Metabolism of Di- and Mono-n-Butyl Phthalate by Soil Bacteria

Samples for mycological analysis were collected from surfaces in the Skylab spacecraft before launch and during flight for each manned mission. Fungal contamination levels were low during the first two flights; however, the species recovered were different for each mission. On the third mission, widespread contamination of the Skylab spacecraft with Aspergillus and Pencillium spp. was detected. This contamination was traced to several contaminated space suit undergarments.     

Denny-Brown, Boston City Hospital, and the history of American neurology

Harvard University's Neurological Unit at Boston City Hospital (BCH) became the premier center for neurological training in the United States during the middle part of the 20th century. During part of this period (1939-1967), it was directed by Derek Denny-Brown, who had been recruited from England by Harvard president James Conant. The training program that Denny-Brown initiated at BCH emphasized neurology as a medical specialty, independent of psychiatry and neurosurgery. This program, which reflected Denny-Brown's British training, was remarkably effective and served as a model for rest of the country.     

Microbiological Testing of Skylab Foods

The Skylab manned space flight program presented unique food microbiology problems. This challenge was successfully met by careful evaluation of the total Skylab food system by considering the nature of Skylab foods, their processing and handling, and Skylab food safety requirements. Some of the unique problems encountered with the Skylab foods involved: extended storage times, variations in storage temperatures, no opportunity to resupply or charge foods after launch of the Skylab Workshop, first use of frozen foods in space, first use of a food-warming device in weightlessness, relatively small size of production lots requiring statistically valid sampling plans, and use of the food as an accurately controlled segment of sophisticated life science experiments. Consideration of all of these situations generated the need for definitive microbiological tests and test limits. These tests are described in this paper along with the rationale for their selection. Test results are reported which show successful compliance with the test limits.     

Beyond the Boss and the Boys: Women and the Division of Labor in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila</Emphasis> Genetics in the United States, 1934–1970

The vast network of Drosophila geneticists spawned by Thomas Hunt Morgan’s fly room in the early 20th century has justifiably received a significant amount of scholarly attention. However, most accounts of the history of Drosophila genetics focus heavily on the “boss and the boys,” rather than the many other laboratory groups which also included large numbers of women. Using demographic information extracted from the Drosophila Information Service directories from 1934 to 1970, we offer a profile of the gendered division of labor within Drosophila genetics in the United States during the middle decades of the 20th century. Our analysis of the gendered division of labor supports a reconsideration of laboratory practices as different forms of work.     

Involuntary sterilization in the United States: a surgical solution

Although the eugenics movement in the United States flourished during the first quarter of the 20th Century, its roots lie in concerns over the cost of caring for "defective" persons, concerns that first became manifest in the 19th Century. The history of state-supported programs of involuntary sterilization indicates that this "surgical solution" persisted until the 1950s. A review of the archives of prominent eugenicists, the records of eugenic organizations, important legal cases, and state reports indicates that public support for the involuntary sterilization of insane and retarded persons was broad and sustained. During the early 1930s there was a dramatic increase in the number of sterilizations performed upon mildly retarded young women. This change in policy was a product of the Depression. Institutional officials were concerned that such women might bear children for whom they could not provide adequate parental care, and thus would put more demands on strained social services. There is little evidence to suggest that the excesses of the Nazi sterilization program (initiated in 1934) altered American programs. Data are presented here to show that a number of state-supported eugenic sterilization programs were quite active long after scientists had refuted the eugenic thesis.     

Ten greatest discoveries of the 20th century in cardiovascular medicine

The Netherlands Society of Cardiology (NVVC) was founded 70 years ago on 28 April 1934. When looking back at the history of our Society on its 70th anniversary, it might be a nice opportunity to mention ten great discoveries in cardiology in the 20th century.     

Mini ecosystem in space--preliminary experiment on board STS-77.

An enclosed ecosystem which is stable on Earth will behave differently when brought into space. Micro-gravity and radiation will affect the dynamics of material circulation or the activities of small creatures of the ecosystem. One series of space experiments aiming to address such issues was planned in the United States (It is termed as ABS--Autonomous Biological System) and Japanese group has been involved with cooperating with the analysis of the flight samples. Before the ecosystem will be on board Russian Space Station "Mir" later 1996 for 3 months, a preliminary flight was carried out in May 1996 on Space Shuttle (STS-77) for 10 days flight. It was the first of such experiments to fly one whole ecosystem in space.     

