal tubule cells, adrenal medulla, breast and colon cancer, and endothelium. Cells were cultured in space to test specific hypotheses. Cartilage cells were used to determine structural differences in cartilage grown in space compared to ground-based bioreactors. Results from a 130-day experiment on Mir revealed that cartilage grown in space was substantially more compressible due to insufficient glycosaminoglycan in the matrix. Interestingly, earth-grown cartilage conformed better to the dimensions of the scaffolding material, while the Mir specimens were spherical. The other cell populations are currently being analyzed for cell surface properties, gene expression, and differentiation. Results suggest that some cells spontaneously differentiate in microgravity. Additionally, vast changes in gene expression may occur in response to microgravity. In conclusion, the transition to microgravity may constitute a physical perturbation in cells resulting in unique gene expressions, the consequences of which may be useful in tissue engineering, disease modeling, and space cell biology.

Magnetic Nanotweezers for Interrogating Biological Processes in Space and Time.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ji-Wook; Jeong, Hee-Kyung; Southard, Kaden M; Jun, Young-Wook; Cheon, Jinwoo

2018-04-17

The ability to sense and manipulate the state of biological systems has been extensively advanced during the past decade with the help of recent developments in physical tools. Unlike standard genetic and pharmacological perturbation techniques-knockdown, overexpression, small molecule inhibition-that provide a basic on/off switching capability, these physical tools provide the capacity to control the spatial, temporal, and mechanical properties of the biological targets. Among the various physical cues, magnetism offers distinct advantages over light or electricity. Magnetic fields freely penetrate biological tissues and are already used for clinical applications. As one of the unique features, magnetic fields can be transformed into mechanical stimuli which can serve as a cue in regulating biological processes. However, their biological applications have been limited due to a lack of high-performance magnetism-to-mechanical force transducers with advanced spatiotemporal capabilities. In this Account, we present recent developments in magnetic nanotweezers (MNTs) as a useful tool for interrogating the spatiotemporal control of cells in living tissue. MNTs are composed of force-generating magnetic nanoparticles and field generators. Through proper design and the integration of individual components, MNTs deliver controlled mechanical stimulation to targeted biomolecules at any desired space and time. We first discuss about MNT configuration with different force-stimulation modes. By modulating geometry of the magnetic field generator, MNTs exert pulling, dipole-dipole attraction, and rotational forces to the target specifically and quantitatively. We discuss the key physical parameters determining force magnitude, which include magnetic field strength, magnetic field gradient, magnetic moment of the magnetic particle, as well as distance between the field generator and the particle. MNTs also can be used over a wide range of biological time scales. By simply

Biological and psychosocial effects of space travel: A case study

Science.gov (United States)

Hsia, Robert Edward Tien Ming

This dissertation interviewed a single astronaut to explore psychosocial issues relevant to long-duration space travel and how these issues relate to the astronaut's training. It examined the psychological impact of isolation, crew interaction, and the experience of microgravity with the goal of increasing understanding of how to foster crew survivability and positive small group interactions in space (Santy, 1994). It also focused on how to develop possible treatments for crews when they transition back to Earth from the extreme environment of space missions. The astronaut's responses agreed with the literature and the predictions for long-duration space missions except the participant reported no temporary or permanent cognitive or memory deficits due to microgravity exposure. The dissertation identified five frequently endorsed themes including communication, environmental stressors, personal strengths, un-researched problems, and other. The agreement found between the literature and astronaut's responses offer a strong foundation of questions and data that needs to be further studied before conducting research in space or long-duration space missions.

GeneLab Phase 2: Integrated Search Data Federation of Space Biology Experimental Data

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, P. B.; Berrios, D. C.; Gurram, M. M.; Hashim, J. C. M.; Raghunandan, S.; Lin, S. Y.; Le, T. Q.; Heher, D. M.; Thai, H. T.; Welch, J. D.;

On Beyond Star Trek: Synthetic Biology and the Future of Space Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Rothschild, Lynn J.

2017-01-01

A turtle carries its own habitat. While it is reliable, it costs energy. NASA makes the same trade-off when it transports habitats and other structures needed to lunar and planetary surfaces increasing upmass, and affecting other mission goals. Long-term human space presence requires periodic replenishment, adding a massive cost overhead. Even robotic missions often sacrifice science goals for heavy radiation and thermal protection. Biology has the potential to solve these problems because it can replicate and repair itself, and do a wide variety of chemical reactions including making food, fuel and materials. Synthetic biology enhances and expands life's evolved repertoire. Using organisms as feedstock, additive manufacturing could make possible the dream of producing bespoke tools, food, smart fabrics and even replacement organs on demand. Imagine what new products can be enabled by such a technology, on earth or beyond!

Evolution and Personal Religious Belief: Christian University Biology-Related Majors' Search for Reconciliation

Science.gov (United States)

Winslow, Mark W.; Staver, John R.; Scharmann, Lawrence C.

2011-01-01

The goal of this study was to explore Christian biology-related majors' perceptions of conflicts between evolution and their religious beliefs. This naturalistic study utilized a case study design of 15 undergraduate biology-related majors at or recent biology-related graduates from a mid-western Christian university. The broad sources of data…

Spaces of the possible: universal Darwinism and the wall between technological and biological innovation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Andreas; Rosen, William

2014-08-06

Innovations in biological evolution and in technology have many common features. Some of them involve similar processes, such as trial and error and horizontal information transfer. Others describe analogous outcomes such as multiple independent origins of similar innovations. Yet others display similar temporal patterns such as episodic bursts of change separated by periods of stasis. We review nine such commonalities, and propose that the mathematical concept of a space of innovations, discoveries or designs can help explain them. This concept can also help demolish a persistent conceptual wall between technological and biological innovation. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Theories and models of the biology of the cell in space--an introduction

Science.gov (United States)

Cogoli, A.; Cogoli-Greuter, M.

1994-01-01

The World Space Congress 1992 took place after two Spacelab flights with important biological payloads on board, the SLS-1 (June 1991) and IML-1 (January 1992) missions respectively. Interesting experiments were carried out in 1991 also on the Shuttle middeck and on the sounding rocket MASER 4. The highlights of the investigations on these missions together with the results of relevant ground-based research were presented at the symposium.

Field theories on conformally related space-times: Some global considerations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Candelas, P.; Dowker, J.S.

1979-01-01

The nature of the vacua appearing in the relation between the vacuum expectation value of stress tensors in conformally flat spaces is clarified. The simple but essential point is that the relevant spaces should have conformally related global Cauchy surfaces. Some commonly occurring conformally flat space-times are divided into two families according to whether they are conformally equivalent to Minkowski space or to the Rindler wedge. Expressions, some new, are obtained for the vacuum expectation value of the stress tensor for a number of illustrative cases. It is noted that thermalization relates the Green's functions of these two families

78 FR 60884 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-02

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... public. Name of Committee: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function... Immunoregulation, Division of Viral Products, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center for Biologics...

76 FR 44016 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-07-22

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... public. Name of Committee: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function... Allergenic Products, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research...

EXTRACTING TOPOLOGICAL RELATIONS BETWEEN INDOOR SPACES FROM POINT CLOUDS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Tran

2017-09-01

Full Text Available 3D models of indoor environments are essential for many application domains such as navigation guidance, emergency management and a range of indoor location-based services. The principal components defined in different BIM standards contain not only building elements, such as floors, walls and doors, but also navigable spaces and their topological relations, which are essential for path planning and navigation. We present an approach to automatically reconstruct topological relations between navigable spaces from point clouds. Three types of topological relations, namely containment, adjacency and connectivity of the spaces are modelled. The results of initial experiments demonstrate the potential of the method in supporting indoor navigation.

77 FR 3780 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-25

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... public. Name of Committee: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function... Products, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA. The...

78 FR 20663 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-05

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... public. Name of Committee: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function..., Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, FDA. FDA intends to...

SPACE 365: Upgraded App for Aviation and Space-Related Information and Program Planning

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, S.; Maples, J. E.; Castle, C. E.

2014-12-01

Foreknowledge of upcoming events and anniversary dates can be extraordinarily valuable in the planning and preparation of a variety of aviation and Space-related educational programming. Alignment of programming with items "newsworthy" enough to attract media attention on their own can result in effective program promotion at low/no cost. Similarly, awareness and avoidance of dates upon which media and public attention will likely be elsewhere can keep programs from being lost in the noise.NASA has created a useful and entertaining app called "SPACE 365" to help supply that foreknowledge. The app contains an extensive database of historical aviation and Space exploration-related events, along with other events and birthdays to provide socio-historical context, as well as an extensive file of present and future space missions, complete with images and videos. The user can search by entry topic category, date, and key words. Upcoming Events allows the user to plan, participate, and engage in significant "don't miss" happenings.The historical database was originally developed for use at the National Air and Space Museum, then expanded significantly to include more NASA-related information. The CIMA team at NASA MSFC, sponsored by the Planetary Science Division, added NASA current events and NASA educational programming information, and are continually adding new information and improving the functionality and features of the app. Features of SPACE 365 now include: NASA Image of the Day, Upcoming NASA Events, Event Save, Do Not Miss, and Ask Dr. Steve functions, and the CIMA team recently added a new start page and added improved search and navigation capabilities. App users can now socialize the Images of the Day via Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and other social media outlets.SPACE 365 is available at no cost from both the Apple appstore and GooglePlay, and has helped NASA, NASM, and other educators plan and schedule programming events. It could help you, too!

Relativity for everyone how space-time bends

CERN Document Server

Fischer, Kurt

2015-01-01

This book, now in a revised and updated second edition, explains the theory of special and general relativity in detail without approaching Einstein's life or the historical background. The text is formulated in such a way that the reader will be able to understand the essence intuitively, and new sections have been added on time machines, the twin paradoxes, and tensors. The first part of the book focuses on the essentials of special relativity. It explains the famous equivalence between mass and energy and tells why Einstein was able to use the theory of electrodynamics as a template for his "electrodynamics of moving bodies". General relativity is then addressed, mainly with the help of thought experiments. Reference is made to the previously introduced special relativity and the equivalence principle and, using many figures, it is explained how space-time is bending under gravity. The climax of the book is the Einstein equation of gravity, which describes the way in which matter bends space-time. The read...

A Hypothesis on Biological Protection from Space Radiation Through the Use of New Therapeutic Gases

Science.gov (United States)

Schoenfeld, Michael P.; Ansari, Rafat R.; Nakao, Atsunori; Wink, David

2011-01-01

Radiation exposure to astronauts could be a significant obstacle for long duration manned space exploration because of current uncertainties regarding the extent of biological effects. Furthermore, concepts for protective shielding also pose a technically challenging issue due to the nature of cosmic radiation and current mass and power constraints with modern exploration technology. The concern regarding exposure to cosmic radiation is the biological damage it induces. As damage is associated with increased oxidative stress, it is important and would be enabling to mitigate and/or prevent oxidative stress prior to the development of clinical symptoms and disease. This paper hypothesizes a "systems biology" approach in which a combination of chemical and biological mitigation techniques are used conjunctively. It proposes using new, therapeutic, medical gases as both chemical radioprotectors for radical scavenging and biological signaling molecules for management of the body s response to exposure. From reviewing radiochemistry of water, biological effects of CO, H2, NO, and H2S gas, and mechanisms of radiation biology, it is concluded that this approach may have great therapeutic potential for radiation exposure. Furthermore, it also appears to have similar potential for curtailing the pathogenesis of other diseases in which oxidative stress has been implicated including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic inflammatory disease, hypertension, ischemia/reperfusion injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, Parkinson s and Alzheimer s disease, cataracts, and aging.

NASA GeneLab Project: Bridging Space Radiation Omics with Ground Studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Beheshti, Afshin; Miller, Jack; Kidane, Yared; Berrios, Daniel; Gebre, Samrawit G; Costes, Sylvain V

2018-04-13

Accurate assessment of risks of long-term space missions is critical for human space exploration. It is essential to have a detailed understanding of the biological effects on humans living and working in deep space. Ionizing radiation from galactic cosmic rays (GCR) is a major health risk factor for astronauts on extended missions outside the protective effects of the Earth's magnetic field. Currently, there are gaps in our knowledge of the health risks associated with chronic low-dose, low-dose-rate ionizing radiation, specifically ions associated with high (H) atomic number (Z) and energy (E). The NASA GeneLab project ( https://genelab.nasa.gov/ ) aims to provide a detailed library of omics datasets associated with biological samples exposed to HZE. The GeneLab Data System (GLDS) includes datasets from both spaceflight and ground-based studies, a majority of which involve exposure to ionizing radiation. In addition to detailed information on radiation exposure for ground-based studies, GeneLab is adding detailed, curated dosimetry information for spaceflight experiments. GeneLab is the first comprehensive omics database for space-related research from which an investigator can generate hypotheses to direct future experiments, utilizing both ground and space biological radiation data. The GLDS is continually expanding as omics-related data are generated by the space life sciences community. Here we provide a brief summary of the space radiation-related data available at GeneLab.

Relations between Intuitive Biological Thinking and Biological Misconceptions in Biology Majors and Nonmajors

Science.gov (United States)

Coley, John D.; Tanner, Kimberly

2015-01-01

Research and theory development in cognitive psychology and science education research remain largely isolated. Biology education researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed "misconceptions," among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, cognitive and developmental psychologists…

Special Relativity Corrections for Space-Based Lidars

Science.gov (United States)

RaoGudimetla, Venkata S.; Kavaya, Michael J.

1999-01-01

The theory of special relativity is used to analyze some of the physical phenomena associated with space-based coherent Doppler lidars aimed at Earth and the atmosphere. Two important cases of diffuse scattering and retroreflection by lidar targets are treated. For the case of diffuse scattering, we show that for a coaligned transmitter and receiver on the moving satellite, there is no angle between transmitted and returned radiation. However, the ray that enters the receiver does not correspond to a retroreflected ray by the target. For the retroreflection case there is misalignment between the transmitted ray and the received ray. In addition, the Doppler shift in the frequency and the amount of tip for the receiver aperture when needed are calculated, The error in estimating wind because of the Doppler shift in the frequency due to special relativity effects is examined. The results are then applied to a proposed space-based pulsed coherent Doppler lidar at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for wind and aerosol backscatter measurements. The lidar uses an orbiting spacecraft with a pulsed laser source and measures the Doppler shift between the transmitted and the received frequencies to determine the atmospheric wind velocities. We show that the special relativity effects are small for the proposed system.

Diffusion processes and related topics in biology

CERN Document Server

Ricciardi, Luigi M

1977-01-01

These notes are based on a one-quarter course given at the Department of Biophysics and Theoretical Biology of the University of Chicago in 1916. The course was directed to graduate students in the Division of Biological Sciences with interests in population biology and neurobiology. Only a slight acquaintance with probability and differential equations is required of the reader. Exercises are interwoven with the text to encourage the reader to play a more active role and thus facilitate his digestion of the material. One aim of these notes is to provide a heuristic approach, using as little mathematics as possible, to certain aspects of the theory of stochastic processes that are being increasingly employed in some of the population biol­ ogy and neurobiology literature. While the subject may be classical, the nov­ elty here lies in the approach and point of view, particularly in the applica­ tions such as the approach to the neuronal firing problem and its related dif­ fusion approximations. It is a ple...

Biological Nanopores: Confined Spaces for Electrochemical Single-Molecule Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Chan; Long, Yi-Tao

2018-02-20

Nanopore sensing is developing into a powerful single-molecule approach to investigate the features of biomolecules that are not accessible by studying ensemble systems. When a target molecule is transported through a nanopore, the ions occupying the pore are excluded, resulting in an electrical signal from the intermittent ionic blockade event. By statistical analysis of the amplitudes, duration, frequencies, and shapes of the blockade events, many properties of the target molecule can be obtained in real time at the single-molecule level, including its size, conformation, structure, charge, geometry, and interactions with other molecules. With the development of the use of α-hemolysin to characterize individual polynucleotides, nanopore technology has attracted a wide range of research interest in the fields of biology, physics, chemistry, and nanoscience. As a powerful single-molecule analytical method, nanopore technology has been applied for the detection of various biomolecules, including oligonucleotides, peptides, oligosaccharides, organic molecules, and disease-related proteins. In this Account, we highlight recent developments of biological nanopores in DNA-based sensing and in studying the conformational structures of DNA and RNA. Furthermore, we introduce the application of biological nanopores to investigate the conformations of peptides affected by charge, length, and dipole moment and to study disease-related proteins' structures and aggregation transitions influenced by an inhibitor, a promoter, or an applied voltage. To improve the sensing ability of biological nanopores and further extend their application to a wider range of molecular sensing, we focus on exploring novel biological nanopores, such as aerolysin and Stable Protein 1. Aerolysin exhibits an especially high sensitivity for the detection of single oligonucleotides both in current separation and duration. Finally, to facilitate the use of nanopore measurements and statistical analysis

Inter-level relations in computer science, biology, and psychology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogerd, Fred; Bruggeman, Frank; Jonker, Catholijn; Looren de Jong, Huib; Tamminga, Allard; Treur, Jan; Westerhoff, Hans; Wijngaards, Wouter

2002-01-01

Investigations into inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology call for an *empirical* turn in the philosophy of mind. Rather than concentrate on *a priori* discussions of inter-level relations between “completed” sciences, a case is made for the actual study of the way

Inter-level relations in computer science, biology, and psychology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogerd, F.; Bruggeman, F.; Jonker, C.M.; Looren de Jong, H.; Tamminga, A.; Treur, J.; Westerhoff, H.V.; Wijngaards, W.C.A.

2002-01-01

Investigations into inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology call for an empirical turn in the philosophy of mind. Rather than concentrate on a priori discussions of inter-level relations between 'completed' sciences, a case is made for the actual study of the way

Inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boogerd, F.C.; Bruggeman, F.J.; Jonker, C.M.; Looren De Jong, H.; Tamminga, A.M.; Treur, J.; Westerhoff, H.V.; Wijngaards, W.C.A.

2002-01-01

Investigations into inter-level relations in computer science, biology and psychology call for an empirical turn in the philosophy of mind. Rather than concentrate on a priori discussions of inter-level relations between "completed" sciences, a case is made for the actual study of the way

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography. Supplement 483

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion.

A biologically inspired scale-space for illumination invariant feature detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vonikakis, Vasillios; Chrysostomou, Dimitrios; Kouskouridas, Rigas; Gasteratos, Antonios

2013-01-01

This paper presents a new illumination invariant operator, combining the nonlinear characteristics of biological center-surround cells with the classic difference of Gaussians operator. It specifically targets the underexposed image regions, exhibiting increased sensitivity to low contrast, while not affecting performance in the correctly exposed ones. The proposed operator can be used to create a scale-space, which in turn can be a part of a SIFT-based detector module. The main advantage of this illumination invariant scale-space is that, using just one global threshold, keypoints can be detected in both dark and bright image regions. In order to evaluate the degree of illumination invariance that the proposed, as well as other, existing, operators exhibit, a new benchmark dataset is introduced. It features a greater variety of imaging conditions, compared to existing databases, containing real scenes under various degrees and combinations of uniform and non-uniform illumination. Experimental results show that the proposed detector extracts a greater number of features, with a high level of repeatability, compared to other approaches, for both uniform and non-uniform illumination. This, along with its simple implementation, renders the proposed feature detector particularly appropriate for outdoor vision systems, working in environments under uncontrolled illumination conditions. (paper)

Advancing cell biology through proteomics in space and time (PROSPECTS)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lamond, A.I.; Uhlen, M.; Horning, S.

2012-01-01

a range of sensitive and quantitative approaches for measuring protein structures and dynamics that promise to revolutionize our understanding of cell biology and molecular mechanisms in both human cells and model organisms. The Proteomics Specification in Time and Space (PROSPECTS) Network is a unique EU......-funded project that brings together leading European research groups, spanning from instrumentation to biomedicine, in a collaborative five year initiative to develop new methods and applications for the functional analysis of cellular proteins. This special issue of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics presents 16...... quantification of protein levels. Manuscripts in this issue exemplify approaches for performing quantitative measurements of cell proteomes and for studying their dynamic responses to perturbation, both during normal cellular responses and in disease mechanisms. Here we present a perspective on how...

Calculation of the relative efficiency of thermoluminescent detectors to space radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bilski, P.

2011-01-01

Thermoluminescent (TL) detectors are often used for measurements of radiation doses in space. While space radiation is composed of a mixture of heavy charged particles, the relative TL efficiency depends on ionization density. The question therefore arises: what is the relative efficiency of TLDs to the radiation present in space? In the attempt to answer this question, the relative TL efficiency of two types of lithium fluoride detectors for space radiation has been calculated, based on the theoretical space spectra and the experimental values of TL efficiency to ion beams. The TL efficiency of LiF:Mg,Ti detectors for radiation encountered at typical low-Earth’s orbit was found to be close to unity, justifying a common application of these TLDs to space dosimetry. The TL efficiency of LiF:Mg,Cu,P detectors is significantly lower. It was found that a shielding may have a significant influence on the relative response of TLDs, due to changes caused in the radiation spectrum. In case of application of TLDs outside the Earth’s magnetosphere, one should expect lower relative efficiency than at the low-Earth’s orbit.

Approaching space-time through velocity in doubly special relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aloisio, R.; Galante, A.; Grillo, A.F.; Luzio, E.; Mendez, F.

2004-01-01

We discuss the definition of velocity as dE/d vertical bar p vertical bar, where E, p are the energy and momentum of a particle, in doubly special relativity (DSR). If this definition matches dx/dt appropriate for the space-time sector, then space-time can in principle be built consistently with the existence of an invariant length scale. We show that, within different possible velocity definitions, a space-time compatible with momentum-space DSR principles cannot be derived

NASA GeneLab Project: Bridging Space Radiation Omics with Ground Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Beheshti, Afshin; Miller, Jack; Kidane, Yared H.; Berrios, Daniel; Gebre, Samrawit G.; Costes, Sylvain V.

2018-01-01

Accurate assessment of risk factors for long-term space missions is critical for human space exploration: therefore it is essential to have a detailed understanding of the biological effects on humans living and working in deep space. Ionizing radiation from Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) is one of the major risk factors factor that will impact health of astronauts on extended missions outside the protective effects of the Earth's magnetic field. Currently there are gaps in our knowledge of the health risks associated with chronic low dose, low dose rate ionizing radiation, specifically ions associated with high (H) atomic number (Z) and energy (E). The GeneLab project (genelab.nasa.gov) aims to provide a detailed library of Omics datasets associated with biological samples exposed to HZE. The GeneLab Data System (GLDS) currently includes datasets from both spaceflight and ground-based studies, a majority of which involve exposure to ionizing radiation. In addition to detailed information for ground-based studies, we are in the process of adding detailed, curated dosimetry information for spaceflight missions. GeneLab is the first comprehensive Omics database for space related research from which an investigator can generate hypotheses to direct future experiments utilizing both ground and space biological radiation data. In addition to previously acquired data, the GLDS is continually expanding as Omics related data are generated by the space life sciences community. Here we provide a brief summary of space radiation related data available at GeneLab.

Concept for an International Standard related to Space Weather Effects on Space Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Tobiska, W. Kent; Tomky, Alyssa

There is great interest in developing an international standard related to space weather in order to specify the tools and parameters needed for space systems operations. In particular, a standard is important for satellite operators who may not be familiar with space weather. In addition, there are others who participate in space systems operations that would also benefit from such a document. For example, the developers of software systems that provide LEO satellite orbit determination, radio communication availability for scintillation events (GEO-to-ground L and UHF bands), GPS uncertainties, and the radiation environment from ground-to-space for commercial space tourism. These groups require recent historical data, current epoch specification, and forecast of space weather events into their automated or manual systems. Other examples are national government agencies that rely on space weather data provided by their organizations such as those represented in the International Space Environment Service (ISES) group of 14 national agencies. Designers, manufacturers, and launchers of space systems require real-time, operational space weather parameters that can be measured, monitored, or built into automated systems. Thus, a broad scope for the document will provide a useful international standard product to a variety of engineering and science domains. The structure of the document should contain a well-defined scope, consensus space weather terms and definitions, and internationally accepted descriptions of the main elements of space weather, its sources, and its effects upon space systems. Appendices will be useful for describing expanded material such as guidelines on how to use the standard, how to obtain specific space weather parameters, and short but detailed descriptions such as when best to use some parameters and not others; appendices provide a path for easily updating the standard since the domain of space weather is rapidly changing with new advances

Birth Order, Age-Spacing, IQ Differences, and Family Relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfouts, Jane H.

1980-01-01

Very close age spacing was an obstacle to high academic performance for later borns. In family relations and self-esteem, first borns scored better and performed in school as well as their potentially much more able younger siblings, regardless of age spacing. (Author)

76 FR 13646 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-14

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... public. Name of Committee: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function... Polysaccharides, Division of Bacterial, Parasitic, and Allergenic Products, Office of Vaccines Research and Review...

77 FR 42319 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-18

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug...: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee: To provide... consideration of the appropriateness of cell lines derived from human tumors for vaccine manufacture. FDA...

75 FR 59729 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-28

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... public. Name of Committee: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function... vaccines for a post-exposure prophylaxis indication using the animal rule. On November 17, 2010, the...

76 FR 55397 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-07

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug... public. Name of Committee: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function... Laboratory of Method Development, Division of Viral Products, Office of Vaccines Research and Review, Center...

Microgravity Fluids for Biology, Workshop

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, DeVon; Kohl, Fred; Massa, Gioia D.; Motil, Brian; Parsons-Wingerter, Patricia; Quincy, Charles; Sato, Kevin; Singh, Bhim; Smith, Jeffrey D.; Wheeler, Raymond M.

2013-01-01

Microgravity Fluids for Biology represents an intersection of biology and fluid physics that present exciting research challenges to the Space Life and Physical Sciences Division. Solving and managing the transport processes and fluid mechanics in physiological and biological systems and processes are essential for future space exploration and colonization of space by humans. Adequate understanding of the underlying fluid physics and transport mechanisms will provide new, necessary insights and technologies for analyzing and designing biological systems critical to NASAs mission. To enable this mission, the fluid physics discipline needs to work to enhance the understanding of the influence of gravity on the scales and types of fluids (i.e., non-Newtonian) important to biology and life sciences. In turn, biomimetic, bio-inspired and synthetic biology applications based on physiology and biology can enrich the fluid mechanics and transport phenomena capabilities of the microgravity fluid physics community.

Lagrangian space consistency relation for large scale structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horn, Bart; Hui, Lam; Xiao, Xiao

2015-01-01

Consistency relations, which relate the squeezed limit of an (N+1)-point correlation function to an N-point function, are non-perturbative symmetry statements that hold even if the associated high momentum modes are deep in the nonlinear regime and astrophysically complex. Recently, Kehagias and Riotto and Peloso and Pietroni discovered a consistency relation applicable to large scale structure. We show that this can be recast into a simple physical statement in Lagrangian space: that the squeezed correlation function (suitably normalized) vanishes. This holds regardless of whether the correlation observables are at the same time or not, and regardless of whether multiple-streaming is present. The simplicity of this statement suggests that an analytic understanding of large scale structure in the nonlinear regime may be particularly promising in Lagrangian space

Travel and biologic therapy: travel-related infection risk, vaccine response and recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Victoria; Johnson, Douglas; Torresi, Joseph

2018-01-01

Biologic therapy has revolutionized the management of refractory chronic autoimmune and auto-inflammatory disease, as well as several malignancies, providing rapid symptomatic relief and/or disease remission. Patients receiving biologic therapies have an improved quality of life, facilitating travel to exotic destinations and potentially placing them at risk of a range of infections. For each biologic agent, we review associated travel-related infection risk and expected travel vaccine response and effectiveness. A PUBMED search [vaccination OR vaccine] AND/OR ['specific vaccine'] AND/OR [immunology OR immune response OR response] AND [biologic OR biological OR biologic agent] was performed. A review of the literature was performed in order to develop recommendations on vaccination for patients in receipt of biologic therapy travelling to high-risk travel destinations. There is a paucity of literature in this area, however, it is apparent that travel-related infection risk is increased in patients on biologic therapy and when illness occurs they are at a higher risk of complication and hospitalization. Patients in receipt of biologic agents are deemed as having a high level of immunosuppression-live vaccines, including the yellow fever vaccine, are contraindicated. Inactivated vaccines are considered safe; however, vaccine response can be attenuated by the patient's biologic therapy, thereby resulting in reduced vaccine effectiveness and protection. Best practice requires a collaborative approach between the patient's primary healthcare physician, relevant specialist and travel medicine expert, who should all be familiar with the immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory effects resulting from the biologic therapies. Timing of vaccines should be carefully planned, and if possible, vaccination provided well before established immunosuppression.

77 FR 63839 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2012-10-17

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug...: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee: To provide...) Virus Monovalent Vaccine manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. On November 15, 2012, the committee will meet...

75 FR 2876 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-19

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug...: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee: To provide... virus vaccine for the 2010 - 2011 influenza season. FDA intends to make background material available to...

76 FR 3639 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-20

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug...: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee: To provide... the influenza virus vaccine for the 2011-2012 influenza season. The committee will also hear an update...

78 FR 5465 - Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-25

...] Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee; Notice of Meeting AGENCY: Food and Drug...: Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. General Function of the Committee: To provide... virus vaccine for the 2013- 2014 influenza season. FDA intends to make background material available to...

The All Terrain Bio nano Gear for Space Radiation Detection System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ummat, Ajay; Mavroidis, Constantinos

2007-01-01

This paper discusses about the relevance of detecting space radiations which are very harmful and pose numerous health issues for astronauts. There are many ways to detect radiations, but we present a non-invasive way of detecting them in real-time while an astronaut is in the mission. All Terrain Bio-nano (ATB) gear system is one such concept where we propose to detect various levels of space radiations depending on their intensity and warn the astronaut of probable biological damage. A basic framework for radiation detection system which utilizes bio-nano machines is discussed. This radiation detection system is termed as 'radiation-responsive molecular assembly' (RMA) for the detection of space radiations. Our objective is to create a device which could detect space radiations by creating an environment equivalent to human cells within its structure and bio-chemically sensing the effects induced therein. For creating such an environment and further bio-chemically sensing space radiations bio-nano systems could be potentially used. These bio-nano systems could interact with radiations and signal based on the intensity of the radiations their relative biological effectiveness. Based on the energy and kind of radiation encountered, a matrix of signals has to be created which corresponds to a particular biological effect. The key advantage of such a design is its ability to interact with the radiation at e molecular scale; characterize its intensity based on energy deposition and relate it to the relative biological effectiveness based on the correspondence established through molecular structures and bond strengths of the bio-nano system

The relativity of biological function.

Science.gov (United States)

Laubichler, Manfred D; Stadler, Peter F; Prohaska, Sonja J; Nowick, Katja

2015-12-01

Function is a central concept in biological theories and explanations. Yet discussions about function are often based on a narrow understanding of biological systems and processes, such as idealized molecular systems or simple evolutionary, i.e., selective, dynamics. Conflicting conceptions of function continue to be used in the scientific literature to support certain claims, for instance about the fraction of "functional DNA" in the human genome. Here we argue that all biologically meaningful interpretations of function are necessarily context dependent. This implies that they derive their meaning as well as their range of applicability only within a specific theoretical and measurement context. We use this framework to shed light on the current debate about functional DNA and argue that without considering explicitly the theoretical and measurement contexts all attempts to integrate biological theories are prone to fail.

Numerical Relativity for Space-Based Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, John G.

2011-01-01

In the next decade, gravitational wave instruments in space may provide high-precision measurements of gravitational-wave signals from strong sources, such as black holes. Currently variations on the original Laser Interferometer Space Antenna mission concepts are under study in the hope of reducing costs. Even the observations of a reduced instrument may place strong demands on numerical relativity capabilities. Possible advances in the coming years may fuel a new generation of codes ready to confront these challenges.

Genelab: Scientific Partnerships and an Open-Access Database to Maximize Usage of Omics Data from Space Biology Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Reinsch, S. S.; Galazka, J..; Berrios, D. C; Chakravarty, K.; Fogle, H.; Lai, S.; Bokyo, V.; Timucin, L. R.; Tran, P.; Skidmore, M.

2016-01-01

NASA's mission includes expanding our understanding of biological systems to improve life on Earth and to enable long-duration human exploration of space. The GeneLab Data System (GLDS) is NASA's premier open-access omics data platform for biological experiments. GLDS houses standards-compliant, high-throughput sequencing and other omics data from spaceflight-relevant experiments. The GeneLab project at NASA-Ames Research Center is developing the database, and also partnering with spaceflight projects through sharing or augmentation of experiment samples to expand omics analyses on precious spaceflight samples. The partnerships ensure that the maximum amount of data is garnered from spaceflight experiments and made publically available as rapidly as possible via the GLDS. GLDS Version 1.0, went online in April 2015. Software updates and new data releases occur at least quarterly. As of October 2016, the GLDS contains 80 datasets and has search and download capabilities. Version 2.0 is slated for release in September of 2017 and will have expanded, integrated search capabilities leveraging other public omics databases (NCBI GEO, PRIDE, MG-RAST). Future versions in this multi-phase project will provide a collaborative platform for omics data analysis. Data from experiments that explore the biological effects of the spaceflight environment on a wide variety of model organisms are housed in the GLDS including data from rodents, invertebrates, plants and microbes. Human datasets are currently limited to those with anonymized data (e.g., from cultured cell lines). GeneLab ensures prompt release and open access to high-throughput genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics data from spaceflight and ground-based simulations of microgravity, radiation or other space environment factors. The data are meticulously curated to assure that accurate experimental and sample processing metadata are included with each data set. GLDS download volumes indicate strong

Bragg peak and relative biological efficiency of different ions

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Lokajíček st., Miloš; Judas, Libor; Kundrát, Pavel

2002-01-01

Roč. 64, Suppl. 1 (2002), S309-S309 ISSN 0167-8140 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR(CZ) KSK4055109 Keywords : Bragg peak * relative biological efficisncy * radiological mechanism Subject RIV: CC - Organic Chemistry Impact factor: 2.838, year: 2002

Materials Manufactured from 3D Printed Synthetic Biology Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Gentry, Diana; Micks, Ashley

2013-01-01

Many complex, biologically-derived materials have extremely useful properties (think wood or silk), but are unsuitable for space-related applications due to production, manufacturing, or processing limitations. Large-scale ecosystem-based production, such as raising and harvesting trees for wood, is impractical in a self-contained habitat such as a space station or potential Mars colony. Manufacturing requirements, such as the specialized equipment needed to harvest and process cotton, add too much upmass for current launch technology. Cells in nature are already highly specialized for making complex biological materials on a micro scale. We envision combining these strengths with the recently emergent technologies of synthetic biology and 3D printing to create 3D-structured arrays of cells that are bioengineered to secrete different materials in a specified three-dimensional pattern.

Visualization of the Left Extraperitoneal Space and Spatial Relationships to Its Related Spaces by the Visible Human Project

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Haotong; Li, Xiaoxiao; Zhang, Zhengzhi; Qiu, Mingguo; Mu, Qiwen; Wu, Yi; Tan, Liwen; Zhang, Shaoxiang; Zhang, Xiaoming

2011-01-01

Background The major hindrance to multidetector CT imaging of the left extraperitoneal space (LES), and the detailed spatial relationships to its related spaces, is that there is no obvious density difference between them. Traditional gross anatomy and thick-slice sectional anatomy imagery are also insufficient to show the anatomic features of this narrow space in three-dimensions (3D). To overcome these obstacles, we used a new method to visualize the anatomic features of the LES and its spatial associations with related spaces, in random sections and in 3D. Methods In conjunction with Mimics® and Amira® software, we used thin-slice cross-sectional images of the upper abdomen, retrieved from the Chinese and American Visible Human dataset and the Chinese Virtual Human dataset, to display anatomic features of the LES and spatial relationships of the LES to its related spaces, especially the gastric bare area. The anatomic location of the LES was presented on 3D sections reconstructed from CVH2 images and CT images. Principal Findings What calls for special attention of our results is the LES consists of the left sub-diaphragmatic fat space and gastric bare area. The appearance of the fat pad at the cardiac notch contributes to converting the shape of the anteroexternal surface of the LES from triangular to trapezoidal. Moreover, the LES is adjacent to the lesser omentum and the hepatic bare area in the anterointernal and right rear direction, respectively. Conclusion The LES and its related spaces were imaged in 3D using visualization technique for the first time. This technique is a promising new method for exploring detailed communication relationships among other abdominal spaces, and will promote research on the dynamic extension of abdominal diseases, such as acute pancreatitis and intra-abdominal carcinomatosis. PMID:22087259

Characterization of Outer Space Radiation Induced Changes in Extremophiles Utilizing Deep Space Gateway Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Venkateswaran, K.; Wang, C.; Smith, D.; Mason, C.; Landry, K.; Rettberg, P.

2018-02-01

Extremophilic microbial survival, adaptation, biological functions, and molecular mechanisms associated with outer space radiation can be tested by exposing them onto Deep Space Gateway hardware (inside/outside) using microbiology and molecular biology techniques.

A new chapter in doctoral candidate training: The Helmholtz Space Life Sciences Research School (SpaceLife)

Science.gov (United States)

Hellweg, C. E.; Gerzer, R.; Reitz, G.

