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PubMed2001

Parametric study of selective removal of atmospheric aerosol by coagulation, condensation and gravitational settling.

This work studies the scavenging efficiencies of aerosol particles after a given mechanism of removal (coagulation, heterogeneous nucleation and gravitational settling) as a function of time. It also analyses the health impact of the aerosol before and after the above dynamic mechanisms by comparing the respirable dust fractions. The well-known equations of scavenging are applied to three atmospheric environments (clear, hazy and urban) that represent the aerosol PSDs in the countryside, industry and the city, respectively. From this study it is inferred that respirable dust is hardly scavenged and when compared with the initial volume of respirable aerosol, roughly 10% remains after 18 h of gravitational settling. Therefore, gravitational settling is the main removal mechanism of respirable aerosol compared to condensation and coagulation and is almost six times better than rainout.

Aerosols↗

PubMed2002

Models to study gravitational biology of Mammalian reproduction.

Mammalian reproduction evolved within Earth's 1-g gravitational field. As we move closer to the reality of space habitation, there is growing scientific interest in how different gravitational states influence reproduction in mammals. Habitation of space and extended spaceflight missions require prolonged exposure to decreased gravity (hypogravity, i.e., weightlessness). Lift-off and re-entry of the spacecraft are associated with exposure to increased gravity (hypergravity). Existing data suggest that spaceflight is associated with a constellation of changes in reproductive physiology and function. However, limited spaceflight opportunities and confounding effects of various nongravitational factors associated with spaceflight (i.e., radiation, stress) have led to the development of ground-based models for studying the effects of altered gravity on biological systems. Human bed rest and rodent hindlimb unloading paradigms are used to study exposure to hypogravity. Centrifugation is used to study hypergravity. Here, we review the results of spaceflight and ground-based models of altered gravity on reproductive physiology. Studies utilizing ground-based models that simulate hyper- and hypogravity have produced reproductive results similar to those obtained from spaceflight and are contributing new information on biological responses across the gravity continuum, thereby confirming the appropriateness of these models for studying reproductive responses to altered gravity and the underlying mechanisms of these responses. Together, these unique tools are yielding new insights into the gravitational biology of reproduction in mammals.

Animals↗

PubMed1975

Direction finding by hornets under gravitational and centrifugal forces.

The effect of centrifugal and gravitational forces whose resultant ranged between 26 degrees and 45 degrees on comb construction by hornet workers was assessed experimentally. Comb construction by hornets exposed to centrifugation at 1 to 2 days of age differed from that of hornets similarly exposed at 3 to 7 days of age. Juvenile hornets built their cells in the direction of the resultant force, whereas adults resisted the centrifugal force and tried to build in the direction of the gravitational force. Juveniles started their comb from the side walls, whereas adults started from the roof, as did nonspinning, control hornets. The findings suggest that hornets rapidly learn the gravitational force during the first days of life, and that they are aided by geometric cues of the breeding box to build in the direction of the force to which they had become habituated.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2003

Roles of baroreflex and vestibulosympathetic reflex in controlling arterial blood pressure during gravitational stress in conscious rats.

Gravity acts on the circulatory system to decrease arterial blood pressure (AP) by causing blood redistribution and reduced venous return. To evaluate roles of the baroreflex and vestibulosympathetic reflex (VSR) in maintaining AP during gravitational stress, we measured AP, heart rate (HR), and renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) in four groups of conscious rats, which were either intact or had vestibular lesions (VL), sinoaortic denervation (SAD), or VL plus SAD (VL + SAD). The rats were exposed to 3 G in dorsoventral axis by centrifugation for 3 min. In rats in which neither reflex was functional (VL + SAD group), RSNA did not change, but the AP showed a significant decrease (-8 +/- 1 mmHg vs. baseline). In rats with a functional baroreflex, but no VSR (VL group), the AP did not change and there was a slight increase in RSNA (25 +/- 10% vs. baseline). In rats with a functional VSR, but no baroreflex (SAD group), marked increases in both AP and RSNA were observed (AP 31 +/- 6 mmHg and RSNA 87 +/- 10% vs. baseline), showing that the VSR causes an increase in AP in response to gravitational stress; these marked increases were significantly attenuated by the baroreflex in the intact group (AP 9 +/- 2 mmHg and RSNA 38 +/- 7% vs. baseline). In conclusion, AP is controlled by the combination of the baroreflex and VSR. The VSR elicits a huge pressor response during gravitational stress, preventing hypotension due to blood redistribution. In intact rats, this AP increase is compensated by the baroreflex, resulting in only a slight increase in AP.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Prone position reverses gravitational distribution of perfusion in dog lungs with oleic acid-induced injury.

