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

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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2018

Antibacterial Activity of Silver-Graphene Quantum Dots Nanocomposites Against Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria

The invention provides a composite of silver nanoparticles decorated with graphene quantum dots (Ag-GQDs) using pulsed laser synthesis. The nanocomposites were functionalized with polyethylene glycol (PEG). A concentration of 150 .mu.g/mL of Ag-GQDs, a non-toxic level for human cells, exhibits strong antibacterial activity against both Gram-Positive and Gram-Negative Bacteria.

Habiba, Khaled↗
NASA NTRS2018

Variability in Galactic Cosmic Radiation- Induced DNA Damage Response in Inbred Mice Is Modulated by Genetics

In radiation biology, the ability to predict cancer risk associated with exposure to low doses of high-LET (Linear Energy Transfer) ionizing radiation remains a challenge. Epidemiological methods lack the sensitivity and power to provide detailed risk estimates for cancer and ignore individual sensitivity. We have hypothesized that DNA repair capacity is the primary factor differentiating peoples radiation sensitivity. We previously showed in immortalized human cell lines that characterizing the dose and time dependence of p53-binding protein 1 (53BP1) foci formation in the nucleus following X-rays exposure is sufficient to predict DNA repair response to any other LET in the same cell line. We now tested this hypothesis across a population of mice with different genetic background. Fibroblast cells were extracted and cultivated from 76 individual mice from 15 different strains and exposed to HZE (high (H) atomic number (Z) and energy (E) galactic cosmic ray particles) particles and X-rays. Individual radiation sensitivities were investigated by high throughput measurement of DNA repair kinetics that evaluated 53bp1 foci numbers as a surrogate for DNA double-strand breaks at various times post-irradiation. Instead of just counting foci which can be hard to distinguish for high-LET or high doses, we also took into account the track structure of high-LET particles to compute the remaining number of unrepaired tracks as a function of time post-irradiation. As expected, the percentage of unrepaired track over a 48 hours follow-up period increased with LET. In addition, repair rate was modulated by genetics, with animals from the same strain showing small variance while large rate differences were observed between strains. Radiation strain sensitivity ranking was estimated based on repair rates from exposure to each LET evaluated in this work, and ranking for high-LET correlated better with ranking from high dose of X-ray, not low dose. At the in-vivo level, drops in T-cells and B-cells number measured 24 hours after 0.1 Gy (Gray) X-ray exposure, correlated with slower DNA repair kinetic in fibroblast cells of the same strains of mice. At the genomic level, mouse genome wide association (GWA) analysis identified seven significant genetic loci on chromosomes 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 13 and 19 with different significance depending on the LET. Interestingly, for the two highest LET, a common locus on Chromosome 10 was identified with high enrichment for DNA repair associated genes.Overall, this work suggests that repair kinetics of primary skin fibroblasts is a good surrogate marker for in-vivo radiation sensitivities in other tissues and that this response is modulated by genetics. Our study also confirms that DNA repair kinetics following high doses of X-ray can be used to predict radiation sensitivity to high-LET.

High-LET Radiation↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Neurovascular Outcomes of Ionizing Radiation in Human Blood-Brain Barrier Models

One of the main health risks in human deep space exploration is central nervous system (CNS) damage by ionizing radiation due to exposure to galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). In animal models, irradiation with simulated GCRs or their components has been shown to cause neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation associated with cognitive and behavioral dysfunction. The extent of CNS damage is partially mediated by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which regulates the interaction between CNS and systemic responses to stressors in the rest of the body. The main cellular regulators of BBB permeability are astrocytes, which also modulate neuronal death, neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. However, studies on BBB and astrocyte functions in regulating CNS responses to ionizing radiation have been limited, especially in human tissue/organ analogs. Therefore, we developed a high throughput 3D human neurovascular system model, based on commercially available Mimetas OrganoPlates seeded by primary human cells, to investigate the neurovascular responses to simulated deep space radiation. Using this system, we have demonstrated that 600MeV/n 56Fe irradiation leads to cellular damage and increased blood-brain barrier permeability via dysfunction of brain cells called astrocytes, which appear to be the weakest link and therefore a highly suitable countermeasure target to reduce the impact of space radiation on the blood-brain barrier. We anticipate that our results form merely the first step in ongoing development of organ models, including their adaptation for personalized risk assessment, high throughput approaches to countermeasure screening and validation, and eventual payload adaptation.

organ-on-a-chip↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

BioSentinel: To the Moon or Beyond?