2011-05-01

In the field of space life sciences, the demand of an interdisciplinary and specific training of young researchers is high due to the complex interaction of medical, biological, physical, technical and other questions. The Helmholtz Space Life Sciences Research School (SpaceLife) offers an excellent interdisciplinary training for doctoral students from different fields (biology, biochemistry, biotechnology, physics, psychology, nutrition or sports sciences and related fields) and any country. SpaceLife is coordinated by the Institute of Aerospace Medicine at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne. The German Universities in Kiel, Bonn, Aachen, Regensburg, Magdeburg and Berlin, and the German Sports University (DSHS) in Cologne are members of SpaceLife. The Universities of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Frankfurt, Hohenheim, and the Beihang University in Beijing are associated partners. In each generation, up to 25 students can participate in the three-year program. Students learn to develop integrated concepts to solve health issues in human spaceflight and in related disease patterns on Earth, and to further explore the requirements for life in extreme environments, enabling a better understanding of the ecosystem Earth and the search for life on other planets in unmanned and manned missions. The doctoral candidates are coached by two specialist supervisors from DLR and the partner university, and a mentor. All students attend lectures in different subfields of space life sciences to attain an overview of the field: radiation and gravitational biology, astrobiology and space physiology, including psychological aspects of short and long term space missions. Seminars, advanced lectures, laboratory courses and stays at labs at the partner institutions or abroad are offered as elective course and will provide in-depth knowledge of the chosen subfield or allow to appropriate innovative methods. In Journal Clubs of the participating working groups, doctoral students learn

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 4

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, L. R. (Editor); Radtke, M. (Editor); Garshnek, V. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Rowe, J. E. (Editor)

1986-01-01

The fourth issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Science Digest includes abstracts for 42 Soviet periodical articles in 20 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology and published in Russian during the last third of 1985. Selected articles are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. In addition, translated introductions and tables of contents for 17 Russian books on 12 topics related to NASA's life science concerns are presented. Areas covered are: adaptation, biological rhythms, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cytology, developmental biology, endocrinology, exobiology, habitability and environmental effects, health and medical treatment, hematology, histology, human performance, immunology, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, perception, personnel selection, psychology, and radiobiology. Two book reviews translated from the Russian are included and lists of additional relevant titles available in English with pertinent ordering information are given.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 29

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Lydia Razran (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Rowe, Joseph (Editor)

1991-01-01

This is the twenty-ninth issue of NASA's Space Life Sciences Digest. It is a double issue covering two issues of the Soviet Space Biology and Aerospace Medicine Journal. Issue 29 contains abstracts of 60 journal papers or book chapters published in Russian and of three Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. A review of a book on environmental hygiene and a list of papers presented at a Soviet conference on space biology and medicine are also included. The materials in this issue were identified as relevant to 28 areas of space biology and medicine. The areas are: adaptation, aviation medicine, biological rhythms, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, digestive system, endocrinology, equipment and instrumentation, genetics, habitability and environment effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, reproductive system, space biology and medicine, and the economics of space flight.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 2

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, L. R. (Editor); Radtke, M. (Editor); Garshnek, V. (Editor); Rowe, J. E. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor)

1985-01-01

The second issue of the bimonthly digest of USSR Space Life Sciences is presented. Abstracts are included for 39 Soviet periodical articles in 16 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology and published in Russian during the first half of 1985. Selected articles are illustrated with figures from the original. Translated introductions and tables of contents for 14 Russian books on 11 topics related to NASA's life science concerns are presented. Areas covered are: adaptation, biospheric, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cybernetics and biomedical data processing, gastrointestinal system, group dynamics, habitability and environmental effects, health and medical treatment, hematology, immunology, life support systems, metabolism, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, psychology, radiobiology, and space biology. Two book reviews translated from Russian are included and lists of additional relevant titles available either in English or in Russian only are appended.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 3

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, L. R. (Editor); Radtke, M. (Editor); Garshnek, V. (Editor); Rowe, J. E. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor)

1985-01-01

This is the third issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. Abstracts are included for 46 Soviet periodical articles in 20 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology and published in Russian during the second third of 1985. Selected articles are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. In addition, translated introductions and tables of contents for seven Russian books on six topics related to NASA's life science concerns are presented. Areas covered are adaptation, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, endocrinology, exobiology, gravitational biology, habitability and environmental effects, health and medical treatment, immunology, life support systems, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system; neurophysiology, nutrition, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, and space physiology. Two book reviews translated from the Russian are included and lists of additional relevant titles available in English with pertinent ordering information are given.

[Factors related to the life space of daycare center users].

Science.gov (United States)

Kawamura, Koki; Kato, Chikako; Kondo, Izumi

2018-01-01

We examined the factors related to life space and changes in the care level after one year in daycare center users. The participants were 83 older adults (age, > 65 years; mean age, 79.5±6.8 years) with MMSE scores of ≥20, who could walk independently, who needed support (1-2) or care (1), and who underwent rehabilitation at a daycare center. The life space was evaluated by the Life Space Assessment (LSA). The subjects' basic information (i.e., age, medical history.) was collected, and their physical function (i.e., grip strength, timed up and go test [TUG]), mental function (i.e., vitality, fear of falls), and social function (i.e., friends, hobbies, public transportation) were assessed to investigate the factors associated with their LSA scores. In addition, a follow-up survey was conducted on the care level at approximately one year later. A multiple regression analysis indicated that TUG scores (β=-0.33), hobbies (β=0.30), friends (β=0.29), public transportation (β=0.26), and grip strength (β=0.24) were related to the life space. Next, the participants were divided into LSA-high and LSA-low groups, and changes in the care level (improvement, maintenance, deterioration) at approximately one year after the initial assessment were examined using a chi-squared test. A significant difference was observed in the distribution of the groups (p=0.03). Multiple factors were related to the life space. Moreover, it is possible that improvements in the level of care may be achieved by improving the life space.

Space, geophysical research related to Latin America - Part 2

Science.gov (United States)

Mendoza, Blanca; Shea, M. A.

2016-11-01

For the last 25 years, every two to three years the Conferencia Latinoamericana de Geofísica Espacial (COLAGE) is held in one of the Latin American countries for the purpose of promoting scientific exchange among scientists of the region and to encourage continued research that is unique to this area of the world. At the more recent conference, the community realized that many individuals both within and outside Latin America have contributed greatly to the understanding of the space sciences in this area of the world. It was therefore decided to assemble a Special Issue Space and Geophysical Physics related to Latin America, presenting recent results and where submissions would be accepted from the world wide community of scientists involved in research appropriate to Latin America. Because of the large number of submissions, these papers have been printed in two separate issues. The first issue was published in Advances in Space Research, Vol. 57, number 6 and contained 15 papers. This is the second issue and contains 25 additional papers. These papers show the wide variety of research, both theoretical and applied, that is currently being developed or related to space and geophysical sciences in the Sub-Continent.

Cosmological special relativity the large scale structure of space, time and velocity

CERN Document Server

Carmeli, Moshe

1997-01-01

This book deals with special relativity theory and its application to cosmology. It presents Einstein's theory of space and time in detail, and describes the large scale structure of space, time and velocity as a new cosmological special relativity. A cosmological Lorentz-like transformation, which relates events at different cosmic times, is derived and applied. A new law of addition of cosmic times is obtained, and the inflation of the space at the early universe is derived, both from the cosmological transformation. The book will be of interest to cosmologists, astrophysicists, theoretical

"Lomonosov" Satellite—Space Observatory to Study Extreme Phenomena in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Sadovnichii, V. A.; Panasyuk, M. I.; Amelyushkin, A. M.; Bogomolov, V. V.; Benghin, V. V.; Garipov, G. K.; Kalegaev, V. V.; Klimov, P. A.; Khrenov, B. A.; Petrov, V. L.; Sharakin, S. A.; Shirokov, A. V.; Svertilov, S. I.; Zotov, M. Y.; Yashin, I. V.; Gorbovskoy, E. S.; Lipunov, V. M.; Park, I. H.; Lee, J.; Jeong, S.; Kim, M. B.; Jeong, H. M.; Shprits, Y. Y.; Angelopoulos, V.; Russell, C. T.; Runov, A.; Turner, D.; Strangeway, R. J.; Caron, R.; Biktemerova, S.; Grinyuk, A.; Lavrova, M.; Tkachev, L.; Tkachenko, A.; Martinez, O.; Salazar, H.; Ponce, E.

2017-11-01

The "Lomonosov" space project is lead by Lomonosov Moscow State University in collaboration with the following key partners: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Russia, University of California, Los Angeles (USA), University of Pueblo (Mexico), Sungkyunkwan University (Republic of Korea) and with Russian space industry organizations to study some of extreme phenomena in space related to astrophysics, astroparticle physics, space physics, and space biology. The primary goals of this experiment are to study: Ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECR) in the energy range of the Greizen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) cutoff; Ultraviolet (UV) transient luminous events in the upper atmosphere; Multi-wavelength study of gamma-ray bursts in visible, UV, gamma, and X-rays; Energetic trapped and precipitated radiation (electrons and protons) at low-Earth orbit (LEO) in connection with global geomagnetic disturbances; Multicomponent radiation doses along the orbit of spacecraft under different geomagnetic conditions and testing of space segments of optical observations of space-debris and other space objects; Instrumental vestibular-sensor conflict of zero-gravity phenomena during space flight. This paper is directed towards the general description of both scientific goals of the project and scientific equipment on board the satellite. The following papers of this issue are devoted to detailed descriptions of scientific instruments.

9 CFR 101.3 - Biological products and related terms.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... as required by the regulations. (e) Released product. A finished product released for marketing after... total quantity of completed product which has been thoroughly mixed in a single container and identified... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Biological products and related terms...

Semi-Autonomous Rodent Habitat for Deep Space Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Alwood, J. S.; Shirazi-Fard, Y.; Pletcher, D.; Globus, R.

2018-01-01

NASA has flown animals to space as part of trailblazing missions and to understand the biological responses to spaceflight. Mice traveled in the Lunar Module with the Apollo 17 astronauts and now mice are frequent research subjects in LEO on the ISS. The ISS rodent missions have focused on unravelling biological mechanisms, better understanding risks to astronaut health, and testing candidate countermeasures. A critical barrier for longer-duration animal missions is the need for humans-in-the-loop to perform animal husbandry and perform routine tasks during a mission. Using autonomous or telerobotic systems to alleviate some of these tasks would enable longer-duration missions to be performed at the Deep Space Gateway. Rodent missions performed using the Gateway as a platform could address a number of critical risks identified by the Human Research Program (HRP), as well as Space Biology Program questions identified by NRC Decadal Survey on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, (2011). HRP risk areas of potentially greatest relevance that the Gateway rodent missions can address include those related to visual impairment (VIIP) and radiation risks to central nervous system, cardiovascular disease, as well as countermeasure testing. Space Biology focus areas addressed by the Gateway rodent missions include mechanisms and combinatorial effects of microgravity and radiation. The objectives of the work proposed here are to 1) develop capability for semi-autonomous rodent research in cis-lunar orbit, 2) conduct key experiments for testing countermeasures against low gravity and space radiation. The hardware and operations system developed will enable experiments at least one month in duration, which potentially could be extended to one year in duration. To gain novel insights into the health risks to crew of deep space travel (i.e., exposure to space radiation), results obtained from Gateway flight rodents can be compared to ground control groups and separate groups

The separating topology for the space-times of general relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindstroem, U.

1977-08-01

The separating topology, first suggested by Zeeman, is defined for the space-times of general relativity. It is defined by a basis. A number of properties are derived. The topology induces the ordinary Euclidean topology on space-like hypersurfaces as well as on timelike curves and the discrete topology on null-cones. The group of auto-homeomorphisms is found to be the group of smooth conformal diffeomorphisms if the space-time is strongly causal. (author)

Relating landfill gas emissions to atmospheric pressure using numerical modeling and state-space analysis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poulsen, T.G.; Christophersen, Mette; Moldrup, P.

2003-01-01

were applied: (I) State-space analysis was used to identify relations between gas flux and short-term (hourly) variations in atmospheric pressure. (II) A numerical gas transport model was fitted to the data and used to quantify short-term impacts of variations in atmospheric pressure, volumetric soil......-water content, soil gas permeability, soil gas diffusion coefficients, and biological CH4 degradation rate upon landfill gas concentration and fluxes in the soil. Fluxes and concentrations were found to be most sensitive to variations in volumetric soil water content, atmospheric pressure variations and gas...... permeability whereas variations in CH4 oxidation rate and molecular coefficients had less influence. Fluxes appeared to be most sensitive to atmospheric pressure at intermediate distances from the landfill edge. Also overall CH4 fluxes out of the soil over longer periods (years) were largest during periods...

Creating social spaces to tackle AIDS-related stigma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Campbell, C.; Skovdal, Morten; Gibbs, A.

2011-01-01

be challenged, we systematically review this literature, identifying five themes that highlight the complex and contradictory role of the church as a potential agent of health-enhancing social change. In many ways the church perpetuates HIV/AIDS-related stigma through (i) moralistic attitudes and (ii) its......) providing social spaces for challenging stigmatising ideas and practices. We conclude that church groups, including church leadership, can play a key role in facilitating or hindering the creation of supportive social spaces to challenge stigma. Much work remains to be done in developing deeper...

Life at the Common Denominator: Mechanistic and Quantitative Biology for the Earth and Space Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Hoehler, Tori M.

2010-01-01

The remarkable challenges and possibilities of the coming few decades will compel the biogeochemical and astrobiological sciences to characterize the interactions between biology and its environment in a fundamental, mechanistic, and quantitative fashion. The clear need for integrative and scalable biology-environment models is exemplified in the Earth sciences by the challenge of effectively addressing anthropogenic global change, and in the space sciences by the challenge of mounting a well-constrained yet sufficiently adaptive and inclusive search for life beyond Earth. Our understanding of the life-planet interaction is still, however, largely empirical. A variety of approaches seek to move from empirical to mechanistic descriptions. One approach focuses on the relationship between biology and energy, which is at once universal (all life requires energy), unique (life manages energy flow in a fashion not seen in abiotic systems), and amenable to characterization and quantification in thermodynamic terms. Simultaneously, a focus on energy flow addresses a critical point of interface between life and its geological, chemical, and physical environment. Characterizing and quantifying this relationship for life on Earth will support the development of integrative and predictive models for biology-environment dynamics. Understanding this relationship at its most fundamental level holds potential for developing concepts of habitability and biosignatures that can optimize astrobiological exploration strategies and are extensible to all life.

Space Microbiology

Science.gov (United States)

Horneck, Gerda; Klaus, David M.; Mancinelli, Rocco L.

2010-01-01

Summary: The responses of microorganisms (viruses, bacterial cells, bacterial and fungal spores, and lichens) to selected factors of space (microgravity, galactic cosmic radiation, solar UV radiation, and space vacuum) were determined in space and laboratory simulation experiments. In general, microorganisms tend to thrive in the space flight environment in terms of enhanced growth parameters and a demonstrated ability to proliferate in the presence of normally inhibitory levels of antibiotics. The mechanisms responsible for the observed biological responses, however, are not yet fully understood. A hypothesized interaction of microgravity with radiation-induced DNA repair processes was experimentally refuted. The survival of microorganisms in outer space was investigated to tackle questions on the upper boundary of the biosphere and on the likelihood of interplanetary transport of microorganisms. It was found that extraterrestrial solar UV radiation was the most deleterious factor of space. Among all organisms tested, only lichens (Rhizocarpon geographicum and Xanthoria elegans) maintained full viability after 2 weeks in outer space, whereas all other test systems were inactivated by orders of magnitude. Using optical filters and spores of Bacillus subtilis as a biological UV dosimeter, it was found that the current ozone layer reduces the biological effectiveness of solar UV by 3 orders of magnitude. If shielded against solar UV, spores of B. subtilis were capable of surviving in space for up to 6 years, especially if embedded in clay or meteorite powder (artificial meteorites). The data support the likelihood of interplanetary transfer of microorganisms within meteorites, the so-called lithopanspermia hypothesis. PMID:20197502

The relative biological effectiveness of out-of-field dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balderson, Michael; Koger, Brandon; Kirkby, Charles

2016-01-01

Purpose: using simulations and models derived from existing literature, this work investigates relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for out-of-field radiation and attempts to quantify the relative magnitudes of different contributing phenomena (spectral, bystander, and low dose hypersensitivity effects). Specific attention is paid to external beam radiotherapy treatments for prostate cancer. Materials and methods: using different biological models that account for spectral, bystander, and low dose hypersensitivity effects, the RBE was calculated for different points moving radially out from isocentre for a typical single arc VMAT prostate case. The RBE was found by taking the ratio of the equivalent dose with the physical dose. Equivalent doses were calculated by determining what physical dose would be necessary to produce the same overall biological effect as that predicted using the different biological models. Results: spectral effects changed the RBE out-of-field less than 2%, whereas response models incorporating low dose hypersensitivity and bystander effects resulted in a much more profound change of the RBE for out-of-field doses. The bystander effect had the largest RBE for points located just outside the edge of the primary radiation beam in the cranial caudal (z-direction) compared to low dose hypersensitivity and spectral effects. In the coplanar direction, bystander effect played the largest role in enhancing the RBE for points up to 8.75 cm from isocentre. Conclusions: spectral, bystander, and low dose hypersensitivity effects can all increase the RBE for out-of-field radiation doses. In most cases, bystander effects seem to play the largest role followed by low dose hypersensitivity. Spectral effects were unlikely to be of any clinical significance. Bystander, low dose hypersensitivity, and spectral effect increased the RBE much more in the cranial caudal direction (z-direction) compared with the coplanar directions. (paper)

Spectroscopic characterisation of biological vaterite: relations to synthetic and geological vaterites

Science.gov (United States)

Jacob, D. E.; Wehrmeister, U.; Soldati, A. L.; Hofmeister, W.

2009-04-01

The pair aragonite and calcite are some of the most intensively studied polymorphous minerals. These CaCO3 polymorphs are most commonly observed in biological minerals produced by marine molluscs, whereas in freshwater molluscs mostly aragonite and vaterite, the third CaCO3 polymorph is identified (e.g. Wehrmeister et al., 2007). Vaterite is the thermodynamically most unstable CaCO3 polymorph and is often discussed as a precursor phase in the mineralization of aragonite or calcite by organisms. Apart from these biological parageneses, vaterite is also known as rare small polycrystalline aggregates from geological occurrences. In laboratory crystallisation experiments, vaterite can be stabilized either kinetically or with the help of organic macromolecules (e.g. Falini et al., 2005). Despite considerable research on vaterite, it is less well known that the crystal structure of vaterite is not unobjectionably determined. Due to the overall small crystal sizes, single crystal XRD analysis of vaterite is very difficult and this could be one of the reasons for the lack of a conclusive determination of the crystal structure. At least four different crystal structure proposals have to be considered: One proposed vaterite to be pseudo hexagonal and to crystallise in the orthorhombic space group Pnma (Meyer 1959). In addition, three crystal structures with hexagonal unit cells are proposed: Kamhi (1963) and Meyer (1969) proposed the same crystal space group: P63/mmc, whereas the site symmetry of the carbonate ion is proposed to be different with 2mm and m, respectively. Lastly, Lippmann (1973) proposed a structure based on the high-temperature modification of YbBO3 with space group 6322. Here, we present new and complete Raman spectra for biological, geological and synthetic vaterite. The spectroscopic results are evaluated in light of all published crystal structures for vaterite and are aimed at gaining more detailed information about the crystallographic features of

Interactomes, manufacturomes and relational biology: analogies between systems biology and manufacturing systems

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background We review and extend the work of Rosen and Casti who discuss category theory with regards to systems biology and manufacturing systems, respectively. Results We describe anticipatory systems, or long-range feed-forward chemical reaction chains, and compare them to open-loop manufacturing processes. We then close the loop by discussing metabolism-repair systems and describe the rationality of the self-referential equation f = f (f). This relationship is derived from some boundary conditions that, in molecular systems biology, can be stated as the cardinality of the following molecular sets must be about equal: metabolome, genome, proteome. We show that this conjecture is not likely correct so the problem of self-referential mappings for describing the boundary between living and nonliving systems remains an open question. We calculate a lower and upper bound for the number of edges in the molecular interaction network (the interactome) for two cellular organisms and for two manufacturomes for CMOS integrated circuit manufacturing. Conclusions We show that the relevant mapping relations may not be Abelian, and that these problems cannot yet be resolved because the interactomes and manufacturomes are incomplete. PMID:21689427

The Current Status of the Space Station Biological Research Project: a Core Facility Enabling Multi-Generational Studies under Slectable Gravity Levels

Science.gov (United States)

Santos, O.

2002-01-01

The Space Station Biological Research Project (SSBRP) has developed a new plan which greatly reduces the development costs required to complete the facility. This new plan retains core capabilities while allowing for future growth. The most important piece of equipment required for quality biological research, the 2.5 meter diameter centrifuge capable of accommodating research specimen habitats at simulated gravity levels ranging from microgravity to 2.0 g, is being developed by NASDA, the Japanese space agency, for the SSBRP. This is scheduled for flight to the ISS in 2007. The project is also developing a multi-purpose incubator, an automated cell culture unit, and two microgravity habitat holding racks, currently scheduled for launch in 2005. In addition the Canadian Space Agency is developing for the project an insect habitat, which houses Drosophila melanogaster, and provides an internal centrifuge for 1 g controls. NASDA is also developing for the project a glovebox for the contained manipulation and analysis of biological specimens, scheduled for launch in 2006. This core facility will allow for experimentation on small plants (Arabidopsis species), nematode worms (C. elegans), fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster), and a variety of microorganisms, bacteria, yeast, and mammalian cells. We propose a plan for early utilization which focuses on surveys of changes in gene expression and protein structure due to the space flight environment. In the future, the project is looking to continue development of a rodent habitat and a plant habitat that can be accommodated on the 2.5 meter centrifuge. By utilizing the early phases of the ISS to broadly answer what changes occur at the genetic and protein level of cells and organisms exposed to the ISS low earth orbit environment, we can generate interest for future experiments when the ISS capabilities allow for direct manipulation and intervention of experiments. The ISS continues to hold promise for high quality, long

Geometrical Patterning of Super-Hydrophobic Biosensing Transistors Enables Space and Time Resolved Analysis of Biological Mixtures

KAUST Repository

Gentile, Francesco

2016-01-12

PEDOT:PSS is a conductive polymer that can be integrated into last generation Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) devices for biological inspection, identification and analysis. While a variety of reports in literature demonstrated the chemical and biological sensitivity of these devices, still their ability in resolving complex mixtures remains controversial. Similar OECT devices display good time dynamics behavior but lack spatial resolution. In this work, we integrated PEDOT:PSS with patterns of super-hydrophobic pillars in which a finite number of those pillars is independently controlled for site-selective measurement of a solution. We obtained a multifunctional, hierarchical OECT device that bridges the micro- to the nano-scales for specific, combined time and space resolved analysis of the sample. Due to super-hydrophobic surface properties, the biological species in the drop are driven by convection, diffusion, and the externally applied electric field: the balance/unbalance between these forces will cause the molecules to be transported differently within its volume depending on particle size thus realizing a size-selective separation. Within this framework, the separation and identification of two different molecules, namely Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromid (CTAB) and adrenaline, in a biological mixture have been demonstrated, showing that geometrical control at the micro-nano scale impart unprecedented selectivity to the devices.

Geometrical Patterning of Super-Hydrophobic Biosensing Transistors Enables Space and Time Resolved Analysis of Biological Mixtures

KAUST Repository

Gentile, Francesco; Ferrara, Lorenzo; Villani, Marco; Bettelli, Manuele; Iannotta, Salvatore; Zappettini, Andrea; Cesarelli, Mario; Di Fabrizio, Enzo M.; Coppedè , Nicola

2016-01-01

PEDOT:PSS is a conductive polymer that can be integrated into last generation Organic Electrochemical Transistor (OECT) devices for biological inspection, identification and analysis. While a variety of reports in literature demonstrated the chemical and biological sensitivity of these devices, still their ability in resolving complex mixtures remains controversial. Similar OECT devices display good time dynamics behavior but lack spatial resolution. In this work, we integrated PEDOT:PSS with patterns of super-hydrophobic pillars in which a finite number of those pillars is independently controlled for site-selective measurement of a solution. We obtained a multifunctional, hierarchical OECT device that bridges the micro- to the nano-scales for specific, combined time and space resolved analysis of the sample. Due to super-hydrophobic surface properties, the biological species in the drop are driven by convection, diffusion, and the externally applied electric field: the balance/unbalance between these forces will cause the molecules to be transported differently within its volume depending on particle size thus realizing a size-selective separation. Within this framework, the separation and identification of two different molecules, namely Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromid (CTAB) and adrenaline, in a biological mixture have been demonstrated, showing that geometrical control at the micro-nano scale impart unprecedented selectivity to the devices.

Einstein's space-time an introduction to special and general relativity

CERN Document Server

Ferraro, Rafael

2007-01-01

Einstein's Space-Time: An Introduction to Special and General Relativity is a textbook addressed to students in physics and other people interested in Relativity and a history of physics. The book contains a complete account of Special Relativity that begins with the historical analysis of the reasons that led to a change in our manner of regarding the space and time. The first chapters are aimed to afford a deep understanding of the relativistic spacetime and its consequences for Dynamics. The chapter about covariant formulation includes among its topics the concepts of volume and hypersurfaces in manifolds, energy-momentum tensor of a fluid, and prepares the language for General Relativity. The last two chapters are devoted to an introduction of General Relativity and Cosmology in a modern approach connected with the latest discoveries in these areas.

Risk evaluation of cosmic-ray exposure in long-term manned space mission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujitaka, Kazunobu; Majima, Hideyuki; Ando, Koichi; Yasuda, Hiroshi; Suzuki, Masao

1999-03-01

Long-term manned space missions are planned to be implemented within the first two decades of the 21st century. The International Space Station (ISS) will be ready to run, and a plan to visit Mars is also under way. Humans will live in space for long periods of time and we are planning to do experiments in space to examine various aspects of space science. The main risk in long-term manned space missions is large exposure to space radiation. Human safety must be ensured in space where exposure to cosmic rays is almost 1 mSv a day. As such missions will inevitably result in significant exposure for astronauts, there is increasing need to protect them adequately based on both physical and biological knowledge. A good method to evaluate realistic risk associated with space missions will be in urgent demand. At the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), Chiba, Japan, a research institutes of the Science Technology Agency of Japan, high energy cosmic radiation can be simulated only with heavy ion irradiation accelerated by the particle accelerator, Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator (HIMAC). Research to evaluate risk of space radiation, including physical measurement techniques, protective effects, biological effects and risk adjustment, aging, neuronal cell damage and cancer risk are undergoing. We organized a workshop of the latest topics and experimental results of physics and biology related to space radiation supported by Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST). This workshop was held as a satellite meeting associated with the 32nd Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) Scientific Assembly (Nagoya, July 12-19th, 1998). This volume is an extended proceedings of the workshop. The proceedings contain six main subjects covering the latest information on Risk Evaluation of Cosmic-Ray Exposure in Long-Term Manned Space Mission'. 1. Risk Estimation of Heavy Ion Exposure in Space. 2. Low Dose-Rate Effects and Microbeam-Related Heavy Ions. 3. Chromosome and

On the electromagnetic field and the Teukolsky relations in arbitrary space-times

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coll, B.; Ferrando, J.J.

1985-01-01

The relations on the electromagnetic field obtained by Teukolsky for type D, vacuum space-times are studied. The role played by the maxwellian geometry of the basic tetrad is shown. It is proved that Teukolsky relations are, generically, incomplete. Once completed, their generalization to arbitrary space-times is given [fr

Radiation Measured for Chinese Satellite SJ-10 Space Mission

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Dazhuang; Sun, Yeqing; Zhang, Binquan; Zhang, Shenyi; Sun, Yueqiang; Liang, Jinbao; Zhu, Guangwu; Jing, Tao; Yuan, Bin; Zhang, Huanxin; Zhang, Meng; Wang, Wei; Zhao, Lei

2018-02-01

Space biological effects are mainly a result of space radiation particles with high linear energy transfer (LET); therefore, accurate measurement of high LET space radiation is vital. The radiation in low Earth orbits is composed mainly of high-energy galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles, particles of radiation belts, the South Atlantic Anomaly, and the albedo neutrons and protons scattered from the Earth's atmosphere. CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors sensitive to high LET are the best passive detectors to measure space radiation. The LET method that employs CR-39 can measure all the radiation LET spectra and quantities. CR-39 detectors can also record the incident directions and coordinates of GCR heavy ions that pass through both CR-39 and biosamples, and the impact parameter, the distance between the particle's incident point and the seed's spore, can then be determined. The radiation characteristics and impact parameter of GCR heavy ions are especially beneficial for in-depth research regarding space radiation biological effects. The payload returnable satellite SJ-10 provided an excellent opportunity to investigate space radiation biological effects with CR-39 detectors. The space bio-effects experiment was successfully conducted on board the SJ-10 satellite. This paper introduces space radiation in low Earth orbits and the LET method in radiation-related research and presents the results of nuclear tracks and biosamples hitting distributions of GCR heavy ions, the radiation LET spectra, and the quantities measured for the SJ-10 space mission. The SJ-10 bio-experiment indicated that radiation may produce significant bio-effects.

Countermeasures for Space Radiation Induced Malignancies and Acute Biological Effects

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Ann

The hypothesis being evaluated in this research program is that control of radiation induced oxidative stress will reduce the risk of radiation induced adverse biological effects occurring as a result of exposure to the types of radiation encountered during space travel. As part of this grant work, we have evaluated the protective effects of several antioxidants and dietary supplements and observed that a mixture of antioxidants (AOX), containing L-selenomethionine, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), ascorbic acid, vitamin E succinate, and alpha-lipoic acid, is highly effective at reducing space radiation induced oxidative stress in both in vivo and in vitro systems, space radiation induced cytotoxicity and malignant transformation in vitro [1-7]. In studies designed to determine whether the AOX formulation could affect radiation induced mortality [8], it was observed that the AOX dietary supplement increased the 30-day survival of ICR male mice following exposure to a potentially lethal dose (8 Gy) of X-rays when given prior to or after animal irradiation. Pretreatment of animals with antioxidants resulted in significantly higher total white blood cell and neutrophil counts in peripheral blood at 4 and 24 hours following exposure to doses of 1 Gy and 8 Gy. Antioxidant treatment also resulted in increased bone marrow cell counts following irradiation, and prevented peripheral lymphopenia following 1 Gy irradiation. Supplementation with antioxidants in irradiated animals resulted in several gene expression changes: the antioxidant treatment was associated with increased Bcl-2, and decreased Bax, caspase-9 and TGF-β1 mRNA expression in the bone marrow following irradiation. These results suggest that modulation of apoptosis may be mechanistically involved in hematopoietic system radioprotection by antioxidants. Maintenance of the antioxidant diet was associated with improved recovery of the bone marrow following sub-lethal or potentially lethal irradiation. Taken together

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography With Indexes. Supplement 486

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 492

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This report lists reports, articles and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion.

Marine biology, intertidal ecology, and a new place for biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, Keith R

2015-01-01

At the present time, there is considerable interest for the physical setting of science, that is, its actual 'place' of practice. Among historians of biology, place has been considered to be a crucial component for the study of ecology. Other historians have noted the 'built' environments (laboratories) for the study of biology along the seashore, even referring to these places in terms more applicable to vacation sites. In this paper, I examine the place of intertidal ecology investigations, both in terms of the physical space and the built space. Part of the examination will investigate the aesthetic aspect of the Pacific Coast, part will evaluate the unique character of the intertidal zone, and part will consider the construction of natural laboratories and built laboratories as characteristic places for biology.

The canonical Lagrangian approach to three-space general relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Shyam, Vasudev; Venkatesh, Madhavan

2013-07-01

We study the action for the three-space formalism of general relativity, better known as the Barbour-Foster-Ó Murchadha action, which is a square-root Baierlein-Sharp-Wheeler action. In particular, we explore the (pre)symplectic structure by pulling it back via a Legendre map to the tangent bundle of the configuration space of this action. With it we attain the canonical Lagrangian vector field which generates the gauge transformations (3-diffeomorphisms) and the true physical evolution of the system. This vector field encapsulates all the dynamics of the system. We also discuss briefly the observables and perennials for this theory. We then present a symplectic reduction of the constrained phase space.

Space Plant Biology Research at KSC

Science.gov (United States)

Romeyn, Matthew

2016-01-01

Long duration space exploration will require the capability for crews to grow their own food. Growing food is desirable from a mass-efficiency standpoint, as it is currently not feasible to carry enough prepackaged food on spacecraft to sustain crews for long duration missions. Nutritionally, fresh produce provides key nutrients that are not preserved well in pre-packaged meals (e.g. vitamins C and K) and those that are able to counteract detrimental effects of space flight, such as antioxidants to combat radiation exposure and lutein for decreasing macular degeneration. Additionally, there are significant psychological benefits of maintaining gardens, one being an indicator for the passage of time.

Report of space experiment project, 'Rad Gene', performed in the International Space Station Kibo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohnishi, Takeo; Takahashi, Akihisa; Nagamatsu, Aiko

2010-01-01

This report summarizes results of the project in the title adopted by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) (in 2000) aiming to elucidate the biological effect of space environment, and contains 3 major parts of the process of the experiment, and of findings by analysis after flight and in radioadaptive response. The process for the experiment includes training of the experimenter crew (Dr. S. Magnus) in JAXA, preparation of samples (frozen cells with normal and mutated p53 genes derived from human lymphoblast TK6) and their transfer to the Space Shuttle Endeavour STS-126 launched on Nov. 15, 2008 (Japanese time) for cell culturing in Feb., 2009. Analyses after flight back to the Kennedy Space Center on Mar. 29, 2009, done on the ground in Japan thereafter include the physical evaluation, confirmation of DNA damage, and phenotypic expression with DNA- and protein-arrays (genes induced for expression of p53-related phenotypes in those cells which were stored frozen in the space, thawed on the ground and then cultured, genes induced for expressing the phenotypes and p53-related proteins expressed in cells cultured in space). Physically, total absorbed dose and dose equivalent are found to be respectively 43.5 mGy and 71.2 mSv (0.5 mSv/day). Interestingly, the biologically estimated dose by DNA-double strand breaks detected by γH2AX staining, 94.5 mSv (0.7 mSv/day), in living, frozen cells in space, is close to the above physical dose. Expression experiments of p53-related phenotypes have revealed that expression of 750 or more genes in 41,000 genes in the array is changed: enhanced or suppressed by space radiation, micro-gravity and/or their mixed effects in space environment. In 642 protein antibodies in the array, 2 proteins are found enhanced and 8, suppressed whereas heat-shock protein is unchanged. Radioadaptive response is the acquisition of radio-resistance to acute exposure by previous irradiation of small dose (window width 20-100 mSv) in normal p53

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 9

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran; Radtke, Mike; Teeter, Ronald; Rowe, Joseph E.

1987-01-01

This is the ninth issue of NASA's USSR Space Lifes Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 46 papers recently published in Russian language periodicals and bound collections and of a new Soviet monograph. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. Additional features include reviews of a Russian book on biological rhythms and a description of the papers presented at a conference on space biology and medicine. A special feature describes two paradigms frequently cited in Soviet space life sciences literature. Information about English translations of Soviet materials available to readers is provided. The abstracts included in this issue have been identified as relevant to 28 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology. These areas are: adaptation, biological rhythms, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, gastrointestinal system, genetics, habitability and environment effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, morphology and cytology, musculoskeletal system, nutrition, neurophysiology, operational medicine, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, and space biology and medicine.

A graphical method for reducing and relating models in systems biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Gay, Steven; Soliman, Sylvain; Fages, François

2010-09-15

In Systems Biology, an increasing collection of models of various biological processes is currently developed and made available in publicly accessible repositories, such as biomodels.net for instance, through common exchange formats such as SBML. To date, however, there is no general method to relate different models to each other by abstraction or reduction relationships, and this task is left to the modeler for re-using and coupling models. In mathematical biology, model reduction techniques have been studied for a long time, mainly in the case where a model exhibits different time scales, or different spatial phases, which can be analyzed separately. These techniques are however far too restrictive to be applied on a large scale in systems biology, and do not take into account abstractions other than time or phase decompositions. Our purpose here is to propose a general computational method for relating models together, by considering primarily the structure of the interactions and abstracting from their dynamics in a first step. We present a graph-theoretic formalism with node merge and delete operations, in which model reductions can be studied as graph matching problems. From this setting, we derive an algorithm for deciding whether there exists a reduction from one model to another, and evaluate it on the computation of the reduction relations between all SBML models of the biomodels.net repository. In particular, in the case of the numerous models of MAPK signalling, and of the circadian clock, biologically meaningful mappings between models of each class are automatically inferred from the structure of the interactions. We conclude on the generality of our graphical method, on its limits with respect to the representation of the structure of the interactions in SBML, and on some perspectives for dealing with the dynamics. The algorithms described in this article are implemented in the open-source software modeling platform BIOCHAM available at http

S-Denying of the Signature Conditions Expands General Relativity's Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rabounski D.