Although oxygenation improves in patients with the adult respiratory distress syndrome and in animals with oleic acid- (OA) induced acute lung injury when they are turned from the supine to the prone position, the mechanism(s) by which this improvement occurs is not known. Several groups have speculated that this improvement results from preferential edema accumulation in the dorsal lung regions and redistribution of perfusion away from these regions when the patients are turned to the prone position. We used radiolabeled microspheres to measure the regional distribution of perfusion (Qr) to the dorsal, mid, and ventral lungs of eight dogs in vivo in the supine and prone positions, before and after inducing acute lung injury with OA, and correlated the Qr observed after injury with the degree of regional extravascular lung water (EVLWr). Before OA, Qr increased along the gravitational gradient when the animals were supine but was more uniformly distributed when they were prone. After OA, Qr again followed a gravitational gradient when the animals were supine but was preferentially distributed to the nondependent regions when they were prone. EVLWr was similar in all regions, regardless of whether OA was injected when the animals were supine or prone. The gravitational Qr gradient is markedly reduced in the prone position, both before and after lung injury. The prone position-induced improvement in oxygenation is not the result of redistribution of Qr away from areas in which edema preferentially develops.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

Gravitational and shear-associated pressure gradients in the abdomen.

The abdomen has been variously characterized as a hydrostatic system, in which pressures exhibit a gravitational gradient and pressure fluctuations are spatially uniform, and as a compartment, in which pressure gradients are not simply gravitational and pressure fluctuations differ markedly from place to place. To characterize the pressures acting on the ventral abdominal wall, we used saline-filled catheters and air-filled balloons in anesthetized dogs in various body positions during spontaneous breathing and mechanical ventilation. Pressures were measured in the stomach and at multiple sites next to the abdominal wall. Under most circumstances, measurements next to the abdominal wall exhibited a hydrostatic gravitational gradient of approximately 0.89 cmH2O/cm height and pressure fluctuations were spatially homogeneous. Deviations from this hydrostatic behavior were seen when abdominal pressures were compared with gastric pressures, when measurements were made with a balloon catheter, and when the lower abdomen was constricted with a binder. Analysis of these and previously published data suggests that the abdomen does, at times, behave like a hydraulic system but can deviate from simple hydrostatic behavior to the extent that shape-stable abdominal viscera are deformed.

Abdomen↗

PubMed2002

[Perspective on gravitational biology of amphibians].

We review here the scientific significance of the use of amphibians for research in gravitational biology. Since amphibian eggs are quite large, yet develop rapidly and externally, it is easy to observe their development. Consequently amphibians were the first vertebrates to have their early developmental processes investigated in space. Though several deviations from normal embryonic development occur when amphibians are raised in microgravity, their developmental program is robust enough to return the organisms to an ostensibly normal morphology by the time they hatch. Evolutionally, amphibians were the first vertebrate animal to come out of the water and onto land. Subsequently they diversified and have adaptively radiated to various habitats. They now inhabit aquatic, terrestrial, arboreal and fossorial niches. This diversity can be used to help study the biological effects of gravity at the organismal level, where macroscopic phenomena are associated with gravitational loading. By choosing different amphibian models and using a comparative approach one can effectively identify the action of gravity on biological systems, and the adaptation that vertebrates have made to this loading. Advances in cellular and molecular biology provide powerful tools for the study in many fields, including gravitational biology, and amphibians have proven to be good models for studies at those levels as well. The low metabolic rates of amphibians make them convenient organisms to work with (compared to birds and mammals) in the difficult and confined spaces on orbiting research platforms. We include here a review of what is known about and the potential for further behavioral and physiological researches in space using amphibians.

