From fresh vegetables to the harvest of wheat plants grown in the "SVET" space greenhouse onboard the MIR orbital station.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to G Bingham.
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We are planning a short-term experiment with Superdwarf wheat on the U.S. Space Shuttle and a seed-to-seed experiment on the Russian Space Station Mir. The goals of both experiments are to observe effects of microgravity on developmental steps in the life cycle and to measure photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration by monitoring gas exchange. This requires somewhat different hardware development for the two experiments. Ground-based research aims to understand plant responses to the environments in the space growth chambers that we will use (after some modification): the Plant Growth Unit (PGU) on the shuttle and units called Svet, Svetoblock 2, or Oasis on Mir. Low irradiance levels (100 to 250 micromoles m-2 s-1 at best) pose a particular problem. Water and nutrient supply are also potentially limiting factors, especially in the long-term experiment. Our ground-based studies emphasize responses to low light levels (50 to 400 micromoles m-2 s-1); results show that all developmental steps are delayed by low light compared with plants at 400 micromoles m-2 s-1. We are also testing various rooting substrates for the shuttle experiment. A 1:1:1 mixture of peat:perlite:vermiculite appears to be the best choice.
An autosomal recessive syndrome of progressive rod-cone dystrophy, sensorineural deafness, and renal dysfunction was identified in 14 children in 9 Afrikaner families in South Africa. The renal involvement, which is of the Fanconi type, leads to rickets-like skeletal changes and kidney failure. Each of the children was initially misdiagnosed as having retinitis pigmentosa or Usher syndrome, on a basis of minor retinal pigmentation. This condition, which appears to be a hitherto undocumented entity, warrants differentiation from these disorders.
Thirty five subjects with both parents in the top third of their age specific blood pressure distributions and 31 subjects with both parents in the bottom third of their blood pressure distributions restricted their intake of sodium for eight weeks while taking part in a double blind, randomised crossover trial of supplements of sodium and placebo. A comparison of two periods of four weeks at different intakes of sodium showed no differences in blood pressure in either the groups as a whole or the subgroups who complied best with the diet and tablets. In the compliant subgroups mean urinary sodium excretions were above 120 mmol(mEq) and below 50 mmol/day. The study provides evidence against the hypothesis that people with a family history of high blood pressure are more susceptible in their blood pressure response to dietary sodium.
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A female Perodicticus potto developed a subcutaneous spherical mass on the medial aspect of the inguinal area. The anesthesia, surgical removal, and aftercare were described. The tumor was described grossly and histologically. It was determined to be a myeloliposarcoma. The tumor has not recurred after 14 mo.
In the period between March 2003 and April 2005 five crops of genetically marked dwarf pea were cultivated in greenhouse LADA on the ISS Russian segment to study morphology and genetics in consecutive generations. Results of the first space experiment were analyzed and characteristics of ground plants grown from space seeds were studied. It was shown that parameters of growth, development and genetic status of pea plants that completed the ontogenetic cycle in LADA did not differ substantially from the laboratory control and that plants cultivated in space flight do not incur losses in the reproductive function and form viable seeds. Genetic analysis of plants from the first generation of space and ground seeds using the methods of RAPD-primers (10 markers) and chromosomal aberration analysis failed to reveal genetic polymorphism which means that the spaceflight factors had no effect on the genetic apparatus of the first generation of space-grown plants.