2006-07-01

Full Text Available We apply the S-denying procedure to signature conditions in a four-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian space — i. e. we change one (or even all of the conditions to be partially true and partially false. We obtain five kinds of expanded space-time for General Relativity. Kind I permits the space-time to be in collapse. Kind II permits the space-time to change its own signature. Kind III has peculiarities, linked to the third signature condition. Kind IV permits regions where the metric fully degenerates: there may be non-quantum teleportation, and a home for virtual photons. Kind V is common for kinds I, II, III, and IV.

Track structure model of cell damage in space flight

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, Robert; Cucinotta, Francis A.; Wilson, John W.; Shinn, Judy L.; Ngo, Duc M.

1992-01-01

The phenomenological track-structure model of cell damage is discussed. A description of the application of the track-structure model with the NASA Langley transport code for laboratory and space radiation is given. Comparisons to experimental results for cell survival during exposure to monoenergetic, heavy-ion beams are made. The model is also applied to predict cell damage rates and relative biological effectiveness for deep-space exposures.

Cosmological special relativity the large scale structure of space, time and velocity

CERN Document Server

Carmeli, Moshe

2002-01-01

This book presents Einstein's theory of space and time in detail, and describes the large-scale structure of space, time and velocity as a new cosmological special relativity. A cosmological Lorentz-like transformation, which relates events at different cosmic times, is derived and applied. A new law of addition of cosmic times is obtained, and the inflation of the space at the early universe is derived, both from the cosmological transformation. The relationship between cosmic velocity, acceleration and distances is given. In the appendices gravitation is added in the form of a cosmological g

Special relativity induced by granular space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jizba, Petr; Scardigli, Fabio

2013-01-01

We show that the special relativistic dynamics, when combined with quantum mechanics and the concept of superstatistics, can be interpreted as arising from two interlocked non-relativistic stochastic processes that operate at different energy scales. This framework leads to Feynman amplitudes that are, in the Euclidean regime, identical to the transition probability of a Brownian particle propagating through a granular space. For illustration we consider the dynamics and the propagator of a Klein-Gordon particle. Implications for deformed special relativity, quantum field theory, quantum gravity and cosmology are also discussed. (orig.)

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography With Indexes. Supplement 497

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP#2000-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention.

Space Research, Education, and Related Activities In the Space Sciences

Science.gov (United States)

Black, David

2002-01-01

The mission of this activity, known as the Cooperative Program in Space Sciences (CPSS), is to conduct space science research and leading-edge instrumentation and technology development, enable research by the space sciences communities, and to expedite the effective dissemination of space science research, technology, data, and information to the educational community and the general public. To fulfill this mission, the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) recruits and maintains a staff of scientific researchers, operates a series of guest investigator facilities, organizes scientific meetings and workshops, and encourages various interactions with students and university faculty members. This paper is the final report from this now completed Cooperative Agreement.

Synthetic Biology and Human Health: Potential Applications for Spaceflight

Science.gov (United States)

Karouia, Fathi; Carr, Christopher; Cai, Yizhi; Chen, Y.; Grenon, Marlene; Larios-Sanz, Maia; Jones, Jeffrey A.; Santos, Orlando

2011-01-01

Human space travelers experience a unique environment that affects homeostasis and physiologic adaptation. Spaceflight-related changes have been reported in the musculo-skeletal, cardiovascular, neurovestibular, endocrine, and immune systems. The spacecraft environment further subjects the traveler to noise and gravitational forces, as well as airborne chemical, microbiological contaminants, and radiation exposure. As humans prepare for longer duration missions effective countermeasures must be developed, verified, and implemented to ensure mission success. Over the past ten years, synthetic biology has opened new avenues for research and development in areas such as biological control, biomaterials, sustainable energy production, bioremediation, and biomedical therapies. The latter in particular is of great interest to the implementation of long-duration human spaceflight capabilities. This article discusses the effects of spaceflight on humans, and reviews current capabilities and potential needs associated with the health of the astronauts where synthetic biology could play an important role in the pursuit of space exploration.

Relativity for everyone how space-time bends

CERN Document Server

Fischer, Kurt

2013-01-01

This book explains the theory of special and general relativity in detail, without digressions such as information on Einstein's life or the historical background. However, complicated calculations are replaced with figures and thought experiments, the text being formulated in such a way that the reader will be able to understand the gist intuitively. The first part of the book focuses on the essentials of special relativity. Explanations are provided of the famous equivalence between mass and energy and of why Einstein was able to use the theory of electrodynamics as a template for his "electrodynamics of moving bodies", simply because besides the speed of light, the electric charge itself is also absolute, leading to the relativity of other physical quantities. General relativity is then introduced, mainly with the help of thought experiments. Reference is made to the previously introduced special relativity and the equivalence principle and, using many figures, it is explained how space-time is bending und...

Realizations of κ-Minkowski space, Drinfeld twists, and related symmetry algebras

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Juric, Tajron; Meljanac, Stjepan; Pikutic, Danijel [Ruder Boskovic Institute, Theoretical Physics Division, Zagreb (Croatia)

2015-11-15

Realizations of κ-Minkowski space linear in momenta are studied for time-, space- and light-like deformations. We construct and classify all such linear realizations and express them in terms of the gl(n) generators. There are three one-parameter families of linear realizations for timelike and space-like deformations, while for light-like deformations, there are only four linear realizations. The relation between a deformed Heisenberg algebra, the star product, the coproduct of momenta, and the twist operator is presented. It is proved that for each linear realization there exists a Drinfeld twist satisfying normalization and cocycle conditions. κ-Deformed igl(n)-Hopf algebras are presented for all cases. The κ-Poincare-Weyl and κ-Poincare-Hopf algebras are discussed. The left-right dual κ-Minkowski algebra is constructed from the transposed twists. The corresponding realizations are nonlinear. All Drinfeld twists related to κ-Minkowski space are obtained from our construction. Finally, some physical applications are discussed. (orig.)

Realizations of κ-Minkowski space, Drinfeld twists, and related symmetry algebras

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Juric, Tajron; Meljanac, Stjepan; Pikutic, Danijel

2015-01-01

Realizations of κ-Minkowski space linear in momenta are studied for time-, space- and light-like deformations. We construct and classify all such linear realizations and express them in terms of the gl(n) generators. There are three one-parameter families of linear realizations for timelike and space-like deformations, while for light-like deformations, there are only four linear realizations. The relation between a deformed Heisenberg algebra, the star product, the coproduct of momenta, and the twist operator is presented. It is proved that for each linear realization there exists a Drinfeld twist satisfying normalization and cocycle conditions. κ-Deformed igl(n)-Hopf algebras are presented for all cases. The κ-Poincare-Weyl and κ-Poincare-Hopf algebras are discussed. The left-right dual κ-Minkowski algebra is constructed from the transposed twists. The corresponding realizations are nonlinear. All Drinfeld twists related to κ-Minkowski space are obtained from our construction. Finally, some physical applications are discussed. (orig.)

A Hypothesis on Biological Protection from Space Radiation Through the Use of New Therapeutic Gases as Medical Counter Measures

Science.gov (United States)

Schoenfeld, Michael P.; Ansari, Rafat R.; Nakao, Atsunori; Wink, David

2012-01-01

Radiation exposure to astronauts could be a significant obstacle for long duration manned space exploration because of current uncertainties regarding the extent of biological effects. Furthermore, concepts for protective shielding also pose a technically challenging issue due to the nature of cosmic radiation and current mass and power constraints with modern exploration technology. The concern regarding exposure to cosmic radiation is the biological damage it induces. As damage is associated with increased oxidative stress, it is important and would be enabling to mitigate and/or prevent oxidative stress prior to the development of clinical symptoms and disease. This paper hypothesizes a "systems biology" approach in which a combination of chemical and biological mitigation techniques are used conjunctively. It proposes using new, therapeutic, medical gases as both chemical radioprotectors for radical scavenging and biological signaling molecules for management of the body s response to exposure. From reviewing radiochemistry of water, biological effects of CO, H2, NO, and H2S gas, and mechanisms of radiation biology, it is concluded that this approach may have great therapeutic potential for radiation exposure. Furthermore, it also appears to have similar potential for curtailing the pathogenesis of other diseases in which oxidative stress has been implicated including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic inflammatory disease, hypertension, ischemia/reperfusion injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, Parkinson s and Alzheimer s disease, cataracts, and aging.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 14

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran; Teeter, Ronald; Radtke, Mike; Rowe, Joseph

1988-01-01

This is the fourteenth issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 32 papers recently published in Russian language periodicals and bound collections and of three new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. Also included is a review of a recent Soviet conference on Space Biology and Aerospace Medicine. Current Soviet life sciences titles available in English are cited. The materials included in this issue have been identified as relevant to the following areas of aerospace medicine and space biology: adaptation, biological rhythms, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, gastrointestinal systems, habitability and environment effects, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, and space biology and medicine.

Embodiment, Virtual Space, Temporality and Interpersonal Relations in Online Writing

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Catherine; van Manen, Max

2006-01-01

In this paper we discuss how online seminar participants experience dimensions of embodiment, virtual space, interpersonal relations, and temporality; and how interacting through reading-writing, by means of online technologies, creates conditions, situations, and actions of pedagogical influence and relational affectivities. We investigate what…

The osteogenic capacity of biomimetic hierarchical micropore/nanorod-patterned Sr-HA coatings with different interrod spacings.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jianhong; Li, Bo; Han, Yong; Zhao, Lingzhou

2016-07-01

Advanced titanium based bone implant with fast established, rigid and stable osseointegration is stringently needed in clinic. Here the hierarchical micropore/nanorod-patterned strontium doped hydroxyapatite (Ca9Sr1(PO4)6(OH)2, Sr1-HA) coatings (MNRs) with different interrod spacings varying from about 300 to 33nm were developed. MNRs showed dramatically differential biological performance closely related to the interrod spacing. Compared to micropore/nanogranule-patterned Sr1-HA coating (MNG), MNRs with an interrod spacing of larger than 137nm resulted in inhibited in vitro mesenchymal stem cell functions and in vivo osseointegration, while those of smaller than 96nm gave rise to dramatically enhanced the biological effect, especially those of mean 67nm displayed the best effect. The differential biological effect of MNRs was related to their modulation on the focal adhesion mediated mechanotransduction. These results suggest that MNRs with a mean interrod spacing of 67nm may give rise to an advanced implant of improved clinical performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

I'm so tired: biological and genetic mechanisms of cancer-related fatigue

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barsevick, Andrea; Frost, Marlene; Zwinderman, Aeilko; Hall, Per; Halyard, Michele; Abertnethy, Amy P.; Baas, Frank; Barsevick, Andrea M.; Bartels, Meike; Boomsma, Dorret I.; Chauhan, Cynthia; Cleeland, Charles S.; Dueck, Amylou C.; Frost, Marlene H.; Halyard, Michele Y.; Klepstad, Pål; Martin, Nicholas G.; Miaskowski, Christine; Mosing, Miriam; Movsas, Benjamin; van Noorden, Cornelis J. F.; Patrick, Donald L.; Pedersen, Nancy L.; Ropka, Mary E.; Shi, Quiling; Shinozaki, Gen; Singh, Jasvinder A.; Sloan, Jeff A.; Sprangers, Mirjam A. G.; Veenhoven, Ruut; Yang, Ping

2010-01-01

Objective The goal of this paper is to discuss cancer-related fatigue (CRF) and address issues related to the investigation into potential biological and genetic causal mechanisms. The objectives are to: (1) describe CRF as a component of quality of life (QOL); (2) address measurement issues that

Life into Space: Space Life Sciences Experiments, Ames Research Center, Kennedy Space Center, 1991-1998, Including Profiles of 1996-1998 Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

Souza, Kenneth (Editor); Etheridge, Guy (Editor); Callahan, Paul X. (Editor)

2000-01-01

We have now conducted space life sciences research for more than four decades. The continuing interest in studying the way living systems function in space derives from two main benefits of that research. First, in order for humans to engage in long-term space travel, we must understand and develop measures to counteract the most detrimental effects of space flight on biological systems. Problems in returning to the conditions of Earth must be kept to a manageable level. Second, increasing our understanding of how organisms function in the absence of gravity gives us new understanding of fundamental biological processes. This information can be used to improve human health and the quality of life on Earth.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 19

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran (Editor); Donaldson, P. Lynn (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Garshnek, Victoria (Editor); Rowe, Joseph (Editor)

1988-01-01

This is the 19th issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 47 papers published in Russian language periodicals or presented at conferences and of 5 new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. Reports on two conferences, one on adaptation to high altitudes, and one on space and ecology are presented. A book review of a recent work on high altitude physiology is also included. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 33 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas are: adaptation, biological rhythms, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cytology, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, biology, group dynamics, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, man-machine systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, and space biology and medicine.

Ascent, descent, nullity, defect, and related notions for linear relations in linear spaces

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sandovici, Adrian; de Snoo, Henk; Winkler, Henrik

2007-01-01

For a linear relation in a linear space the concepts of ascent, descent, nullity, and defect are introduced and studied. It is shown that the results of A.E. Taylor and M.A. Kaashoek concerning the relationship between ascent, descent, nullity, and defect for the case of linear operators remain

Inferring hidden causal relations between pathway members using reduced Google matrix of directed biological networks

Science.gov (United States)

2018-01-01

Signaling pathways represent parts of the global biological molecular network which connects them into a seamless whole through complex direct and indirect (hidden) crosstalk whose structure can change during development or in pathological conditions. We suggest a novel methodology, called Googlomics, for the structural analysis of directed biological networks using spectral analysis of their Google matrices, using parallels with quantum scattering theory, developed for nuclear and mesoscopic physics and quantum chaos. We introduce analytical “reduced Google matrix” method for the analysis of biological network structure. The method allows inferring hidden causal relations between the members of a signaling pathway or a functionally related group of genes. We investigate how the structure of hidden causal relations can be reprogrammed as a result of changes in the transcriptional network layer during cancerogenesis. The suggested Googlomics approach rigorously characterizes complex systemic changes in the wiring of large causal biological networks in a computationally efficient way. PMID:29370181

[Habitability and biological life support systems for man].

Science.gov (United States)

Gazenko, O G; Grigor'ev, A I; Meleshko, G I; Shepelev, E Ia

1990-01-01

This paper discusses general concepts and specific details of the habitability of space stations and planetary bases completely isolated from the Earth for long periods of time. It emphasizes inadequacy of the present-day knowledge about natural conditions that provide a biologically acceptable environment on the Earth as well as lack of information about life support systems as a source of consumables (oxygen, water, food) and a tool for waste management. The habitability of advanced space vehicles is closely related to closed bioregenerative systems used as life support systems.

Dispersion relations in quantum electrodynamics on the noncommutative Minkowski space

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zahn, J.W.

2006-12-15

We study field theories on the noncommutative Minkowski space with noncommuting time. The focus lies on dispersion relations in quantized interacting models in the Yang-Feldman formalism. In particular, we compute the two-point correlation function of the field strength in noncommutative quantum electrodynamics to second order. At this, we take into account the covariant coordinates that allow the construction of local gauge invariant quantities (observables). It turns out that this does not remove the well-known severe infrared problem, as one might have hoped. Instead, things become worse, since nonlocal divergences appear. We also show that these cancel in a supersymmetric version of the theory if the covariant coordinates are adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, we study the {phi}{sup 3} and the Wess-Zumino model and show that the distortion of the dispersion relations is moderate for parameters typical for the Higgs field. We also discuss the formulation of gauge theories on noncommutative spaces and study classical electrodynamics on the noncommutative Minkowski space using covariant coordinates. In particular, we compute the change of the speed of light due to nonlinear effects in the presence of a background field. Finally, we examine the so-called twist approach to quantum field theory on the noncommutative Minkowski space and point out some conceptual problems of this approach. (orig.)

Dispersion relations in quantum electrodynamics on the noncommutative Minkowski space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahn, J.W.

2006-12-01

We study field theories on the noncommutative Minkowski space with noncommuting time. The focus lies on dispersion relations in quantized interacting models in the Yang-Feldman formalism. In particular, we compute the two-point correlation function of the field strength in noncommutative quantum electrodynamics to second order. At this, we take into account the covariant coordinates that allow the construction of local gauge invariant quantities (observables). It turns out that this does not remove the well-known severe infrared problem, as one might have hoped. Instead, things become worse, since nonlocal divergences appear. We also show that these cancel in a supersymmetric version of the theory if the covariant coordinates are adjusted accordingly. Furthermore, we study the Φ 3 and the Wess-Zumino model and show that the distortion of the dispersion relations is moderate for parameters typical for the Higgs field. We also discuss the formulation of gauge theories on noncommutative spaces and study classical electrodynamics on the noncommutative Minkowski space using covariant coordinates. In particular, we compute the change of the speed of light due to nonlinear effects in the presence of a background field. Finally, we examine the so-called twist approach to quantum field theory on the noncommutative Minkowski space and point out some conceptual problems of this approach. (orig.)

Limit Formulae and Jump Relations of Potential Theory in Sobolev Spaces

OpenAIRE

Raskop, Thomas; Grothaus, Martin

2009-01-01

In this article we combine the modern theory of Sobolev spaces with the classical theory of limit formulae and jump relations of potential theory. Also other authors proved the convergence in Lebesgue spaces for integrable functions. The achievement of this paper is the L2 convergence for the weak derivatives of higher orders. Also the layer functions F are elements of Sobolev spaces and a two dimensional suitable smooth submanifold in R3, called regular Cm-surface. We are considering the pot...

Facility for the evaluation of space communications and related systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kerczewski, Robert J.; Svoboda, James S.; Kachmar, Brian A.

1995-01-01

NASA Lewis Research Center's Communications Projects Branch has developed a facility for the evaluation of space communications systems and related types of systems, called the Advanced Space Communications (ASC) Laboratory. The ASC Lab includes instrumentation, testbed hardware, and experiment control and monitor software for the evaluation of components, subsystems, systems, and networks. The ASC lab has capabilities to perform radiofrequency (RF), microwave, and millimeter-wave characterizations as well as measurements using low, medium, or high data rate digital signals. In addition to laboratory measurements, the ASC Lab also includes integrated satellite ground terminals allowing experimentation and measurements accessing operational satellites through real space links.

Applications of space-electrophoresis in medicine. [for cellular separations in molecular biology

Science.gov (United States)

Bier, M.

1976-01-01

The nature of electrophoresis is reviewed and potential advances realizable in the field of biology and medicine from a space electrophoresis facility are examined. The ground-based applications of electrophoresis: (1) characterization of an ionized species; (2) determination of the quantitative composition of a complex mixture; and (3) isolation of the components of a mixture, separation achieved on the basis of the difference in transport rates is reviewed. The electrophoresis of living cells is considered, touching upon the following areas: the separation of T and B lymphocytes; the genetic influence on mouse lymphocyte mobilities; the abnormal production of specific and monoclonal immunoproteins; and the study of cancer. Schematic diagrams are presented of three types of electrophoresis apparatus: the column assembly for the static electrophoresis experiment on the Apollo-Soyuz mission, the continuous flow apparatus used in the same mission and a miniaturized electrophoresis apparatus.

Cellular track model of biological damage to mammalian cell cultures from galactic cosmic rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cucinotta, F.A.; Katz, R.; Wilson, J.W.; Townsend, L.W.; Nealy, J.E.; Shinn, J.L.

1991-02-01

The assessment of biological damage from the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) is a current interest for exploratory class space missions where the highly ionizing, high-energy, high-charge ions (HZE) particles are the major concern. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values determined by ground-based experiments with HZE particles are well described by a parametric track theory of cell inactivation. Using the track model and a deterministic GCR transport code, the biological damage to mammalian cell cultures is considered for 1 year in free space at solar minimum for typical spacecraft shielding. Included are the effects of projectile and target fragmentation. The RBE values for the GCR spectrum which are fluence-dependent in the track model are found to be more severe than the quality factors identified by the International Commission on Radiological Protection publication 26 and seem to obey a simple scaling law with the duration period in free space

Cellular track model of biological damage to mammalian cell cultures from galactic cosmic rays

Science.gov (United States)

Cucinotta, Francis A.; Katz, Robert; Wilson, John W.; Townsend, Lawrence W.; Nealy, John E.; Shinn, Judy L.

1991-01-01

The assessment of biological damage from the galactic cosmic rays (GCR) is a current interest for exploratory class space missions where the highly ionizing, high-energy, high-charge ions (HZE) particles are the major concern. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values determined by ground-based experiments with HZE particles are well described by a parametric track theory of cell inactivation. Using the track model and a deterministic GCR transport code, the biological damage to mammalian cell cultures is considered for 1 year in free space at solar minimum for typical spacecraft shielding. Included are the effects of projectile and target fragmentation. The RBE values for the GCR spectrum which are fluence-dependent in the track model are found to be more severe than the quality factors identified by the International Commission on Radiological Protection publication 26 and seem to obey a simple scaling law with the duration period in free space.

A hypothesis on biological protection from space radiation through the use of new therapeutic gases as medical counter measures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schoenfeld Michael P

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Radiation exposure to astronauts could be a significant obstacle for long duration manned space exploration because of current uncertainties regarding the extent of biological effects. Furthermore, concepts for protective shielding also pose a technically challenging issue due to the nature of cosmic radiation and current mass and power constraints with modern exploration technology. The concern regarding exposure to cosmic radiation is biological damage that is associated with increased oxidative stress. It is therefore important and would be enabling to mitigate and/or prevent oxidative stress prior to the development of clinical symptoms and disease. This paper hypothesizes a "systems biology" approach in which a combination of chemical and biological mitigation techniques are used conjunctively. It proposes using new, therapeutic, medical gases as chemical radioprotectors for radical scavenging and as biological signaling molecules for management of the body's response to exposure. From reviewing radiochemistry of water, biological effects of CO, H2, NO, and H2S gas, and mechanisms of radiation biology, it can be concluded that this approach may have therapeutic potential for radiation exposure. Furthermore, it also appears to have similar potential for curtailing the pathogenesis of other diseases in which oxidative stress has been implicated including cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic inflammatory disease, hypertension, ischemia/reperfusion (IR injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease, cataracts, and aging. We envision applying these therapies through inhalation of gas mixtures or ingestion of water with dissolved gases.

Mineralogical characteristics of the silica polymorphs in relation to their biological activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guthrie, G.D. Jr. [Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States); Heaney, P.J. [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Dept. of Geological and Geophysical Sciences

1993-10-01

Numerous aspects of minerals (including the silica polymorphs) can effect their biological activities. These include periodic structures, compositional variations, dissolution characteristics, surface properties, and particle size/shape. In order to understand mineral-induced pathogenesis in a mechanistic way, the links between these properties and biochemical processes must be elucidated. This paper presents some of the basic properties of the silica polymorphs that may relate to pathogenicity and mineralogical strategies for designing biological assays to evaluate these properties.

Biological Maturity Status Strongly Intensifies the Relative Age Effect in Alpine Ski Racing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisa Müller

Full Text Available The relative age effect (RAE is a well-documented phenomenon in youth sports. This effect exists when the relative age quarter distribution of selected athletes shows a biased distribution with an over-representation of relatively older athletes. In alpine ski racing, it exists in all age categories (national youth levels up to World Cup. Studies so far could demonstrate that selected ski racers are relatively older, taller and heavier. It could be hypothesized that relatively younger athletes nearly only have a chance for selection if they are early maturing. However, surprisingly this influence of the biological maturity status on the RAE could not be proven, yet. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of the biological maturity status on the RAE in dependence of the level of competition. The study investigated 372 elite youth ski racers: 234 provincial ski racers (P-SR; high level of competition and 137 national ski racers (N-SR; very high level of competition. Anthropometric characteristics were measured to calculate the age at peak height velocity (APHV as an indicator of the biological maturity status. A significant RAE was present among both P-SR and N-SR, with a larger effect size among the latter group. The N-SR significantly differed in APHV from the P-SR. The distribution of normal, early and late maturing athletes significantly differed from the expected normal distribution among the N-SR, not among the P-SR. Hardly any late maturing N-SR were present; 41.7% of the male and 34% of the female N-SR of the last relative age quarter were early maturing. These findings clearly demonstrate the significant influence of the biological maturity status on the selection process of youth alpine ski racing in dependence of the level of competition. Relatively younger athletes seem to have a chance of selection only if they are early maturing.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 16

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Siegel, Bette (Editor); Donaldson, P. Lynn (Editor); Leveton, Lauren B. (Editor); Rowe, Joseph (Editor)

1988-01-01

This is the sixteenth issue of NASA's USSR Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 57 papers published in Russian language periodicals or presented at conferences and of 2 new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. An additional feature is the review of a book concerned with metabolic response to the stress of space flight. The abstracts included in this issue are relevant to 33 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas are: adaptation, biological rhythms, bionics, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, exobiology, gastrointestinal system, genetics, gravitational biology, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, man-machine systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, reproductive biology, and space biology.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, Issue 18

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran (Editor); Donaldson, P. Lynn (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Garshnek, Victoria (Editor); Rowe, Joseph (Editor)

1988-01-01

This is the 18th issue of NASA's USSR Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 50 papers published in Russian language periodicals or presented at conferences and of 8 new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. A review of a recent Aviation Medicine Handbook is also included. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 37 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas are: adaptation, aviation medicine, biological rhythms, biospherics, body fluids, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cytology, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, exobiology, gastrointestinal system, genetics, gravitational biology, group dynamics, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, man-machine systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, reproductive biology, space biology and medicine, and space industrialization.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 489

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP-1999-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 498

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP-1999-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract.

(Ln-bar, g)-spaces. General relativity over V4-bar - spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manoff, S.; Kolarov, A.; Dimitrov, B.

1998-01-01

The results from the considerations of differentiable manifolds with contravariant and covariant affine connections and metrics are specialized for the case of (L n bar, g)-spaces with metric transport (∇ ξ g = 0 for all ξ is T (M), g ij;k = 0 and f j i = e φ · g j i (the s.c. (pseudo)Riemannian spaces with contravariant and covariant symmetric affine connections). Einstein's theory of gravitation is considered in (pseudo)Riemannian spaces with different (not only by sign) contravariant and covariant affine connections ((V n bar)-spaces, n = 4). The Euler-Lagrange equations and the corresponding energy-momentum tensors (EMT-s) are obtained and compared with the Einstein equations and the EMT-s in V 4 -spaces. The geodesic and autoparallel equations in V 4 bar -spaces are found as different equations in contrast to the case of V 4 -spaces

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 13

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor)

1987-01-01

This is the thirteenth issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 39 papers recently published in Russian-language periodicals and bound collections, two papers delivered at an international life sciences symposium, and three new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. Also included is a review of a recent Soviet-French symposium on Space Cytology. Current Soviet Life Sciences titles available in English are cited. The materials included in this issue have been identified as relevant to 31 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology. These areas are: adaptation, biological rhythms, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cosmonaut training, cytology, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, gastrointestinal systems, genetics, habitability and environment effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, space biology, and space medicine.

A novel biological 'twin-father' temporal paradox of General Relativity in a Gödel universe - Where reproductive biology meets theoretical physics.

Science.gov (United States)

Ashrafian, Hutan

2018-03-01

Several temporal paradoxes exist in physics. These include General Relativity's grandfather and ontological paradoxes and Special Relativity's Langevin-Einstein twin-paradox. General relativity paradoxes can exist due to a Gödel universe that follows Gödel's closed timelike curves solution to Einstein's field equations. A novel biological temporal paradox of General Relativity is proposed based on reproductive biology's phenomenon of heteropaternal fecundation. Herein, dizygotic twins from two different fathers are the result of concomitant fertilization during one menstrual cycle. In this case an Oedipus-like individual exposed to a Gödel closed timelike curve would sire a child during his maternal fertilization cycle. As a consequence of heteropaternal superfecundation, he would father his own dizygotic twin and would therefore generate a new class of autofraternal superfecundation, and by doing so creating a 'twin-father' temporal paradox. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A summary of activities of the US/Soviet-Russian joint working group on space biology and medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Doarn, Charles R.; Nicogossian, Arnauld E.; Grigoriev, Anatoly I.; Tverskaya, Galina; Orlov, Oleg I.; Ilyin, Eugene A.; Souza, Kenneth A.

2010-10-01

The very foundation of cooperation between the United States (US) and Russia (former Soviet Union) in space exploration is a direct result of the mutual desire for scientific understanding and the creation of a collaborative mechanism—the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Space Biology and Medicine. From the dawn of the space age, it has been the quest of humankind to understand its place in the universe. While nations can and do solve problems independently, it takes nations, working together, to accomplish great things. The formation of the JWG provided an opportunity for the opening of a series of productive relationships between the superpowers, the US and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR); and served as a justification for continued relationship for medical assistance in spaceflight, and to showcase Earth benefits from space medicine research. This relationship has been played out on an international scale with the construction and operation of the International Space Station. The fundamental reason for this successful endeavor is a direct result of the spirit and perseverance of the men and women who have worked diligently side-by-side to promote science and move our understanding of space forward. This manuscript provides a historical perspective of the JWG; how it came about; its evolution; what it accomplished; and what impact it has had and continues to have in the 21st century with regard to human spaceflight and space life sciences research. It captures the spirit of this group, which has been in continuous existence for over 40 years, and provides a never before reported summary of its activities.

Relative Biological Effectiveness of HZE Particles for Chromosomal Exchanges and Other Surrogate Cancer Risk Endpoints.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eliedonna Cacao

Full Text Available The biological effects of high charge and energy (HZE particle exposures are of interest in space radiation protection of astronauts and cosmonauts, and estimating secondary cancer risks for patients undergoing Hadron therapy for primary cancers. The large number of particles types and energies that makeup primary or secondary radiation in HZE particle exposures precludes tumor induction studies in animal models for all but a few particle types and energies, thus leading to the use of surrogate endpoints to investigate the details of the radiation quality dependence of relative biological effectiveness (RBE factors. In this report we make detailed RBE predictions of the charge number and energy dependence of RBE's using a parametric track structure model to represent experimental results for the low dose response for chromosomal exchanges in normal human lymphocyte and fibroblast cells with comparison to published data for neoplastic transformation and gene mutation. RBE's are evaluated against acute doses of γ-rays for doses near 1 Gy. Models that assume linear or non-targeted effects at low dose are considered. Modest values of RBE (10 are predicted at low doses <0.1 Gy. The radiation quality dependence of RBE's against the effects of acute doses γ-rays found for neoplastic transformation and gene mutation studies are similar to those found for simple exchanges if a linear response is assumed at low HZE particle doses. Comparisons of the resulting model parameters to those used in the NASA radiation quality factor function are discussed.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 488

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This report lists reports, articles and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract.

Brownian motion, Minkowski space and principle of special relativity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caubet, J.-P.

1977-01-01

From the assumption that the brownian diffusion locally behaves like an ideal gas (pressure being inversely proportional to volume according to Boyle's law) one can deduce the signature +++- of the Minkowski space, the Lorentz addition of velocities, and the principle of special relativity [fr

The relative importance of physical and biological energy in landscape evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Turowski, J. M.; Schwanghart, W.

2017-12-01

Landscapes are formed by the interplay of uplift and geomorphic processes, including interacting and competing physical and biological processes. For example, roots re-inforce soil and thereby stabilize hillslopes and the canopy cover of the forest may mediate the impact of precipitation. Furthermore, plants and animals act as geomorphic agents, directly altering landscape response and dynamics by their actions: tree roots may crack rocks, thus changing subsurface water flows and exposing fresh material for denudation; fungi excrete acids that accelerate rates of chemical weathering, and burrowing animals displace soil and rocks while digging holes for shelter or in search of food. Energetically, landscapes can be viewed as open systems in which topography stores potential energy above a base level. Tectonic processes add energy to the system by uplift and mechanically altering rock properties. Especially in unvegetated regions, erosion and transport by wind can be an important geomorphic process. Advection of atmospheric moisture in high altitudes provides potential energy that is converted by water fluxes through catchments. At the same time, the conversion of solar energy through atmospheric and biological processes drives primary production of living organisms. If we accept that biota influence geomorphic processes, then what is their energetic contribution to landscape evolution relative to physical processes? Using two case studies, we demonstrate that all components of energy input are negligible apart from biological production, quantified by net primary productivity (NPP) and potential energy conversion by water that is placed high up in the landscape as rainfall and leaves it as runoff. Assuming that the former is representative for biological energy and the latter for physical energy, we propose that the ratio of these two values can be used as a proxy for the relative importance of biological and physical processes in landscape evolution. All necessary

Visual event-related potentials to biological motion stimuli in autism spectrum disorders

Science.gov (United States)

Bletsch, Anke; Krick, Christoph; Siniatchkin, Michael; Jarczok, Tomasz A.; Freitag, Christine M.; Bender, Stephan

2014-01-01

Atypical visual processing of biological motion contributes to social impairments in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the exact temporal sequence of deficits of cortical biological motion processing in ASD has not been studied to date. We used 64-channel electroencephalography to study event-related potentials associated with human motion perception in 17 children and adolescents with ASD and 21 typical controls. A spatio-temporal source analysis was performed to assess the brain structures involved in these processes. We expected altered activity already during early stimulus processing and reduced activity during subsequent biological motion specific processes in ASD. In response to both, random and biological motion, the P100 amplitude was decreased suggesting unspecific deficits in visual processing, and the occipito-temporal N200 showed atypical lateralization in ASD suggesting altered hemispheric specialization. A slow positive deflection after 400 ms, reflecting top-down processes, and human motion-specific dipole activation differed slightly between groups, with reduced and more diffuse activation in the ASD-group. The latter could be an indicator of a disrupted neuronal network for biological motion processing in ADS. Furthermore, early visual processing (P100) seems to be correlated to biological motion-specific activation. This emphasizes the relevance of early sensory processing for higher order processing deficits in ASD. PMID:23887808

Homogeneous Finsler Spaces

CERN Document Server

Deng, Shaoqiang

2012-01-01

"Homogeneous Finsler Spaces" is the first book to emphasize the relationship between Lie groups and Finsler geometry, and the first to show the validity in using Lie theory for the study of Finsler geometry problems. This book contains a series of new results obtained by the author and collaborators during the last decade. The topic of Finsler geometry has developed rapidly in recent years. One of the main reasons for its surge in development is its use in many scientific fields, such as general relativity, mathematical biology, and phycology (study of algae). This monograph introduc

Relational Analysis of High School Students' Cognitive Self-Regulated Learning Strategies and Conceptions of Learning Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Sadi, Özlem

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the relation between students' cognitive learning strategies and conceptions of learning biology. The two scales, "Cognitive Learning Strategies" and "Conceptions of Learning Biology", were revised and adapted to biology in order to measure the students' learning strategies and…

Without Gravity: Designing Science Equipment for the International Space Station and Beyond

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Kevin Y.

2016-01-01

This presentation discusses space biology research, the space flight factors needed to design hardware to conduct biological science in microgravity, and examples of NASA and commercial hardware that enable space biology study.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 25

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Garshnek, Victoria (Editor); Rowe, Joseph (Editor)

1990-01-01

This is the twenty-fifth issue of NASA's Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 42 journal papers or book chapters published in Russian and of 3 Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 26 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas include: adaptation, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, exobiology, gravitational biology, habitability and environmental effects, human performance, immunology, life support systems, man-machine systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, psychology, radiobiology, reproductive system, and space biology and medicine.

Deep Space Gateway Science Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Quincy, C. D.; Charles, J. B.; Hamill, Doris; Sidney, S. C.

2018-01-01

The NASA Life Sciences Research Capabilities Team (LSRCT) has been discussing deep space research needs for the last two years. NASA's programs conducting life sciences studies - the Human Research Program, Space Biology, Astrobiology, and Planetary Protection - see the Deep Space Gateway (DSG) as affording enormous opportunities to investigate biological organisms in a unique environment that cannot be replicated in Earth-based laboratories or on Low Earth Orbit science platforms. These investigations may provide in many cases the definitive answers to risks associated with exploration and living outside Earth's protective magnetic field. Unlike Low Earth Orbit or terrestrial locations, the Gateway location will be subjected to the true deep space spectrum and influence of both galactic cosmic and solar particle radiation and thus presents an opportunity to investigate their long-term exposure effects. The question of how a community of biological organisms change over time within the harsh environment of space flight outside of the magnetic field protection can be investigated. The biological response to the absence of Earth's geomagnetic field can be studied for the first time. Will organisms change in new and unique ways under these new conditions? This may be specifically true on investigations of microbial communities. The Gateway provides a platform for microbiology experiments both inside, to improve understanding of interactions between microbes and human habitats, and outside, to improve understanding of microbe-hardware interactions exposed to the space environment.