Amphibians↗

PubMed2003

Development of the anti-gravitational system in land plants and its implication for the interaction between plants and other organisms.

After they first went ashore during the Silurian epoch, plants have developed the anti-gravitational system to survive under terrestrial environment with the strong gravitational force. The cell wall acts as a principal component of the anti-gravitational system in plants, probably with the aid of links to the plasma membrane and the cytoskeleton. The cell wall has well developed in land plants and often represents more than 90% of the dry weight of the plant. The development of the cell wall has greatly influenced the interaction between plants and other organisms, such as feeding, sheltering, invasion, and symbiosis, and has been involved in the regulation of the global environment throughout the evolution.

Biological Evolution↗

PubMed1996

Gravitational acceleration as a cue for absolute size and distance?

When an object's motion is influenced by gravity, as in the rise and fall of a thrown ball, the vertical component of acceleration is roughly constant at 9.8 m/sec2. In principle, an observer could use this information to estimate the absolute size and distance of the object (Saxberg, 1987a; Watson, Banks, von Hofsten, & Royden, 1992). In five experiments, we examined people's ability to utilize the size and distance information provided by gravitational acceleration. Observers viewed computer simulations of an object rising and falling on a trajectory aligned with the gravitational vector. The simulated objects were balls of different diameters presented across a wide range of simulated distances. Observers were asked to identify the ball that was presented and to estimate its distance. The results showed that observers were much more sensitive to average velocity than to the gravitational acceleration pattern. Likewise, verticality of the motion and visibility of the trajectory's apex had negligible effects on the accuracy of size and distance judgments.

Acceleration↗

PubMed1996

Role of gravitational cues in the haptic perception of orientation.

The haptic perception of vertical, horizontal, +45 degrees-oblique, and +135 degrees-oblique orientations was studied in adults. The purpose was to establish whether the gravitational cues provided by the scanning arm-hand system were involved in the haptic oblique effect (lower performances in oblique orientations than in vertical-horizontal ones) and more generally in the haptic coding of orientation. The magnitude of these cues was manipulated by changing gravity constraints, and their variability was manipulated by changing the planes in which the task was performed (horizontal, frontal, and sagittal). In Experiment 1, only the horizontal plane was tested, either with the forearm resting on the disk supporting the rod ("supported forearm" condition) or with the forearm unsupported in the air. In the latter case, antigravitational forces were elicited during scanning. The oblique effect was present in the "unsupported" condition and was absent in the "supported" condition. In Experiment 2, the three planes were tested, either in a "natural" or in a "lightened forearm" condition in which the gravitational cues were reduced by lightening the subject's forearm. The magnitude of the oblique effect was lower in the "lightened" condition than in the "natural" one, and there was no plane effect. In Experiment 3, the subject's forearm was loaded with either a 500- or a 1,000-g bracelet, or it was not loaded. The oblique effect was the same in the three conditions, and the plane effect (lower performances in the horizontal plane than in the frontal and sagittal ones) was present only when the forearm was loaded. Taken together, these results suggested that gravitational cues may play a role in haptic coding of orientation, although the effects of decreasing or increasing these cues are not symmetrical.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

[State of Dogiel type II neurons in the wall of the cat small intestine following a single exposure to gravitational stress].

Under study was the nervous apparatus of the small intestine in 22 cats subjected to a single gravitation stress by rotation in a centrifuge of 1,5 m radius. The stress was equal to 10 units, duration from 2,5 to 3,5 min., and was of head-pelvis direction. The material was treated after Nissl and Gomori in Chilingarian's modification. Within 1-3 days after exposure to gravitation stresses in the Auerbach plexus there appeared changes in the shape of the body of the type II Dogiel cells, such as pericellular oedema, vacuoles in the cytoplasm, chromatolysis and varicous thickenings of nerve fibres. Terminal structures of the dendrites of the type II Dogiel cells are thickened. The changes are most pronounced within the 4th-7th days after exposure to gravitation and are observed as late as the 14th day, being sharply diminished by the 30th day.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

[Time-variant AR spectral method for non-stationary heart rate variability signal under gravitational stress].

