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Abstracts of research in the areas of biological rhythms, body fluids, botany, endrocrinology, enzymology, exobiology, genetics, human performance, immunology, life support systems, mathematical modeling, and numerous other topics related to space and life sciences are given.
This is the twenty-fifth issue of NASA's Space Life Sciences Digest. It contains abstracts of 30 journal papers or book chapters published in Russian and of 2 Soviet monographs. Selected abstracts are illustrated with figures and tables from the original. The abstracts in this issue have been identified as relevant to 18 areas of space biology and medicine. These areas include: adaptation, aviation medicine, biological rhythms, biospherics, botany, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, endocrinology, enzymology, exobiology, habitability and environmental effects, hematology, immunology, metabolism, musculoskeletal system, neurophysiology, radiobiology, and space medicine. A Soviet book review of a British handbook of aviation medicine and a description of the work of the division on aviation and space medicine of the Moscow Physiological Society are also included.
In order to gain a better understanding of the effects of long-duration space missions on the central nervous system, near-term research, to take place from 1990-1995, will be directed at investigating the acute effects of microgravity and the 'space adaptation syndrome'. These include experiments scheduled for the Spacelab Life Sciences 1 which is designed to evaluate changes in the visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive systems. An extensive series of experiments, collectively termed Microgravity Vestibular Investigations (MVI), is also planned for the IML-1 mission to be flown in 1992. The IML-2 mission will emphasize behavior and performance, biological rhythms, and further vestibular studies. Mid-term goals, projected to be achieved from 1995-2000, include the use of new technology such as magnetic recording techniques. Long-term goals are also discussed including studies dealing with neuronal plasticity and sensory substitution, augmentation, and robotic telepresence.
Life on the International Space Station (ISS) wreaks havoc on an astronaut’s biological rhythms, and one way NASA mitigates the problem is through the use of LED lighting to alternately stimulate energy and focus and induce relaxation. Satellite Beach, Florida-based Lighting Science partnered with Kennedy Space Center to commercialize an LED system designed for the ISS, resulting in its DefinityDigital product line of light bulbs now used in numerous homes, hotel chains, and resorts.
Circadian rhythms, particularly that of sleep and wakefulness, are discussed. The sleep-wakefulness experiences of astronauts during several space missions are described, and predictions are made for future space activities, including Mars missions, interstellar flight, and life on permanent space stations.
Physiological rhythms and bioastronautics - a review
Human circadian rhythms and entrainment in space flight, noting diurnal rhythm effect on sensory and motor performance
Abstract Motivation Circadian rhythms are approximately 24-h endogenous cycles that control many biological functions. To identify these rhythms, biological samples are taken over circadian time and analyzed using a single omics type, such as transcriptomics or proteomics. By comparing data from these single omics approaches, it has been shown that transcriptional rhythms are not necessarily conserved at the protein level, implying extensive circadian post-transcriptional regulation. However, as proteomics methods are known to be noisier than transcriptomic methods, this suggests that previously identified arrhythmic proteins with rhythmic transcripts could have been missed due to noise and may not be due to post-transcriptional regulation. Results To determine if one can use information from less-noisy transcriptomic data to inform rhythms in more-noisy proteomic data, and thus more accurately identify rhythms in the proteome, we have created the Multi-Omics Selection with Amplitude Independent Criteria (MOSAIC) application. MOSAIC combines model selection and joint modeling of multiple omics types to recover significant circadian and non-circadian trends. Using both synthetic data and proteomic data from Neurospora crassa, we showed that MOSAIC accurately recovers circadian rhythms at higher rates in not only the proteome but the transcriptome as well, outperforming existing methods for rhythm identification. In addition, by quantifying non-circadian trends in addition to circadian trends in data, our methodology allowed for the recognition of the diversity of circadian regulation as compared to non-circadian regulation. Availability and implementation MOSAIC’s full interface is available at https://github.com/delosh653/MOSAIC. An R package for this functionality, mosaic.find, can be downloaded at https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=mosaic.find. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Effect of isolation from external time cues on human circadian rhythms such as body temperature, sleeping period, passage of time estimation and urine excretion