A gravity independent biological grey water treatment system for space applications

Science.gov (United States)

Nashashibi, Majda'midhat

2002-09-01

Biological treatment of grey water in space presents serious challenges, stemming mainly from microgravity conditions. The major concerns are phase separation and mass transfer limitations. To overcome solid-liquid phase separation, novel immobilized cell packed bed (ICPB) bioreactors have been developed to treat synthetic grey water. Packed bed bioreactors provide a unique environment for attached microbial growth resulting in high biomass concentrations, which greatly enhance process efficiency with substantial reductions in treatment time and reactor volume. To overcome the gas-liquid phase separation and mass transfer limitations, an oxygenation module equipped with tubular membranes has been developed to deliver bubble-less oxygen under pressure. The selected silicone membranes are hydrophobic, non-porous and oxygen selective. Oxygen dissolves in the walls of the membranes and then diffuses into the water without forming bubbles. Elevated pressures maintain all gaseous by-products in solution and provide high dissolved oxygen concentrations within the system. The packing media are lightweight, inexpensive polyethylene terephthalate (PET) flakes that have large specific surface area, act as a filter for solids and yield highly tortuous flow paths thereby increasing the contact time between the biomass and contaminants. Tests on both pressurized and ambient pressure ICPB bioreactors revealed organic carbon removal efficiencies over 90%. Despite the high ammonia level in the influent, nitrification occured in both the ambient pressure and pressurized nitrification bioreactors at efficiencies of 80% and 60%, respectively. Biomass yield was approximately 0.20 g volatile suspended solids per gram of grey water-COD processed in the pressurized bioreactor. The biomass yield of such novel aerobic ICPB systems is comparable to that of anaerobic processes. These efficient systems produce minimal amounts of biomass compared to other aerobic processes, making them less

The beginning of Space Life Science in China exploration rockets for biological experiment during 1960's

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Peidong; Zhang, Jingxue

The first step of space biological experiment in China was a set of five exploration rockets launched during 1964 to 1966, by Shanghai Institute of Machine and Electricity, and Institute of Biophysics of The Chinese Academy of Sciences. Three T-7AS1rockets for rats, mice and other samples in a biological cabin were launched and recovered safely in July of 1964 and June of 1965. Two T-7AS2rockets for dog, rats, mice and other samples in a biological cabin were launched and recovered safely in July of 1966. Institute of Biophysics in charged of the general design of biological experiments, telemetry of physiological parameters, and selection and training of experiment animals. The samples on-board were: rats, mice, dogs, and test tubes with fruit fly, enzyme, bacteria, E. Coli., lysozyme, bacteriaphage, RNAase, DNAase, crystals of enzyme, etc. Physiological, biochemical, bacte-riological, immunological, genetic, histochemical studies had been conducted, in cellular and sub cellular level. The postures of rat and dog were monitored during flight and under weight-lessness. Physiological parameters of ECG, blood pressure, respiration rate, body temperature were recorded. A dog named"Xiao Bao"was flight in 1966 with video monitor, life support system and conditioned reflex equipment. It flighted for more than 20 minutes and about 70km high. After 40 years, the experimental data recorded of its four physiological parameters during the flight process was reviewed. The change of 4 parameters during various phase of total flight process were compared, analyzed and discussed.

Analyzing Social Spaces: Relational Citizenship for Patients Leaving Mental Health Care Institutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pols, Jeannette

2016-01-01

"Citizenship" is a term from political theory. The term has moved from the relationship between the individual and the state toward addressing the position of 'others' in society. Here, I am concerned with people with long-term mental health problems. I explore the possibilities of ethnographically studying this rather more cultural understanding of citizenship with the use of the concept of relational citizenship, attending to people who leave Dutch institutions for mental health care. Relational citizenship assumes that people become citizens through interactions, whereby they create particular relations and social spaces. Rather than studying the citizen as a particular individual, citizenship becomes a matter of sociality. In this article, I consider what social spaces these relationships create and what values and mechanisms keep people together. I argue that the notion of neighborhood as a form of community, although built implicitly or explicitly into mental health care policy, is no longer the most plausible model to understand social spaces.

Present Day Biology seen in the Looking Glass of Physics of Complexity

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, P.

Darwin's theory of variation and selection in its simplest form is directly applicable to RNA evolution in vitro as well as to virus evolution, and it allows for quantitative predictions. Understanding evolution at the molecular level is ultimately related to the central paradigm of structural biology: sequence⇒ structure ⇒ function. We elaborate on the state of the art in modeling and understanding evolution of RNA driven by reproduction and mutation. The focus will be laid on the landscape concept—originally introduced by Sewall Wright—and its application to problems in biology. The relation between genotypes and phenotypes is the result of two consecutive mappings from a space of genotypes called sequence space onto a space of phenotypes or structures, and fitness is the result of a mapping from phenotype space into non-negative real numbers. Realistic landscapes as derived from folding of RNA sequences into structures are characterized by two properties: (i) they are rugged in the sense that sequences lying nearby in sequence space may have very different fitness values and (ii) they are characterized by an appreciable degree of neutrality implying that a certain fraction of genotypes and/or phenotypes cannot be distinguished in the selection process. Evolutionary dynamics on realistic landscapes will be studied as a function of the mutation rate, and the role of neutrality in the selection process will be discussed.

Space matters: the relational power of mobile technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nancy Odendaal

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The ubiquitous presence of mobile telephony and proliferation of digital networks imply a critical role for these technologies in overcoming the constraints of space in fragmented cities. Academic literature draws from a range of disciplines but fails to address the significance of new technologies for African and South African cities. Debates on technologies and urban spaces reflect a Northern bias and case literature that dwells on the developmental aspects of ICT do not engage with the broader significance with regards to urban change in African cities. This research addresses these gaps by examining the local transformative qualities of mobile telephony in a South African city, Durban. It focuses on the ways in which informal traders active in the city use technology. Actor-network theory was used in the analysis of the field work, uncovering material and human actors, network stabilization processes and agency in determining the transformative potential of this form of digital networking at city and local scales. Findings indicate that appropriation of technology is informed by livelihood strategies. Innovation is enabled when translation extends to appropriation. More in-depth research is needed on how technology is molded and appropriated to suit livelihoods. Throughout the research the spatial dimensions of the relationship between mobile telephony and networks were considered. The network spaces that emerge from actor relations do not correspond with the physical spaces usually considered in policy.

A Synthetic Biology Architecture to Detoxify and Enrich Mars Soil for Agriculture

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Although the theoretical case for space biological engineering is convincing, since recent studies on the use of biology in space showed substantial payload...

Selected Legal Challenges Relating to the Military use of Outer Space, with Specific Reference to Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anél Ferreira-Snyman

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Since the end of the Second World War the potential use of outer space for military purposes persisted to be intrinsically linked to the development of space technology and space flight. The launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, by the USSR in 1957 made Western states realise that a surprise attack from space was a real possibility, resulting in the so-called "space-race" between the USA and the USSR. During the Cold War space activities were intrinsically linked to the political objectives, priorities and national security concerns of the USA and the Soviet Union. After the Cold War the political relevance and benefits of space continued to be recognised by states. In view of the recent emergence of new major space powers such as China, the focus has again shifted to the military use of outer space and the potential that a state with advanced space technology may use it for military purposes in order to dominate other states. Article IV of the Outer Space Treaty prohibits the installation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in outer space and determines that the moon and other celestial bodies shall be used for peaceful purposes only. Due to the dual-use character of many space assets, the distinction between military and non-military uses of outer space is becoming increasingly blurred. This article discusses a number of legal challenges presented by article IV of the Outer Space Treaty, relating specifically to the term peaceful, the distinction between the terms militarisation and weaponisation and the nature of a space weapon. It is concluded that article IV is in many respects outdated and that it cannot address the current legal issues relating to the military use of outer space. The legal vacuum in this area may have grave consequences not only for maintaining peace and security in outer space, but also on earth. Consequently, an international dialogue on the military uses of outer space should be

A new laser-ranged satellite for General Relativity and space geodesy: I. An introduction to the LARES2 space experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Ciufolini, Ignazio; Paolozzi, Antonio; Pavlis, Erricos C.; Sindoni, Giampiero; Koenig, Rolf; Ries, John C.; Matzner, Richard; Gurzadyan, Vahe; Penrose, Roger; Rubincam, David; Paris, Claudio

2017-08-01

We introduce the LARES 2 space experiment recently approved by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). The LARES 2 satellite is planned for launch in 2019 with the new VEGA C launch vehicle of ASI, ESA and ELV. The orbital analysis of LARES 2 experiment will be carried out by our international science team of experts in General Relativity, theoretical physics, space geodesy and aerospace engineering. The main objectives of the LARES 2 experiment are gravitational and fundamental physics, including accurate measurements of General Relativity, in particular a test of frame-dragging aimed at achieving an accuracy of a few parts in a thousand, i.e., aimed at improving by about an order of magnitude the present state-of-the-art and forthcoming tests of this general relativistic phenomenon. LARES 2 will also achieve determinations in space geodesy. LARES 2 is an improved version of the LAGEOS 3 experiment, proposed in 1984 to measure frame-dragging and analyzed in 1989 by a joint ASI and NASA study.

Combining annual daylight simulation with photobiology data to assess the relative circadian efficacy of interior spaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pechacek, C.S.; Andersen, M. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Cambridge, MA (United States). Dept. of Architecture, Building Technology; Lockley, S.W. [Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States). Div. of Sleep Medicine, Brigham and Women' s Hospital

2008-07-01

This paper addressed the issue of hospital design and the role of daylight in patient health care. It presented a new approach for integrating empirical data and findings in photobiology into the performance assessment of a space, thus combining both visual and health-related criteria. Previous studies have reported significant health care outcomes in daylit environments, although the mechanism and photoreceptor systems controlling these effects remain unknown. This study focused on furthering the previous studies beyond windows to describing the characteristics of daylight that may promote human health by providing daylighting for the appropriate synchronization of circadian rhythms, and then make specific daylighting recommendations, grounded in biological findings. In particular, this study investigated the use of daylight autonomy (DA) to simulate the probabilistic and temporal potential of daylight for human health needs. Results of photobiology research were used to define threshold values for lighting, which were then used as goals for simulations. These goals included spectrum, intensity and timing of light at the human eye. The study investigated the variability of key architectural decisions in hospital room design to determine their influence on achieving the goals. The simulations showed how choices in building orientation, window size, user-window position and interior finishes affect the circadian efficacy of a space. Design decisions can improve or degrade the health potential for the space considered. While the findings in this research were specific to hospitals, the results can be applied to other building types such as office buildings and residences. 33 refs., 7 figs.

Computed tomography of the carotid space and related cervical spaces. Part 1. Anatomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silver, A.J.; Mawad, M.E.; Hilal, S.K.; Sane, P.; Ganti, S.R.

1984-01-01

The carotid space, parapharyngeal space, and paraspinal space are described. The carotid space is shown on computed tomography (CT) to be posterior to the parapharyngeal space and separated from it by the styloid apparatus. The paraspinal space is posterior to the carotid space and separated from it by the longus and anterior scalene muscles

Medical Applications of Space Light-Emitting Diode Technology--Space Station and Beyond

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whelan, H.T.; Houle, J.M.; Donohoe, D.L.; Bajic, D.M.; Schmidt, M.H.; Reichert, K.W.; Weyenberg, G.T.; Larson, D.L.; Meyer, G.A.; Caviness, J.A.

1999-06-01

Space light-emitting diode (LED) technology has provided medicine with a new tool capable of delivering light deep into tissues of the body, at wavelengths which are biologically optimal for cancer treatment and wound healing. This LED technology has already flown on Space Shuttle missions, and shows promise for wound healing applications of benefit to Space Station astronauts.

Tissue Engineering Organs for Space Biology Research

Science.gov (United States)

Vandenburgh, H. H.; Shansky, J.; DelTatto, M.; Lee, P.; Meir, J.

1999-01-01

Long-term manned space flight requires a better understanding of skeletal muscle atrophy resulting from microgravity. Atrophy most likely results from changes at both the systemic level (e.g. decreased circulating growth hormone, increased circulating glucocorticoids) and locally (e.g. decreased myofiber resting tension). Differentiated skeletal myofibers in tissue culture have provided a model system over the last decade for gaining a better understanding of the interactions of exogenous growth factors, endogenous growth factors, and muscle fiber tension in regulating protein turnover rates and muscle cell growth. Tissue engineering these cells into three dimensional bioartificial muscle (BAM) constructs has allowed us to extend their use to Space flight studies for the potential future development of countermeasures.

METHODS OF ASSESSMENT OF THE RELATIVE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTIVENESS OF NEUTRONS IN NEUTRON THERAPY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Lisin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The relative biological effectiveness (RBE of fast neutrons is an important factor influencing the quality of neutron therapy therefore, the assessment of RBE is of great importance. Experimental and clinical studies as well as different mathematical and radiobiological models are used for assessing RBE. Research is conducted for neutron sources differing in the method of producing particles, energy and energy spectrum. Purpose: to find and analyze the dose-dependence of fast neutron RBE in neutron therapy using the U-120 cyclotron and NG-12I generator. Material and methods: The optimal method for assessing the relative biological effectiveness of neutrons for neutron therapy was described. To analyze the dependence of the RBE on neutron dose, the multi-target model of cell survival was applied. Results: The dependence of the RBE of neutrons produced from the U-120 cyclotron and NG-120 generator on the dose level was found for a single irradiation of biological objects. It was shown that the function of neutron dose was consistent with similar dependencies found by other authors in the experimental and clinical studies.

Advances in space biology and medicine. Vol. 1

Science.gov (United States)

Bonting, Sjoerd L. (Editor)

1991-01-01

Topics discussed include the effects of prolonged spaceflights on the human body; skeletal responses to spaceflight; gravity effects on reproduction, development, and aging; neurovestibular physiology in fish; and gravity perception and circumnutation in plants. Attention is also given to the development of higher plants under altered gravitational conditions; the techniques, findings, and theory concerning gravity effects on single cells; protein crystal growth in space; and facilities for animal research in space.

Relative biological effectiveness of 160 MeV protons. II. Biological data and their interpretation in terms of microdosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, E.J.; Kellerer, A.M.; Rossi, H.H.; Lam, Y.M.P.

1978-01-01

The radiobiological effectiveness of 160 MeV protons was measured relative to 60 Co γ rays using Chinese hamster cells cultured in vitro. Separate experiments were performed with cells irradiated in suspension, or attached to plastic tissue culture flasks. Proton irradiations were performed in the incident plateau of the depth dose profile and with the Bragg peak spread out to cover 10 cm. In all cases the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) for protons relative to gamma rays was 1.2 for doses in excess of about 200 rad. The attached cell experiments indicate an increasing RBE at low doses, which is consistent with the microdosimetric measurements

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 494

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. The NASA CASI price code table, addresses of organizations, and document availability information are included before the abstract section. Two indexes--subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 504

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP-2000-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. Two indexes- subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 490

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP-1999-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. Two indexes-subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 487

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP-1999-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. Two indexes-subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography With Indexes. Supplement 502

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP-2000-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. Two indexes-subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Deep space test bed for radiation studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adams, James H.; Adcock, Leonard; Apple, Jeffery; Christl, Mark; Cleveand, William; Cox, Mark; Dietz, Kurt; Ferguson, Cynthia; Fountain, Walt; Ghita, Bogdan; Kuznetsov, Evgeny; Milton, Martha; Myers, Jeremy; O'Brien, Sue; Seaquist, Jim; Smith, Edward A.; Smith, Guy; Warden, Lance; Watts, John

2007-01-01

The Deep Space Test-Bed (DSTB) Facility is designed to investigate the effects of galactic cosmic rays on crews and systems during missions to the Moon or Mars. To gain access to the interplanetary ionizing radiation environment the DSTB uses high-altitude polar balloon flights. The DSTB provides a platform for measurements to validate the radiation transport codes that are used by NASA to calculate the radiation environment within crewed space systems. It is also designed to support other exploration related investigations such as measuring the shielding effectiveness of candidate spacecraft and habitat materials, testing new radiation monitoring instrumentation, flight avionics and investigating the biological effects of deep space radiation. We describe the work completed thus far in the development of the DSTB and its current status

OmicsNet: a web-based tool for creation and visual analysis of biological networks in 3D space.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Guangyan; Xia, Jianguo

2018-06-07

Biological networks play increasingly important roles in omics data integration and systems biology. Over the past decade, many excellent tools have been developed to support creation, analysis and visualization of biological networks. However, important limitations remain: most tools are standalone programs, the majority of them focus on protein-protein interaction (PPI) or metabolic networks, and visualizations often suffer from 'hairball' effects when networks become large. To help address these limitations, we developed OmicsNet - a novel web-based tool that allows users to easily create different types of molecular interaction networks and visually explore them in a three-dimensional (3D) space. Users can upload one or multiple lists of molecules of interest (genes/proteins, microRNAs, transcription factors or metabolites) to create and merge different types of biological networks. The 3D network visualization system was implemented using the powerful Web Graphics Library (WebGL) technology that works natively in most major browsers. OmicsNet supports force-directed layout, multi-layered perspective layout, as well as spherical layout to help visualize and navigate complex networks. A rich set of functions have been implemented to allow users to perform coloring, shading, topology analysis, and enrichment analysis. OmicsNet is freely available at http://www.omicsnet.ca.

Advances in radiation biology: Relative radiation sensitivities of human organ systems. Volume 12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lett, J.T.; Altman, K.I.; Ehmann, U.K.; Cox, A.B.

1987-01-01

This volume is a thematically focused issue of Advances in Radiation Biology. The topic surveyed is relative radiosensitivity of human organ systems. Topics considered include relative radiosensitivities of the thymus, spleen, and lymphohemopoietic systems; relative radiosensitivities of the small and large intestine; relative rediosensitivities of the oral cavity, larynx, pharynx, and esophagus; relative radiation sensitivity of the integumentary system; dose response of the epidermal; microvascular, and dermal populations; relative radiosensitivity of the human lung; relative radiosensitivity of fetal tissues; and tolerance of the central and peripheral nervous system to therapeutic irradiation

Advances in radiation biology: Relative radiation sensitivities of human organ systems. Volume 12

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lett, J.T.; Altman, K.I.; Ehmann, U.K.; Cox, A.B.

1987-01-01

This volume is a thematically focused issue of Advances in Radiation Biology. The topic surveyed is relative radiosensitivity of human organ systems. Topics considered include relative radiosensitivities of the thymus, spleen, and lymphohemopoietic systems; relative radiosensitivities of the small and large intestine; relative rediosensitivities of the oral cavity, larynx, pharynx, and esophagus; relative radiation sensitivity of the integumentary system; dose response of the epidermal; microvascular, and dermal populations; relative radiosensitivity of the human lung; relative radiosensitivity of fetal tissues; and tolerance of the central and peripheral nervous system to therapeutic irradiation.

Biological availability of energy related effluent material in the coastal ecosystem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, C.I.; Abel, K.H.; Ahlstrom, S.W.; Crecelius, E.A.; Schmidt, R.L.; Thatcher, T.O.; Wildung, R.E.

1977-01-01

In order to make the predictions necessary to forecast the ecological consequences of an energy-related technology, there must be an understanding of: the biogeochemical processes involved in the natural system; the manner in which an energy technology affects these processes and how, in turn, this affects the ecosystem as a whole. Direct biological effects such as lethality, behavioral changes, and physiological changes, are being studied under the program previously discussed. The biological availability and impact studies are investigating: the chemical, physical, and biological processes that occur in the natural marine ecosystem; how energy effluents affect these processes; and the factors involved in regulating the bioavailability of effluent material. This past year's effort has centered on defining the quantities and forms of metals and radioisotopes in nuclear power plant effluent streams, the chemical forms present in bioassay systems, the chemical and microbial processes controlling the forms of metals available from the sediments, and the uptake and control of copper in shrimp. In addition, several sites in Sequim Bay have been monitored for potential use in field verification studies

Biochemical Space: A Framework for Systemic Annotation of Biological Models

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Klement, M.; Děd, T.; Šafránek, D.; Červený, Jan; Müller, Stefan; Steuer, Ralf

2014-01-01

Roč. 306, JUL (2014), s. 31-44 ISSN 1571-0661 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0256 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : biological models * model annotation * systems biology * cyanobacteria Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, C. S. (Editor); Donnelly, K. L. (Editor)

1980-01-01

Research in exobiology, life sciences technology, space biology, and space medicine and physiology, primarily using data gathered on the Salyut 6 orbital space station, is reported. Methods for predicting, diagnosing, and preventing the effects of weightlessness are discussed. Psychological factors are discussed. The effects of space flight on plants and animals are reported. Bioinstrumentation advances are noted.

Correlation of microdosimetric measurements with relative biological effectiveness from clinical experience for two neutron therapy beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stinchcomb, T.G.; Kuchnir, F.T.; Myrianthopoulos, L.C.; Horton, J.L. Jr.; Roberts, W.K.

1986-01-01

Microdosimetric measurements were made for the neutron therapy beams at the University of Chicago and at the Cleveland Clinic with the same geometry and phantom material using the same tissue-equivalent spherical proportional counter and standard techniques. The energy deposition spectra (dose distributions in lineal energy) are compared for these beams and for their scattered components (direct beam blocked). The model of dual radiation action (DRA) of Kellerer and Rossi is employed to interpret these data in terms of biological effectiveness over this limited range of radiation qualities. The site-diameter parameter of the DRA theory is determined for the Cleveland beam by setting the biological effectiveness (relative to 60 Co gamma radiation) equal to the relative biological effectiveness value deduced from radiobiology experiments and clinical experience. The resulting value of this site-diameter parameter is then used to predict the biological effectiveness of the Chicago beam. The prediction agrees with the value deduced from radiobiology and clinical experience. The biological effectiveness of the scattered components of both beams is also estimated using the model

Experience with Space Forums and Engineering Courses Organized for the Broad Dissemination of Space-related Information

Science.gov (United States)

Dessimoz, J.-D.; D'Aquino, U.; Gander, J.-G.; Sekler, J.

2002-01-01

Space technologies have been recognised as being of major importance for the welfare of our civilisation, not only in our industrially developed countries, but also for the world at large. Dating back to 1959, the Swiss Association for Astronautics (SRV; see http://srv-ch.org) has a long tradition of public communication in view of fostering support for space activities on a national scale. In recent years, the SRV has notably organised (or contributed for) about a dozen of Introductory Courses into Space Technology at different Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS), as well as set-up four Space Forums for reaching young people and the public at large. Space Forums are organised for younger students and the public at large. They have been so far organised at Zurich, with increasing impact. In 2002 the Space Forum is located at the "Technopark", a structure aiming at fostering technology transfers between universities and business, as well as to help creating start-up's. Contributions come from highly qualified speakers, such as "our" ESA astronaut Claude Nicollier, or scientists from leading research organisations. An exhibition is also organised, which presents space projects and material with very positive impact on the audience. As favourable by-product, the event tends to trigger further echoes in media (e.g. major press representatives and local radios). A good place is also made for outstanding contributions from young teenagers / enthusiastic supporters, which brings additional fresh views and effective communication channels for reaching the younger public. The Space techniques courses aim at a different public: engineering students and graduates. They are organised on a semester basis, with a frequency of about 1 or 2 courses per year; they are nearly always offered at different locations (most of the time at UAS) and can also be viewed as continuing education initiatives. Topics typically include a historical overview of space-related developments

Invited Review Article: Advanced light microscopy for biological space research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Vos, W.H.; Beghuin, D.; Schwarz, C.J.; Jones, D.B.; van Loon, J.J.W.A.; Bereiter-Hahn, J.; Stelzer, E.H.K.

2014-01-01

As commercial space flights have become feasible and long-term extraterrestrial missions are planned, it is imperative that the impact of space travel and the space environment on human physiology be thoroughly characterized. Scrutinizing the effects of potentially detrimental factors such as

Invited review article: advanced light microscopy for biological space research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Vos, W.H.; Beghuin, D.; Schwarz, C.J.; Jones, D.B.; van Loon, J.J.W.A.; Bereiter-Hahn, J.; Stelzer, E.H.K.

2014-01-01

As commercial space flights have become feasible and long-term extraterrestrial missions are planned, it is imperative that the impact of space travel and the space environment on human physiology be thoroughly characterized. Scrutinizing the effects of potentially detrimental factors such as

Growing Minority Student Interest in Earth and Space Science with Suborbital and Space-related Investigations

Science.gov (United States)

Austin, S. A.

2009-12-01

This presentation describes the transformative impact of student involvement in suborbital and Cubesat investigations under the MECSAT program umbrella at Medgar Evers College (MEC). The programs evolved from MUSPIN, a NASA program serving minority institutions. The MUSPIN program supported student internships for the MESSENGER and New Horizons missions at the Applied Physics Lab at John Hopkins University. The success of this program motivated the formation of smaller-scale programs at MEC to engage a wider group of minority students using an institutional context. The programs include an student-instrument BalloonSAT project, ozone investigations using sounding vehicles and a recently initiated Cubesat program involving other colleges in the City University of New York (CUNY). The science objectives range from investigations of atmospheric profiles, e.g. temperature, humidity, pressure, and CO2 to ozone profiles in rural and urban areas including comparisons with Aura instrument retrievals to ionospheric scintillation experiments for the Cubesat project. Through workshops and faculty collaborations, the evolving programs have mushroomed to include the development of parallel programs with faculty and students at other minority institutions both within and external to CUNY. The interdisciplinary context of these programs has stimulated student interest in Earth and Space Science and includes the use of best practices in retention and pipelining of underrepresented minority students in STEM disciplines. Through curriculum integration initiatives, secondary impacts are also observed supported by student blogs, social networking sites, etc.. The program continues to evolve including related student internships at Goddard Space Flight Center and the development of a CUNY-wide interdisciplinary team of faculty targeting research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students in Atmospheric Science, Space Weather, Remote Sensing and Astrobiology primarily for

Synthetic biology as it relates to CAM photosynthesis: challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

DePaoli, Henrique C; Borland, Anne M; Tuskan, Gerald A; Cushman, John C; Yang, Xiaohan

2014-07-01

To meet future food and energy security needs, which are amplified by increasing population growth and reduced natural resource availability, metabolic engineering efforts have moved from manipulating single genes/proteins to introducing multiple genes and novel pathways to improve photosynthetic efficiency in a more comprehensive manner. Biochemical carbon-concentrating mechanisms such as crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), which improves photosynthetic, water-use, and possibly nutrient-use efficiency, represent a strategic target for synthetic biology to engineer more productive C3 crops for a warmer and drier world. One key challenge for introducing multigene traits like CAM onto a background of C3 photosynthesis is to gain a better understanding of the dynamic spatial and temporal regulatory events that underpin photosynthetic metabolism. With the aid of systems and computational biology, vast amounts of experimental data encompassing transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics can be related in a network to create dynamic models. Such models can undergo simulations to discover key regulatory elements in metabolism and suggest strategic substitution or augmentation by synthetic components to improve photosynthetic performance and water-use efficiency in C3 crops. Another key challenge in the application of synthetic biology to photosynthesis research is to develop efficient systems for multigene assembly and stacking. Here, we review recent progress in computational modelling as applied to plant photosynthesis, with attention to the requirements for CAM, and recent advances in synthetic biology tool development. Lastly, we discuss possible options for multigene pathway construction in plants with an emphasis on CAM-into-C3 engineering. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Surviving space flight: case study on MELiSSA's CIII nitrifying compartment

Science.gov (United States)

Ilgrande, Chiara; Lasseur, Christophe; Mastroleo, Felice; Paille, Christel; Leys, Natalie; Morozova, Julia; Ilyin, Vyacheslav; Clauwaert, Peter; Christiaens, Marlies E. R.; Lindeboom, Ralph E. F.; Vlaeminck, Siegfried; Prat, Delphine; Arroyo, Jose M. C.; Conincx, Ilse; Van Hoey, Olivier; Roume, Hugo; Udert, Kai; Sas, Benedikt

2016-07-01

Space synthetic biology offers key opportunities for long-term space missions. Planets mining, terraformation, space medicine and Life Support technologies would all benefit from an integrative biological approach. However, space is a harsh environment for life: microgravity, temperature, UV and cosmic radiation can affect the health and functionality of microorganisms and plants, possibly preventing the optimal performance of the systems. The European Space Agency's Life Support System (MELiSSA) has been developed as a model for future long term Space missions and Space habitation. MELiSSA is a 5 compartment artificial ecosystem with microorganisms and higher, that aims at completely recycling gas, liquid and solid waste. In this study, the survival and functional activity after Lower Earth Orbit conditions of microbial nitrogen conversions, relevant for MELiSSA's CIII compartment, was tested. Synthetic communities containing Nitrosomonas europeae, Nitrosomonas ureae, Nitrobacter winogradskyi, Nitrospira moscoviensis and Cupriavidus pinatubonensis were exposed to the Lower Earth Orbit conditions of the International Space Station (ISS) for 7 days. Nitrosomonas europeae, Nitrobacter winogradskyi, Cupriavidus pinatubonensis, and three mixed communities (a urine nitrification sludge, a sludge containing aerobic ammonia oxidizing bacteria and anammox bacteria (OLAND), and an aquaculture sludge containing ammonia oxidizing archaea) were exposed to Lower Earth Orbit conditions for 44 days. Survival after both space flights was demonstrated because nitritation, nitratation, denitrification and anammox activity could be restored at a rate comparable to ground storage conditions. Our results validate the potential survival feasibility and suggest future space applications for N-related microorganisms.

MUSICAL SPACE AS A WAY OF REFLECTING PUBLIC RELATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MOZGOT SVETLANA

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The semantic universality of the space category and its relationship with the extra musical experience of the person provides composers an opportunity to model various forms of public relations in music. Being guided by E. Hall’s theory and the four models of communicative space identified by him – intimate, personal, social and public – we make an attempt to define the specific features of these spatial models in music. In this paper, the principles of E. Hall’s theory are for the first time projected on music. The research methods include hermeneutics, inter-disciplinary approach and musicological analysis. The research of the samples of instrumental music written by Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt showed the specific features of the intimate space model as the basic isolation of its structure, hierarchy and a special toponymy of the man’s inner world including the invariant steady presence of certain subjects and objects. The research of other spatial models in music shows prospects of conceiving the evolution of music as a special spatial form of reflecting the patterns of public consciousness and society arrangement.

Summary of Auger-Related Entanglement Incidents Occurring Inside Agricultural Confined Spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Y H; Field, W E

2016-04-01

Entanglements in energized equipment, including augers found in agricultural workplaces, have historically been a significant cause of traumatic injury. Incidents involving augers located inside agricultural confined spaces (primarily grain storage structures and forage silos), although relatively rare events, are a widely recognized problem due to the relative severity of the resulting injuries and the complexities of victim extrication. However, this problem is neither well documented nor elucidated in the research literature, other than anecdotal observations relating to medical treatment of auger-related injuries and citations for non-compliance with federal and state workplace safety regulations. A review of nearly 1,650 cases documented in the Purdue Agricultural Confined Spaces Incident Database from 1964 to 2013 identified 167 incidents involving entanglement in an energized auger that occurred while the victim was working inside an agricultural confined space. These incidents primarily included in-floor unloading augers, sweep augers, stirring augers, and auger components found on silo unloaders. Cases involving portable tube augers used to handle grain outside grain storage structures were not included. Based on analysis of the data, approximately 98% of known victims were male, with the 21-45 age group reporting the largest number of incidents. Nearly one-third (32.3%) of incidents were fatal, and lower limb amputation was the most frequently reported injury type. (It is believed that non-fatal incidents are grossly under-reported in the data set due to a lack of comprehensive reporting requirements, especially for most farms, feedlots, and seed processing operations, which are generally exempt from compliance with OSHA machine guarding, confined-space, and grain-handling standards.) The type of auger identified most frequently as the agent of injury was the exposed in-floor auger (48), which frequently resulted in amputation of one or more lower limbs

Relative biological effectiveness of protons and heavy particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vyglenov, A.; Fedorenko, B.; Kabachenko, A.

1986-01-01

The genetic effectiveness was studied of protons (9 GeB/nuclon, 0,72 Gy/min), α-particles (4 GeB/nuclon, 0,9 Gy/min) and carbon ions (4 GeB/nuclon 0,36 Gy/min). The translocation yield in mouse spermatogonia was used as indicator of radiation-induced genetic injury. Reciprocal translocation were registered six months after the irradiation on spermatocytes in diakinesmetaphase I. Comparison was made with gamma-irradiated animals from 60 Co source with dose rate 1,44 Gy/min. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) was determined by comparing the regression coefficients from the linear dose translocation yield dependency. The values of the RBE coefficients were 0.8, 0.9 and 1.2, accordingly for protons, α-particles and carbon ions

Role of soil biology and soil functions in relation to land use intensity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bondi, Giulia; Wall, David; Bacher, Matthias; Emmet-Booth, Jeremy; Graça, Jessica; Marongiu, Irene; Creamer, Rachel

2017-04-01

The delivery of the ecosystem's functions is predominantly controlled by soil biology. The biology found in a gram of soil contains more than ten thousand individual species of bacteria and fungi (Torsvik et al., 1990). Understanding the role and the requirements of these organisms is essential for the protection and the sustainable use of soils. Soil biology represents the engine of all the processes occurring in the soil and it supports the ecosystem services such as: 1) nutrient mineralisation 2) plant production 3) water purification and regulation and 4) carbon cycling and storage. During the last years land management type and intensity have been identified as major drivers for microbial performance in soil. For this reason land management needs to be appropriately studied to understand the role of soil biology within this complex interplay of functions. We aimed to study whether and how land management drives soil biological processes and related functions. To reach this objective we built a land use intensity index (LUI) able to quantify the impact of the common farming practices carried out in Irish grassland soils. The LUI is derived from a detailed farmer questionnaire on grassland management practices at 38 farms distributed in the five major agro-climatic regions of Ireland defined by Holden and Brereton (2004). Soils were classified based on their drainage status according to the Irish Soil Information System by Creamer et al. (2014). This detailed questionnaire is then summarised into 3 management intensity components: (i) intensity of Fertilisation (Fi), (ii) frequency of Mowing (Mi) and (iii) intensity of Livestock Grazing (Gi). Sites were sampled to assess the impact of land management intensity on microbial community structure and enzyme behaviour in relation to nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon cycling. Preliminary results for enzymes linked to C and N cycles showed higher activity in relation to low grazing pressure (low Gi). Enzymes linked to P

Three-dimensional labeling program for elucidation of the geometric properties of biological particles in three-dimensional space.

Science.gov (United States)

Nomura, A; Yamazaki, Y; Tsuji, T; Kawasaki, Y; Tanaka, S

1996-09-15

For all biological particles such as cells or cellular organelles, there are three-dimensional coordinates representing the centroid or center of gravity. These coordinates and other numerical parameters such as volume, fluorescence intensity, surface area, and shape are referred to in this paper as geometric properties, which may provide critical information for the clarification of in situ mechanisms of molecular and cellular functions in living organisms. We have established a method for the elucidation of these properties, designated the three-dimensional labeling program (3DLP). Algorithms of 3DLP are so simple that this method can be carried out through the use of software combinations in image analysis on a personal computer. To evaluate 3DLP, it was applied to a 32-cell-stage sea urchin embryo, double stained with FITC for cellular protein of blastomeres and propidium iodide for nuclear DNA. A stack of optical serial section images was obtained by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The method was found effective for determining geometric properties and should prove applicable to the study of many different kinds of biological particles in three-dimensional space.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, Issue 10

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran; Radtke, Mike; Teeter, Ronald; Garshnek, Victoria; Rowe, Joseph E.

1987-01-01

The USSR Space Life Sciences Digest contains abstracts of 37 papers recently published in Russian language periodicals and bound collections and of five new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. Additional features include the translation of a book chapter concerning use of biological rhythms as a basis for cosmonaut selection, excerpts from the diary of a participant in a long-term isolation experiment, and a picture and description of the Mir space station. The abstracts included in this issue were identified as relevant to 25 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology. These areas are adaptation, biological rhythms, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, group dynamics, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, morphology and cytology, musculosketal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, personnel selection, psychology, and radiobiology.

Spotted hyaena space use in relation to human infrastructure inside a protected area.

Science.gov (United States)

Belton, Lydia E; Cameron, Elissa Z; Dalerum, Fredrik

2016-01-01

Increasing human population growth has led to elevated levels of human-carnivore conflict. However, some carnivore populations have adapted to urban environments and the resources they supply. Such associations may influence carnivore ecology, behaviour and life-history. Pockets of urbanisation sometimes occur within protected areas, so that anthropogenic influences on carnivore biology are not necessarily confined to unprotected areas. In this study we evaluated associations between human infrastructure and related activity and space use of spotted hyaenas within one of the largest protected areas in South Africa, the Kruger National Park. Home range size was smaller for the dominant female of a clan living in close proximity to humans than that of the dominant female of a clan without direct access to human infrastructure. The home range including human infrastructure was also used less evenly during the night, presumably when the animals were active. Within this home range, a village area was preferred during the night, when the least modified areas within the village were preferred and administration and highly modified areas were avoided. During the day, however, there were no preference or avoidance of the village area, but all habitats except unmodified habitats within the village area were avoided. We suggest that human infrastructure and associated activity influenced hyaena space use, primarily through alterations in the spatial distribution of food. However, these effects may have been indirectly caused by habitat modification that generated favourable hunting habitat rather than a direct effect caused by access to human food such as garbage. Because of the often pivotal effects of apex predators in terrestrial ecosystems, we encourage further work aimed to quantify how human presence influences large carnivores and associated ecosystem processes within protected areas.

Advances in radiation biology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lett, J.T.; Ehmann, U.K.; Cox, A.B.