INVITED SPECIAL PAPER: History of the botanical teaching laboratory in the United States

The establishment of teaching laboratories for botany in the United States was strongly influenced in the early part of the 19th century by the founding of a laboratory of natural history at the Rensselaer School by Amos Eaton who inspired numerous educators, particularly women. By midcentury and later, botany programs were established at land-grant colleges and the so-called “new Botany” movement spread from them. In the latter part of the century additional changes were brought about by the influence of German laboratory activity and botanists’ reactions to the introduction of the Huxley-Martin biology programs to America. During these times, Americans were improving their own manufactured microscopes, laboratory supplies, and equipment capabilities. By the beginning of the 20th century, laboratory teaching of botanical subjects was widely accepted as normal in universities and colleges, as well as in some high schools.     

Effects of space flight on GLUT-4 content in rat plantaris muscle

 The effects of 14 days of space flight on the glucose transporter protein (GLUT-4) were studied in the plantaris muscle of growing 9-week-old, male Sprague Dawley rats. The rats were randomly separated into five groups: pre-flight vivarium ground controls (PF-VC) sacrificed approximately 2 h after launch; flight groups sacrificed either approximately 5 h (F-R0) or 9 days (F-R9) after the return from space; and synchronous ground controls (SC-R0 and SC-R9) sacrificed at the same time as the respective flight groups. The flight groups F-R0 and F-R9 were exposed to micro-gravity for 14 days in the Spacelab module located in the cargo bay of the shuttle transport system – 58 of the manned Space Shuttle for the NASA mission named ”Spacelab Life Sciences 2”. Body weight and plantaris weight of SC-R0 and F-R0 were significantly higher than those of PF-VC. Neither body weight nor plantaris muscle weight in either group had changed 9 days after the return from space. As a result, body weight and plantaris muscle weight did not differ between the flight and synchronous control groups at any of the time points investigated. The GLUT-4 content (cpm/μg membrane protein) in the plantaris muscle did not show any significant change in response to 14 days of space flight or 9 days after return. Similarly, citrate synthase activity did not change during the course of the space flight or the recovery period. These results suggest that 14 days of space flight does not affect muscle mass or GLUT-4 content of the fast-twitch plantaris muscle in the rat. Received: 25 March 1997 / Accepted: 18 August 1997     

Physiology in microgravity.

Studies of physiology in microgravity are remarkably recent, with almost all the data being obtained in the past 40 years. The first human spaceflight did not take place until 1961. Physiological measurements in connection with the early flights were crude, but, in the past 10 years, an enormous amount of new information has been obtained from experiments on Spacelab. The United States and Soviet/Russian programs have pursued different routes. The US has mainly concentrated on relatively short flights but with highly sophisticated equipment such as is available in Spacelab. In contrast, the Soviet/Russian program concentrated on first the Salyut and then the Mir space stations. These had the advantage of providing information about long-term exposure to microgravity, but the degree of sophistication of the measurements in space was less. It is hoped that the International Space Station will combine the best of both approaches. The most important physiological changes caused by microgravity include bone demineralization, skeletal muscle atrophy, vestibular problems causing space motion sickness, cardiovascular problems resulting in postflight orthostatic intolerance, and reductions in plasma volume and red cell mass. Pulmonary function is greatly altered but apparently not seriously impaired. Space exploration is a new frontier with long-term missions to the moon and Mars not far away. Understanding the physiological changes caused by long-duration microgravity remains a daunting challenge.     

Introduction and Institutionalization of Genetics in Mexico Ana Barahona,Susana Pinar and Francisco J. Ayala