BioSentinel, an Artemis-1 secondary spacecraft, will carry a biology experiment into deep space for the first time in 50 years. A 6U CubeSat form factor was utilized for the spacecraft and included technologies newly developed or adapted for operations beyond Earth orbit. This is the maiden deep-space voyage for the radio, propulsion system, electrical power system, and BioSensor payload. The spacecraft carries onboard budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as an analog to human cells to test the biological response to deep space radiation. Flying a secondary payload beyond LEO comes with unique challenges with respect to trajectory uncertainty and mission operations planning. BioSentinel does not carry propulsion for trajectory maneuvers, so plans for Comms and Power need to be developed for all trajectories. The nominal plan is a lunar flyby followed by an insertion into Heliocentric orbit. However, some possible scenarios include lunar eclipses that could severely impact the power budget during that phase of the mission, while others could result in a “Retrograde” hyperbola at swingby resulting in the spacecraft traveling inward toward Earth or even towards a collision with the lunar surface. BioSentinel’s final trajectory will not be known until after launch and deployment so possible scenarios need to be planned for ahead of time. This paper discusses the operational scenarios that were planned for as well as the actual execution of the mission operations including: command pass scheduling with the Deep Space Network, selecting bandwidth limits, medium gain antenna versus low gain antenna usage, and conserving power prior to a lunar eclipse. Note: Artemis-1 is planned to launch in the Spring of 2022

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Investigating Biological Responses to Deep Space Radiation for Missions Beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using Yeast

To enable long-term spaceflight missions and establish habitation on the Moon and Mars, we require a comprehensive understanding of the effects of chronic deep space radiation exposure on humans. BioSentinel is NASA’s first biological CubeSat to venture beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). It utilizes Saccharomyces cerevisiae (budding yeast) as a model organism to study biological responses to deep space radiation. Yeast share significant genetic homology with humans, including basic cellular metabolism and DNA repair mechanisms. In addition, unlike human cell cultures, yeast can survive the duration and constraints of a deep space mission. BioSentinel measures biological responses using an optical system and alamarBlue oxidation-reduction (redox) dye. Two strains of yeast are studied - a wild-type and a rad51 mutant strain that is deficient in DNA repair. Changes in metabolism and growth are monitored throughout the nominal 6-month mission. Preliminary tests indicate a significant change in the alamarBlue response to low-dose ionizing radiation (IR). Additionally, rad51 cells have shown an IR dose-dependent decrease in glucose uptake and accumulation of oxidized NADH (NAD+). These biomolecules are involved in reactions responsible for basic cell processes, including growth and development, signaling, and respiration. The current study expanded upon previous data by exposing yeast to deep space-relevant radiation. Glucose and NADH/NAD+ assays were conducted on yeast subjected to varying dosages of high-energy Fe-56 and simulated galactic cosmic rays (GCRs). The resulting data was analyzed using Excel and GraphPad Prism. A particular focus was to identify biomolecules resulting from aerobic respiration, which requires the presence of oxygen, or anaerobic processes. As long-term spaceflight missions draw near, it is increasingly important to characterize biological processes affected by the conditions of deep space. Studying biomolecular damage caused by deep space radiation may enable the development of engineering controls or biomedical therapeutics that mitigate health complications for future astronauts.

Kyra Keenan↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

BioSentinel SmallSat 2022 Presentation

BioSentinel, an Artemis-1 secondary spacecraft, will carry a biology experiment into deep space for the first time in 50 years. A 6U CubeSat form factor was utilized for the spacecraft and included technologies newly developed or adapted for operations beyond Earth orbit. This is the maiden deep-space voyage for the radio, propulsion system, electrical power system, and BioSensor payload. The spacecraft carries onboard budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as an analog to human cells to test the biological response to deep space radiation.

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

BioSentinel: Mission Summary and Lessons Learned From the First Deep Space Biology CubeSat Mission