1987-01-01

The classical period of radiation biology is coming to a close. Such change always occurs at a time when the ideas and concepts that promoted the burgeoning of an infant science are no longer adequate. This volume covers a number of areas in which new ideas and research are playing a vital role, including cellular radiation sensitivity, radioactive waste disposal, and space radiation biology

Miniature Active Space Radiation Dosimeter, Phase II

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Space Micro will extend our Phase I R&D to develop a family of miniature, active space radiation dosimeters/particle counters, with a focus on biological/manned...

From Earth to Space: Application of Biological Treatment for the Removal of Ammonia from Water

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, Karen; Adam, Niklas; White, Dawn; Ghosh, Amlan; Seidel, Chad

2014-01-01

Managing ammonia is often a challenge in both drinking water and wastewater treatment facilities. Ammonia is unregulated in drinking water, but its presence may result in numerous water quality issues in the distribution system such as loss of residual disinfectant, nitrification, and corrosion. Ammonia concentrations need to be managed in wastewater effluent to sustain the health of receiving water bodies. Biological treatment involves the microbiological oxidation of ammonia to nitrate through a two-step process. While nitrification is common in the environment, and nitrifying bacteria can grow rapidly on filtration media, appropriate conditions, such as the presence of dissolved oxygen and required nutrients, need to be established. This presentation will highlight results from two ongoing research programs - one at NASA's Johnson Space Center, and the other at a drinking water facility in California. Both programs are designed to demonstrate nitrification through biological treatment. The objective of NASA's research is to be able to recycle wastewater to potable water for spaceflight missions. To this end, a biological water processor (BWP) has been integrated with a forward osmosis secondary treatment system (FOST). Bacteria mineralize organic carbon to carbon dioxide as well as ammonia-nitrogen present in the wastewater to nitrogen gas, through a combination of nitrification and denitrification. The effluent from the BWP system is low in organic contaminants, but high in total dissolved solids. The FOST system, integrated downstream of the BWP, removes dissolved solids through a combination of concentration-driven forward osmosis and pressure driven reverse osmosis. The integrated system testing planned for this year is expected to produce water that requires only a polishing step to meet potable water requirements for spaceflight. The pilot study in California is being conducted on Golden State Water Company's Yukon wells that have hydrogen sulfide odor

Biomedical engineering strategies in system design space.

Science.gov (United States)

Savageau, Michael A

2011-04-01

Modern systems biology and synthetic bioengineering face two major challenges in relating properties of the genetic components of a natural or engineered system to its integrated behavior. The first is the fundamental unsolved problem of relating the digital representation of the genotype to the analog representation of the parameters for the molecular components. For example, knowing the DNA sequence does not allow one to determine the kinetic parameters of an enzyme. The second is the fundamental unsolved problem of relating the parameters of the components and the environment to the phenotype of the global system. For example, knowing the parameters does not tell one how many qualitatively distinct phenotypes are in the organism's repertoire or the relative fitness of the phenotypes in different environments. These also are challenges for biomedical engineers as they attempt to develop therapeutic strategies to treat pathology or to redirect normal cellular functions for biotechnological purposes. In this article, the second of these fundamental challenges will be addressed, and the notion of a "system design space" for relating the parameter space of components to the phenotype space of bioengineering systems will be focused upon. First, the concept of a system design space will be motivated by introducing one of its key components from an intuitive perspective. Second, a simple linear example will be used to illustrate a generic method for constructing the design space in which qualitatively distinct phenotypes can be identified and counted, their fitness analyzed and compared, and their tolerance to change measured. Third, two examples of nonlinear systems from different areas of biomedical engineering will be presented. Finally, after giving reference to a few other applications that have made use of the system design space approach to reveal important design principles, some concluding remarks concerning challenges and opportunities for further development

Space Life-Support Engineering Program

Science.gov (United States)

Seagrave, Richard C. (Principal Investigator)

1995-01-01

This report covers the seventeen months of work performed under an extended one year NASA University Grant awarded to Iowa State University to perform research on topics relating to the development of closed-loop long-term life support systems with the initial principal focus on space water management. In the first phase of the program, investigators from chemistry and chemical engineering with demonstrated expertise in systems analysis, thermodynamics, analytical chemistry and instrumentation, performed research and development in two major related areas; the development of low-cost, accurate, and durable sensors for trace chemical and biological species, and the development of unsteady-state simulation packages for use in the development and optimization of control systems for life support systems. In the second year of the program, emphasis was redirected towards concentrating on the development of dynamic simulation techniques and software and on performing a thermodynamic systems analysis, centered on availability or energy analysis, in an effort to begin optimizing the systems needed for water purification. The third year of the program, the subject of this report, was devoted to the analysis of the water balance for the interaction between humans and the life support system during space flight and exercise, to analysis of the cardiopulmonary systems of humans during space flight, and to analysis of entropy production during operation of the air recovery system during space flight.

Canadian space agency discipline working group for space dosimetry and radiation science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waker, Anthony; Waller, Edward; Lewis, Brent; Bennett, Leslie; Conroy, Thomas

2008-01-01

Full text: One of the great technical challenges in the human and robotic exploration of space is the deleterious effect of radiation on humans and physical systems. The magnitude of this challenge is broadly understood in terms of the sources of radiation, however, a great deal remains to be done in the development of instrumentation, suitable for the space environment, which can provide real-time monitoring of the complex radiation fields encountered in space and a quantitative measure of potential biological risk. In order to meet these research requirements collaboration is needed between experimental nuclear instrumentation scientists, theoretical scientists working on numerical modeling techniques and radiation biologists. Under the auspices of the Canadian Space Agency such a collaborative body has been established as one of a number of Discipline Working Groups. Members of the Space Dosimetry and Radiation Science working group form a collaborative network across Canada including universities, government laboratories and the industrial sector. Three central activities form the core of the Space Dosimetry and Radiation Science DWG. An instrument sub-group is engaged in the development of instruments capable of gamma ray, energetic charged particle and neutron dosimetry including the ability to provide dosimetric information in real-time. A second sub-group is focused on computer modeling of space radiation fields in order to assess the performance of conceptual designs of detectors and dosimeters or the impact of radiation on cellular and sub-cellular biological targets and a third sub-group is engaged in the study of the biological effects of space radiation and the potential of biomarkers as a method of assessing radiation impact on humans. Many working group members are active in more than one sub-group facilitating communication throughout the whole network. A summary progress-report will be given of the activities of the Discipline Working Group and the

Method of locating related items in a geometric space for data mining

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrickson, Bruce A.

1999-01-01

A method for locating related items in a geometric space transforms relationships among items to geometric locations. The method locates items in the geometric space so that the distance between items corresponds to the degree of relatedness. The method facilitates communication of the structure of the relationships among the items. The method is especially beneficial for communicating databases with many items, and with non-regular relationship patterns. Examples of such databases include databases containing items such as scientific papers or patents, related by citations or keywords. A computer system adapted for practice of the present invention can include a processor, a storage subsystem, a display device, and computer software to direct the location and display of the entities. The method comprises assigning numeric values as a measure of similarity between each pairing of items. A matrix is constructed, based on the numeric values. The eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the matrix are determined. Each item is located in the geometric space at coordinates determined from the eigenvectors and eigenvalues. Proper construction of the matrix and proper determination of coordinates from eigenvectors can ensure that distance between items in the geometric space is representative of the numeric value measure of the items' similarity.

Revised Robertson's test theory of special relativity: space-time structure and dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vargas, J.G.; Torr, D.G.

1986-01-01

The experimental testing of the Lorentz transformations is based on a family of sets of coordinate transformations that do not comply in general with the principle of equivalence of the inertial frames. The Lorentz and Galilean sets of transformations are the only member sets of the family that satisfy this principle. In the neighborhood of regular points of space-time, all members in the family are assumed to comply with local homogeneity of space-time and isotropy of space in at least one free-falling elevator, to be denoted as Robertson's ab initio rest frame (H.P. Robertson, Rev. Mod. Phys. 21, 378 (1949)). Without any further assumptions, it is shown that Robertson's rest frame becomes a preferred frame for all member sets of the Robertson family except for, again, Galilean and Einstein's relativities. If one now assumes the validity of Maxwell-Lorentz electrodynamics in the preferred frame, a different electrodynamics spontaneously emerges for each set of transformations. The flat space-time of relativity retains its relevance, which permits an obvious generalization, in a Robertson context, of Dirac's theory of the electron and Einstein's gravitation. The family of theories thus obtained constitutes a covering theory of relativistic physics. A technique is developed to move back and forth between Einstein's relativity and the different members of the family of theories. It permits great simplifications in the analysis of relativistic experiments with relevant ''Robertson's subfamilies.'' It is shown how to adapt the Clifford algebra version of standard physics for use with the covering theory and, in particular, with the covering Dirac theory

The Role of Open Space in Urban Neighbourhoods for Health-Related Lifestyle

Science.gov (United States)

Lestan, Katarina Ana; Eržen, Ivan; Golobič, Mojca

2014-01-01

The research reported in this paper addresses the relationship between quality of open space and health related lifestyle in urban residential areas. The research was performed in the residential developments in Ljubljana, Slovenia, dating from the time of political and economic changes in the early nineties. Compared to the older neighborhoods, these are typically single-use residential areas, with small open spaces and poor landscape design. The research is concerned with the quality of life in these areas, especially from the perspective of the vulnerable users, like the elderly and children. Both depend on easily accessible green areas in close proximity to their homes. The hypothesis is that the poor open space quality affects their health-related behavior and their perceived health status. The research has three methodological phases: (1) a comparison between urban residential areas by criteria describing their physical characteristics; (2) behavior observation and mapping and (3) a resident opinion survey. The results confirm differences between open spaces of the selected residential areas as well as their relation with outdoor activities: a lack of outdoor programs correlates with poor variety of outdoor activities, limited to transition type, less time spent outdoors and lower satisfaction with their home environment. The survey also disclosed a strong influence of a set of socio-economic variables such as education and economic status on physical activity and self-perceived health status of people. The results therefore confirm the hypothesis especially for less affluent and educated; i.e., vulnerable groups. PMID:25003173

The Role of Open Space in Urban Neighbourhoods for Health-Related Lifestyle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarina Ana Lestan

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The research reported in this paper addresses the relationship between quality of open space and health related lifestyle in urban residential areas. The research was performed in the residential developments in Ljubljana, Slovenia, dating from the time of political and economic changes in the early nineties. Compared to the older neighborhoods, these are typically single-use residential areas, with small open spaces and poor landscape design. The research is concerned with the quality of life in these areas, especially from the perspective of the vulnerable users, like the elderly and children. Both depend on easily accessible green areas in close proximity to their homes. The hypothesis is that the poor open space quality affects their health-related behavior and their perceived health status. The research has three methodological phases: (1 a comparison between urban residential areas by criteria describing their physical characteristics; (2 behavior observation and mapping and (3 a resident opinion survey. The results confirm differences between open spaces of the selected residential areas as well as their relation with outdoor activities: a lack of outdoor programs correlates with poor variety of outdoor activities, limited to transition type, less time spent outdoors and lower satisfaction with their home environment. The survey also disclosed a strong influence of a set of socio-economic variables such as education and economic status on physical activity and self-perceived health status of people. The results therefore confirm the hypothesis especially for less affluent and educated; i.e., vulnerable groups.

Relativity Based on Physical Processes Rather Than Space-Time

Science.gov (United States)

Giese, Albrecht

2013-09-01

Physicists' understanding of relativity and the way it is handled is at present dominated by the interpretation of Albert Einstein, who related relativity to specific properties of space and time. The principal alternative to Einstein's interpretation is based on a concept proposed by Hendrik A. Lorentz, which uses knowledge of classical physics to explain relativistic phenomena. In this paper, we will show that on the one hand the Lorentz-based interpretation provides a simpler mathematical way of arriving at the known results for both Special and General Relativity. On the other hand, it is able to solve problems which have remained open to this day. Furthermore, a particle model will be presented, based on Lorentzian relativity, which explains the origin of mass without the use of the Higgs mechanism, based on the finiteness of the speed of light, and which provides the classical results for particle properties that are currently only accessible through quantum mechanics.

Space life sciences: Programs and projects

Science.gov (United States)

1989-01-01

NASA space life science activities are outlined. Brief, general descriptions are given of research in the areas of biomedical research, space biology, closed loop life support systems, exobiology, and biospherics.

Biosensors for Real-Time Monitoring of Radiation-Induced Biologic Effects in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, James R.; Balogh, Lajos; Majoros, Istvan; Keszler, Balazs; Myc, Andrzej; Kukowska-Latallo, Jolanta; Norris, Theodore; delaiglesia, Felix; Beeson, Nicholas W. (Compiler)

2002-01-01

This work seeks to develop cellular biosensors based on dendritic polymers. Nanoscale polymer structures less than 20 nm in diameter will be used as the basis of the biosensors. The structures will be designed to target into specific cells of an astronaut and be able to monitor health issues such as exposure to radiation. Multiple components can be assembled on the polymers including target directors, analytical devices (such as molecular probes), and reporting agents. The reporting will be accomplished through fluorescence signal monitoring, with the use of multispectral analysis for signal interpretation. These nanosensors could facilitate the success and increase the safety of extended space flight. The design and assembly of these devices has been pioneered at the Center for Biologic Nanotechnology in the University of Michigan. This period, synthesis of the test-bed biosensors continued. Studies were performed on the candidate fluorescent dyes to determine which might be suitable for the biosensor under development. Development continued on producing an artificial capillary bed as a tool for the use in the production of the fluorescence signal monitor. Work was also done on the in vitro multispectral analysis system, which uses the robotic microscope.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography With Indexes. Supplement 499

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP#1999-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth#s atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. The NASA CASI price code table, addresses of organizations, and document availability information are included before the abstract section. Two indexes-subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 485

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP-1999-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. The NASA CASI price code table, addresses of organizations, and document availability information are included before the abstract section. Two indexes-subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography With Indexes. Supplement 506

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP#2000-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth's atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. The NASA CASI price code table, addresses of organizations, and document availability information are included before the abstract section. Two indexes- subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes. Supplement 496

Science.gov (United States)

2000-01-01

This supplemental issue of Aerospace Medicine and Biology, A Continuing Bibliography with Indexes (NASA/SP#2000-7011) lists reports, articles, and other documents recently announced in the NASA STI Database. In its subject coverage, Aerospace Medicine and Biology concentrates on the biological, physiological, psychological, and environmental effects to which humans are subjected during and following simulated or actual flight in the Earth#s atmosphere or in interplanetary space. References describing similar effects on biological organisms of lower order are also included. Such related topics as sanitary problems, pharmacology, toxicology, safety and survival, life support systems, exobiology, and personnel factors receive appropriate attention. Applied research receives the most emphasis, but references to fundamental studies and theoretical principles related to experimental development also qualify for inclusion. Each entry in the publication consists of a standard bibliographic citation accompanied, in most cases, by an abstract. The NASA CASI price code table, addresses of organizations, and document availability information are included before the abstract section. Two indexes#subject and author are included after the abstract section.

Digest of Russian Space Life Sciences, issue 33

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Lydia Razran (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Rowe, Joseph (Editor)

1993-01-01

This is the thirty-third issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 55 papers published in Russian journals. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to the following areas of space biology and medicine: biological rhythms, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, equipment and instrumentation, gastrointestinal system, genetics, hematology, human performance, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, psychology, radiobiology, and reproductive system.

Some normed binomial difference sequence spaces related to the [Formula: see text] spaces.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Meimei; Meng, Jian

2017-01-01

The aim of this paper is to introduce the normed binomial sequence spaces [Formula: see text] by combining the binomial transformation and difference operator, where [Formula: see text]. We prove that these spaces are linearly isomorphic to the spaces [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], respectively. Furthermore, we compute Schauder bases and the α -, β - and γ -duals of these sequence spaces.

Canonical quantization of general relativity in discrete space-times.

Science.gov (United States)

Gambini, Rodolfo; Pullin, Jorge

2003-01-17

It has long been recognized that lattice gauge theory formulations, when applied to general relativity, conflict with the invariance of the theory under diffeomorphisms. We analyze discrete lattice general relativity and develop a canonical formalism that allows one to treat constrained theories in Lorentzian signature space-times. The presence of the lattice introduces a "dynamical gauge" fixing that makes the quantization of the theories conceptually clear, albeit computationally involved. The problem of a consistent algebra of constraints is automatically solved in our approach. The approach works successfully in other field theories as well, including topological theories. A simple cosmological application exhibits quantum elimination of the singularity at the big bang.

Analysis of the intellectual structure of human space exploration research using a bibliometric approach: Focus on human related factors

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Tai Sik; Lee, Yoon-Sun; Lee, Jaeho; Chang, Byung Chul

2018-02-01

Human space exploration (HSE) is an interdisciplinary field composed of a range of subjects that have developed dramatically over the last few decades. This paper investigates the intellectual structure of HSE research with a focus on human related factors. A bibliometric approach with quantitative analytical techniques is applied to study the development and growth of the research. This study retrieves 1921 papers on HSE related to human factors from the year 1990 to the year 2016 from Web of Science and constructs a critical citation network composed of 336 papers. Edge-betweenness-based clustering is used to classify the citation network into twelve distinct research clusters based on four research themes: "biological risks from space radiation," "health and performance during long-duration spaceflight," "program and in-situ resources for HSE missions," and "habitat and life support systems in the space environment." These research themes are also similar to the classification results of a co-occurrence analysis on keywords for a total of 1921 papers. Papers with high centrality scores are identified as important papers in terms of knowledge flow. Moreover, the intermediary role of papers in exchanging knowledge between HSE sub-areas is identified using brokerage analysis. The key-route main path highlights the theoretical development trajectories. Due to the recent dramatic increase in investment by international governments and the private sector, the theoretical development trajectories of key research themes have been expanding from furthering scientific and technical knowledge to include various social and economic issues, thus encouraging massive public participation. This study contributes to an understanding of research trends and popular issues in the field of HSE by introducing a powerful way of determining major research themes and development trajectories. This study will help researchers seek the underlying knowledge diffusion flow from multifaceted

Positioning genomics in biology education: content mapping of undergraduate biology textbooks.

Science.gov (United States)

Wernick, Naomi L B; Ndung'u, Eric; Haughton, Dominique; Ledley, Fred D

2014-12-01

Biological thought increasingly recognizes the centrality of the genome in constituting and regulating processes ranging from cellular systems to ecology and evolution. In this paper, we ask whether genomics is similarly positioned as a core concept in the instructional sequence for undergraduate biology. Using quantitative methods, we analyzed the order in which core biological concepts were introduced in textbooks for first-year general and human biology. Statistical analysis was performed using self-organizing map algorithms and conventional methods to identify clusters of terms and their relative position in the books. General biology textbooks for both majors and nonmajors introduced genome-related content after text related to cell biology and biological chemistry, but before content describing higher-order biological processes. However, human biology textbooks most often introduced genomic content near the end of the books. These results suggest that genomics is not yet positioned as a core concept in commonly used textbooks for first-year biology and raises questions about whether such textbooks, or courses based on the outline of these textbooks, provide an appropriate foundation for understanding contemporary biological science.

On Yang's Noncommutative Space Time Algebra, Holography, Area Quantization and C-space Relativity

CERN Document Server

Castro, C

2004-01-01

An isomorphism between Yang's Noncommutative space-time algebra (involving two length scales) and the holographic-area-coordinates algebra of C-spaces (Clifford spaces) is constructed via an AdS_5 space-time which is instrumental in explaining the origins of an extra (infrared) scale R in conjunction to the (ultraviolet) Planck scale lambda characteristic of C-spaces. Yang's space-time algebra allowed Tanaka to explain the origins behind the discrete nature of the spectrum for the spatial coordinates and spatial momenta which yields a minimum length-scale lambda (ultraviolet cutoff) and a minimum momentum p = (\\hbar / R) (maximal length R, infrared cutoff). The double-scaling limit of Yang's algebra : lambda goes to 0, and R goes to infinity, in conjunction with the large n infinity limit, leads naturally to the area quantization condition : lambda R = L^2 = n lambda^2 (in Planck area units) given in terms of the discrete angular-momentum eigenvalues n . The generalized Weyl-Heisenberg algebra in C-spaces is ...

Developmental biology, the stem cell of biological disciplines.

Science.gov (United States)

Gilbert, Scott F

2017-12-01

Developmental biology (including embryology) is proposed as "the stem cell of biological disciplines." Genetics, cell biology, oncology, immunology, evolutionary mechanisms, neurobiology, and systems biology each has its ancestry in developmental biology. Moreover, developmental biology continues to roll on, budding off more disciplines, while retaining its own identity. While its descendant disciplines differentiate into sciences with a restricted set of paradigms, examples, and techniques, developmental biology remains vigorous, pluripotent, and relatively undifferentiated. In many disciplines, especially in evolutionary biology and oncology, the developmental perspective is being reasserted as an important research program.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 8

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, L. R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor)

1985-01-01

This is the eighth issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 48 papers recently published in Russian language periodicals and bound collections and of 10 new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables. Additional features include reviews of two Russian books on radiobiology and a description of the latest meeting of an international working group on remote sensing of the Earth. Information about English translations of Soviet materials available to readers is provided. The topics covered in this issue have been identified as relevant to 33 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology. These areas are: adaptation, biological rhythms, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cosmonaut training, cytology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, exobiology, gastrointestinal system, genetics, group dynamics, habitability and environment effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, man-machine systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, personnel selection, psychology, reproductive biology, and space biology and medicine.

Radiation risk in space exploration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schimmerling, W.; Wilson, J.W.; Cucinotta, F.; Kim, M.H.Y.

1997-01-01

Humans living and working in space are exposed to energetic charged particle radiation due to galactic cosmic rays and solar particle emissions. In order to keep the risk due to radiation exposure of astronauts below acceptable levels, the physical interaction of these particles with space structures and the biological consequences for crew members need to be understood. Such knowledge is, to a large extent, very sparse when it is available at all. Radiation limits established for space radiation protection purposes are based on extrapolation of risk from Japanese survivor data, and have been found to have large uncertainties. In space, attempting to account for large uncertainties by worst-case design results in excessive costs and accurate risk prediction is essential. It is best developed at ground-based laboratories, using particle accelerator beams to simulate individual components of space radiation. Development of mechanistic models of the action of space radiation is expected to lead to the required improvements in the accuracy of predictions, to optimization of space structures for radiation protection and, eventually, to the development of biological methods of prevention and intervention against radiation injury. (author)

Biologically-Inspired Spike-Based Automatic Speech Recognition of Isolated Digits Over a Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kan Li

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel real-time dynamic framework for quantifying time-series structure in spoken words using spikes. Audio signals are converted into multi-channel spike trains using a biologically-inspired leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF spike generator. These spike trains are mapped into a function space of infinite dimension, i.e., a Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS using point-process kernels, where a state-space model learns the dynamics of the multidimensional spike input using gradient descent learning. This kernelized recurrent system is very parsimonious and achieves the necessary memory depth via feedback of its internal states when trained discriminatively, utilizing the full context of the phoneme sequence. A main advantage of modeling nonlinear dynamics using state-space trajectories in the RKHS is that it imposes no restriction on the relationship between the exogenous input and its internal state. We are free to choose the input representation with an appropriate kernel, and changing the kernel does not impact the system nor the learning algorithm. Moreover, we show that this novel framework can outperform both traditional hidden Markov model (HMM speech processing as well as neuromorphic implementations based on spiking neural network (SNN, yielding accurate and ultra-low power word spotters. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate its capabilities using the benchmark TI-46 digit corpus for isolated-word automatic speech recognition (ASR or keyword spotting. Compared to HMM using Mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC front-end without time-derivatives, our MFCC-KAARMA offered improved performance. For spike-train front-end, spike-KAARMA also outperformed state-of-the-art SNN solutions. Furthermore, compared to MFCCs, spike trains provided enhanced noise robustness in certain low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR regime.

Biologically-Inspired Spike-Based Automatic Speech Recognition of Isolated Digits Over a Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Kan; Príncipe, José C

2018-01-01

This paper presents a novel real-time dynamic framework for quantifying time-series structure in spoken words using spikes. Audio signals are converted into multi-channel spike trains using a biologically-inspired leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) spike generator. These spike trains are mapped into a function space of infinite dimension, i.e., a Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) using point-process kernels, where a state-space model learns the dynamics of the multidimensional spike input using gradient descent learning. This kernelized recurrent system is very parsimonious and achieves the necessary memory depth via feedback of its internal states when trained discriminatively, utilizing the full context of the phoneme sequence. A main advantage of modeling nonlinear dynamics using state-space trajectories in the RKHS is that it imposes no restriction on the relationship between the exogenous input and its internal state. We are free to choose the input representation with an appropriate kernel, and changing the kernel does not impact the system nor the learning algorithm. Moreover, we show that this novel framework can outperform both traditional hidden Markov model (HMM) speech processing as well as neuromorphic implementations based on spiking neural network (SNN), yielding accurate and ultra-low power word spotters. As a proof of concept, we demonstrate its capabilities using the benchmark TI-46 digit corpus for isolated-word automatic speech recognition (ASR) or keyword spotting. Compared to HMM using Mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) front-end without time-derivatives, our MFCC-KAARMA offered improved performance. For spike-train front-end, spike-KAARMA also outperformed state-of-the-art SNN solutions. Furthermore, compared to MFCCs, spike trains provided enhanced noise robustness in certain low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime.

Loop space representation of quantum general relativity and the group of loops

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gambini, R.

1991-01-01

The action of the constraints of quantum general relativity on a general state in the loop representation is coded in terms of loop derivatives. These differential operators are related to the infinitesimal generators of the group of loops and generalize the area derivative first considered by Mandelstam. A new sector of solutions of the physical states space of nonperturbative quantum general relativity is found. (orig.)

Relational Databases: A Transparent Framework for Encouraging Biology Students to Think Informatically

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Michael; Gladstone, William; Weir, Michael

2004-01-01

We discuss how relational databases constitute an ideal framework for representing and analyzing large-scale genomic data sets in biology. As a case study, we describe a Drosophila splice-site database that we recently developed at Wesleyan University for use in research and teaching. The database stores data about splice sites computed by a…

[Application of target restoration space quantity and quantitative relation in precise esthetic prosthodontics].

Science.gov (United States)

Haiyang, Yu; Tian, Luo

2016-06-01

Target restoration space (TRS) is the most precise space required for designing optimal prosthesis. TRS consists of an internal or external tooth space to confirm the esthetics and function of the final restoration. Therefore, assisted with quantitive analysis transfer, TRS quantitative analysis is a significant improvement for minimum tooth preparation. This article presents TRS quantity-related measurement, analysis, transfer, and internal relevance of three TR. classifications. Results reveal the close bond between precision and minimally invasive treatment. This study can be used to improve the comprehension and execution of precise esthetic prosthodontics.

The Relative Importance of Spatial Versus Temporal Structure in the Perception of Biological Motion: An Event-Related Potential Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hirai, Masahiro; Hiraki, Kazuo

2006-01-01

We investigated how the spatiotemporal structure of animations of biological motion (BM) affects brain activity. We measured event-related potentials (ERPs) during the perception of BM under four conditions: normal spatial and temporal structure; scrambled spatial and normal temporal structure; normal spatial and scrambled temporal structure; and…

Some perspectives on research into the biological response to non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. [relation to SETI, SPS, and other government projects

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, J. C.

1979-01-01

Research on the biological effects of RF radiation in the United States has undergone a series of swings during the last three decades. The resurgence of research during the past decade is examined in the light of two projects: the proposed Space Power Station and SETI.

Recent Joint Studies Related to the Development of Space Radioisotope Power Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kramer Daniel P.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Over the last several years there has been a mutually beneficial ongoing technical interchange between the U.K and the U.S. related to various aspects of space radioisotope power systems (RPS. While this interchange has been primarily focused on materials based activities, it has also included some aspects related to safety, environmental, and lessons learned during the application of RPSs by the U.S. during the last fifty years. Recent joint technical RPS endeavors have centered on the development of a possible “cold” ceramic surrogate for 238PuO2 and 241AmOx and the irradiation of thermoelectrics and other materials at expected RPS related neutron fluences. As the U.S. continues to deploy and Europe develops RPS capability, on-going joint RPS technical interfaces will continue to enhance each entities’ endeavors in this nuclear based power technology critical for deep space exploration.

Theoretical considerations concerning the effect of relativistic velocities on the rate of biological processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Heneine, I F

1997-06-01

Theoretical considerations were advanced on the reaction rate of biological systems in a rocket accelerated at fractional levels of the velocity of light. The values of mass increase in reacting molecules and length contraction of space under these relativistic velocities attained by the hypothetical rocket were inserted in equations of the absolute reaction rate theory. The equations employed were for the frequency of collisions, and for the internal kinetic energy of molecular reactions. Results of both sets of equations indicated that reduction of reaction rates were correlated to the mass increase. This would imply a general slowing of all chemical, biochemical and biological processes taking place. A human would suffer a related decrease in metabolic rate. Contrary to what is generally accepted, the biological aging of the space traveler under velocities bearable by humans, namely under 0.50c, would follow a pace very similar to that of an observer remaining in the resting frame of reference. With increased increments of the velocity, the space traveler would display a more intense lowering of the metabolic rate, with signs and symptoms comparable to body core hypothermia. Metabolic rates at insufficient levels to maintain the vital functions would be attained at 0.70c and higher, leading swiftly to coma and death. The presence of an endocrine dysfunction such as hypothyroidism or obesity in the space traveler would aggravate the signs and symptoms. Space travel at efficient velocities would be unbearable for a warm-blooded animal.

Biotechnological experiments in space flights on board of space stations

Science.gov (United States)

Nechitailo, Galina S.

2012-07-01

Space flight conditions are stressful for any plant and cause structural-functional transition due to mobiliation of adaptivity. In space flight experiments with pea tissue, wheat and arabidopsis we found anatomical-morphological transformations and biochemistry of plants. In following experiments, tissue of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana), potato (Solanum tuberosum), callus culture and culture and bulbs of suffron (Crocus sativus), callus culture of ginseng (Panax ginseng) were investigated. Experiments with stevia carried out in special chambers. The duration of experiment was 8-14 days. Board lamp was used for illumination of the plants. After experiment the plants grew in the same chamber and after 50 days the plants were moved into artificial ionexchange soil. The biochemical analysis of plants was done. The total concentration of glycozides and ratio of stevioside and rebauside were found different in space and ground plants. In following generations of stevia after flight the total concentration of stevioside and rebauside remains higher than in ground plants. Experiments with callus culture of suffron carried out in tubes. Duration of space flight experiment was 8-167 days. Board lamp was used for illumination of the plants. We found picrocitina pigment in the space plants but not in ground plants. Tissue culture of ginseng was grown in special container in thermostate under stable temperature of 22 ± 0,5 C. Duration of space experiment was from 8 to 167 days. Biological activity of space flight culutre was in 5 times higher than the ground culture. This difference was observed after recultivation of space flight samples on Earth during year after flight. Callus tissue of potato was grown in tubes in thermostate under stable temperature of 22 ± 0,5 C. Duration of space experiment was from 8 to 14 days. Concentration of regenerates in flight samples was in 5 times higher than in ground samples. The space flight experiments show, that microgravity and other

Landscape evolution space and the relative importance of geomorphic processes and controls

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Jonathan D.

2009-08-01

The concept of landscape evolution space (LES) is introduced as a tool for assessing landscapes and geomorphic systems, intended to be a systematic means for assessing the various factors that contribute to the potential for change in geomorphic systems. The LES conceptual model is based on the energy and mass available to drive and accommodate landscape evolution. An n-dimensional landscape evolution space is defined not only by spatial coordinates, but also by the availability of mass and energy. The LES is thus a space or hypervolume representing the resources available for geomorphic evolution and landscape change. An expression for LES is derived based on elevation, material density, surface area, and inputs of solar, meteoric, and biological energy and mass. Though primarily an heuristic device, the LES model can be used to address concrete problems. Two examples are given. In one, increased surface area due to topographic roughening and dissection of an incised plateau is found to only slightly offset erosional removals of mass in terms of the magnitude of the LES. In the other, sensitivity of coastal plain rivers to several impacts of sea level and climate change is explored. The LES model also leads to the concept of a geomorphological niche, representing the resources available to drive or support a specific process or suite of processes. Considerations of landscape evolution have traditionally focused on the interplay of endogenic vs. exogenic processes, uplift vs. denudation, or soil formation vs. erosion. The LES model explicitly broadens the conceptual framework of landscape evolution beyond the traditional dialectics.

Space and Time as Relations: The Theoretical Approach of Leibniz

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Basil Evangelidis

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The epistemological rupture of Copernicus, the laws of planetary motions of Kepler, the comprehensive physical observations of Galileo and Huygens, the conception of relativity, and the physical theory of Newton were components of an extremely fertile and influential cognitive environment that prompted the restless Leibniz to shape an innovative theory of space and time. This theory expressed some of the concerns and intuitions of the scientific community of the seventeenth century, in particular the scientific group of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, but remained relatively unknown until the twentieth century. After Einstein, however, the relational theory of Leibniz gained wider respect and fame. The aim of this article is to explain how Leibniz foresaw relativity, through his critique of contemporary mechanistic philosophy.

Space Life Sciences Research: The Importance of Long-Term Space Experiments

Science.gov (United States)

1993-01-01

This report focuses on the scientific importance of long-term space experiments for the advancement of biological science and the benefit of humankind. It includes a collection of papers that explore the scientific potential provided by the capability to manipulate organisms by removing a force that has been instrumental in the evolution and development of all organisms. Further, it provides the scientific justification for why the long-term space exposure that can be provided by a space station is essential to conduct significant research.

Options for reducing HIV transmission related to the dead space in needles and syringes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zule, William A; Pande, Poonam G; Otiashvili, David; Bobashev, Georgiy V; Friedman, Samuel R; Gyarmathy, V Anna; Des Jarlais, Don C

2018-01-15

When shared by people who inject drugs, needles and syringes with different dead space may affect the probability of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission differently. We measured dead space in 56 needle and syringe combinations obtained from needle and syringe programs across 17 countries in Europe and Asia. We also calculated the amounts of blood and HIV that would remain in different combinations following injection and rinsing. Syringe barrel capacities ranged from 0.5 to 20 mL. Needles ranged in length from 8 to 38 mm. The average dead space was 3 μL in low dead space syringes with permanently attached needles, 13 μL in high dead space syringes with low dead space needles, 45 μL in low dead space syringes with high dead space needles, and 99 μL in high dead space syringes with high dead space needles. Among low dead space designs, calculated volumes of blood and HIV viral burden were lowest for low dead space syringes with permanently attached needles and highest for low dead space syringes with high dead space needles. The dead space in different low dead space needle and syringe combinations varied substantially. To reduce HIV transmission related to syringe sharing, needle and syringe programs need to combine this knowledge with the needs of their clients.

Critical issues related to registration of space objects and transparency of space activities

Science.gov (United States)

Jakhu, Ram S.; Jasani, Bhupendra; McDowell, Jonathan C.

2018-02-01

The main purpose of the 1975 Registration Convention is to achieve transparency in space activities and this objective is motivated by the belief that a mandatory registration system would assist in the identification of space objects launched into outer space. This would also consequently contribute to the application and development of international law governing the exploration and use of outer space. States Parties to the Convention furnish the required information to the United Nations' Register of Space Objects. However, the furnished information is often so general that it may not be as helpful in creating transparency as had been hoped by the drafters of the Convention. While registration of civil satellites has been furnished with some general details, till today, none of the Parties have described the objects as having military functions despite the fact that a large number of such objects do perform military functions as well. In some cases, the best they have done is to indicate that the space objects are for their defense establishments. Moreover, the number of registrations of space objects is declining. This paper addresses the challenges posed by the non-registration of space objects. Particularly, the paper provides some data about the registration and non-registration of satellites and the States that have and have not complied with their legal obligations. It also analyses the specific requirements of the Convention, the reasons for non-registration, new challenges posed by the registration of small satellites and the on-orbit transfer of satellites. Finally, the paper provides some recommendations on how to enhance the registration of space objects, on the monitoring of the implementation of the Registration Convention and consequently how to achieve maximum transparency in space activities.

Alamos: An International Collaboration to Provide a Space Based Environmental Monitoring Solution for the Deep Space Network

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, S. O.; Dunn, A.; Lecomte, J.; Buchheim, K.; Johansson, E.; Berger, T.

2018-02-01

This abstract proposes the advantages of an externally mounted instrument in support of the human physiology, space biology, and human health and performance key science area. Alamos provides Space-Based Environmental Monitoring capabilities.

Center for the Utilization of Biological Engineering in Space (CUBES)

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — As NASA shifts its focus from low-Earth orbit to deep space missions, the agency is investing in the development of technologies that will allow long-duration...

Asthma and respiratory symptoms in hospital workers related to dampness and biological contaminants.