Physiologic rhythm pertinence to human engineering for life in aerospace with respect to astronaut selection and performance
Random lighting exposure effects in rats and changes caused in adrenal cortical function, circadian rhythm, endocrine system, group running activity, etc
Bedrest and isometric exercises effect on circadian rhythm of plasma levels of 17- hydroxycorticosteroids
Daily physiological rhythm changes associated with light intensity and color, noting body temperature oscillations vs light intensity, heart rate changes, etc
Daily physiological rhythm changes associated with light intensity and color, noting body temperature oscillations vs light intensity, heart rate changes, etc
While circulating levels of PTH follow a diurnal pattern, it has been unclear whether these changes are truly endogenous or are dictated by external factors that themselves follow a diurnal pattern, such as sleep-wake cycles, light-dark cycles, meals, or posture. We evaluated the diurnal rhythm of PTH in 11 normal healthy male volunteers in our Intensive Physiologic Monitoring Unit. The first 36 h spent under baseline conditions were followed by 28-40 h of constant routine conditions (CR; enforced wakefulness in the strict semirecumbent position, with the consumption of hourly snacks). During baseline conditions, PTH levels followed a bimodal diurnal rhythm with an average amplitude of 4.2 pg/mL. A primary peak (t1max) occurred at 0314 h, and the secondary peak (t2max) occurred at 1726 h, whereas the primary and secondary nadirs (t1min and t2min) took place, on the average, at 1041 and 2103 h, respectively. This rhythm was preserved under CR conditions, albeit with different characteristics, thus confirming its endogenous nature. The serum ionized calcium (Cai) demonstrated a rhythm in 3 of the 5 subjects studied that varied widely between individuals and did not have any apparent relation to PTH. Urinary calcium/creatinine (UCa/Cr), phosphate/Cr (UPO4/Cr), and sodium/Cr (UNa/Cr) ratios all followed a diurnal rhythm during the baseline day. These rhythms persisted during the CR, although with different characteristics for the first two parameters, whereas that of UNa/Cr was unchanged. In general, the temporal pattern for the UCa/Cr curve was a mirror image of the PTH curve, whereas the UPO4/Cr pattern moved in parallel with the PTH curve. In conclusion, PTH levels exhibit a diurnal rhythm that persists during a CR, thereby confirming that a large component of this rhythm is an endogenous circadian rhythm. The clinical relevance of this rhythm is reflected in the associated rhythms of biological markers of PTH effect at the kidney, namely UCa/Cr and UPO4/Cr.
Much of our present knowledge regarding circadian rhythms and biological activity during space flight has been derived from those missions orbiting the Earth. During space missions, astronauts can become exposed to bright/dark cycles that vary considerably from those that entrain the mammalian biological timing system to the 24-hour cycle found on Earth. As a spacecraft orbits the Earth, the duration of the light/dark period experienced becomes a function of the time it takes to circumnavigate the planet which in turn depends upon the altitude of the craft. Orbiting the Earth at an altitude of 200-800 km provides a light/dark cycle lasting between 80 and 140 minutes, whereas a voyage to the moon or even another planet would provide a light condition of constant light. Currently, little is known regarding the effects of altered light/dark cycles on neurochemical levels within the central nervous system (CNS). Many biochemical, physiological and behavioral phenomena are under circadian control, governed primarily by the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus. As such, these phenomena are subject to influence by the environmental light/dark cycle. Circadian variations in locomotor and behavioral activities have been correlated to both the environmental light/dark cycle and to dopamine (DA) levels within the CNS. It has been postulated by Martin-Iverson et al. that DA's role in the control of motor activity is subject to modulation by circadian rhythms (CR), environmental lighting and excitatory amino acids (EAAs). In addition, DA and EAA receptor regulated pathways are involved in both the photic entrainment of CR and the control of motor activity. The cellular mechanisms by which DA and EAA-receptor ligands execute these functions, is still unclear. In order to help elucidate these mechanisms, we set out to determine the effects of altered environmental light/dark cycles on CNS neurotransmitter levels. In this study, we focused on the striatum, a region of the brain that receives a number of dopaminergic and glutamatergic input and is known to be involved in the modulation of locomotor and behavioral responses.
Regulation and control in biological systems modeling body by dynamic networks
Temperature and preconditioning effect on photoperiodic response of Pharbitis nil, strain Violet short-day plant