Launched on Artemis-1, BioSentinel carries a biology experiment into deep space for the first time in 50 years. A 6U CubeSat form factor was utilized for the spacecraft which included technologies newly developed or adapted for operations beyond Earth orbit. The spacecraft carries onboard budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as an analog to human cells to test the biological response to deep space radiation. This was the maiden deep-space voyage for many of the subsystems, and the first time to evaluate their performance in flight operation. Flying a CubeSat beyond LEO comes with unique challenges with respect to trajectory uncertainty and mission operations planning. The nominal plan was a lunar fly-by, followed by an insertion into Heliocentric orbit. However, some possible scenarios included lunar eclipses that could have severely impacted the power budget during that phase of the mission, while others could have resulted in a “Retrograde” hyperbola at swing-by resulting in the spacecraft traveling inward toward Earth or even towards a collision with the lunar surface. The commissioning phase of the mission was successful and completed a week ahead of schedule. It did not come without its exciting moments and challenges. First contact with the spacecraft uncovered that the vehicle was unexpectedly tumbling after deployment, a situation that needed to be corrected urgently. The mission operations team executed a contingency plan to stabilize the spacecraft, with just moments to spare before the battery ran out of power. The BioSensor payload onboard the spacecraft is a complex instrument that includes microfluidics, fluid systems, sensor control electronics, as well at the living yeast cells. BioSentinel also included a TimePix radiation sensor implemented by JSC’s RadWorks group. Dose and Linear Energy Transfer (LET) data is compared directly to the rate of DSB-and repair events measured by the S. cerevisiae cells. BioSentinel mature nanosatellite technologies included: deep space communications and navigation, autonomous attitude control and momentum management, and micro-propulsion systems, to provide an adaptable nanosatellite platform for deep space uses. This paper discusses the performance of the BioSentinel spacecraft through the mission phase, and includes lessons learned from challenges and anomalies. BioSentinel had many successes and will be a pathfinder for future deep space CubeSats and biology missions.

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Biosentinel: Mission Summary and Lessons Learned From the First Deep Space Biology CubeSat Mission

Launched on Artemis-1, BioSentinel carries a biology experiment into deep space for the first time in 50 years. A 6U CubeSat form factor was utilized for the spacecraft which included technologies newly developed or adapted for operations beyond Earth orbit. The spacecraft carries onboard budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as an analog to human cells to test the biological response to deep space radiation. This was the maiden deep-space voyage for many of the subsystems, and the first time to evaluate their performance in flight operation. Flying a CubeSat beyond LEO comes with unique challenges with respect to trajectory uncertainty and mission operations planning. The nominal plan was a lunar fly-by, followed by an insertion into Heliocentric orbit. However, some possible scenarios included lunar eclipses that could have severely impacted the power budget during that phase of the mission, while others could have resulted in a “Retrograde” hyperbola at swing-by resulting in the spacecraft traveling inward toward Earth or even towards a collision with the lunar surface. The commissioning phase of the mission was successful and completed a week ahead of schedule. It did not come without its exciting moments and challenges. First contact with the spacecraft uncovered that the vehicle was unexpectedly tumbling after deployment, a situation that needed to be corrected urgently. The mission operations team executed a contingency plan to stabilize the spacecraft, with just moments to spare before the battery ran out of power. The BioSensor payload onboard the spacecraft is a complex instrument that includes microfluidics, fluid systems, sensor control electronics, as well at the living yeast cells. BioSentinel also included a TimePix radiation sensor implemented by JSC’s RadWorks group. Dose and Linear Energy Transfer (LET) data is compared directly to the rate of DSB-and repair events measured by the S. cerevisiae cells. BioSentinel mature nanosatellite technologies included: deep space communications and navigation, autonomous attitude control and momentum management, and micro-propulsion systems, to provide an adaptable nanosatellite platform for deep space uses. This paper discusses the performance of the BioSentinel spacecraft through the mission phase, and includes lessons learned from challenges and anomalies. BioSentinel had many successes and will be a pathfinder for future deep space CubeSats and biology missions.

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Biosentinel: The First Deep Space Biology CubeSat Mission- Mission Summary and Lessons Learned

Launched on Artemis-1, BioSentinel carries a biology experiment into deep space for the first time in 50 years. A 6U CubeSat form factor was utilized for the spacecraft which included technologies newly developed or adapted for operations beyond Earth orbit. The spacecraft carries onboard budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as an analog to human cells to test the biological response to deep space radiation. This was the maiden deep-space voyage for many of the subsystems, and the first time to evaluate their performance in flight operation. Flying a CubeSat beyond LEO comes with unique challenges with respect to trajectory uncertainty and mission operations planning. The nominal plan was a lunar fly-by, followed by an insertion into Heliocentric orbit. However, some possible scenarios included lunar eclipses that could have severely impacted the power budget during that phase of the mission, while others could have resulted in a “Retrograde” hyperbola at swing-by resulting in the spacecraft traveling inward toward Earth or even towards a collision with the lunar surface. The commissioning phase of the mission was successful and completed a week ahead of schedule. It did not come without its exciting moments and challenges. First contact with the spacecraft uncovered that the vehicle was unexpectedly tumbling after deployment, a situation that needed to be corrected urgently. The mission operations team executed a contingency plan to stabilize the spacecraft, with just moments to spare before the battery ran out of power. The BioSensor payload onboard the spacecraft is a complex instrument that includes microfluidics, fluid systems, sensor control electronics, as well at the living yeast cells. BioSentinel also included a TimePix radiation sensor implemented by JSC’s RadWorks group. Dose and Linear Energy Transfer (LET) data is compared directly to the rate of DSB-and repair events measured by the S. cerevisiae cells. BioSentinel mature nanosatellite technologies included: deep space communications and navigation, autonomous attitude control and momentum management, and micro-propulsion systems, to provide an adaptable nanosatellite platform for deep space uses. This paper discusses the performance of the BioSentinel spacecraft through the mission phase, and includes lessons learned from challenges and anomalies. BioSentinel had many successes and will be a pathfinder for future deep space CubeSats and biology missions.

