Biomedical subjects

P Falciani

Publications and source records attributed to P Falciani.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Galileo Avionica's technologies and instruments for planetary exploration.

Several missions for planetary exploration, including comets and asteroids, are ongoing or planned by the European Space Agencies: Rosetta, Venus Express, Bepi Colombo, Dawn, Aurora and all Mars Programme (in its past and next missions) are good examples. The satisfaction of the scientific request for the mentioned programmes calls for the development of new instruments and facilities devoted to investigate the body (planet, asteroid or comet) both remotely and by in situ measurements. The paper is an overview of some instruments for remote sensing and in situ planetary exploration already developed or under study by Galileo Avionica Space & Electro-Optics B.U. (in the following shortened as Galileo Avionica) for both the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and for the European Space Agency (ESA). Main technologies and specifications are outlined; for more detailed information please refer to Galileo Avionica's web-site at: http://www.galileoavionica.com .

Astronomy↗

PubMed2001

Lipoxygenase activity during parabolic flights.

Experiments in Space clearly show that various cellular processes, such as growth rates, signaling pathways and gene expression, are modified when cells are placed under conditions of weightlessness. As yet, there is no coherent explanation for these observations, though recent experiments, showing that microtubule self-organization is gravity-dependent suggest that investigations at the molecular level might fill the gap between observation and understanding of Space effects. Lipoxygenases are a family of dioxygenases which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory conditions, in atherosclerosis, in brain aging and in HIV infection. In plants, lipoxy-genases favour germination, participate in the synthesis of traumatin and jasmonic acid and in the response to abiotic stress. Here, we took advantage of a fibre optics spectrometer developed on purpose, the EMEC (Effect of Microgravity on Enzymatic Catalysis) module, to measure the dioxygenation reaction by pure soybean lipoxygenase-1 (LOX-1) during the 28th parabolic flight campaign of the European Space Agency (ESA). The aim was to ascertain whether microgravity can affect enzyme catalysis.

Catalysis↗

PubMed1999

Enzyme kinetic parameters are not altered by microgravity.

This paper deals with a microgravity experiment concerning the EMEC project (Effect of Microgravity on Enzymatic Catalysis), performed during the parabolic flight of the sounding rocket MASER 7, launched from the base of Esrange (Kiruna, Sweden) on May 3, 1996. The experiment consisted of performing, in a microgravity environment, a number of velocity measurements of an enzyme (isocitrate lyase) catalyzed reaction at different substrate concentrations, to calculate the kinetic parameters (Km and Vmax), which were compared with those obtained at standard gravity, with identical instrumentation. The experimental hardware, the EMEC module, expressly set up by Officine Galileo (Firenze, Italy) with the financial support of the European Space Agency, was a multichannel fibre-optics radiometer, equipped with an automatic injection system, that allowed to measure simultaneously the transmittance changes in 16 reaction cells. The results indicated that under the experimental conditions applied, microgravity has no appreciable effect on the enzyme kinetic constants.

Catalysis↗

PubMed1998

ESS, eye stimulator system for VVIS facility (Visual and Vestibular Investigation System).

The ESS (Eye Stimulation System) is one of four main Subsystems of the Visual and Vestibular Investigation System ( VVIS ), Facility developed in the field of EDEN program and aimed to the research in the area of neurosensors physiology under microgravity conditions. In particular, the ESS is an Optokinetic Stimulator that stimulates the Subject's eyes with moving black and yellow patterns, in order to allow, by another main Subsystem, video recording of the pupil movement and, successively, to elaborate the relevant data of the neurovestibular experiment. This Stimulator was designed by the Officine Galileo as Subcontractor of Aerospatiale, leader of the VVIS facility, developed under ESA contract and successfully flown in April 1998 aboard the Neurolab mission. The Eye Stimulation System, on the frame of the VVIS Facility, is used in conjunction with the Body Rotating Device and the Eye Movement and Recording System, in order to fulfill all operations that lead to carry-out the experiments proposed. The Subject, seated on the Rotating Chair, observes the stimuli on a display monitor through a set of lenses, mounted on a proper box, fixed to a main structure of the unit. The stimuli patterns are showed on a display, placed on a movable support in order to fix it in a proper position, depending on the optical characteristics of the Subject. The experiments are repeated with different kind of patterns. All the main components of the visual system are mounted on a structural base plate, that gives also the mechanical I/F with the other system, supporting the ESS.

Computer Graphics↗