We explore the distinctive characteristics of Mexico’s society, politics and history that impacted the establishment of genetics in Mexico, as a new disciplinary field that began in the early 20th century and was consolidated and institutionalized in the second half. We identify about three stages in the institutionalization of genetics in Mexico. The first stage can be characterized by Edmundo Taboada, who was the leader of a research program initiated during the Cárdenas government (1934–1940), which was primarily directed towards improving the condition of small Mexican farmers. Taboada is the first Mexican post-graduate investigator in phytotechnology and phytopathology, trained at Cornell University and the University of Minnesota, in 1932 and 1933, respectively. He was the first investigator to teach plant genetics at the National School of Agriculture and wrote the first textbook of general genetics, Genetics Notes, in 1938. Taboada’s most important single genetics contribution was the production of “stabilized” corn varieties. The extensive exile of Spanish intellectuals to Mexico, after the end of Spain’s Civil War (1936–1939), had a major influence in Mexican science and characterizes the second stage. The three main personalities contributing to Mexican genetics are Federico Bonet de Marco and Bibiano Fernández Osorio Tafall, at the National School of Biological Sciences, and José Luis de la Loma y Oteyza, at the Chapingo Agriculture School. The main contribution of the Spanish exiles to the introduction of genetics in Mexico concerned teaching. They introduced in several universities genetics as a distinctive discipline within the biology curriculum and wrote genetics text books and manuals. The third stage is identified with Alfonso León de Garay, who founded the Genetics and Radiobiology Program in 1960 within the National Commission of Nuclear Energy, which had been founded in 1956. The Genetics and Radiobiology Program rapidly became a disciplinary program, for it embraced research, teaching, and training of academics and technicians. The Mexican Genetics Society, created by de Garay in 1966, and the development of strains and cultures for genetics research were important activities. One of de Garay’s key requirements was the compulsory training of the Program’s scientists for at least one or two years in the best universities of the United States and Europe. De Garay’s role in the development of Mexican genetics was fundamental. His broad vision encompassed the practice of genetics in all its manifestations.     

Animals and spaceflight: from survival to understanding

Animals have been a critical component of the spaceflight program since its inception. The Russians orbited a dog one month after the Sputnik satellite was launched. The dog mission spurred U.S. interest in animal flights. The animal missions proved that individuals aboard a spacecraft not only could survive, but also could carry out tasks during launch, near-weightlessness, and re-entry; humans were launched into space only after the early animal flights demonstrated that spaceflight was safe and survivable. After these humble beginnings when animals preceded humans in space as pioneers, a dynamic research program was begun using animals as human surrogates aboard manned and unmanned space platforms to understand how the unique environment of space alters life. In this review article, the following questions have been addressed: How did animal research in space evolve? What happened to animal development when gravity decreased? How have animal experiments in space contributed to our understanding of musculoskeletal changes and fracture repair during exposure to reduced gravity?     

Some Manifestations of Categorization Processes in Perception

Study of the role of expectancy in cognitive activity has a long history in experimental psychology, extending back into the 19th century. Among German psychologists the idea of a "determining tendency" or "set" has long been influential. A variation of this same concept forms the foundation of the "Georgian" school of Soviet psychology founded by D. N. Uznadze (see Soviet Psychology, 1968-69, Vol. VII, No. 2 [Winter]).     

美国在华采集竹类植物标本的历史(1840-2010年)

植物标本采集是植物学研究的重要内容, 与植物引种密切相关。自19世纪以来, 美国植物采集者在全球尤其是中国进行了广泛的植物采集。在众多的植物类群中, 中国的竹类植物引起了美国采集者的极大关注, 并开展了大量调查研究和标本采集工作。研究美国植物采集者在中国采集竹类植物标本的历史, 对了解竹类植物从中国引种到美国的历史具有重要意义。本文基于国内外有关美国在华采集的竹类植物标本数据, 对其学名、采集地、采集人以及采集时间进行整理校对, 分析了美国采集者在华采集竹类植物标本的历史。结果表明: 1840-2010年, 美国在华共采集竹类植物标本960号2,238份, 隶属于25属120种(含变种和变型), 分别占中国竹类属和种数的73.5%和22.5%; 有45位(支)采集者(采集队), 在这些采集者中莫古礼最为重要; 采集地涉及20个省级行政区; 采集时间前后跨度约170年, 主要集中在20世纪上半叶。     

An experiment with a 105-day isolation simulating some conditions of a space flight to mars: the goals, scope, and structure of the research

The article deals with the main goals, objectives, and features of a 105-day experiment simulating some conditions of a manned space flight to Mars. It contains the scope and time patterns of the research program of the 105-day experiment, as well as methodological and organizational recommendations for the preparation for a 520-day experiment based on the analysis of the results of a 105-day experiment.     

