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PubMed2002

Fos and FRA protein expression in rat nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis during different space flight conditions.

The nucleus paragigantocellularis lateralis (LPGi) exerts a prominent excitatory influence over locus coeruleus (LC) neurons, which respond to gravity signals. We investigated whether adult albino rats exposed to different gravitational fields during the NASA Neurolab Mission (STS-90) showed changes in Fos and Fos-related antigen (FRA) protein expression in the LPGi and related cardiovascular, vasomotor, and respiratory areas. Fos and FRA proteins are induced rapidly by external stimuli and return to basal levels within hours (Fos) or days (FRA) after stimulation. Exposure to a light pulse (LP) 1 h prior to sacrifice led to increased Fos expression in subjects maintained for 2 weeks in constant gravity (either at approximately 0 or 1 G). Within 24 h of a gravitational change (launch or landing), the Fos response to LP was abolished. A significant Fos response was also induced by gravitational stimuli during landing, but not during launch. FRA responses to LP showed a mirror image pattern, with significant responses 24 h after launch and landing, but no responses after 2 weeks at approximately 0 or 1 G. There were no direct FRA responses to gravity changes. The juxtafacial and retrofacial parts of the LPGi, which integrate somatosensory/acoustic and autonomic signals, respectively, also showed gravity-related increases in LP-induced FRA expression 24 h after launch and landing. The neighboring nucleus ambiguus (Amb) showed completely different patterns of Fos and FRA expression, demonstrating the anatomical specificity of these results. Immediate early gene expression in the LPGi and related cardiovascular vasomotor and ventral respiratory areas may be directly regulated by excitatory afferents from vestibular gravity receptors. These structures could play an important role in shaping cardiovascular and respiratory function during adaptation to altered gravitational environments encountered during space flight and after return to earth.

Animals↗
PubMed2007

Dark matter maps reveal cosmic scaffolding.

Ordinary baryonic particles (such as protons and neutrons) account for only one-sixth of the total matter in the Universe. The remainder is a mysterious 'dark matter' component, which does not interact via electromagnetism and thus neither emits nor reflects light. As dark matter cannot be seen directly using traditional observations, very little is currently known about its properties. It does interact via gravity, and is most effectively probed through gravitational lensing: the deflection of light from distant galaxies by the gravitational attraction of foreground mass concentrations. This is a purely geometrical effect that is free of astrophysical assumptions and sensitive to all matter--whether baryonic or dark. Here we show high-fidelity maps of the large-scale distribution of dark matter, resolved in both angle and depth. We find a loose network of filaments, growing over time, which intersect in massive structures at the locations of clusters of galaxies. Our results are consistent with predictions of gravitationally induced structure formation, in which the initial, smooth distribution of dark matter collapses into filaments then into clusters, forming a gravitational scaffold into which gas can accumulate, and stars can be built.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1992

Graviton scattering and matter distribution.

In this model gravitation results from the emission and absorption of quanta (gravitons) that are scattered a few times in crossing a typical galaxy. Many features of the universe can be explained in terms of this model, although theoretical justification for the scattering of gravitons is lacking. Gravitons follow a random walk and diffuse through the outer regions of a galaxy. As a result the force of attraction follows a 1/R law, matching observed galactic rotation curves and explaining galactic dynamics without the need of dark matter. The model makes predictions regarding early stages in the expansion of the universe and the establishment of the mass distribution. It may be assumed that a nearly uniform expanding cloud of gas was present that was subject to collapse under gravitational forces. The 1/R law of attraction due to graviton diffusion is orders of magnitude more effective for initiation of collapse than the inverse square law, and it applies to blocks of gas larger than the graviton mean free path. Delay in the spread of gravitational attraction by diffusion sets a time-dependent range beyond which the attractive force is zero. In the model this causes arrays of matter to collapse locally into zones with a spacing set by the length of the range of the attractive force. An initial examination indicates that under these conditions the background radiation could have been released from a nearly uniform distribution at the time of decoupling of radiation and matter, followed by gravitational collapse into blocks of galactic mass. In the model the diffusion of gravitons continued and collapse became possible on a larger scale, initiating the formation of galactic clusters and still larger structures. The slow rate of diffusion then prevented the largest structures from attracting each other and permitted the formation of the voids on a very large scale. The model predicts that on the largest scale there is a three-dimensional repeated array of structures separated by voids. Ultimately structures larger than galactic clusters outran the diffusion of the gravitons and have since been freely expanding.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Viscous Boundary-Layer Damping of r-Modes in Neutron Stars.