In order to study the nonstationary heart rate variability (HRV) signals under gravitational stress, a time-variant autoregressive spectral estimation method has been implemented, which made it possible to study dynamically the process of cardiac autonomic regulation during various gravitational stresses. The HRV signals obtained from 8 subjects during seated-LBNP testing before and after a six-month aerobic training were analyzed by the implemented algorithm. The obtained time-variant spectra might clearly reveal the time course of changes of decrease in HFn and increase in LF/HF, reflecting the time course of cardiac vagal withdrawal and indices with time during seated-LBNP were increased in most of the subjects. In brief, our work shows that the method of time-variant AR spectrum analysis for non-stationary HRV signals makes it possible to elucidate the dynamics of cardiac autonomic regulatory activity under gravitational stress and to detect the subtle changes in HRV after aerobic training.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗

PubMed2000

[Cardiovascular reactions to gravitational force in different directions].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the features of the cardiovascular reactions to gravitational forces along different axes of the body. METHOD: Dogs were exposed to gravitational forces along axes of body on an animal centrifuge. RESULT: It was found that when the direction of G force changed from +Gz to +Gx, the predominating effect on the cardiovascular system changed from the drop of eye level blood pressure to the increase of central venous pressure, and the reactions of the organism changed from a presson reflex of the arterial system to the inhibition of cardiac activities at higher G levels. The turning point was found to be at the back angle of 75 degrees with respect to the direction of the gravitational force. CONCLUSION: These findings provide an important reference for choosing the optimal seat back angle in a manned space vehicle.

Acceleration↗

PubMed1975

[Influence of gravitational overload and hypokinesia on the structure of the vascular bed of the stomach].

Under study were effects of gravitation stresses, total hypokinesia and their combinations on blood vessels of the stomach. The work was carried out in 130 rabbits, 16 of them being used to study the normal structure of the gastric vascular bed. The vascular bed was injected with the Gerota's mass followed by clearing, making histological preparations and roentgenography. The investigation has revealed both quantitative and qualitative changes in the structure of the gastric blood vessels. The maximum endurable stress of the ventro-dorsal direction causes morphological shifts less pronounced than stresses of longitudinal directions. With prolonged terms of hypokinesia (1-12 weeks) morphological changes became more pronounced in all the layers of the stomach. A combination of successive gravitation stresses and hypokinesia during 4-12 weeks aggravated morphological changes which occurred after exposure to isolated above factors. The animals subjected to maximum endurable stresses before and after 4-week hypokinesia developed vascular changes more typical for the effects of gravitation. The pretraining of animals did not give a pronounced positive effect on the changes of the angioarchitectonics of all the gastric layers after a repeated stress following 4-week hypokinesia.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

[Ultrasound duplex scanning in the assessment of the effectiveness of gravitation therapy and conservative treatment of patients with atherosclerosis obliterans of the lower extremities].

Ultrasound duplex scanning was used to compare the results of the treatment of 162 patients suffering from atherosclerosis obliterans of the lower extremities. It is to be noted that 50 patients were administered only gravitation therapy, 72 patients underwent a complex of treatment measures including, in addition to gravitation therapy, physiotherapy and drug treatment, and 40 patients received conservative treatment alone. The assessment criteria were the maximal systolic velocity of blood flow (V(max)), end diastolic mean, velocity (V(min)), mean maximal velocity (V(mean)), volume velocity of blood flow (V(vol)), ankle/brachial index (ABI), and index of regional perfusion (IRP), proposed by us and representing the percent ratio of the volume velocity of blood flow to the minute heart volume (MHV). It has been revealed in the course of the treatment that the best clinical outcome was recorded in patients who received a complex of treatment measures. The use of gravitation therapy alone provided better treatment results as compared to those obtained in patients administered standard conservative therapy. Of all the indicators used, only V(mean), V(vol), ABI and IRP are of the clinical significance. However, the most significant information on the segmental blood flow was obtained on the assessment of the IRP whose values did not depend on the changes in central hemodynamics. In contrast to the ABI, the advantage of the IRP lies in the possibility of blood flow assessment in different segments and arteries of the extremities. So, the use of the quantitative indicators of ultrasound duplex scanning and, first of all, of the IRP, allows an objective evaluation of the segmental blood flow and may serve one of the significant criteria of the treatment effectiveness.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

[Structural modifications of the thoracic region of vagus and sympathetic trunk ganglia after exposure to gravitational overloads].