Science.gov (United States)

Cox-Ganser, J M; Rao, C Y; Park, J-H; Schumpert, J C; Kreiss, K

2009-08-01

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health investigated respiratory symptoms and asthma in relation to damp indoor environments in employees of two hospitals. A cluster of six work-related asthma cases from one hospital department, whose symptoms arose during a time of significant water incursions, led us to conduct a survey of respiratory health in 1171/1834 employees working in the sentinel cases hospital and a nearby hospital without known indoor environmental concerns. We carried out observational assessment of dampness, air, chair, and floor dust sampling for biological contaminants, and investigation of exposure-response associations for about 500 participants. Many participants with post-hire onset asthma reported diagnosis dates in a period of water incursions and renovations. Post-hire asthma and work-related lower respiratory symptoms were positively associated with the dampness score. Work-related lower respiratory symptoms showed monotonically increasing odds ratios with ergosterol, a marker of fungal biomass. Other fungal and bacterial indices, particle counts, cat allergen and latex allergen were associated with respiratory symptoms. Our data imply new-onset of asthma in relation to water damage, and indicate that work-related respiratory symptoms in hospital workers may be associated with diverse biological contaminants. In healthcare facilities with indoor dampness and microbial contamination, possible associations between such conditions and respiratory health effects should be considered. Good building maintenance and housekeeping procedures should lead to improvements in employee respiratory health.

Variations in criteria regulating treatment with reimbursed biologic DMARDs across European countries. Are differences related to country's wealth?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Putrik, Polina; Ramiro, Sofia; Kvien, Tore K

2014-01-01

To explore criteria regulating treatment with reimbursed biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) across Europe and to relate criteria to indicators of national socioeconomic welfare.......To explore criteria regulating treatment with reimbursed biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) across Europe and to relate criteria to indicators of national socioeconomic welfare....

A Description Of Space Relations In An NLP Model: The ABBYY Compreno Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksey Leontyev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The current paper is devoted to a formal analysis of the space category and, especially, to questions bound with the presentation of space relations in a formal NLP model. The aim is to demonstrate how linguistic and cognitive problems relating to spatial categorization, definition of spatial entities, and the expression of different locative senses in natural languages can be solved in an artificial intelligence system. We offer a description of the locative groups in the ABBYY Compreno formalism – an integral NLP framework applied for machine translation, semantic search, fact extraction, and other tasks based on the semantic analysis of texts. The model is based on a universal semantic hierarchy of the thesaurus type and includes a description of all possible semantic and syntactic links every word can attach. In this work we define the set of semantic locative relations between words, suggest different tools for their syntactic presentation, give formal restrictions for the word classes that can denote spaces, and show different strategies of dealing with locative prepositions, especially as far as the problem of their machine translation is concerned.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 28

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Lydia Razran (Editor); Teeter, Ronald (Editor); Rowe, Joseph (Editor)

1990-01-01

This is the twenty-eighth issue of NASA's Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 60 journal papers or book chapters published in Russian and of 3 Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 20 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas include: adaptation, aviation medicine, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, reproductive system, and space medicine.

Natural world physical, brain operational, and mind phenomenal space-time

Science.gov (United States)

Fingelkurts, Andrew A.; Fingelkurts, Alexander A.; Neves, Carlos F. H.

2010-06-01

Concepts of space and time are widely developed in physics. However, there is a considerable lack of biologically plausible theoretical frameworks that can demonstrate how space and time dimensions are implemented in the activity of the most complex life-system - the brain with a mind. Brain activity is organized both temporally and spatially, thus representing space-time in the brain. Critical analysis of recent research on the space-time organization of the brain's activity pointed to the existence of so-called operational space-time in the brain. This space-time is limited to the execution of brain operations of differing complexity. During each such brain operation a particular short-term spatio-temporal pattern of integrated activity of different brain areas emerges within related operational space-time. At the same time, to have a fully functional human brain one needs to have a subjective mental experience. Current research on the subjective mental experience offers detailed analysis of space-time organization of the mind. According to this research, subjective mental experience (subjective virtual world) has definitive spatial and temporal properties similar to many physical phenomena. Based on systematic review of the propositions and tenets of brain and mind space-time descriptions, our aim in this review essay is to explore the relations between the two. To be precise, we would like to discuss the hypothesis that via the brain operational space-time the mind subjective space-time is connected to otherwise distant physical space-time reality.

Biological information systems: Evolution as cognition-based information management.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, William B

2018-05-01

An alternative biological synthesis is presented that conceptualizes evolutionary biology as an epiphenomenon of integrated self-referential information management. Since all biological information has inherent ambiguity, the systematic assessment of information is required by living organisms to maintain self-identity and homeostatic equipoise in confrontation with environmental challenges. Through their self-referential attachment to information space, cells are the cornerstone of biological action. That individualized assessment of information space permits self-referential, self-organizing niche construction. That deployment of information and its subsequent selection enacted the dominant stable unicellular informational architectures whose biological expressions are the prokaryotic, archaeal, and eukaryotic unicellular forms. Multicellularity represents the collective appraisal of equivocal environmental information through a shared information space. This concerted action can be viewed as systematized information management to improve information quality for the maintenance of preferred homeostatic boundaries among the varied participants. When reiterated in successive scales, this same collaborative exchange of information yields macroscopic organisms as obligatory multicellular holobionts. Cognition-Based Evolution (CBE) upholds that assessment of information precedes biological action, and the deployment of information through integrative self-referential niche construction and natural cellular engineering antecedes selection. Therefore, evolutionary biology can be framed as a complex reciprocating interactome that consists of the assessment, communication, deployment and management of information by self-referential organisms at multiple scales in continuous confrontation with environmental stresses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Study on biological response to space radiation and its countermeasure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jong Il; Lee, Ju Woon; Kim, Dong Ho; Kim, Jae Hun; Song, Beom Suk; Kim, Jae Kyung; Park, Jong Heum; Kim, Jin Kyu [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-12-15

The purpose is to develop the core technologies for the advanced life supporting system based on radiation technology by 2015 and to be a member of G7 in the space technology research field. And it is the final aim that contribution for establishment of the self-supporting technology and national strength by 2020. To simulate the space environment of microgravity and expose to space radiation, denervation model was established in Gamma Phytotron. The changes in microflora population in animal model was shown. The effect of simulated microgravity and long-term exposure to irradiation was investigated. In the experiment of MARS 500, crews for expedition to Mars had been served by Korean space foods (Bulgogi, Bibimbap, Seaweed soup, Mulberry beverage, Kimchi, Sujeonggwa) for 120 days, then their immunity will be examined and compared with it on the ground.

Study on biological response to space radiation and its countermeasure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jong Il; Lee, Ju Woon; Kim, Dong Ho; Kim, Jae Hun; Song, Beom Suk; Kim, Jae Kyung; Park, Jong Heum; Kim, Jin Kyu

2011-12-01

The purpose is to develop the core technologies for the advanced life supporting system based on radiation technology by 2015 and to be a member of G7 in the space technology research field. And it is the final aim that contribution for establishment of the self-supporting technology and national strength by 2020. To simulate the space environment of microgravity and expose to space radiation, denervation model was established in Gamma Phytotron. The changes in microflora population in animal model was shown. The effect of simulated microgravity and long-term exposure to irradiation was investigated. In the experiment of MARS 500, crews for expedition to Mars had been served by Korean space foods (Bulgogi, Bibimbap, Seaweed soup, Mulberry beverage, Kimchi, Sujeonggwa) for 120 days, then their immunity will be examined and compared with it on the ground

Epidemiological profile of work-related accidents with biological exposure among medical students in a surgical emergency room.

Science.gov (United States)

Reis, Phillipe Geraldo Teixeira de Abreu; Driessen, Anna Luiza; da Costa, Ana Claudia Brenner Affonso; Nasr, Adonis; Collaço, Iwan Augusto; Tomasich, Flávio Daniel Saavedra

2013-01-01

To evaluate the accidents with biological material among medical students interning in a trauma emergency room and identify key related situations, attributed causes and prevention. we conducted a study with a quantitative approach. Data were collected through a questionnaire applied via internet, with closed, multiple-choice questions regarding accidents with biological material. The sample comprised 100 students. thirty-two had accidents with biological material. Higher-risk activities were local anesthesia (39.47%), suture (18.42%) and needle recapping (15.79%). The main routes of exposure to biological material were the eyes or mucosa, with 34%, and syringe needle puncture, with 45%. After contamination, only 52% reported the accident to the responsible department. The main causes of accidents and routes of exposure found may be attributed to several factors, such as lack of training and failure to use personal protective equipment. Educational and preventive actions are extremely important to reduce the incidence of accidents with biological materials and improve the conduct of post-exposure. It is important to understand the main causes attributed and situations related, so as general and effective measures can be applied.

Preparing Synthetic Biology for the World

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerd H.G. Moe-Behrens

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Synthetic Biology promises low-cost, exponentially scalable products and global health solutions in the form of self-replicating organisms, or living devices. As these promises are realized, proof-of-concept systems will gradually migrate from tightly regulated laboratory or industrial environments into private spaces as, for instance, probiotic health products, food, and even do-it-yourself bioengineered systems. What additional steps, if any, should be taken before releasing engineered self-replicating organisms into a broader user space? In this review, we explain how studies of genetically modified organisms lay groundwork for the future landscape of biosafety. Early in the design process, biological engineers are anticipating potential hazards and developing innovative tools to mitigate risk. Here, we survey lessons learned, ongoing efforts to engineer intrinsic biocontainment, and how different stakeholders in synthetic biology can act to accomplish best practices for biosafety.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 6

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, L. R. (Editor); Radtke, M. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Rowe, J. E. (Editor)

1986-01-01

This is the sixth issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 54 papers recently published in Russian language periodicals and bound collections and of 10 new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. Additional features include a table of Soviet EVAs and information about English translations of Soviet materials available to readers. The topics covered in this issue have been identified as relevant to 26 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology. These areas are adaptation, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, exobiology, genetics, habitability and environment effects, health and medical treatment, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism., microbiology, morphology and cytology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, reproductive biology, and space medicine.

Organizing Space and Time through Relational Human–animal Boundary Work

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sage, Daniel; Justesen, Lise; Dainty, Andrew

2016-01-01

In this article, we examine the role that animals play within human organizational boundary work. In so doing, we challenge the latent anthropocentricism in many, if not most, theories of organization that locate animal agencies outside the boundary work that is said to constitute organizing....... In developing this argument, we draw together diverse strands of work mobilizing Actor–Network Theory that engage the entanglement of human/nonhuman agencies. In bringing this work together, we suggest humans may organize, even manage, by conducting relational boundary work with animal agencies, spacings...... and timings. Our argument is empirically illustrated and theoretically developed across two cases of the spacings and timings of construction project organizations—an infrastructure project in the United Kingdom and a housing development in Scandinavia. Construction projects are well-known for their tightly...

Biosafety in manned space flight

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Boever, P.

2006-01-01

The main goal of manned exploration is to achieve a prolonged stay in space, for example in an orbital station (such as the International Space Station (ISS)) or in planetary bases on the Moon and/or Mars. It goes without saying that such missions can only be realized when the astronaut's health and well-being is secured. In this respect, the characterization of the microbiological contamination on board spacecraft and orbital stations and the influence of cosmic radiation and microgravity are of paramount importance. Microbial contamination may originate from different sources and includes the initial contamination of space flight materials during manufacturing and assembly, the delivery of supplies to the orbital station, the supplies themselves, secondary contamination during the lifetime of the orbital station, the crew and any other biological material on board e.g. animals, plants, micro-organisms used in scientific experiments. Although most microorganisms do not threaten human health, it has been reported that in a confined environment, such as a space cabin, microorganisms may produce adverse effects on the optimal performance of the space crew and the integrity of the spacecraft or habitat. These effects range from infections, allergies, and toxicities to degradation of air and water supplies. Biodegradation of critical materials may result in system failure and this may jeopardize the crew. The research aims at monitoring the biological airborne and surface contamination during manned space flight. The ISS has been selected as primary test bed for this study. The majority of the investigations are being done by the Russian Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP), which is responsible for monitoring the biological contamination in the habitable compartments of the ISS for safety and hygienic reasons. Within the frame of a collaboration between IBMP and the European Space Agency (ESA), SCK-CEN is able to participate in the analyses

Starguides plus a world-wide directory of organizations in astronomy and related space sciences

CERN Document Server

Heck, André

2004-01-01

StarGuides Plus represents the most comprehensive and accurately validated collection of practical data on organizations involved in astronomy, related space sciences and other related fields This invaluable reference source (and its companion volume, StarBriefs Plus) should be on the reference shelf of every library, organization or individual with any interest in these areas The coverage includes relevant universities, scientific committees, institutions, associations, societies, agencies, companies, bibliographic services, data centers, museums, dealers, distributors, funding organizations, journals, manufacturers, meteorological services, national norms & standard institutes, parent associations & societies, publishers, software producers & distributors, and so on Besides astronomy and associated space sciences, related fields such as aeronautics, aeronomy, astronautics, atmospheric sciences, chemistry, communications, computer sciences, data processing, education, electronics, engineering, en...

Space Weather Influence on Relative Motion Control using the Touchless Electrostatic Tractor

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, Erik A.; Schaub, Hanspeter

2016-09-01

With recent interest in the use of electrostatic forces for contactless tugging and attitude control of noncooperative objects for orbital servicing and active debris mitigation, the need for a method of remote charge control arises. In this paper, the use of a directed electron beam for remote charge control is considered in conjunction with the relative motion control. A tug vehicle emits an electron beam onto a deputy object, charging it negatively. At the same time, the tug is charged positively due to beam emission, resulting in an attractive electrostatic force. The relative position feedback control between the tug and the passive debris object is studied subject to the charging being created through an electron beam. Employing the nominal variations of the GEO space weather conditions across longitude slots, two electrostatic tugging strategies are considered. First, the electron beam current is adjusted throughout the orbit in order to maximize this resulting electrostatic force. This open-loop control strategy compensates for changes in the nominally expected local space weather environment in the GEO region to adjust for fluctuations in the local plasma return currents. Second, the performance impact of using a fixed electron beam current on the electrostatic tractor is studied if the same natural space weather variations are assumed. The fixed electron beam current shows a minor performance penalty (<5 %) while providing a much simpler implementation that does not require any knowledge of local space weather conditions.

The Importance of Conducting Life Sciences Experiments on the Deep Space Gateway Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Bhattacharya, S.

2018-01-01

Over the last several decades important information has been gathered by conducting life science experiments on the Space Shuttle and on the International Space Station. It is now time to leverage that scientific knowledge, as well as aspects of the hardware that have been developed to support the biological model systems, to NASA's next frontier - the Deep Space Gateway. In order to facilitate long duration deep space exploration for humans, it is critical for NASA to understand the effects of long duration, low dose, deep space radiation on biological systems. While carefully controlled ground experiments on Earth-based radiation facilities have provided valuable preliminary information, we still have a significant knowledge gap on the biological responses of organisms to chronic low doses of the highly ionizing particles encountered beyond low Earth orbit. Furthermore, the combined effects of altered gravity and radiation have the potential to cause greater biological changes than either of these parameters alone. Therefore a thorough investigation of the biological effects of a cis-lunar environment will facilitate long term human exploration of deep space.

A Generalized Analytic Operator-Valued Function Space Integral and a Related Integral Equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chang, K.S.; Kim, B.S.; Park, C.H.; Ryu, K.S.

2003-01-01

We introduce a generalized Wiener measure associated with a Gaussian Markov process and define a generalized analytic operator-valued function space integral as a bounded linear operator from L p into L p-ci r cumflexprime (1< p ≤ 2) by the analytic continuation of the generalized Wiener integral. We prove the existence of the integral for certain functionals which involve some Borel measures. Also we show that the generalized analytic operator-valued function space integral satisfies an integral equation related to the generalized Schroedinger equation. The resulting theorems extend the theory of operator-valued function space integrals substantially and previous theorems about these integrals are generalized by our results

The Argos-CLS Kalman Filter: Error Structures and State-Space Modelling Relative to Fastloc GPS Data.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew D Lowther

Full Text Available Understanding how an animal utilises its surroundings requires its movements through space to be described accurately. Satellite telemetry is the only means of acquiring movement data for many species however data are prone to varying amounts of spatial error; the recent application of state-space models (SSMs to the location estimation problem have provided a means to incorporate spatial errors when characterising animal movements. The predominant platform for collecting satellite telemetry data on free-ranging animals, Service Argos, recently provided an alternative Doppler location estimation algorithm that is purported to be more accurate and generate a greater number of locations that its predecessor. We provide a comprehensive assessment of this new estimation process performance on data from free-ranging animals relative to concurrently collected Fastloc GPS data. Additionally, we test the efficacy of three readily-available SSM in predicting the movement of two focal animals. Raw Argos location estimates generated by the new algorithm were greatly improved compared to the old system. Approximately twice as many Argos locations were derived compared to GPS on the devices used. Root Mean Square Errors (RMSE for each optimal SSM were less than 4.25 km with some producing RMSE of less than 2.50 km. Differences in the biological plausibility of the tracks between the two focal animals used to investigate the utility of SSM highlights the importance of considering animal behaviour in movement studies. The ability to reprocess Argos data collected since 2008 with the new algorithm should permit questions of animal movement to be revisited at a finer resolution.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 21

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran; Donaldson, P. Lynn; Garshnek, Victoria; Rowe, Joseph

1989-01-01

This is the twenty-first issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 37 papers published in Russian language periodicals or books or presented at conferences and of a Soviet monograph on animal ontogeny in weightlessness. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. A book review of a work on adaptation to stress is also included. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 25 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas are: adaptation, biological rhythms, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cytology, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, exobiology, gravitational biology, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, human performance, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, operational medicine, perception, psychology, and reproductive system.

Pragmatic turn in biology: From biological molecules to genetic content operators.

Science.gov (United States)

Witzany, Guenther

2014-08-26

Erwin Schrödinger's question "What is life?" received the answer for decades of "physics + chemistry". The concepts of Alain Turing and John von Neumann introduced a third term: "information". This led to the understanding of nucleic acid sequences as a natural code. Manfred Eigen adapted the concept of Hammings "sequence space". Similar to Hilbert space, in which every ontological entity could be defined by an unequivocal point in a mathematical axiomatic system, in the abstract "sequence space" concept each point represents a unique syntactic structure and the value of their separation represents their dissimilarity. In this concept molecular features of the genetic code evolve by means of self-organisation of matter. Biological selection determines the fittest types among varieties of replication errors of quasi-species. The quasi-species concept dominated evolution theory for many decades. In contrast to this, recent empirical data on the evolution of DNA and its forerunners, the RNA-world and viruses indicate cooperative agent-based interactions. Group behaviour of quasi-species consortia constitute de novo and arrange available genetic content for adaptational purposes within real-life contexts that determine epigenetic markings. This review focuses on some fundamental changes in biology, discarding its traditional status as a subdiscipline of physics and chemistry.

The relative biological effectiveness of radiations of different quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1990-01-01

This paper is a review of the literature relevant to the selection of relative biological effectiveness (RBE) values for use in arriving at values of the quality factor (Q). Emphasis is placed on response to small ( M . In a wide variety of systems, the RBE M for fast (fission) neutrons, with low doses and dose rates, appears to be of the order of 20 or more compared to moderately filtered 250 kVp x rays and 40 or more compared to higher energy gamma rays. These values, which are much larger than those observed with large doses delivered at high dose rates, are due mainly, but not entirely, to a decrease in the slope of the curve for the ow-LET reference radiation at low dose

Interest, Attitudes and Self-Efficacy Beliefs Explaining Upper-Secondary School Students' Orientation Towards Biology-Related Careers

Science.gov (United States)

Uitto, Anna

2014-01-01

The aim of the study was to discover the contribution of students' interest in school biology, as well as their self-efficacy and attitudes towards different science subjects and mathematics when explaining students' orientation towards biology-related careers at upper-secondary school. The data of 321 K-11 students (49% women) were…

Weaving Together Space Biology and the Human Research Program: Selecting Crops and Manipulating Plant Physiology to Produce High Quality Food for ISS Astronauts

Science.gov (United States)

Massa, Gioia; Hummerick, Mary; Douglas, Grace; Wheeler, Raymond

2015-01-01

Researchers from the Human Research Program (HRP) have teamed up with plant biologists at KSC to explore the potential for plant growth and food production on the international space station (ISS) and future exploration missions. KSC Space Biology (SB) brings a history of plant and plant-microbial interaction research for station and for future bioregenerative life support systems. JSC HRP brings expertise in Advanced Food Technology (AFT), Advanced Environmental Health (AEH), and Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP). The Veggie plant growth hardware on the ISS is the platform that first drove these interactions. As we prepared for the VEG-01 validation test of Veggie, we engaged with BHP to explore questions that could be asked of the crew that would contribute both to plant and to behavioral health research. AFT, AEH and BHP stakeholders were engaged immediately after the return of the Veggie flight samples of space-grown lettuce, and this team worked with the JSC human medical offices to gain approvals for crew consumption of the lettuce on ISS. As we progressed with Veggie testing we began performing crop selection studies for Veggie that were initiated through AFT. These studies consisted of testing and down selecting leafy greens, dwarf tomatoes, and dwarf pepper crops based on characteristics of plant growth and nutritional levels evaluated at KSC, and organoleptic quality evaluated at JSCs Sensory Analysis lab. This work has led to a successful collaborative proposal to the International Life Sciences Research Announcement for a jointly funded HRP-SB investigation of the impacts of light quality and fertilizer on salad crop productivity, nutrition, and flavor in Veggie on the ISS. With this work, and potentially with other pending joint projects, we will continue the synergistic research that will advance the space biology knowledge base, help close gaps in the human research roadmap, and enable humans to venture out to Mars and beyond.

Multi-level and hybrid modelling approaches for systems biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bardini, R; Politano, G; Benso, A; Di Carlo, S

2017-01-01

During the last decades, high-throughput techniques allowed for the extraction of a huge amount of data from biological systems, unveiling more of their underling complexity. Biological systems encompass a wide range of space and time scales, functioning according to flexible hierarchies of mechanisms making an intertwined and dynamic interplay of regulations. This becomes particularly evident in processes such as ontogenesis, where regulative assets change according to process context and timing, making structural phenotype and architectural complexities emerge from a single cell, through local interactions. The information collected from biological systems are naturally organized according to the functional levels composing the system itself. In systems biology, biological information often comes from overlapping but different scientific domains, each one having its own way of representing phenomena under study. That is, the different parts of the system to be modelled may be described with different formalisms. For a model to have improved accuracy and capability for making a good knowledge base, it is good to comprise different system levels, suitably handling the relative formalisms. Models which are both multi-level and hybrid satisfy both these requirements, making a very useful tool in computational systems biology. This paper reviews some of the main contributions in this field.

Male mating biology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Howell, Paul I.; Knols, Bart G. J.

2009-01-01

Before sterile mass-reared mosquitoes are released in an attempt to control local populations, many facets of male mating biology need to be elucidated. Large knowledge gaps exist in how both sexes meet in space and time, the correlation of male size and mating success and in which arenas matings

The space shuttle payload planning working groups: Volume 9: Materials processing and space manufacturing

Science.gov (United States)

1973-01-01

The findings and recommendations of the Materials Processing and Space Manufacturing group of the space shuttle payload planning activity are presented. The effects of weightlessness on the levitation processes, mixture stability, and control over heat and mass transport in fluids are considered for investigation. The research and development projects include: (1) metallurgical processes, (2) electronic materials, (3) biological applications, and (4)nonmetallic materials and processes. Additional recommendations are provided concerning the allocation of payload space, acceptance of experiments for flight, flight qualification, and private use of the space shuttle.

Plant ecdysteroids: plant sterols with intriguing distributions, biological effects and relations to plant hormones.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarkowská, Danuše; Strnad, Miroslav

2016-09-01

The present review summarises current knowledge of phytoecdysteroids' biosynthesis, distribution within plants, biological importance and relations to plant hormones. Plant ecdysteroids (phytoecdysteroids) are natural polyhydroxylated compounds that have a four-ringed skeleton, usually composed of either 27 carbon atoms or 28-29 carbon atoms (biosynthetically derived from cholesterol or other plant sterols, respectively). Their physiological roles in plants have not yet been confirmed and their occurrence is not universal. Nevertheless, they are present at high concentrations in various plant species, including commonly consumed vegetables, and have a broad spectrum of pharmacological and medicinal properties in mammals, including hepatoprotective and hypoglycaemic effects, and anabolic effects on skeletal muscle, without androgenic side-effects. Furthermore, phytoecdysteroids can enhance stress resistance by promoting vitality and enhancing physical performance; thus, they are considered adaptogens. This review summarises current knowledge of phytoecdysteroids' biosynthesis, distribution within plants, biological importance and relations to plant hormones.

Stackel spaces of an electrovacuum with isotropic complete sets. Formulation of problem and basic relations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagrov, V.G.; Evseevich, A.A.; Obukhov, V.V.; Osetrin, K.E.

1987-01-01

The authors consider the problem of the classification of the Stackel spaces of the electrovacuum with isotropic complete sets. The metrics of the spaces are represented in a form that is convenient for their investigation. We obtain necessary relations for the construction of the field equations

Macroscopic Quantum-Type Potentials in Theoretical Systems Biology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurent Nottale

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We review in this paper the use of the theory of scale relativity and fractal space-time as a tool particularly well adapted to the possible development of a future genuine systems theoretical biology. We emphasize in particular the concept of quantum-type potentials, since, in many situations, the effect of the fractality of space—or of the underlying medium—can be reduced to the addition of such a potential energy to the classical equations of motion. Various equivalent representations—geodesic, quantum-like, fluid mechanical, stochastic—of these equations are given, as well as several forms of generalized quantum potentials. Examples of their possible intervention in high critical temperature superconductivity and in turbulence are also described, since some biological processes may be similar in some aspects to these physical phenomena. These potential extra energy contributions could have emerged in biology from the very fractal nature of the medium, or from an evolutive advantage, since they involve spontaneous properties of self-organization, morphogenesis, structuration and multi-scale integration. Finally, some examples of applications of the theory to actual biological-like processes and functions are also provided.

The People Are Missing: Cramped Space, Social Relations, and the Mediators of Politics

OpenAIRE

Thoburn, Nicholas

2016-01-01

This article investigates the place of social relations in Deleuze and Guattari’s figure of ‘cramped space’, a figure integral to their ‘minor politics’. Against social and political theories that seek the source of political practice in a collective identity, the theory of cramped space contends that politics arises among those who lack and refuse coherent identity, in their encounter with the impasses, limits, or impossibilities of individual and collective subjectivity. Cramped space, as D...

Some Remarks on Space-Time Decompositions, and Degenerate Metrics, in General Relativity

Science.gov (United States)

Bengtsson, Ingemar

Space-time decomposition of the Hilbert-Palatini action, written in a form which admits degenerate metrics, is considered. Simple numerology shows why D = 3 and 4 are singled out as admitting a simple phase space. The canonical structure of the degenerate sector turns out to be awkward. However, the real degenerate metrics obtained as solutions are the same as those that occur in Ashtekar's formulation of complex general relativity. An exact solution of Ashtekar's equations, with degenerate metric, shows that the manifestly four-dimensional form of the action, and its 3 + 1 form, are not quite equivalent.

Semiclassical relations and IR effects in de Sitter and slow-roll space-times

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

B. Giddings, Steven; Sloth, Martin Snoager

2010-01-01

We calculate IR divergent graviton one-loop corrections to scalar correlators in de Sitter space, and show that the leading IR contribution may be reproduced via simple semiclassical consistency relations. One can likewise use such semiclassical relations to calculate leading IR corrections to co...... with a sharp perturbative calculation of "missing information" in Hawking radiation....

New astrophysical school of thermodynamics. Space dynamics and gravitism

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gal-Or, B [Technion-Israel Inst. of Tech., Haifa. Dept. of Aeronautical Engineering

1978-07-01

Much verified information has been accumulated in recent years which shows that many fundamental concepts involving classical physics, thermodynamics, astrophysics and the general theory of relativity are strongly coupled together. This evidence is employed in this paper to explain principles of the astrophysical school of thermodynamics; a growing revolutionary school which deduces thermodynamics, energy dissipation, and time anisotropies from the Newtonian and Einsteinian theories of gravitation and from the dynamics of radiation in 'unsaturable' (intercluster) space. Accordingly, the density of radiation and the dynamics of ('unsaturable') outer space affect all processes in the galactic media, in the solar system, in the magnetosphere and on Earth. The origin of all observed irreversibilities in nature - of time, of all time anisotropics, of energy dissipation, of T-violations in 'elementary particles', of retarded potentials in electrodynamics, of the biological clocks, and of biological arrows of time - is one; it is the radiation unsaturability of space. But, since this unsaturability and gravitation are interconnected, the origin of asymmetries, structure, and thermodynamics is explained within the framework of the Newtonian and Einsteinian theories of gravitation. The theory presented here forms a part of a general approach called gravitism, which unifies some other disciplinary studies in the natural sciences with a unified approach to gravitation and the theory of time.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 11

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, Lydia Razran (Editor); Radtke, Mike (Editor); Radtke, Mike (Editor); Radtke, Mike (Editor); Radtke, Mike (Editor); Radtke, Mike (Editor)

1987-01-01

This is the eleventh issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 54 papers recently published in Russian language periodicals and bound collections and of four new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated. Additional features include the translation of a paper presented in Russian to the United Nations, a review of a book on space ecology, and report of a conference on evaluating human functional capacities and predicting health. Current Soviet Life Sciences titles available in English are cited. The materials included in this issue have been identified as relevant to 30 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology. These areas are: adaptation, aviation physiology, biological rhythms, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, cosmonaut training, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, equipment and instrumentation, gastrointestinal systems, group dynamics, genetics, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, operational medicine, perception, personnel selection, psychology, and radiobiology.

Thermoelectric applications as related to biomedical engineering for NASA Johnson Space Center

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kramer, C D

1997-07-01

This paper presents current NASA biomedical developments and applications using thermoelectrics. Discussion will include future technology enhancements that would be most beneficial to the application of thermoelectric technology. A great deal of thermoelectric applications have focused on electronic cooling. As with all technological developments within NASA, if the application cannot be related to the average consumer, the technology will not be mass-produced and widely available to the public (a key to research and development expenditures and thermoelectric companies). Included are discussions of thermoelectric applications to cool astronauts during launch and reentry. The earth-based applications, or spin-offs, include such innovations as tank and race car driver cooling, to cooling infants with high temperatures, as well as, the prevention of hair loss during chemotherapy. In order to preserve the scientific value of metabolic samples during long-term space missions, cooling is required to enable scientific studies. Results of one such study should provide a better understanding of osteoporosis and may lead to a possible cure for the disease. In the space environment, noise has to be kept to a minimum. In long-term space applications such as the International Space Station, thermoelectric technology provides the acoustic relief and the reliability for food, as well as, scientific refrigeration/freezers. Applications and future needs are discussed as NASA moves closer to a continued space presence in Mir, International Space Station, and Lunar-Mars Exploration.

Healing environments in cancer treatment and care. Relations of space and practice in hematological cancer treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Høybye, Mette Terp

2013-02-01

Given the growing attention to the importance of design in shaping healing hospital environments this study extends the understanding of healing environments, beyond causal links between environmental exposure and health outcome by elucidating how environments and practices interrelate. The study was conducted as an ethnographic fieldwork from March 2011 to September 2011 at the Department of Haematology at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, systematically using participant observation and interviews as research strategies. It included 20 patients, four of who were followed closely over an extended time period. Through thematic analysis five key concepts emerged about the social dynamics of hospital environments: practices of self; creating personal space; social recognition; negotiating space; and ambiguity of space and care. Through these concepts, the study demonstrates how the hospital environment is a flow of relations between space and practice that changes and challenges a structural idea of design and healing. Patients' sense of healing changes with the experience of progression in treatment and the capacity of the hospital space to incite an experience of homeliness and care. Furthermore, cancer patients continuously challenge the use and limits of space by individual objects and practices of privacy and home. Healing environments are complex relations between practices, space and care, where recognition of the individual patient's needs, values and experiences is key to developing the environment to support the patient quality of life. The present study holds implications for practice to inform design of future hospital environments for cancer treatment. The study points to the importance for being attentive to the need for flexible spaces in hospitals that recognize the dynamics of healing, by providing individualized care, relating to the particular and changing needs of patients supporting their potential and their challenged condition with the best

Healing environments in cancer treatment and care. Relations of space and practice in hematological cancer treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Høybye, Mette Terp

2013-01-01

of the individual patient ’ s needs, values and experiences is key to developing the environment to support the patient quality of life. The present study holds implications for practice to inform design of future hospital environments for cancer treatment. The study points to the importance for being attentive...... these concepts, the study demonstrates how the hospital environment is a fl ow of relations between space and practice that changes and challenges a structural idea of design and healing. Patients ’ sense of healing changes with the experience of progression in treatment and the capacity of the hospital space...... to incite an experience of homeliness and care. Furthermore, cancer patients continuously challenge the use and limits of space by individual objects and practices of privacy and home. Discussion. Healing environments are complex relations between practices, space and care, where recognition...

Sector models—A toolkit for teaching general relativity: I. Curved spaces and spacetimes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zahn, C; Kraus, U

2014-01-01

Teaching the general theory of relativity to high school or undergraduate students must be based on an approach that is conceptual rather than mathematical. In this paper we present such an approach that requires no more than elementary mathematics. The central idea of this introduction to general relativity is the use of so-called sector models. Sector models describe curved spaces the Regge calculus way by subdivision into blocks with euclidean geometry. This procedure is similar to the approximation of a curved surface by flat triangles. We outline a workshop for high school and undergraduate students that introduces the notion of curved space by means of sector models of black holes. We further describe the extension to sector models of curved spacetimes. The spacetime models are suitable for learners with a basic knowledge of special relativity. The teaching materials presented in this paper are available online for teaching purposes at www.spacetimetravel.org. (paper)

Evaluation of an international doctoral educational program in space life sciences: The Helmholtz Space Life Sciences Research School (SpaceLife) in Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Hellweg, C. E.; Spitta, L. F.; Kopp, K.; Schmitz, C.; Reitz, G.; Gerzer, R.

2016-01-01

Training young researchers in the field of space life sciences is essential to vitalize the future of spaceflight. In 2009, the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine established the Helmholtz Space Life Sciences Research School (SpaceLife) in cooperation with several universities, starting with 22 doctoral candidates. SpaceLife offered an intensive three-year training program for early-stage researchers from different fields (biology, biomedicine, biomedical engineering, physics, sports, nutrition, plant and space sciences). The candidates passed a multistep selection procedure with a written application, a self-presentation to a selection committee, and an interview with the prospective supervisors. The selected candidates from Germany as well as from abroad attended a curriculum taught in English. An overview of space life sciences was given in a workshop with introductory lectures on space radiation biology and dosimetry, space physiology, gravitational biology and astrobiology. The yearly Doctoral Students' Workshops were also interdisciplinary. During the first Doctoral Students' Workshop, every candidate presented his/her research topic including hypothesis and methods to be applied. The progress report was due after ∼1.5 years and a final report after ∼3 years. The candidates specialized in their subfield in advanced lectures, Journal Clubs, practical trainings, lab exchanges and elective courses. The students attended at least one transferable skills course per year, starting with a Research Skills Development course in the first year, a presentation and writing skills course in the second year, and a career and leadership course in the third year. The whole program encompassed 303 h and was complemented by active conference participation. In this paper, the six years' experience with this program is summarized in order to guide other institutions in establishment of structured Ph.D. programs in this field. The curriculum including elective courses is

Biological durability of wood in relation to end-use - Part 1. Towards a European standard for laboratory testing of the biological durability of wood

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Acker, Van J.; Stevens, M.; Carey, J.; Sierra-Alvarez, R.; Militz, H.; Bayon, Le I.; Kleist, G.; Peek, R.D.

2003-01-01

The determination of biological durability of wood is an issue requiring sufficient reliability regarding end-use related prediction of performance. Five test institutes joined efforts to check standard test methods and to improve methodology and data interpretation for assessment of natural

Building biological foundries for next-generation synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Ran; Yuan, YongBo; Zhao, HuiMin

2015-07-01

Synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field that takes top-down approaches to understand and engineer biological systems through design-build-test cycles. A number of advances in this relatively young field have greatly accelerated such engineering cycles. Specifically, various innovative tools were developed for in silico biosystems design, DNA de novo synthesis and assembly, construct verification, as well as metabolite analysis, which have laid a solid foundation for building biological foundries for rapid prototyping of improved or novel biosystems. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art technologies for synthetic biology and discusses the challenges to establish such biological foundries.

USSR Space Life Sciences Digest, issue 7

Science.gov (United States)

Hooke, L. R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor); Teeter, R. (Editor)

1986-01-01

This is the seventh issue of NASA's USSR Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 29 papers recently published in Russian language periodicals and bound collections and of 8 new Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. Additional features include two interviews with the Soviet Union's cosmonaut physicians and others knowledgable of the Soviet space program. The topics discussed at a Soviet conference on problems in space psychology are summarized. Information about English translations of Soviet materials available to readers is provided. The topics covered in this issue have been identified as relevant to 29 areas of aerospace medicine and space biology. These areas are adaptation, biospherics, body fluids, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, developmental biology, endocrinology, enzymology, exobiology, genetics, habitability and environment effects, hematology, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, metabolism, microbiology, morphology and cytology, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, nutrition, perception, personnel selection, psychology, radiobiology, and space medicine.