Recent work has raised the exciting possibility that r-modes (Rossby waves) in rotating neutron star cores might be strong gravitational-wave sources. We estimate the effect of a solid crust on their viscous damping rate and show that the dissipation rate in the viscous boundary layer between the oscillating fluid and the nearly static crust is more than 105 times higher than that from the shear throughout the interior. This increases the minimum frequency for the onset of the gravitational r-mode instability to at least 500 Hz when the core temperature is less than 1010 K. It eliminates the conflict between the r-mode instability and the accretion-driven spin-up scenario for millisecond radio pulsars and makes it unlikely that the r-mode instability is active in accreting neutron stars. For newborn neutron stars, the formation of a solid crust shortly after birth affects their gravitational-wave spin-down and hence their detectability by ground-based interferometric gravitational-wave detectors.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Ultimate decoherence border for matter-wave interferometry.

Stochastic backgrounds of gravitational waves are intrinsic fluctuations of spacetime which lead to an unavoidable decoherence mechanism. This mechanism manifests itself as a degradation of the contrast of quantum interferences. It defines an ultimate decoherence border for matter-wave interferometry using larger and larger molecules. We give a quantitative characterization of this border in terms of figures involving the gravitational environment as well as the sensitivity of the interferometer to gravitational waves. The known level of gravitational noise determines the maximal size of the molecular probe for which interferences may remain observable. We discuss the relevance of this result in the context of ongoing progresses towards more and more sensitive matter-wave interferometry.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1979

Studies on intrapulmonary gas distribution in the normal subject. Influence of anaesthesia and artificial ventilation.

Intrapulmonary gas distribution, assessed by a multiple breath, nitrogen washout technique and expressed by the Fowler index NWOD, was studied in subjects with healthy lungs during spontaneous breathing while awake, and during mechanical ventilation under halothane anaesthesia. The distribution index rose from a mean of 32% awake to 56% during anaesthesia. An attempt was also made to differentiate between the contribution of gravitational (airway closure) and non-gravitational (diffuse airway obstruction) inhomogeneity of ventilation. This was accomplished by measurement of the slope of the alveolar plateau during a sinle breath nitrogen washout. The slope was similar awake and anaesthetized, and it increased equally under both conditions, when preinspiratory lung volume was stepped up from RV to CC, CC being the lung volume at which airways begin to close during expiration. NWOD was significantly correlated to the degree of airway closure, expressed as FRC-CC, and, less so, to inspiratory resistance. It is suggested that a less efficient ventilation distribution in anaesthetized normal subjects, as measured by NWOD, is caused rather by airway closure (gravitational inhomogeneity) than by diffuse airway obstruction (non-gravitational inhomogeneity of ventilation).

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Annular flow film characteristics in variable gravity.