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRS2001

Normal human mammary epithelial cells spontaneously escape senescence and acquire genomic changes

Senescence and genomic integrity are thought to be important barriers in the development of malignant lesions. Human fibroblasts undergo a limited number of cell divisions before entering an irreversible arrest, called senescence. Here we show that human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs) do not conform to this paradigm of senescence. In contrast to fibroblasts, HMECs exhibit an initial growth phase that is followed by a transient growth plateau (termed selection or M0; refs 3-5), from which proliferative cells emerge to undergo further population doublings (approximately 20-70), before entering a second growth plateau (previously termed senescence or M1; refs 4-6). We find that the first growth plateau exhibits characteristics of senescence but is not an insurmountable barrier to further growth. HMECs emerge from senescence, exhibit eroding telomeric sequences and ultimately enter telomere-based crisis to generate the types of chromosomal abnormalities seen in the earliest lesions of breast cancer. Growth past senescent barriers may be a pivotal event in the earliest steps of carcinogenesis, providing many genetic changes that predicate oncogenic evolution. The differences between epithelial cells and fibroblasts provide new insights into the mechanistic basis of neoplastic transformation.

NASA Discipline Radiation Health↗
DOE OSTI2024

Human Liver Epithelial Cells (HuH7) Response to HCoV-229E Infection Epigenomics (ATAC-Seq) (ACS-DP4)

The purpose of this experiment was to evaluate how wild-type Human coronavirus strain 229E (HCoV-299E) infection alters chromatin accessibility in infected cells. Sample data was obtained from mock-infected cells, UV-inactivated virus treated cells, and replication competent HCoV-229E infected immortalized human liver cells (HuH7) at 24 hours post infection. Samples were processed using ATAC-seq methods for reported bar coded libraries. Sample data was acquired using an Illumina Hi-Seq 2500 sequencer system and further processed for ATAC-Seq expression analysis.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1998

Antiproliferative effect of elevated glucose in human microvascular endothelial cells

Diabetic microangiopathy has been implicated as a fundamental feature of the pathological complications of diabetes including retinopathy, neuropathy, and diabetic foot ulceration. However, previous studies devoted to examining the deleterious effects of elevated glucose on the endothelium have been performed largely in primary cultured cells of macrovessel origin. Difficulty in the harvesting and maintenance of microvascular endothelial cells in culture have hindered the study of this relevant population. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the effect of elevated glucose on the proliferation and involved signaling pathways of an immortalized human dermal microvascular endothelial cell line (HMEC-1) that possess similar characteristics to their in vivo counterparts. Human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMEC-1) were grown in the presence of normal (5 mM) or high D-glucose (20 mM) for 14 days. The proliferative response of HMEC-1 was compared under these conditions as well as the cAMP and PKC pathways by in vitro assays. Elevated glucose significantly inhibited (P < 0.05) HMEC-1 proliferation after 7, 10, and 14 days. This effect was not mimicked by 20 mM mannitol. The antiproliferative effect was more pronounced with longer exposure (1-14 days) to elevated glucose and was irreversible 4 days after a 10-day exposure. The antiproliferative effect was partially reversed in the presence of a PKA inhibitor, Rp-cAMP (10-50 microM), and/or a PKC inhibitor, Calphostin C (10 nM). HMEC-1 exposed to elevated glucose (20 mM) for 14 days caused an increase in cyclic AMP accumulation, PKA, and PKC activity but was not associated with the activation of downstream events such as CRE and AP-1 binding activity. These data support the hypothesis that HMEC-1 is a suitable model to study the deleterious effects of elevated glucose on microvascular endothelial cells. Continued studies with HMEC-1 may prove advantageous in delineation of the molecular pathophysiology associated with diabetic microangiopathy.