Biological Visualization, Imaging and Simulation(Bio-VIS) at NASA Ames Research Center: Developing New Software and Technology for Astronaut Training and Biology Research in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Jeffrey

2003-01-01

The Bio- Visualization, Imaging and Simulation (BioVIS) Technology Center at NASA's Ames Research Center is dedicated to developing and applying advanced visualization, computation and simulation technologies to support NASA Space Life Sciences research and the objectives of the Fundamental Biology Program. Research ranges from high resolution 3D cell imaging and structure analysis, virtual environment simulation of fine sensory-motor tasks, computational neuroscience and biophysics to biomedical/clinical applications. Computer simulation research focuses on the development of advanced computational tools for astronaut training and education. Virtual Reality (VR) and Virtual Environment (VE) simulation systems have become important training tools in many fields from flight simulation to, more recently, surgical simulation. The type and quality of training provided by these computer-based tools ranges widely, but the value of real-time VE computer simulation as a method of preparing individuals for real-world tasks is well established. Astronauts routinely use VE systems for various training tasks, including Space Shuttle landings, robot arm manipulations and extravehicular activities (space walks). Currently, there are no VE systems to train astronauts for basic and applied research experiments which are an important part of many missions. The Virtual Glovebox (VGX) is a prototype VE system for real-time physically-based simulation of the Life Sciences Glovebox where astronauts will perform many complex tasks supporting research experiments aboard the International Space Station. The VGX consists of a physical display system utilizing duel LCD projectors and circular polarization to produce a desktop-sized 3D virtual workspace. Physically-based modeling tools (Arachi Inc.) provide real-time collision detection, rigid body dynamics, physical properties and force-based controls for objects. The human-computer interface consists of two magnetic tracking devices

On Dual Phase-Space Relativity, the Machian Principle and Modified Newtonian Dynamics

CERN Document Server

Castro, C

2004-01-01

We investigate the consequences of the Mach's principle of inertia within the context of the Dual Phase Space Relativity which is compatible with the Eddington-Dirac large numbers coincidences and may provide with a physical reason behind the observed anomalous Pioneer acceleration and a solution to the riddle of the cosmological constant problem ( Nottale ). The cosmological implications of Non-Archimedean Geometry by assigning an upper impassible scale in Nature and the cosmological variations of the fundamental constants are also discussed. We study the corrections to Newtonian dynamics resulting from the Dual Phase Space Relativity by analyzing the behavior of a test particle in a modified Schwarzschild geometry (due to the the effects of the maximal acceleration) that leads in the weak-field approximation to essential modifications of the Newtonian dynamics and to violations of the equivalence principle. Finally we follow another avenue and find modified Newtonian dynamics induced by the Yang's Noncommut...

Foreword: Biology/embodiment/desire.

Science.gov (United States)

Terry, Jennifer; Willey, Angela

2018-04-03

The sexological roots of "lesbian" and the "queer" turn from biologized categories of sexual difference pose an exciting set of questions and tensions for thinking about queer feminism and biological meanings. This issue seeks to open space to explore how we might reconcile assumptions about "female same-sex sexuality" that often accompany "lesbian" with queer and trans-feminist treatments of science, embodiment, and desiring, while at the same time insisting on the importance of an undertheorized dyke legacy for thinking the at-once material and political nature of sexuality.

Interpretation of proton relative biological effectiveness using lesion induction, lesion repair, and cellular dose distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paganetti, H.

2005-01-01

Phenomenological biophysical models have been successfully used to estimate the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of ions. The predictive power of these models is limited because they require measured dose-response data that are not necessarily available for all clinically relevant end points. Furthermore, input parameters often lack mechanistic interpretation. In order to link RBE to more fundamental biological parameters we combine the concepts of two well-established biophysical models, i.e., the phenomenological 'track structure' model and the more mechanistic 'lethal lesion/potentially lethal lesion' (LPL) model. We parametrize a relation between RBE, dose homogeneity in the cell nucleus and induction rates for different lesion types. The macroscopic dose-response relationship is described in the LPL model and the microscopic, subcellular, relationship is determined by the local dose deposition pattern. The formalism provides a framework for a mechanistic interpretation of RBE values

Scientific projection paper for space radiobiological research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinograd, S.P.

1980-01-01

A nationale for the radiobiological research requirements for space is rooted in a national commitment to the exploration of space, mandated in the form of the National Space Act. This research is almost entirely centered on man; more specifically, on the effects of the space radiation environment on man and his protection from them. The research needs discussed in this presentation include the space radiation environment; dosimetry; radiation biology-high LET particles (dose/response); and operational countermeasures

Mammalian development in space

Science.gov (United States)

Ronca, April E.

2003-01-01

Life on Earth, and thus the reproductive and ontogenetic processes of all extant species and their ancestors, evolved under the constant influence of the Earth's l g gravitational field. These considerations raise important questions about the ability of mammals to reproduce and develop in space. In this chapter, I review the current state of our knowledge of spaceflight effects on developing mammals. Recent studies are revealing the first insights into how the space environment affects critical phases of mammalian reproduction and development, viz., those events surrounding fertilization, embryogenesis, pregnancy, birth, postnatal maturation and parental care. This review emphasizes fetal and early postnatal life, the developmental epochs for which the greatest amounts of mammalian spaceflight data have been amassed. The maternal-offspring system, the coordinated aggregate of mother and young comprising mammalian development, is of primary importance during these early, formative developmental phases. The existing research supports the view that biologically meaningful interactions between mothers and offspring are changed in the weightlessness of space. These changes may, in turn, cloud interpretations of spaceflight effects on developing offspring. Whereas studies of mid-pregnant rats in space have been extraordinarily successful, studies of young rat litters launched at 9 days of postnatal age or earlier, have been encumbered with problems related to the design of in-flight caging and compromised maternal-offspring interactions. Possibilities for mammalian birth in space, an event that has not yet transpired, are considered. In the aggregate, the results indicate a strong need for new studies of mammalian reproduction and development in space. Habitat development and systematic ground-based testing are important prerequisites to future research with young postnatal rodents in space. Together, the findings support the view that the environment within which young

Business innovation symposium ‘At what price? IP-related thoughts on new business models for space information’

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Lesley Jane

2011-09-01

Spatial data and imagery generators are set to become tomorrow's key players in the information society. This is why satellite owners and operators are examining new revenue-producing models for developing space-related products and services. The use and availability of broadband internet width and satellite data-based services will continue to increase in the future. With the capacity to deliver real time precision downstream data, space agencies and the satellite industry can respond to the demand for high resolution digital space information which, with the appropriate technology, can be integrated into a variety of web-based applications. At a time when the traditional roles of space agencies are becoming more hybrid, largely as a result of the greater drive towards commercial markets, new value-added markets for space-related information products are continuing to attract attention. This paper discusses whether traditional data policies on space data access and IP licensing schemes stand to remain the feasible prototype for distributing and marketing space data, and how this growth market might benefit from looking at an 'up and running' global IP management system already operating to manage end user digital demand. PrefaceThe terminology describing the various types of spatial data and space-based information is not uniformly used within the various principles, laws and policies that govern space data. For convenience only this paper refers to primary or raw data gathered by the space-based industry as spatial or raw data, and the data as processed and sold on or distributed by ground-based companies as space information products and services. In practise, spatial data range from generic to specific data sets, digital topography, through to pictures and imagery services at various resolutions, with 3-D perspectives underway. The paper addresses general IP considerations relating to spatial data, with some reference to remote sensing itself. Exact IP details

The geometry of the Pareto front in biological phenotype space

Science.gov (United States)

Sheftel, Hila; Shoval, Oren; Mayo, Avi; Alon, Uri

2013-01-01

When organisms perform a single task, selection leads to phenotypes that maximize performance at that task. When organisms need to perform multiple tasks, a trade-off arises because no phenotype can optimize all tasks. Recent work addressed this question, and assumed that the performance at each task decays with distance in trait space from the best phenotype at that task. Under this assumption, the best-fitness solutions (termed the Pareto front) lie on simple low-dimensional shapes in trait space: line segments, triangles and other polygons. The vertices of these polygons are specialists at a single task. Here, we generalize this finding, by considering performance functions of general form, not necessarily functions that decay monotonically with distance from their peak. We find that, except for performance functions with highly eccentric contours, simple shapes in phenotype space are still found, but with mildly curving edges instead of straight ones. In a wide range of systems, complex data on multiple quantitative traits, which might be expected to fill a high-dimensional phenotype space, is predicted instead to collapse onto low-dimensional shapes; phenotypes near the vertices of these shapes are predicted to be specialists, and can thus suggest which tasks may be at play. PMID:23789060

RANKING RELATIONS USING ANALOGIES IN BIOLOGICAL AND INFORMATION NETWORKS1

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, Ricardo; Heller, Katherine; Ghahramani, Zoubin; Airoldi, Edoardo M.

2013-01-01

Analogical reasoning depends fundamentally on the ability to learn and generalize about relations between objects. We develop an approach to relational learning which, given a set of pairs of objects S = {A(1) : B(1), A(2) : B(2), …, A(N) : B(N)}, measures how well other pairs A : B fit in with the set S. Our work addresses the following question: is the relation between objects A and B analogous to those relations found in S? Such questions are particularly relevant in information retrieval, where an investigator might want to search for analogous pairs of objects that match the query set of interest. There are many ways in which objects can be related, making the task of measuring analogies very challenging. Our approach combines a similarity measure on function spaces with Bayesian analysis to produce a ranking. It requires data containing features of the objects of interest and a link matrix specifying which relationships exist; no further attributes of such relationships are necessary. We illustrate the potential of our method on text analysis and information networks. An application on discovering functional interactions between pairs of proteins is discussed in detail, where we show that our approach can work in practice even if a small set of protein pairs is provided. PMID:24587838

Mastery of Content Representation (CoRes) Related TPACK High School Biology Teacher

Science.gov (United States)

Nasution, W. R.; Sriyati, S.; Riandi, R.; Safitri, M.

2017-09-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the mastery of Content Representation (CoRes) teachers related to the integration of technology and pedagogy in teaching Biology (TPACK). This research uses a descriptive method. The data were taken using instruments CoRes as the primary data and semi-structured interviews as supporting data. The subjects were biology teacher in class X MIA from four schools in Bandung. Teachers raised CoRes was analyzed using a scoring rubric CoRes with coding 1-3 then categorized into a group of upper, middle, or lower. The results showed that the two teachers in the lower category. This results means that the control of teachers in defining the essential concept in the CoRes has not been detailed and specific. Meanwhile, two other teachers were in the middle category. This means that the ability of teachers to determine the essential concepts in the CoRes are still inadequate so that still needs to be improved.

Epistemological Predictors of "Self Efficacy on Learning Biology" and "Test Anxiety Related to Evaluation of Learning on Biology" for Pre-Service Elementary Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Koksal, Mustafa Serdar

2011-01-01

The degree to which pre-service teachers learn biology is related to both motivational factors of self-regulation and factors regarding epistemological beliefs. At the same time, self-regulation and epistemological beliefs are also associated with one another. Based on this relationship, the purpose of this study was to investigate the…

Third workshop on heavy charged particles in biology and medicine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kraft, G.; Grundinger, U.

1987-07-01

The book of abstracts contains 67 papers presented at the workshop. Main topics are: Physics, chemistry, DNA, cell biology, cellular and molecular repair, space biology, tumor and tissue biology, predictive assays, cancer therapy, and new projects. Separate entries in the database are prepared for all of these papers. (MG)

A Space-Economic Representation of Transitive Closures in Relational Databases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yangjun Chen

2006-10-01

Full Text Available A composite object represented as a directed graph (digraph for short is an important data structure that requires efficient support in CAD/CAM, CASE, office systems, software management, web databases, and document databases. It is cumbersome to handle such objects in relational database systems when they involve ancestor-descendant relationships (or say, recursive relationships. In this paper, we present a new encoding method to label a digraph, which reduces the footprints of all previous strategies. This method is based on a tree labeling method and the concept of branchings that are used in graph theory for finding the shortest connection networks. A branching is a subgraph of a given digraph that is in fact a forest, but covers all the nodes of the graph. On the one hand, the proposed encoding scheme achieves the smallest space requirements among all previously published strategies for recognizing recursive relationships. On the other hand, it leads to a new algorithm for computing transitive closures for DAGs (directed acyclic graph in O(eþb time and O(nþb space, where n represents the number of the nodes of a DAG, e the numbers of the edges, and b the DAG's breadth. In addition, this method can be extended to cyclic digraphs and is especially suitable for a relational environment.

Advances in Planetary Protection at the Deep Space Gateway

Science.gov (United States)

Spry, J. A.; Siegel, B.; Race, M.; Rummel, J. D.; Pugel, D. E.; Groen, F. J.; Kminek, G.; Conley, C. A.; Carosso, N. J.

2018-02-01

Planetary protection knowledge gaps that can be addressed by science performed at the Deep Space Gateway in the areas of human health and performance, space biology, and planetary sciences that enable future exploration in deep space, at Mars, and other targets.

Prototype Biology-Based Radiation Risk Module Project

Science.gov (United States)

Terrier, Douglas; Clayton, Ronald G.; Patel, Zarana; Hu, Shaowen; Huff, Janice

2015-01-01

Biological effects of space radiation and risk mitigation are strategic knowledge gaps for the Evolvable Mars Campaign. The current epidemiology-based NASA Space Cancer Risk (NSCR) model contains large uncertainties (HAT #6.5a) due to lack of information on the radiobiology of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and lack of human data. The use of experimental models that most accurately replicate the response of human tissues is critical for precision in risk projections. Our proposed study will compare DNA damage, histological, and cell kinetic parameters after irradiation in normal 2D human cells versus 3D tissue models, and it will use a multi-scale computational model (CHASTE) to investigate various biological processes that may contribute to carcinogenesis, including radiation-induced cellular signaling pathways. This cross-disciplinary work, with biological validation of an evolvable mathematical computational model, will help reduce uncertainties within NSCR and aid risk mitigation for radiation-induced carcinogenesis.

THE CHARACTERIZATION OF DIDACTIC SPEECH OF A BIOLOGY TEACHER AND HIS INFLUENCE IN THE MOTIVATION OF STUDENTS FOR BIOLOGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorena Bejarano Beltrán

2016-10-01

Full Text Available The Pedagogic practice is the staging of knowledge for consideration and recognition of acquired understanding in the academic and personal level that took place in the Commercial Technical School Manuela Beltran, showing that students present lack of motivation to learn Biology , which is expressed in the limited relationship between reality, scientific concepts together with the technical language. The experiments and innovation are left aside. This is why there is a question in relation to the didactic speech and motivation of seventh and eighth grade students towards Biology. In this way the didactic speech of the teacher has been characterized to allow the identification of elements that facilitate the teaching in terms of motivation. In the same way the space for recognizing the factors that generate in the students pleasure for the subject given, in which the games, the participation and the experiments were aspects that they will like to have in their classes. The present investigation had and interpretative paradigm and a qualitative perspective, such instruments like the nonparticipant observation,six recordings of Biology classes making analyses of information units where categories emerged, as well as a questionnaire applied to 25 students.

Human development I: Twenty Fundamental Problems of Biology, Medicine, and Neuro-Psychology Related to Biological Information

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tyge Dahl Hermansen

2006-01-01

Full Text Available In a new series of papers, we address a number of unsolved problems in biology today. First of all, the unsolved enigma concerning how the differentiation from a single zygote to an adult individual happens has been object for severe research for decades. By uncovering a new holistic biological paradigm that introduces an energetic-informational interpretation of reality as a new way to experience biology, these papers will try to solve the problems connected with the events of biological ontogenesis involving a fractal hierarchy, from a single cell to the function of the human brain. The problems discussed are interpreted within the frames of a universe of roomy fractal structures containing energetic patterns that are able to deliver biological information. We think biological organization is guided by energetic changes on the level of quantum mechanics, interacting with the intention that again guides the energetic conformation of the fractal structures to gain disorders or healthiness. Furthermore, we introduce two new concepts: “metamorphous top down” evolution and “adult human metamorphosis”. The first is a new evolutionary theory involving metamorphosis as a main concept of evolution. The last is tightly linked to the evolutionary principle and explains how human self-recovery is governed. Other subjects of special interest that we shall look deeper into are the immunological self-nonself discrimination, the structure and function of the human brain, the etiology and salutogenesis of mental and somatic diseases, and the structure of the consciousness of a human being. We shall criticize Szentagothai’s model for the modulated structure of the human cerebral cortex and Jerne’s theory of the immunological regulatory anti-idiotypic network.

Legal and Ethical Issues Related to the Management of Cultural Heritage in Space

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Justin

The recent discovery of water in darkened craters of the Moon's south pole is only the latest development drawing public and corporate interest to the possibilities of research and travel in outer space. Scientists pursuing fusion-generated power as a solution to global energy needs have also noted the relative abundance of Helium-3, an efficient fuel, on the Moon's surface, and there is the promise of other precious resources there as well. The implantation of colonies on the Moon or Mars, discussed for many decades as science fiction, therefore seems increasingly likely to happen. Some private companies and members of the public are even looking forward to the days when tourists will be able to travel for leisure beyond the earth's atmosphere. Most notably, the X Prize Foundation and Google are sponsoring a prize for the first private group to send an unmanned rover to the Moon as a way of advancing these agendas; 22 teams have registered for the competition, with some scheduled to launch by the end of 2010. Increased attention to outer space travel, exploration, and commercial exploitation has been paralleled by a rise in interest in the protection of cultural resources on Earth, such as ar-chaeological sites and historic monuments. Such sites and monuments already exist in outer space and on extraterrestrial planetary bodies. The Apollo 11 landing site, Tranquility Base, is only the most obvious example of a cultural site of outstanding significance in space. Satellites orbiting the earth -even defunct ones such as Vanguard 1, the oldest man-made object still in orbit, might be considered to have extraordinary historic and cultural value, too. As archae-ologists working on Earth have long recognized, once a site or object is damaged, it can never be perfectly restored to its original condition. Unfortunately, there are so far only a few vague guidelines, drafted in the 1960's and agreed upon by the international community, protecting mankind's cultural heritage

Anatomical nuances of the internal carotid artery in relation to the quadrangular space.

Science.gov (United States)

Dolci, Ricardo L L; Ditzel Filho, Leo F S; Goulart, Carlos R; Upadhyay, Smita; Buohliqah, Lamia; Lazarini, Paulo R; Prevedello, Daniel M; Carrau, Ricardo L

2018-01-01

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to evaluate the anatomical variations of the internal carotid artery (ICA) in relation to the quadrangular space (QS) and to propose a classification system based on the results. METHODS A total of 44 human cadaveric specimens were dissected endonasally under direct endoscopic visualization. During the dissection, the anatomical variations of the ICA and their relationship with the QS were noted. RESULTS The space between the paraclival ICAs (i.e., intercarotid space) can be classified as 1 of 3 different shapes (i.e., trapezoid, square, or hourglass) based on the trajectory of the ICAs. The ICA trajectories also directly influence the volumetric area of the QS. Based on its geometry, the QS was classified as one of the following: 1) Type A has the smallest QS area and is associated with a trapezoid intercarotid space, 2) Type B corresponds to the expected QS area (not minimized or enlarged) and is associated with a square intercarotid space, and 3) Type C has the largest QS area and is associated with an hourglass intercarotid space. CONCLUSIONS The different trajectories of the ICAs can modify the area of the QS and may be an essential parameter to consider for preoperative planning and defining the most appropriate corridor to reach Meckel's cave. In addition, ICA trajectories should be considered prior to surgery to avoid injuring the vessels.

Biological monitoring of radiation exposure

Science.gov (United States)

Horneck, G.

1998-11-01

Complementary to physical dosimetry, biological dosimetry systems have been developed and applied which weight the different components of environmental radiation according to their biological efficacy. They generally give a record of the accumulated exposure of individuals with high sensitivity and specificity for the toxic agent under consideration. Basically three different types of biological detecting/monitoring systems are available: (i) intrinsic biological dosimeters that record the individual radiation exposure (humans, plants, animals) in measurable units. For monitoring ionizing radiation exposure, in situ biomarkers for genetic (e.g. chromosomal aberrations in human lymphocytes, germ line minisatellite mutation rates) or metabolic changes in serum, plasma and blood (e.g. serum lipids, lipoproteins, lipid peroxides, melatonin, antibody titer) have been used. (ii) Extrinsic biological dosimeters/indicators that record the accumulated dose in biological model systems. Their application includes long-term monitoring of changes in environmental UV radiation and its biological implications as well as dosimetry of personal UV exposure. (iii) Biological detectors/biosensors for genotoxic substances and agents such as bacterial assays (e.g. Ames test, SOS-type test) that are highly sensitive to genotoxins with high specificity. They may be applicable for different aspects in environmental monitoring including the International Space Station.

A timeless biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Tozzi, Arturo; Peters, James F; Chafin, Clifford; De Falco, Domenico; Torday, John S

2018-05-01

Contrary to claims that physics is timeless while biology is time-dependent, we take the opposite standpoint: physical systems' dynamics are constrained by the arrow of time, while living assemblies are time-independent. Indeed, the concepts of "constraints" and "displacements" shed new light on the role of continuous time flow in life evolution, allowing us to sketch a physical gauge theory for biological systems in long timescales. In the very short timescales of biological systems' individual lives, time looks like "frozen" and "fixed", so that the second law of thermodynamics is momentarily wrecked. The global symmetries (standing for biological constrained trajectories, i.e. the energetic gradient flows dictated by the second law of thermodynamics in long timescales) are broken by local "displacements" where time is held constant, i.e., modifications occurring in living systems. Such displacements stand for brief local forces, able to temporarily "break" the cosmic increase in entropy. The force able to restore the symmetries (called "gauge field") stands for the very long timescales of biological evolution. Therefore, at the very low speeds of life evolution, time is no longer one of the four phase space coordinates of a spacetime Universe: it becomes just a gauge field superimposed to three-dimensional biological systems. We discuss the implications in biology: when assessing living beings, the underrated role of isolated "spatial" modifications needs to be emphasized, living apart the evolutionary role of time. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

German National Proficiency Scales in Biology: Internal Structure, Relations to General Cognitive Abilities and Verbal Skills

Science.gov (United States)

KÖLLER, OLAF

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT National and international large‐scale assessments (LSA) have a major impact on educational systems, which raises fundamental questions about the validity of the measures regarding their internal structure and their relations to relevant covariates. Given its importance, research on the validity of instruments specifically developed for LSA is still sparse, especially in science and its subdomains biology, chemistry, and physics. However, policy decisions for the improvement of educational quality based on LSA can only be helpful if valid information on students’ achievement levels is provided. In the present study, the nature of the measurement instruments based on the German Educational Standards in Biology is examined. On the basis of data from 3,165 students in Grade 10, we present dimensional analyses and report the relationship between different subdimensions of biology literacy and cognitive covariates such as general cognitive abilities and verbal skills. A theory‐driven two‐dimensional model fitted the data best. Content knowledge and scientific inquiry, two subdimensions of biology literacy, are highly correlated and show differential correlational patterns to the covariates. We argue that the underlying structure of biology should be incorporated into curricula, teacher training and future assessments. PMID:27818532

[THE INCONSISTENCIES OF REGULATION OF METABOLISM IN PHYLOGENESIS AT THREE LEVELS OF "RELATIVE BIOLOGICAL PERFECTION": ETIOLOGY OF METABOLIC PANDEMICS].

Science.gov (United States)

Titov, V N

2015-11-01

The regulation of metabolism in vivo can be comprehended by considering stages of becoming inphylogenesis of humoral, hormonal, vegetative regulators separately: at the level of cells; in paracrin-regulated cenosises of cells; organs and systems under open blood circulation and closed system of blood flow. The levels of regulations formed at different stages of phylogenesis. Their completion occurred at achievement of "relative biological perfection". Only this way need of cells in functional, structural interaction and forming of multicellular developed. The development of organs and systems of organs also completed at the level of "relative biological perfection". From the same level the third stage of becoming of regulation of metabolism at the level of organism started. When three conditions of "relative biological perfection" achieved consequently at level in vivo are considered in species Homo sapiens using system approach it is detected that "relative biological perfection" in vivo is accompanied by different inconsistencies of regulation of metabolism. They are etiologic factors of "metabolic pandemics ". The inconsistencies (etiological factors) are consider as exemplified by local (at the level of paracrin-regulated cenosises of cells) and system (at the level of organism) regulation of biological reaction metabolism-microcirculation that results in dysfunction of target organs and development of pathogenesis of essential metabolic arterial hypertension. The article describes phylogenetic difference between visceral fatty cells and adpocytes, regulation of metabolism by phylogenetically late insulin, reaction of albumin at increasing of content of unesterified fatty acids in blood plasma, difference of function of resident macrophage and monocytes-macrophages in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance, obesity, under diabetes mellitus and essential metabolic arterial hypertension.

Testing General Relativity with Low-Frequency, Space-Based Gravitational-Wave Detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Gair, Jonathan R; Vallisneri, Michele; Larson, Shane L; Baker, John G

2013-01-01

We review the tests of general relativity that will become possible with space-based gravitational-wave detectors operating in the ∼ 10 -5 - 1 Hz low-frequency band. The fundamental aspects of gravitation that can be tested include the presence of additional gravitational fields other than the metric; the number and tensorial nature of gravitational-wave polarization states; the velocity of propagation of gravitational waves; the binding energy and gravitational-wave radiation of binaries, and therefore the time evolution of binary inspirals; the strength and shape of the waves emitted from binary mergers and ringdowns; the true nature of astrophysical black holes; and much more. The strength of this science alone calls for the swift implementation of a space-based detector; the remarkable richness of astrophysics, astronomy, and cosmology in the low-frequency gravitational-wave band make the case even stronger.

Correlation of liquid chromatographic and biological assay for potency assessment of filgrastim and related impurities.

Science.gov (United States)

Skrlin, Ana; Kosor Krnic, Ela; Gosak, Darko; Prester, Berislav; Mrsa, Vladimir; Vuletic, Marko; Runac, Domagoj

2010-11-02

In vivo and in vitro potency assays have always been a critical tool for confirmation of protein activity. However, due to their complexity and time consuming procedures, it remains a challenge to find an alternative analytical approach that would enable their replacement with no impact on the quality of provided information. The goal of this research was to determine if a correlation between liquid chromatography assays and in vitro biological assay could be established for filgrastim (recombinant human granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, rhG-CSF) samples containing various amounts of related impurities. For that purpose, relevant filgrastim related impurities were purified to homogeneity and characterized by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. A significant correlation (R(2)>0.90) between the two types of assays was revealed. Potency of oxidized filgrastim was determined to be approximately 25% of filgrastim stated potency (1 x 10(8)IU/mg of protein). Formyl-methionine filgrastim had potency of 89% of the filgrastim stated potency, while filgrastim dimer had 67% of filgrastim stated potency. A mathematical model for the estimation of biological activity of filgrastim samples from chromatography data was established and a significant correlation between experimental potency values and potency values estimated by the mathematical model was obtained (R(2)=0.92). Based on these results a conclusion was made that reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography could be used as an alternative for the in vitro biological assay for potency assessment of filgrastim samples. Such an alternative model would enable substitution of a complex and time consuming biological assay with a robust and precise instrumental method in many practical cases. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biological consequences of nuclear war

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubinin, N.P.

1986-01-01

Irradiation probability due to radionuclide fallout is shown to exceed 1 Gy even for the territories which have not been affected by nuclear weapons direct explosions. If some people survive in the nuclear war, their heredity would be affected. Genetic consequences of nuclear war complete the process of Homo sapiens disappearance from the Earth. Space weapons development will deteriorate the prospects of civilization ruin as a result of biological aftereffects of nuclear war and possible application of new arms, as well as chemical and biologic weapons

Survey of the US materials processing and manufacturing in space program

Science.gov (United States)

Mckannan, E. C.

1981-01-01

To promote potential commercial applications of low-g technology, the materials processing and manufacturing in space program is structured to: (1) analyze the scientific principles of gravitational effects on processes used in producing materials; (2) apply the research toward the technology used to control production process (on Earth or in space, as appropriate); and (3) establish the legal and managerial framework for commercial ventures. Presently federally funded NASA research is described as well as agreements for privately funded commercial activity, and a proposed academic participation process. The future scope of the program and related capabilities using ground based facilities, aircraft, sounding rockets, and space shuttles are discussed. Areas of interest described include crystal growth; solidification of metals and alloys; containerless processing; fluids and chemical processes (including biological separation processes); and processing extraterrestrial materials.

Biotechnology opportunities on Space Station

Science.gov (United States)

Deming, Jess; Henderson, Keith; Phillips, Robert W.; Dickey, Bernistine; Grounds, Phyllis

1987-01-01

Biotechnology applications which could be implemented on the Space Station are examined. The advances possible in biotechnology due to the favorable microgravity environment are discussed. The objectives of the Space Station Life Sciences Program are: (1) the study of human diseases, (2) biopolymer processing, and (3) the development of cryoprocessing and cryopreservation methods. The use of the microgravity environment for crystal growth, cell culturing, and the separation of biological materials is considered. The proposed Space Station research could provide benefits to the fields of medicine, pharmaceuticals, genetics, agriculture, and industrial waste management.

Assessing Space Utilisation Relative to Key Performance Indicators--How Well, Not How Much, Space Is Used

Science.gov (United States)

Fleming, Simon; Apps, Nathan; Harbon, Paul; Baldock, Clive

2012-01-01

Efficient use of resources, including space, is critical in academic departments. Traditional space auditing simply assesses occupancy levels. We present a novel approach which assesses not just the extent to which space is used, but also how well it is used. We link space use quantitatively to key performance indicators in a research-intensive…

Space Biology and Aerospace Medicine, Number 5, 1977.

Science.gov (United States)

1977-11-10

unchanged level in blood of 2,3- diphosphoglyceric acid, which is of substantial importance in implementation of hemoglobin function. For the first time in...Criteria of Artificial Gravity (I. Yu. Sarkisov, A. A. Shipov).................» 18 Change in Gravitation Level as a Stress Factor (L. V. Serova...for space suits, consideration is given not only to the need to maintain microclimate and temperature parameters at the proper level , but design

33-Foot-Diameter Space Station Leading to Space Base

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

This picture illustrates a concept of a 33-Foot-Diameter Space Station Leading to a Space Base. In-house work of the Marshall Space Flight Center, as well as a Phase B contract with the McDornel Douglas Astronautics Company, resulted in a preliminary design for a space station in 1969 and l970. The Marshall-McDonnel Douglas approach envisioned the use of two common modules as the core configuration of a 12-man space station. Each common module was 33 feet in diameter and 40 feet in length and provided the building blocks, not only for the space station, but also for a 50-man space base. Coupled together, the two modules would form a four-deck facility: two decks for laboratories and two decks for operations and living quarters. Zero-gravity would be the normal mode of operation, although the station would have an artificial gravity capability. This general-purpose orbital facility was to provide wide-ranging research capabilities. The design of the facility was driven by the need to accommodate a broad spectrum of activities in support of astronomy, astrophysics, aerospace medicine, biology, materials processing, space physics, and space manufacturing. To serve the needs of Earth observations, the station was to be placed in a 242-nautical-mile orbit at a 55-degree inclination. An Intermediate-21 vehicle (comprised of Saturn S-IC and S-II stages) would have launched the station in 1977.

Radiation damage relative to transmission electron microscopy of biological specimens at low temperature: a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glaeser, R.M.; Taylor, K.A.

1978-01-01

When biological specimens are irradiated by the electron beam in the electron microscope, the specimen structure is damaged as a result of molecular excitation, ionization, and subsequent chemical reactions. The radiation damage that occurs in the normal process of electron microscopy is known to present severe limitations for imaging high resolution detail in biological specimens. The question of radiation damage at low temperatures has therefore been investigated with the view in mind of reducing somewhat the rate at which damage occurs. The radiation damage protection found for small molecule (anhydrous) organic compounds is generally rather limited or even non-existent. However, large molecule, hydrated materials show as much as a 10-fold reduction at low temperature in the rate at which radiation damage occurs, relative to the damage rate at room temperature. In the case of hydrated specimens, therefore, low temperature electron microscopy offers an important advantage as part of the overall effort required in obtaining high resolution images of complex biological structures. (author)

Modeling human risk: Cell & molecular biology in context

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-06-01

It is anticipated that early in the next century manned missions into outer space will occur, with a mission to Mars scheduled between 2015 and 2020. However, before such missions can be undertaken, a realistic estimation of the potential risks to the flight crews is required. One of the uncertainties remaining in this risk estimation is that posed by the effects of exposure to the radiation environment of outer space. Although the composition of this environment is fairly well understood, the biological effects arising from exposure to it are not. The reasons for this are three-fold: (1) A small but highly significant component of the radiation spectrum in outer space consists of highly charged, high energy (HZE) particles which are not routinely experienced on earth, and for which there are insufficient data on biological effects; (2) Most studies on the biological effects of radiation to date have been high-dose, high dose-rate, whereas in space, with the exception of solar particle events, radiation exposures will be low-dose, low dose-rate; (3) Although it has been established that the virtual absence of gravity in space has a profound effect on human physiology, it is not clear whether these effects will act synergistically with those of radiation exposure. A select panel will evaluate the utilizing experiments and models to accurately predict the risks associated with exposure to HZE particles. Topics of research include cellular and tissue response, health effects associated with radiation damage, model animal systems, and critical markers of Radiation response.

Relative navigation and attitude determination using a GPS/INS integrated system near the International Space Station

Science.gov (United States)

Um, Jaeyong

2001-08-01

The Space Integrated GPS/INS (SIGI) sensor is the primary navigation and attitude determination source for the International Space Station (ISS). The SIGI was successfully demonstrated on-orbit for the first time in the SIGI Orbital Attitude Readiness (SOAR) demonstration on the Space Shuttle Atlantis in May 2000. Numerous proximity operations near the ISS have been and will be performed over the lifetime of the Station. The development of an autonomous relative navigation system is needed to improve the safety and efficiency of vehicle operations near the ISS. A hardware simulation study was performed for the GPS-based relative navigation using the state vector difference approach and the interferometric approach in the absence of multipath. The interferometric approach, where the relative states are estimated directly, showed comparable results for a 1 km baseline. One of the most pressing current technical issues is the design of an autonomous relative navigation system in the proximity of the ISS, where GPS signals are blocked and maneuvers happen frequently. An integrated GPS/INS system is investigated for the possibility of a fully autonomous relative navigation system. Another application of GPS measurements is determination of the vehicle's orientation in space. This study used the SOAR experiment data to characterize the SICI's on-orbit performance for attitude determination. A cold start initialization algorithm was developed for integer ambiguity resolution in any initial orientation. The original algorithm that was used in the SIGI had an operational limitation in the integer ambiguity resolution, which was developed for terrestrial applications, and limited its effectiveness in space. The new algorithm was tested using the SOAR data and has been incorporated in the current SIGI flight software. The attitude estimation performance was examined using two different GPS/INS integration algorithms. The GPS/INS attitude solution using the SOAR data was as

Behavior and reproduction of invertebrate animals during and after a long-term microgravity: space experiments using an Autonomous Biological System (ABS).

Science.gov (United States)

Ijiri, K; Mizuno, R; Narita, T; Ohmura, T; Ishikawa, Y; Yamashita, M; Anderson, G; Poynter, J; MacCallum, T

1998-12-01

Aquatic invertebrate animals such as Amphipods, Gastropods (pond snails), Ostracods and Daphnia (water flea) were placed in water-filled cylindrical vessels together with water plant (hornwort). The vessels were sealed completely and illuminated with a fluorescent lamp to activate the photosynthesis of the plant for providing oxygen within the vessels. Such ecosystem vessels, specially termed as Autonomous Biological System or ABS units, were exposed to microgravity conditions, and the behavior of the animals and their reproduction capacity were studied. Three space experiments were carried out. The first experiment used a Space shuttle only and it was a 10-day flight. The other two space experiments were carried out in the Space station Mir (Shuttle/Mir mission), and the flight units had been kept in microgravity for 4 months. Daphnia produced their offspring during a 10-day Shuttle flight. In the first Mir experiment, no Daphnia were detected when recovered to the ground. However, they were alive in the second Mir experiment. Daphnia were the most fragile species among the invertebrate animals employed in the present experiments. All the animals, i.e., Amphipods, pond snails, Ostracods and Daphnia had survived for 4 months in space, i.e., they had produced their offspring or repeated their life-cycles under microgravity. For the two Mir experiments, in both the flight and ground control ecosystem units, an inverse relationship was noted between the number of Amphipods and pond snails in each unit. Amphipods at 10 hours after the recovery to the ground frequently exhibited a movement of dropping straight-downward to the bottom of the units. Several Amphipods had their legs bent abnormally, which probably resulted from some physiological alterations during their embryonic development under microgravity. From the analysis of the video tape recorded in space, for Ostracods and Daphnia, a half of their population were looping under microgravity. Such looping animals

Plant biology in reduced gravity on the Moon and Mars.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiss, J Z

2014-01-01

While there have been numerous studies on the effects of microgravity on plant biology since the beginning of the Space Age, our knowledge of the effects of reduced gravity (less than the Earth nominal 1 g) on plant physiology and development is very limited. Since international space agencies have cited manned exploration of Moon/Mars as long-term goals, it is important to understand plant biology at the lunar (0.17 g) and Martian levels of gravity (0.38 g), as plants are likely to be part of bioregenerative life-support systems on these missions. First, the methods to obtain microgravity and reduced gravity such as drop towers, parabolic flights, sounding rockets and orbiting spacecraft are reviewed. Studies on gravitaxis and gravitropism in algae have suggested that the threshold level of gravity sensing is around 0.3 g or less. Recent experiments on the International Space Station (ISS) showed attenuation of phototropism in higher plants occurs at levels ranging from 0.l g to 0.3 g. Taken together, these studies suggest that the reduced gravity level on Mars of 0.38 g may be enough so that the gravity level per se would not be a major problem for plant development. Studies that have directly considered the impact of reduced gravity and microgravity on bioregenerative life-support systems have identified important biophysical changes in the reduced gravity environments that impact the design of these systems. The author suggests that the current ISS laboratory facilities with on-board centrifuges should be used as a test bed in which to explore the effects of reduced gravity on plant biology, including those factors that are directly related to developing life-support systems necessary for Moon and Mars exploration. © 2013 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

Space weather biological and systems effects for suborbital flights

Science.gov (United States)

2008-10-31

The Aerospace Corporation was tasked to assess the impacts of space weather on both RLVs and ELVs operating at suborbital altitudes from launch sites located in the low (equatorial regions), middle, and high latitudes. The present report presents a b...