Annular flow is a frequently occurring flow regime in many industrial applications. The need for a better understanding of this flow regime is driven by the desire to improve the design of many terrestrial and space systems. Annular two-phase flow occurs in the mining and transportation of oil and natural gas, petrochemical processes, and boilers and condensers in heating and refrigeration systems. The flow regime is also anticipated during the refueling of space vehicles, and thermal management systems for space use. Annular flow is mainly inertia driven with little effect of buoyancy. However, the study of this flow regime is still desirable in a microgravity environment. The influence of gravity can create an unstable, chaotic film. The absence of gravity, therefore, allows for a more stable and axisymmetric film. Such conditions allow for the film characteristics to be easily studied at low gas flow rates. Previous studies conducted by the Microgravity Research Group dealt with varying the gas or liquid mass fluxes at a reduced gravitational acceleration.(1,2) The study described here continues this work by examining the effect of changing the gravitational acceleration (hypergravity) on the film characteristics. In particular, the film thickness and the associated pressure drops are examined. The film thickness was measured using a pair of two-wire conductance probes. Experimental data was collected over a range of annular flow set points by changing the liquid and gas mass flow rates, the liquid-to-gas density ratio and the gravitational acceleration. The liquid-to-gas density ratio was varied by collecting data with helium-water and air-water at the same flow rates. The gravitational effect was examined by collecting data during the microgravity and pull-up (hypergravity) portions of the parabolic flights.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1973

Attention and "visual field dependency" in the pigeon.

Three pigeons were trained in an upright conditioning chamber to peck a key transilluminated by a vertical line. This training was followed by a line orientation generalization test. During the test, the chamber was tilted laterally 22.5 degrees from upright. The chamber floor remained horizontal with respect to gravity. Under these conditions, the subjects responded more often in the presence of a visually vertical (parallel to chamber walls) line orientation than in the presence of a gravitationally vertical line orientation. Subsequent reinforcement of pecking in the presence of a line that was always gravitationally vertical but not always visually vertical temporarily abolished this "visual field dependency" and resulted in generalization gradients with peak responding in the presence of the gravitationally vertical line orientation. The results are discussed in terms of selective attention to the gravitational and visual components of line orientation.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

Spatial reference in weightlessness: perceptual factors and mental representations.

The role of gravity in spatial coordinate assignment and the mental representation of space were studied in three experiments, varying different perceptual cues systematically: the retinal, the visual background, the vestibular, and proprioceptive information. Verbal descriptions of visually presented arrays were required under different head positions (straight/tilt) and under different gravitational conditions (gravity present/gravity absent). The results of two experiments conducted with 2 subjects who participated in a space flight revealed that subjects are able to adequately assign positions in space in the absence of gravitational information, and that they do this by using their head-retinal coordinates as primary references. This indicates that they cognitively adapted to the perceptually new situation. The findings from a third experiment conducted with a larger group of subjects under a condition in which the gravitational information was present but irrelevant to the task being solved (subjects were in a horizontal supine position) show that subjects, in general, are flexible in using cues other than gravitational ones as references when the latter cannot serve as a referential system. These findings, together with the observation that consistent spatial assignment is possible even immediately after first exposure to the perceptually totally novel situation of weightlessness, seem to suggest that the mental representation of space, onto which given perceptual information is mapped, is independent of a particular percept.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Some genetic aspects of adaptation to hyperdynamic environments.

Reports by many investigators have described a wide variety of biological changes in man and animals exposed to gravitational fields, some of these having a beneficial effect but others are detrimental. These changes are considered to result from the alteration in the gravitational field since (a) they appear when the field is changed, (b) the degree of change tends to be proportional to the change in acceleration strength, and (c) these changes disappear, and at varying rates, when the gravitational field is returned to normal gravity. However, little information has been developed concerning the reception and transduction of the gravitational stimulus, or its lack, to produce these biological changes.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1983

Platelet function, size and yield in whole blood and in platelet-rich plasma prepared using differing centrifugation force and time in domestic and food-producing animals.