NASA Discipline Cell Biology↗
NASA NTRS1985

Summary electrophoretic data base on human embryonic kidney cell strain 8514

To properly plan the electrophoresis equipment verification test (EEVT) and continuous flow electrophoresis system (CFES) experiments with human embryonic kidney cells, first a candidate cell lot had to be chosen on the basis of electrophoretic heterogeneity, growth potential, cytogenetics, and urokinase production. Cell lot 8514 from MA Bioproducts, Inc. was chosen for this purpose, and several essential analytical electrophoresis experiments were performed to test its final suitability for these experiments.

Plank, L. D.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Coinfection of Influenza A and B and Human OC43 Coronavirus in Normal Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells

Influenza viruses and seasonal coronaviruses are pathogens transmitted via an airborne route that can cause respiratory diseases in humans that have similar symptoms such as fever, cough, and pneumonia. These two viruses can infect similar human tissues, such as the respiratory tract and nasal, bronchial, and alveolar epithelial cells. Influenza virus and seasonal coronavirus coinfections are poorly understood. Here, we coinfected normal human bronchial epithelial (NHBE) cells with influenza A/California/04/09 (IAV) or B/Victoria/504/2000 (IBV) strains and the seasonal human beta-coronavirus OC43 and evaluated viral replication capacities. We also examined changes in the expression of various cytokines/chemokines by qPCR and Luminex assay. We observed that the replication of IAV and IBV was not affected by coinfection with OC43. However, coinfection reduced OC43 titers (~3-fold) compared with infection with OC43 alone. Select cytokine/chemokine expression was increased in coinfected cells compared with all single infections with greater differences seen between coinfected cells and cells infected with OC43 alone compared with IAV- or IBV-infected cells. In addition, IL-8 and IL-1RA showed the highest expression among a panel of 22 cytokines by Luminex. As the rate of influenza and seasonal coronavirus coinfection continue to increase, our findings may help set guidelines for the treatments of the individuals coinfected with both viruses.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bromodomain-containing protein 7 regulates matrix metabolism and apoptosis in human nucleus pulposus cells through the BRD7-PI3K-YAP1 signaling axis

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) results from dysregulated metabolism of the extracellular matrix of the nucleus pulposus (NP) and involves the participation of inflammatory factors such as TNF-α. Bromodomain-containing protein 7 (BRD7) shows considerable potential for anti-inflammatory applications. Herein, we investigated the role of BRD7 in IDD. The immunohistochemistry results demonstrated decreased BRD7 expression in severely degenerated human NP tissues compared to those showing mild degeneration. Lentiviruses and adenoviruses were used to knock down or overexpress BRD7 and YAP1, respectively. Our results revealed that BRD7 knockdown promoted matrix degradation and suppressed PI3K and YAP1 expression, while BRD7 overexpression alleviated matrix degradation and promoted YAP1 and PI3K expression. In addition, PI3K inhibition augmented matrix degradation, enhanced apoptosis, and reduced YAP1 expression, whereas YAP1 overexpression promoted matrix synthesis, suppressed apoptosis and promoted PI3K expression. Besides, BRD7 overexpression reversed the reductions in sulfated glycosaminoglycan levels induced by TNF-α, but this effect was blocked by PI3K or YAP1 inhibitors. Moreover, YAP1 and PI3K were shown to interact through coimmunoprecipitation analysis. In summary, our results demonstrate that BRD7 can regulate matrix metabolism and apoptosis in human NP cells through the BRD7-PI3K-YAP1 signaling axis. This study might provide new insights into the prevention and treatment of IDD.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1997

Utilization of Microgravity Bioreactor for Differentiation and Growth of Human Vascular Endothelial Cells

The goal was to delineate mechanisms of genetic responses to angiogenic stimulation of human coronary arterial and dermal microvascular endothelial cells during exposure to microgravity. The NASA-designed rotating-wall vessel was used to create a three-dimensional culture environment with low shear-stress and microgravity simulating that in space. The primary specific aim was to determine whether simulated microgravity enhances endothelial cell growth and whether the growth enhancement is associated by augmented expression of Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor (BFGF) and c-fos, an immediate early gene and component of the transcription factor AP-1.

Chen, Chu-Huang↗
NASA NTRS1985

Electrophoretic mobilities of cultured human embryonic kidney cells in various buffers

Data on the electrophoretic mobility distributions of cells in the new D-1 buffer and the interlaboratory standardization of urokinase assay methods are presented. A table of cell strains and recent data on cell dispersal methods are also included. It was decided that glycerol in A-1 electrophoretic mobility data on cultured human embryonic kidney cells subjected to electrophoresis in this buffer. The buffer composition is presented.

Source record↗