The aim of this work was the complex study of structural modifications in the anterior thoracic ganglia of the sympathetic trunk and in thoracic region of vagus after acute and chronic exposure to gravitational overloads (GO). The study was carried out in 28 albino outbred male rats aged 8-21 weeks. Animals of group I (acute exposure) were rotated in the centrifuge during one day (3 rotations with 2 20-min breaks; total exposure duration was equal to 31 min. Animals of group II (chronic exposure) were treated intermittently during 2-weeks-long periods for 13 weeks; total exposure duration was equal to 20 hours 9 min. Gravitation was applied in cranio-caudal direction with the overload of 4-6 gravitational units. Intact rats served as a control. Material was studied using histological, electron microscopic and morphometric methods. The study of the sympathetic trunk and thoracic ganglia following acute GO have revealed mainly the reactive and reversible changes, probably caused by the appearance of an afferent impulsation of unusual intensity and combination, which is one of the reasons of the disturbances, observed after rotation. Following chronic GO, destructive and compensatory-adaptive changes prevailed; these were characterized by the mitochondrial cristae destruction, vacuolization of neuronal cytoplasm, destruction of interneuronal synapses. These changes, were probably, the result of hypoxia leading to the development of interneuronal synaptic block in sympathetic ganglia. The structural modifications described are indicative of the involvement of both sympathetic and parasympathetic parts of the autonomic nervous system in the response to acute and chronic GO, suggesting the generalization of the adaptation processes in the autonomic nervous system after GO.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

[Effects of gravitation plasmapheresis].

More than 400 gravitation plasmapheresis operations conducted in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) have been analyzed. Plasmapheresis was combined with thrombocytapheresis, erythrocyte oxygenation, plasma sorption and plasma filtration. Removed plasma was substituted for rheologically active solutions and albumin. Gravitation plasmapheresis was used in critical cases when alternative therapeutic methods had failed to provide a favourable outcome. Inclusion of gravitation plasmapheresis into the combined treatment of CHD patients was conductive to decreasing lethality in complicated forms of acute myocardial infarction attended by circulatory insufficiency, stage III-IV, from 82 to 33%. Hypoxia and acytosis are eliminated as a result of normalization of blood circulation and the system of blood aggregation regulation, the functions of the lungs and other internal organs were improved, that was manifested in the clinical course of CHD: pain symptoms disappear, stress tolerance increases, sensitivity to drug therapy rises, lethality decreases.

Gravitation↗

PubMed1988

The effects of gravitational forces on reproduction and development.

It is clear that increased gravitational forces can affect biologic reproduction and development, although exact mechanisms of action have not been established. Except for three studies of male pilot and astronaut fertility, human reproduction and development studies of chronic or acute exposure to micro- or hypergravity environments have not been carried out. Only two reproduction and development studies (both Soviet) have been done under chronic or acute exposure to microgravity. It is unlikely that chronic human exposure to hypergravity will occur except when planets much larger than Earth are colonized. Colonies dependent on reproduction for continued existence probably could not be established on planets with masses significantly dissimilar to Earth because hypergravity or hypogravity are likely to affect reproduction adversely and cause abnormal growth and development. Acute exposures to gravitational changes in the later stages of development appear to be less detrimental, but much remains to be discovered about how gravity affects reproduction and development of mammals, humans in particular. Earth's gravitational force has helped to shape human reproduction and development. Only when the limits of mammalian biology on both sides of 1 g are explored will we be able to determine the extent to which gravity determines biologic structure and function.

Animals↗