The effects of centrifugation force and time upon platelets function, mean platelet volume and platelet yield were compared with whole blood platelet counts and size in citrated blood samples from the bovine, canine, caprine, equine, feline, ovine and porcine species. The results were similar, for a given species, irregardless of sample volume. Bovine, caprine, feline and ovine platelet yields and mean platelet volumes were maximal when platelet-rich plasma was prepared using longer centrifugation times and lower gravitational forces. Canine, equine and porcine platelet yields and mean platelet volumes were maximal when platelet-rich plasma was prepared using shorter centrifugation times and higher gravitational forces. Platelet aggregation to adenosine diphosphate or arachidonic acid was not effected by the method of platelet-rich plasma preparation in bovine, caprine, feline, ovine or porcine platelets. Equine platelet aggregation was maximal when platelet-rich plasma was prepared using longer centrifugation times and lower gravitational forces. Canine platelet aggregation, particularly arachidonic acid-induced aggregation, was maximal when platelet-rich plasma was prepared using short centrifugation times and higher gravitational forces. It appeared that the effects of centrifugation parameters upon platelet yield depended upon the relative difference between platelet and red blood cell volumes.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Cell proliferation inhibition in reduced gravity.

Extended durations of spaceflight have been shown to be deleterious on an organismic level; however, mechanisms underlying cellular sensitivity to the gravitational environment remain to be elucidated. The majority of the gravitational studies to date indicates that cell regulatory pathways may be influenced by their gravitational environment. Still, few cell biology experiments have been performed in space flight and even fewer experiments have been repeated on subsequent flights. With flight opportunities on STS-50, 54, and 57, Sf9 cells were flown in the BioServe Fluids Processing Apparatus and cell proliferation was measured with and without exposure to a cell regulatory sialoglycopeptide (CeReS) inhibitor. Results from these flights indicate that the Sf9 cells grew comparable to ground controls, that the CeReS inhibitor bound to its specific receptor, and that its signal transduction cascade was not gravity sensitive.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

The effects of a change in gravity on the dynamics of prehension.

Investigating cyclic vertical arm movements with an instrumented hand-held load in an airplane undergoing parabolic flight profiles allowed us to determine how humans modulate their grip force when the gravitational and the inertial components of the load force are varied independently. Eight subjects participated in this study; four had already experienced parabolic flights and four had not. The subjects were asked to move the load up and down continuously at three different gravitational conditions (1 g, 1.8 g, and 0 g). At 1 g, the grip force precisely anticipated the fluctuations in the load force, which was maximum at the bottom of the object trajectory and minimum at the top. When gravity changed, the temporal coupling between grip force and load force persisted for all subjects from the first parabola. At 0 g, the grip force was accurately adjusted to the two load force peaks occurring at the two opposite extremes of the trajectory due to the absence of weight. While the experienced subjects exerted a grip force appropriate to a new combination of weight and inertia since their first trial, the inexperienced subjects dramatically increased their grip when faced with either high or low force levels for the first time. Then they progressively released their grip until a continuous grip-load force relationship with regard to 1 g was established after the fifth parabola. We suggest that a central representation of the new gravitational field was rapidly acquired through the incoming vestibular and somatic sensory information.

Acceleration↗
PubMed1993

Control of whole body balance in the frontal plane during human walking.

A whole-body inverted pendulum model was used to investigate the control of balance and posture in the frontal plane during human walking. The model assessed the effects of net joint moments, joint accelerations and gravitational forces acting about the supporting foot and hip. Three video cameras and two force platforms were used to collect kinematic and kinetic data from repeat trials on four subjects during natural walking. An inverse solution was used to calculate net joint moments and powers. Whole body balance was ensured by the centre of mass (CM) passing medial to the supporting foot, thus creating a continual state of dynamic imbalance towards the centerline of the plane of progression. The medial acceleration of the CM was primarily generated by a gravitational moment about the supporting foot, whose magnitude was established at initial contact by the lateral placement of the new supporting foot relative to the horizontal location of the CM. Balance of the trunk and swing leg about the supporting hip was maintained by an active hip abduction moment, which recognized the contribution of the passive accelerational moment, and countered a large destabilizing gravitational moment. Posture of the upper trunk was regulated by the spinal lateral flexors. Interactions between the supporting foot and hip musculature to permit variability in strategies used to maintain balance were identified. Possible control strategies and muscle activation synergies are discussed.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1989

Geotropic sensitivity of hornets.