Extended space expectation values of position related operators for hydrogen-like quantum system evolutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalay, Berfin; Demiralp, Metin

2014-01-01

The expectation value definitions over an extended space from the considered Hilbert space of the system under consideration is given in another paper of the second author in this symposium. There, in that paper, the conceptuality rather than specification is emphasized on. This work uses that conceptuality to investigate the time evolutions of the position related operators' expectation values not in its standard meaning but rather in a new version of the definition over not the original Hilbert space but in the space obtained by extensions via introducing the images of the given initial wave packet under the positive integer powers of the system Hamiltonian. These images may not be residing in the same space of the initial wave packet when certain singularities appear in the structure of the system Hamiltonian. This may break down the existence of the integrals in the definitions of the expectation values. The cure is the use of basis functions in the abovementioned extended space and the sandwiching of the target operator whose expectation value is under questioning by an appropriately chosen operator guaranteeing the existence of the relevant integrals. Work specifically focuses on the hydrogen-like quantum systems whose Hamiltonians contain a polar singularity at the origin

Testing General Relativity with Low-Frequency, Space-Based Gravitational-Wave Detectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John G. Baker

2013-09-01

Full Text Available We review the tests of general relativity that will become possible with space-based gravitational-wave detectors operating in the ∼ 10^{-5} – 1 Hz low-frequency band. The fundamental aspects of gravitation that can be tested include the presence of additional gravitational fields other than the metric; the number and tensorial nature of gravitational-wave polarization states; the velocity of propagation of gravitational waves; the binding energy and gravitational-wave radiation of binaries, and therefore the time evolution of binary inspirals; the strength and shape of the waves emitted from binary mergers and ringdowns; the true nature of astrophysical black holes; and much more. The strength of this science alone calls for the swift implementation of a space-based detector; the remarkable richness of astrophysics, astronomy, and cosmology in the low-frequency gravitational-wave band make the case even stronger.

PHOTOGRAMMETRIC MODEL BASED METHOD OF AUTOMATIC ORIENTATION OF SPACE CARGO SHIP RELATIVE TO THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. B. Blokhinov

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The technical problem of creating the new Russian version of an automatic Space Cargo Ship (SCS for the International Space Station (ISS is inseparably connected to the development of a digital video system for automatically measuring the SCS position relative to ISS in the process of spacecraft docking. This paper presents a method for estimating the orientation elements based on the use of a highly detailed digital model of the ISS. The input data are digital frames from a calibrated video system and the initial values of orientation elements, these can be estimated from navigation devices or by fast-and-rough viewpoint-dependent algorithm. Then orientation elements should be defined precisely by means of algorithmic processing. The main idea is to solve the exterior orientation problem mainly on the basis of contour information of the frame image of ISS instead of ground control points. A detailed digital model is used for generating raster templates of ISS nodes; the templates are used to detect and locate the nodes on the target image with the required accuracy. The process is performed for every frame, the resulting parameters are considered to be the orientation elements. The Kalman filter is used for statistical support of the estimation process and real time pose tracking. Finally, the modeling results presented show that the proposed method can be regarded as one means to ensure the algorithmic support of automatic space ships docking.

Peripersonal Space and Margin of Safety around the Body: Learning Visuo-Tactile Associations in a Humanoid Robot with Artificial Skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Roncone, Alessandro; Hoffmann, Matej; Pattacini, Ugo; Fadiga, Luciano; Metta, Giorgio

2016-01-01

This paper investigates a biologically motivated model of peripersonal space through its implementation on a humanoid robot. Guided by the present understanding of the neurophysiology of the fronto-parietal system, we developed a computational model inspired by the receptive fields of polymodal neurons identified, for example, in brain areas F4 and VIP. The experiments on the iCub humanoid robot show that the peripersonal space representation i) can be learned efficiently and in real-time via a simple interaction with the robot, ii) can lead to the generation of behaviors like avoidance and reaching, and iii) can contribute to the understanding the biological principle of motor equivalence. More specifically, with respect to i) the present model contributes to hypothesizing a learning mechanisms for peripersonal space. In relation to point ii) we show how a relatively simple controller can exploit the learned receptive fields to generate either avoidance or reaching of an incoming stimulus and for iii) we show how the robot can select arbitrary body parts as the controlled end-point of an avoidance or reaching movement.

Exploring Biological and Geological Age-related Changes through Variations in Intra- and Intertooth Proteomes of Ancient Dentine.

Science.gov (United States)

Procopio, Noemi; Chamberlain, Andrew T; Buckley, Michael

2018-03-02

Proteomic analyses are becoming more widely used in archeology not only due to the greater preservation of proteins in ancient specimens than DNA but also because they can offer different information, particularly relating to compositional preservation and potentially a means to estimate biological and geological age. However, it remains unclear to what extent different burial environments impact these aspects of proteome decay. Teeth have to date been much less studied than bone but are ideal to explore how proteins decay with time due to the negligible turnover that occurs in dentine relative to bone. We investigated the proteome variability and deamidation levels of different sections of molar teeth from archeological bovine mandibles as well as their mandibular bone. We obtained a greater yield of proteins from the crown of the teeth but did not find differences between the different molars analyzed within each mandible. We also obtained the best variety of protein from a well-preserved mandible that was not the youngest one in terms of chronological age, showing the influence of the preservation conditions on the final proteomic outcome. Intriguingly, we also noticed an increase in abundance levels of fetuin-A in biologically younger mandibles as reported previously, but the opposite trend in tooth dentine. Interestingly, we observed higher glutamine deamidation levels in teeth from the geologically oldest mandible despite it being the biologically youngest specimen, showing that the archeological age strongly impacts on the level of deamidations observed, much more so than biological aging. This indicates that the glutamine deamidation ratio of selected peptides may act as a good predictor of the relative geochronological age of archeological specimens.

The science of space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raine, D.J.; Heller, M.

1981-01-01

Analyzing the development of the structure of space-time from the theory of Aristotle to the present day, the present work attempts to sketch a science of relativistic mechanics. The concept of relativity is discussed in relation to the way in which space-time splits up into space and time, and in relation to Mach's principle concerning the relativity of inertia. Particular attention is given to the following topics: Aristotelian dynamics Copernican kinematics Newtonian dynamics the space-time of classical dynamics classical space-time in the presence of gravity the space-time of special relativity the space-time of general relativity solutions and problems in general relativity Mach's principle and the dynamics of space-time theories of inertial mass the integral formation of general relativity and the frontiers of relativity

Sensor for measurement of biological objects and their mutual interaction - patent No. 285 085

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komarek, K.; Chrapan, J.; Herec, I.

2006-01-01

In this paper the sensor for measurement of biological objects 'Aurograph' is described. The 'Aurograph' was proposed for measurement of human aura. The aura is characterised as a space with electric charge in vicinity of biological but also non-biological object. Their expression can be measured by known interactions of electric and magnetic fields. It is the space with electric charge in locality of human body where by action of bio-potential the atoms of surrounding are excited

Bayesian uncertainty analysis for complex systems biology models: emulation, global parameter searches and evaluation of gene functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Vernon, Ian; Liu, Junli; Goldstein, Michael; Rowe, James; Topping, Jen; Lindsey, Keith

2018-01-02

Many mathematical models have now been employed across every area of systems biology. These models increasingly involve large numbers of unknown parameters, have complex structure which can result in substantial evaluation time relative to the needs of the analysis, and need to be compared to observed data of various forms. The correct analysis of such models usually requires a global parameter search, over a high dimensional parameter space, that incorporates and respects the most important sources of uncertainty. This can be an extremely difficult task, but it is essential for any meaningful inference or prediction to be made about any biological system. It hence represents a fundamental challenge for the whole of systems biology. Bayesian statistical methodology for the uncertainty analysis of complex models is introduced, which is designed to address the high dimensional global parameter search problem. Bayesian emulators that mimic the systems biology model but which are extremely fast to evaluate are embeded within an iterative history match: an efficient method to search high dimensional spaces within a more formal statistical setting, while incorporating major sources of uncertainty. The approach is demonstrated via application to a model of hormonal crosstalk in Arabidopsis root development, which has 32 rate parameters, for which we identify the sets of rate parameter values that lead to acceptable matches between model output and observed trend data. The multiple insights into the model's structure that this analysis provides are discussed. The methodology is applied to a second related model, and the biological consequences of the resulting comparison, including the evaluation of gene functions, are described. Bayesian uncertainty analysis for complex models using both emulators and history matching is shown to be a powerful technique that can greatly aid the study of a large class of systems biology models. It both provides insight into model behaviour

Effect of HZE particles and space hadrons on bacteriophages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iurov, S.S.; Akoev, I.G.; Leonteva, G.A.

1983-01-01

The effects of particle radiation of the type encountered in space flight on bacteriophages are investigated. Survival and mutagenesis were followed in dry film cultures or liquid suspensions of T4Br(+) bacteriophage exposed to high-energy (HZE) particles during orbital flight, to alpha particles and accelerator-generated hardrons in the laboratory, and to high-energy cosmic rays at mountain altitudes. The HZE particles and high-energy hadrons are found to have a greater relative biological efficiency than standard gamma radiation, while exhibiting a highly inhomogeneous spatial structure in the observed biological and genetic effects. In addition, the genetic lesions observed are specific to the type of radiation exposure, consisting primarily of deletions and multiple lesions of low revertability, with mode of action depending on the linear energy transfer. 18 references

Biological effects of space flight on SP{sub 1} traits of fenugreek

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rong, Xu; Jing, Yu; Jiang, Xu; Feng, Zhou; Jun, Chen [The Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Beijing Union Medical College, Beijing (China); Yougang, Liu [Tianjin Univ. of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin (China); Suqin, Sun [Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China)

2009-04-15

Fenugreek (Trigonella Foenum-graecum L.) seeds introduced from United Arab Emirates (UAE) were carried to the space by the recoverable satellite 'Shi Jian 8'. After space loading, the seeds were planted to be observed and investigated compared to the control group. The results showed that the germination rate declined after space loading compared to the control group. SP{sub 1} plants grew inhibited first, and then vigorously later at the seedling stage. The branch number, pods and plant weight of SP{sub 1} plants' increased. More important, single pod was changed to dual pod. At the same time, the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to analyze and appraise the fenugreek SP{sub 1} seeds. The results indicated that the major components and the structures remained intact, in another word, space mutation had no obvious effect on the quality of SP{sub 1} seeds. Based on the results, some variations mutated by space flight could appear at the present generation. These variations were important to gain high yield. (authors)

Biological nitrogen fixation in relation to energy forest production. Progress report, 1978-1980

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Clarholm, M; Granhall, U

1981-01-01

Different pasture legumes, Alnus incana and Myrica gale have been tested in pot experiments and field trials with respect to their use as biological N-fertilizers in relation to energy forest production. So far experiments have been mainly concerned with their establishemnts as on intercrop with Galix at a mire site with ombrotrophic peat and in two clayish arable soils. Laboratory experiments have been made to determine optimal conditions for growth and nitrogen fixation of wild and Alaska lupines in relation to varous soil amendments in the form of lime, ash, NPKMo, and Fe. A pilot experiment of the terrelations between willows and grey alder growing together in peat has been started at Uppsala.

Mingling, observing, and lingering: everyday public spaces and their implications for well-being and social relations.

Science.gov (United States)

Cattell, Vicky; Dines, Nick; Gesler, Wil; Curtis, Sarah

2008-09-01

The rejuvenation of public spaces is a key policy concern in the UK. Drawing on a wide literature and on qualitative research located in a multi-ethnic area of East London, this paper explores their relationship to well-being and social relations. It demonstrates that ordinary spaces are a significant resource for both individuals and communities. The beneficial properties of public spaces are not reducible to natural or aesthetic criteria, however. Social interaction in spaces can provide relief from daily routines, sustenance for people's sense of community, opportunities for sustaining bonding ties or making bridges, and can influence tolerance and raise people's spirits. They also possess subjective meanings that accumulate over time and can contribute to meeting diverse needs. Different users of public spaces attain a sense of well- being for different reasons: the paper calls for policy approaches in which the social and therapeutic properties of a range of everyday spaces are more widely recognised and nurtured.

Space Radiation and Risks to Human Health

Science.gov (United States)

Huff, Janice L.; Patel, Zarana S.; Simonsen, Lisa C.

2014-01-01

The radiation environment in space poses significant challenges to human health and is a major concern for long duration manned space missions. Outside the Earth's protective magnetosphere, astronauts are exposed to higher levels of galactic cosmic rays, whose physical characteristics are distinct from terrestrial sources of radiation such as x-rays and gamma-rays. Galactic cosmic rays consist of high energy and high mass nuclei as well as high energy protons; they impart unique biological damage as they traverse through tissue with impacts on human health that are largely unknown. The major health issues of concern are the risks of radiation carcinogenesis, acute and late decrements to the central nervous system, degenerative tissue effects such as cardiovascular disease, as well as possible acute radiation syndromes due to an unshielded exposure to a large solar particle event. The NASA Human Research Program's Space Radiation Program Element is focused on characterization and mitigation of these space radiation health risks along with understanding these risks in context of the other biological stressors found in the space environment. In this overview, we will provide a description of these health risks and the Element's research strategies to understand and mitigate these risks.

The relative biological effectiveness of I-125 and Pd-103

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ling, C. Clifton; Li, William X.; Anderson, Lowell L.

1995-01-01

Purpose: To determine the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of I-125 and Pd-103 relative to Co-60. Methods and Materials: A cell line REC:ras, derived from rat embryo cells, was used. Cells in exponential or plateau phase were irradiated at dose rates of about 0.07 Gy/h and 0.14 Gy/h. To circumvent the interface effect, cells were grown and irradiated on membranes made of cellulose acetate, which has an effective Z of 7.5. I-125 and Pd-103 seeds were placed in a custom designed template that yielded a homogeneous dose distribution in the plane of the cell culture. The dose rates of irradiation were measured by calibrated thermoluminescence dosimetry (TLD) chips. Results and Conclusions: Our measurements yielded an RBE of about 1.4 for I-125 at dose rates of about 0.07 Gy/h, and an RBE of about 1.9 for Pd-103 at dose rates of about 0.07 Gy/h and 0.14 Gy/h. The RBE of I-125 is similar to those measured by other investigators, the RBE for Pd-103 is being reported for the first time

Advanced biosensors for monitoring astronauts' health during long-duration space missions.

Science.gov (United States)

Roda, Aldo; Mirasoli, Mara; Guardigli, Massimo; Zangheri, Martina; Caliceti, Cristiana; Calabria, Donato; Simoni, Patrizia

2018-07-15

Long-duration space missions pose important health concerns for astronauts, especially regarding the adverse effects of microgravity and exposure to high-energy cosmic rays. The long-term maintenance of crew health and performance mainly relies on prevention, early diagnoses, condition management, and medical interventions in situ. In-flight biosensor diagnostic devices and medical procedures must use few resources and operate in a microgravity environment, which complicates the collection and management of biological samples. Moreover, the biosensors must be certified for in-flight operation according to strict design and safety regulations. Herein, we report on the state of the art and recent advances in biosensing diagnostic instrumentation for monitoring astronauts' health during long-duration space missions, including portable and wearable biosensors. We discuss perspectives on new-format biosensors in autonomous space clinics. We also describe our own work in developing biosensing devices for non-invasively diagnosing space-related diseases, and how they are used in long-duration missions. Finally, we discuss the benefits of space exploration for Earth-based medicine. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Radiobiological experiments in space: a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horneck, G.

1992-01-01

This paper deals mainly with results from space experiments on the biological effects of cosmic ray high charge, high energy (HZE) particles and on their potential interactions with the microgravity environment. So far, mainly with resting systems, such as viruses, bacterial spores, plant seeds or shrimp cysts, as well as in a few embryonic systems, methods have been applied to trace injuries to the passage of a single HZE particle of comic radiation Most effects point to damage to the genetic material such as mutations, tumour induction, chromosomal aberrations, cell inactivation, or development anomalies. Using higher organisms, including mammals, a few attempts have been made to identify tissue damage along the passage of single HZE particles, such as microscopically visible injury in brain or eyes, or the light flash sensation. The latter, correlated with orbital parameters, showed highest frequency during the passage of the South Atlantic Anomaly. To study potential interactions of ionizing radiation with microgravity, either additional irradiation was applied, pre-, in-, or post-flight, or a 1 g reference centrifuge was utilized in combination with methods of particle effect correlation. Especially in embryonic systems, synergistic interactions were observed in producing mutations or anomalies with high frequency. It is assumed that, among other mechanisms, microgravity might interfere with the function of DNA repair systems. On the basis of the results obtained on the biological effectiveness of radiation in space and in view of upcoming space activities with an increasing number of manned missions, perspectives are given for future experimental approaches in space radiation biology. (author)

A Magnetic Sensor System for Biological Detection

KAUST Repository

Li, Fuquan

2015-05-01

for the detection of E. coli, and similar optimization processes can be performed for the detection of other biological targets. Third, we demonstrate the new magnetic biosensor concept using a mechanical trap capable of detecting nucleic acids via the size difference between bare magnetic beads and bead compounds. The bead compounds are formed through linking nonmagnetic beads of 1 µm in diameter and magnetic beads of 2.8 µm in diameter by the target nucleic acids. The purpose of the nonmagnetic beads is to increase the size of the compounds, since the nucleic acid is very small compared to the magnetic beads. Alternatively, smaller magnetic beads could be used but their detection would be more challenging. Finally, an enhanced version of the magnetic biosensor concept is developed using an electromagnetic trap for the detection of E. coli. The trap is formed by a current-carrying microwire that attracts magnetic beads into a virtual sensing space. As in the case of the mechanical trap, the sensor signal depends on the number of beads inside of the sensing space. The distance which magnetic beads can be detected from by the MTJ sensor defines the sensing space. The results showed that the output signal depends on the concentration of E. coli in the sample solution and that individual E. coli bacterium inside the sensing space could be detected using super-paramagnetic beads that are 2.8 µm in diameter. In summary, this dissertation investigates a new magnetic biosensor concept, which detects biological targets via the size difference between bare magnetic beads and compounds of magnetic beads and biological targets. The new method is extremely simple and enables the detection of biological targets in two simple steps and within a short time. The concept is demonstrated for the detection of nucleic acid and E. coli.

Transcriptome tomography for brain analysis in the web-accessible anatomical space.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuko Okamura-Oho

Full Text Available Increased information on the encoded mammalian genome is expected to facilitate an integrated understanding of complex anatomical structure and function based on the knowledge of gene products. Determination of gene expression-anatomy associations is crucial for this understanding. To elicit the association in the three-dimensional (3D space, we introduce a novel technique for comprehensive mapping of endogenous gene expression into a web-accessible standard space: Transcriptome Tomography. The technique is based on conjugation of sequential tissue-block sectioning, all fractions of which are used for molecular measurements of gene expression densities, and the block- face imaging, which are used for 3D reconstruction of the fractions. To generate a 3D map, tissues are serially sectioned in each of three orthogonal planes and the expression density data are mapped using a tomographic technique. This rapid and unbiased mapping technique using a relatively small number of original data points allows researchers to create their own expression maps in the broad anatomical context of the space. In the first instance we generated a dataset of 36,000 maps, reconstructed from data of 61 fractions measured with microarray, covering the whole mouse brain (ViBrism: http://vibrism.riken.jp/3dviewer/ex/index.html in one month. After computational estimation of the mapping accuracy we validated the dataset against existing data with respect to the expression location and density. To demonstrate the relevance of the framework, we showed disease related expression of Huntington's disease gene and Bdnf. Our tomographic approach is applicable to analysis of any biological molecules derived from frozen tissues, organs and whole embryos, and the maps are spatially isotropic and well suited to the analysis in the standard space (e.g. Waxholm Space for brain-atlas databases. This will facilitate research creating and using open-standards for a molecular

Neutral Evolution in a Biological Population as Diffusion in Phenotype Space: Reproduction with Local Mutation but without Selection

Science.gov (United States)

Lawson, Daniel John; Jensen, Henrik Jeldtoft

2007-03-01

The process of “evolutionary diffusion,” i.e., reproduction with local mutation but without selection in a biological population, resembles standard diffusion in many ways. However, evolutionary diffusion allows the formation of localized peaks that undergo drift, even in the infinite population limit. We relate a microscopic evolution model to a stochastic model which we solve fully. This allows us to understand the large population limit, relates evolution to diffusion, and shows that independent local mutations act as a diffusion of interacting particles taking larger steps.

A swarm intelligence framework for reconstructing gene networks: searching for biologically plausible architectures.

Science.gov (United States)

Kentzoglanakis, Kyriakos; Poole, Matthew

2012-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the problem of reverse engineering the topology of gene regulatory networks from temporal gene expression data. We adopt a computational intelligence approach comprising swarm intelligence techniques, namely particle swarm optimization (PSO) and ant colony optimization (ACO). In addition, the recurrent neural network (RNN) formalism is employed for modeling the dynamical behavior of gene regulatory systems. More specifically, ACO is used for searching the discrete space of network architectures and PSO for searching the corresponding continuous space of RNN model parameters. We propose a novel solution construction process in the context of ACO for generating biologically plausible candidate architectures. The objective is to concentrate the search effort into areas of the structure space that contain architectures which are feasible in terms of their topological resemblance to real-world networks. The proposed framework is initially applied to the reconstruction of a small artificial network that has previously been studied in the context of gene network reverse engineering. Subsequently, we consider an artificial data set with added noise for reconstructing a subnetwork of the genetic interaction network of S. cerevisiae (yeast). Finally, the framework is applied to a real-world data set for reverse engineering the SOS response system of the bacterium Escherichia coli. Results demonstrate the relative advantage of utilizing problem-specific knowledge regarding biologically plausible structural properties of gene networks over conducting a problem-agnostic search in the vast space of network architectures.

Review and application of group theory to molecular systems biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rietman, Edward A; Karp, Robert L; Tuszynski, Jack A

2011-06-22

In this paper we provide a review of selected mathematical ideas that can help us better understand the boundary between living and non-living systems. We focus on group theory and abstract algebra applied to molecular systems biology. Throughout this paper we briefly describe possible open problems. In connection with the genetic code we propose that it may be possible to use perturbation theory to explore the adjacent possibilities in the 64-dimensional space-time manifold of the evolving genome. With regards to algebraic graph theory, there are several minor open problems we discuss. In relation to network dynamics and groupoid formalism we suggest that the network graph might not be the main focus for understanding the phenotype but rather the phase space of the network dynamics. We show a simple case of a C6 network and its phase space network. We envision that the molecular network of a cell is actually a complex network of hypercycles and feedback circuits that could be better represented in a higher-dimensional space. We conjecture that targeting nodes in the molecular network that have key roles in the phase space, as revealed by analysis of the automorphism decomposition, might be a better way to drug discovery and treatment of cancer.

Misconceptions in recent papers on special relativity and absolute space theories

Science.gov (United States)

Torr, D. G.; Kolen, P.

1982-01-01

Several recent papers which purport to substantiate or negate arguments in favor of certain theories of absolute space have been based on fallacious principles. This paper discusses three related instances, indicating where misconceptions have arisen. It is established, contrary to popular belief, that the classical Lorentz ether theory accounts for all the experimental evidence which supports the special theory of relativity. It is demonstrated that the ether theory predicts the null results obtained from pulsar timing and Moessbauer experiments. It is concluded that a measurement of the one-way velocity of light has physical meaning within the context of the Lorentz theory, and it is argued that an adequately designed experiment to measure the one-way velocity of light should be attempted.

Association between urban green space and self-reported lifestyle-related disorders in Oslo, Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Camilla, Ihlebæk; Geir, Aamodt; Renata, Aradi; Bjørgulf, Claussen; Halvorsen, Thorén Kine

2017-10-01

The need for studies from more countries on the relationship between urban green space and health has been emphasized. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between two types of measurement of urban green space and self-reported lifestyle-related disorders in Oslo, Norway. Self-reported measures on mental disorders, asthma, type 2 diabetes and musculoskeletal pain of 8638 participants in the Oslo Health Study (HUBRO) were linked to two types of green space variables: the vegetation cover greenness derived from satellite data, which shows the city's vegetation cover regardless of property boundaries, and the land use greenness derived from municipal plans showing information about publicly accessible vegetation-covered areas. Associations between greenness and health measures were analysed by logistic regression models controlling for possible individual and contextual confounders. Increasing vegetation cover greenness was associated with fewer self-reported mental disorders for both men and women after controlling for possible confounders. The proportion of women who reported high levels of musculoskeletal pain increased with increasing degrees of both of the greenness measurements, but no significant association was observed for men. No association was found for asthma and diabetes type 2 for either men or women. Although there was a positive association between vegetation cover greenness and self-reported mental disorders, the main findings showed mixed results. The lack of clear associations between urban green space and lifestyle-related health disorders in Oslo might have been influenced by a large proportion of the inhabitants having easy access to green areas.

Computational Systems Chemical Biology

OpenAIRE

Oprea, Tudor I.; May, Elebeoba E.; Leitão, Andrei; Tropsha, Alexander

2011-01-01

There is a critical need for improving the level of chemistry awareness in systems biology. The data and information related to modulation of genes and proteins by small molecules continue to accumulate at the same time as simulation tools in systems biology and whole body physiologically-based pharmacokinetics (PBPK) continue to evolve. We called this emerging area at the interface between chemical biology and systems biology systems chemical biology, SCB (Oprea et al., 2007).

Modeling human risk: Cell ampersand molecular biology in context

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-06-01

It is anticipated that early in the next century manned missions into outer space will occur, with a mission to Mars scheduled between 2015 and 2020. However, before such missions can be undertaken, a realistic estimation of the potential risks to the flight crews is required. One of the uncertainties remaining in this risk estimation is that posed by the effects of exposure to the radiation environment of outer space. Although the composition of this environment is fairly well understood, the biological effects arising from exposure to it are not. The reasons for this are three-fold: (1) A small but highly significant component of the radiation spectrum in outer space consists of highly charged, high energy (HZE) particles which are not routinely experienced on earth, and for which there are insufficient data on biological effects; (2) Most studies on the biological effects of radiation to date have been high-dose, high dose-rate, whereas in space, with the exception of solar particle events, radiation exposures will be low-dose, low dose-rate; (3) Although it has been established that the virtual absence of gravity in space has a profound effect on human physiology, it is not clear whether these effects will act synergistically with those of radiation exposure. A select panel will evaluate the utilizing experiments and models to accurately predict the risks associated with exposure to HZE particles. Topics of research include cellular and tissue response, health effects associated with radiation damage, model animal systems, and critical markers of Radiation response

National space legislation : future perspectives for Malaysian Space Law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Saari, Che Zuhaida Binti

2014-01-01

This research studies the future perspectives for Malaysian space law. It aims at demonstrating the development of Malaysian outer space activities inclusive of her status with respect to United Nations space conventions and her membership of international and regional space-related organizations.

International space science

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mark, H.

1988-01-01

The author begins his paper by noting the range of international cooperation which has occured in science since its earliest days. The brightest minds were allowed to cross international frontiers even in the face of major wars, to work on their interests and to interact with like minded scientists in other countries. There has of course been a political side to this movement at times. The author makes the point that doing science on an international basis is extemely important but it is not a way of conducting foreign policy. Even though governments may work together on scientific efforts, it is no glue which will bind them to work together on larger political or economic issues. The reason for doing science on an international basis is that it will lead to better science, not better international relations. There are a limited number of great scientists in the world, and they must be allowed to develop their talents. He then discusses two internationl space programs which have has such collaboration, the Soviet-American Space Biology Program, and the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). He then touches on the NASA space exploration program, and the fact that its basic objectives were laid out in the 1940's and l950's. With this laid out he argues in favor of establishment of a lunar base, one of the key elements of NASA's plan, arguing for the value of this step based upon the infrared astronomical work which could be done from a stable lunar site, away from the earth's atmosphere

Micro/nanofabricated environments for synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, C Patrick; Simpson, Michael L

2011-08-01

A better understanding of how confinement, crowding and reduced dimensionality modulate reactivity and reaction dynamics will aid in the rational and systematic discovery of functionality in complex biological systems. Artificial microfabricated and nanofabricated structures have helped elucidate the effects of nanoscale spatial confinement and segregation on biological behavior, particularly when integrated with microfluidics, through precise control in both space and time of diffusible signals and binding interactions. Examples of nanostructured interfaces for synthetic biology include the development of cell-like compartments for encapsulating biochemical reactions, nanostructured environments for fundamental studies of diffusion, molecular transport and biochemical reaction kinetics, and regulation of biomolecular interactions as functions of microfabricated and nanofabricated topological constraints. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Toward the classification of differential calculi on κ-Minkowski space and related field theories

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jurić, Tajron; Meljanac, Stjepan; Pikutić, Danijel [Ruđer Bošković Institute, Theoretical Physics Division,Bijenička c.54, HR-10002 Zagreb (Croatia); Štrajn, Rina [Dipartimento di Matematica e Informatica, Università di Cagliari,viale Merello 92, I-09123 Cagliari (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Cagliari,Cagliari (Italy)

2015-07-13

Classification of differential forms on κ-Minkowski space, particularly, the classification of all bicovariant differential calculi of classical dimension is presented. By imposing super-Jacobi identities we derive all possible differential algebras compatible with the κ-Minkowski algebra for time-like, space-like and light-like deformations. Embedding into the super-Heisenberg algebra is constructed using non-commutative (NC) coordinates and one-forms. Particularly, a class of differential calculi with an undeformed exterior derivative and one-forms is considered. Corresponding NC differential calculi are elaborated. Related class of new Drinfeld twists is proposed. It contains twist leading to κ-Poincaré Hopf algebra for light-like deformation. Corresponding super-algebra and deformed super-Hopf algebras, as well as the symmetries of differential algebras are presented and elaborated. Using the NC differential calculus, we analyze NC field theory, modified dispersion relations, and discuss further physical applications.

Nitrogen Retention in Coastal Marine Sediments—a Field Study of the Relative Importance of Biological and Physical Removal in a Danish Estuary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laurentius Nielsen, Søren; Risgaard-Petersen, Nils; Banta, Gary

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to elucidate the relative importance of physical versus biological loss processes for the removal of microphytobenthic (MPB) bound nitrogen in a coastal environment at different times of the year via a dual isotope labeling technique. We used 51Cr, binding to inorganic...... were able to discern the relative importance of physical and biological processes. The isotope marking was supplemented with measurements of sediment chlorophyll biomass and oxygen fluxes, allowing us to evaluate MPB biomass as well as primary production vs. respiration in the sediment. In spring...... was physically dominated due to low MPB biomasses and activity combined with a significant storm event. Our data support the hypothesis that the relative balance between physical and biological processes in determining retention and removal of MPB-bound nitrogen changes seasonally....

Space life sciences strategic plan, 1991

Science.gov (United States)

1992-01-01

Over the last three decades the life sciences program has significantly contributed to NASA's manned and unmanned exploration of space, while acquiring new knowledge in the fields of space biology and medicine. The national and international events which have led to the development and revision of NASA strategy will significantly affect the future of life sciences programs both in scope and pace. This document serves as the basis for synthesizing the option to be pursued during the next decade, based on the decisions, evolution, and guiding principles of the National Space Policy.

The space elevator: a new tool for space studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, Bradley C

2003-06-01

The objective has been to develop a viable scenario for the construction, deployment and operation of a space elevator using current or near future technology. This effort has been primarily a paper study with several experimental tests of specific systems. Computer simulations, engineering designs, literature studies and inclusion of existing programs have been utilized to produce a design for the first space elevator. The results from this effort illustrate a viable design using current and near-term technology for the construction of the first space elevator. The timeline for possible construction is within the coming decades and estimated costs are less than $10 B. The initial elevator would have a 5 ton/day capacity and operating costs near $100/lb for payloads going to any Earth orbit or traveling to the Moon, Mars, Venus or the asteroids. An operational space elevator would allow for larger and much longer-term biological space studies at selectable gravity levels. The high-capacity and low operational cost of this system would also allow for inexpensive searches for life throughout our solar system and the first tests of environmental engineering. This work is supported by a grant from the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC).

Relative Biological Effectiveness and Peripheral Damage of Antiproton Annihilation

CERN Multimedia

Kavanagh, J N; Kaiser, F; Tegami, S; Schettino, G; Kovacevic, S; Hajdukovic, D; Knudsen, H; Currell, F J; Toelli, H T; Doser, M; Holzscheiter, M; Herrmann, R; Timson, D J; Alsner, J; Landua, R; Comor, J; Moller, S P; Beyer, G

2002-01-01

The use of ions to deliver radiation to a body for therapeutic purposes has the potential to be significant improvement over the use of low linear energy transfer (LET) radiation because of the improved energy deposition profile and the enhanced biological effects of ions relative to photons. Proton therapy centers exist and are being used to treat patients. In addition, the initial use of heavy ions such as carbon is promising to the point that new treatment facilities are planned. Just as with protons or heavy ions, antiprotons can be used to deliver radiation to the body in a controlled way; however antiprotons will exhibit additional energy deposition due to annihilation of the antiprotons within the body. The slowing down of antiprotons in matter is similar to that of protons except at the very end of the range beyond the Bragg peak. Gray and Kalogeropoulos estimated the additional energy deposited by heavy nuclear fragments within a few millimeters of the annihilation vertex to be approximately 30 MeV (...

Intuitionistic fuzzy 2-normed space and some related concepts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mursaleen, M.; Danish Lohani, Q.M.

2009-01-01

Motivated by the notion of 2-norm due to Gaehler [Gaehler S. Lineare 2-normietre Raeume. Math Nachr 28;1965:1-43], in this paper we define the concept of intuitionistic fuzzy 2-normed space which is a generalization of the notion of intuitionistic fuzzy normed space due to Saadati and Park [Saadati R, Park JH, On the intuitionistic fuzzy topological spaces. Chaos Solitons and Fractals 2006;27:331-44]. Further we establish some topological results in this new set up.

Analog synthetic biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarpeshkar, R

2014-03-28

We analyse the pros and cons of analog versus digital computation in living cells. Our analysis is based on fundamental laws of noise in gene and protein expression, which set limits on the energy, time, space, molecular count and part-count resources needed to compute at a given level of precision. We conclude that analog computation is significantly more efficient in its use of resources than deterministic digital computation even at relatively high levels of precision in the cell. Based on this analysis, we conclude that synthetic biology must use analog, collective analog, probabilistic and hybrid analog-digital computational approaches; otherwise, even relatively simple synthetic computations in cells such as addition will exceed energy and molecular-count budgets. We present schematics for efficiently representing analog DNA-protein computation in cells. Analog electronic flow in subthreshold transistors and analog molecular flux in chemical reactions obey Boltzmann exponential laws of thermodynamics and are described by astoundingly similar logarithmic electrochemical potentials. Therefore, cytomorphic circuits can help to map circuit designs between electronic and biochemical domains. We review recent work that uses positive-feedback linearization circuits to architect wide-dynamic-range logarithmic analog computation in Escherichia coli using three transcription factors, nearly two orders of magnitude more efficient in parts than prior digital implementations.

Space Station Centrifuge: A Requirement for Life Science Research

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Arthur H.; Fuller, Charles A.; Johnson, Catherine C.; Winget, Charles M.

1992-01-01

A centrifuge with the largest diameter that can be accommodated on Space Station Freedom is required to conduct life science research in the microgravity environment of space. (This was one of the findings of a group of life scientists convened at the University of California, Davis, by Ames Research Center.) The centrifuge will be used as a research tool to understand how gravity affects biological processes; to provide an on-orbit one-g control; and to assess the efficacy of using artificial gravity to counteract the deleterious biological effect of space flight. The rationale for the recommendation and examples of using ground-based centrifugation for animal and plant acceleration studies are presented. Included are four appendixes and an extensive bibliography of hypergravity studies.

On the Possibility of Instant Displacements in the Space-Time of General Relativity

OpenAIRE

Borissova L.; Rabounski D.

2005-01-01

Employing the mathematical apparatus of chronometric invariants (physical observable quantities), this study finds a theoretical possibility for the instant displacement of particles in the space-time of the General Theory of Relativity. This is to date the sole theoretical explanation of the well-known phenomenon of photon teleportation, given by the purely geometrical methods of Einstein’s theory.

State-space models for bio-loggers: A methodological road map