A policy of anticipation as a strategic objective of space biology and medicine at the present stage

This article reflects the ongoing debates in Russia regarding paths of innovative development and the role that fundamental science has played in the development of technology critical for national security and for its breakthrough potential. Alternative routes of technical development include variations in priority support for those points of growth, in which Russia has attained and steadily held the leading position, occupying a prominent place in the international division of labor. Russia’s space program is a good example of the successful implementation of a national program and provides a demonstration of the country’s leadership role in this area of human activities. This article presents an analysis of the factors and circumstances in Russia that predetermined, in the early, “Gagarin” period of piloted space flights, its winning of the leading position. They also determined the vector of the development of manned space flight for many years to come. Even taking into account the host of issues with the implementation of the International Space Station (ISS) utilization program and the planning of manned flights to the Moon and Mars, the unique experience of preparations and the conducting of research and tests with humans in space—the enormous groundwork in fundamental biomedical research over the past 50 years of piloted flights—provides the basis for an optimistic prognosis for gaining headway with essentially new, ambitious space projects. The key question is whether the proactive strategy of prioritized development and the affirmation of the role of manned space flights as the most integrated and science-intensive sector of innovative achievement will be realized. The development of the space industry depends upon the answer, not only at the present stage but in the long-term as well, as does the fate of the national fundamental space sciences, an integral part of which is space biomedicine.     

Genetics behind barbed wire: Masuo Kodani, émigré geneticists, and wartime genetics research at Manzanar relocation center

This article explores the sociopolitical backdrop of genetics research during the politically turbulent decades of the mid-20th century that saw the persecution, displacement, and relocation of unpopular minorities in both the United States and Europe. It explores how geneticists in the United States accommodated these disruptions through formal and informal émigré networks and how the subsequent war affected their research programs and their lives. It does so by focusing on the career and life of geneticist Masuo Kodani, who, as a Japanese American, found himself conducting unexpected cytogenetics research in Manzanar, a "relocation center," or internment camp, located in the California desert, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war, Kodani's subsequent career continued to be shaped by his experiences as a Japanese American and by the specific skills as a cytogeneticist that he demonstrated at a critical period in the history of 20th-century genetics. His many relocations in search of employment culminated in his work with the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission on human chromosomes, for which he is best known.     

Changes in urinary excretion of pyridinium cross-links during Spacelab-J.

In SLJ-1 we proposed to study three major objectives. They were; 1. hormonal changes associated with fluid and electrolyte metabolism, 2. the effect of space flight on the circadian rhythms of endocrine and metabolic systems, 3. the changes in the indices of the bone and muscle metabolism during space flight. In this report, the changes in the bone metabolism during Spacelab-J will be presented with a special emphasis on urinary excretion of pyridinium cross-links. Timed urine samples from three Japanese payload specialists were obtained for 3 days from May 19 to 21, 1991 (one year before the launch = L-1 year). Immediately before the launch (L-3 to L-0), urine samples were obtained from a payload specialist who was on board the Space Shuttle Endeavor (PS). During the inflight period (flight from September 3 to 10 in 1992), urine samples from the PS were collected by using Urine Monitoring System (UMS). After the landing, they were obtained from the PS for three days (R+0-R+2). Various parameters related to bone metabolism such as hydroxyproline, pyridinium cross-links and calcium were determined. It was noted that excretion of hydroxyproline decreased during the preflight periods when compared with that in the control L-1 year period. The average excretory rate during control period was 846.2 +/- 198.7 milligrams/hour (mean +/- SD), while those in the preflight 474.6 +/- 171.1 milligrams/hour, suggesting the diminished collagen intake during the preflight period. Average excretion rate of pyridinium cross-links during the first 4 mission days (MD0-MD3) was similar to that of preflight and control L-1 year period. However, it was significantly increased during the last 4 mission days (MD4-MD7). It returned to the preflight level during postflight days (R+0-R+2). Increased urinary excretion of calcium during the last 4 mission days were also observed. These results suggest that increase in bone resorption could occur during relatively short stay in microgravity.     

Artemisinins from folklore to modern medicine--transforming an herbal extract to life-saving drugs

The history of the artemisinins from Ge Hong in China during the 4th century, to the re-discovery of the qing hao derivatives in the 1970s, to the explosion of artemisinin derivatives and combinations throughout the world today is a fascinating story. The central and underappreciated role of the United States Army's 'drug company' known as the Division of Experimental Therapeutics at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is a story worth relating. From being the first group outside China to extract the active component of qing hao, to leading the work on neurotoxicity of the class in animals, to bringing a Good Manufacturing Practices intravenous formulation to the worldwide market is traced.