Oriental Hornet workers, Vespa orientalis (Hymenoptera: Vespinae) were measured for their responses to changes in the direction of the gravitational field and this under both static and kinetic (centrifugal) conditions. The hornets can build a comb (oriented towards the gravitational force) when their multifaceted eyes are covered. Building activity is undertaken in the dark as well as by hornets that had been blinded or had eclosed in the dark and had never seen any light. If the frons plate of hornets is damaged, there is no or little building, and the comb direction is distorted. Hornets eclosing from and developing in combs subjected to centrifugal spinning build combs whose direction is affected both by rotation and by the resultant of the gravitational and centrifugal forces.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

An MRI study of drying in granular beds of nonporous particles.

MRI is used to study the role of capillary and gravitational forces in controlling mass transport of water during isothermal drying of granular beds of nonporous particles. A new model is presented that shows how capillary and gravitational forces relate to Fickian diffusion driven by a chemical potential gradient. In granular beds, where capillary and gravitational forces dominate, the image profiles give direct information on the dependence of the degree of saturation on capillary suction pressure. The effects of changing particle size and surface tension on the profiles is investigated quantitatively, and it is shown that high capillary pressures create anomalies in the drying profiles.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2006

When supine is better than upright: evidence from postural effects in extinction patients.

There is no clear consensus on the specific effects of gravitational inputs on the manifestations of neglect and extinction. While some studies provided evidence that neglect patients improved their performance in supine position, other studies supported instead the notion that the manipulation of body posture has no effect on neglect and extinction. To investigate the effects of the postural manipulation of the entire body in space on visual extinction, a total of 24 right- and left-brain-damaged patients (with or without signs of visual extinction) and 8 healthy control subjects were tested in a visual detection task in two different gravitational conditions: upright and supine. Two dependent variables were considered: accuracy and speed of response. The results were clear-cut. Changing body posture had only a mild effect on the performance of healthy controls and non-extinction patients, but it clearly modulated the performance of extinction patients. In fact, extinction patients markedly improved their performance on contralesional stimuli in supine position in terms of both accuracy and speed of response. This suggests that the reduction of gravitational inputs obtained by placing patients in supine position results in a significant amelioration of visual extinction.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Flexion-relaxation response to gravity.

The objective of this report was to study the influence of the orientation of gravitational loading on the behavior of anterior and posterior trunk muscles during anterior trunk flexion-extension. Participants (N=13) performed five (5) cycles of trunk flexion-extension while standing with gravity parallel to the body axis and five (5) cycles while in the supine condition (e.g. sit-ups) with gravity perpendicular to the body axis. Surface electromyographic (EMG) patterns from lumbar paraspinal, rectus abdominis, external oblique, rectus femoris, semimembranosis, and biceps femoris muscles were analyzed during each condition. EMG signals were synchronized with lumbar flexion and trunk inclination angles. Flexion-extension from the standing position resulted in a myoelectric silent period of the lumbar posterior muscles (e.g. flexion-relaxation phenomena (FRP)) as well as the hamstring muscles through deep angles during which activity was observed in abdominal muscles. Flexion-extension during sit-ups, however, resulted in a myoelectric silent period of the abdominal muscles and the quadriceps through deep angles during which the lumbar posterior muscles were active. In this condition, the FRP was not observed in posterior muscles. The new findings demonstrate the profound impact of the orientation of the gravity vector on the FRP, the abdominal muscles reaction to gravitational loads during sit-ups and its relationships with lumbar antagonists and thigh musculature. The new findings suggest that gravitational moments requirements dominate the FRP through the prevailing kinematics, load sharing and reflex activation-inhibition of muscles in various conditions. Lumbar kinematics or fixed sensory motor programs by themselves, however, are not the major contributor to the FRP. The new findings improve our insights into spinal biomechanics as well as understanding and evaluating low back disorders.

Adolescent↗